Tharizdun is the primordial god of Eternal Darkness, Decay, Entropy, Malign Knowledge, Insanity, and Cold. He was imprisoned ages ago by a coalition of deities to prevent the destruction of existence itself. His power is such that he still influences mortals through malign, ancient knowledge and rituals. His symbols indicate whether the worshiper considers the deity to be chained/imprisoned or (soon to be) free.

Tharizdun is described as a pitch-black, roiling, amorphous form. Tharizdun's doctrine is to destroy all and everything encountered (himself included).

It is believed that Tharizdun has no allies, given his desire to destroy the entire universe. Should he ever escape from his prison, it is thought that even the most evil of deities work with their good counterparts to return Tharizdun to his prison. However, the Dark God has been known to work his will secretly by employing various demons (with or without their knowledge) to do his bidding.

Tharizdun's worshippers are often insane. Their ultimate goal is to free their dark deity from his prison.

Like his lay worshippers, many of Tharizdun's priests are mad. Those who are not mad believe (falsely) that they will reap great rewards and privileges for their aid in freeing him. All of his clerics are extremely secretive and trust only fellow cultists. They lead foul rituals, including human sacrifice, and search ancient sites for clues to freeing their deity. Due to Tharizdun's imprisonment, his priests must remain in contact with a site or object holding some of the Dark God's power in order to use their magic.

Tharizdun's temples (often in the shape of black ziggurats) are usually hidden, due to necessity. Known places of worship include an ancient temple located in the Yatil Mountains, as well as a more recently-discovered temple in the Lortmils, near the Kron Hills.

CLERIC ABILITIES

Most clerics of Tharizdun (and all above 3rd level) suffer from insanity. The form is one that allows them to function by keeping their malady secret. However, certain triggers can cause their insanity to manifest without control.

Clerics add a bonus equal to their class level to all cause wounds spells and can choose to transform any memorized spell into a cause wounds spell. In this case, the casting time and spell components are as per the replaced spell. The cleric can “trade” any prepared spell in order to cast any cause wounds spell of the same spell level or lower.

At 5th level, clerics can cast continual darkness as a spell-like ability once per day. This can be infused with the Dark God's blessing by lowering the duration from permanent to 1 round per cleric level. This gives the cleric the ability to see in their own magical darkness as if it were light.

Access to these abilities requires a cleric spend 15% more experience points per level for advancement and this must be selected during character creation.