Algor
Algor, The Northern Sea God
Forgotten by the forgotten god who created it, our world was inhabited only occasionally, and then only by birds who would stop only long enough to rest their wings.
Then, one day, a Wandering Albatross flew by. It soared over the dry, dead rock, looking for water, but found none at all in all the great world. Later, it complained to Algor, for it was one of Algor's spies, describing the world as worthless. Curious about such a barren place, Algor came to the world and walked it, and found not a drop of water anywhere.
Perhaps, thought Algor, the water is underground, locked up in the rock. So Algor formed himself into ice, and struck the rock with his fist. With his first blow, Algor sent cracks through the entire world, and where he hit the rock it was smashed into sand, but nothing came out of the cracks. Algor went down on one knee, raised his fist over his head, and struck again. This time many of the cracks widened, and dark smoke poured forth.
Ah, thought Algor, this must be steam. A sign of water. And since he was made of ice he could not smell the brimstone in the gas. Then Algor came down upon both his knees, clenched his two fists together, raised his hands far over his head, and smashed down, as hard as he possibly could.
Bam! The world erupted with bursts of flame and molten rock spilled forth. Startled, Algor was caught up in the fiery eruption (for this is how all the world's volcanoes were first created), and the ice of his entire body turned to steam, spraying off in all four directions.
So vast was the cloud of steam that it blanketed the entire world, and shut it off from the sun. It took many years be f ore the world cooled enough to allow the steam to form into clouds, and the clouds to let forth rain. But finally the rain came. And came and came, until the world was covered in water. Eventually the world cooled yet again, and great icebergs formed in the far north sea.
It was then that Algor reformed himself out of ice, taking away some of the water from the world, and causing land to form. He was a much smaller Algor, but he liked that a part of him was now the oceans, and the clouds, and the rain, so that he could see every part of the world. And ever since, Algor has been the watery part of the world.
- Algor's Hymnal
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It is said that once he lived among the other Northern God in their colossal realm of Odguard, but that was long ago. Since then, Algor has become a recluse who associates with none of the other gods. Sometimes he builds new realms, but he always leaves them behind, never to return. Mostly, Algor walks from world to world, often as not in the guise of a filthy beggar, asking for handouts (yet another reason why one should at least be polite, if not generous, to those who seem less fortunate).
While the worship of Algor is widespread in the Palladium World, in most places it is rather informal. Each of Algor's Priests of Light (there are no Priests of Darkness dedicated to Algor) travels or operates a temple, independent of the other. The only important requirement for an Algor priest is that they enjoy singing, because Algor's ceremonies always involve hymns and chants.
That's true for everywhere except the Island Kingdom of Bizantium, where the Church of Algor is the official religion.
The seat of the religion, worldwide, is in the Cathedral of Algor, in the City of Bizantium. Everywhere else, along the northern sea board, around the Algorian Sea, on the northern coast of the Eastern Territory, and in the islands of Y-oda and Xy, priests just do their best at maintaining the temples and conducting the appropriate ceremonies and offerings.
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Major Deity
Algor
Alignments of Worshippers
Any
Pantheon
Algor, Od, Belimar, Epim, Hoknar, Loknar, Heim, Hel, and Brgg (see Northern Gods)
Organization
Priests of Algor welcome all potential worshippers, even those who are just looking for a place to get out of the rain. There are no restrictions on membership, and members are welcome to worship other gods in or outside the Northern Pantheon.
Other than the organized Church in Bizantium, and a small Eastern Territory monastery that publishes new translations of Algor's Hymnal, there is no large organization or formal religion.
Symbol
While there is no "official" symbol for Algor, sailors have adopted the trident as their sign for him.
Typical Followers
Wolfen and sailors, fishermen and others who depend upon the sea, as well as some elementalists.
Holy Places
The Cathedral of Algor. Located in the City of Bizantium, this is the official head office of the formal branch of the religion. A beautiful building, it took over 350 years to construct and is a marvel of stone, wood and stained glass craftsmanship. Pilgrims from all over Bizantium visit regularly. They are joined by devoted followers and life-long priests on the verge of retiring who visit from everywhere in the world.
The Great Stone Statue of Algor. Located on an uninhabited rocky outcropping in the middle right, where the channel opens up into the Inland Sea of Phi and Lopan. The statue is 260 feet (80 meters) tall, and shows Algor kneeling by the water, holding a ship in his cupped hands (if there has been enough rain, it looks like the ship is floating in his hands). Except for the statue of the ship, which is green-stained bronze, the whole statue is carved out of hard white stone. According to legend, the statue was carved from a single stone by grateful human sailors.
However, many believe it is the work of ancient Dwarves, or possibly Elves or even Spriggans. It has stood in the channel for thousands of years.
Lighthouse Shrines. All around the Algorian Sea, wherever a lighthouse was needed to warn ships of hazards, the worshippers of Algor raised the money, organized the construction, and built a lighthouse, all in the name of Algor. Currently there are over thirty Lighthouse Shrines, each equipped with a small shrine or temple, and each staffed by 1D4 priests of Algor (typically 1-5th level).
