Bargrivyek

Bargrivyek was the goblinoid deity of unity and cooperation, titled Peacekeeper for his role of encouraging teamwork between the various goblinoid races and tribes. However, he was also a god of territory, and his peacekeeping role did not extend to creating positive relations between goblinoids and other races.

"Cooperation! That be it. Territory and cooperation, Bargrivyek be god of that stuff."

- A goblin.

Description
Bargrivyek appeared as an tall goblin with a high-domed forehead, typically with a calm expression.

Personality
Unlike what one would expect from a being titled "The Peacekeeper", Bargrivyek was as much of an unflinchingly evil, expansionist conqueror as the rest of his militaristic pantheon. However, despite Bargrivyek's aggressive behavior, his form of lawful evil was somewhat gentler than that of his peers, manifesting as an inclination towards cohesive cooperation towards a wicked end as opposed to brutal dictatorship.

He believed strongly in, and was pleased by displays of, unity, duty and discipline, at least as far as his own peoples were concerned and not for its own sake. Bargrivyek was simply smart enough to recognize the strength that laid in concordance, strength that was just a means to the end of expansion. Peace within the in-group granted the strength to make war against the enemies of the race, particularly orcs, and the more harmony between his people the more they could disrupt the harmony of others.

Powers
Bargrivyek was skilled in clerical magic and the way of the warrior. His avatar was able to speak all languages known by demihumans and goblinoids, and any communication-based spells, such as whispering wind and speak with animals. He was also able to incite fear.

Possessions
Bargrivyek's signature weapon was a white-headed flail. His avatar carried an enchanted flail +3 that could stun opponents for up to six minutes.

Divine Realm
Bargrivyek's divine realm was known as the Peaceable Lands, which like his own title, was simply misleading, for it was actually a training ground in Avernus where goblin legions went through regimens of harsh training and calisthenics.

Activities
Because of the war between goblin and orcs in Acheron, Bargrivyek was needed to keep the peace between the goblins and hobgoblins, mediating their feuds. It was his job to minimize the damage of disputes in and between goblin and hobgoblin tribes for the betterment of the whole.

Relationships
Bargrivyek was on good terms with his immediate inferior deity, Khurgorbaeyag, as both had a mutual desire for order among goblins and their supremacy at the expense of others. On the other hand, his relations with other members of the pantheon were best described as cowardly submission, him fearing the wrath of Nomog-Geaya and always leaping to his commands to avoid causing him displeasure. Nomog-Geaya himself could barely restrain his disgusted loathing for Bargrivyek, and in hobgoblin stories the Peacekeeper was Nomog-Geaya's undesired second in command. Though he would gladly smite the, in his opinion, craven weakling that was Bargrivyek, and replace him with someone more in line with his views, doing so would provoke Maglubiyet's ire and it wasn't as if Nomog-Geaya had any better replacements after Maglubiyet destroyed his pantheon.

Bargrivyek kept his position by order of Maglubiyet, to whom his relationship was much the same as it was with Nomog-Geaya, who allowed him to act as mediator out of necessity and keep influence over his servants due to their relatively similar philosophies. Hruggek, cunning god of the bugbear pantheon, was against Bargrivyek and tried to incite Maglubiyet against the Peacekeeper to keep the goblins and hobgoblins divided, thus securing his people more resources.

Ironically, Bargrivyek might have had less opposition outside his pantheon than within it, at least in terms of foes who specifically loathed him. He was enemies with Kurtulmak, leading raids against his kobold minions in the underground realm of Draukari within Avernus which allowed him to demonstrate the might of goblinkind united, but Kurtulmak was enemies with most other gods as well. The orc god Bahgtru did want a rematch with Bagrivyek, having lost some previous conflict between them, but was too stupid to have any kind of complex rivalry with other deities.

Worshipers
"The most sublime service to Bargrivyek - and the most enjoyable - is the slaughter of orcs."

- Helgrom Headsplitter, Bargrivyek's proxy to young goblins.

Because Bargrivyek was terrified of irritating his superiors, he only sent his avatar in the case that a goblin tribe was in need of a major tribal meeting. It was the duty of Bargivyek's priests, known as peacemakers, to do his work minimizing most goblinoid conflicts, normally by creating or fostering hatred towards external enemies for the tribes to direct their anger at. Hobgoblin priests for example were the police force of their societies, and were tasked with judging the honor of their compatriots, and serving as disciplinarians and arbiters. Though Nomog-Geaya was still the most frequently and strongly honored of their gods, Bargrivyek's hobgoblin followers still received due deference regardless of rank in their societies. It was also the duty of Bargrivyek's faithful to spread more goblin tribes anywhere they could and priests were rewarded for bringing tribes to new above-ground areas to settle in, as Bagrivyek waited impatiently for goblins to rise above ground.

As a deity of territory, Bargrivyek's omens could take the form of distant atmospheric phenomena, like falling stars leading to new regions to settle, though he was also a god of communication, so sometimes they manifested as the speaking of unknown tongues and violent stammering followed by automatic speech. Both intelligence and wisdom was needed to become one of his priests, the former more than the latter, and they were known to wield blunt instruments, most often flails dipped in white paint to act as his symbols. His followers received enchanting spells like friends and charm person and abilities centered around communication like the whispering wind spell or the learning of more languages.

He had a few known proxies, which were male clerics or fighters of lawful evil alignment. One such proxy was Gruchulak Spinesnapper, a goblin who displayed all the brutality and pitilessness of devils with none of the subtlety.

History
The hobgoblin pantheon once had many deities, until almost all of them were cut down by Maglubiyet so long ago that their names could no longer be recalled. Bargrivyek was believed to be a survivor of the hobgoblin pantheon, alongside Nomog-Geaya, becoming his de facto deputy.

In 1368 DR, King Rogdok captured a wild mage known as Adoy. Here, Adoy was worshiped by the goblins as Bargrivyek himself.

Appearances

 * Video Games
 * Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition