Malar (Forgotten Realms)
Encyclopedia
Malar is the Faerûn
ian deity of the hunt, evil lycanthropes
(werecreatures), and bestial savagery and bloodlust in Ed Greenwood
's Forgotten Realms
fictional world
of Abeir-Toril
for the Dungeons & Dragons
role-playing game
. His dogma, such as it is, concerns savage hunts (often of sapient, humanoid prey), the spreading of the curse of lycanthropy
(primarily of the werewolf variety), and general contempt for civilization.
created Malar for his home Dungeons & Dragons game, set in Greenwood's Forgotten Realms
world.
#54 (October 1981). Malar is introduced as the Beastlord, the Stalker, god of wild, marauding beasts, bloodlust, and hunting; he is a chaotic evil lesser god from the plane of Tarterus
. Malar is described as "Related to Silvanus and the other “nature” gods, Malar is said to be black, covered with wet, dripping blood, and having the fangs and clawed forelimbs of a great cat. Hunters (both for game and in sport) make offerings to him before setting forth in the chase, and he is said to manifest himself in berserkers, enraged beasts, and in that type of frenzied human killer that men deem “mad.” Bhaal
is overlord to those who view killing as an art to be coldly perfected; Malar is the patron of those who exult in it endlessly, sensually; adventurers rather than perfectionists." Malar is described as one of “The Gods of Fury,” which is what these four gods are known as collectively: "Talos is served by Auril
, Umberlee, and Malar"; Malar is also one of “The Dark Gods” of evil alignment: "Loviatar, Talona, and Malar serve Bane
through Bhaal
." Malar is established as being commonly worshipped by chaotic evil fighters
, assassins
, and clerics
.
Malar later officially appeared as one of the major deities for the Forgotten Realms
campaign setting
, 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).
His role in the cosmology of the Planescape
campaign setting was described in On Hallowed Ground (1996).
(2002).
Malarites are generally frowned upon by civilization, as they tend to wreak havoc in their wake. One country where Malar's worship is allowed is Cormyr
.
The Church of Malar has two major holy days, the first being the High Hunt, a vicious hunt in which a captured humanoid is released, and for the next day and night, his goal is to escape the prowling worshippers of the Beastlord. If he manages to survive, he wins his freedom as well as, perhaps, other things.
The second is the day which has made Malar's worship more tolerable in certain areas, the Feast of Stags. During the harsh winters in the northern parts of Faerûn, Hunts will choose a village in the wilderness. They provide food for the people, and one or two pledge themselves to keeping the village fed through the snows.
There appears to be a similar Deity to Malar called Zamok the Destroyer. Beodaewn, the leader of a cult of Werewolves in Icewind Dale II
states that 'We have been persecuted in the past for a *mistaken* association on our beliefs with those of Malar. On the surface, Malar and Zamok the Destroyer look similar, but the Fifth House of the Blood Moon seems... Oh forget it.'
Faerûn
Faerûn is a fictional subcontinent, the primary setting of the Dungeons & Dragons world of Forgotten Realms. It is described at a relatively high level in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting from Wizards of the Coast, and various locales and aspects are described in more detail by separate...
ian deity of the hunt, evil lycanthropes
Lycanthrope (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the lycanthrope is a humanoid shapeshifter based on various legends of lycanthropy.-Dungeons & Dragons :...
(werecreatures), and bestial savagery and bloodlust in Ed Greenwood
Ed 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...
's 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...
fictional world
Fictional universe
A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with elements that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed or fictional realm ....
of Abeir-Toril
Abeir-Toril
Abeir-Toril is the name of the fictional planet that makes up the Forgotten Realms Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting, as well as the Al-Qadim and Maztica campaign settings and the 1st edition version of the Oriental Adventures campaign setting.The name is archaic, meaning "cradle of life." It...
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...
. His dogma, such as it is, concerns savage hunts (often of sapient, humanoid prey), the spreading of the curse of lycanthropy
Lycanthrope (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the lycanthrope is a humanoid shapeshifter based on various legends of lycanthropy.-Dungeons & Dragons :...
(primarily of the werewolf variety), and general contempt for civilization.
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 Malar for his home Dungeons & Dragons game, set in Greenwood's 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...
world.
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977-1988)
Malar first appeared within Dungeons & Dragons as one of the deities featured in Ed Greenwood's article "Down-to-earth Divinity" in DragonDragon (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). Malar is introduced as the Beastlord, the Stalker, god of wild, marauding beasts, bloodlust, and hunting; he is a chaotic evil lesser god from the plane of Tarterus
Carceri
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, Carceri is a neutral evil-aligned plane of existence...