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Holy Books
Algor's Hymnal is a combination of a song book, a set of instructions for holy rituals and rites, and three chapters of scripture describing some of the legends of Algor.
Rites and Ceremonies
While Priests of Algor perform marriages, baptize babies, and do funerals, they are also responsible for either conducting or teaching people how to conduct, the following special "Ship Rites":
1. Casting Off Ceremony. It' s the rare ship on the Palladium World that doesn't cast off on any sea voyage without giving Algor his "payment" for a safe passage. While the more devout will insist on having a priest at the dock or shipboard, virtually every sea captain arranges for a member of the crew to stand at the bow of the ship, and say, "Oh, Mighty Algor, if it please you, this ship sails in your name, hopefully in fair wind and calm sea," and then toss a few coins in the water. It is also considered very unlucky to sing anything other than hymns to Algor until the sails fill with wind.
2. Forty-Seven Day Ceremony. A ship that goes a full fortyseven days without sighting land is a rare event, and something that inspires dread and foreboding in all experienced sailors, whether they are prone to superstition or not. To offset the tension and to pacify Algor, the Forty-Seven Day Ceremony is held at exactly noon of that day. It starts when someone (usually the ship's cook) appears dressed as Algor (mostly naked), with a crown of seaweed and carrying a trident. All are gathered to praise Algor, and then a mock trial is held where all the ship's officers are brought to judgement.
The common sailors act as jury, which means that each officer will be found guilty of something. "Algor" then pronounces the sentences (simple things like stand on one foot for the count of twenty, dump a mug of ale on your own head, etc.), until one officer is found guilty of the ultimate crime of offending Algor, and is dunked into the ocean on a rope; it's very, very rare that the captain himself gets a dunking. That privilege is usually reserved for the lowest ranking officer.
Algor the giant
Male god of the Sea
Algor is a giant god, even in colossal realms. A symbol of strength, storms, oceans and seas, he is worshipped by seafaring people on hundreds, perhaps even thousands of different worlds.
Although a sea god, he prefers to live in the mountains along the coast, where he can observe his domain in a single glance. His anger is a thing of legend and is believed to create terrible storms.
Algor is selfish, greedy, childish and mean when he can not get his way. Once he lived in the realm of Odguard, along with the other Northern Gods, and he is still considered one of their pantheon, but he no longer associates with them. He accepts the worship, prayers and sacrifices that come from those who follow the Northern Gods, but is less likely to favor them than those who worship him directly.
Algor's favorite followers are those who worship in his temples, with his Priests of Light, and those who faithfully follow his rituals. Other gods know Algor mostly by reputation, since he keeps to himself. On at least three occasions where there have been wars among the gods, Algor has appeared in the middle of the battle, throwing his considerable power into the fray, and bringing the whole thing to a speedy conclusion.
In each case, the gods on the winning side claimed that they had no idea that Algor would appear, and that the god disappeared without a word, as soon as all the wounded were recovered.
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Alignment
Anarchist (selfish)
Size
60 feet (20 meters) tall. Even among the colossals of Odguard, Algor is a giant, three times the height of most of the folk in that realm.
Description
White uncut and unkept hair and beard, very clear, very light blue eyes, with a powerful build. He has been seen wearing anything from full plate armor to rags, to nothing at all.
Attributes
I.Q.: 22
M.E.: 36
M.A.: 23
P.S.: 40
P.P.: 24
P.E.: 30
P.B.: 17
Spd.: 19
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Natural A.R.
14
Hit points
9000
S.D.C.
14,000
P.P.E.
2,500
Horror/Awe Factor
17
Experience Levels
17th level air and water Warlock, 12th level Mercenary and 10th level Bard.
Natural abilities
Astral travel 94%, breathe without air/underwater (without limit), impervious to cold and underwater pressure (can dive any ocean depth/walk the ocean floor, etc.), swim 98%, nightvision (sees as if in full daylight even in total darkness; range one mile/1.6 km), see the invisible, turn invisible at will (no time limit), knows all languages, never fatigues, seldom sleeps, is always alert, bio-regenerates 1D6x10 per melee round without P.P.E. cost, teleport 97%, dimensional teleport 91%, sense the location of water 99%, sense the location of ley lines 90%, sense/recognize enchantment/magic 85%, sense/control elementals, metamorphosis: animal (typically a wolf), metamorphosis: humanoid (typically a street beggar of any race) and metamorphosis: elemental (limited to either an ice or a water elemental).
Deitic Powers
Algor has the full range of powers over his followers, and can perform all prototypical deific powers at half the usual cost.
He also has the following:
Create and Control Storm Pocket. Like a bubble in water, storm pockets can be created around ships or other objects, protecting them from the worst winds, waves and turbulence of a storm (although from the point of view of a character inside the storm pocket, it will still be the experience of a rough storm). As long as Algor maintains the storm pocket, it will travel with the ship, reducing the ferocity of the storm's effects by 80%.
