Kiaransalee
Encyclopedia
Kiaransalee is the fictional drow deity of slavery, undead, and vengeance. She was created for the AD&D Second Edition, first appearing in Monster Mythology, and as such is a general deity not specific to any one game world.
(1992), including details about her priesthood. Her role in the cosmology of the Planescape
campaign setting was described in On Hallowed Ground
(1996). She received a very detailed description for her role in the Forgotten Realms
in Demihuman Deities
(1998).
Kiaransalee's role in the Forgotten Realms is revisited in Faiths and Pantheons
(2002).
. She is allied with Vhaeraun
, the Great Mother
, Blibdoolpoolp
, Piscaethces
, Laogzed
, Diinkarazan
, Diirinka
, Gzemnid
, Ilsensine
, Maanzecorian
(dead), and Psilofyr
.
Her foes include Dumathoin
and Laduguer
. She hates Orcus
and seeks to gather her strength and reconquer his layer, as once she did before. She fears that her life may be taken to sate Orcus' own lust for vengeance, however.
and has made Kandelspire her home. There, she marshals her forces, building her strength in the hope of reconquering Orcus' realm.
Worshipers of Kiaransalee are slavers, morticians, torturers, and executioners. They are misers, meticulous in their record-keeping. They treat their servants as slaves, and treat their slaves without mercy. House Vae of Erelhei-Cinlu worships Kiaransalee as their patron, although they have always believed her to be inferior to Lolth.
In later years the goddess Lolth
fell into the Abyss
as well, capturing Kiaransalee in her twisted web. For millennia, the Lady of the Dead labored under Lolth's spidery shadow as the goddess of undeath and vengeance, capable of only small acts of rebellion.
This dealt a major blow to the demonic forces in the Blood War
, who suddenly lacked for the undead troops Orcus used to provide. Kiaransalee promised to provide similar troops in time, but still many demonic generals sought to return Orcus back to life.
House Tormtor allied with Everhate, Aleval, and a large number of githyanki
. The illithids of Dra-Mur-Shou allied themselves with the anti-Tormtor faction (houses Despana, Noquar, Kilsek, and Godeep), fearing the results of an Erelhei-Cinlu friendly to their hated enemies the githyanki. As chaos and savage battles overtook the Vault, hundreds of drow died, as did hundreds of their mercenaries.
The war was finally ended after Eclavdra abased herself before Lolth and underwent a horrible punishment to prove herself. Surviving unmarred, she made a pact with her goddess whose nature remains obscure. In reward, Lolth intervened personally to end the war. Though turning her concentration to this conflict cost the Demon Queen of Spiders her holdings in Geoff
and Sterich, the war was ended definitively. House Eilservs was reinstated in power and House Kilsek was banished, replaced with House Vae.
Currently, she lairs in the fortress of Kandelspire on the Prime Material Plane
world of Guldor, which was conquered by Lolth some decades ago. Her religion no longer claims any authority that does not derive from Lolth, though some of her worshipers still harbor resentments.
in preparation for D&D 4th Edition, many deities were removed from the game to simplify the pantheons.
Kiaransalee's worship was destroyed through epic magic by the drow wizard Q'arlynd and his apprentices, erasing all memory of the goddess, effectively eliminating her from the pantheons of Abeir-Toril
. There is no explicit reason to believe that this affects the goddess in other game worlds, despite the novel Storm of the Dead which describes the destruction of her true form within the cosmology of the Realms.
Publication history
Kiaransalee was first detailed in the book Monster MythologyMonster Mythology
Monster Mythology is a sourcebook for the second edition of the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. Released by TSR in 1992 and written by Carl Sargent, with interior illustrations by Terry Dykstra, John and Laura Lakey, and Keith Parkinson, Monster Mythology was released as a companion volume for...
(1992), including details about her priesthood. Her 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
On Hallowed Ground
On Hallowed Ground is an accessory book for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, for the Planescape campaign setting.-Contents:This book contains information about deities' planar domains from 20 separate pantheons...
(1996). She received a very detailed description for her role 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...
in Demihuman Deities
Demihuman Deities
Demihuman Deities is a Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition: Forgotten Realms campaign accessory, published by Wizards of the Coast. The book was designed by Eric L. Boyd...
(1998).
Kiaransalee's role in the Forgotten Realms is revisited in Faiths and Pantheons
Faiths 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).
