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The Shattered Castle

Information

• Name: Cyric

• Titles: Prince of Lies, Prince of Madness, the Dark Sun, the Black Sun, the Mad God, Lord of the Three Crowns.

• Status: Greater Power of Pandemonium.

• Alignment: Chaotic Evil.

• Portfolio: Murder, Strife, Lies, Intrigue, Deception, Illusion, Insanity.

• Aliases: Leira, N'asr (Anauroch, among the Bedine), Bane, Bhaal, Myrkul, Cyruk (among ex-Myrkulytes).

• Domain Name: Cocytus/Shattered Castle.

• Superior: None.

• Alies: None.

• Foes: Mystra, Kelemvor, Oghma, Azuth, Mask, Tyr, Torm, Deneir, Leira, Iyachtu Xvim, and many others.

• Symbol: A white skull (sans jawbone) on a dark purple or black sunburst.

• Worshippers' Align.: LN, N, CN, LE, CE, NE.

Cyric (SEER-ick) is a god born of the events of the Time of Troubles. He gained his portfolio of power from many old evil gods, such as Bane, Bhaal, and Myrkul, though he's also taken over the portfolios of other gods he's killed. His power base is immense , and he is one of the three greater powers of evil in Faerun. The destruction of Zhentil Keep, along with many of the rest of the woes of Faerun, may be laid at his feet.

Cyric had created an artifact known as the Cyrinishad in an effort to gain complete control over Faerun. Any being (including gods) who is unfortunate enough to read it's pages becomes bound into believeing that Cyric is the most important being in the universe, exceeding all others. They subsequintly become devout followers of Cyric, as they believe nothing happens without his direct intervention. No being can ever be immune to the effects of the Cyrinishad. Hearing the pages read causes the same effects.

Cyric was the first to read the Cyrinishad (which was scribed by a bard named Rinda) and as a result, was the first to be driven mad by it. While he was insane his church suffered noticeably, as the clergy were constantly at each other's throats, and he was brought up on charges of neglecting his duty as a god by Tempus (after some urging by Mask). He did however manage to drive Mystra's patriarch, Adon, completely insane, leading to him killing himself, as well as destroying the love between Mystra and Kelemvor.

Cyric's witness, a man named Malik, was supposed to recover the Cyrinishad in time for the trial so that he could read it before the assembled gods, making them Cyric's slaves. During the course of his quest he heard of another book, The True Life of Cyric, that had the opposite effects of the Cyrinishad, as it told Cyric's truthful story. From his birth in Zhentil Keep to his rise to godhood. He decided to recover this book instead in the hope that it would cure his beloved god of his insanity. It did. Now Cyric is more dangerous than ever.

Cyric's Personality

Cyric is petty and quite self-centered. He enjoys tricking and misleading both well-meaning and corrupt individuals and then revealing his deceit when they have made some fatal mistake in judgement or taken a personally devastating course of action that will ruin their lives. His favorite libation is the tears of disillusioned dreamers and broken-hearted lovers, which he drinks from a silver chalice encrusted with tiny rubies in the shape of sundered hearts. Cyric also deeply hates the other gods, most especially Mystra and Kelemvor.

Abilities of Forgotten Realms Dieties

• Portfolios: Every power has certain topics, things, ideas, and emotions over which it has domain. Powers are often stronger when acting within areas of under thier domain.

• Immortality: All deities are immortal and do not age. The only way a power can die is through special circumstances. The usual way a deity dies is through combat with a deity of higher stature.

• Teleportation: Deities posessess the inate ability to teleport to any point on the same plane. They can do this at will and without any chance of error.

• Initiative: When dealing with mortals, all powers always have the initiative. Of course, they can simply choose to wait and see what the mortals opt to do, but they may always act first if they desire.

• Communication: All deities understand and can speak any language.It is assumed that this includes written and spoken languages as well as other more unusual forms of communication such as the scent language of the saurials. All powers can speak directly and secretly to any being across any void and through any physical or mystical barrier. The power transcends the bounds of space and planes, but not (as a rule) time.

• Magic Use: All deities may use any spell of any level. This includes the spells of priests and wizards and does not require the use of spellbooks, prayers, or material, verbal, or somatic components. In short, invoking such powers requires the slightest act of will on the part of these incredibly powerful beings. They may also invent new spells or try to improve spell variations in the blink of an eye.

• Immunities: It takes a +1 or better magical weapon to be able to damage a demipower or lesser power, +2 or better to be able to damage an intermediate power, and a +3 or better magical item to be able to damage a greater power. All powers are immune to any sort of magic that would automatically kill them if they fail a saving throw, that would instantly kill them with no saving throw, that would disintegrate them, or that would drain energy or life levels. They are immune to the powers of all glyphs and symbols, which do nothing to them except attract thier attention. They are also immune to all psionic abilities not practiced by a divine being, and even then they are immune to psionic abilities used by deities of lower rank than themselves.

