Ahriman

Ahriman

(Deity)

Titles

Lord of All Divs, Lord of the Divs

Realm

Ahermanabad, Abaddon

Alignment

Neutral evil

Areas of Concern

Oblivion; Destruction, divs, nihilism

Worshipers

Divs, Usij, nihilists and deluded cultists

Edicts

Foil rulers, the proud, and the powerful; ruin anything created by mortals

Anathema

create arts or crafts, serve a mortal, assist in mortal aims except to subvert and corrupt them

Follower Alignments (1E)

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Domains (1E)

Darkness, Death, Destruction, Evil

Subdomains (1E)

Catastrophe, Fear, Loss, Rage

Follower Alignments (2E)

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Domains (2E)

Darkness, Death, Destruction, Trickery

Favored Weapon

Whip

Symbol

Black and silver eclipse

Sacred Animal

Snake

Sacred Colors

Black, silver

Source: Book of the Damned, pg(s). 12f. (1E)
Bestiary 3, pg(s). 68 (2E)

Ⅰ

Ⅱ

Ahriman

(Creature)

Type

Outsider
(div, evil, extraplanar)

CR

26

Environment

Abaddon

Alignment

Neutral evil

Source: Mythic Realms, pg(s). 48–49

Ⅰ

Lord of all the divs, Ahriman is the embodiment of pure destruction and seeks the utter obliteration of existence through his div servants. Ahriman is a demigod, and his religious symbol is a black circle edged with a thin sliver of silver, depicting light eclipsed by darkness.

Appearance

Ahriman is terrifying to behold: an amalgam of vicious predators far more terrible than the sum of its parts. Ahriman's feet are vulture-like, with wicked flesh-rending talons, while his hands sport the claws of a huge tiger that are capable of tearing a giant clean in two.

His scarred, humanoid body writhes with living snakes and whipping chains that lash out and poison those near him. His face looks like a tiger's with an expression of pure hatred and is crowned with four gnarled horns etched with ancient curses. From Ahriman's maw come inhuman screams that are not his own, and a darkness that is more than just shadow. Those swallowed by Ahriman plunge for all eternity down a bottomless pit filled with the deafening praises and heresies dedicated to Ahriman.

History

Ahriman's origin is shrouded in mystery and legend. The jinn believe Ahriman and the first jinn came into being simultaneously, the latter as the shadow of Creation's inevitable destruction. Ahriman is both a creature and force of nature; he is the destruction that must inevitably come to all things in order to keep existence in balance, and, as such, he is the enemy of all creation.

In ancient times, Osirion's Pharaoh of Forgotten Plagues constructed a mighty edifice known as the House of Oblivion in the desert of Thuvia in an effort to entice Ahriman to Golarion. The attempt succeeded, and Ahriman arrived with a large number of div followers. Ahriman agreed to support the pharaoh in return for the House. This support was not enough to prevent the pharaoh from being overthrown by the Song Pharaoh in -3047 AR, however, and Ahriman returned to Abaddon.

Home

Ahriman rules from his throne in the realm of Ahermanabad, atop Mount Kaf—itself carved from fallen monuments—at the edge of Abaddon under a dark apocalyptic void which dominates its sky. It is from here that Ahriman sets his dark designs on the rest of the multiverse.

Servants

The div, of whom Ahriman is lord, are a race of fiends created from the essence of jinn he corrupted that revel in destruction and misery; specifically, they seek to destroy the works that mortals create, much like the daemons with whom they share Abaddon. Beyond this, Ahriman also created the undead ghuls from twisted janns, to vex and destroy mortal life and the despotic fiendish dragons known as azi. While it might seem a paradox that an embodiment of destruction could also create new forms of life, he does so only to hasten the destruction of the rest of the multiverse.

Ahriman's hatred of life is so great that any creature he kills is instantly reanimated as a powerful undead (usually a wight) that serves him loyally in his destructive quests. Ahriman's favourite form of ruin is the corruption of mortal desires, often through the use of manipulated wish spells.

Unique servants

Ahriman is almost always attended by powerful akvan princes who serve as his bodyguards. These unholy servitors have names such as Crumbling Earth, Dying Ember, Gasping Wind, Thirsty Sea, and Unbalanced Soul.

Worshippers

Despite his abhorrence for all life, cells of cultists on Golarion worship Ahriman, collectively called the Usij. These deranged nihilists channel Ahriman's power and inspiration to realize their destructive plots. Originally from Kelesh, the Usij are no longer as numerous as they once were, after purges by followers of Sarenrae. That said, the Usij are insidious and have rebounded, particularly in desert regions, seeking to corrupt and destroy everything around them.

Obedience

Some followers of Ahriman gain special unholy favor from Ahriman, either through self-flagellation or destroying things of value to others, ideally in front of those who value them.

References

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.

Additional works published by Paizo Inc. in which Ahriman appears:

• Ancients' Anguish
• Beneath Forgotten Sands
• The Immortal Conundrum
• Refugees of the Weary Sky
• Salvation of the Sages
• The Unseen Inclusion
• Where Dark Things Sleep

External links

• Ahriman (real-world Zoroastrian Satan-analog) on Wikipedia