[Kvin Mondöj] Ozzymandius God-Father

The God-Father of Metal, the Prince of Darkness, the Great Ozz, the Mad-God, the Ozzman – many are his names and epithets. He is at one and the same time the most popular of the Metal Gods, and yet the most inscrutable. Many would say they have a close, personal relationship with the God-Father, but none would say that they truly know him well. No few claim that they have encountered him and drank with him in a tavern, or walked with him for a while upon a road, or sat and listened to him sing for a time – but what, exactly, any ever gained from these encounters is never quite understood.

The Ozzman, as he prefers to be called casually, was among the first of the Ancient Heroes of Lost Earth to be resurrected from their age-long Sleep of the Dead (though some claim the Metal Queen walked the forests and meadows of Kvin Mondöj for a thousand years ere the return of the other Ancient Heroes). He was already counted among the greatest of their numbers, and the boundless energy, mighty mirth, and deep melancholies he exhibited as their leader helped define their nature, both in the distant past and during the Metal Wars. He only reluctantly took up the mantle of the God-Father, and King of the Metal Gods, after the fall of the Dread Dominion, due to the great need for his leadership; he would have preferred to return to the oblivion of Death, for he believed that there, though he did not remember it, he might find the solace of being in the arms of his long-lost and much beloved wife.

He has never taken another as his companion in all his centuries as a god, though many have been more than willing, mortal and otherwise (the members of his covens of Witches are particularly intent upon being the first to break his, to them, silly oath). It is said that his great melancholies, and his great debauches of deific-quantities of drugs and ambrosia, are due to his great loneliness. During these times the Iron Throne of the Metal Gods is held in trust by Dio Storm-Lord or Geezer Metal-Mage, and messages, dreams, and visions delivered by Percy Golden-God, the Voice of the Metal Gods, can be quite garbled. When he is not deep in his divine cups, the God-Father takes his duties quite seriously, marshaling the Metal Gods in their eternal wars against the Church of Satan, the Demon Gods, and the Alien Gods, as well as visiting his followers as needful in dreams and in mysterious mortal guises.

His favored guise is that of a wandering minstrel, dressed in deep black clothing, accented by a cloak of bat wings or raven feathers, with silver necklaces, bracers, and rings, usually decorated with or including his favored symbol, the silver cross. His skin is pale white, his long flowing hair ebon black and reflecting unseen stars; and his pale blue eyes rimmed with black kohl – though these are rarely seen, as he usually wears tinted glasses. Were it not for the silver and the crosses, he might easily be confused for a vampire (a bad thing to do). Upon occasion he appears wearing only pants, his chest, back, and arms covered in tattoos, the natures of which change with each appearance, the meanings of which must be determined by the viewer.

He is usually encountered alone, and speaks in mysterious, roundabout fashion about many things and yet nothing at all, often seemingly a simple madman encountered randomly until he mysteriously disappears… upon which the devotee suddenly understands he has had an encounter with the divine. From time to time he appears in taverns and inns or at fairs, with a back-up group of minstrels. Then he sings for the gathered folk, a song or three pertinent to prophecy or need, before disappearing in a spectacular pyrotechnic flash. Due to ancient concords reached at the end of the Metal Wars he, like most other greater, intermediate, and lesser gods, cannot interfere directly in the mortal world with his full deific power; he can only guide his followers.

When they need a bit more of a push, stalwart defense, or an assist, he appears in the form of a terrible beast. This avatar is of mortal sort, though still of great power, and usually only appears when his followers face overwhelming odds against a demi-god or being of like power. This monstrous form resembles a green-skinned, very muscular, winged balrog with great clawed hands; it has his normal head, though with pale platinum hair, great fang-filled maw, and forked tongue. Its greatest weapon is its breath weapon, a noxious cloud which is a poisonous mix of gaseous drugs that can strike dead even Demons and Aliens normally immune to poisons. In this capacity Ozzman offers his worthiest Cleric, Priest, Anarch, Bard, Champion, Warlock, or Witch to accompany him as his passenger, acting as a destrier for the chosen one to ride into combat.

Ozzymandius is Chaotic Neutral, leaning toward Chaotic Good (not as much as many, but more so than most). As noted, his preferred holy symbol is a silver cross, an ancient symbol potent across time and space. His especial personal enemies (and thus doubly so for his followers) are Satan and his followers in the Church of Satan (he considers them fascist bastards); the Demon Gods (vile, petty poseurs); the Alien Gods (monstrous destroyers with no taste in music or style); and Undead (due to rivalries and treachery leading to the fall of the Empire of Legend). He demands strict neutrality between the Temple of the Metal Gods and the Temple of Judas the Redeemer, a requirement more honored in the breach than in the observance by his clergy.

Clergy must be Chaotic Neutral or Chaotic Good. His clergy wear all black, with a white collar; there is no favored weapon. Favored shield devices include crosses, a stylized “O,” and bats or ravens; metal armors are often enameled in black, with bat- or raven-wings and other bat- or raven-inspired devices. His Clerics and Priests may be male or female, and must remain chaste and celibate to remain in the good graces of the Temple (this is not one of his limitations, but one that his hierarchy has chosen, the better to emulate their patron god). His Anarchs, Bards, Champions, Warlocks, and Witches are not as limited in sumptuary fashion or in chastity and celibacy. Those among his clergy who can manage are often multi-classed with the Bard class. His clergy have the ability to cast both light and darkness spells, as well as both spells of healing and causing wounds. Their turning powers are applicable against Undead (turn only); Devils and Demons (turn only); and Alien creatures (not including Gith, turn only).