Incabulos
Encyclopedia
In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting
for the Dungeons & Dragons
role-playing game
, Incabulos (in-CAB-yoo-lohs) is the god of Plagues, Sickness, Famine, Nightmares, Drought, and Disasters. His unholy symbol is the magic icon called the Eye of Possession, a green eye in a red diamond.
in Dragon
#71 (1983). Incabulos was subsequently detailed in the World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting
(1983), and in Greyhawk Adventures (1988).
His role in the cosmology of the Planescape
campaign setting was described in On Hallowed Ground (1996).
(2000).
(2004).
and is accompanied by night hags
, likewise mounted, or hordlings (but not both). Any who meet his eyes are stricken by nightmares, and he carries a staff that causes seeping wounds and withers flesh.
, the death-god who finishes the work Incabulos starts. Incabulos regards him with total indifference.
Since he is the bringer of plagues, famine, and drought, and because of the immense joy he gets from the suffering these things bring, he is feared by even the Demon Princes
of the Abyss and the ArchDevils of Baator themselves.
, Oinos. The whole realm stinks of corpses, and those who enter it find their deepest fears coming to life.
give him offerings, usually foul-smelling, guttering black candles, in a vain attempt to appease him or avoid his wrath. More vile individuals will venerate the Black Rider for his power and evil.
, created the diseased, pestilent race of rot giants
.
Campaign setting
A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. A campaign is a series of individual adventures, and a campaign setting is the world in which such adventures and campaigns take place...
for the Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
, Incabulos (in-CAB-yoo-lohs) is the god of Plagues, Sickness, Famine, Nightmares, Drought, and Disasters. His unholy symbol is the magic icon called the Eye of Possession, a green eye in a red diamond.
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977-1988)
Incabulos was first detailed for the Dungeons & Dragons game in "The Deities and Demigods of the World of Greyhawk" by Gary GygaxGary Gygax
Ernest Gary Gygax was an American writer and game designer best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons with Dave Arneson. Gygax is generally acknowledged as the father of role-playing games....
in Dragon
Dragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
#71 (1983). Incabulos was subsequently detailed in the World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting
World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting
The World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting and the World of Greyhawk Fantasy World Setting are two closely related publications from TSR, Inc. that detail the fictional World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game...
(1983), and in Greyhawk Adventures (1988).
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989-1999)
Incabulos was one of the deities described in the From the Ashes set (1992), for the Greyhawk campaign, and appeared again in Greyhawk: The Adventure Begins (1998).His role in the cosmology of the Planescape
Planescape
Planescape is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, originally designed by Zeb Cook. The Planescape setting was published in 1994...
campaign setting was described in On Hallowed Ground (1996).
Dungeons & Dragons 3.0 edition (2000-2002)
Incabulos's role in the 3rd edition Greyhawk setting was defined in the Living Greyhawk GazetteerLiving Greyhawk Gazetteer
The Living Greyhawk Gazetteer is a sourcebook for the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the 3rd edition of the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. Despite the title, the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer is not exclusive to the Living Greyhawk Campaign...
(2000).
Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition (2003-2007)
His priesthood is detailed for this edition in Complete DivineComplete Divine
Complete Divine is a supplemental rulebook for the 3.5 edition of the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy role-playing game published by Wizards of the Coast...
(2004).
Description
Incabulos's appearance is said to be absolutely terrifying: a deformed body, skeletal hands, and a face from the worst nightmare. His skin is tinged a diseased blue. His filthy black robe is lined with sickly orange and trimmed in moss green. He rides a nightmareNightmare (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the nightmare is an outsider that comes from the Gray Waste of Hades.-Publication history:The nightmare was introduced to the D&D game in the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons....
and is accompanied by night hags
Night hag (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the night hag is an outsider that comes from the Gray Waste of Hades. The night hag's relationship to other types of hags is unclear...
, likewise mounted, or hordlings (but not both). Any who meet his eyes are stricken by nightmares, and he carries a staff that causes seeping wounds and withers flesh.
