Hastur (3.5e Deity)
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| Greater Deity | |
|---|---|
| Symbol: | A yellow book with a bleeding crown on the cover. |
| Home Plane: | The Far Plane |
| Alignment: | Lawful Evil |
| Portfolio: | |
| Clergy Alignments: | Lawful/Neutral Evil |
| Domains: | Air, Creativity, Evil, Art, Madness and Domination |
| Favored Weapon: | The Yellow Lash(Whip) |
- Title
The King In Yellow, The Unspeakable
The half brother of Cthulhu is very much awake. Hastur is constantly aware of the world and the things around him and he is a jealous god, so much to the point that he has been called the 'unspeakable' by those who know of him, but not many do. It is said that to summon him all one needs to do is speak his name. Hastur is always listening and there is at least a 50% chance he will appear to those who say his name in his humanoid avatar. Hastur is a god of the far realm, but unlike the rest of his kind he is more of a muse than a destroyer. It is said some of the greatest stories ever written are inspired by Hastur by those who know the darkness and it's wicked ways. Hastur presents a special kind of challenge, If knowledge is power, none know more than the King in Yellow if the stories are to be believed.
Dogma[edit]
Hastur encourages a lust for power in all beings, a lust for fame and a dark kind of madness known only as perfection. The bleak god is a eternal wellspring of seemingly simple ideas. He appears to the creative and the talented who just can't seem to catch a break. Hastur freely shares ideas with people to those willing to listen. His ideas for stories are infectious. An afflicted writer will write their black novel, fill it with horror and madness that usually only makes sense to them. Sometimes these black books will form new kinds of spells. These spells will almost always open portals directly into the far realm to weaken the barriers of reality just enough to spread a bit more chaos. Hastur believes that the strong should not only rule the weak, but make the weak love their rulers no matter how terrible anyone from the outside may see them. Dominstion is attractive, followers who create stories get fans. These fans will live in the tales the writer creates and their devotion to the madness only makes Hastur stronger, for worship of one of his ideas is the same as direct worship to the King in Yellow. Hastur does not drive people mad, the ideas he gives them does that. Simplicity is the key to destruction.
Clergy and Temples[edit]
Hastur's temples are few and far between in the Material world. Hastur's worshipers are consumed with the collection of ancient and forbidden tomes, transcribing them and mostly trying to release them back into the public in local libraries and leaving them in places they will be easily found. The most common book of Hastur's order is the book called 'The King In Yellow' It is less a book and more a fictional play about the destruction of a village by some unknown destructive force. Most of these books are enchanted with a mild addiction hex that makes anyone who begins reading it want to read it unto the bitter end, if a reader reaches the end they will know Hastur's name and feel empty. This the main method of recruitment for Hastur's Order.
Hastur's temples are plain buildings or simple cabins on the surface, but the ones that do exist in the far corners move underground and sometimes contain vast libaries of terrible secrets. Hastur's 'priests' if they can be called that are more like curators of muesums and they are always teaching spells to the followers of their dark god. The followers of Hastur are usually adept magic users of an evil alignment and smart enough to hide in plain sight. It is estimated that there are at least three active Cults of the King in every major populated area at any given time, sometimes they disguise themselves as healers. Any money they get goes straight to the Order to fund their search for more ancient secrets.
Those who know about the old ones and their terrible agendss try their best to always be on the look out for the order, any copies of the book or if they get lucky enough a temple. The ancient secrets could tear the world into pieces and those who fight the darkness know this. Hastur protects what is his and it is said that vast libraries can be transported in a moment's notice to escape being destroyed.
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