Hyperborean Heresies

Hyperborean Heresies Sorcerous Religions

Hyperborea is in the grip of horrific changes. The faith of Bori is giving way to grim sorcerous cults worshipping death-goddesses, thunder-gods and other sorcerers-madedivine. Sorcerers teach that they are gods, that the world was created when the egg of a god-like bird exploded. The sky is the shell of the egg, suspended on a pole located far to the north. The shell rotates, creating the motion of the stars.

The sorcerers teach that the soul is brought at the moment of birth and taken away when a person dies. Many Hyperboreans sleep with wooden carvings of birds in order to secure the safety of their souls. Many sorcerer-gods in Hyperborea keep flocks of birds or use Nature Magic in order to appear as though the birds bring and take souls from them.

There are many sorcerer-gods rising in Hyperborea, each with legions of Witchmen. Some of these sorcerer-gods include Ukko (who knows weather sorcery styles from Conan: Pirate Isles), Ajattara (a sorceress-druid (scholar/borderer) who lives in a foreboding forest), Akka (the consort of Ukko), Pekko (a sorcerer infamous for his sorcerous garden and taste for barley-beer) and Nyyrikki (a sorcerer huntsman). The most famous of the sorcerer-gods is Louhi, who styles herself as a death-goddess.

Louhi the Death Goddess

L. Sprague de Camp introduced the idea of a death goddess among the Witchmen of Hyperborea, a goddess that is incarnated in mortal form, usually an ancient crone of a sorceress. Likely this religion is one of blood sacrifices and vile rites, judging from the character of Louhi in The Witch of the Mists. Only the Witchmen worship this dark goddess. Even the brooding Cimmerians in their forested ridges and misty hills know the infamous sigil of this order, the White Hand. The sight of it often sends the bravest men trembling. Members of this order are known as Witchmen or Witchwomen, all of whom are virtual devils in human guise, without the taint of compassion or any other constraint that limits other men to sensible or moral behaviour.

The White Hand is a weird cult of pale wizard-assassins that holds power in Hyperborea through the terror of their horrible arts. They kill without leaving a mark and fight only with their strange, platinum-tipped rods. Those who serve in the White Hand undergo strange mortifications of body, mind and will. They are considered the deadliest fighters in the world, immune to fear and pain. In addition to the death goddess, they worship a whole host of devil-gods and avatars. All members of the White Hand are subject to The Rule of the Master. See the Conan the Roleplaying Game for details.

Although Louhi is a mortal sorceress, she is considered to be the living avatar of the Hyperborean death-goddess. She is the master of the cult and all worshippers must follow the Rule of the Master as given in Conan the Roleplaying Game. She teaches magic, warping her followers’ bodies, minds and souls in exchange for their obedience. Louhi has many daughters; those who wish to court one of those daughters are usually sent on suicide missions by Louhi to prove their worth.

This he knew for Louhi, priestess-queen of the Witchmen, who regarded her as the living avatar of their death-goddess.

L. Sprague de Camp, The Witch of the Mists

Benefits of Worshipping Louhi

Requirements of Worship: Pay a tithe worth 1 sp/level/ month to the local priests of Louhi, attend at least one cult meeting/month. Benefits of Worship: Spells (Counterspells, Curses, Divination, Immortality, Necromancy, Oriental Magic, Prestidigitation). Requirements for Ordained Priesthood: Standard, plus as follows: must know at least three sorcery styles and three advanced spells; Knowledge (arcana) 8

ranks; must give up at least three magical links to oneself to the cult’s avatar. Benefits of Ordained Priesthood: Standard, plus as follows: sorcery teaching is available (Counterspells, Curses, Divination, Immortality, Necromancy, Oriental Magic, Prestidigitation) Typical Punishments for Disloyal Priests: Killed in a sorcerous ritual.

Hyperborean Priests & Witchmen

Hyperborean scholars are a fearsome lot, gaunt and tall, with white hair and immense endurance. Hyperborean scholars suffer because of their languid personalities, which leave them an uncharismatic bunch. The scholars of Hyperborea appear in the stories in various forms. L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter introduced the White Hand and the Witchmen of Hyperborea; Kurt Busiek introduced several immortal, languid sorcerers.

Hyperborean scholars emphasise Prestidigitation, Nature Magic, Summonings, Weather Witching (see Conan: Pirate Isles) and Immortality (see Conan: The Scrolls of Skelos) in their sorcery style selections. They summon great air elementals to defend their nation, swat at mortals from a distance, alter the nature of humanity and live forever. Many also learn Divination and Necromancy, able to see the past just by holding a skull. Many Hyperborean scholars have the Permanent Sorcery feat (from Conan: The Scrolls of Skelos). Others are capable of corrupting creatures, remoulding them in the vats of life to create gurnakhi, giant slave soldiers. They live lives of luxury and decadence, dependant upon their slaves for all their basic needs. Feats such as Carouser and Debaucher are common among them. When one of these immortal scholars tires of life, after centuries of carousing to the point where he has no desire to carouse further, he walks to a bridge built over a supposedly bottomless chasm and flings himself off. Hyperboreans are given Craft (stone) and Intimidate as background skills, plus the character may choose one other skill. Scholars should choose Perform (ritual) and Intimidate as their adaptable traits – no matter what class the Hyperborean scholar may multiclass into later, he has been trained from birth to cast spells and intimidate others. He will always want those to be class skills. Choosing Intimidate for the Hyperborean’s Adaptable racial feature also effectively negates the penalty to the skill from the lowered Charisma of the race. The competence bonus also stacks with the Hyperborean racial bonus to Intimidate.