• Granted Abilities: Powers can grant any ability or spell of any level to their priests that does not exceed thier own capabilities. It is through this ability that deities give priests, paladins, and rangers thier magical powers and spells. Note that only powers and beings of quasidivine status can grant spells.

Abilities of Greater Powers

In addition to the abilities detailed above, greater powers can do practically anything. They stand at the top of the pyramid of deific power, and thier resources are nearly limitless.

• Shapeshifting: Greater powers can transform themselves into any object, animate or inanimate, of any size. In some cases, beings of this status have been known to assume planetary proportions.

• Magic Resistance: Greater powers are 100% resistant to mortal magics, 75% resistant to magic of deities of lesser rank, and 50% resistant to the spells of other greater powers.

• Saving Throws: All greater powers are assumed to automatically make all saving throws required of them. This is a reflection of thier great abilities, mental powers, and physical stamina.

• Planar Travel: Just as they can teleport across space without error, so can they travel between the various planes of existance at will. These powerful beings cannot, however, travel to the Prime Material Plane.

• Sensing Ability: These beings are pracically omniscient. They always know what is going on on the entire plane they inhabit and the planes that any of thier allies, worshippers, or holy objects are currecntly on. They also know what is happening on the plane that anyone or anything that speaks one of thier names or titles is on for a year after the name is spoken. In many cases, they can accurately predict the precise actions of mortals and other deities based on thier vast knowledge. Unfortunately, this sensing ability can be blocked by the concious effort of powers of equal stature.

• Creation: Greater Powers can create any object, animate or inanimate, they can think of. This process is draining however, since they are converting thier own energy stores into physical objects. Therefore, the deity must rest for one turn per ton of mass he or she wishes to manifest.

• Life and Death: Greater powers can kill any living mortal creature with but a thought. Likewise, they can bestow life upon any slain mortal being anywhere. Of course, another greater god can reverse these effects immediately if so desired.

• Multitasks: Greater Powers can perform any number of tasks at once. Of course, natural limitations based on thier current physical form may apply, but there is never a penalty on thier actions due to complexity.

• Avatars: Greater powers can employ up to 10 avatars at a time, moving them between planes at will. If one is destroyed, they require one day to make another.

Cyrc's Avatar

(Thief: 35, Mage: 21, Cleric: 20, Fighter: 8)

Cyric has most often appeared on Faerun as a slim man with blazing dark eyes and chalk-white skin who speaks caustically and sarcastically, and acts duplicitously but with firm purpose. He uses spells from any sphere or school, but typically refuses to have his avatar raise dead, reincarnate, or resurrect anyone. Illusion/Phantasm spells cast by Cyric are at triple normal effect and incur a -3 penalty to saving throws against them.

• AC: -6
• MV: 15
• HP: 204
• THAC0: 3
• #AT: 2/1
• Dmg: 1d10 (each fist)
• MR: 70%
• SZ: L (10ft)

**NOTE: THAC0 & AC are set. Avatars recieve no "to hit" bonuses for Strength or magical items/weapons, though they do recieve damage bonuses. Thier fists are considered +5 weapons for purposes of determining what they can hit. Any armor they wear is for show.

• Str: 23
  • Hit Prob: +5, Damage: +11, Weight Allowed: 935lbs, Max Press: 1,130lbs, Open Doors: 18(16), Bend Bars/Lift Gates: 90%, Cloud Giant
• Dex: 21
  • Reaction Adj: +4, Missile Attack Adj: +4, AC: -5
• Con: 21
  • HP Adj: +2(+6), System Shock: 99%, Resurrection: 100%, Poison Save: +2, Regeneration: 1/5 turns
• Int: 17
  • # of Languages: 6, Spell Lvl: 8th, Chance to Learn Spell: 75%, Max # Spells/Lvl: 14, Spell Immunity: Nil
• Wis: 16
  • Magic Def. Adj: +2, Bonus Spells: 2nd Lvl, Chance of Spell Failure: 0%, Spell Immunity: Nil
• Cha: 21
  • Max # Henchmen: 30, Loyalty Base: +14, Reaction Adj: +10

**NOTE: Many of the limitations placed on normal charectors based on thier abilities do not apply to avatars. (ex. Max # spells/level, Level of spells he can learn, Dexterity AC bonus, etc. ).

