View source for Ravanna

{{Archfiend| fgcolor=|
image=|
caption=|
 
name=Ravanna|
title=King of Rakshasas|
home=[[Acheron]] (formerly [[Material Plane]])|
power=Lesser deity|
gender=Male|
class=Cleric 14, fighter 25, magic-user 16, illusionist 25|
alignment=Lawful evil|
portfolio=Deception, intrigue, lies, rakshasas, tyranny|
domains=Destruction, Evil, Trickery|
alias=|
super=None|
}}
'''Ravanna''', the king and god of [[rakshasa]]s, is a ten-headed lesser deity who can only be harmed by non-deific creatures from the [[Material Plane]].

==Description==
Ravanna is depicted as a rakshasa with ten heads. He is gifted with invulnerability to gods, demons, and elementals. He is decadent and monomaniacal, possessing the cruel intellect, diabolical cunning, and patient subtlety all other rakshasas aspire to. In battle he wields his javelin, ''Yamafang.'' 

==Relationships==
Ravanna's sister, Soorpanakha, was slain by a mortal. 

===Vassals===
Ravanna's chief proxy is '''Loliadac''', a rakshasa maharajah bearing the heads of a [[human]], mantis, ape, crocodile, and tiger who commands an army he moves from Acheron to the [[Plane of Shadow]] and the Material Plane at his god's command. Ravanna's planar allies include bone [[devil]]s, hellcats, and rakshasas. 

==Realm==
Ravanna dwells on the plane of [[Acheron]], in a gloomy underworld known to some as Patalam. 

==Worshippers==
Ravanna is worshipped and loyally obeyed by rakshasas as the champion of their race. He does not accept worshippers of other races. 

===Clergy===
Few rakshasas choose to become clerics of Ravanna willingly; instead, Ravanna chooses them based on their potential to serve his interests. Few dare to disobey the god's summons, as his wrath is great. Ravanna demands his followers expand their power and influence while remaining unseen; this makes them seem more like a far-reaching criminal network than a typical priesthood.

==Temples==
Ravanna has few temples, but those he does have are often ostentatious displays of wealth and decadence crafted from precious metals. A more humble temple of Ravanna is in the settlement of [[Newtemple]] on the [[Wild Coast]]. More common are the personal shrines that all rakshasas maintain. 

==Rituals==
Ravanna demands daily sacrifices of blood and wealth. Prayers to Ravanna are lengthy affairs that extol Ravanna's virtues while affirming the unworthiness of his followers. 

==History==
Ravanna had a sister called Soorpanakha who attempted to seduce the mortal hero Rama. Rama angrily killed her, but before she died she returned to her brother's court and demanded he avenge her. Ravanna obliged by beginning a war with Rama, which ended with Ravanna's death at the mortal's hands. Ravanna's spirit traveled to the plane of Acheron, where his body reformed and he continued to rule the rakshasa race. Since his defeat, he has refused to leave his home plane. 

==Bibliography==
*[[Scott Bennie|Bennie, Scott]]. "Never the Same Thing Twice." ''[[Dragon (magazine)|Dragon]]'' #84. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1984. Page 31.

*Cagle, Eric. "The Ecology of the Rakshasa." ''[[Dragon (magazine)|Dragon]]'' #326. Bellevue, WA: Paizo Publishing, 2004. Page 68. 

*[[James Jacobs|Jacobs, James]]. "Twilight's Last Gleaming." ''[[Dungeon]]'' #35. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1992.

*[[Andy Miller|Miller, Andy]]. "The Setting Sun." ''[[Dungeon]]'' #73. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 1999. 

[[Category:Archfiends]]
[[Category:Deities of deceit]]
[[Category:Deities of oppression]]{{index}}