Garagos

Garagos (pronounced GAH-rah-gohs ), the Lord of War, was a god of war and exarch of Tempus, though he focused more on destruction than war itself.

Followers
Clerics of Garagos, known as Bloodreavers, spent their days fomenting strife throughout the continent, knowing that each conflict contributed to Garagos's continuing rebirth. They believed that Garagos eventually would regain his divine strength, unseating the hated Lord of Battles and reclaiming the mantle of Deity of War. They continually created and expanded networks of spies, faithful warriors, and other agents to increase the power of the cult, and the leadership of a cult cell was usually determined by the result of power plays between the agents of rival clerics.

Relationships
Though chaotic neutral, the debased, insane Garagos stood on the brink of evil. A nearly elemental force of destruction, the Reaver had no allies in the pantheons of Abeir-Toril—the other gods dealt with Garagos simply by staying away from him. Despite his vacant mind, Garagos still harbored deep resentment against Tempus and his catspaw, the Red Knight. Should these deities meet in the field of combat, there's little doubt that the Reaver would come out the worse of it. Eventually, however, Garagos's destructive capabilities might transcend his tactical weaknesses, and on such a day, the followers of Tempus are sure to know true despair.

Tempus merely tolerated Garagos for reasons of his own, reasons that many Realms scholars believed stems from the fact that Tempus disliked mindless slaughter and destruction, and would be obliged to take on that portfolio if he slew his rival. Though both were chaotic neutral in moral alignment, Garagos was far more heedless than Tempus in what war wrought, reveling in destruction and slaughter while the greater deity valued honorable combat; this distinction between the different modes of war they represented may be the reason that Ao did not enforce his otherwise strict edict against portfolio sharing by stripping one or the other of his dominance over War.

When Garagos manifested his avatar, it was usually to wander Godswalk Keep in the Border Kingdom Barony of Great Oak during the Meeting of the Three. There he railed against the manifestations of Jergal and Sharess whom he could not harm but inexplicably returns to.



History
Centuries ago, during the age of Netheril, Garagos was part of the Netherese pantheon and known as Targus. Some time around or shortly after the fall of Netheril, the interloper deity Tempus managed to slay Garagos. Survived by die-hard followers in several regions surrounding the Sea of Fallen Stars and a church in Westgate, Garagos mysteriously and unexpectedly reappeared in Westgate's harbour during the Time of Troubles. Much quicker to anger and slower to show mercy than he was before his death, Garagos found most of his followers in brigands, bandits and priests of the Deities of Fury who pay him lip service in battle.

In 1368 DR, Garagos appeared personally to slay a marilith named Glackzana who was building a temple to herself in his guise.

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989-1999)
Garagos was mentioned in the revised Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (1993). Garagos is further detailed in Powers & Pantheons (1997).

Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition (2000-2007)
Garagos appears in 3rd edition in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting book (2001), and was further described in Faiths and Pantheons (2002).

Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition (2008-)
Garagos appears in 4th edition in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide (2008).