Kyuss (Greyhawk)
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| Greyhawk Deity | |
|---|---|
| Kyuss | |
| Title(s) | The Wormgod, the Bonemaster, the Herald of the Age of Worms |
| Home Plane | Prime Material |
| Power Level | Demigod |
| Alignment | Neutral Evil |
| Portfolio | Creation and Mastery of the Undead |
| Domains | Death, Destruction, Evil, Corruption |
| Superior | Nerull |
In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Kyuss (pronounced kai-OOSS) is a demigod concerned with the Creation and Mastery of the Undead. Known as the Bonemaster, the Wormgod, and the Herald of the Age of Worms, his symbol is a skull erupting with writhing green worms.
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[edit] Publishing history
The sons of Kyuss, now referred to as spawn of Kyuss, were an iconic monster in the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game before the story of Kyuss was fleshed out. Kyuss was described as "an evil high priest who created the first of these creatures, via a special curse, under instruction from an evil deity" within their creature description in the original Fiend Folio AD&D hardcover book.
Hints at his origins were soon added in Rary the Traitor, when sons of Kyuss were said to be contained in the Necropolis of Unaagh, a cursed city of Sulm inhabited by undead. This was made more conspicuous since any of the contained undead that "move or are carried even a few yards from its buildings collapse into inanimate heaps of bone." This is suggested in the work to be the possible consequence of an ancient curse. That makes the creator of the undead ancient as well, painting Kyuss as once having been a high priest in Sulm.
Later, in Iuz the Evil the home of the "infamous evil priest Kyuss" was claimed to have been the Wormcrawl Fissure, a "mile-long ravine away from the main body of the Rift Canyon."
[edit] History
Once a human priest of Nerull in the Flan kingdom of Sulm, Kyuss escaped that realm shortly before its destruction by fleeing to the Amedio Jungle, when he gained many followers. Kyuss later went to the Spire of Long Shadows, where he sacrificed all of his followers to achieve hero-deityhood. Prior to this, he had sacrificed artifacts of great power, as well as living souls to Nerull in order to gain his favor. When he finally did ascend, there was a small problem with his transformation: he became trapped in the same obelisk with which he channeled his power. It is speculated that Nerull, not wanting to be challenged, even slightly, flawed the ritual somewhat, thus leading to Kyuss' imprisonment.
Even during his imprisonment, he gained following from some very powerful followers. Dragotha, a wyrm red dragon, was allowed by Kyuss to attain the form of a dracolich. Following this, Dragotha was bound to serve Kyuss, and in the process became his herald. Another draconic follower of Kyuss is Lashonna, a vampiric silver dragon.
Kyuss is responsible for the creation of the spawn of Kyuss, also known as sons of Kyuss, though these are said to be the least powerful of his creations. He is also believed to be responsible for the creation of the avolakia, ulgurstasta, hounds of Kyuss, and the worm that walks. Collectively, his creations are known as wormspawn.
Kyuss is the force behind the establishment of the Ebon Triad, as revealed in the Age of Worms Adventure path.
[edit] Influence on popular culture
Rock band Kyuss, originally Sons of Kyuss, took their name from the character.[1]
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. Kyuss Biography. All Music. Retrieved on 2007-07-04.
[edit] References
- Baur, Wolfgang. "A Gathering of Winds." Dungeon #129 (Paizo Publishing, 2005).
- Bulmahn, Jason. "The Hall of Harsh reflection." Dungeon #127 (Paizo Publishing, 2005).
- 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]
- Decker, Jesse. "The Spire of Long Shadows." Dungeon #130 (Paizo Publishing, 2006).
- Decker, Jesse. "Worm Bound: The Secrets of Kyuss." Dragon #343 (Paizo Publishing, 2006).
- Jacobs, James. "Into the Wormcrawl Fissure." Dungeon #134 (Pazio Publishing, 2006).
- Jacobs, James. "The Ecology of the Spawn of Kyuss." Dragon #336 (Paizo Publishing, 2005).
- Leati, Tito. "The Champion's Belt." Dungeon #128 (Paizo Publishing, 2006).
- Leati, Tito. "Dawn of a New Age." Dungeon #135 (Paizo Publishing, 2006).
- Logue, Nicholas. "The Library of Last resort." Dungeon #132 (Paizo Publishing, 2006).
- Mearls, Mike. "The Three Faces of Evil. Dungeon #125 (Paizo Publishing, 2005).
- Mona, Erik. Age of Worms Overload (Paizo Publishing, 2005). [2]
- Mona, Erik. "Backdrop: Diamond Lake." Dungeon #124 (Paizo Publishing, 2005).
- Mona, Erik. "The Whispering Cairn." Dungeon #124 (Paizo Publishing, 2005).
- Pett, Richard. "The Prince of Redhand." Dungeon #131 (Paizo Publishing, 2006).
- Reynolds, Sean K. "Encounter at Blackwall Keep." Dungeon #126 (Paizo Publishing, 2005).
- Reynolds, Sean K, Frederick Weining, and Erik Mona. "Blood of Heroes." Living Greyhawk Journal #3 (Paizo Publishing, 2001).
- Sargent, Carl. Iuz the Evil (TSR, 1993).
- Pryor, Anthony. Rary the Traitor (TSR, 1992).
- Breault, Mike. Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix (TSR, 1990).
