Merrshaulk
Encyclopedia
In the Dungeons & Dragons
fantasy
roleplaying game, Merrshaulk is the yuan-ti
deity of poison and somnolence. "Merrshaulk" is likely a dwarven
rendering of his name; the yuan-ti pronounce the name more like "Mi-Shao-Shur," although they view it as too holy to pronounce around outsiders. The god's holy symbol is a cobra's head.
(1992), including details about his priesthood.
Merrshaulk appears in 3rd edition in Defenders of the Faith
(2000). His priesthood is detailed for this edition in Complete Divine
(2004).
Couatl believe Merrshaulk inevitably declines as he separates from the archetypal core of the universe.
, Io
, Jazirian
, and even Ramenos
. He considers Jazirian to be his archnemesis. His relationship with Tlaloc
, who claims to have created the yuan-ti of Oerth
, is unknown.
with Ramenos.
Only gratuitous evil helps awaken the Sleeping Serpent. If the evil brings tangible benefits to the yuan-ti (other than pleasure), it only brings those benefits. Protecting their lairs or finding food are important, but for them to be sacred they must do more. Therefore, the atrocities committed by the yuan-ti are not selfish in nature. They murder, desecrate, and undermine governments. The fact that they love doing these things is incidental.
The yuan-ti religious code forbids them from harming other reptiles, however. They need not lay down their lives for reptiles, but they cannot eat or otherwise harm them. They abhor cannibalism.
.
Yuan-ti temples normally have ramps instead of stairs. For protection, they often have very narrow entrances that only snakes can slither through.
campaign setting, Merrshaulk is known under the alias of Sseth. He is currently in a permanent hibernation due to the betrayal of his Sarrukh
followers. His portfolio has been taken over by Set
, the Mulhorandi god of evil, although the yuan-ti still thinks their prayers are answered by Merrshaulk himself.
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...
roleplaying game, Merrshaulk is the yuan-ti
Yuan-ti
The yuan-ti are a fictional species of evil snakemen in the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. The species comprises a number of castes. In some campaign settings, the yuan-ti are descended from evil human cultists who mixed their bloodlines with those of serpents...
deity of poison and somnolence. "Merrshaulk" is likely a dwarven
Dwarf (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, dwarves are a humanoid race, one of the primary races available for play as player characters...
rendering of his name; the yuan-ti pronounce the name more like "Mi-Shao-Shur," although they view it as too holy to pronounce around outsiders. The god's holy symbol is a cobra's head.
Publication history
Merrshaulk 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 his priesthood.
Merrshaulk appears in 3rd edition in Defenders of the Faith
Defenders of the Faith (Dungeons & Dragons)
Defenders of the Faith: A Guidebook to Clerics and Paladins is an optional rulebook for the 3rd edition of Dungeons & Dragons, and notable for its trade paperback format.-Contents:...
(2000). His priesthood is detailed for this edition in Complete Divine
Complete Divine
Complete Divine is a supplemental rulebook for the 3.5 edition of the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy role-playing game published by Wizards of the Coast...
(2004).
Description
Merrshaulk manifests as a vast yuan-ti abomination with a male human head and stubby forearms. He has begun to decline into slumber, spending years barely conscious within his snake-infested Abyssal pit. The yuan-ti have declined with him; they believe they can awaken him, however, with enough sacrifice and acts of depravity. Then he will shed his skin and devour the world.Couatl believe Merrshaulk inevitably declines as he separates from the archetypal core of the universe.
Relationships
Merrshaulk is a variation of the World Serpent archetype, like ShekinesterShekinester
In many campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, Shekinester is the threefold deity of the nagas. She can appear as the aspect of spirit nagas, water nagas, and guardian nagas...
, Io
Io (Dungeons & Dragons)
In many campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, Io is the chief deity worshipped by dragons, god of dragonkind, balance, and peace. He is seen by his people as the creator of all things. He is neutral in alignment, but he also contains within him all other alignments...
, Jazirian
Jazirian
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, Jazirian is the couatl deity of Community, Peace, Learning, and Parenthood. The couatls believe Jazirian to be the embodiment of supreme purpose and fate, the invisible force that moves the strings upon which all other gods move...
, and even Ramenos
Ramenos
In many campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, Ramenos is the bullywug deity of somnolence, intoxication, and decay.-Publication history:...
