Malar

Overview

Malar is a primordial, savage deity who revels in the hunt and the blood of the kill. He epitomizes the dark side of nature, the world that is red in tooth and claw. He revels in the fear radiated by the hunted and hungers for the blood of his prey. Malar has always hated the Fair Folk and has maintained a long standing alliance with Lolth against the Seldarine. He fights against the deities of peace, civilization and nature, and despises the Balance sought by druids and seeks to overthrwo it through the actions of his faithfull.

Description

Malar favors two forms: as the Beast he appears as a sleek and supple catlike beast with blood-spattered ebony fur, and fangs and talons which endlessly drip blood. As the Master of the Hunt, also known as the Wild Hunter, Malar appears as a 12 foot (3.7 meter) tall, black-furred humanoid, with red eyes above a flesh-draped hole rather than a nose and mouth, and a large rack of antlers he can use to hack and slash. The Master of the Hunt typically carries a spear and is accompanied by a pack of dire wolves (winter wolves in arctic regions).

Holy symbol

Malar's symbol is a bestial claw with long curved talons, covered in brown fur, and tipped with fresh, red blood.

Favored weapon

Malar prefers to use the natural attacks of his bestial form, but in his humanoid form has been known to wield a spear or a pair of daggers in battle. His priesthood have selected the claw bracer (an impressive gauntlet with stylized claws that jut out from the ends of the fist) as their favored weapon.

Realm

World Tree cosmology

In the World Tree cosmology of Realmspace, Malar resides within his realm, known as the Land of the Hunt, which is located on the outer plane known as Fury's Heart, which he shares with his superior, Talos, and his fellow deities, Auril, and Umberlee. Fury's Heart is a desolate landscape ravaged by storms, howling winds, crashing waves, biting blizzards, and wild beasts. The Land of the Hunt is an enormous plain that stretches for miles from the shores of the Blood Sea, and is stocked with abundant wildlife (including lost souls stolen from the Fugue Plane and transformed into animal forms to serve as prey). The Land is the only region of Fury's Heart where the weather is occasionally hospitable. Malar and his companions roam the Land in the form of large carnivorous animals, so as to savor the thrill of the hunt. When unwelcome visitors enter his realm, Malar and his companions gleefully turn their attention from their helpless prey and begin stalking the intruders instead.

Great Wheel cosmology

In the Great Wheel cosmology, Malar resides within his realm, known as the Land of the Hunt, which is located on Colothys, the mountainous fourth layer of the Tarterian Depths of Carceri.

Worship

Malar is worshipped by hunters who revel in the kill or hunt for sport or to excess, by sentient carnivores, or by evil lycanthropes. Malar's faithful believe that the hunt is the center point between life and death - the facing off of hunter and prey, forcing the issue of who lives and who dies.

Those who face the depredations of wild beasts attempt to placate Malar, but most people believe that he can't be propitiated and knows no mercy, so he receives prayers only from those engaging in a hunt. Such supplicants pray to Malar for two reasons: to beg the aid of his peerless skill as a hunter, or to adopt his fearsome mantle and thus ward off other predators.

Many lycanthropes consider Malar to be their divine father, as do some other intelligent predators. He has many devotees who are druids and rangers of particularly savage inclination, and many barbarians take Malar as a patron for his ferocity and cruelty.

In Spelljammer

Malar is a member of the Faerûnian pantheon and as such is considered native to Realmspace. If a priest of Malar leaves Realmspace, they will be unable to recover mid-to-high level spells until they return, and they cannot cast spells in the phlogiston.

Appendix

External Links

• Malar article at the Forgotten Realms Wiki, a wiki for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.
• Malar article at the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition Wiki, a wiki for official Dungeons & Dragons content from 2nd edition AD&D.

References

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