Ydersius

Ydersius
(Deity)
Titles	The Headless King, Lord of Coiling Poison, the Father of Serpents, the Primal Coil, the Sundered God, the Slumbering Speaker Below, the Severed God
Home	Darklands
Alignment	Chaotic evil
Areas of Concern	Serpentfolk; Immortality; Poison
Worshipers	Serpentfolk, lizardfolk, troglodytes, boggards, nagas, sorcerers with the serpentine bloodline, human snake cults, assassins
Domains	Chaos, Evil, Nobility, Scalykind, War
Subdomains	Demon, Leadership, Martyr, Saurian, Tactics
Favored Weapon	Dagger
Symbol	Snake skull and ouroboros
Sacred Animal	Snake
Sacred Colors	Green, red
	Images of Ydersius
	Source: Sanctum of the Serpent God, pg(s). 66ff

This is an article on the deity Ydersius. For information on the ancient serpentfolk empire of the same name, please see Ydersius (empire).

The ancient god Ydersius (pronounced yeh-DER-see-us)^[1] is the patron of the serpentfolk, a race of snake-men who battled the humans of ancient Azlant during the Age of Legend.^[2]

History

Ydersius and the serpentfolk were driven underground during the war with the Azlanti and forced to hide in the Darklands realm of Sekamina. In one of the final battles of the war, Ydersius was decapitated by the mighty Azlanti champion Savith and became known as the Headless King. Still believed to be living in two pieces, his mindless body is said to thrash in the lightless depths below, while his head has wasted away to a still-conscious skull.^[3]^[4] It is rumored that his head is buried somewhere in the Mwangi Expanse, luring the serpentfolk to that region.^[5] Whatever the exact truth may be, his clerics still receive his divine power, a sure sign that he has not followed Aroden into true death. A deity of unquenched passion and anger, the generally more cerebral serpentfolk used him as an example of all that was potent and primal in their psyche.^[3] ^[4] They believe that should his body and head be reunited, Ydersius would return to full power and lead his people on an attack against the surface world.^[6]

According to the ancient legends of the Mwangi, the Zenj folk hero Old-Mage Jatembe learned secrets from the severed head of Ydersius before sewing its lips shut.^[7]

Realm

Savith decapitated the god and cast the head into a lake of fire and banished the body to the Darklands; to this day the god is still split in twain.^[8]

Yderius was associated with Sydrixus, a pocket plane within the Maelstrom. This plane is no longer accessible to his servants following his defeat.^[9]

Relationships

Since his fall, no gods have had relationships with Ydersius. Prior to his fall, the pantheon of Azlant stood together against the Father of Serpents, led by Abadar, Desna and Shelyn; it is extremely likely these three gods would re-engage their battle against a resurgent Ydersius.^[10]

Another enemy of Ydersius was the demon lord Abraxus whose portfolio includes snakes. This initiated a clash of power over the serpentfolk population dear to Ydersius. Even today, some serpentfolk will worship Abraxus and such heresy is not tolerated by the cult of Ydersius.^[10]

Appearance

Ydersius is now split into two after the Azlanti heroine, Savith, decapitated the god. His head is hidden and his thrashing body wanders the Darklands. Ydersius is famous for his threefold poison: fang venom, toxic blood and a cloud of poison exuded from his body.^[8]

Ydersius' avatar appears as a huge snake-headed humanoid, with a massively long tail.^[8]

Servants

All of the god's servants are ophidian. Ydersius' herald is known as the Emperor of Scales.^[11]

Three other servants are commonly known within the cult:^[10]

Church of Ydersius

Ydersius is served by his still-active mortal kin, the serpentfolk, and an organization dedicated to bringing about his triumphant return, known as the Coils of Ydersius.^[12]

Unholy Texts

Many unholy texts of Ydersius were lost as the serpentfolk empire fell, including the Alberos Analects.^[13] Today, only the Sekamina Destinies are used by cults.^[10]

Holidays

Once many holidays were celebrated by the faith of Ydersius, but today only one date has much significance: the Day of Sundering on 29 Rova.^[13]

Artifacts

The Skull of Ydersius is now a powerful artifact.^[14]

References

Paizo published a major article about Ydersius in Sanctum of the Serpent God, p66ff.