Relationships
Incabulos hates all other gods except for NerullNerull
In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, as well as in the game's default pantheon of deities, Nerull is the Flan god of death, darkness, murder, and the underworld. He is known as the Reaper, the Foe of All Good, the Hater of Life, and the Bringer of...
, the death-god who finishes the work Incabulos starts. Incabulos regards him with total indifference.
Since he is the bringer of plagues, famine, and drought, and because of the immense joy he gets from the suffering these things bring, he is feared by even the Demon Princes
Demon lord (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, demon lords are demons who have gained great power and established a position of preeminence among demonkind. Each demon lord has a unique appearance and set of abilities. Most control at least one layer of the Abyss...
of the Abyss and the ArchDevils of Baator themselves.
Realm
Incabulos's realm, known as Charnelhouse, is located on the first layer of the Gray WasteGray Waste
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the Gray Waste is a strongly evil aligned plane of existence...
, Oinos. The whole realm stinks of corpses, and those who enter it find their deepest fears coming to life.
Dogma
Incabulos delights in and feeds on suffering, gaining power from illness, famine, nightmares, and other evils and woes. While some attempt to placate the Evilsent with prayers, this only delays the inevitable.Worshippers
Incabulos has only a small following, but common folk throughout the FlanaessFlanaess
The Flanaess is the eastern part of the continent of Oerik, one of the four continents of the fictional world of Oerth in the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game. The Flanaess has been the setting of dozens of adventures published between the 1970s...
give him offerings, usually foul-smelling, guttering black candles, in a vain attempt to appease him or avoid his wrath. More vile individuals will venerate the Black Rider for his power and evil.
Clergy
Clerics of Incabulos are secretive and paranoid, fearing persecution by those who value their health and well-being. If they reveal themselves, it is only to strike greater fear in those already suffering. They enjoy torturing others and spreading disease and blight. They travel to lands to discover new diseases or to spread them. They wear garb of black and orange.Rituals
Services to Incabulos feature weird humming and droning chants in near darkness lit only by fat, black, smoky candles. Followers celebrate various iniquities with their clerics and pray for more evils to enter the world. All vessels used in their unholy rituals are made of bloodstone, carnelian, or old bronze.Myths and legends
Long ago, Incabulos cursed a tribe of hill giantsGiant (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, giant is a type of creature, or "creature type." Giants are humanoid-shaped creatures of great strength and size.-Dungeons & Dragons :...
, created the diseased, pestilent race of rot giants
Giant (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, giant is a type of creature, or "creature type." Giants are humanoid-shaped creatures of great strength and size.-Dungeons & Dragons :...
.
Additional reading
- Brown, Anne. Player's Guide to Greyhawk (TSR, 1998).
- 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: http://www.wizards.com/rpga/downloads/LG_Deities.zip
- Findley, NigelNigel FindleyNigel D Findley was a game designer, editor, and an author of science fiction and fantasy novels and role-playing games .-Biography:Nigel Findley was born in Venezuela, in 1959...
. Greyspace. (TSRTSR, Inc.Blume and Gygax, the remaining owners, incorporated a new company called TSR Hobbies, Inc., with Blume and his father, Melvin Blume, owning the larger share. The former assets of the partnership were transferred to TSR Hobbies, Inc....
, 1992). - Gygax, GaryGary GygaxErnest Gary Gygax was an American writer and game designer best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons with Dave Arneson. Gygax is generally acknowledged as the father of role-playing games....
, and Frank MentzerFrank MentzerJacob Franklin "Frank" Mentzer III , is an American fantasy author and game designer best known for his work on early materials for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. He was a performing folk musician from 1968 to 1975, and played one concert at the White House during the...
. The Temple of Elemental Evil (TSRTSR, Inc.Blume and Gygax, the remaining owners, incorporated a new company called TSR Hobbies, Inc., with Blume and his father, Melvin Blume, owning the larger share. The former assets of the partnership were transferred to TSR Hobbies, Inc....
, 1985). - Living Greyhawk Journal no. 3 - "Gods of Oerth"