The Dark Six
| The Dark Six | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Alignment | 3E: Neutral Evil 4E: Evil |
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| Pantheon | Eberron | |
| Portfolio | Passion, destruction, individuality, fear, vengeance | |
| Domains | 3E: Too many to count, just look at the domains of the associated deities 4E: Destruction, Wilderness |
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| Favoured Weapon | Kama | |
The Dark Six is the inverse of The Sovereign Host, a pantheon of gods dedicated to ideals usually dedicated evil. However, each of the gods can also be considered some aspect of nature, probably represented by a member of the host, now taken to an extreme. Unfortunately, their status as bad gods has overshadowed much about them to the point that their names were effectively forgotten and replaced with titles. Unlike their good sides, the Six aren't unified in any means - instead, followers of the Six tend to worship only one member. More often than not, those who pay lip service to them just pray that they don't come and visit.
They too believe that the gods exist in all things and don't particularly begrudge the Host for existing, but that's about the end of their similarities. The Six accept the idea that the world is shit. They accept that the world hates them for not adhering to their society. Thus, the Six tend to be worshiped in places like Droaam and Darguun, savage places where no sane civilized creature would dare live, but monstrous beings had no choice to follow.
The Gods[edit]
The Devourer[edit]
| The Devourer | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Aliases | Shargon (Sahuagin), Shurkaan | |
| Alignment | Neutral Evil | |
| Pantheon | Eberron (The Dark Six) | |
| Portfolio | Devastation, hunger, nautical travel, storms, water. | |
| Domains | 3E: Cold, Destruction, Evil, Pestilence, Ocean, Water, Weather 4E: Destruction, Sea, Storm 5E: Tempest |
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| Favoured Weapon | Trident | |
The Devourer (real name Shurkaan), Sovereign of Wave and Whelm, is considered the dark side to Arawai, the essence of nature's destructive power. On top of that, he's also the god of the seas and their murky depths, finding him some followers among both the sailors praying for safe voyage and the freaky fishfolk and lizardmen. Some sects allege he raped his sister Arawai and thereby fathered the Fury and prompted the split of the six from the host, but other sects hold otherwise. Unrelated to the Starfinder deity of the same name.
The Fury[edit]
| The Fury | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Aliases | Szorawai, the Song of Passion and Rage | |
| Alignment | Neutral Evil | |
| Pantheon | Eberron (The Dark Six) | |
| Portfolio | Anger, extremism, insanity, passion, revenge | |
| Domains | 3E: Evil, Liberation, Hatred, Madness, Passion, Wrath 4E: Madness, Vengeance 5E: War |
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| Favoured Weapon | Rapier | |
The Fury (real name Szorawai), Sovereign of Rage and Ruin, is the daughter of Arawai and the Devourer and, instead of representing anything about nature, is instead about being consumed by passion. Whether that emotion be love, pride, or unfettered hatred at the restrictive and suffocating society that would rather smother those emotions, she will lend you her aid.
In Droaam, the harpies of the Last Dirge worship the Song of Passion and Rage, which scholars suggest as being an interpretation of the Fury. Most often, the Fury is portrayed as a half-elf, drow, or a snakelike wyrm of Khyber.
The Keeper[edit]
| The Keeper | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Aliases | Iborighu (Frostfell), Karrak (Giant), Kol Turrant | |
| Alignment | Neutral Evil | |
| Pantheon | Eberron (The Dark Six) | |
| Portfolio | Death, entropy, greed, hunger, time | |
| Domains | 3E: Death, Decay, Evil, Greed, Hunger, Pact 4E: Death, Torment 5E: Death |
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| Favoured Weapon | Scythe | |
The Keeper (real name Kol Turrant), Sovereign of Death and Decay, is the closest thing to a grim reaper in Eberron, and he just also happens to be a greedy fuckwad - everything wrong about Kol Korran, his twin brother. He revels in gluttony and hoarding and will not hesitate to take more in his pursuit of greed. This greed even extends to the souls of the dead, whom he will personally spirit away before they reach Dolurrh - a dubious mercy considering the miserable afterlife that is.
Because of this, most of the Keeper's devout tend to be necromancers, bringers of death in any way possible without bothering to resurrect them as zombies or some other undead.
The Mockery[edit]
| The Mockery | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Aliases | Dol Azur, Dulazurak (Dragon), Vulkoor (Drow) | |
| Alignment | Neutral Evil | |
| Pantheon | Eberron (The Dark Six) | |
| Portfolio | Combat, dishonor, murder, terror, treachery | |
| Domains | 3E: Destruction, Domination, Evil, Illusion, Trickery, War 4E: Trickery, War 5E: Trickery, War |
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| Favoured Weapon | Kama | |
The Mockery (real name Dol Azur), Sovereign of Betrayal and Bloodshed, is the evil brother of Dol Arrah and Dol Dorn and thus represents the evil aspects of both: dishonorable tactics, pointless death, and treachery. Assassins and saboteurs tend to flock to him. It's said that the Mockery was the one who betrayed the Host, and thus was cast out by his own siblings; he's still totally not bitter about it, honest. All those dead or corrupted followers of Dol Dorn and Dol Arrah? They were always there.
