Talos, the Destroyer

Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Domains: Air [Lightning], Chaos, Destruction [Catastrophe], Evil, Fire, Weather [Storms], Wrath.
Favored Weapon: Spear

Talos is the destructive force of nature. He is the god of storms, forest fires, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, and general destruction. He attracts the destroyer, the raider, the looter, and the brigand among his followers. His actions often seem petty and vengeful and are frequently motivated by rage, anger, and the desire to not appear weak or compromising in any way to his followers or the other powers of Faerûn. He exults in seeing what he or his followers can burn, break, flood, kill or otherwise utterly destroy. He is like a malicious and twisted child whose power and wrath know no bounds and who proves his self-worth and standing again and again by raining havoc and ruin down on those who can little oppose him. Under the alias of Malyk, Talos is trying to fold wild and destructive magic into his portfolio, bringing him directly in conflict with Mystra in much the same way as Shar with the Shadow Weave.

Dogma: Life is nothing but random effects and chaos, so grab what you can when you can, because Talos may take you to the afterlife at any moment. Preach the might of Talos, and always warn others of the forces only he can command — the fury of all Faerun. Walk unafraid in storms, forest fires, earthquakes, and other disasters, for the power of Talos protects you. Do so publicly wherever possible, so that others see that only Talos can protect them. Make others fear Talos by showing the destruction he and his servants can cause. To avoid tasting his fury, pray to him energetically and tell all folk that such observances — and only such observances — can protect them from the destructive fury of natural disasters. Hurl such forces at one’s foes if Talos deems a place or a person worth defending; proclaim his might to all and show them the destruction even the slightest of the servants of Talos can cause.

For Deific Obedience

Obedience: During a storm, lie out or kneel in the midst of it; shouting out words of praise to the God of Storms for his fury, and plead for his strength to walk your own path of destruction. During the obedience, roll percentile dice; there is a 5% chance you are struck by lightning and suffer electrical damage equal to 1 hitpoint per hit die, which cannot be healed for the next 24 hours, but you gain a profane bonus to all damage rolls made by you that’s equal to your hit dice. Otherwise, if you are not struck by lightning, you gain a profane bonus of +2 to all damage rolls made by you. When there is no storm to lie out in, and you are unable to conjure one magcally, then you may gain this +2 bonus by smashing an item or assortment of items worth at least 10 gp, preferably something fragile, aesthetically beautiful, or with significance to a deity opposed to Talos. Devout servants of Talos seek out and hoard particularly expensive, artistic, or rare items to smash during their obedience.

1: Destructive Force (Sp) break 3/day, shatter 2/day, or call lightning 1/day
3: Thunderstrike (Su) Once per day as a free action, you can declare one of your attacks to be a thunderstrike. You must declare the use of this ability before rolling to attack. If the attack hits and you deal damage, the blow lands with a clap of thunder that paralyzes your target and deafens foes within 10 feet of the strike for 1d4 rounds. A target that succeeds at a Fortitude save (DC = 10 + half your Hit Dice + your Constitution modifier) negates the deafening effect and the target is only stunned for 1 round.
3: Elemental Conflagration (Sp) You gain the ability to summon a quartet of Huge elementals once per tenday. These four elementals are summoned as if using the summon monster IX spell, except that each elemental is of a different type (air, earth, fire, water). These minions follow your every command, even likely suicidal commands, so long as they are being commanded to wreak chaos and destruction in their wake. Any attempts to dismiss, turn or otherwise banish these servants uses the better of their save bonus or yours. At 20th level, these servants gain the advanced template.

Antipaladin Code

Antipaladins of Talos are self-sufficient wanderers who roam the land, offering great aid — or more commonly great destruction — at their own whims. They are rarely deceptive about their intentions, and desperate people can ask them for help, knowing that these antipaladins will keep their word if they agree to offer assistance, but at a cost. Any slight, however, will be met with overwhelming retribution.

• The blessing of the storm comes in lightning. I am permitted to offer aid, so long as that aid comes in the form of violence visited upon others.
• The clouds warn of coming rain. My wrath may be sudden, but it is certain. I follow through with every threat; to back down is cowardice.
• The wind cannot be chained. I stay nowhere for long, and I do not abide oaths that try to restrain me for longer than a month. If I make such promises, they have no weight, and those who trust them are fools.
• My last word is a thunderclap. None shall insult me, or my god, without paying a terrible price. My revenge will be unstoppable and absolute.

