Kossuth (Dungeons & Dragons)
Encyclopedia
In the Dungeons & Dragons
roleplaying game, Kossuth, is the god of Fire.
Kossuth is symbolized by a twining red flame (his holy symbol). His followers and clerics are often of the Neutral or Lawful Neutral alignment. He is the Fire God, the Lord of Flames, the Firelord, the Elemental God of Fire. His portfolio covers elemental fire, and purification through fire; his domains are destruction, fire, renewal, and suffering. His favored weapon is the spiked chain.
created Kossuth for his home Dungeons & Dragons
game, inspired by the deity Kakatal, created by Michael Moorcock
for his Elric stories.
initially used Kakatal, one of Moorcock
's Elemental gods as found in the original Deities & Demigods
, as the elemental lord of fire for his home Dungeons & Dragons campaign set in the Forgotten Realms
. As Greenwood indicated in his article "Down-to-earth Divinity" in Dragon
#54 (October 1981), Moorcock's elemental gods "may later be replaced in [his] universe by "official" AD&D beings as these are published". Kossuth first appeared in the original Manual of the Planes
(1987), and was featured as one of the elemental lords for the Forgotten Realms in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Sets "Cyclopedia of the Realms" booklet (1987).
(1990), the revised Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (1993) in the "Running the Realms" booklet, and Faiths & Avatars
(1996).
(2002).
. Fire and purity are one and the same. Smoke is produced by air in its jealousy. The reward of successful ambition is power. Reaching a higher state is inevitably accompanied by difficulty and personal pain of some sort. Kossuth sends his pure fire to temper our souls and allow us to achieve a pure state.
Expect to be tested and rise to the challenge no matter what difficulty and pain it brings. Those above you have proven their worth and deserve your service. Guide others to Kossuth's pure light so that he may reforge all life into its essential form.
Both factions subscribe to a strict hierarchy. A temple's high cleric, called an Eternal Flame, represents the highest possible religious authority. All are subservient to the local Eternal Flame; Braziers tend to follow the lead of the nearest such leader during their travels. Below the Eternal Flame are various terraces holding dominance over the ranks below them. Adherents on the lowest terrace deny themselves all worldly goods and pleasures, donating to the higher terraces all but the minimum needed to remain alive. (In the case of adventuring clerics, this minimum includes armour, weapons, and magic items.) As a cleric advances through the terraces, more and more rights and pleasures are granted to him, but only through great hardship and difficult -often fatal- tests of faith.
Kossuth's adherents tend to be fanatical schemers who wish to "cleanse" the world and rebuild it according to the Firelord's dictates. Highly motivated and easily manipulated, clerics of the lower terraces tend to "burn out" quickly (often literally) in their efforts to advance to the next terrace. Senior clerics use their underlings as pawns, frequently sending them on missions for which they are not properly trained or equipped, so that only those of the highest skill and ambition will advance. All clerics of Kossuth share a fiery temper: They are quick to take offense and use violence to enforce the rigidity of their chosen lifestyle. The primary goal of all clerics is to acquire land, wealth, influence, and power, and few church activities involve anything that does not directly contribute to one of these goals.
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...
roleplaying game, Kossuth, is the god of Fire.
Kossuth is symbolized by a twining red flame (his holy symbol). His followers and clerics are often of the Neutral or Lawful Neutral alignment. He is the Fire God, the Lord of Flames, the Firelord, the Elemental God of Fire. His portfolio covers elemental fire, and purification through fire; his domains are destruction, fire, renewal, and suffering. His favored weapon is the spiked chain.
Publication history
Ed GreenwoodEd Greenwood
Ed Greenwood is a Canadian writer and editor who created the Forgotten Realms. He invented the Forgotten Realms as a child, as a fantasy world in which to set the stories he imagined, and later used this world as a campaign setting for his own personal Dungeons & Dragons playing group...
created Kossuth for his home 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...
game, inspired by the deity Kakatal, created by Michael Moorcock
Michael Moorcock
Michael John Moorcock is an English writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also published a number of literary novels....
for his Elric stories.
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977-1988)
Ed GreenwoodEd Greenwood
Ed Greenwood is a Canadian writer and editor who created the Forgotten Realms. He invented the Forgotten Realms as a child, as a fantasy world in which to set the stories he imagined, and later used this world as a campaign setting for his own personal Dungeons & Dragons playing group...
initially used Kakatal, one of Moorcock
Michael Moorcock
Michael John Moorcock is an English writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also published a number of literary novels....
