Hecate (pronounced: /hɛkɑːti/ hek-ah-tee[1]) was an interloper deity of abundance, magic, and moons who originated from another plane of existence.[4][5][7][9][11] She was known by some in the Vast, considered a rival to Faerûn's own goddess of magic Mystra.[12]
Description[]
Her true form was that of a three-headed woman with a gorgeous body,[9] milk white skin, scarlet nails, and eyes that burned like embers. She wore a deep red dress.[13] Her avatar could take on almost any form,[1] but she typically appeared as a beautiful woman with lustrous, dark hair.[4][1][9]
Personality[]
Hecate was an enigmatic goddess whose motivations and methodology have always been unclear. At times her behavior seemed to be in accordance to lawful evil, with greater tendencies towards the former.[14] Some claimed that her movements were governed by ancient laws she adhered to despite the lack of any clear schedule,[15] and her preference for kinds of magic notably changed with the nightly weather.[16] At others times however she was noted to be independent and capricous,[9] a chaotic evil goddess that got what she wanted,[17] and that in fact it was her mood which caused the weather to change.[15] She was patron of those who used magic for their benefit, promoting its use in both spell and item form and the idea that it was the key to all desirable things.[1]
Her exact ethics aside, Hecate's morality was mystifying in general, seemingly at odds with a being of evil. She often hindered mortals just because she had nothing better to do, but would also help them by the same principle.[9] She was a defender of children who, on rare occassion, would notice and exact vengeance on people who harmed them, and sometimes appeared at night to lonely shepherds to defend their flocks.[9] Those who unknowingly traveled on while she was (on whatever she considered "her night") were attacked by her hounds, but if the beasts were held off she would call them back and perhaps even offer recompense to her victims.[1][9][15]
In any case, Hecate was an incredibly dangerous and deceptive goddess. She was widely famed for her cutting wit and great eloquence, with some even claiming she was the one who taught Apollo his oratory skills. Few could detect the plans she put in motion as she played champions like instruments,[3] but she could prove neglectful to the consequences of her actions (even regarding divine beings) after losing interest.[17]
Powers[]
Hecate was capable of casting any spell accessible to magic-users, especially those of the illusionist school of magic, as often as she liked without any restriction.[10] She was also capable of controlling undead.[9]
Possessions[]
Hecate's personal weapon was a +5 dagger with the ghost touch weapon quality.[18] She also possessed the legendary eye of Gruumsh, which had been believed lost in his conflict with Corellon.[19]
Twin spheres of annihilation were by her side at all times, ready to be used against her enemies. They moved by themselves after being started and could not be controlled by mortals.[10]
Realm[]
Hecate maintained two divine realms that were each on a different plane, being one of the few deities to do so. Both were known as Aeaea, with one residing in the plane of Hades on the layer of Pluton,[3] and the other residing in the Nine Hells on the layer of Minauros.[3][20][note 2]
Pluton[]
The Aeaea of Hades was in a constant state of night, though what kind of night depended on the whims and moods of Hecate,[15] at least according to the petitioners. At times it was quite peaceful, while at others it was wracked with terrible weather. When a "day" came to an end on this realm everything went pitch black for about an hour, then a new moon would arise over the eastern hills.[16]
The domain was quite hilly, with omens and portents around every corner. It had groves of poplar trees, which Hecate's most faithful petitioners were said to gather during full moons to perform arcane rites. There were meandering roads, lined with poplars, that lead and came from nowhere. And minor villages lay scattered about the realm, with more appearing along the roads that didn't remain long-term. Hecate herself had no fixed palace within the domain, though maintained a lighthouse of ancient construction on the outer fringe.[16]
There were no restrictions on spellcasting within this domain, allowing every spell cast therein to work with maximum efficiency. However, Hecate was aware of every spell cast within her domain and determined whether or not they had their desired effect. On clear nights she allowed most spells to succeed. On stormy nights she favored those casting flashy and destructive spells.[16]
Minauros[]
The Aeaea of Minauros was smaller compared to Hecate's divine realm in Pluton.[15] It was a chilly, desolate land shrouded in fog where even those with an infallible sense of direction would become lost.[21] The ground was blackened and charred, featuring rivers of fire and volcanoes. Within one of these volcanic craters sat a throne of obsidian, studded in fire opals.[13][note 3]
Her realm in Minauros was littered in thousands of strange, sculptural devices that visitors risked bumping into. They blinked with eerie lights and made clanking or howling sounds. Her clerics would claim that these devices generated all the magic energy throughout the multiverse.[21]
The validity of their claims was questionable, but it was known that they fed souls to the machines, converting them into divine and sorcerous energy that would be used by both Hecate and her minions. These devices were also capable of consuming other entities, such as extraplanar beings and mortals. Whenever supplies ran low, the lowliest of her servants would be fed to the machines.[21]
