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Kossuth (pronounced: /kˈsθkoh-SOOTH[1]) was the god of elemental fire and purification through fire.[14] The Lord of Flames[14] was not considered a true god in the late 15th century DR, but an elemental primordial, a being whose power rivaled that of a true deity.[7]

Description[]

Kossuth appeared as a red-hot column of awesome flame more than 60 feet (18 meters) high and 20 feet (6.1 meters) in diameter. His voice could be heard for hundreds of yards in every direction, a hissing whisper mixed with disturbing crackling and popping.[13]

Relationships[]

The supremely powerful elemental being known as Kossuth had lorded over fire since the earliest moments of the multiverse, though whether or not the contemporary Kossuth was the same primordial being or one in a long line of similarly named successors is a matter of much conjecture. The Lord of Flames rarely intervened in affairs in the mortal world, spending most of his time embroiled in the intrigues of the Inner Planes.[1]

Kossuth's doctrine of elemental supremacy virtually assured conflict with the other elemental lords. Kossuth was vehemently opposed to Istishia and his clergy.[14] He was watchful of the upstart archomental Imix, who was always trying to undermine his better but while Kossuth remained clearly the true master of the element of fire, the Grand Sultan of the Efreet was the only being on the plane who held even a slightly comparable level of power.[12] The Firelord interacted very little with the other deities of Faerûn. Moradin and Flandal Steelskin honored him for the heat of the forge, but he barely responded. The return of Bane pleased Kossuth, however; the two deities seemed to agree on the importance of a strong religious hierarchy and had a common intolerance for the ephemeral and unpredictable nature of chaos.[15]

Divine Realm[]

Kossuth dwelled in the Crimson Pillar, a 10‑mile-wide (16‑kilometer) globe made of the primordial power of fire that floated over the Sea of Fire on the Elemental Plane of Fire. It was said that the blue-white flames of the Pillar gave off a heat that made the rest of the plane seem chilly in comparison.[12]

Worshipers[]

Main article: Church of Kossuth
Kossuth symbol

The holy symbol of Kossuth.

The church of Kossuth was rather hierarchical and mostly impersonal. The Church's aims tended to revolve around the acquisition of land, power, and wealth. The followers and clerics were often lawful, without regard for good or evil.[14]

Many Red wizards of Thay worshiped Kossuth[14] and the Flaming Brazier of Eltabbar was supposedly the largest temple of Kossuth in all the Realms.[16]

After death, bodies of worshipers were cremated.[17]

Orders[]

Priesthoods
Monastic orders
  • Disciples of the Phoenix: The good branch of the three. They rigidly ordered their members' studies and behaviors and put their focus on the purifying aspect of their deity.[20]
  • Disciples of the Salamander: The evil branch of the three. They saw fire as necessary for the renewal aspect of their deity, though some members' view on destruction bordered on Talos's.[20]
  • Brothers and Sisters of the Purifying Flame: The neutral branch of the three. Their goal was to strike a balance between purification and destruction and acted as the go-betweens of the other two monasteries.[20]

Kossuth's monks could learn to become clerics of the Firelord without sacrificing their potential as monks.[20]

Worship in Zakhara[]

On the continent of Zakhara, Kossuth was called one of the "cold gods of the elements". They were "cold" because those were seen as uncaring for human affairs and opposed to the Land of Fate's pervasive culture of Enlightenment. Only a few Zakharans were willing to worship a cold god in order to gain power.[21]

Temples[]

History[]

Early History[]

In the Year of Recompense, −150 DR, powerful Raumatharan wizards managed to summon Kossuth from his elemental home and instructed him to destroy a besieging army of hated Narfell. This he did, but he soon turned against the wizards, incinerating their city for their arrogance. The resulting conflagration consumed much of the northern coast of the Alamber Sea, and the fires of Kossuth's anger burned strong for more than a decade after his withdrawal from Toril.[15]

Kossuth appeared in the Realms once again in the Year of the Star Rose, 801 DR, to assist some of his faithful with the destruction of a colossal octopus.[22]

Modern History[]

Kossuth was credited by his faithful with limiting the disastrous Salamander War of the Year of the Prince, 1357 DR in Thay. Without his influence, they say, the War would have turned into an even greater debacle.[15]

Kossuth was not among the deities sighted in Faerûn during the exile of the gods by Ao during the Time of Troubles in the Year of Shadows, 1358 DR.[15]

