God of Mischief, Strife, and Fire; The Sly One, The Trickster, The Shape Changer, The Sky Traveller
Greater Deity
Symbol: Flame
Home Plane: Asgard before Balder’s death, Midgard afterward
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Portfolio: Thieves, trickery, murder
Worshippers: Rogues, assassins
Cleric Alignments: CE, CN, NE
Domains: Chaos, Destruction, Evil, Trickery
Favoured Weapon: Dagger
Loki (loh-kee) is an ambiguous figure in Asgardian myth. A handsome and clever young man, he often accompanies the gods on their journeys. Many tales of Thor mention Loki as his companion. The youngest inhabitant of Asgard, some myths state he was the child of the giants Farbauti and Laufey, while others place him at creation with Odin. Loki excels at subverting order and finding solutions and answers the other gods never consider. Restless and easily bored, Loki often amuses himself by playing practical jokes on the other gods. He can take many different forms and often becomes female. Loki is responsible for most of the gods’ greatest treasures, challenging the dwarves to outdo their gift of Sif’s hair.
Not until Ragnarok approaches does Loki truly become evil and malicious. For his role in Balder’s death, Odin turns one of Loki’s sons, Vali, into a wolf and sets him on another son, Narfi. The gods use Narfi’s entrails to bind Loki in a cave, and they set a poisonous snake over him to drip venom into his wounds. Loki’s wife, Sigyn, stays with him and tries to protect him from the venom. When the venom splashes on Loki, his pained spasms are the source of earthquakes. Loki is destined to break free for Ragnarok.
Loki’s cult is generally hidden. Despite having a constructive role in society, the cult commands little respect and known members may find themselves ostracized. The cultists believe they aid people through practical jokes and humour. Though outsiders may consider the jokes cruel, they’re rarely deliberately harmful. Instead, they’re meant to encourage their victims to look at life from another perspective and to gain insight by doing so.
Darker forms of the cult teach assassination, murder, mayhem and all forms of worldly chaos. These sinister versions of the cult are more common after Balder’s death, as Loki takes sides with the giants against the Asgardians.
Like the cult members, Loki’s clergy keep their nature quiet. They generally have other professions in addition to their roles as clerics, and many are rogues or sorcerers.
Temples to Loki are windowless places, often below ground, lit by torches and other fires. From the outside they appear to be legitimate businesses or the entrances to small, simple caves. The temples include supplies of weapons, poisons and other tools of mayhem in addition to resources for committing practical jokes.
Visitors to Loki’s temples are rare. Those who find them generally do so purposefully, because they seek initiation or are already members of the cult. People who stumble across them find themselves treated with suspicious curiosity at best and outright violence at worst. Giants, on the other hand, receive warm welcomes and the support of the members and clergy.
Source: Deities and Demigods (Page 183)