Kozah

KOZAH The Destroyer, the Raging One, the Stormstar, the Storm Lord, the Wildfire, Bhaelros

Symbol:A stylized lightning bolt on a crimson field between two flanking horizontal white bars- Thanks to Gmork for the image

Home Plane:Pandesmos/Towers of Ruin

Alignment: Chaotic Evil

Portfolio:Storms, destruction, rebellion, strife, ravaging beasts and monsters, hurricanes, ocean storms, blizzards, vortices, conflagrations, earthquakes

Worshippers: The god of storms, forest fires, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, and general destruction. He attracts the destroyer, the raider, the looter, the brigand, and the rabble-rouser among his followers.

Favored Weapon:Lightning Bolt ((Spear))

Cleric Alignment:CE, CN, NE

NWN Domain: Chaos, Destruction, Evil, Fire, Storm

History Relationships: Kozah (KOH-zah) was the destructive force of nature. Kozah’s name was most often invoked by individuals who wished to escape his attentions, not suffer them; however, he had more than a few direct followers who supported and encouraged his depredations. His established clergy was itinerant for the most part and preached by warning of dooms and disasters to come. Frequently his priests were right in their predictions because either they or Kozah ensured that they came true. This didn’t make his clergy members terribly popu- lar—yet another reason why they tended to travel a lot. The most favorable reception Kozahyn priests received was with the oppressed Netherese, whom were often encouraged to riot and rebellion by the words of Kozah’s priests. The church of Kozah exulted in the wild destruction of nature at its fiercest. Clergy and the faithful tended to be fatalistic in nature as a result—almost self-destructive. However, priests of Kozah usually wished to take as many others with them as possible. The protections the Storm Lord conferred upon his clergy made the priesthood of the Destroyer popular with many folk who exulted in the feeling of power—or who just liked to destroy things. All would-be priests of the Storm Lord were confirmed to his service through the manifestation of Kozah as two small storm clouds. The clouds struck a sup- plicant with a red lightning stroke that did no harm, and it was revealed to the supplicant’s mind that she or he was indeed chosen to serve the Stormstar. This was referred to as being “Touched by Kozah.” Specialty priests of Kozah were known as stormlords. (a title used irrespective of gender). Typica1 titles used by clergy of Kozah, in ascending order of rank, were: Storm Supplicant, Weatherwise, Talon (full, confirmed priest), Lord/Lady of Fury, Eye of the Storm, Reaver, Stormherald (high priest), High Stormherald, and Weathermaster/Weathermistress. The spells of a Stormherald relating directly to natural forces (such as call lightning and flame strike) dealt double the normal dam- age, and so the uppermost three titles in this list were honors bestowed and confirmed by Kozah, not ranks that priests dared to assume for themselves—for Kozah destroyed those who spoke against his will. Many Kozahyn temples and shrines were secret because of the reputation of the church; the worship of Kozah was out- lawed by many archwizards. Where there were public temples to Kozah, many of them took the form of castles or walled compounds because they often served as strongholds that the faithful of Kozah could defend against angry folk.

Dogma: Kozah the Destroyer was the dark side of nature, the uncaring and destructive force that lay waiting to strike at any time. Kozahyns were taught that life was a combination of random effects and chaos, so the devout should grab what they could, when they could, as who could say when Kozah would strike and bring them into the afterlife? Kozahyn clergy were to preach to all of the might of Kozah, warning them always of the forces only he could command— the fury of all Faerûn. They were never to cease in such speech, so that everyone could know that Kozah was to be worshipped by all, and that in time to come he must be, or he would destroy all life with the forces at his command. His cler- gy should walk unafraid in all storms, forest fires, earthquakes, and other disasters, for the power of Kozah protected them. They were to let others see this whenever possible, so that unbelievers would come to believe in the true power of almighty Kozah.