Appearance
Kiaransalee manifests as a sinuous female drow, wearing only silver jewelry and silk veils. She wields Coldheart, a dagger that perpetually drips acid, and when it pleases her she dons the Mantle of Nightmares, a cloak of bones that causes magical fear in all who gaze upon its horrors.Relationships
Kiaransalee is a servant of LolthLolth
Lolth is a fictional goddess in the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Lolth , the Demon Queen of Spiders, is the chief goddess of drow elves...
. She is allied with Vhaeraun
Vhaeraun
Vhaeraun , also known as the Masked Lord and the Masked God of Night, is the drow god of thievery, drow males, and evil activity on the surface world in many Dungeons & Dragons campaign settings.-Publication history:...
, the Great Mother
Great Mother (Dungeons & Dragons)
In many campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, The Great Mother is the creator and primary racial deity of beholders, gibbering orbs, and the various races of beholder-kin. The Great Mother is the beholder deity of magic, fertility, and tyranny...
, Blibdoolpoolp
Blibdoolpoolp
In the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, Blibdoolpoolp is the deity worshipped by the kuo-toa race. She is also known as the "Sea Mother."-Publication history:...
, Piscaethces
Piscaethces
Piscaethces the Blood Queen is the aboleth deity of domination and oppression, in the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. Her symbol is a sphere of mucus surrounded by droplets of the same substance.-Creative origins:...
, Laogzed
Laogzed
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, Laogzed is the deity worshipped by reptilian troglodyte race. Its symbol is an oozing toad-lizard, or a lizard's head. Laogzed's sacred animal is the toad.-Publishing history:...
, Diinkarazan
Diinkarazan
In many campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Diinkarazan is the derro deity of vengeance.-Publication history:Diinkarazan was first detailed in the book Monster Mythology , including details about his priesthood...
, Diirinka
Diirinka
In many campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Diirinka is the derro deity of magic, savants, knowledge, and cruelty. His symbol is a spiral of gray, black, and white...
, Gzemnid
Gzemnid
Gzemnid is a fictional deity in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It is a beholder deity. Gzemnid is the beholder deity of gases, fogs, obscurement, and deception.-Publication history:...
, Ilsensine
Ilsensine
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, Ilsensine is the patron deity of illithids . While not the creator of illithids, Ilsensine sees mind flayers as the entities most worthy of dominating the universe...
, Maanzecorian
Maanzecorian
In many campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Maanzecorian is the illithid deity of knowledge and philosophy. His symbol is a silver crown set with a red gem....
(dead), and Psilofyr
Psilofyr
In many campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Psilofyr is the myconid deity of community, healing, and philosophy...
.
Her foes include Dumathoin
Dumathoin
In many campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Dumathoin is the patron of mountain dwarves, and the dwarf deity of mining and underground exploration. He is also the protector of the dwarven dead. His holy symbol is a cut, faceted gem inside of a mountain.-Publication...
and Laduguer
Laduguer
In many campaign settings for the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, Laduguer is the evil deity of the duergar, the Underdark-dwelling cousins of dwarves. He is a strict and unforgiving god. His holy symbol is a shield with a broken crossbow bolt motif.-Creative origins:Laduguer was...
. She hates Orcus
Orcus (Dungeons & Dragons)
Orcus is the fictional demon prince, and lord of the undead in many campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. He is named after Orcus of Roman mythology. His symbol is a mace with a human skull as the head...
and seeks to gather her strength and reconquer his layer, as once she did before. She fears that her life may be taken to sate Orcus' own lust for vengeance, however.
Realm
Kiaransalee dwells in the fortress of Kandelspire on the world of Guldor. Kandelspire was the last bastion of the dwarves on this world, which fell to Lolth's forces some decades before. Now it is haunted by the vengeful ghostly and undead remnants of the proud dwarven warriors who died fighting to the last. The Revenancer has entered this world through a portal in the Demonweb PitsDemonweb Pits
Demonweb Pits, in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, is the 66th layer of the chaotic evil-aligned plane of existence known as the Infinite Layers of the Abyss...
and has made Kandelspire her home. There, she marshals her forces, building her strength in the hope of reconquering Orcus' realm.
Dogma
Kiaransalee forbids her worshipers from forgiving debts or slights of any kind. Payment, of some kind, is integral to any interaction. Kiaransalee teaches that life itself is the greatest of all crimes, with enslavement in undeath the most fitting of punishments. Enslavement of the living is also a holy act. Worshipers of Kiaransalee seek to take their wealth and slaves with them into the grave.Worshipers of Kiaransalee are slavers, morticians, torturers, and executioners. They are misers, meticulous in their record-keeping. They treat their servants as slaves, and treat their slaves without mercy. House Vae of Erelhei-Cinlu worships Kiaransalee as their patron, although they have always believed her to be inferior to Lolth.
