Apollyon

Apollyon

(Deity)

Titles

Rider of Pestilence
Horseman of Pestilence
Prince of Locusts
Prince of Plagues

Realm

Throne of Flies, Plaguemere, Abaddon

Alignment

Neutral evil

Areas of Concern

Pestilence

Worshipers

Evil druids, lepers, plague carriers, sufferers of pandemics, urdefhans, wererats

Edicts

End all mortal life through disease or poison, cultivate diseased animals

Anathema

Prevent plagues, bury or burn the dead

Follower Alignments (1E)

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Domains (1E)

Air, Darkness, Destruction, Evil

Subdomains (1E)

Catastrophe, Daemon, Loss, Night, Plague

Follower Alignments (2E)

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Sanctification (2E)

Must choose unholy

Domains (2E)

Air, decay, plague, swarm

Favored Weapon

Scythe

Symbol

Diseased yellow scythe

Sacred Animal

Horse, rat

Sacred Colors

White

Images of Apollyon

Source: Book of the Damned, pg(s). 20f. (1E)
Divine Mysteries, pg(s). 172, 300–301 (2E)

Also described on Lost Omens Gods & Magic 86 and 128–129.

Apollyon

(Creature)

Type

Outsider
(daemon, evil, extraplanar)

CR

29

Environment

Any (Abaddon)

Alignment

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Images of Apollyon

Source: Bestiary 6, pg(s). 160

Ⅰ

The Apocalypse Riders ride out with Apollyon on the far right.

Apollyon (pronounced uh-POL-yuhn) is the ram-headed Rider of Pestilence and one of the most powerful Apocalypse Riders in Abaddon. Sometimes referred to as the Prince of Locusts, Apollyon sends forth plagues and diseases throughout the planes in an effort to increase his power above his fellow Riders.

Appearance

Apollyon resembles a pockmarked man with the head of a sickly ram. His cloak is fashioned from the flayed skin and faces of a dozen angels, each of whom had invaded Abaddon to kill the Rider and free the damned souls under his control.

History

Apollyon became the Rider of Pestilence when his predecessor, Yrsinius, vanished in the Maelstrom. After their master's disappearance, Yrsinius' minions fought among themselves until Apollyon emerged as the victor; half of his rivals died to his blows, while the others fled to serve the other Riders, withdrew into the unclaimed parts of Abaddon, or left the plane entirely.

While it is rumored that Yrsinius was killed by the protean Chorus of Malignant Symmetry, this has not been proven; the other three Riders nonetheless rode on the Maelstrom and slaughtered a number of choruses and a protean elder, then deposited the elder's corpse in the Plaguemere to rot, where it remains to this day. Yrsinius' unclear fate and potential return remains Apollyon's greatest, and unvoiced, fear.

Realm

He rules from the Throne of Flies, a palace and throne thought to be the body of a dead godling, located in the festering pits and shriveled forests of the Plaguemere.

Relationships

Apollyon's cults consider evil druids, as well as the cults of Rovagug, Urgathoa, and Ghlaunder allies. However, Ghlaunder is aware of the daemons' goal to exterminate the cosmos and knows that their relationship will end in hostility.

Servants

Among the creatures under his control are his deacons: the sinister leukodaemons, whom he sends into the world to collect souls on his behalf. He also occasionally allies himself with a race of disease-loving div known as the pairaka. Apollyon, along with Trelmarixian, has a large following among the daemon-spawn urdefhan, whom he entrusts with spreading the diseases he and his servitors develop.

The white apocalypse horse Septisaeus serves as Apollyon's mount. Particularly favored servitors may also receive one of the Ushers of the Black Rain bows empowered by the Rider with fragments of the souls of the angels flayed alive to fashion his cloak.

Worship

Mortal cultists of Apollyon know that the Rider values results more than their adoration.

Obedience

Devoted worshipers of the Rider of Pestilence can gain special powers by actively spreading disease through a population by any number of vectors, including handing out contaminated clothing and bedding, fouling water supplies, or personally acting as a carrier.

Religious symbol

His religious symbol is a diseased-looking yellow scythe covered in boils, polyps, and fleshy tendrils.