Champion of Evil, Herald of Hell, Scourge of Battle
Intermediate Deity
Symbol: Fist holding six red arrows
Home Plane: Acheron
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Portfolio: Tyranny, war, discord, massacres, conflict, fitness
Worshippers: Fighters, monks, conquerors, tyrants
Cleric Alignments: LN, LE, NE
Domains: Destruction, Domination, Evil, Law, War
Favoured Weapon: “Executioner” (Flail)
Relics: Chain of obeisance, gauntlets of the blood-lord
The deity of tyranny, Hextor (heks-tore), sometimes appears as a handsome man with dark hair and light skin (and he is often depicted as such in his role as a deity of fitness). Most often he takes the form of a grey-skinned, horrible six-armed humanoid. In this form, he uses a different weapon in each arm and wears iron scale armour with many skull decorations. Hextor is the arch-foe of Heironeous, his half-brother and fellow war deity.
Hextor seeks to conquer or destroy any that oppose him. He tells his followers that the world is a dark and bloody place where the strong rule the weak, and power is the only reward worth anything. The cruel and unrelenting pursuit of one’s goals is the only reliable path to success. Order must be forged out of chaos and law out of anarchy. Tyranny brings order out of chaos. Dissenters must be oppressed or destroyed lest anarchy reign.
Hextor’s sect is not as secretive as other dark religions. Temples of Hextor operate openly in many cities, and clerics wear black clothing adorned with skulls or grey faces.
Hextor’s clerics constantly plan or lead attacks on rebels and do-gooders. They revile good-hearted rulers and governments that nurture personal freedoms, and they are forever scheming to weaken or overthrow regimes that seem likely targets for conquest. When not actually fighting or plotting, they train themselves in the arts of war. Many serve as generals, military advisors, or enforcers to aggressive rulers or iron-fisted tyrants.
Hextor’s clerics also oppose clerics of Heironeous wherever and whenever they can.
Temples to Hextor are always forbidding fortresses, built to impress the common folk with Hextor’s power. Many of his temples are constructed on sites that have seen many great battles because of their strategic value.
Hextor’s religion is organized in military style, so “superior officers” put would-be clerics through rigorous, harsh training. Only those strong enough to put up with months of abuse become clerics of Hextor. Not surprisingly, they’re eager to turn the tables and establish dominance over others.
Hextor’s followers are obsessed with having “lessers” under their heel. They establish themselves as the state religion wherever they can, join the crusades of despotic conquerors, and force local lords to kneel before them.
Worshippers of Hextor generally express concepts as laws, such as “The slave shall not contradict the master, for such is the Law of Hextor”. They also exclaim, “He will be obeyed!” a lot.
Hextor’s followers build their fortress-temples at mountain passes, river crossings and other sites of strategic importance. They often have massive forges where they build weapons and armour for those aiding the cause of tyranny.
The hierarchical structure of Hextor-worship lends itself to a number of rites that honour relationships between two unequal partners, such as master-slave or officer-soldier.
Hextor sends a pit fiend to the Material Plane when he needs a herald. Allies are bearded devils, barbed devils and horned devils.
Source: Deities and Demigods (Page 75), Complete Divine (Page 113)