Beltar

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Greyhawk Deity

Beltar
Title(s)	The Dark Mother
Home Plane	Tarterian Depths of Carceri
Power Level	Lesser
Alignment	Chaotic Evil (Chaotic Neutral)
Portfolio	Malice, Caves, Pits
Domains	Chaos, Earth, Evil, War
Alias(es)	none
Superior	none

In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Beltar is the Suel goddess of Malice, Caves, and Pits. She was formerly a goddess of earth and mines, but was supplanted by other Suel gods until her only worshippers were nonhuman slaves. It is perhaps for this reason that Jascar is one of her greatest enemies. She hates nearly everything, even other deities. She will often take mates in her various forms, but few survive, as she eats them afterward, as well as any young born from such a union.

[edit] Description

Though often depicted as a haglike human female, Beltar is known to also appear as a beholder, red dragon, or marilith. Some regard the later form as a likely cause of rumors of the existence of a Suloise snake-cult.

[edit] Clergy and temples

Beltar's holy symbol is a set of opened fangs poised to bite. Her followers are encouraged to mine and explore caverns for riches and foes to kill. Her followers are mostly savage humans and evil nonhumans. Beltar encourages her followers to join together in great armies and ally themselves with beholders, demons, red dragons, liches, and other powerful creatures.

Beltar's priests preach hatred of one's enemies, rather than fear. They are expected to take positions of leadership in their tribes, or to form their own. The priesthood makes examples of the weak-willed and traitors. They usually fight with their natural weapons, cesti, or spiked gauntlets. Devoted priests, within a year of their deaths, often rise from the grave as undead, often return to their original tribes.

Services to Beltar are usually held in caves or points of low ground, and often involve sacrifice of sentient beings. Beltar is worshipped in the Bone March, the Pomarj, Stonehold, and even in Erelhei-Cinlu.

[edit] References

Brown, Anne. Player's Guide (TSR, 1998).

Conforti, Steven, ed. Living Greyhawk Official Listing of Deities for Use in the Campaign, version 2.0 (Wizards of the Coast, 2005). Available online: [1]