For Followers of Talos

Archetypes: Storm Druid (Druid), Stormwalker (Ranger), Thundercaller (Bard)

Specialty Priest: Stormlord† (Cleric)

Talos the Destroyer embodies the uncaring and destructive forces of nature that may strike at any time. Stormlords are the chief agents of the Destroyer’s wrath, inflicting destructive rampages wherever they wander in order to spread word of his endless fury. Talos cares only that they call up a storm or engage in a spectacular acts of natural destruction every tenday or so.

• A Stormlord is bound by the same armor restrictions as a druid, thus any armor or shield made of metal causes the Stormlord to lose his abilities as a cleric. This alters the cleric’s proficiencies.
• A Stormlord can speak and understand the Druidic tongue; like a Druid, he cannot teach this language to a nondruid. This alters the cleric’s languages.
• Domains: A Stormlord only gains one domain, and he must choose either the Air or Weather domain, or the Lightning or Storms subdomain. This alters the cleric’s domains.
• Natural Spells:At first level, a stormlord may select one 1st-level spell from the druid spell list, and treat it as if it were on his cleric spell list for all purposes. This cannot be a spell that also appears on the cleric spell list. At 3rd level, and every odd level thereafter, he may choose another spell from the druid list of a spell level he can cast, to add to his list. This replaces spontaneous casting.
• Storm Channel (Su): Rather than channeling negative energy to harm living creatures or heal undead, the Stormlord calls forth a burst of electrical energy from the Destroyer, this functions otherwise like, and is treaded as channel energy, except that it deals 1d6 electrical damage for every 3 levels — for a total of 7d6 at 19th level. Creatures caught in the radius of the burst can make a saving throw for half damage as normal. The stormlord can also direct this energy into a bolt of lightning targeted at a creature as if he had the channel ray feat. This alters channel energy.
• Shock and Thunder (Su): At 5th level, any spear or javelin wielded by a stormlord is treated as a conductive weapon. As a swift action, he can spend a use of his storm channel to grant this weapon the shocking property for one minute, if the weapon leaves the stormlord’s possession for more than one round, or is wielded by another person, it reverts to its normal properties. At 10th level, he can spend a use of his channeling ability to grant it the thundering property, and at 15th level, he can spend two uses of his channeling ability to grant the weapon the shocking burst quality. He may combine the thundering property with either the shocking or shocking burst property in the same swift action.
• Elemental Overlord (Su): Upon reaching 20th level, a stormlord is one with the destructive force of nature. He is immune to electrical damage, and he gains the Air stubtype with a fly speed equal to twice his land speed with average maneuverability. When he uses his shock and thunder ability to grant a spear or javelin both the thundering and shocking or shocking burst properties, it further gains the stunning property.

Divine Fighting Techniques: Talos’ Thunder

Feats: Breaker of Barriers, Conversion Channel, Destroyer’s Blessing, Fearsome Finish, Fire God’s Blessing, Shatter Resolve, Squash Flat.

Prestige Classes: Arcane Devotee, Divine Champion, Divine Disciple, Divine Scion, Divine Seeker, Storm Caster, Storm Kindler† (Unchained), Stormsinger†,Divine Seeker.

Spells: Brittle Portal, Lightning Lash, Talos’ Fury.

Traits: Destructive Blows, Sacred Smasher, Stormborn†, Wrecking Wrath.

Unique Spell Rules:

• Gust of Wind can be prepared as a 2nd-level Cleric spell or Antipaladin spell.
• Hydraulic Push can be prepared as a 3rd-level Cleric or Antipaladin spell.
• Volcanic Storm can be prepared as a 3rd-level Cleric spell.

Clergy and Temples

The church of Talos is relatively small for a greater deity and almost universally despised, for his followers bring nothing but destruction and leave only ruin in their wake. They are fanatical in their love of destruction and are unafraid to call storms upon ships, towns, or cities in the name of their crazed deity. However, many fear and propitiate the Storm Lord, ensuring that he remains one of the most powerful deities of the Faerunian pantheon.

Talos always has too few worshipers for his liking, so his clergy are sent out into the world to spread word of his might and to try to recruit others to his worship — either out of fear or because such people enjoy the wielding of raw power. As examples to all, the fatalistic clerics of Talos tend to indulge in acts of random or spiteful destruction as they travel and to make examples of all folk who stand up to them from entering a community or passing along a road.

Talassan Druids are actually the more tolerable of Talos’ ilk; for while they embody the destructive forces of nature, they are also reserved in their approach to exercising their powers so that they don’t tilt the balance too far.