Appendix[]

Background[]

Originally, Ed Greenwood adopted Kakatal, one of Michael Moorcock's elemental gods appearing in the original Deities & Demigods, for an elemental god of fire in his home Dungeons & Dragons campaign set in the Forgotten Realms. He noted in "Down-to-earth Divinity" in Dragon #54 (October 1981) that Moorcock's elemental gods "may later be replaced in [his] universe by 'official' AD&D beings as these are published".[23]

Kossuth proper first appeared in Manual of the Planes (1987),[24] and was listed as an elemental god for the Forgotten Realms in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Set's Cyclopedia of the Realms.[3] Kossuth was further described in Forgotten Realms Adventures (1990),[25] the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 2nd edition's Running the Realms (1993)[2] and then fleshed out fully in Faiths & Avatars (1996).[13] Kossuth went on to be one of the major deities of the Forgotten Realms in Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 3rd edition (2001),[9] and Faiths and Pantheons (2002).[1]

Kossuth appeared in the 4th-edition Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide, now as a primordial.[7]

Notes[]

  1. Also a 30 HD fire elemental.

Appearances[]

Video Games

Referenced only
Icewind Dale • Sword Coast Legends

Organized Play & Licensed Adventures

Referenced only
Scrutiny on the Bounty

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Eric L. Boyd, Erik Mona (May 2002). Faiths and Pantheons. Edited by Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 35–36. ISBN 0-7869-2759-3.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Ed Greenwood, Julia Martin, Jeff Grubb (1993). Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 2nd edition (revised), Running the Realms. (TSR, Inc), p. 61. ISBN 1-5607-6617-4.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Ed Greenwood, Jeff Grubb (August 1987). “Cyclopedia of the Realms”. In Karen S. Martin ed. Forgotten Realms Campaign Set (TSR, Inc.), pp. 16, 18, 39. ISBN 0-88038-472-7.
  4. Julia Martin, Eric L. Boyd (March 1996). Faiths & Avatars. (TSR, Inc.), p. 90. ISBN 978-0786903849.
  5. Steve Kenson, et al. (November 2015). Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide. Edited by Kim Mohan. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 21. ISBN 978-0-7869-6580-9.
  6. Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford (2014). Player's Handbook 5th edition. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 60–61. ISBN 978-0-7869-6560-1.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 Bruce R. Cordell, Ed Greenwood, Chris Sims (August 2008). Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide. Edited by Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 79, 81. ISBN 978-0-7869-4924-3.
  8. Bruce R. Cordell, Christopher Lindsay (April 2006). Complete Psionic. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 11. ISBN 0-7869-3911-7.
  9. 9.0 9.1 Ed Greenwood, Sean K. Reynolds, Skip Williams, Rob Heinsoo (June 2001). Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 3rd edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 235. ISBN 0-7869-1836-5.
  10. Hal Maclean (September 2004). “Seven Deadly Domains”. In Matthew Sernett ed. Dragon #323 (Paizo Publishing, LLC), p. 65.
  11. Colin McComb (October 1996). On Hallowed Ground. Edited by Ray Vallese. (TSR, Inc.), p. 181. ISBN 0-7869-0430-5.
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 Monte Cook and William W. Connors (December 7, 1998). The Inner Planes. Edited by Michele Carter and Ray Vallese. (TSR, Inc.), pp. 46–48. ISBN 0-7869-0736-3.
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 Julia Martin, Eric L. Boyd (March 1996). Faiths & Avatars. (TSR, Inc.), p. 88. ISBN 978-0786903849.
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 Ed Greenwood, Sean K. Reynolds, Skip Williams, Rob Heinsoo (June 2001). Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 3rd edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 244. ISBN 0-7869-1836-5.
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Eric L. Boyd, Erik Mona (May 2002). Faiths and Pantheons. Edited by Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 36. ISBN 0-7869-2759-3.
  16. Richard Lee Byers (April 2007). Unclean. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 96. ISBN 978-0-7869-4258-9.
  17. Richard Lee Byers (April 2007). Unclean. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 107. ISBN 978-0-7869-4258-9.
  18. Richard Lee Byers (April 2007). Unclean. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 104. ISBN 978-0-7869-4258-9.
  19. 19.0 19.1 19.2 Richard Lee Byers (April 2007). Unclean. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 108. ISBN 978-0-7869-4258-9.
  20. 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 Sean K. Reynolds (2002-05-04). Deity Do's and Don'ts (Zipped PDF). Web Enhancement for Faiths and Pantheons. Wizards of the Coast. p. 7. Archived from the original on 2016-11-01. Retrieved on 2018-09-08.
  21. Jeff Grubb (August 1992). Land of Fate (Adventurer's Guide to Zakhara). (TSR, Inc), p. 57. ISBN 978-1560763291.
  22. Black Isle Studios (February 2001). Designed by Chris Avellone, Steve Bokkes, John Deiley, J.E. Sawyer. Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter. Interplay.
  23. Ed Greenwood (October 1981). “Down-to-earth divinity”. In Kim Mohan ed. Dragon #54 (TSR, Inc.), p. 54.
  24. Jeff Grubb (July 1987). Manual of the Planes 1st edition. (TSR), p. 40. ISBN 0880383992.
  25. Jeff Grubb and Ed Greenwood (1990). Forgotten Realms Adventures. (TSR, Inc), p. 36. ISBN 0-8803-8828-5.

