Zursvaater

Zursvaater

(Deity)

Titles

Prince of Steel

Realm

Hyrrfellhame, Malebolge, Hell

Alignment

Lawful evil

Areas of Concern

Conquest
Slavery
Weapons

Worshipers

Fire giants; slag giants

Follower Alignments (1E)

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Domains (1E)

Evil, Fire, Law, Trickery, War

Subdomains (1E)

Ash, Blood, Slavery, Tyranny

Favored Weapon

Greatsword

Symbol

Helm with huge fangs

Sacred Animal

Saber-toothed tiger

Sacred Colors

Black, orange

Source: Anvil of Fire, pg(s). 62ff.

Ⅰ

Zursvaater is the father of the fire giants, having created them millennia ago by granting them the secrets of fire and metal in exchange for their devotion. He is a secretive deity who instructed his followers to abandon inter-tribal warfare and instead attack other races.

History

According to fire giant folklore, Zursvaater came into being when the greatest volcano sensed the presence of stone giants and formed a humanoid shape to speak to them. He offered them the secrets of metal and volcanic fire in exchange for worship, and they accepted, becoming the first fire giants.

Appearance

Zursvaater is depicted as a mighty, armored fire giant with a closed-face helmet, wielding a heavy chain in one hand.

Home

Zursvaater originally lived in Jotungard, the shared divine realm of all giant demigods, on Elysium. After being exiled, he arrived in Hell and became fond of volcanic Malebolge. After an age of conflict with Malebolge's ruling archdevil Moloch, Zursvaater was awarded Hyrrfellhame by Asmodeus; it is an immense cavern with three active volcanoes on the edge of Malebolge, given as both a punishment for Moloch and a way to gain Zursvaater's grudging thanks.

Relationships

Zursvaater despises the patron of frost giants, Thremyr, due to the opposition of their elements as well as Thremyr's raging fits and bloody style of warfare, which he considers disgusting. He similarly found Gorum's warlike disposition pointless. He considers Minderhal a pale imitation of himself, much as Minderhal's stone giants are merely components of his own fire giants. Zursvaater considers Torag's dwarven followers persistent pests, but grudgingly respects him as a smith and encourages his followers to enslave dwarves.

References

Paizo published a major article about Zursvaater in Anvil of Fire.

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