DRAGAR
Lord of Battle, Blade of War
God of War, Weapons and Armor
Alignment: CN
Cleric’s Alignments: CG, N, CN, CE
Domains: Chaos, Destruction, Glory, Strength, War
Symbol:
Favored Weapon: Flaming Blade
Centers of Worship: Delgar, Oran, The Giant Lands, Barbarian Kingdoms
Nationality: Delgar
Obedience (need the Deific Obedience feat):
Dress yourself in the heaviest set of armor you own. Shout your oath of loyalty to Dragar at the top of your lungs, punctuating each pause for breath by smashing your weapon against a shield or against your armor-clad body. After your oath is done, kneel on one knee with your weapon resting against your shoulder. Recite your victories in battle in a sonorous voice until the time for your obedience is done. If you should be attacked while conducting your obedience, slay the creature who dared test your might. (You may be assisted by allies, but you must strike the killing blow.) Gain a +4 sacred or profane bonus on Strength checks and Strength-based skill checks. The type of bonus depends on your alignment – if you’re neither good nor evil, you must choose wither sacred or profane the first time you perform your obedience, and this choice can’t be changed.
Exalted Boons:
1. Battler (Sp): magic stone 3/day, spiritual weapon 2/day, or deadly juggernaut 1/day
2. Mass Strength Surge (Su): When using the strength surge granted power from the Strength domain, you can target allies within 30 feet of you instead of having to touch a single target. You can target a maximum number of allies equal to 1 +1 for every 4 Hit Dice you possess (maximum 6). If you don't have access to the Strength domain, you instead gain the ability to use the strength surge granted power a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier, as listed in the strength surge description. However, you can touch only a single target using this granted power.
3. Dragar's Shout (Sp): Once per day, you can use word of chaos as a spell-like ability. In order to use this ability, you must shout a battle cry at top volume, ending your shout in praise to Dragar.
Evangelist Boons:
1. Weaponsmith (Sp): crafter's fortune 3/day, fox's cunning 2/day, or greater magic weapon 1/day
2. War Mount (Ex): If you make a full attack while mounted, your mount also attacks with great enthusiasm. You must attempt a Ride check as normal to fight with a combat-trained mount. If your Ride check succeeds, your mount can attack with a +4 bonus on its attack and damage rolls.
3. Chaotic Charge (Ex): Three times per day, you can make a chaotic charge attack while mounted. You must declare your use of this ability before you roll your attack. You take an extra -2 penalty to AC in addition to the normal AC penalty for charging, but you deal an extra 2d6 damage to creatures of lawful alignment on a successful mounted charge. If you have the cavalier's charge, mighty charge, or supreme charge ability, you instead deal an extra 3d6 points of damage to creatures of lawful alignment on a successful wild charge and don't take the AC penalty.
Introduction:
Dragar is said to have been born on the battlefield of the gods. He is a deity who believes in fighting for survival, strength and power and will not discriminate against any beings that fight for his glory. Images of him clad in full plate armor wielding massive flaming weapons belie his desire for hand-to-hand combat. He does understand the need for archery and siege weapons, but face-to-face combat pleases him the most.
Dragar is worshipped by all races, but is heavily worshipped in dwarven, barbarian, dark-elven, orc, and giant communities. His images vary depending on his place of worship. Dwarves see him as a huge plate-covered dwarf wielding a flaming dwarven waraxe and humans see him in spike-covered full-plate wielding a fiery greatsword. In any case, his worshippers and priests all wield weapons of great damage and are symbolized by them being engulfed in flame.
Where Flarr represents order and tactical strategy in battle, Dragar represents sheer power and fighting prowess. Overwhelming your foes with numbers and strength is just as good as with sound tactics. It is more pleasing for Dragar to see his followers fight in many battles than to die in their first, so truces and retreats are all a part of war. Cowardice and retreat are not synonymous if one returns to the battlefield sooner than later.
The Church:
A person is either brave or a coward; he either stares the enemy in the eye or drops his gaze in shame. Dragar only demands his faithful constantly prove themselves in battle. In times of peace, his followers are out looking for conflict to prove themself.
A typical worshipper of Dragar is a soldier, mercenary, brigand, or blood-thirsty raider, or even a smith who crafts the tools of war. His followers tend to be impulsive, violent, and prone to grabbing whatever they feel like owning; as a result, there are far more evil worshippers of Dragar than good. Fights between the faithful are common, though they are not usually fought to the death; they are undertaken to establish dominance or claims over treasure, to impress lovers, or just entertainment.
Dragar is popular in the dwarven realms of the Spike Mountains. These dwarves relish the life of combat and are often warring neighboring lands of humans, orcs, or any others that border them – often taking slaves to fight in the war pits in their great underground cities. Orcs and other goblinoids also worship the Blade of Battle as they are constantly warring others and themselves. Many barbarian tribes also pay their respect to the god of war as constant tribal feuds keep Dragar busy with fighting.
