Jergal Jergal

(Lord of the End of Everything, Scribe of the Doomed, Seneschal of the Crystal Spire, the Forgotten One, the Pitiless One)

Demipower (formerly Greater) of Hades, LN

PORTFOLIO: Fatalism, order in death, proper burial, guardian of tombs, protector of the names of the dead
ALIASES: Nakasr
DOMAIN NAME: Oinos/Crystal Spire
SUPERIOR: Kelemvor (formerly Cyric, and previous to that Myrkul)
ALLIES: Amaunator (now dead)
FOES: Cyric, Velsharoon
SYMBOL: A jawless skull and a writing quill resting on a scroll
WOR. ALIGN.: LG, NG, LN, N, LE, NE

Jergal (JER-gull), Lord of the End of Everything, is responsible for keeping records on the final disposition of all the spirits of the dead. He is the fatalistic undertaker who strives for order in death, anticipating the ever-encroaching termination of all things living. Jergal strives for an orderly accounting of the fate of the world as it slowly sinks into death. Few mortals are even aware of Jergal's existence except for a few sages studying ancient history.

Jergal was Myrkul's predecessor as Lord of the Dead, although he apparently voluntarily relinquished that position to the Lord of Bones many centuries ago. Some sages believe Jergal held the portfolios of Bhaal and Bane at that time, as well, and was venerated as Nakasr by the Netherese survivor states. After stepping down from his position, Jergal becamse the Seneschal of Bone Castle, assisting Myrkul in the execution of his duties. In the intervening centuries, Jergal has become the Forgottem One and faded into Myrkul's shadow.

Jergal played no part in the Time of Troubles, but when Cyric succeeded Myrkul as Lord of the Dead, the Scribe of the Doomed continued to serve as the Seneschal of Bone Castle. A core component of his very being makes Jergal absolutely loyal to the current Lord of the Dead, regardless of who holds that office. From Jergal's actions during Cyric's tenure, however, it is apparent that while Jergal is utterly loyal to the office of Lord of the Dead, he does have the freedom to subtly undermine the current officeholder if she or he is not true to the position's responsibilities.

Jergal seems to find working with Kelemvor, the new Lord of the Dead, much more to his personal satisfaction. The Forgotten One serves the Judge of the Damned as seneschal by maintaining careful records of all who enter the Crystal Spire, Kelemvor's new abode built on the rubble of the Bone Castle. It is possible that Jergal will regain some of his former prominence serving Kelemvor, but it is equally likely that the Seneschal of the Crystal Spire will pass on into death himself, having found a suitable successor to his old position. Regardless, the Scribe of the Doomed has little apparent interest in the living save for recording their final fates.

Jergal retains a fondness from Netheril's heyday for the long-vanished Amaunator, valuing that ancient god's adherence to law and order, but he otherwise has few allies aside from Kelemvor, and even fewer friends. Following the events of the Cyrinishad debacle, Jergal has nothing but scorn for Cyric, the former Lord of the Dead, considering him anathema to the orderly dissolution of the universe. In the aftermath of Velsharoon's divine ascendance, Jergal spends much of his efforts in the Realms combating the Necromancer's efforts to prolong life into undeath and to thwart the orderly procession of death in the Realms.

Jergal never angers, and always speaks with a disembodied, chilling voice that echoes with the dry whisper of a long forgotten crypt. His tone is always bland, his words fatalistic, and his demeanor excessively formal. Most mortals find the Forgotten One a shadowy, sinister figure who leaves a vague feeling of unease and enervation in his wake. Jergal is totally focused on death and perceives life as momentary existence before death's eternity. A few bards have noted that Jergal's philosophy and actions resemble a mortal attempting to tidy up his affairs and accounts before his imminent death.

This monstrous scribe is depicted in his religion's art as a smooth gray face holding no features other than a pair of bulging yellow eyes. His body is nothing but a shadow-filled gray cloak which rises and falls as if buffeted by an unseen wind, and he wears white gloves that are supported by invisible hands and arms.

Jergal's Avatar (Cleric 25, Necromancer 18)

Jergal appears as a wizened, insubstatial mummy of some ancient, alien race. His skin is gray and tightly drawn across his frame. His bulbous, yellow, lifeless eyes and insectoid mandibles resemble a cross between a humanoid and a preying mantis. His ears and nose are barely distinguishable from his elongated skull. Most of his body is covered with an utterly lightless cloak that seems to absorb the very atmosphere that envelops it. His white gloves cover elongated, claw-like hands and forearms. He always clutches a thick scroll covered with intricate, incomprehensible script and a freshly inked quill in his hands. Jergal draws his spells from the spheres of all, astral, law, combat, divination, elemental, guardian, necromantic, protection, thought, time, travelers, war, wards, and weather and from all schools except illusion/phantasm and enchantment/charm. He has reversed access only to the spheres of animal, creation, healing, and plant, though he is able to use the positive spells from the healing sphere on his clergy only.

