Karontor was the giant god of disfigurement and hate, and the chosen patron of the malformed fomorians and the more villainous verbeeg.[4][6] Exiled in ages past for his acts of spiteful envy,[1][6] Karontor plotted his revenge from the cold depths of the Red Prison,[7] driven by his malice towards all giantkind.[4]
Description[]
Karontor was a misshapen god who, when manifesting as an avatar, appeared to be an 18 feet (5.5 meters) 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.[4]
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.[8] 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.[4]
Powers[]
Karontor's banishment at the hands of his father 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.[4]
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.[4]
Realm[]
Karontor's resided in Carceri,[7] an outer plane that held exiles and traitors and which fostered self-hatred and despair.[9] 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.[9][7][10] Within Minethys was Karontor's realm, known as the Rack of Injustice,[5] where sat a mausoleum of beast and giantish bones.[4]
The fomorian petitioners of Karontor occasionally ventured beyond the Rack of Injustice to exact vengeance in his name.[10] 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.[4]
Activities[]
Karontor spent his time in his realm growing more spiteful about his banishment,[4] occasionally leading his fomorian petitioners into vengeful battle.[7]
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.[2]
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".[8][7] 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,[6][11] and his sisters included the goddesses Hiatea, Iallanis, and Diancastra.[8]
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 jealousy warping his physical form.[4][6] Unlike Grolantor, who was scorned by sibling and parent alike,[12] Annam did not truly detest Karontor despite exiling him to darkness.[6] Annam was just tired of dealing with the ceaseless fights between his children,[4] and after Karontor lashed out at his siblings,[6] 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.[4]
Aside from Grolantor, Karontor was the most hated foe of Clangeddin Silverbeard, the dwarven god of battle.[13]
Worshipers[]
Both fomorians and verbeeg felt a sense of kinship towards Karontor,[6] although in their myths his form was constant.[8] The fomorians were equally as twisted (both in form and personality) as him,[4] although it was said that the hideous giants didn't truly hold any god in esteem.[14]
Karontor's evil verbeeg worshipers proved superior as spellcasting servants due to their higher mental capacity,[4] but their worship was rooted in self-interest rather than true faith. They worshiped Karontor in the hopes that he would bring them into the Ordning, and even his priests would abandon him if a better offer presented itself.[6]
In centuries past, Karantor actively recruited followers from the largest verbeeg tribes. He ordered his priests to follow the dictates of a mysterious stranger (his avatar, whose identity was unknown to non-priests) who would occasionally visit their settlements (using a slightly different guise for each) offering treasure in exchange for vows of loyalty. It was unknown how their activities helped him and what his end goal for the verbeeg was.[2]
Dogma[]
Priests of Karantor were vicious warmongers that constantly urged their peers to seek conflict, pressing them to fight all entities of good. Trained beasts, especially wolves, were used for this purpose. Despite his occasional appearances, Karontor sent no omens to his priests.[4]
Rumors and Legends[]
In giantish mythology, Karantor's jealousy-induced misshaping was often connected to his descent into some sort of underworld. It was there where Karontor would learn dark secrets of magic from an ancient race of subterranean hags before returning to the surface to distort some of the fairest of the giants. Those giants would become the ancestors of the fomorians, and to a lesser extent the verbeeg, who were only corrupted in nature rather than appearance.[8]
Trivia[]
Karontor featured in one of the images of Annam's mythical axe,[15] Sky Cleaver, where Iallanis joined his hands with Memnor's.[16]
Appendix[]
Appearances[]
- Video Games
- Referenced only
- Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 James Wyatt et al. (August 2023). Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants. Edited by Janica Carter et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 29. ISBN 978-0-7869-6898-5.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Ray Winninger (September 1995). Giantcraft. Edited by Karen S. Boomgarden. (TSR, Inc.), pp. 34–35. ISBN 0-7869-0163-2.
- ↑ James Wyatt et al. (August 2023). Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants. Edited by Janica Carter et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 27. ISBN 978-0-7869-6898-5.
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 Carl Sargent (May 1992). Monster Mythology. (TSR, Inc), p. 79. ISBN 1-5607-6362-0.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Colin McComb (October 1996). On Hallowed Ground. Edited by Ray Vallese. (TSR, Inc.), p. 175. ISBN 0-7869-0430-5.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 Tuque Games (2020). Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Colin McComb (December 1995). “Liber Malevolentiae”. In Michele Carter ed. Planes of Conflict (TSR, Inc.), pp. 11–12. ISBN 0-7869-0309-0.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Carl Sargent (May 1992). Monster Mythology. (TSR, Inc), pp. 73–74. ISBN 1-5607-6362-0.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Jeff Grubb, Bruce R. Cordell, David Noonan (September 2001). Manual of the Planes 3rd edition. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 104–105. ISBN 0-7869-1850-8.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Colin McComb (December 1995). “Liber Malevolentiae”. In Michele Carter ed. Planes of Conflict (TSR, Inc.), p. 20. ISBN 0-7869-0309-0.
- ↑ Ray Winninger (September 1995). Giantcraft. Edited by Karen S. Boomgarden. (TSR, Inc.), p. 42. ISBN 0-7869-0163-2.
- ↑ Mike Mearls, et al. (November 2016). Volo's Guide to Monsters. Edited by Jeremy Crawford, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 29. ISBN 978-0786966011.
- ↑ Eric L. Boyd (November 1998). Demihuman Deities. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), p. 49. ISBN 0-7869-1239-1.
- ↑ Mike Mearls, Stephen Schubert, James Wyatt (June 2008). Monster Manual 4th edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 110. ISBN 978-0-7869-4852-9.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood, Eric L. Boyd (1996). Volo's Guide to All Things Magical. (TSR, Inc), p. 95. ISBN 0-7869-0446-1.
- ↑ Troy Denning (September 1995). The Titan of Twilight. (TSR, Inc.), chap. 16. ISBN 0-7869-3798-X.