D&D,  RPG

Mythology Monday: Woan, Accursed of Madness

Woan is the first Accursed, in any manner, that I am going to be detailing to any great degree, so I’ll have to first set some ground rules

The Accursed are just as powerful as the gods. They were once counted among the gods in their own rights, but had to flee to the realm of the Demon Queen after the Dark Pact in order to survive. in addition, not all the Accursed are evil. They have made a pact with a great evil, so few of them are definitively good, but it was done for what they thought was legitimate reasons. The accursed also foster cults in their name. These small cults have to be extremely secretive about their nature, as they are rooted out when discovered. The Accursed, though, tend to be more actively involved in the cult than the gods, as they have so few worshipers and agents to bring to the Iron Marches to fight on their side.

Woan, Accursed of Madness

Other Titles: He of Many Faces, Tomelord, The Dread Voice

Alignment: CN

Weapon: Twin Flail

Cultist Attire/colors:
Traditional Cultists of Woan favor a deep maroon robe with long, flowing sleeves and hoods and a mask divided into three distinct, unique sections. Each cultist chooses their own trio with which to make their mask. Once the mask is donned, that is the face of the cultist to all other cultists. Many times they are combination animal, humanoid and some form of the cultists personal creation.

Major Domains: Lost Knowledge,  Madness

Minor Domains:  Truth, Oracles, Suicide, Deformity

Totem Animal: Moth

 Holy Symbol: Woan has no specific holy symbol, and his cults, much like each cultist, each create a unique and specific three part mask symbol to represent him.

Favored Appearances: Woan very rarely wanders the earth, instead he will make his way into lost and unclaimed libraries and temples seeking for knowledge long lost and buried. When doing this he favors a stout yet deformed dwarf, with one eye much larger than the other, a club foot and an arm that ends in a single, grasping digit. He is hairless, covered in warts and boils, and looks to have never bathed.

His female form is none better, though he favors a battle-scarred human woman missing and eye and an arm. She has bright red burns along her face and back, and walks stiffly. Her hair is long, black, and patchy where it exists and it unkempt and knotted. They both wear dirty, crusted Maroon robes.

Warform: The Warform of a moth is generally not impressive, but Woan is known to lead from his position of knowledge and surety in the rear.  When forces to take warform, he is an enormous moth with crackling wings of lightning and storm clouds while ice forms the creatures face and body.

Personality: Woan is legitimately insane, and has completely embraced it. He is truthful in his answers, though often cryptic, and he never lets his oracles lie. He Is an immensely prepared general, and can assault the most dire of positions with confidence. He is beloved by the rest of the Accursed for his undying ability to tell the truth to the faces of the group, and they have learned to take his absolute word on any aspect of the war. Sadly, however, he is only vaguely aware of whats going on, and from time to time all he says is nothing more than gibberish.

Teachings: The Cultists of Woan are an honest, truthful bunch for the most part, but will slide around topics and answers with ease. While they hold the truth sacred above all others, many will bend the truth to remain hidden, as worshipers of the Accursed are in dire danger at all points in time.  Woan teaches to tell the truth, and to make it available to anyone who asks, though should not be easy to decipher. The ability to cut through to the truth is an ability that all can appreciate.

Abode: When not leading troops to battle, Woan lives alone in a giant tree of blackened, Rusted Iron and Corroded bronze. Its wide, leaden leaves are the home to thousands of native birds from Lead to Iron. The inside of the trunk is carved into a great fortress, though the rooms, hallways, and stairways are always on the move like some living creature.

Cultists: Woans cults are learned, subtle affairs made up of nut jobs, oracles and sages. They tend to be small, no more than a dozen or so individuals with no contact with a greater organization or even the accursed himself sometime. They give honest, truthful answers to those few who seek them out and charge vast sums of money for the privilege of perusing their library.  The Cultists themselves are a little unpredictable as well, and no two encounters manage to be alike.

Followers: Madmen, Cripples, Deformed, Knowledge Seekers, Lore hoarders, Mages, and Sorcerers.