Zargon
| Zargon | ||
|---|---|---|
| Horned Lizard Head With 4 Chin-Tentacles | ||
| Alignment | Lawful Evil | |
| Divine Rank | Unclear | |
| Pantheon | Mystaran (Cynidicean), Elder Evils | |
| Portfolio | Corruption, Decadence, Degeneration, Destruction | |
| Domains | Destruction, Evil, Law | |
| Home Plane | Prime Material Plane (Mystara) | |
| Worshippers | Cynidiceans | |
| Favoured Weapon | Light Flail | |
Zargon is a terrible monster that lies within the Lost City of Cynidicea on Mystara. Awoken from its slumber in a deep chamber beneath the earth, nobody actually knows what the fuck this thing is; it might be the creation of some deranged wizard, or maybe the servitor of some Immortal of Entropy now lost to time, or even a physical shard of some greater being. Most sources, however, state him to be the leader of the Original Baatorans and the guy who ruled Baator before Asmodeus strutted in and slapped his dick on the table.
Whatever its origin, Zargon is a brutish and savage creature; nearly 35 feet tall, it resembles a cyclopean lizardfolk with a single mighty horn on its brow, with each limb replaced by a cluster of three writhing tentacles tipped with razor sharp talons. It oozes a noxious gray slime, which lubricates its way as it slithers and crawls itself along. Contact with this slime can turn people into ooze monsters called Whelps of Zargon. It is virtually impossible to kill, save by slaying it and then casting its horn - the source of its immortality - into a pool of lava before it regenerates a new body 24 hours after its death.
At the height of their culture, the ancient Cynidiceans awoke Zargon as they delved into the depths to construct their great underground city. Zargon responded by rampaging through their streets, killing many, until they learned to tame its hunger with human sacrifices. A cult sprang up around the foul creature, and over time it drew the people of Cynidicea into drug-addled deliriums, creating a culture of eternal debauched revelry that saw the empire crumble and reduced the Cynidiceans to the twisted, maddened things they are now. In time, it's likely they will all perish, leaving Zargon alone in the ruins of their city.
This version of Zargon made his first appearance in the module B4: The Lost City for BECMI. It was later updated to Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition in Dragon Magazine #315. In this same edition, Zargon would be reinvented in the sourcebook Elder Evils, which claims that Zargon is actually an elder fiend, a former king of Baator cast out the Nine Hells by Asmodeus. Zargon would also be mentioned as a possible native of the Nentir Vale setting in the Dungeon Survival Handbook splatbook for Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition. He is mentioned in the 5th edition player's handbook, where he's a suggested patron for Great Old One Warlocks, although given the above he should also work as a fiendish patron. And his latest official mention is in Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes, where he appears in a list of the Elder Evils. Goodman Games, though, got permission to reprint and update the Lost City in their Original Adventures Reincarnated series. No major changes are made in the Goodman Games version beyond updating Zargon to 5e.
Gallery[edit | edit source]
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Zargon as he appears in B4: The Lost City -
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The Returner, as he appears in Elder Evils.
