Agemnos
The Daedra Lords
Ba'al (Prince of Daedra)
Suspira (Lust, Desire, Hedonism)
Revonos (Rage, Murder, Treachery)
Agemnos (Avarice, Ambition, Wealth)
Lilith (Nature, Lycanthropy, Undeath)
Klepnos (Madness, Trickery, Knowledge)
Tallakath (Sickness, Pestilence, Death & Dying)
Oblineth (Ice, Winter, The Void)
Nocturna (Dreams, Omens, Crossing Over)

Agemnos (ə-JÉM-nōs) is the Master of Avarice, Ambition, and Wealth, the patron deity of those who are desperate to reach the top of life's social ladder and are willing to pay any price to get there. Like a fine antiques dealer, he grows his empire by acquiring items of exceptional value from those who do not realize the worth of their treasures — but where a mortal merchant might deal in gems or artwork, Agemnos deals in souls. He rarely raises a hand in violence against anyone, but Agemnos has probably been responsible for more suffering and misery than any other daedra save Ba'al himself … and, more often than not, his victims are all too willing to walk into his trap.

Appearance & Personality

Arguably the most refined and civilized of the daedra, Agemnos appears as a middle-aged man of regal bearing and distinguished appearance, often clad in the finest of royal garments. He tends to make himself resemble the race and species of whatever mortal he is currently attempting to entice; one week he might look like a Pyralian nobleman, with a thick beard and well-groomed hair, while the next week he appears as a clean-shaven and gold-adorned Irombian prince. With a winning smile, a cultured demeanor and an engaging wit, Agemnos is a dealer, a manipulator. Whatever identity he assumes, the wealthy and powerful delight in his company, and those who aspire to be wealthy or powerful look on him with awe. Both reactions suit his purposes well.

In abstract ethical terms, Agemnos is the most scrupulously Lawful of the daedra. Every bargain he makes comes with a detailed contract spelling out the rules, details and provisos of the agreement in exacting detail. The language of such contracts is as mind-numbing and complex as might be expected for a legal document — and the better-versed in law the petitioner is, the denser the fine print. Agemnos rarely bothers to answer the call of simpletons and other easy marks; for him, the satisfaction comes in outwitting the clever, in convincing people to give up that which they ought to be smart enough to never let go of.

Divine Intervention

Boons: What do you want? If any question embodied Agemnos, it is this one. No treasure, no office, no achievement of mortal man is too high for Agemnos to accept the challenge of acquiring it for his "clients." But Agemnos rarely drops overwhelming riches on a person all at once; the client is expected to do his part, as well. Want to be rich? Agemnos can see to it that your business competitors fail while you succeed, but you'll still have to invest in your business. Want to marry that beautiful woman who lives across town? He'll tell you what lies to say, and when, and to whom, to destroy your rival suitors and make her devoted to you, but you're going to be the one destroying the reputations of other men. Want to be king? He can lead you to weapons and co-conspirators and show you how to gain their support, but in the end you're going to be the one pushing the knife between the king's ribs so you can take his place. And if, a few years down the road, you should be attacked and killed by one of the many, many people you've wronged … oh, well. You did get what you asked for, but all things are fleeting. The bargain was still fulfilled, down to the very last letter.

Cost: There are two ways in which Agemnos collects payment for his boons. The first, and the most dramatic, is by actually trading his favors for a person's immortal soul. Naturally, this bargain works best if the person involved doesn't actually believe in the soul, so Agemnos tends to refer to what is being offered as "metaphysical energy" or "expended life force" or something similarly innocuous. Agemnos might tell a person that the process of death releases a certain potent kind of energy that can then be tapped by those who have the know-how, provided that they are close enough to preserve this energy before it dissipates into the Aether. By trapping the energy at the point of death, the result is more efficient storage, and the resulting power can be stored indefinitely. This explanation often satisfies those of a secular-minded bent, who know little about souls first-hand and do not trust the words of the priests who might enlighten them.

The second tactic is more devious, and more rewarding for Agemnos. Many petitioners are surprised when Agemnos quite willingly agrees to take their souls off of the bargaining table — or agrees that he may only harvest their souls under very specific and (to the petitioner's mind) unlikely circumstances. Instead, Agemnos inserts hundreds of various small rules and conditions into the contract, from the kinds of food the person may eat to the sorts of charities he or she may be permitted to assist. All of these rules are designed to slowly and invisibly separate the person from any redeeming influence that might pull him back from the course Agemnos has set for his life; he becomes rigidly lawful and utterly without mercy, destroying anyone who gets in the way of his ascent to the top. In the end these petitioners often become powerful tyrants and rule over thousands or millions of people, building an entire society of callous indifference and dreary, humdrum misery. By the time these people die, they have become so thoroughly twisted by greed and the lust for power that their souls go to Agemnos's Eighth Hell regardless; he might not have been able to trap them for an eternity in one of his soul gems, but he owns them nevertheless — and in the process of their long lives they have done far more to advance his kingdom than they ever would have if he had harvested them early.

Disciples

Agemnos does not keep a priesthood the way that other deities do; his servants are the ordinary men and women who pledge something to him in exchange for his assistance. He does not need temples; his temples are the banks and marketplaces, the royal courts and the barristers' training houses. There are few altars formally dedicated to him — but whenever injustice is done for the sake of avarice or selfish ambition, his name is exalted and his ethos is advanced.

Known Disciples: Countless nobles, merchants, lawyers, etc.

Offspring & Servants

Agemnos has had a number of children by various other deities, but he gives little regard to any of them. If they are truly his sons and daughters, he reasons, they will prosper without any more help than his own exceptional genetics.

That having been said, Agemnos is not above using servants. He cannot be everywhere at once, so he often depends on imps to carry messages and instructions between himself and his clients. Sometimes these imps appear as imps; at other times they use their magic to mimic his own appearance, so his petitioners are never completely sure who they're dealing with.

Symbology

Aura: Golden smoke.

Holy Symbol: The Shining Coin — a circle with short lines extending out from it in the four cardinal directions.

Symbolic Creature: Peacock.

d20 Notes

Intermediate Deity
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Domains: Greed, Nobility, Trade, Wealth
Weapon of the Deity: Dagger of Venom


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