Temples and Shrines:
Dragar's temples are more akin to fortresses than to places of worship - they are built with thick walls, iron gates, internal forges and stables, and spikes on the parapets. The priests keep them stockpiled with weapons, typically harvested from dead enemies and kept clean and battle-ready by acolytes. Each piece of armor is not catalogues as to whom it came from, unless a particularly powerful foe or ally was slain. That piece of armor may be displayed somewhere in the temple as a memorial to the brave warrior.
A typical shrine to the Blade of Battle may be an anvil or a pile of rocks capped with a helm or a sword jammed into a crevice. These shrines can mark the graves of fallen champions or a battlefield.
A Priest’s Role:
A priest of Dragar worships this great god due to his ability to empower them with the skills necessary to wage a war and be the last one standing at the end of the battle. These priests are very brave and are not foolhardy if caught up in the fervor of battle. They retreat only from battles that are easily overwhelmed in odds or at the behest of their commander. Retreat is not frowned upon by the Lord of Battle as long as it ensures the priest returns to battle sooner than later.
These priests are often part of a military unit of some sort. They lead the strongest warriors in combat. A priest of Dragar is often called upon by towns and kings to help with the fighting of a battle. They are masters of the weapons they carry and do not overburden themselves with gold and jewels that would hamper their movement in battle. This does not prevent them from saving their monetary gains to purchase or craft better weapons or armor, as long as it benefits their fighting and the spreading of their faith.
A priest of Dragar feels that all should worship the Blade of Battle. For, without war, there would be no freedom from enslavement or oppression. Without war, one's inner mettle cannot be tested. Self-worth cannot be found, and courage and strength is wasted. One forges weapons to be used, not rust away in an armory.
These priests detest cowards who refuse to fight when called upon or back away from tests of strength. They often judge the worth of those around them and may or may not all upon their powers to heal those unworthy during or after a battle.
Adventurers:
Adventuer's in Dragar's service are relatively common, as heroes and treasure hunters can always use an ally who is good with a weapon. Villainous groups learn to rely on the might of evil Dragar priests, epsecially their ability to channel negative energy, inflicting bloody wounds on all nearby creatures. Dragar followers venture forth to improve their skills in battle, challenge particularly revered or infamous champions, to obtain famous weapons or armor, or simply to find opportunities to enjoy the sound of their blades singing against those of their opponents.
Dwarves, half-orcs, humans, and orcs are the most common worshipers of Dragar, yet his reach can be felt everywhere that blood and glory are the way of life. He attracts all those that have sworn to live their life by the sword and suffer its judgments. Those who take up the faith of Dragar forsake the niceties of civilized life to carry the glory of battle to their graves. They reject the idea of old age and instead make the most of the present, exercising their strength and will to display their dominance over others. Followers of Dragar are not murderers as they hunger only for victory through strength of arms. Killing prisoners or surrendering foes is beneath them.
Dragar follower's believe that all of life's problems can be solved through martial might. They recognize the place of brains in battle, because stupid people die quickly. They appreciate tactics and the thrill of outmaneuvering an enemy - indeed, these are crucial skills- but they pale next to the blood and sweat of melee itself. They do not charge foolishly into battle and Dragar preaches it is better to retreat strategically to fight another die. A life thrown away in vain is foolish. For a follower of Dragar, only when the stakes are highest does life have meaning.
Clothing:
Dragar followers identify themselves through their arms and armor. Many warriors of the faith carry the most devastating weapons of their race and garb themselves in metal armor whenever possible to emulate the Lord of Battle. No matter how poor, a worshiper of Dragar will grab metal armor at the earliest opportunity, frequently claiming the armor of fallen enemies. Once they may have metal armor and weapons, they forever disdain any other kind, preferring to fight naked and barehanded rather than use anything else. The more devoted among the faith adorn their armor and shields with spikes and jagged bits of metal. The faithful are frequently heavily scarred, as even the most skilled suffer wounds on a regular basis due to the number of battles they fight. They show off these scars as badges of courage and pride. Priests often have the flaming blade symbol adorned to their armor.
Formal raiment for priests is full metal armor, preferably full plate. Spikes are added to the armor for each significant battle the priest has been engaged and won. Some priests keep a separate set of ceremonial armor (as opposed to battle functioning armor) that bristles with spikes of their victories that may make it difficult for them to walk. Dragar favored weapon depends upon the race of his worshiper. It is the most devastating weapon of that race's kind.
Holy Texts:
Dragar has no sacred text, but a collection of 3 heroic poems called Dragarskagat explains the church's creed. Young priests quickly learn to recite these poems perfectly, as elders beat them every time they make a mistake. The poems may be spoken or sung, and each has a distinct rhythm so a familiar listener can easily recognize them when played on a drum. Though individual translations have slightly different meanings, all translations of a poem use the same rhythm.
