The Enemy (5e Deity)
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The Adversary[edit]
Alignment. chaotic evil
Domains. Arcana, Death, Knowledge, Trickery
Divine Rank. Lesser Deity
The Adversary, although he only bears the power of a lesser deity, lies behind the masks of all deities (except the Most High). His network of evil is extensive and varied, but his origins are surprising to most people.
Fall From Grace The Adversary started out as the Most High's top-ranking captain and music leader, He was sort of a one-man band himself, with "organ pipes" in his chest. However, pride grew in his heart, and he began to be inflamed with a desire to ascend into the place of the Most High and to become like him. One day, the Adversary finally announced his ambitions, and some of the Most High's angels decided to join him. However, they were all created beings, and the Most High wasn't. When the Adversary and the traitorous angels rebelled, the Most High took their bodies, and they degenerated to demonic spirits. To this day, the Adversary continues his relentless but futile campaign to topple his former Lord.
Nefarious Tactics A time will come when the Most High casts the Adversary and his angels into eternal torment, so the Adversary's ultimate goal is to bring as many souls as possible under his grip. He does this through a variety of ways. For example, every deity (even the good-aligned ones) other than the Most High is in truth a tool used by the Adversary to blind people to the truth that the Most High offers. The latter allows the Adversary to advance evil schemes only because he wants everybody to have a choice, for one cannot truly love and follow the Most High unless other options exist. One of the Adversary's favorite tactics is the teaching that the Most High's Book must be interpreted symbolically, and that the Adversary himself is a myth.
Worshippers Many people worship the Adversary, most of them unwittingly. Deities such as Shiva, Pan, Set, Cernunnos, and Apollo are in truth either the Adversary himself or one of the traitorous angels posing as someone else. Some honor the Adversary knowingly, and use symbols such as the inverted pentagram and the trapezoid in their rites. The Order of the Trapezoid is a headstone of these groups, and its members excel in infiltration and magic (both divine and arcane).
The "New Age" Recently, a couple of arcanists have started a movement that honors the Adversary (although only its top members know it) and emphasizes the need for a New Age of spiritual and magical enlightenment. One of its side groups, the Ghostly Guild, is the leading producer of fake versions of the Most High's Book, such as the "New Multiverse Standard Version" and the "Revised Standard Version".
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