Kozahyn clergy made all fear Kozah by showing the destruction that he and all of his servants could cause. To avoid tast- ing his fury, they were to pray to him energetically and tell all folk that such observances—and only such observances— could protect them from the furies of gales, hailstorms, winds, floods, droughts, blizzards, hurricanes, and other natural dooms. Such forces could also be hurled at one’s foes-an advancing orc horde, for instance—if Kozah deemed a place or a person worth defending. So one couldn’t afford to ignore Kozah, but should bow down and worship him. The clergy of Kozah were to proclaim this message to all and show everyone the destruction even the slightest of the servants of Kozah could inflict.

Day-to-Day Activities: Kozah always had too few wor- shipers for his liking, so his clergy was sent out into the world to spread word of his might and to recruit others to his wor- ship—either out of fear or because such people enjoyed the wielding of raw power. As examples to all, the fatalistic priests of Kozah tended to indulge in acts of random or spiteful destruction as they traveled and to make examples of all folk who stood up to them or tried to prevent them from entering a community or passing along a road. Some priests pillaged, burned, and stole as enthusiastically as any brigand, and ham- lets that fought them off tended to be visited a season or so later by a gathering of Kozahyn priests who tried to slaughter everyone and lay waste to the place. Kozah didn’t seem to mind priests who indulged in fulfilling personal desires for wealth, food, luxury items, and wanton behavior so long as they called up a storm or engaged in random, spectacular acts of violence once every tenday or so (toppling towers was always effective). As a result, some clergy took up a life of brigandage. They posed as lunatics in order to spread the word of Kozah as ordered, and the rest of the time they adopted disguises to scout out rich prizes to strike at.

Holy Days/Important Ceremonies: Kozahyns marked all of the annual festivals (Greengrass, Midsummer, and so on) with rituals that called down lightning or called up storms. Calling Down the Thunder was the most sacred of these ritu- als and involved the slaying of an intelligent being by lightning in return for the Storm Lord granting a special boon. This boon was usually the bestowal of a spell normally beyond a Kozahyn priest’s ability to receive and wield, but it was sometimes a deed such as the sending of a storm down on a particular locale or being named by the priest. A more frequently seen ritual was the Fury, which was sim- ply a berserk attack on folk and items made while howling the name of Kozah repeatedly. It began and ended with a prayer (if the priest survived) and usually involved the hurling of spells and of lit, carried torches, in an effort to visit considerable destruction on a place or encampment within a short time. It was considered most holy when performed by a lone Kozahyn priest—but against formidable foes, clergy of Kozah usually attacked together or drew off defenders by creating illusory attackers in one direction and mounting their own real attack from another.

Affiliated Orders: Many brigand bands, reavers, and raiders paid tribute to Kozah and his priesthood, but none were organized enough to really be called an affiliated order. Kozah had an order of powerful and odiously dispositioned mages who call themselves the Doomsayers. They delighted in casting the most destructive spells in the midst of cities when- ever possible and for no apparent reason but personal merri- ment. Membership in this order was said to exceed 70, but actual figures were difficult to judge Membership in this order tended to be short-lived, however, as its members were relent- lessly hunted down. The last known Doomsayer was killed in 3189 NY through the work of an extensive alliance of good- aligned beings.

Priestly Vestments: High priests of Kozah wore ceremoni- al robes of dark blue and white streaked with crimson that seem to crackle with lightning due to a minor illusory glamour, but all other priests dressed in robes and cloaks of black shot through with teardrops and jagged lines of gold or silver. The robes had jagged hems and rough, uneven sleeves.

Adventuring Garb: It should be noted that clergy of Kozah enjoyed destruction and armed themselves heavily at all times to bring it about where spells may fail. When not involved in ceremonies, Kozahyns tended to go to one of two extremes: Either they armored themselves to the hilt in the most menac- ing-looking armor they could obtain, or they wore next to no armor and used protective magics instead so that to average observers they looked almost suicidal in their fervor