Lugscar
Blind Rager; Eyebiter; Old Painless
Symbol: An umber-colored broken spear
Home Plane: Acheron
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Cleric Alignments: Chaotic Neutral, Neutral Evil, Chaotic Evil
Portfolio: brutality, savagery, force, hatred, barbarism, bigotry
Worshipers: Barbarians, warriors, orcs, goblinoids, evil giants, rage-driven beastfolk
Domains: Chaos, Darkness, Destruction (Rage), Evil, Orc, Strength (Ferocity)
Favored Weapon: Greataxe
Physical Description:
A massive, hulking figure with skin the color of a days-old bruise, and a tangled mass of tentacled dreadlocks dangling around his toothy-face, Lugscar is a horror to behold. What is most horrible about him, though, is the blank metal mask that obscures the upper part of his face, including his eyes. While this is rather awful in itself, it is made even moreso by Lugscar's lack of need for such foolish notions as sight; he seems completely unhindered by any lack of senses, able to function with ruthless, brutal ability. Not that it really makes much difference in the end to Old Painless: as far as he is concerned, the only thing he really needs are foes to fight or objects to destroy, and when one has no friends and no property outside of what comes to hand, these are very easy things to find. Unlike many gods, Lugscar has no female form, holding firmly to a male shape at all times, and using his male nature as much like a weapon as any other part of him.
Description of Nature, Personality, and Dogma:
Lugscar is a brutal creature, a being without morals, principles, or scruples. The only thing that interests Lugscar is strength, and more importantly the brutality to use that strength for destruction and rapine activity. This god isn't even focused on war, since that would imply some semblence of orderliness or strategy in his thinking, but rather on the carnage and annihilation that result from battle. Creatures that follow him are lured by his dogma that might makes right, which is more than simply a phrase, but rather a holy mantra for Lugscar and his worshipers. For them, the world makes sense only when you have a foe to fight or some other object of your hatred against which you can focus your efforts. While Lugscar is not a god of courage, and so has nothing against his followers fleeing battle, he does consider it disgraceful to even consider the notion of peace in any fashion. Even when Lugscar's followers are not actively battling, they are expected to always be in a state of preparation for battle. Lugscar is also noted as the most chauvinistically male of all the gods, regarding females as useful for little other than amusement, chattel, and the breeding of strong warriors, though he and his worshipers make exceptions to this general rule for females who are able to repeatedly demonstrate a ferocity and nature that matches those of males; females who are able to fit this role are often treated like males by cultures that worship Lugscar as their primary deity, and never allowed to have children so long as they wish to maintain their warrior status.
Clergy, Places of Worship, Important Rituals, and Servitor Races:
All of the clerics of Lugscar must be male, without exception. Commonly, Lugscar recognizes two primary roles in any tribe of his worshipers: the chieftan and the shaman. The chieftan is the strongest fighter, the leader of the hordes, while the shaman is the smartest fighter, a strategist and the power behind the throne. Demonstrating cunning as well as skill in battle from an early age is a sure way to attain the role of shaman, and Lugscar recognizes his clerics by making their eyes bleed in battle and whenever they use his offered spells. The first time a newly-chosen cleric's eyes bleed, usually accompanied by a spontaneous casting of useful spells in battle, is when that cleric is recognized as one of Lugscar's chosen and can start to pray to him for spells.
In the heat of summer is Lugscar's holy day, on the shortest night of the year. This is the Night of Eyebite, the night when Lugscar's worshipers festively string trees and rocks with the entrails of their foes and have a general feast and celebration (often engaging in cannibalism and eating other sentient flesh in the process). The point of this ritual is to celebrate the slaughter to take place in the rest of the year, and to pray for a return of the darkness and long nights that Lugscar loves so well.
Most violence-minded demons and daemons will eagerly side with Lugscar, sensing in him a kindred spirit in destruction. He is often served by extraplanar giants, especially the demon princes of the ogres and trolls and occasionally minotaurs.
History and Relations:
Lugscar is wrath incarnate, born of the fury and rage of the primordial world, given shape first as a titan, and then as a god. That Lugscar happened to side with the gods seems, as far as anyone can tell, to have been a matter of chance, leading many to suspect Paradox's involvement in the matter. As always, of course, the jester of the gods never gives any straight answers. If the truth must be known, Lugscar has no real friends among the gods, though he does occasionally have allies, and has a few notable relations. Among the few with whom Lugscar is able to work with some degree of success are Harrow and Salamander, with whom he often shares similar goals; Tiamat and Bellakadina, who both consider him a useful if dangerous tool, while he considers them as sources for occasional sex and easy information on good targets for him to destroy next; and Sin Eater, who, while more complicated than Lugscar is able to appreciate properly, is nevertheless often involved in similar matters, and is also the one who directly sponsored Lugscar's ascension to full godhood, and is a regular confidant of the Blind Rager, who seldom speaks with anyone, and hence Sin Eater is as close to a friend as Lugscar has. The Morrigan and Lugscar have an especially complicated relationship, as the Morrigan regards Lugscar as an erring and woefully immature child, consumed with only one aspect of her more overarching nature, while Lugscar thinks of the Morrigan as the parent figure that he must destroy in order to take her place. Naturally, Lugscar does little that does not provide the Morrigan with still more power and influence, ensuring that all of his efforts will eventually prove futile.
Favored Offerings and Justifications for Direct Intervention:
"Blood for the blood god" is a saying often used in referring to Lugscar, and it is a truism, as this is his most prized offering. The blood of mighty warriors is his favorite offering, especially warriors captured in battle and sacrificed in a fashion that humiliates them before a great crowd. He is also pleased by offerings of ravens or crows slain on his altars, as a challenge to the Morrigan to offer greater battles to fight.
Lugscar is little interested in the affairs of mortals: he feels that he gave them the strength and savagery they needed to survive long enough to be able to fight, and if they cannot make use of these gifts properly through personal weakness or some other defect, then he cares little for their fates. Because of this, Lugscar does not trouble himself listening to the prayers of his worshipers under most circumstances. However, while Lugscar is not interested in granting favors to his worshipers, he is a proud deity, and can be flattered into making his presence known to his followers. This generally requires a special ritual requiring the wings of a raven or crow (as an insult to the Morrigan), the eyes and genitals of an enemy (who may or may not still be alive at the time they are collected), soil soaked thoroughly in the blood of battle (and there are some lands where the soil is naturally like this), and the offering of a willing sacrifice who must be gutted and then burned while still alive, remaining willing the entire time (and which can be the worshiper seeking Lugscar's favor). If this ritual is successful, Lugscar may empower a small number of warriors with the fighting ability of an army, or may raise an army of undead warriors friendly to the worshiper who summoned them, or may unleash darkness and killing panic on the enemy of the ones who summoned Lugscar's favor. Because of its exacting requirements, and also because of the devotion required, this ritual is not done often, though it has laid low several great armies on those occasions when it has been used.