Cost to Algor: If he only needs to protect one ship, and so is creating just a single pocket, there is no cost. However, each additional pocket costs 100 P.P.E., and another 50 P.P.E. per hour if it is maintained for more than fifteen minutes.
Control the Sea. This puts Algor in charge of an entire ocean! In other words, all the water surrounding the main land mass of the Palladium World to manipulate as he sees fit. He can raise or lower the level of the water, reverse the tides, create channels, drain basins, etc.
Cost to Algor: 1,000 P.P.E. initially, plus 400 P.P.E. per hour if it goes on for longer than the first half hour.
Create Deific Realm. Algor can "build" entire realms of existence, fully equal to any dwelling place of the gods. In order to accomplish this feat, he must first gather sufficient P.P.E., either by tapping the open Rift of an entire world, or by building and slowly filling a number of magical storage containers.
Cost to Algor: 25 ,000 P.P.E. for a heroic realm, 40,000 P.P.E. for an epic realm, and 75,000 P.P.E. for a colossal realm.
Priest/Healing Powers
Exorcism 89%, tum dead 75%, remove curse 93% (29% for deific curses), curse 97%, healing touch (4D6), resurrection 82%, and spirit strike (makes any normal blow as effective as a supernatural one).
Magic Powers
All elemental magic spells! All symbols, wards, curses, and all circles of protection and summoning. Note: Opponents must roll an 18 or higher to save vs Algor's magic.
Psionic Powers
180 I.S.P., all physical and sensitive psionics, plus induce sleep, psychic diagnosis, hydrokinesis, mental illusion, mind wipe and telemechanics.
Skills of Note
All naval skills at 12th level of experience, singing at 85%, astronomy & navigation 96%, and ice sculpture 89%.
Attacks Per Melee Round
Eight in physical combat or three in magical.
Special Bonuses (in addition to attribute bonuses)
+6 on initiative, +4 to strike, +1 to parry and dodge, +5 to pull punch, +12 to save vs horror factor.
Favorite Weapons
Gjaallk, The "Soul-Breaker," is a greater rune sword as well as being a soul drinker (see Palladium RPG, 2nd Edition, page 252). The Gjaallk entity is a diabolic, high-level Diabolist (knows all power words and wards, and can mystically call wards to inscribe themselves on nearby objects), and constantly rebels against being wielded by Algor (to no avail, Algor is just too powerful).
Gjaallk is always attempting to escape and will promise anything to any mortal that happens to get near its place of confinement (Algor does not carry Gjaallk with him, but stores it in various secure places). +4 to strike and 8D6+8 damage.
Armor
Algor's Ice Armor is more of a spell than a suit of armor. When cast, ice forms around the character, providing full protection, including clear ice over the eyes. A.R.: 19, S.D.C.: 1 ,000. P.P.E. Cost: 200. If the armor is damaged, but in contact with water, Algor can magically "reintegrate" the armor back to its full S.D.C. at the cost of 100 P.P.E.
Alliances & Allies
It is unclear whether Algor considers anyone to be an ally, or even a friend. However, in the past he has come to the aid of the other Northern Gods, especially Od and Belimar, and once he appeared on the battlefield in support of Kormath the dragon god.
Enemies
The Deevil Lords were once bitter enemies. However, since Hel joined the Dyval, Algor has yet to appear in any battle against them.
Vulnerabilities and Weaknesses
It is rumored that Algor might be vulnerable to fire, but this is unproven. He is affected by magic, silver weapons (which do normal damage), and runes.
Rage. Algor is sensitive to criticism, insults, and any kind of slights, to the point where he is likely to go into a rage if the offense continues for even a few minutes. How this would be to anyone's advantage is hard to say, since Algor on a rampage is a terrible thing to behold.
Greed. Algor was once legendary for his selfishness and greed. According to the ancient legends in the Book of Od, he would become fixated by any artifact containing novel kinds of magic and would not rest until it became his, even if it meant trading away all his other treasures, or performing outrageous errands. While he has not been tempted for centuries, perhaps he simply hasn't come across any object that catches his fancy.
Technology
Algor has come across machines, disassembled them, and then rebuilt them in new and different ways. He seems to have an intuitive knack for technological devices, but the worlds where technology is exploited do not interest him (too noisy!).
Manifestations or Avatars:
None.
Minions
He has been known to summon elementals in the past, but he seems to have no servants or helpers currently.
Treatment of Worshipers, Priests and Organizations
While he takes care of his priests, and often protects seafarers, he has little interest in the religion. On the other hand, whenever he is deprived of worshippers by the manipulations of another god, he will likely strike out and teach that deity a lesson.
Holy Artifacts
None.
Realms of Influence
Algor is worshipped on thousands of worlds, but he has a strong presence only in those places with great oceans.
Rifts® Earth
The amount of power present on Rifts earth would definitely interest Algor, but only in the short term. If he had a reason for staying, he would likely create his own weapons and armor, with Mega-Damage and M.D.C. qualities. M.D.C.: 11,500, plus the great giant is so powerful that even mega-damage weapons do half damage to him and his armor. Only plasma, nuclear, and magic weapons inflict full damage.