The Shadow[edit]
| The Shadow | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Aliases | Aureon's Shadow | |
| Alignment | Chaotic Evil | |
| Pantheon | Eberron (The Dark Six) | |
| Portfolio | Arcane magic, consequence, corruption, darkness, duality. | |
| Domains | 3E: Chaos, Darkness, Evil, Magic, Mind, Shadow. 4E: Arcana, Darkness 5E: Knowledge |
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| Favoured Weapon | Quarterstaff | |
The Shadow, Sovereign of Magic and Mayhem, is quite literally Aureon's shadow, which he had to cast off in his pursuit for cosmic knowledge. Little did he know that his shadow would later gain sentience and eventually divinity. The Shadow mostly represents wild, uncontrollable magic and the destructive power it has, but it also stands for the dark path of knowledge and how the pursuit of power can corrupt anyone.
The Traveler[edit]
| The Traveler | ||
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| Aliases | Giver of Gifts | |
| Alignment | 3E/5E: Chaotic Neutral 4E: Unaligned |
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| Pantheon | Eberron (The Dark Six) | |
| Portfolio | Chaos, deception, evolution, invention, transformation. | |
| Domains | 3E: Artifice, Celerity, Chaos, Charm, Creation, Liberation, Travel, Trickery 4E: Change, Creation, Trickery 5E: Forge, Knowledge, Trickery |
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| Favoured Weapon | Scimitar | |
The Traveler, Sovereign of Chaos and Change, is the least-understood of the Six, but also the least-malign and the most widely-worshipped. Where as the others just take existing concepts and take them a step too far or just corrupted, the Traveler stands for change, trickery, and inventiveness. Anyone who embraces change can be considered a follower, thus many changelings, doppelgangers, and shifters tend to follow his beliefs. So why's he in the Dark Six? Because change is dangerous. It's very destabilizing to civilization, and the Sovereign Host are gods of civilization. Not all destabilizing is inherently bad, the fall of a tyrannical king may lead to a benevolent republic, but only Tzeentch wants to live in a world where everything is always changing. And the Traveler doesn't stay in one anything for long: one place, one shape, one mindset. Any knowledge he gives will lead to destabilization, whether forcing the individual to rethink their whole worldview, or forcing all armies everywhere to deal with the invention of explosives and firearms.
Sects & Heresies[edit]
Like its opposite, there are many sects of The Dark Six, more so due to the fact they are rarely worshipped as a unified whole.
The Cabinet of Faces[edit]
To most, the Cabinet is nothing but a myth, but few know that it is a very real order of changelings and doppelgangers. They believe themselves to be the true children of The Traveler. Occasionally one of their leaders becomes possessed by him or his envoys in order to accompilsh something or to deliver a message.
Cult of the Devourer[edit]
Centered in Shargon's Talon, in Stormreach, the cult maintains that it was The Devourer who defeated the fiends of Khyber, and that the lands were raised above the sea by the battles he had. The fury of nature is to be embraced, so that they may prepare for when The Devourer will draw the land back into the sea. Though The Devourer is the main god, The Fury is also revered. The local sahuagin also participate in the rites, and consider the other members to be merely flawed kin in need of assistance. Also when the cult declares you worthy, you're taken to top of the talon and eaten by a sahuagin, who will then become a malenti that looks like him. Whether this is a fusion of the two, or the sahuagin has gained enough memories to pass as the person is up to the DM. And if it's the latter that raises questions about the members.
Creation's Muse[edit]
A sect who believes that The Traveler is the greatest of the gods, having either directly or indirectly created other gods along with them crediting him for many other things. They largely wander around, trying to actually locate their god, believing he still walks the world, whilst leaving "gifts" in their wake. They despise Scions of the Forge.
The Sacred Spark[edit]
Perhaps the smallest and most obscure of the sects, the members of this sect worship both Onatar and The Fury in equal measure, seeing them as two sides of the same divine force. To them, the two are necessary to make great innovations and advancements, for focus without passion, or passion without a focus, will not get people as far. Of course both followers of The Host and The Fury despise them.
Schismatics[edit]
Mainly hiding amidst other sects, the schimatics believe that the separation of The Six from The Host has allowed chance for The Six to take over their former accusers. They worship The Six as a whole, believing that this strengthens the pantheon as a whole, and discreetly fight against the cults that worship only one member of the pantheon.
The Storm Front[edit]
A cult hidden within House Lyrandar, they claim that the Mark of Storm was not a gift from Arawai and Dol Arrah but from The Devourer, and that it should be used for destruction and to seize power for the khoravar. They also venerate krakens, claiming that the most powerful members of the house become them, and that they guide that cult through visions.