Spells:

• Priest: 11/11/9/8/7/5/2
• Wizard: 5/5/5/5/5/4/4/4/2

Saving Throws

• Paralyzation, Poison, or Death Magic: 2
• Rod, Staff, or Wand: 3
• Petrification or Polymorph: 5
• Breath Weapon: 7
• Spell: 4

Special Attacks/Defenses

• Cyric can alter his appearance to that of any person, creature, or diety almost instantly.

• He can instill madness with a touch of his hand as the 5th level wizard spell feeblemind, but his victims recieve no Wisdom adjustments and get a -3 penalty to the saving throw vs. spell needed to avoid the effect.

• He is uneffected by Illusion/Phantasm spells or illusionary effects of any kind.

• He is uneffected by fear and emotion-effecting magic or by charm-type magics and spells.

• Undead creatures will act neither for him nor against him, ignoring his presence, though he can create them through the normal methods.

• Cyric's avatar also has all of the special attacks and defenses Leira's avatar had. They are listed as follows:

• Cyric's avatar can cast all Illusion/Phantasm spells as if double level (i.e. as 42nd level mage).

• He automatically, unconsciously, and constantly negates all immunities to illusions and other spells caused by high Intelligence or Wisdom ability scores within a 360ft radius of him (even the immunities of other deities, although they still recieve ther magic resistance and any applicable saving throws).

• In addition to being able to cast any two spells in a round he doesn't physically attack, he can also cast an illusion/phantasm spell.

• He can cast one Illusion/Phantasm spell each round, even if the normal number of spells he can cast per day has been expended.

• The illusions he casts are always perfect.

• He is never fooled by illusion or any sort of magic that decieves the senses, maskes one form with another, or attempts to render something undetectable or invisible.

• He can shapeshift into any form he wishes and use both the complete capabilities of the assumed form as well as his own abilities.

• He can fly in any form at MV: 24

• Can assume the form of a cloud of mist that drifts about at up to MV: 24.

• He is totally immune to Illusion/Phantasm spells, even those created by other deities.

• He is immune t all charm and hold effects of any sort.

• All attacks are made against him as if he were wearing a Cloak of Displacement.

Miscellaneous Items

• Vorpal Longsword +3: standard vorpal longsword.
  • Melee Weapon: THAC0: 3, Att/Rnd: 2/1, Dmg Sm&Med/Lg: 1d8+16/1d12+16

• Short Sword of Wounding +1: standard short sword of wounding aside from the following ability: on a successful hit against an opponent of good alignment, the victim must save vs. spell or be paralyzed for 1d4 rounds.
  • Melee Weapon: THAC0: 3, Att/Rnd: 2/1, Dmg Sm&Med/Lg: 1d6+14/1d8+14

• Venomous Daggers of Throwing: these daggers are +5 for purposes of determining what they can hit. They can be weilded in combat or thrown with no penalty. They constantly drip with a black, ichor-like venom that kills mortals unless a save vs. poison is made. It stuns dieties unless they save vs. poison. (demipower: 1d6 rounds, lesser power: 1d4 rounds, intermediate power: 1d3 rounds, greater power: 1 round).
  • Melee: THAC0: 3, Att/Rnd: 2/1, Dmg Sm&Med/Lg: 1d4+13/1d3+13
  • Missile: THAC0: 3, Att/Rnd: 4/1, Dmg Sm&Med/Lg: 1d4+13/1d3+13

• Venomous Darts: these are +3 weapons for determining what they can hit. They stun mortals for 1d4 rounds on a successful hit if a save vs. poison isn't made.
  • Missile: THAC0: 3, Att/Rnd: 5/1, Dmg Sm&Med/Lg: 1d3+13/1d2+13

• Amulet of Misdirection:
  • Wearing this item will cause all detection spells to give false information - to the benefit of the wearer. It functions in all ways as the second level wizard spell misdirection with the exception of the following changes:
    • There is no saving throw vs. its effects. The misdirection is automatic.
    • Unlike the spell, the amulet affects all divination spells (know alignment, augury, ESP, clairvoyance, etc.), giving the caster of these spells a false answer agaisnt the ring wearer.

**NOTE: unless otherwise stated, weapons used by Cyric's avatar are black, make no noise, reflect no light, and are immune to rust.

Other Manifestations

Cyric prefers to haunt the dreams of his worshippers as a bloody wraith or manifest as a cloud of poisonous smoke before his enemies rather than sending an avatar. He sometimes manifests as a sudden gloom containing the phantom images of whirling human skulls - and the dark, intent gaze of two black eyes. At other times he sends nightmares or various undead creatures to do his bidding or show his favor or displeasure. Cyric is not above masquerading as another deity to gain the worship of mortals and the power derived from that worship.

Links

The Church of the One True Way
Affiliated Orders
The City of Strife (cool site)