. Malar is described as "Related to Silvanus and the other “nature” gods, Malar is said to be black, covered with wet, dripping blood, and having the fangs and clawed forelimbs of a great cat. Hunters (both for game and in sport) make offerings to him before setting forth in the chase, and he is said to manifest himself in berserkers, enraged beasts, and in that type of frenzied human killer that men deem “mad.” Bhaal
Bhaal
Bhaal, Lord of Murder, is a deity of the fictional Forgotten Realms Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting.-Publication history:Ed Greenwood created Bhaal for his home Dungeons & Dragons game, set in the Forgotten Realms....
is overlord to those who view killing as an art to be coldly perfected; Malar is the patron of those who exult in it endlessly, sensually; adventurers rather than perfectionists." Malar is described as one of “The Gods of Fury,” which is what these four gods are known as collectively: "Talos is served by Auril
Auril
Auril, the Frostmaiden, is the goddess of cold and winter in the Forgotten Realms, for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Publication history:...
, Umberlee, and Malar"; Malar is also one of “The Dark Gods” of evil alignment: "Loviatar, Talona, and Malar serve Bane
Bane (god)
Bane , is the god of hatred, fear, and tyranny and one of the main evil gods in the fictional Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting, Forgotten Realms....
through Bhaal
Bhaal
Bhaal, Lord of Murder, is a deity of the fictional Forgotten Realms Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting.-Publication history:Ed Greenwood created Bhaal for his home Dungeons & Dragons game, set in the Forgotten Realms....
." Malar is established as being commonly worshipped by chaotic evil fighters
Fighter (Dungeons & Dragons)
The fighter is one of the standard playable character classes in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. A fighter is a versatile, weapons-oriented warrior who fights using skill, strategy and tactics....
, assassins
Assassin (Dungeons & Dragons)
The assassin is a playable character class in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It first appeared in 1975 in the Blackmoor supplement, as a thief sub-class. It next appeared in the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons again as a thief sub-class...
, and clerics
Cleric (Dungeons & Dragons)
The cleric is one of the standard playable character class in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. In the game, clerics are versatile figures, both capable in combat and skilled in the use of divine magic. Clerics are powerful healers due to the large number of healing and curative...
.
Malar later officially appeared as one of the major deities for 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...
campaign setting
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...
, in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Sets "Cyclopedia of the Realms" booklet (1987).
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989-1999)
Malar 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 (1996).
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)
Malar 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).
Followers
Malarites believe that it is an honor to Malar if you make your killing bloody and long. The followers of Malar sometimes form in bands, called Hunts. They are forbidden from slaying the young or the pregnant, and cull the weak and lame from animal groups. In general, Hunts are split into two kinds; there are those who evoke wanton slaughter in his name (they're usually lycanthropes), and those who follow his Dogma a bit more strictly.Malarites are generally frowned upon by civilization, as they tend to wreak havoc in their wake. One country where Malar's worship is allowed is Cormyr
Cormyr
Cormyr is a fictional country in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting published first by TSR, Inc. and subsequently by Wizards of the Coast for the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy Role Playing Game...
.
The Church of Malar has two major holy days, the first being the High Hunt, a vicious hunt in which a captured humanoid is released, and for the next day and night, his goal is to escape the prowling worshippers of the Beastlord. If he manages to survive, he wins his freedom as well as, perhaps, other things.
The second is the day which has made Malar's worship more tolerable in certain areas, the Feast of Stags. During the harsh winters in the northern parts of Faerûn, Hunts will choose a village in the wilderness. They provide food for the people, and one or two pledge themselves to keeping the village fed through the snows.
There appears to be a similar Deity to Malar called Zamok the Destroyer. Beodaewn, the leader of a cult of Werewolves in Icewind Dale II
Icewind Dale II
Icewind Dale II is a role-playing video game developed by Black Isle Studios and published by Interplay Entertainment, released on August 27, 2002. Like its 2000 predecessor Icewind Dale, the game is set in the Forgotten Realms fantasy setting in the Icewind Dale region...
states that 'We have been persecuted in the past for a *mistaken* association on our beliefs with those of Malar. On the surface, Malar and Zamok the Destroyer look similar, but the Fifth House of the Blood Moon seems... Oh forget it.'