Book: Baphomet

Where civilization’s light fails to shine, strange religions, weird cults, and vile sects take hold. They prey on the weak and the desperate, and they flourish on fear, anger, and ignorance. Some are born of religious misinterpretations or extremism, but a few are far more sinister—evil masquerading as legitimate faith. When civilization comes to these backwater areas, priests discover the beliefs upheld by a few sects are nothing more than demon worship—practices so profane that the only cure is swift and utter annihilation.

A prominent force in the corruption and subversion of mortal communities is the Horned King, Baphomet, known as the Prince of Beasts. A demon lord of the Abyss, he finds the greatest following among minotaurs. His cult is widespread and influential throughout their secluded communities. Numerous minotaurs resist the Trampler’s allure, but the cult spreads and grows as its vile cabalists spread the faith. Baphomet’s cult threatens to consume the minotaur population with widespread and pernicious demon-worship.

Baphomet sees himself as the darkest aspect of nature—as unbridled savagery. This makes him a rival to Yeenoghu. So Baphomet wages war eternal against the Beast of Butchery. Baphomet has other enemies, many of whom are born from old grudges. In particular, Baphomet despises Graz’zt. The Dark Prince imprisoned Baphomet ages ago, which is a defeat Baphomet is incapable of forgetting or forgiving. Baphomet’s hatred isn’t confined to his rivals in the Abyss, though. His greatest enemy in the mortal world is Luna and her exarch Melora. They are rivals for power over nature, and Baphomet has despised her for eons.

Baphomet sends his forces against his enemies’ followers in the mortal world, with only the rarest lulls in violence. He commands his followers to murder Luna and Melora’s priests and defile their shrines.

As a demon lord, Baphomet commands a realm in the Abyss called the Endless Maze. He uses the uncertain landscape as he pleases. His realm is filled with tricks, traps, and shifting corridors. Some of the worst creatures found in the Abyss infest the place. At the maze’s center stands his labyrinthine palace, the Lyktion, a mighty fortress mirroring the madness defining Baphomet’s realm. Within are countless passages, moving staircases, and other pitfalls designed to frustrate, maim, and kill those daring to penetrate his personal demesne.

Many myths exist about Baphomet’s origins. One story suggests, as a primordial being, he created the minotaurs to war on the gods but was defeated and hurled into the Abyss. Another version tells that he threw himself into the Abyss rather than suffer defeat or imprisonment at the hands of the gods. Some claim he is a fallen god, and others say that the Abyss’s infinite evil spontaneously spawned him.

The origins of Baphomet’s irrational hatred of Yeenoghu might be largely forgotten, but legend speaks of a possibility. When the shard of evil transformed some primordial powers into demon princes, Yeenoghu was one of the first. Lusting for blood, he sided with the primordials against the gods. Baphomet was a primordial with strong ties to the natural world. He fielded his own savage armies. In a battle against gods and exarches like Beldar, Dol, Akir, Kord, Erathis, Melora, and Pelor, Baphomet found himself fighting alongside gnolls and demon under the command of Yeenoghu. But as the tide of battle turned, Yeenoghu quit the field, leaving Baphomet alone and outmatched. The Horned King turned from the battle not in cowardice, but to chase his betrayer into the depths of the Abyss. Perhaps this is why Baphomet’s paranoia is also legendary.

The Abyss is no stranger to conflict, but the battle lines shift with the ambitions of the princes who rule. One constant, however, is the war between Baphomet and Yeenoghu. This unrelenting and costly conflict consumes at least half of each demon lord’s attention and resources. The Prince of Beasts’ obsession with defeating his rival exceeds reason. He has taken disastrous risks in defeating his ancient foe. The Beast of Butchery reciprocates in full.

Baphomet commands the Endless Maze as his realm in the Abyss. A massive labyrinth spreading out in all directions, the passages confound those with the misfortune to have to explore the place. Those who come to upper reaches of the Endless Maze find the corridors have no ceilings, but the walls extend hundreds of feet into the air. Climbing or flying to the top afflicts the visitor with weakness and despair, causing many to give up and retreat or fall down to the unforgiving stones below. Those who make it to the top feel the full weight of their journey’s futility, because the maze extends all around as far as the eye can see. Those who linger at the top soon attract the attention of demons who like nothing more than to destroy “cheaters.”