Connections[]

The Faerûnian Pantheon
Major Deities
AzuthBaneBhaalChaunteaCyricGondHelmIlmaterKelemvorKossuthLathanderLoviatarMaskMielikkiMyrkulMystra (Midnight) • OghmaSelûneSharShaundakulSilvanusSuneTalosTempusTormTymoraTyrUmberleeWaukeen
Other Members
AkadiAurilBeshabaDeneirEldathFinder WyvernspurGaragosGargauthGerronGrumbarGwaeron WindstromHoarIstishiaIyachtu XvimJergalLliiraLurueMalarMililNobanionThe Red KnightSavrasSharessShialliaSiamorpheTalonaTiamatUbtaoUlutiuValkurVelsharoon
Primordials
Elemental Lords of Toril
AkadiBazim-GoragGrumbarIstishiaKossuth
Miscellaneous Primordials
AchazarArambarAsgorathBoremBwimbCirotralechDendarDraunnDur-baagalEntropyErek-HusKarshimisKezefMaegeraMaramNehushtaPetronQueen of ChaosRornTelosUbtao

Deities of the Post–Second Sundering Era
Ao the Overgod
Faerûnian Pantheon
Akadi | Amaunator | Asmodeus | Auril | Azuth | Bane | Beshaba | Bhaal | Chauntea | Cyric | Deneir | Eldath | Gond | Grumbar | Gwaeron | Helm | Hoar | Ilmater | Istishia | Jergal | Kelemvor | Kossuth | Lathander | Leira | Lliira | Loviatar | Malar | Mask | Mielikki | Milil | Myrkul | Mystra | Oghma | Red Knight | Savras | Selûne | Shar | Silvanus | Sune | Talona | Talos | Tempus | Torm | Tymora | Tyr | Umberlee | Valkur | Waukeen
The Morndinsamman
Abbathor | Berronar Truesilver | Clangeddin Silverbeard | Deep Duerra | Dugmaren Brightmantle | Dumathoin | Gorm Gulthyn | Haela Brightaxe | Laduguer | Marthammor Duin | Moradin | Sharindlar | Vergadain
The Seldarine
Aerdrie Faenya | Angharradh | Corellon | Deep Sashelas | Erevan | Fenmarel Mestarine | Hanali Celanil | Labelas Enoreth | Rillifane Rallathil | Sehanine Moonbow | Shevarash | Solonor Thelandira
The Dark Seldarine
Eilistraee | Kiaransalee | Lolth | Selvetarm | Vhaeraun
Yondalla's Children
Arvoreen | Brandobaris | Cyrrollalee | Sheela Peryroyl | Urogalan | Yondalla
Lords of the Golden Hills
Baervan Wildwanderer | Baravar Cloakshadow | Callarduran Smoothhands | Flandal Steelskin | Gaerdal Ironhand | Garl Glittergold | Nebelun | Segojan Earthcaller | Urdlen
Orc Pantheon
Bahgtru | Gruumsh | Ilneval | Luthic | Shargaas | Yurtrus
Mulhorandi pantheon
Anhur | Bast | Geb | Hathor | Horus | Isis | Nephthys | Osiris | Re | Sebek | Set | Thoth
Other gods of Faerûn
Bahamut | Enlil | Finder Wyvernspur | Ghaunadaur | Gilgeam | Lurue | Moander | Nobanion | Raven Queen | Tiamat



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