Mictlantecuhtli
| Mictlantecuhtli | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Portfolio: | Death, Darkness, Murder, the Underworld |
| Home: | Tlalxicco |
| Alignment: | Lawful evil (neutral evil tendencies) |
| Gender: | Male |
| Class: | Cleric 14/druid 14/ranger 15/magic-user 18/illusionist 18/assassin 15 |
| Superior: | Ometeotl |
| Rules items | |
| Domains: | Death, Destruction, Evil, Law, Mysticism, Pestilence, Tyranny, War |
Mictlantechuhtli is the Olman god of Death, Darkness, Murder, and the Underworld. His symbol is a skeletal canine (itzcuintli, the dog totem) or a skull and crossbones.
Description
In their true forms, Mictlantecuhtli and his wife resemble emaciated humans with skull-like heads, bulging eyes. Mictlantecuhtli is also depicted as a skeletal canine. Their omens include the hoot of an owl, a dream in which the dreamer dies, and having a vulture perch on one's shoulder. All of these omens, of course, signify imminent death.
Relationships
Mictlantecuhtli has a wife, Mictlanchihuatl, with whom he co-rules over the Olman afterlife.
A relationship of some kind with Chitza-Atlan, guardian of the gates of the underworld, might be assumed.
Realm
According to Legends & Lore (1990), the Aztecs, whose gods are often also Olman gods, believe in a "world above" and a "world below." The world below is the home of the dead. Mictlantecuhtli and Mictlanchihuatl rule from Tlalxicco, the ninth and lowest level of the Olman underworld. There, all those who do not die while performing an activity presided over by another god (such as in combat, as prisoners, during childbirth and so on) must journey past the gates of Chitza-Atlan and across the nine rivers of the underworld to dwell eternally in Mictlantecuhtli's and Mictlanchihuatl's domain. There they experience neither pain nor pleasure.
Worshippers
Mictlantecuhtli is one of the patrons (with Zotzilaha) of the werebat nation of Telaneteculi in the Amedio Jungle.
Clergy
The primary responsibility of Mictlantecuhtli's priests is preparing the dead for their afterlife journeys and presiding over the death rights. Grim and cold, they never show mercy to their opponents, sacrificing them to their deity as soon as possible.
As with most Olman priests, priests of Mictlantecuhtli must choose a direction to pray to at the beginning of their careers. Clerics of the east wear red, clerics of the south wear yellow, clerics of the west wear black, and clerics of the north wear white.
Temples
Olman temples are usually step pyramids with entrances at the bottom corresponding to the four points of a compass.
Rituals and holy days
Rituals to the Olman deities are typically performed every 20 days, corresponding to the various "signs" of the divinatory calendar. Each sign is ruled by a different deity. Sacrifices may take many forms, depending on the god. The public is required to attend every ritual, held at the temple of the appropriate god. During Mictlantecuhtli's sign, which comes up once a year, clerics of the gods of death must spill some of their own blood in order to feed their deities.
Mictlantecuhtli and Mictlanchihuatl also demand a small amount of blood from any of their clerics who cast a raise dead spell.
Mictlantecuhtli's worshippers get his attention by sacrificing 50 of their followers during the dark of the moons. These sacrifices then transform into undead to act as the god's agents in the mortal world. Mictlantecuhtli encourages his followers to send their enemies to be his slaves in the afterlife.
Bibliography
- Conforti, Steven, ed. Living Greyhawk Official Listing of Deities for Use in the Campaign, version 2.0. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2005. Available online:[1]
- Johnson, Harold, and Jeff R. Leason. The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1980.
- Reynolds, Sean K. The Scarlet Brotherhood. Renton, WA: TSR, 1999.
- Ward, James and Troy Denning. Legends & Lore. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1990.
- Ward, James and Robert J. Kuntz. Deities & Demigods. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1980.