Ravanna was the god of the rakshasa race, a ten-headed lesser deity that epitomized their virtues of manipulative tyranny and indulgent malice.[1]
Personality[]
Ravanna was both diabolical and decadent, a massive egotist that demanded only the best and ruled with both subtlety and opulence. He was a cruel, demanding master whose tower complexes were unfathomably ornate, constructed of precious metals and decorated with wickedly awesome artistry. His vanity was as great as his conniving intelligence and predatory patience.[1]
Activities[]
Ravanna's clergy was run like a combination of criminal syndicate and sinister cult, constantly driven to subjugate and expand their influence without ever revealing it.[1]
Relationships[]
Ravanna's non-rakshasa allies consisted of the inquisitory osyluths and capricious hellcats, both of which he sent to answer planar ally requests.[1]
Worshipers[]
There were few willing priests of Ravanna and a similar number that knew of him refused service when requested. He assessed clerical candidates based on their abilities and his current goals, with those that denied his call being subject to divine retribution or the wrath of the powerful, preexisting priests he had sent to fetch them in the first place. Such a priest was the five-headed herald Loliadac, a maharajah with the heads of an ape, crocodile, human, mantis and tiger. As the longarm of Ravanna he was tasked with marching an army of Ravanna's servitors throughout the Plane of Shadow, Material Plane and Acheron on quests of vengeance.[1]
Rituals[]
Although his temples were typically elaborate their were incredibly few as opposed to the personal, exquisitely made shrines he mandated his worshipers to carry around. Despite being well-made they were also portable and easily concealable so that his followers could bring them to their dinner areas and worship him. Daily sacrifices of blood and wealth were to be made with the worshiper's bare hands, rakshasa or otherwise. Prayers to Ravanna were equal parts denigrating and sycophantic, being long, obsequious praises of their master that painted the devotee as unworthy and pitiful.[1]
History[]
At some point, the weretiger Jahed wandered into some ruins while exploring a jungle; when he fell asleep in the ruins, he found himself in a dream with Ravanna, the god to whom the temple-ruins had been sacred. Ravanna charged him with hunting down and destroying the rakshasa Arijani, a son of Ravanna who had become a traitor to his people. Impressed by the god's power, Jahed enthusiastically agreed and vowed not to die before he killed Arijani. When Jahed awoke, he found himself in the domain of Sri Raji.[2]
Appendix[]
External Links[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Eric Cagle (December 2004). “The Ecology of the Rakshasa”. In Matthew Sernett ed. Dragon #326 (Paizo Publishing, LLC), pp. 66–70.
- ↑ William W. Connors (1996). Monstrous Compendium - Ravenloft Appendices I & II. (TSR, Inc.), p. 99. ISBN 0786903929.