Abbathor

Great Master of Greed, Trove Lord, the Avaricious, Wyrm of Avarice

Abbathor
Abbathor, as depicted in Dragon #58 (1982).
General information
Portfolio:	Greed
Home:	Gray Waste of Hades
Alignment:	Neutral Evil
Gender:	Male
Superior:	Moradin
Rules items
Domains:	Evil, Luck, Trickery

Abbathor is the dwarven deity of Greed. His holy symbol is a jewelled dagger.

Appearance

Abbathor manifests as a very large dwarf, fat and piggy-eyed. He wears leather and furs made from those non-dwarves who have opposed him in the past.

Relationships

The Morndinsamman, the dwarven pantheon of gods, consists of the leader Moradin, as well as Abbathor, Berronar Truesilver, Clanggedin Silverbeard, Dugmaren Brightmantle, Dumathoin, Muamman Duathal, and Vergadain. Of all the dwarven deities, he gets along best with Vergadain, with whom he sometimes travels.

Although he is the only evil power among the Morndinsamman, he is tolerated by the other dwarven gods because he has sided with them whenever a threat appeared from outside. Abbathor may be untrustworthy and the embodiment of all dwarven qualities the other gods would rather avoid, but in the end he's still a dwarf, and both they and Abbathor believe in sticking together. "Greed is good, but do not seize wealth from the children of the Morndinsamman," Abbathor teaches, "for strife in the name of avarice weakens the clan."

Realm

Abbathor's realm in the Gray Waste is known as the Glitterhell. It's a place of great natural beauty, if you like gold and gems. The true location of the Glitterhell is unknown, and Abbathor maintains several false locations of his realm to throw off the greedy men and dwarves who are always attempting to steal his gold.

Worshipers

Abbathor, as depicted in Monster Mythology (1992).

Clergy

Abbathor's priests dress in red leather, and leather caps.

Holy days and rituals

Abbathor's holy days are on the solar eclipse, and he demands the sacrifice of both blood and gems annually.

Temples

A long-abandoned temple to Abbathor in the Yatils was looted by Arnon Orberend. {The Marklands, 75)

Myths and legends

Envy and avarice

Originally, Abbathor was god of the beauty of gems and minerals, but he fell into a rivalry with his brother Dumathoin over who would be the patron of the mountain dwarves. When Moradin named Dumathoin, Abbathor became twisted with disappointment, vowing that from that point on, whenever he desired something he would take it.

The beard shirt of Dunforth

The legendary dwarf hero Dunforth wove his beard into a shirt, forsaking all other forms of armor. The dwarven god of battle, Clangeddin Silverbeard, was so impressed by this gesture that he invested Dunforth's beard with power, making it strong as chain mail. Abbathor conspired with Vergadain to trick Dunforth into gambling his beard away. Shamed as only a beardless dwarf can be, Dunforth tried to redeem himself by single-handedly exterminating an orc village. Though he slew thirty of his foes, the overwhelming number of orcs eventually felled the armorless Dunforth, and the beard shirt remains as part of Abbathor's hoard.

Bibliography

• Boyd, Eric L. Demihuman Deities. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 1998.

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

• Greenwood, Ed. Dwarves Deep. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1990.

• Gygax, Gary. Unearthed Arcana. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1985.

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

• Moore, Roger E. "The Gods of the Dwarves." Dragon #58. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1982.

• Olsen, John. "Worth its Weight in Gold." Dragon #109. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1986.

• Oppen, Eric. "The Folk of the Underworld." Dragon #131. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1988.
• -----. "Servants of the Jeweled Dagger." Dragon #152. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1989.

• Sargent, Carl. The Marklands. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1993.
• -----. Monster Mythology. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1992.