Activities[]
Hecate spent some of her time crafting evil, magical items with the aid of her clerics, which she would trade with baatezu for souls to power the machines in her divine realm in Minauros.[21] She often aided mortals for no other reason other than having nothing better to do.[9] At night her avatar was said to wander the mortal realm[18][15] or her domain of Aeaea,[15] accompanied by a pack of hell hounds.[9][18][15] While doing so her avatar would sometimes aid children, herders, and shepherds on a whim.[18] But most times she would send her hounds to attack those who dared to travel on the same night as her and if they managed to fend the hounds off for some time she would call them back. On rare occasions, she would offer the traveler some form of recompense.[15]
Relationships[]
Hecate had nine hell hound servants that she would unleash to hunt down anyone that desecrated her temples or attacked her higher ranking clerics.[10] Occasionally she would simply sic them on those traveling at night.[9]
Hecate had no allies among the various deities, with the exception of Persephone[3] who she often visited in Hades.[9] She was respected by Apollo and the other powers of the Olympian pantheon would sometimes come to her for advice, but they wouldn't associate with her any more than necessary.[3] She almost always had a gift for the deities that visited her.[19]
She was one of the Lower Planes deities that had strategic alliances with Asmodeus, lord of the Nine Hells.[22][23]
Worshipers[]
Hecate's worshipers were typically people that practiced dark magic and worked magic for their own personal gain.[24] They were ruthless in their pursuits of power and influence and willing to use any trick at their disposal to accomplish their goals.[24] Clerics were few in number in her clergy and usually sorcerers or wizards as well.[1][note 4] On the plane of existence where she originated, Hecate was worshiped by a collection of city-states and was the sole source of magic for wizards, often referred to in folktales as a sorceress or witch.[11]
Typically clerics of Hecate worked in solitude, performing magical research, making magic items, or searching out legendary treasures.[1] They were especially passionate about magical items, which they considered physical manifestations of power, but if they ever found an item they couldn't use a priest would donate it to the church.[24] They would also form cells of cultists in order to enact schemes on a larger scale.[1] and tried to convince good-aligned spellcasters to use their powers for evil or selfish ends.[24]
Dogma[]
The doctrine of Hecate's church was that finding and holding power was the primary goal of all life,[24] and that the ideal path to achieving power, wealth, and practically all desirable things was magic. She taught the joys of abundance but also warned against the folly of wastefulness, teaching that a good harvester, whether of crops or wildlife, left some behind for next year.[1]
Rituals[]
Clerics of Hecate wore blue-white garments, a color akin to moonlight. Her temples were well hidden, often located in the depths of dark haunted forests and guarded by the undead.[1] Each month, clerics of Hecate would make their sacrifices to her under the night of a full moon,[10][4] often in the form of black ewes and honey. Failure to do so would result in her depriving the worshiper of their magical powers until the proper sacrifice was made.[9]
All of Hecate's clerics had a special rapport with hell hounds and would never be attacked by them.[10]
History[]
Hecate was born to a pair of greater titans.[3][25][note 5] Some believed these greater titans were known as Crius and Eurybia,[3] while others claimed her parentage lied with ones named Asterie and Perses.[25]
She had some unclear history of dealings with the Norse deity known as Loki.[3]
Over the years she was served faithfully by a mortal, human sorceress named Circe. After many years of faithful service they came to a mutual agreement that she deserved a raise in power, thus she promoted Circe to the full status of a proxy.[19]
In approximately 1357 DR,[note 6] Hecate grew infatuated with the deity Enki, but at the time he was in a relationship with the Faerûnian deity Lliira. Unwilling to let this get in her way, she cursed Lliira so that she could return no man's love and imprisoned her in a "Pleasure Palace" called Zannibar on an unnamed world. Hecate eventually lost the feelings she felt for Enki, but neglected to remove the curse she had placed upon Lliira.[17]
Later that same year she sent her jester out to the World Serpent Inn to acquire some suitable adventurers to obtain her a hound from the Wild Hunt, wanting to crossbreed it with her hell hounds. As the adventurers were guided through the planes by the jester and got caught up in other transactions they learned of Lliira's fate. They went on to free the goddess from her imprisonment, offering the captured hound to Hecate in return for her removing the curse.[17]
Appendix[]
Notes[]
- ↑ The Core sourcebook Legends & Lore has Hecate's 2nd edition alignment listed as neutral good, while the Planescape sourcebook On Hallowed Ground has it listed as chaotic evil.
- ↑ Tales of the Outer Planes identifies her divine realm as residing on Phlegethos, the fourth layer of the Nine Hells, but the later books Guide to Hell and Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells change its location as being in the third layer, Minauros.
