Maglubiyet

Fiery-Eyes, the Mighty One, the High Chieftain, the Lord of Depths and Darkness, the Battle Lord

Maglubiyet
Maglubiyet the Mighty One, as depicted in Dragon #372. Illustration by Steve Argyle.
General information
Portfolio:	War, rulership
Home:	Infernal Battlefield of Acheron
Alignment:	Neutral evil
Gender:	Male
Class:	Cleric 10, monster 16, illusionist 6, assassin 10
Superior:	none
Rules items
Domains:	Chaos, Destruction, Evil, Trickery

Maglubiyet is the chief deity of goblins, norkers, and hobgoblins. He is a god of war and leadership who rules over the goblin pantheon with an iron fist.

Maglubiyet's many titles include: Fiery-Eyes, the Mighty One, the High Chieftain, and the Lord of Depths and Darkness. As a god of war and a great general he is also known as the Battle Lord.

Description

Maglubiyet appears as a giant (11 feet tall), black-skinned goblin with flaming eyes, powerfully-muscled arms and sharp talons. He wields a mighty coal-black battle axe that constantly drips blood.

Relationships

Maglubiyet is currently served by Khurgorbaeyag, goblin god of slavery, oppression, and morale, and Bargrivyek, the god of co-operation and territory among the goblins. Nomog-Geaya, patron deity of the hobgoblins, also pays fealty to Maglubiyet.

Maglubiyet is an unpopular deity with many gods, including those of the elves, dwarves, orcs, and others. Maglubiyet covets the fertility portfolio of Kikanuti, the good-aligned goblinoid goddess of the desert goblins.

Realm

Maglubiyet's divine realm is Clangor, located on the plane of Acheron. His capital is a fortress city called Grashmog, which translated from the goblin tongue means the "Heart of Battle." The mightiest goblin city in Clangor is Shetring, a fortification with five bridges spanning the River Lorfang. Maglubiyet lives at the bottom of a waterfall of the river in a cavern of magnificently carved steel dripping with moisture.

From his throne of flaming iron, Maglubiyet commands the souls of goblins, hobgoblins, and worgs to wage eternal war against the orcish petitioners of Gruumsh. He also employs baatezu, barghests, and yugoloths as mercenaries and commanders to bolster his armies.

Maglubiyet allows the gods Khurgorbaeyag and Nomog-Geaya to live in his realm, if only just to keep an eye on them.

Dogma

Maglubiyet revels in conflict and destruction and constantly pushes his followers to wage war, particularly against dwarves and gnomes. He encourages goblins to increase their numbers in order to overrun their enemies. As a paranoid god he is prone to destroy lesser goblin deities when he suspects treachery or he thinks they are becoming too powerful.

Clergy and temples

The priests and shamans of Maglubiyet are his mouthpieces on the Material Planes. They fulfill his demands for blood sacrifices by dispatching victims with an axe. They believe that these sacrifices strengthen Maglubiyet. His clergy is almost always drawn from the goblin and hobgoblin races. The tasloi also worship an aspect of Maglubiyet.

Maglubiyet communes with his priests through omens. Blood flowing from the edge of an axe, abnormal behavior in worgs and wolves, and speaking directly through shamans in a trance are all ways he makes his will known.

In some worlds Maglubiyet's priests wear gray-green scale mail and conical hats and worship him in cave temples where they make sacrifices of hearts to him monthly.

Maglubiyet's holy day is the new moon and his holy weapon is the battle axe. His goblin worshippers are sometimes referred to as the "sons of Maglubiyet."

Myths and legends

In times past, Maglubiyet had two sons who served as his lieutenants. However, in true goblin fashion, he decided that they were a threat. To get rid of them he sent them on suicide missions against the orcs and dwarves until they were slain.

Creative origins

Maglubiyet means "defeat" in Turkish, and the root word Maglub is probably of Arabic origin.

Publishing history

Maglubiyet first appeared in Deities & Demigods (1980), by Robert J. Kuntz and James M. Ward, and was further developed for the second edition of the AD&D game in Monster Mythology and On Hallowed Ground. His outer planar realm was described in great detail in Planes of Law.

In 4th edition, he appears (with full game statistics) as a demigod servant of the god Bane in Dragon #372.

Bibliography

• Baker, Richard and James Wyatt. Players Guide to Faerun. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2004.

• Baur, Wolfgang. Planes of Law: Acheron. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1995.

• Boyd, Eric L. and Erik Mona. Faiths and Pantheons. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2002.

• Boyd, Eric L., Matt Forbeck, and James Jacobs. Races of Faerun. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2003.

• Cordell, Bruce R, Jennifer Clarke-Wilkes, and JD Wiker. Sandstorm: Mastering the Perils of Fire and Sand. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2005.

• Gilbert, Steve, and Bill Slavicsek. "Tallow's Deep." Dungeon #18. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1989.

• Grubb, Jeff, Bruce Cordell, and David Noonan. Manual of the Planes. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2001.

• Marmell, Ari. "Deities and Demigods: Bane." Dragon #372. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2009.

• McComb, Colin. On Hallowed Ground. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1996.

• Redman, Rich and James Wyatt. Defenders of the Faith. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2000.

• Reid, Thomas M. Shining South. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2004.

• Sargent, Carl. Monster Mythology. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1992.

• Ward, James and Robert J. Kuntz. Deities and Demigods. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1980.

• Williams, Skip. Monster Manual v3.5. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2003.