Holidays:
Dragar has no official holidays from culture to culture as battles of today as often celebrated and battles of the future are looked forward to. Some priests and communities may celebrate a particular victory due to its importance, but this celebration may fade off after a few years as new battles are fought all the time. If a war or battle's anniversary is strongly associated with a particular date, such as the first of the year or a prominent holiday, it may stick longer than others.
Aphorisms:
Dragar followers do not waste time on long, fancy speeches, so they are short and to the point.
Better to Die a Warrior Than Live a Coward!
Once one agrees to fight and then flees a battle, they are an unworthy cur. Surrender is honorable, for those who surrender may have chance to redeem themselves in a later battle, but those who flee are best cut down before they shame themselves again.
Cowards Flee, Warriors Retreat.
The subtle difference between these two ideas is lost on many who do not fully understand the nature of battle. Warriors retreat from battle because they want to win the next battle; cowards flee battle because they fear death and wish to avoid the next battle.
Will You Fight?
Priests of Dragar ask this question to youths joining an army. If a soldier is struggling with a wound, a lieutenant may ask this question. Before a particular blood battle, the army commander asks this question. They are not asking "Can you fight?"
Relations with Other Religions:
Dragar usually has little interest in other religions. He does feel Pentar, the God of Peace, does not understand the full idea of war and deems him and his followers foolish and weak. They do not even warrant any sort of acknowledgment. War solves many issues in life that peace does not.
Dragar has a healthy respect for Flarr, brother in arms, for both his strategies in combat and his system of justice. At times, he feels Flarr and his followers may be too tactical when all it takes is a strong push of force to solve a situation.
Dragar enjoys several of the other gods, as they allow his followers to be in constant combat to test their mettle. The evil gods are always creating weapons of war and push the gods of good to counteract. This allows followers of Dragar to do what they do best - war.
Realm:
As a god of battle, weapons, and strength, Dragar makes his home a massive battlefield, devoted to glory of these pursuits. The fortified keeps studding his kingdom face daily sieges and may crumble into rubble by the end of the battle, but reappear intact each dawn, and his rolling and bloodstained plains proved a place his petitioners to wage continual, disordered combat, the entirety of their existence devoted to the heat and frenzy of battle. Dragar and his souls only care for the heady rush of spilt blood and the violent glory of war.
Planar Allies:
Dragar's divine servants are all clad in spiked armor or actually made of metal; even servitors of other gods who come to serve him experience a transformation to match his other minions. In addition to his servitor race, the zentragts, the following are well-known servitors of Dragar, suitable for conjuring with planar ally or similar calling spells.
Blood Spike (unique outsider): A red-skinned hezrou-like creature. Blood Spike wears intricate scale mail that fits like a second skin. He enjoys the taste of potions and elixirs, especially those that augment his already formidable physical prowess. He enjoys leaping upon opponents from high places and charging through their ranks like a slashing wheel of death.
First Spike: This giant, armor-clad creature serves as Dragar's herald. The First Spike if summoned barely communicates and will march in battle to answer the call of Dragar's faithful. First Spike will not answer noncombatant calls. He will use a fiery greatsword to slay the enemies of the faithful.
Silver Scythe (unique silver dragon): Silver Scythe resembles a silver dragon covered with spikes. He tends to impale the heads of his fallen enemies on his spikes in combat causing all that face him to rethink combat with the fearsome dragon.
Searstorm (unique fire elemental): This large fire elemental is made of molten metal and is in a near-constant battle rage. She enjoys taking her enemy's weapons and melting them within her fiery form, which heals her and temporarily lends the weapon's magic to her attacks.
For Faithful Characters:
Priests of Dragar that follow his tenets and graces often are granted special powers by Dragar.
- For every 10 foes in which a priest of Dragar strikes the killing blow in a single battle, the priest of Dragar earns a hero point if he calls out his Lord's name.
- Sacrificing the arms and armor of a challenging foe in the name of Dragar after battle charges the priest with divine favor giving him an additional +1 to hit and on damage as well as a +1 AC bonus for a certain number of days depending on the difficulty of the foe. Only one such sacrifice may be done after any given battle once per day. Frequent sacrifices of unworthy foes may have the opposite effect.
-Spreading the faith of Dragar is always encouraged. If a priest has taken the Leadership feat, he can attempt to convert a non-believer to join his faith (DC 15 + Will save, level , racial factors, aggression factors and Charisma of target). He may use his Leadership number to attempt this conversion. If the target of conversion has seen the priest perform in battle and is the victor, the priest may add 5 to his roll. If converted, the priest may call upon this follower to fight for him in time of need if he then makes a Charisma check DC 10.