Lilith
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)

Lilith (LÍL-əþ) is one of the two nature goddesses in the Pantheon. Neither she nor her sister Artela completely encompasses the character and spirit of the natural world, but each exists as a mirror image of the other: while Artela represents nature in its mutualistic aspect, in which creatures form partnerships that help each other to survive and prosper, Lilith embodies the predatory and competitive aspects of nature. Lilith's domain is the world of nature "red in tooth and claw," in which the weak are killed and eaten or simply starved out of existence, while the strong prosper and pass on their traits to the next generation. All of the suffering and violence of the natural world are, according to Lilith's ethos, merely tests that will temper the worthy and erase the undeserving from existence.

Lilith was also the creator of the first vampires, whom she conceived to be the ultimate hunter that would help to keep the Elves and humans strong and fit, for they had become clever enough that few predators could effectively cull the weak from among them. It is believed that she also created the first werecreatures, turning ordinary mortals into beings that could change into powerful beasts when the conditions were right. Because of this, Lilith is also known as the patroness of lycanthropes and the undead.

Lilith's focus on predation and competition does not mean that she ignores the benefits of cooperation, however. While Lilith does not feel the same sense of joy and wonder in mutualism that Artela feels, she does recognize that mutualism is a part of life and that even carnivores must protect their vulnerable pups and work together to take down prey that are larger than themselves. Lilith has instilled strong lawful instincts in her vampires for this very reason, giving them an inborn sense of duty to their sires and bloodlines so that their predatory instincts will not drive them into self-destruction. Nor is it a coincidence that the best-known lycanthropes are werewolves: Lilith has a particular admiration for lupine society, and chose the wolf as the ideal animal to blend with humans in creating her new super-predator.

Appearance & Personality

Lilith appears as a darkly beautiful woman, with long black hair and dark eyes. Her skin may be tanned like Artela's or pale like her vampire children, depending on her mood. She generally dresses in a black jerkin, tunic, leggings and boots, though she has been known to wear elegant, flowing gowns of black silk when appearing in more formal ceremonies.

The Vampire Queen's personality is, appropriately, rather vampish. She keeps a steady hold on her emotions most of the time, rarely showing anything more than dry amusement or quiet irritation. She is sensual and seductive — not overtly sexual and lascivious like Suspira, but displaying tremendous self-confidence and a certain knowledge of her body's appeal.

On those rare occasions when Lilith is provoked to rage, it is a terrible sight to behold: her fingernails become long talons, her eyes become a feral yellow rimmed with black, her body grows tall and muscular, her skin becomes a thick and leathery hide, and her jaws elongate and fill up with a nightmarish array of teeth. She hates when this happens, since it means both losing her beauty and losing control of the predator inside her; anyone who sees her like this, even her own trusted servants, will generally be killed so that they cannot report what they have seen to anyone else.

Divine Intervention

Boons: The aid of one or more of her dark minions; nature-related magical powers; being changed into a lycanthrope or vampire.

Cost: Changing a person into a lycanthrope or a vampire is a boon that pays for itself: lycanthropes give power to Lilith just by being themselves and following their natures, and vampires are bound by blood to serve Lilith forever. For other sorts of boons, Lilith tends to follow the standard rule of "three small favors or one large quest" — though her definition of a "small" favor might mean slaying just one unicorn, or sacrificing one particularly troublesome druid of Artela.

Disciples

Lilith has one of the largest mortal followings of any of the daedra lords, and there are still many around the world who worship her as the goddess of nature.1 Her following is particularly strong in the Northlands: most of the lutin tribes pay her homage, and the priests of Lilith have ruled the nation of Lom Shi-Un for most of its long history.

Unlike Artela's druids, the servants of Lilith frequently live in civilized lands. Lilith sees the overcrowding and social strife of human cities as a fertile breeding ground for the sort of conditions that weed out the weak and useless individuals in a population. By working to put her priests in positions of authority in civilized lands, Lilith ensures that this social Darwinism will continue without being compromised by the coddling, well-meaning weakness of gods like Velena and Akkala. In lands dominated by Lilith's ethos, downtrodden minorities — the widows, the orphans, the poor in general — have to be at least as tough, determined and merciless as the priests themselves. Those that can manage this will survive; those that cannot will die cold, anonymous deaths in the alleys, sewers, and trash heaps, their bodies left to feed the creatures that were stronger than they.

For all of their callousness, Lilith's followers are notably skilled at building their cities in harmony with the world around them. Many of the cities of Lom Shi-Un are surrounded by the Forest of Darkness, Lilith's largest demesne on the Materal Plane; while their inhabitants do use the forest's resources, they do so in a sustainable way, never failing to pay reverence and honor to Lilith and her dark nymphs that inhabit the forest. This is partly because they take seriously their goddess's teachings about the majesty and holiness of wild, unspoiled nature — but it is also because of fear, for the inhabitants of the dark forests would not hesitate to strike back in retribution against humans who tried to harm their precious woodlands.

The religious ceremonies performed to honor Lilith vary by city and region. Sacred hunts of one kind or another are a universal practice; usually, the prey is captured alive and then sacrificed to Lilith in a grove or temple. The exact nature of the quarry, however, can vary wildly. Some merely hunt wild stags or elk; others believe that more dangerous quarry, such as boars or bears, are a more fitting choice, since there is a greater danger of the hunter becoming the hunted (and thus the success of Lilith's faithful is a greater triumph). Some cultures believe that the only suitable prey for such a hunt is a sentient mortal being; these worshipers will kidnap people from other lands, or buy slaves at market, and then turn them loose in the woods to be hunted. Those who manage to kill their pursuers, or evade them for the prescribed length of the hunt, are praised as exemplars of Lilith's ethos and given their freedom; those who are captured are sacrificed, and their hearts are eaten by the priests of Lilith.

Known Disciples: Laneth Ru, the vampire empress of Lom Shi-Un.

Offspring & Servants

Lilith's descendants include the wraiths, the first of whom were sired by Ba'al; the balrogs, who were first created when she was raped by Revonos; and the dark nymphs, who are the product of her sexual encounters with various mortals. Lilith also has a variety of unique children who serve as Daedra Nobles, some of whose powers indicate they may have been fathered by Dvalin, Wvelkim, or even Kammoloth himself.

Lilith also has daedric servants of a more animalistic bent, including hell hounds, fiendish dire wolves, and the stalkers, a type of lesser daedra that feeds on emotions. The precise origins of these creatures are unknown, but it is believed that they may have resulted from Lilith's experimentation on creatures from the Dreamlands and the Material Plane.

Lilith's non-daedric servants include, as noted, a variety of dark creatures, including vampires, lycanthropes, Elderwood spiders, draconians, and a large number of human and Moon Elf servants, especially in Lom Shi-Un.

Lilith has two fiendish dire wolves who are her steadfast companions, hunting with her and sitting at her feet when she holds court. They are a mated pair; the female is named Hecatha, and the male is named Oberos.

Symbology

Aura: Similar to Artela's, but carrying a more dangerous scent reminiscent of wolves and other predators.

Holy Symbol: The Ankh — an inverted teardrop with short lines extending left, right and down from the tip.

Symbolic Creature: Dire wolf.

d20 Notes

Intermediate Deity
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Domains: Animal, Bestial,2 Necromancy, Undeath
Weapon of the Deity: Seeking Longbow


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