Eshowdow (pronounced: /ɛˈʃoʊdoʊ/ eh-SHOH-doh[4]) was a dark demigod of shadow, destruction, cowardice and fear worshiped in Chult.[1]
Description[]
Eshowdow, like his symbol, appeared as a huge, roughly humanoid shadow with taloned hands. It was unclear if he chose to veil himself or if this was his true form.[1]
Personality[]
The Shadow Giant sprang from a dark aspect of Ubtao's personality and was defined by his hate for all the Creator of Chult stood for. Vicious and cowardly, Eshowdow worked against his enemies, especially the Tabaxi, from the shadows and corrupted all that was noble and true, and encouraged his followers to do the same.[1]
Divine Realm[]
Like many demipowers, Eshowdow was a deity of the Prime Material plane,[5] though he also had a strong connection to the Demiplane of Shadow. He considered all of Chult his divine realm, but his base of operations was the Valley of Lost Honor of the Eshowe and the Great Shadow's Mansion there, Eshowdow's high temple.[1]
History[]
Eshowdow was born out of a fragment of the consciousness and being of Ubtao when he created the myriad nature spirits of Chult from such pieces of himself, but initially buried underground. His name came from the Eshowe tribe, who freed the entity they called the Shadow Giant in −137 DR, hoping to destroy the city of Mezro. When the Shadow Giant was repelled from the city by the Tabaxi, he turned on his summoners, nearly wiping them out. Thus, the victorious Tabaxi named him Eshowdow, "the Shadow of the Eshowe".[1][6]
Despite his fury at the defeat, and his realization that the elder god was incapable of perceiving him, as Eshowdow was, in essence, Ubtao's shadow, he remained in the shadows, brooding and plotting against the Chultans.[1]
Early in the 1370s DR, Eshowdow was killed and his guise taken up by the dark goddess Shar under uncertain circumstances.[2][3]
Relationships[]
The Shadow Giant was the antithesis of Ubtao and his main goal was the destruction of the Creator of Chult and the Tabaxi. Eshowdow, however, was also weak in comparison to the deity he sprang from, and thus all his attacks were furtive and cowardly. His one ally was the snake god Sseth. The two were united in their destructive evil and hatred of Ubtao.[1][7] Eshowdow's ultimate bane proved to be a rival dark deity from outside of Chult, however: Shar, Mistress of the Night.[2][3]
Dogma[]
The two cannot be reunited without following the teachings of Eshowdow.
Only by merging the spirit with the body can a being enter a higher state of existence.
Life is hard, but it is harder if you do not obey Eshowdow.
Worshipers[]
Eshowdow's main base of worshipers was the Eshowe tribe. Some outcasts from the Tabaxi tribe and some Batiri goblins also turned to the Shadow Giant. The clergy of Eshowdow (who also constituted the ruling elite of the Eshowe tribe) were called the Eshewtak.[1]
Activities[]
Eshowdow worked to control the Eshowe tribe through his priesthood and rebuild it to a force able to destroy the Tabaxi. His most potent method was a ritual supposed to reunite a worshiper with their lost spirit, but in truth linked a shadow from the Negative Energy plane to the target, slowly turning them to evil.[1]
As the Shadow Giant and his followers were no match for Ubtao and the Tabaxi in open confrontation, he urged the Eshowe to acts of secret vengeance and sabotage.[1]
Appendix[]
Further Reading[]
- James Lowder, Jean Rabe (1993). The Jungles of Chult. (TSR, Inc), p. 3. ISBN 1-5607-6605-0.
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 Eric L. Boyd (September 1997). Powers & Pantheons. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), pp. 80–83. ISBN 978-0786906574.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Eric L. Boyd, Erik Mona (May 2002). Faiths and Pantheons. Edited by Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 109. ISBN 0-7869-2759-3.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Reynolds, Forbeck, Jacobs, Boyd (March 2003). Races of Faerûn. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 106. ISBN 0-7869-2875-1.
- ↑ Eric L. Boyd (September 1997). Powers & Pantheons. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), p. 81. ISBN 978-0786906574.
- ↑ Eric L. Boyd (September 1997). Powers & Pantheons. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), p. 14. ISBN 978-0786906574.
- ↑ Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 57. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
- ↑ Eric L. Boyd (September 1997). Powers & Pantheons. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), p. 85. ISBN 978-0786906574.