Droskar

Droskar

(Deity)

Titles

The Dark Smith
Master of the Dark Furnace

Adjective

Droskari;
Droskarans or Droskarites (followers)

Realm

Ashen Forge, Outer Rifts

Alignment

Neutral evil

Areas of Concern

Cheating
Slavery
Toil

Worshipers

Dwarves, hryngars

Edicts

Achieve goals at any cost, continually improve your abilities, establish dominance, work ceaselessly

Anathema

Fail to work toward goals or grow in skill, relax excessively or give in to sloth

Cleric Alignments (1E)

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Domains (1E)

Artifice, Charm, Darkness, Evil, Trickery

Subdomains (1E)

Construct, Daemon, Deception, Espionage, Loss, Thievery, Toil

Cleric Alignments (2E)

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Domains (2E)

Duty, earth, trickery, tyranny

Favored Weapon

Light hammer

Symbol

Fire under stone arch

Sacred Animal

Beetle

Sacred Colors

Gray, orange

Source: Gods and Magic, pg(s). 47 (1E)
Fires of the Haunted City, pg(s). 58–63 (2E)

Droskar is the patron deity of hryngars.

Droskar (pronounced DROH-skar) is a member of the dwarven pantheon and the patron deity of hryngars. He believes that sufficient toil leads to eventual success and that those who fail simply were not trying hard enough. In the pursuit of this goal, Droskar believes that one should be free to do whatever is necessary to accomplish one's goal, including lying, cheating, exploiting others, or committing crimes. His unholy symbol is a stone arch with a fire burning beneath it.

History

Droskar was originally one of the greatest student smiths of Torag until it was discovered that he had been copying his work from another whom he had enslaved. Torag thus cursed him to never be able to create an original work and cast from the dwarven pantheon, but not before Droskar killed his captive, who would never be able to take his place at Torag's forge. Rejected, he searched for followers of his own and promised them salvation in return for ceaseless work, or simply enslaved them. However, none of these followers helped him or inspired any originality.

After Earthfall, Droskar heard the prayers of dwarves who had refused to follow the Quest for Sky and chose to remain in the Darklands. Left behind by their kin and abandoned by Torag, they cried out for help against the enemies that surrounded them. Droskar offered them power and protection, allowing them to reclaim their shattered empire in exchange for eternal servitude. The dwarves saw the trade as fair, and as they accepted Droskar's patronage, their skin turned grey and they became Droskar's chosen people, the hryngars.

Realm

Droskar resides in the Outer Rifts where he has a purgatory of a divine realm called the Ashen Forge.

Appearance

Droskar appears as a male dwarf towering over all beings that he addresses. His skin is ash grey and scarred by burns, and his hair and beard are black smoke flecked with embers. He wears a forge apron made from red dragon hide that does not cover his heavily muscled arms and charred hands and forearms, where the scabs on his skin swirl into flame-and-chain patterns. He wields his forge hammer Karandosh in one hand and the Soulchain, which can drag any creature across the planes into his presence, in the other.

Relationships

Droskar views Torag as a hypocrite because Torag commands legions of celestial servitors, while he condemns Droskar for slavery. Most dwarves despise Droskar and ostracise or attack his worshippers, who in turn enslave dwarves when possible. The only dwarven god who harbours any sympathy for Droskar is Dranngvit, while Grundinnar hopes to reconcile him and Torag and bring him back to the pantheon.

Droskar's church shares many values—concerning ascetic self-perfection and wealth as a manifestation of virtue—with the secular Prophecies of Kalistrade.

Church of Droskar

A forge-spurned.

Since the Age of Darkness, Droskar's church has been the state religion of hryngars. On the surface of Golarion, the rare followers of Droskar—called Droskarans—tend to be individual ascetics who devote their lives to their work or study, or small settlements desperately struggling in harsh environments. They are most often found in Okeno, the Hold of Belkzen, the Sodden Lands, and especially Druma, which boasts the largest number of Droskar's worshippers in the Inner Sea region outside of Nar-Voth. His emphasis on the right of the powerful to dominate the weak resonates well with wealthy plutocrats across Golarion.

The rise of Droskar's cult also saw the first appearance of an undead monster associated with such endless toil: the forge-spurned.

Artifacts

Many dwarves believe that followers of Droskar have hidden the powerful dwarven artifact called the Axe of the Dwarvish Lords, since Droskar's church considers this artifact to be a great threat to their god's mission.

References

Paizo published a major article on Droskar in Fires of the Haunted City.

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