↑ Erik Mona et al. (2008). Campaign Setting, p. 247. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-112-1
↑ Sean K Reynolds et al. (2014). Inner Sea Gods, p. 192. Paizo Inc. ISBN 978-1-60125-597-6
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 Sean K Reynolds. (2008). Gods and Magic, p. 52-53. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-139-8
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 James Jacobs and Greg A. Vaughan. (2008). Into the Darklands, p. 57. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-140-4
↑ Tim Hitchcock et al. (2010). Heart of the Jungle, p. 15. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-247-0
↑ James Jacobs et al. (2011). The Inner Sea World Guide, p. 235. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-269-2
↑ Tim Hitchcock et al. (2010). Heart of the Jungle, p. 41. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-247-0
↑ ^8.0 ^8.1 ^8.2 Rob McCreary. (2011). Ydersius. Sanctum of the Serpent God, p. 67. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-307-1
↑ Jesse Benner, Rob McCreary, and Neil Spicer. (2011). Bestiary. Sanctum of the Serpent God, p. 83. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-307-1
↑ ^10.0 ^10.1 ^10.2 ^10.3 Rob McCreary. (2011). Ydersius. Sanctum of the Serpent God, p. 71. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-307-1
↑ Jesse Benner, Rob McCreary, and Neil Spicer. (2011). Bestiary. Sanctum of the Serpent God, p. 82. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-307-1
↑ Erik Mona et al. (2008). Campaign Setting, p. 198. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-112-1
↑ ^13.0 ^13.1 Rob McCreary. (2011). Ydersius. Sanctum of the Serpent God, p. 70. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-307-1
↑ F. Wesley Schneider. (2012). Artifacts & Legends, p. 48. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-458-0

[1] Erik Mona et al. (2008). Campaign Setting, p. 247. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-112-1

[2] Sean K Reynolds et al. (2014). Inner Sea Gods, p. 192. Paizo Inc. ISBN 978-1-60125-597-6

[gods_52-3] 3.0 ^3.1 Sean K Reynolds. (2008). Gods and Magic, p. 52-53. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-139-8

[dark57-4] 4.0 ^4.1 James Jacobs and Greg A. Vaughan. (2008). Into the Darklands, p. 57. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-140-4

[5] Tim Hitchcock et al. (2010). Heart of the Jungle, p. 15. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-247-0

[ISWG-235-6] James Jacobs et al. (2011). The Inner Sea World Guide, p. 235. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-269-2

[7] Tim Hitchcock et al. (2010). Heart of the Jungle, p. 41. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-247-0

[SSG67-8] 8.0 ^8.1 ^8.2 Rob McCreary. (2011). Ydersius. Sanctum of the Serpent God, p. 67. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-307-1

[9] Jesse Benner, Rob McCreary, and Neil Spicer. (2011). Bestiary. Sanctum of the Serpent God, p. 83. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-307-1

[SSG71-10] 10.0 ^10.1 ^10.2 ^10.3 Rob McCreary. (2011). Ydersius. Sanctum of the Serpent God, p. 71. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-307-1

[11] Jesse Benner, Rob McCreary, and Neil Spicer. (2011). Bestiary. Sanctum of the Serpent God, p. 82. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-307-1

[12] Erik Mona et al. (2008). Campaign Setting, p. 198. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-112-1

[SSG70-13] 13.0 ^13.1 Rob McCreary. (2011). Ydersius. Sanctum of the Serpent God, p. 70. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-307-1

[14] F. Wesley Schneider. (2012). Artifacts & Legends, p. 48. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-458-0

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