- ↑ This description may sound out of character for the layer of Minauros. But keep in mind, this info is derived from Tales of the Outer Planes, which envisioned her realm in the fire-dominant plane of Phlegethos.
- ↑ Legends & Lore states that she has no traditional priests, but this is contradicted by other sources.
- ↑ Not to be confused with the dawn titans or the true giant race known simply as the titans.
- ↑ Because Tales of the Outer Planes (1988) was published after the Forgotten Realms Campaign Set (1987), but evidently before the Time of Troubles in 1358 DR, when Lliira was free, this could have been set early the following year. It's not entirely clear how long Lliira was imprisoned.
Appearances[]
Adventures
Organized Play & Licensed Adventures
The Underground
External Links[]
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 Skip Williams, Rich Redman, James Wyatt (April 2002). Deities and Demigods. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 117. ISBN 0-7869-2654-6.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Stephen Kenson (May 2001). “Do-It-Yourself Deities”. In Dave Gross ed. Dragon #283 (Wizards of the Coast), p. 34.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 Colin McComb (October 1996). On Hallowed Ground. Edited by Ray Vallese. (TSR, Inc.), p. 123. ISBN 0-7869-0430-5.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 James Ward, Robert J. Kuntz (August 1980). Deities & Demigods. Edited by Lawrence Schick. (TSR, Inc.), p. 123. ISBN 0-935696-22-9.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford (2014). Player's Handbook 5th edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 298. ISBN 978-0-7869-6560-1.
- ↑ Steve Kenson, et al. (November 2015). Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide. Edited by Kim Mohan. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 125. ISBN 978-0-7869-6580-9.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Skip Williams, Rich Redman, James Wyatt (April 2002). Deities and Demigods. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 100, 117. ISBN 0-7869-2654-6.
- ↑ Wolfgang Baur and Lester Smith (1994-07-01). “The Book of Chaos”. In Michele Carter ed. Planes of Chaos (TSR, Inc), p. 38. ISBN 1560768746.
- ↑ 9.00 9.01 9.02 9.03 9.04 9.05 9.06 9.07 9.08 9.09 9.10 9.11 9.12 9.13 James Ward and Robert Kuntz (November 1984). Legends & Lore. (TSR, Inc), p. 117. ISBN 978-0880380508.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 James Ward, Robert J. Kuntz (August 1980). Deities & Demigods. Edited by Lawrence Schick. (TSR, Inc.), p. 64. ISBN 0-935696-22-9.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Nicky Rea (1994). Age of Heroes. (TSR, Inc.), pp. 31, 33. ISBN 1-56076-814-2.
- ↑ Chris Ruester (February 1999). The Underground. Living City (RPGA), pp. 10, 21.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Gary L. Thomas ed. (May 1988). Tales of the Outer Planes. (TSR, Inc.), p. 6. ISBN 978-0880385442.
- ↑ Jeff Grubb (July 1987). Manual of the Planes 1st edition. (TSR), p. 111. ISBN 0880383992.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 15.7 15.8 Colin McComb (December 1995). “Liber Malevolentiae”. In Michele Carter ed. Planes of Conflict (TSR, Inc.), p. 59. ISBN 0-7869-0309-0.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Colin McComb (December 1995). “Liber Malevolentiae”. In Michele Carter ed. Planes of Conflict (TSR, Inc.), p. 60. ISBN 0-7869-0309-0.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 Gary L. Thomas ed. (May 1988). Tales of the Outer Planes. (TSR, Inc.), pp. 4, 11. ISBN 978-0880385442.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 Skip Williams, Rich Redman, James Wyatt (April 2002). Deities and Demigods. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 118. ISBN 0-7869-2654-6.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Colin McComb (October 1996). On Hallowed Ground. Edited by Ray Vallese. (TSR, Inc.), p. 125. ISBN 0-7869-0430-5.
- ↑ Chris Pramas (November 1999). Guide to Hell. Edited by Kim Mohan. (TSR, Inc.), p. 31. ISBN 978-0786914319.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 Robin D. Laws, Robert J. Schwalb (December 2006). Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells. Edited by Chris Thomasson, Gary Sarli, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 48–49. ISBN 978-0-7869-3940-4.
- ↑ Chris Pramas (November 1999). Guide to Hell. Edited by Kim Mohan. (TSR, Inc.), p. 50. ISBN 978-0786914319.
- ↑ Robin D. Laws, Robert J. Schwalb (December 2006). Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells. Edited by Chris Thomasson, Gary Sarli, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 5. ISBN 978-0-7869-3940-4.
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 24.4 Fraser Sherman (April 1993). “Following in their Footsteps”. In Roger E. Moore ed. Dragon #153 (TSR, Inc.), p. 30.
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 Skip Williams, Rich Redman, James Wyatt (April 2002). Deities and Demigods. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 99. ISBN 0-7869-2654-6.