Clergy
Priests of Kiaransalee are known as yathrinshee. They not only work their slaves to death, but they reanimate their corpses so that they continue their labor. To venerate the Lady of the Dead, yathrinshee lie within their personal sarcophagi with their arms clasped together on their breasts. They favor loose black robes with hooded cowls stitched with ivory and bone. They wear gray skullcaps on their heads and thin silver rings on every finger except their thumbs. They spread the ashes of burnt corpses on their uncovered skin. Despite their miserly creeds, they are the first to offer bounties on escaped slaves and prisoners, and always pay in full.Apotheosis
Kiaransalee, was the mortal queen of a world called Threnody at least 30,000 years in the past. She was banished by her husband the king, and worked for centuries to raise an undead army to exact vengeance for this. When she was finally done, all life on her world was extinguished. Fleeing with her minions to the Abyss to escape the wrath of the Seldarine, she eventually became a demigoddess. At some point she was slighted by Orcus, though no one but her remembers the details.In later years the goddess Lolth
Lolth
Lolth is a fictional goddess in the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Lolth , the Demon Queen of Spiders, is the chief goddess of drow elves...
fell into the Abyss
Abyss (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the Abyss or more fully, the Infinite Layers of the Abyss, is a chaotic evil-aligned plane of existence. It is one of a number of alignment-based Outer Planes that form part of the standard Dungeons & Dragons cosmology, used in the Planescape...
as well, capturing Kiaransalee in her twisted web. For millennia, the Lady of the Dead labored under Lolth's spidery shadow as the goddess of undeath and vengeance, capable of only small acts of rebellion.
The Death of Orcus
When the time seemed right, she ambushed Orcus in his own layer. Though Orcus was more powerful, he had grown complacent with the diminishment or imprisonment of his major rivals. The Vengeful Banshee managed to slay him with a blast of negative energy, casting his corpse into the Astral Plane. To ensure he could never return, she cast a spell that erased his name from all mortal records.This dealt a major blow to the demonic forces in the Blood War
Blood War
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, the Blood War is an eternal conflict between the fiends of the Lower planes. The Tanar'ri are the demonic forces of the Abyss, an evil plane of chaos. Representing the equally evil but lawful realm of Baator are the Baatezu, the dominant caste of...
, who suddenly lacked for the undead troops Orcus used to provide. Kiaransalee promised to provide similar troops in time, but still many demonic generals sought to return Orcus back to life.
The Priestess Wars
Centuries later, the Vengeful Banshee took advantage of chaos and civil war in the Vault of the Drow, defying the Queen of Spiders and attempting to establish her priesthood as supreme in the city of Erelhei-Cinlu. After the fall of House Eilservs, its ally House Tormtor was relegated to minor status. When priestesses of the Revenancer offered an alliance, they were eager to listen. In return for this alliance, Erehe, consort of Tormtor's ruler Verdaeth, helped lock the Wand of Orcus away in Agathion. Kiaranasalee drowned Erehe in the River Styx, but allowed Verdaeth to resurrect him, without his former memories. Convinced the other noble houses held the secret of restoring his memories, Verdaeth started a war.House Tormtor allied with Everhate, Aleval, and a large number of githyanki
Githyanki
The githyanki are a fictional humanoid race in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. They are cousins to the githzerai. In the Dark Sun setting, they are simply called gith...
. The illithids of Dra-Mur-Shou allied themselves with the anti-Tormtor faction (houses Despana, Noquar, Kilsek, and Godeep), fearing the results of an Erelhei-Cinlu friendly to their hated enemies the githyanki. As chaos and savage battles overtook the Vault, hundreds of drow died, as did hundreds of their mercenaries.
The war was finally ended after Eclavdra abased herself before Lolth and underwent a horrible punishment to prove herself. Surviving unmarred, she made a pact with her goddess whose nature remains obscure. In reward, Lolth intervened personally to end the war. Though turning her concentration to this conflict cost the Demon Queen of Spiders her holdings in Geoff
Geoff (Greyhawk)
Geoff is a fictional land that is part of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. Geoff was first described in 1983 in the World of Greyhawk campaign setting, where Geoff is properly known as the Grand Duchy of Geoff, and is a ducal political state of the fictional continent called the...
and Sterich, the war was ended definitively. House Eilservs was reinstated in power and House Kilsek was banished, replaced with House Vae.
