Urdlen is an outcast, an epitome of the evil impulse which somehow rules a few gnomes and is feared by the rest. It is telling that gnomes have no myths of how this evil arose, but they fear Urdlen's vicious, life-hating evil and bloodlust. Urdlen is considered sexless although referred to as "he"; his life-hate renders any conception of gender (and by implication procreative ability) irrelevant. Urdlen is a half-mad, blindly destructive impulse; the blindness of his chosen avatar form is very tellingly symbolic.
Urdlen's form is that of a white mole, hairless, sexless, and blind but with wicked claws of steel. A mindless force of malicious evil and destruction, Urdlen serves as a warning to every gnome to beware the taint of greed that lies within the gnomish delight in gems and jewelry. In keeping with the importance of a balance of forces, Urdlen's place in the pantheon is unquestioned, though the god is greatly feared and secretly reviled. Its few worshippers destroy gems and works of art to propitiate the god and thus are regarded as immoral villains by the bulk of gnomish society.
Urdlen can strike almost anywhere, anytime. The nature of his plans to bring evil into the hearts of gnomes are not understood even by the other gnome deities. His avatar may appear in a despoiling role almost anywhere. His omens take the form of blood bubbling from the earth, claw marks in rock, and severe nosebleeds among his priests (lose ld4 hp).
Worshiper's Alignment: CE (any Evil gnomes)
Area of Control: Greed and Blood
Symbol: white mole
Urdlen's avatar appears as a huge, dead-white furless mole with claws of steel. He uses destructive and damaging spells from any school of wizard magic he chooses. (Wizard 12)
|Str 18/01||Dex 17||Con 17|
|Int 15||Wis 15||Cha 1|
|MV 12 BR 12||SZ 8'6" long||MR 40%|
|AC 0||HD 15||HP 120|
|#AT 2||THAC0 5||Dmg 4d4 (claws)|
Special Att/Def: Urdlen's avatar has a permanent blur spell in operation, is immune to acid and paralyzation attacks, and can breathe a stinking cloud up to 60', 3/day. He can create a cloak of fear about himself 2/day. If both Urdlen's claws strike the same target in a melee round, the effect is that of wounding for ld4 rounds, during which time Urdlen goes into blood frenzy ( +2 to hit and damage, -2 AC, always attacks bleeding target).
Turning: Command at -2 levels
Weapons: Any edged weapons
Major: all, combat, elemental (earth)
Major (reversed only): healing, sun
Minor: animal, chaos, summoning
Minor (reversed only): necromantic
1st - Stinking Cloud 5th - Cloak of Fear 9th - Confusion
Urdlen's priests must appease their god by pouring the blood of creatures they kill into the ground and burying it. They must also sacrifice gems and valuable metal goods to the god, often after breaking or defacing them. They must oppose priests of other gnomish deities. Many are priest/thieves.
Level Limit: 13
Hit Die: d6