Mellifleur
| Mellifleur | |
|---|---|
 Mellifleur, as depicted in Monster Mythology (1992) by Terry Dykstra. | |
| Names and titles | |
| Alias(es): | Melif |
| Title(s): | The Lichlord |
| General information | |
| Portfolio: | Lichdom, Magic |
| Home: | Gehenna, Krangath, Hopelorn |
| Alignment: | Neutral evil |
| Gender: | Male |
| Class: | Wizard 25 (avatar) |
| Superior: | None |
| Rules items | |
| Domains: | Death, Evil, Luck, Magic |
| Divine rank: | Lesser |
Mellifleur is the god of Lichdom and Magic. His symbol is a crystal vial held in a skeletal hand, with a ring on its fourth finger.[1]
Description
Mellifleur's features are typical for his kind, though his clean, undamaged, clothing marks him as more concerned with his personal appearance than most liches tend to be. Green gemstones glow within his eye sockets.[2]
Relationships
Nerull actively opposes Mellifleur, seeking to recapture and absorb Mellifleur's power,[3] since Mellifleur unintentionally usurped it during the apotheosis of a servant of Nerull.[1][2][3] For this reason, some neutral good deities will occasionally aid Mellifleur in the hopes of keeping the forces of Evil divided.[1][3]
The yugoloth known as Typhus was empowered by a cabal of night hags to defeat Mellifleur's armies, back when the lich-god was attempting to seize control of the larva trade.
Realm
Mellifleur resides in Gehenna,[1] where he hides many magical phylacteries, which can sustain him should he be overcome, or magically trapped.[2]
In the third edition Manual of the Planes, Mellifleur is also called Melif[4] and his realm, rising from Gehenna's deepest and darkest furnace, is called Hopelorn.[5] Hopelorn is a mortuary city carved from obsidian and is a place where sarcophagi light the streets[5][6] with a hellish red hue.[5] The tiny slits of windows look out into the dead, black landscape.[5] Liches, and other forms of undead, gather to research the arcane arts and the nature of life and death, dissecting captured fiends in fell experiments.[5] Only the yugoloths are avoided for such experiments by the denizens of this place, for fear of bringing the wrath of the yugoloths down upon themselves and Hopelorn.[5]
Melif and Hopelorn also appear in the fourth edition Manual of the Planes.[6]
Dogma
Mellifleur encourages mortals to explore the secrets of life and death, and to ultimately become undead themselves.[5]
Worshippers
Mellifleur is worshipped by some liches. Mellifleur delights in guiding mortal arcanists along the path to undeath, as his own power is increased by all such acts.[2]
Myths and legends
Mellifleur was once a mortal wizard[1] (or, as some rumors state, a yugoloth wizard)[5] who performed the rites to make himself a lich. Due to an unforeseen conjunction of the spheres, Mellifleur's ritual tapped into divine forces sent by Nerull, who was, at that precise moment, endeavoring to elevate one of his servants to divinity. Somehow, Mellifleur's magic diverted this power into himself; thus Mellfleur became both a lich and a god in the place of Nerull's favored minion.[1][3]
The illithids, who seem to know much that is hidden from others, tell a somewhat different story.[3] They claim that Mellifleur interrupted not just one such apotheosis, but many, thus usurping the ascension of many gods on many different worlds. Because of this, they say Mellifleur became not just a demigod but a lesser god in one unexpected surge of power. This forces Mellifleur to oppose the machinations of many outraged gods of evil.[1][3]
Mellifleur in other sources
In Powers & Pantheons (1997), Velsharoon, the patron deity of necromancers, liches, and undeath in the Forgotten Realms setting, took the name "Mellifleur" as an alias.[7] There's no indication they are the same deity other than Velsharoon using the alias. Though they share some similarities, they also differ in most all details (including origin and history) other than portfolio, and later sources do not address this usage nor use any name other than Mellifleur or Meilf.
Eric Boyd, author of Powers & Pantheons, clarified in 2022 that while a DM could make it "possible" the deities are the same, Velsharoon was simply using an alias and answering spells in Mellifleur's name. Velsharoon "had stolen the name when it was used in the Realms crystal sphere." Boyd further said that if a character "then voyaged to [Greyhawk] or any other Crystal Sphere [they] would reach the 'real' Melifleur via appropriate spells."[8]
References
Notes
Citations
- ↑ a b c d e f g Dragon #359 (Sep 2007), p.121.
- ↑ a b c d DMGR4 Monster Mythology (1992), p.113.
- ↑ a b c d e f DMGR4 Monster Mythology (1992), p.109.
- ↑ Manual of the Planes (2001), p.111.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Manual of the Planes (2001), p.114.
- ↑ a b Manual of the Planes (2008), p.110.
- ↑ Powers & Pantheons (1997), p.76.
- ↑ Eric Boyd, pers. comm. with GreyhawkOnline, Discord, 1 December 2002.
Bibliography
- Baker, Richard, Rob Heinsoo, and James Wyatt. Manual of the Planes. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2008.
- Bonny, Edward. "Pox of the Planes." Dragon Annual #2. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1997.
- Boyd, Eric L. Powers & Pantheons. Renton, WA: TSR, 1997.
- Grubb, Jeff, David Noonan, and Bruce Cordell. Manual of the Planes. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2001.
- Sargent, Carl. Monster Mythology. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1992.
- Schneider, F. Wesley. "Forgotten Faiths." Dragon #359. Bellevue, WA: Paizo Publishing, 2007.
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Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index
The Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index (EGI) is based on previous work of Jason Zavoda through '08, continued by numerous other fans. The EGI article has a list of sources, product names, abbreviations, and a link to the full, downloadable index.
| Topic | Type | Description | Product | Page/Card/Image
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mellifleur (Lich-Lord) (Liches) | Deity | DMGR4 - Monster Mythology | 3, 109, 111, 113 | |
| Mellifleur (Lich-Lord) (Liches) | Deity | Dragon magazine #359 | 121 |