AC -3; MV 15; HP 156; THAC0 4; #AT 2
Dmg 1d10+enervation
MR 60%; SZ L (10 feet)
STR 18, DEX 13, CON 20, INT 22, WIS 23, CHA 10
Spells P: 13/12/12/12/11/9/4, W: 5/5/5/5/5/3/3/2/1
Saves PPDM 2, RSW 5, PP 5, BW 8, Sp 6

Special Att/Def: Jergal never wields a weapon. The touch of either hand causes enervation (as the 4th-level wizard spell of the same name) in addition to his normal damage. If he successfully hits with both hands in the same round, in addition to the normal effects, he draws the victim through his noncorporeal body, inflicting an energy drain on the unfortunate victim (as the 9th-level wizard spell of the same name). The outer side of Jergal's cloak is itself a gate to the Negative Energy Plane, and anyone touching his mantle must succeed at a saving throw vs. death magic at a -3 penalty or be sucked into that plane of absolute nothingness and die.

In a single round, Jergal can, by looking into a being's face, read the entire tapestry of its life and death, regardless of any magical protections or psionic defenses, and then distill it to its simplest expression. During this probe, a being is utterly helpless and completely paralyzed. This extrasensory touch is perceived as something cold and inhuman slithering across the mind and burrowing into every memory. Simply by inscribing a mortal's name on his voluminous scroll, Jergal can inflict the target's fated demise immediately upon it. Such victims must make a successful saving throw vs. spell at a -2 penalty or be transported forward in time to the moment of their death. Thereafter, they are relegated to the afterlife for eternity, and may never be raised or resurrected.

Other Manifestations

Jergal can take the form of any undead creature, gaining all its innate abilities in doing so. He also retains his enervation and energy drain attacks, provided that they are not equaled or surpassed by the form he has taken. He can also take the form of a mortal man with a great white beard, bent with extreme age yet holding intelligence and a driving energy within his sunken eyes. Jergal's preferred manifestations is the sound of a heavy tome being closed with chilling finality. This manifestation often occurs upon the death of an exceptionally long-lived mortal, particularly one who has extended his or her life with potions of longevity and like manipulations—such as the magic of an archwizard.

Jergal is served by a wide variety of creatures seen as harbingers of death in various cultures. For example, in Anauroch, the great white-bearded vultures known as N'asr's children (commonly thought to serve N'asr, an alias of Cyric) ferry spirits into the afterlife to their preordained realms at Jergal's behest. The Lord at the End of Everything also exerts his influence through a variety of undead tied to the Negative Energy Plane, such as slow shadows, spectres, and wraiths as well as trillochs, wastrels, and xeg-yi. Jergal has somewhat de-emphasized his affiliation with undead that sap energy since Kelemvor's assumption of the position of Lord of the Dead, but he still is not reluctant to call upon them when their use most efficiently accomplishes a task his superior has set before him—he merely does not dwell upon their use when reporting to Kelemvor.

The Church

CLERGY: Clerics, monks, specialty priests
CLERGY'S ALIGN.: LN, LE
TURN UNDEAD: C: Yes, if neutral, SP: Yes, at priest level +2, Mon: No
CMND. UNDEAD: C: Yes, if evil, SP: Yes, at priest level +2, Mon: No

All clerics, specialty priests, and monks of Jergal receive religion (Faerûnian) as a bonus nonweapon proficiency.

Jergal has only a handful of living worshipers, but it is believed several score of his priests still survive as mummies and greater mummies in long-sealed tombs. These mummies still possess their living intelligence and can cast priest spells. While most are lawful evil in alignment, some favored few tend toward a stricter lawful neutral ethos.

Priests of Jergal existed historically only in very lawful and militaristic societies which did not venerate Deneir or any of the goodly gods. In addition to serving as scribes, funerary workers, and morticians, Jergal's priests kept careful records of births, deaths, and taxes for the kings and rulers they served. Jergal was perceived in such societies as a compassionless steward of death who would visit each mortal at their appointed time and transport them to the appropriate realm in the afterlife.

Jergal's few temples are typically lifeless stone mausoleums or dry, dusty crypts. Animals and plants never live long in these dreary, bleak houses of endless drudgery. Sentients who toil daily in Jergal's dusty temples quickly age and grow weak, yet never die before their appointed time, dooming them to a life of venerability. Rare visitors to such shrines find long rows of scribes dutifully recording the affairs and fates of the short-lived mortals in the surrounding lands.

The clergy of Jergal are known as the Scriveners of Doom. Within their ranks, the high priest of each temple is known as First Scrivener of Doom, but otherwise the faith eschews titles or ranks. The faith has always been evenly split between clerics, monks, and specialty priests, known as doomscribes.

Dogma: Each being has an eternal resting place that is chosen for him or her at the moment of creation. Life is a process of seeking that place and eternal rest. Existence is but a brief aberration in an eternity of death. Power, success, and joy are as transitory as weakness, failure, and misery. Only death is absolute, and then only at its appointed hour. Seek to bring order to the chaos of life, for in death there is finality and a fixedness of state. Be ready for death for it is at hand and uncompromising. Life should be prolonged only when it serves the greater cause of the death of the world. Undeath is not an escape or a reward; it is simply a duty of a chosen few who serve the Lord of the End of Everything.

Day-to-Day Activities: Mummified Scriveners of Doom are chosen priests who continue to serve their lord by delaying their eternal rest to bring order and regulation to the disposition of the dead. Buried in long-forgotten crupts, they do nothing but scribe the fate of all living things on cracked parchments. Some are served by zombies and skeletons, but never by sentient undead. For eons Jergal has whispered to his mummified clergy an unending litany of names and fates that they then dutifully record on scrolls until Jergal grants them eternal rest. It is said that when the world finally grinds to a halt and passes away, the last mummified Scrivener of Doom will lay down its pen and crumble to dust. Such undead priests sometimes attack and sometimes ignore interlopers who invade their dusty tombs, depending upon whether or not such beings have reached their appointed hour of death. They always attempt to drive off and if necessary destroy any being who disturbs their sacred tasks, since order in death is as important as death itself in the teachings of the faith.

The small cult of living Scriveners of Doom spend their days maintaining and extending vast archives of scrolls listing how sentients under their purview passed away and their destination in the afterlife. Despite their near hopeless task, they toil on undaunted, knowing they have eons to complete their appointed task. In Thay, where the tiny cult of Jergal is relatively prominent compared to elsewhere in the Realms, most members of Jergal's clergy are employed by individual Zulkirs or Red Wizards to oversee their slave records. In addition to fulfilling a necessary task for society, this gives the scribes crucial access to records detailing large numbers of sentient beings.

Holy Days/Important Ceremonies: Jergal's faithful have little patience or need for holy days or religious ceremonies, viewing them as unnecessary distractions. The one small ritual Jergal's priests are required to perform is called the Sealing. After recording each and every creature's demise, form of death, and destination in the afterlife, Scriveners of Doom are required to sprinkle a light dusting of ash and powdered bone over their inscribed words to blot the ink and mark another step toward the world's end.

On the last night of the year, the 30th of Nightal, Jergal's clergy cease their endless toil for a full night. On this holy night, known as the Night of Another Year, the priests read every name whose death they ahve recorded from the scrolls they have carefully inscribed over the past year. With a cry of "One Year Closer!", all the scrolls are then burned, and work begins anew.

Major Centers of Worship: Jergal's cult has undergone a small renaissance in Thay where death is a daily fact of life. The Crypt of Imminent Death in Bezantur, Thay, is a small onion-domed structure of gold-veined black marble. Dyhna Zhyborrin, the temple's mistress, oversees the temple's small staff, leads worship services in the city, and maintains close ties with the clergy and worshipers of Kelemvor. Cultists of the Forgotten One journey throughout Thay recording deaths for the annuals of the Crypt library.

Godswalk Keep in the Barony of Great Oak in the Border Kingdoms region has become a sacred site for the church of Kelemvor as well as the scattered cultists of Jergal. The Meeting of the Three (also known as the Howling) happens at certain times during the year when Garagos the War God, the Dancing Lady (Sharess), and the Forgotten One (Jergal) all wander through the ancient castle. Jergal seems to wander the ruins aimlessly, ignoring Garagos's attacks and the Dancing Lady's alluring smile.

Affiliated Orders: The Jergali church has grown exceedingly small, and it no longer sees a need for a fighting branch of the faith or other affiliated orders. All creatures shall die at their appointed time whether or not the clergy of Jergal assists in that process or not, so the Scriveners of Doom spend their days toiling at the more important task of recording the fates of the dead rather then actively delivering death themselves.

Records of the Jergali church speak of two now-extinct affiliated groups: the Companions of the Pallid Mask and the Hand of Jergal. The Companions of the Pallid Mask were a group of Jergali priests who specialized in combating or commanding the undead. They eliminated undead creatures whose existence was not sanctioned by the church or who had proved to be troublesome. They also supervised nonsentient undead work crews that the church sometimes ran for profit long ago. The Hand of Jergal was an elite group of fanatic priests who led others under their command to avenge slights upon the church of Jergal at the direction of a high priest. They acted against those of other faiths who raised or resurrected someone without paying due tribute to Jergal or who violated or looted a tomb under the protection of the church.

Priestly Vestments: Jergal's clergy shave their heads smooth and garb themselves in unadorned gray robes and long, white gloves. At all times they carry a satchel of scrolls, inks, and quills. They also carry a desiccated human skull with the openings plugged that they use to contain the simple mixture of ash and powdered bones employed in Sealing rituals. This skull also serves as their holy symbol.

Adventuring Garb: Jergal's priests only very rarely adventure, and then only at Jergal's bequest. Adventuring Scriveners of Doom seek out those who attempt to prolong their lives beyond their appointed time through magic and then terminate their existence. Jergal's priests may wear any armor that they wish to protect themselves—it is irrelevant to the Lord of the End of Everything since every living eing will die at its appointed time, regardless of what protections it takes to the contrary. Jergal's priests are trained in bludgeoning weapons so that they can powder the bones of their opponents for use in future Sealing rituals.

Specialty Priests (Doomscribes)

REQUIREMENTS: Wisdom 9, Intelligence 11
PRIME REQ.: Wisdom, Intelligence
ALIGNMENT: LN, LE
WEAPONS: Any bludgeoning (wholly Type B) weapons
ARMOR: Any
MAJOR SPHERES: All, animal, divination, law, necromantic, summoning, thought, time, sun
MINOR SPHERES: Combat, elemental, healing (reversed only), war
MAGICAL ITEMS: Same as clerics
REQ. PROFS: Reading/writing (Common)
BONUS PROFS: Reading/writing (Thorass)

Jergali Spells

1st Level

Detect Living (Pr 1; Divination, Necromancy)

Sphere: Divination, Necromantic
Range: 0
Components: V, S
Duration: 1 round/level
Casting Time: 4
Area of Effect: 60-foot-radius sphere, centered on caster
Saving Throw: None

This spell discovers emanations of life, making all living things within the area of effect glow with an easily discernible aura visible only to the caster. Intelligence is the main quality upon which the spell focuses, because more intelligent creatures glow more brightly. The spell does not allow direct mental contact and does not detect magically or psionically-shielded creatures or the wills of "not present" scryers such as wizards using wizard eyes or crystal balls. Beings hidden in extradimensional space are considered "non present." This spell can detect life that is invisible, concealed, disguised (even trapped within solid objects or magical forms), astral, or ethereal, but does not reveal the state of life. This spell gives no hint of the nature, thoughts, or inclination (in other words, hostile or friendly) of the life detected.

This spell was developed by Scriveners of Doom who understood that mortals often flee from eternal rest, too blinded by fear and ignorance to realize that a priest is trying to help them. The spell also serves as a defense against living adversaries who might try to ambush the spellcaster.

3rd Level

Determine Final Rest (Pr 3; Divination)

Sphere: Divination
Range: 10 yards
Components: V, S
Duration: 1 turn
Casting Time: 6
Area of Effect: 1 creature of 1 corpse
Saving Throw: Neg.

This spell is similar to know alignment in that it enables the priest to read the aura of a living or deceased creature. However, this particular strain of magic is used to quickly determine the Outer Plane and the particular level within that plane (if it possesses more than one) to which the examined individual correctly should be consigned to after death (as determined by a being's religion, nature, and alignment, though the DM notes these as they are not revealed to the spellcaster). If a being has been sent to an incorrect final rest or redirected unwillingly en route, this spell notes that fact, but not the destination to which the being has been sent. Note that those spells and objects that would prevent a know alignment spell from functioning also inhibit a determine final rest spell. Corpses do not normally receive a saving throw vs. this spell unless they are actually undead creatures.

4th Level

Seek Eternal Rest (Pr 4; Alteration)

Sphere: Necromantic, Time
Range: 0
Components: V, S, M
Duration: 5 rounds or until the caster attempts to turn undead
Casting Time: 7
Area of Effect: The caster
Saving Throw: None

By means of this spell, the priest can augment his or her next attempt to turn undead. While empowered by the effects of this spell, priests who successfully turn undead on their next attempt to do so irrevocably dispel the undead creatures they turn. For example, if an 8th-level cleric attempted to turn a ghost and rolled an 19 after casting seek eternal rest, the ghost would be immediately destroyed.

Priests who are empowered by the effects of this spell and would automatically dispel the type of undead they are turning affect twice the normal number of undead. For example, if an 8th-level cleric attempted to turn a host of skeletons, she would automatically dispel 4d6+4d4 skeletons.

If the priest does not attempt to turn undead within five rounds of casting seek eternal rest, the spell ends with no effect and is lost.

The material component for this spell is the priest's holy symbol.

5th Level

Jergal's Mind Probe (Pr 5; Divination, Necromancy)

Sphere: Divination, Necromantic
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M
Duration: Special
Casting Time: 8
Area of Effect: 1 creature
Saving Throw: Neg.

This spell combines the effect of the 3rd-level wizard spell paralyze with the 2nd-level wizard spell ESP. Upon casting this spell, the priest gains the ability to attack a single sentient being with the effects of this spell. The priest must roll a successful attack roll in order to strike an opponent and deliver the spell effects. The priest can delay the attack indefinitely while trying to successfully complete an attack, but if he attempts to cast any other spell before successfully employing this spell, the previously cast but unused mind probe is immediately lost. Any sentient being touched by the spellcaster (other than himself or herself) following the casting of this spell is considered the target of this spell, even if the priest did not intend to attack that being.

When the priest touches a sentient being, the target must make a successful saving throw vs. spell to avoid the spell's effects. If the saving throw is successful, the spell ends immediately with no effect. If the saving throw is failed, the target is paralyzed for 2d4 rounds. Creatures that are immune to paralysis, as well as undead and unliving creatures such as golems, cannot be affected by this spell. Nonintelligent creatures are similarly immune.

While a being is paralyzed by the effects of this spell, the priest can probe every corner of its mind. This aspect of the spell is blocked by magical or psionic defenses to ESP, mind-reading magic, or similar protections. The only type of information the priest can determine is the professed faith of the victim of this spell, how true the victim has been to its professed faith, how well the victim has used its natural strengths over the course of its life, the failures of which the victim is most ashamed, and the accomplishments of which the victim is most proud. One such nuggest of information, in order, is learned per round that the paralysis is in effect.

The spell is ended immediately if the priest casts another spell, as stated previously, or ceases to concentrate on probing the mind of the spell's target. The casting of this spell is such a violation of a being's sense of self that most victims targeted by this spell build up a strong hatred for the casting priest during the spell's effects.

The material component of this spell is the priest's holy symbol.

7th Level

Gate of Doom (Pr 7; Conjuration/Summoning)

Sphere: Summoning
Range: 10 yards
Components: V, S, M
Duration: 1 round/level
Casting Time: 1 round
Area of Effect: 10 square feet per level
Saving Throw: None

This spell creates a wall of energy from the Negative Energy Plane that is actually a portal to that fell place. A gate of doom appears as a shimmering curtain of lightless black. Any mortal creature who touches a gate of doom suffers 2d6 points of damage and permanently loses one level of experience or Hit Dice per round of contact. Those foolish enough to pass through this curtain are instantly transported to the Negative Energy Plane, almost certainly causing their deaths, as no portal is created by this spell on that side by which to return.

The spellcaster may cast this spell in any loosely rectangular configuration that does not exceed the area of effect. Once cast, the location of the gate of doom is fixed and cannot be moved by the priest or anyone else until the effect fades. This spell cannot be cast on any living creature. Attempting to do so causes the gate of doom to appear nearby in a random location.

The spell negative plane protection provides complete immunity to this spell while it is in effect, including preventing an individual from passing into the Negative Energy Plane. All undead creatures except mummies (or any other type of undead tied to the Positive Energy Plane) may ignore this spell's effects as well.

Level-draining undead, energy drain spells, and enervation spells and similar effects and abilities cast or used within 100 yards of a gate of doom always operate and twice their maximum effect.

The material components of this spell are a small stick of black charcoal, a solid black gemstone of at least 50 gp value, and the priest's holy symbol.