. He considers Jazirian to be his archnemesis. His relationship with Tlaloc
Tlaloc
Tlaloc was an important deity in Aztec religion, a god of rain, fertility, and water. He was a beneficent god who gave life and sustenance, but he was also feared for his ability to send hail, thunder and lightning, and for being the lord of the powerful element of water. In Aztec iconography he...
, who claims to have created the yuan-ti of Oerth
Oerth
In the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, Oerth, pronounced as "Orth" or "oyth", is the name of the fictional planet on which one of the earliest campaign settings, the World of Greyhawk, is located...
, is unknown.
Realm
Merrshaulk shares its slumbering realm of Smaragd on the 74th layer of the AbyssAbyss (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...
with Ramenos.
Dogma
Merrshaulk encourages competition within each caste in order to ensure that only the most qualified leaders come to the fore. Every act of gratuitous cruelty and suffering committed by the yuan-ti brings the Sleeping Serpent closer to awakening. The more ingenious the plan, the more power it brings. The more intelligent beings hurt and traumatized, the better.Only gratuitous evil helps awaken the Sleeping Serpent. If the evil brings tangible benefits to the yuan-ti (other than pleasure), it only brings those benefits. Protecting their lairs or finding food are important, but for them to be sacred they must do more. Therefore, the atrocities committed by the yuan-ti are not selfish in nature. They murder, desecrate, and undermine governments. The fact that they love doing these things is incidental.
The yuan-ti religious code forbids them from harming other reptiles, however. They need not lay down their lives for reptiles, but they cannot eat or otherwise harm them. They abhor cannibalism.
Worshippers
Merrshaulk is revered by yuan-ti, ophidians, and some spirit nagas who have rejected ShekinesterShekinester
In many campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, Shekinester is the threefold deity of the nagas. She can appear as the aspect of spirit nagas, water nagas, and guardian nagas...
.
Clergy
Of all yuan-ti, only the Shan-Pachan, the human-headed yuan-ti abominations, may become priests. In addition, priests of Merrshaulk are exclusively male. They must be skillful ambushers and defenders of lairs.Temples
Temples of Merrshaulk are typically made of dark stone or caverns beneath the earth. They are lined with columns depicting serpents devouring humanoids, or of humans transforming into serpents. In the center are pits of writhing snakes.Yuan-ti temples normally have ramps instead of stairs. For protection, they often have very narrow entrances that only snakes can slither through.
Holy days
The Sagacious Slumber is a month-long period of hibernation in the middle of winter, immediately preceded by an orgy of eating. Immediately following the Slumber is the Shedding, in which the yuan-ti shed their skins while sacrificing intelligent beings to their god. The Shedding is followed by a period of particularly energetic activity.A World Remade
The yuan-ti believes that after Merrshaulk awakes and devours everything, they will be left as the rulers of the world. However, they do not believe much will be left of the world to rule. They accept this because of their devotion to their deity and because of the visceral pleasure they get out of the atrocities they commit in his name.Merrshaulk in the Forgotten Realms
In 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...
campaign setting, Merrshaulk is known under the alias of Sseth. He is currently in a permanent hibernation due to the betrayal of his Sarrukh
Sarrukh
Within the Forgotten Realms setting of the game Dungeons & Dragons, the sarrukh are a race of reptilian humanoids. They are one of the five progenitor races, or Creator Races, of Faerûn. Eons prior to the current storyline of Dungeons & Dragons, they built and maintained empires across most of the...
followers. His portfolio has been taken over by Set
Set (mythology)
Set was in Ancient Egyptian religion, a god of the desert, storms, and foreigners. In later myths he was also the god of darkness, and chaos...
, the Mulhorandi god of evil, although the yuan-ti still thinks their prayers are answered by Merrshaulk himself.
Additional reading
- Boyd, Eric L. Powers & Pantheons. Renton, WA: TSR, 1997.
- 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:http://www.wizards.com/rpga/downloads/LG_Deities.zip
- Laws, Robin D.Robin LawsRobin D. Laws is a writer and game designer who lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is the author of a number of role-playing games and related products.-Works:Robin D...
"Venom and Coil." 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...
#305. Bellevue, WA: Paizo Publishing, 2003. - 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.