Karontor

Karontor was the purely evil patron deity of the twisted fomorians and verbeegs.

Description
Karontor was a misshapen god who, when manifesting as an avatar, appeared to be an tall, uniquely grotesque fomorian, so utterly abhorrent that his presence was reviled by practically all races. He dressed in rotting, reeking furs, and was known to wield a club, but could also take the form of a huge winter wolf.

Personality
In contrast to a giant god like Grolantor, who was often portrayed by most giant races as primarily being stupidly prideful and evil secondarily, Karontor was a deity for whom wickedness took precedent over everything else. He seemed uncaring towards the Prime Material Plane, save for his hatred of giantkind, and he only sent avatars to express his unpredictable outbursts of murderous rage. This hatred, however, was merely a reflection of his own deep-seated feelings of self-loathing, consumed as he was by endless bitterness and miserable introspection.

Powers
Karontor's banishment at the hands of Annam stripped of his own spellcasting abilities, but he could still take the form of a winter wolf if given a minute to do so. In that form he was much faster, and once each day could breathe out a cone of cold.

Possessions
Avatars of Karontor normally carried a humble yet enchanted giantish club, but always had various other magical items on their person. Such items normally included a ring of invisibility, ring of mammal control, brooch of shielding, and efreeti bottle, and he often carried a flask of curses to leave behind for some unlucky entity he encountered.

Realm
Karontor's resided in Carceri, an outer plane that held exiles and traitors and which fostered self-hatred and despair. He dwelt on the third layer, Minethys, a sunless desert (Carceri was illuminated by a dull, reddish glow that filled the sky) of cold, cutting winds that housed those who hoarded what could have benefitted those around them. Within Minethys was Karontor's realm, known as the Rack of Injustice, where sat a mausoleum of beast and giantish bones.

The fomorian petitioners of Karontor occasionally ventured beyond the Rack of Injustice to exact vengeance in his name. Packs of ever-hungry winter wolves lived in the desolate, frozen, windswept plain that surrounded the realm, waiting for Karontor's signal to rage across the miles beyond.

Activities
Karontor spent his time in his realm growing more spiteful about his banishment, occasionally leading his fomorian petitioners into vengeful battle.

Many verbeegs, who were nearly omnipresent in giantish societies as servants and laborers, had been planted as spies by Karontor in order to keep him informed about the most prominent Jotunbrud settlements in Faerun. In contrast to his murderous rages, Karontor sometimes dispatched an avatar to give them directions, although to what end was unclear. Around mid–14th century DR, he had sent some of his servants to collect specific artifacts scattered across the surface of Toril.

Relationships
Karontor was the youngest son of Annam All-Father in the giant pantheon, and part of the third generation of offspring known by other giants as "the runts". His mother was not the unnamed sky goddess who gave birth to the other sons (Stronmaus, Memnor, Surtr, Thrym, Skoraeus, and Grolantor), making them his half-brothers, and his sisters included the goddesses Hiatea, Iallanis, and Diancastra.

In the myths of non-evil giants, Karontor was once a handsome and radiant god before he became envious of his eldest brother Stronmaus, his bitter jealously warping his physical form. Unlike Grolantor, who was scorned by sibling and parent alike, Annam did not truly detest Karontor despite exiling him to darkness. Annam was just tired of dealing with the ceaseless fights between his children, and after Karontor lashed out at his siblings, he sent him away (thus taking away his spell-casting) simply because it was the most convenient solution, giving the deformed god's grudge some level of justification.

Aside from Grolantor, Karontor was the most hated foe of Clangeddin Silverbeard, the dwarven god of battle.

Worship
Karontor was known to be worshiped by some fomorians and verbeegs, who felt a kinship towards the twisted and exiled deity. Though the latter did not worship him out of any true faith, but rather out of hopes that he could bring them into the ordning. Even verbeeg priests were likely to abandon him if a better option came to them.

Trivia
Karontor featured in one of the images of Annam's mythical axe, Sky Cleaver, where Iallanis joined his hands with Memnor's.

Appearances

 * Video Games
 * Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance
 * Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance