In 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...

fantasy

Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

 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...

, Karaan is a vile god of savage lust and wanton destruction, representing the dark side of nature. His symbols are gnawed, broken bones and bloody teeth.

Publication history

Karaan was mentioned in third edition in Book of Vile Darkness

Book of Vile Darkness

Book of Vile Darkness is an optional supplemental sourcebook for the 3rd edition of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. The book was written by Monte Cook and published by Wizards of the Coast in October 2002. Described as a "detailed look at the nature of evil," it was the first Dungeons &...

(2002).

Description

Karaan manifests as a hulking humanoid covered in fur, sporting sharp teeth and claws. While certainly bestial and carnivorous, he cannot be said to resemble a specific type of carnivore such as a canine or feline. Rather, he encompasses all such beings.

The Book of Vile Darkness

Book of Vile Darkness

Book of Vile Darkness is an optional supplemental sourcebook for the 3rd edition of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. The book was written by Monte Cook and published by Wizards of the Coast in October 2002. Described as a "detailed look at the nature of evil," it was the first Dungeons &...

says the deities described in that book are "fairly minor," in comparison to Erythnul

Erythnul

In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting and the default pantheon of deities for the third edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, Erythnul is the Oeridian god of hate, envy, malice, panic, ugliness, and slaughter. He is known as the Many, and is worshipped by many gnoll,...

 (an intermediate god) and Vecna

Vecna

In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, Vecna was a powerful wizard who became a lich. He was eventually destroyed, and his left hand and left eye were the only parts of his body to survive...

 (a very recently ascended lesser god). Because their counterparts in the Book of Exalted Deeds are explicitly of demigod level, it seems likely that Karaan is as well.

Relationships

Karaan is the enemy of gods of neutral and positive sides of nature such as Obad-Hai

Obad-Hai

In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting and the default pantheon of deities for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Obad-Hai is the god of Nature, Woodlands, Hunting, and Beasts, one of the most ancient known. He is often called the Shalm....

 and Ehlonna

Ehlonna

In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting and in the default pantheon of deities for the third edition of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Ehlonna is the goddess of Forests, Woodlands, Flora, Fauna, and Fertility...

. He is often revered in conjunction with Erythnul, although Karaan's cults are much more obscure. A few believe that Karaan is related in some way to Yeenoghu

Yeenoghu

In the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, Yeenoghu is a Demon Prince, the Demon Lord of Gnolls, and the bestial embodiment of savage butchery. His personal weapon is his dreaded triple flail, created from the bones and skin of a slain god. Yeenoghu commands the obedience of ghouls and ghasts...

.

Worshipers

Karaan is the patron of 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 :...

 and other bestial creatures such as bugbears

Bugbear (Dungeons & Dragons)

The bugbear is a type of fictional monster for player characters to encounter in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.A bugbear is depicted as a massive humanoid distantly related to goblins and hobgoblins...

, gnoll

Gnoll

A gnoll or gnole is a fictional humanoid creature - a cross between a gnome and a troll. They first appeared in Lord Dunsany's story in The Book of Wonder: How Nuth Would Have Practised His Art upon the Gnoles and subsequently reappeared in Margaret St. Clair's, The Man Who Sold Rope to the Gnoles...

s, worgs

Worg (Dungeons & Dragons)

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, the worg is a wolf-like magical beast.-Publication history:The worg was introduced to the D&D game in the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons....

, manticores

Manticore (Dungeons & Dragons)

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the manticore is a large magical beast with the body of a lion, dragon wings, and a somewhat humanoid head...

, and some sphinxes

Sphinx (Dungeons & Dragons)

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game Sphinxes are a type of magical beast related to manticores. The four most common subraces of sphinx are the androsphinx, criosphinx, gynosphinx, and hieracosphinx.-Dungeons & Dragons :...

.

Clergy

Clerics of Karaan are savage and depraved. They despise civilization and revel in acts of destruction. They particularly seek to destroy crafted items, for anything not found in nature is alien to them. They wear furs, hides, and other natural armors, or nothing at all. Many decorate their bodies with scars and file their teeth into points. They do not groom their hair, and often their speech is reduced to screams and savage grunts. Their favored weapon is the greatclub, although naked claws and teeth are just as favored.

Temples

Temples of Karaan are places of natural power, such as secluded glens, rocky outcroppings, and deep pits in the wilderness, filled with gnawed bones and the corpses of sacrificial victims and fallen enemies.