The Return of Orcus
Recently (around 591 CY), Orcus somehow returned from the dead, retaking Thanatos, the layer Kiaransalee had made her own, and driving the goddess out after a time of conflict. Returning chastened to Lolth's Demonweb, she drank of the Spider Queen's venom, formally binding herself in servitude to the Queen of Spiders in exchange for her forgiveness and sanctuary. As a sign of this, Lolth altered the last glyph of her name, changing the Drow Elvish glyph lee to the homonym li, signifying enslavement. Now she is Kiaransali in all texts and inscriptions in the Greyhawk game world..Currently, she lairs in the fortress of Kandelspire on the Prime Material Plane
Prime Material Plane
The Prime Material Plane is the central plane of existence in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game...
world of Guldor, which was conquered by Lolth some decades ago. Her religion no longer claims any authority that does not derive from Lolth, though some of her worshipers still harbor resentments.
Death
As part of the world restructuring of the Forgotten RealmsForgotten 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...
in preparation for D&D 4th Edition, many deities were removed from the game to simplify the pantheons.
Kiaransalee's worship was destroyed through epic magic by the drow wizard Q'arlynd and his apprentices, erasing all memory of the goddess, effectively eliminating her from the pantheons 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...
. There is no explicit reason to believe that this affects the goddess in other game worlds, despite the novel Storm of the Dead which describes the destruction of her true form within the cosmology of the Realms.
Additional reading
General sources (in chronological order):- Smith, Lester W, and Wolfgang BaurWolfgang BaurWolfgang Baur is an American game designer, best known for his work with Dragon magazine. He designs role-playing games and also is known for his work at Wizards of the Coast.-Biography:...
. Planes of ChaosPlanes of ChaosPlanes of Chaos was a boxed set for the Planescape campaign setting of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Contents:Planes of Chaos is an expansion set for the Planescape campaign setting which details the five chaotic Outer Planes: Arborea, Ysgard, Limbo, Pandemonium, and the Abyss...
. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1994. - McComb, Colin, and Monte CookMonte CookMonte Cook is a professional table-top role-playing game designer and writer. He is married to Sue Weinlein Cook.-Roleplaying:Cook has been a professional game designer since 1988, working primarily on role-playing games. Much of his early work was for Iron Crown Enterprises as an editor and writer...
. Hellbound: The Blood War. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1996. - Cook, Monte. Dead GodsDead GodsDead Gods is an adventure module for the second edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. The book was published in 1997, and was written by Monte Cook, with cover art by rk post and interior art by rk post, Adam Rex, and Josh Timbrook.-Plot summary:Dead Gods is...
. Renton, WA: TSR, 1997. - Weining, FrederickFrederick WeiningFrederick Weining is among those credited for design of the Dungeons & Dragons Gazetteer and the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, both published by Wizards of the Coast. He has also authored or co-authored a number of Greyhawk articles for the Living Greyhawk Journal, the Oerth Journal, and...
. "Vault of the Drow." 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...
#298. Bellevue, WA: Paizo Publishing, 2002. - Wyatt, James. City of the Spider QueenCity of the Spider QueenCity of the Spider Queen is an adventure module for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting of the 3rd edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Plot summary:...
Web Enhancement. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2002. Available Online - Conforti, Steven, ed. Living Greyhawk Official Listing of Deities for Use in the Campaign, version 2.0. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2005. Available online
- Sernett, Matthew, Dave Noonan, Ari MarmellAri MarmellAri Marmell is an American novelist and freelance role-playing game writer.-Novels:His first novel, Gehenna: The Final Night, was published in 2004 by White Wolf Publishing...
, and Robert J. SchwalbRobert J. Schwalb-Career:His works for Dungeons & Dragons include: Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells , Drow of the Underdark -Career:His works for Dungeons & Dragons include: Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells (2006, with Robin Laws), Drow of the Underdark -Career:His works for Dungeons &...
. Tome of MagicTome of MagicThe title was reused for a 3.5 Edition supplement published in 2006. The new Tome of Magic is devoted to new forms and styles of magic as a path to power...
. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2006. - Stark, Ed, James Jacobs, and Erik MonaErik Mona-Career:Erik Mona served as the editor-in-chief of Dragon magazine since 2004 and Dungeon magazine from 2004 to 2006; at the time, both magazines were published by Paizo Publishing, until the license through Wizards of the Coast expired in September 2007...
. Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the AbyssFiendish Codex I: Hordes of the AbyssFiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss is an optional supplemental source book for the 3.5 edition of the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game.-Chapter 1: Demonic Lore:...
. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2006.