's Elemental gods as found in the original Deities & Demigods
Deities & Demigods
Deities & Demigods , alternatively known as Legends & Lore , is a reference book for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game . The book provides descriptions and game statistics of gods and legendary creatures from various sources in mythology and fiction...
, as the elemental lord of fire for his home Dungeons & Dragons campaign set in the Forgotten Realms
Forgotten Realms
The Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories...
. As Greenwood indicated in his article "Down-to-earth Divinity" 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...
#54 (October 1981), Moorcock's elemental gods "may later be replaced in [his] universe by "official" AD&D beings as these are published". Kossuth first appeared in the original Manual of the Planes
Manual of the Planes
The Manual of the Planes is a manual for the Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game. This text addresses the planar cosmology of the game universe....
(1987), and was featured as one of the elemental lords for the Forgotten Realms in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Sets "Cyclopedia of the Realms" booklet (1987).
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989-1999)
Kossuth was described in the hardback Forgotten Realms AdventuresForgotten Realms Adventures
Forgotten Realms Adventures is an accessory for the fictional Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the second edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game...
(1990), the revised Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (1993) in the "Running the Realms" booklet, and Faiths & Avatars
Faiths & Avatars
Faiths & Avatars is an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms campaign expansion book. The book was designed by Julia Martin with Eric L. Boyd, and additional design by Ed Greenwood, L. Richard Baker III, and David Wise...
(1996).
Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition (2000-2007)
Kossuth appears as one of the major deities of the Forgotten Realms setting again, in Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (2001), and is further detailed in Faiths and PantheonsFaiths and Pantheons
Faiths and Pantheons is a campaign accessory for the 3rd edition of the Dungeons & Dragons, for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.-Contents:...
(2002).
Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition (2008-Present)
Kossuth appears in the fourth edition as a primordial.Dogma
Those fit to succeed will do so. Kossuth's faith is innately superior to all other faiths, particularly that of IstishiaIstishia
In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Istishia, also known as "The Water Lord" and "King of Water Elementals," is the Neutral god of Elemental Water and purification.-Publication history:...
. Fire and purity are one and the same. Smoke is produced by air in its jealousy. The reward of successful ambition is power. Reaching a higher state is inevitably accompanied by difficulty and personal pain of some sort. Kossuth sends his pure fire to temper our souls and allow us to achieve a pure state.
Expect to be tested and rise to the challenge no matter what difficulty and pain it brings. Those above you have proven their worth and deserve your service. Guide others to Kossuth's pure light so that he may reforge all life into its essential form.
Clergy
Clerics of Kossuth divide themselves into two factions, the Tendrils and the Burning Braziers. The Tendrils make up the bulk of the order and hold most of the ecclesiastical power. They see to the affairs of the temple, officiate at holy days and ceremonies, and preach to local Kossuthan communities. The Braziers represent the adventuring and missionary arm of the church, travelling the wilderness to bring new lands into Kossuth's scalding, purifying light.Both factions subscribe to a strict hierarchy. A temple's high cleric, called an Eternal Flame, represents the highest possible religious authority. All are subservient to the local Eternal Flame; Braziers tend to follow the lead of the nearest such leader during their travels. Below the Eternal Flame are various terraces holding dominance over the ranks below them. Adherents on the lowest terrace deny themselves all worldly goods and pleasures, donating to the higher terraces all but the minimum needed to remain alive. (In the case of adventuring clerics, this minimum includes armour, weapons, and magic items.) As a cleric advances through the terraces, more and more rights and pleasures are granted to him, but only through great hardship and difficult -often fatal- tests of faith.
Kossuth's adherents tend to be fanatical schemers who wish to "cleanse" the world and rebuild it according to the Firelord's dictates. Highly motivated and easily manipulated, clerics of the lower terraces tend to "burn out" quickly (often literally) in their efforts to advance to the next terrace. Senior clerics use their underlings as pawns, frequently sending them on missions for which they are not properly trained or equipped, so that only those of the highest skill and ambition will advance. All clerics of Kossuth share a fiery temper: They are quick to take offense and use violence to enforce the rigidity of their chosen lifestyle. The primary goal of all clerics is to acquire land, wealth, influence, and power, and few church activities involve anything that does not directly contribute to one of these goals.