What deity should an evil Bhaalspawn worship?

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What deity should an evil Bhaalspawn worship?

Any insight from BG2:ToB would be great seeing as I've yet to play it.

I'm currently LPing BG1 as a berserker which will dual to cleric soon.

So, to fit the bill, the god has to:
- Be alive at the time BG takes place
- Not of good alignment
- Preferrably of evil alignment
- Worshipping the god makes sense in the context of the story

Talos. Evil god of destruction and storms, barbarians and fighters are among the common worshippers. This looks like the most obvious choice. Only real problem is that Viconia is a priest of Shar and as such we'll have conflicting faiths, although it could be worse.

Shar. Evil god of the night, Viconia's god. Mainly God of rogues, so it's not too much my style.

Cyric. Greater deity, very powerful and relevant at the time BG takes place. Evil bastard, perfect for young power-hungry humans like me. Unfortunately, he's also Bhaal's murderer so I don't see how I can both assume my father's essence and expect Cyric to grant me divine favors.

Oghma. Neutral god of knowledge, it would make sense that the protagonist knows about him since he was raised in Candlekeep, basically a monastery of Oghma. However, Oghma is boring.

Thoughts/suggestions?

 

Ummm... what?

You really don't have a choice in ToB. If you're evil you'll be a priest of Talos. Period. You can pretend to believe in anyone you want, but you're stronghold will be Talos.

Viconia doesn't care who you worship. She'll have a romance with a paladin.

 

None, as you plan on becoming a god yourself. But as T2Bruno points out, in game mechanics, good clerics worship Lathandar in SOA and Evil get Talos. These are the only two churches you can join for the cleric stronghold.

 

I'm talking about pretend. Role-playing, ya know. Yeah the stronghold is Talos so that's another plus for Talos.

I suppose so, although a cleric PC has to get spells from somewhere after all.

 

Gargauth, Beshaba or Talona

Gargauth is the LE god of powerbrokers, political corruption, cruelty and betrayal. Clerics are expected to seize power wherever possible and be subtle about their faith.

Beshaba is the CE goddess of misfortune, accidents and mischief. She is largely feared but also her portfolio covers aspects of fate as she is the paired aspect of Tymora the goddess of good luck.

Talona is Shars' most frequent ally, she is the goddess of disease and poisons (Another CE goddess). She served Bhaal along with Loviator, with Bhaals' death both goddesses serve Shar, the return of Bane is a conflict of her loyalties as Bane was Bhaals' superior.

Loviator would be viable as the mistress of pain, but most of her clergy are female and if you're looking for gods 'comaptible' with Shar - she's the reason Shar and Talona ally up so often

 

Dead gods are never truly dead. That is why there is a Cult of Moander in the FR for instance. So, I say worship Bhaal. Your background would be that you are trying to resurrect your father or take his spot amongst the deities. Or......Cyric took the portfolio of the Dead three(Bane/Bhaal/Myrkul) after teh Time of Troubles. Originally, he was supplying power to those followers who didn't switch to his church. Then Kelemvor took over Myrkul's portfolio and Mask stole Bhaals portfolio from Cyric. SO, either go for Cyric becuase he WOULD supply divine power to Bhaals followers, at least at first. Otherwise, worship Mask.

Though with the power grab going on in BG, Gargauth does make sense as well. It would be fitting.

 

Thanks a lot for the great insight!

But can a dead God provide me with spells?

I could always take Cyric at first and eventually switch to Bhaal or some other as I begin to assume my true heritage, which doesn't come until fairly late.

That said, Talos still seems like the most fitting option:
- real presence in BG2 with the stronghold
- no particular conflict with Shar (no alliance either)
- NE barbarians are among the typical followers
- greater deity with no particular tie to the story

So let's review the choices presented:
Gargauth: cool name (basically like Morgoth), secretive worship, however, seems strictly lawful which I'm not. Also, no such presence in the game as Talos. If it wasn't for Talos, though, I'd probably choose him. Any reason to prefer him over Talos?
Beshaba: as Portalbendarwinden said, my coin is on its edge (see "History of The Fateful Coin"), so I don't care about either Tymora or Beshaba.
Talona: I'm not a huge fan of the poison/disease thematic.
Loviator: I'm even less a fan of the sado-masochistic theme and I'm not a lady in black leather.
Cyric: would make sense until I start assuming my Bhaalspawn heritage, at which point I'd be in a weird situation. It's unclear to me how I would make sense of that so I'd rather not tread in that direction.

 

Yes. Cultists of Moander casts spells. Moander is "dead" when this happens in various FR novels.

 

Dead gods can't provide spells, a proxy does that for them, for example Lirra provides Waukeen followers their spells.


If you're wanting a presence in the game then it's going to be Talos, simple as that really unless you're playing a modded up game.

 

Hmmm... so in Bhaal's case that would be Cyric, right?

Well it's a combination of factors really. If Gargauth was somehow waaay cooler than Talos I might take him instead, but Talos is pretty cool and I don't see any conflicts between him and either the plot or my character.

So I guess Talos it'll be.

 

in my wiew Bane is the coolest evil deity in FR

 

I would worship Vecna just for the off chance that he gives me some of his old clothes.

Demogorgon? Screw Bhaal let's free your Prince of Demons.

I got a soft spot for Leira since MotB (Former goddess of deception, illusion, mist and shadow. Slain by Cyric and Mask.). Uuh she faked her death so you fake worshiping Talos in the game^^.


But more serious how about Hoar? God of revenge, retribution, poetic justice.
I think there are the lines in game where you you straight out say she is yours (might be from the ImoenRom Mod).

edit: as Half-Orc ..it has to be Gruumsh. God of conquest.

 

These two would be my picks.

Oghma is "boring" inasmuch as He doesn't much care what you are up to, as long as you don't burn books or the like. If the character isn't very religious, and is at least slightly bookish, it isn't a bad choice at least due to intellectual laziness.

Talos is imo a fairly simple god, not so much evil as uncaring of what. He is the storm, the tempest, the powerful force of nature - kinda like a rogue Bhaalspawn carving a swath througout the Sword Coast. That's the kind of god that would fit you if rather than a moustache-twirling twit you are a powerful man (woman?) meant to achieve your greatness. You do what you want, when you want - and if someone has a problem with it, you plow through them.

Bane is a bit like that, but more lawful. Bane is a deity of domination rather than simply vanquishing the foe. If you want to establish an order with you on top, choose bane. If you can't be bothered with that and just want what you want, Talos is imo the better choice.

 

Bane is allways a good choice.