Talona

One of Faerûn's most feared deities, Talona is a god of plague and poison, blamed for everything from common illnesses to crop failure, from brackish wells to plague. She craves propitiation from mortals and pursues it by any means necessary.

Talona is a fickle god. She is more petulant than conniving, more reactive than active. Though she receives many prayers, Talona has almost no temples or cults dedicated to her, and she resents the neglect. When she lashes out with plagues, blights, and magical contagions, victims desperately pray to her for respite, placating her for a time. But once the contagion ends, prayers dwindle, and it isn't long before the neglected god lashes out again.

When Talona communicates with mortals—usually to demand some sort of propitiation—she sends a Vulture, a Giant Rat, or the corpse of a creature infested by insects. Whatever method she chooses, her messenger is shrouded in a sickly yellow-brown glow.

Rituals to placate Talona involve three drops of blood or three tears dropped into a well that has gone bad, dripped into the handkerchief of someone beset by coughing, dropped into a fire made by burning a withered crop, dripped into the mouth of a plague sufferer, and so on. It's common practice to mark a container of poison with her holy symbol, three droplets in a triangle. During epidemics, this image is painted on the homes of the infected.

Talona's priests rarely enter into her service willingly. Some are forced into the role by their communities, while other individuals simply have nothing else to live for. This latter category includes the sole survivors of harrowing magical contagions, or people who have lost loved ones to Talona's whims. They dedicate their lives to the priesthood to make sure the same fate doesn't befall others. A priest of Talona maintains a small shrine instead of a temple. Despite the priest's best efforts, people often lavish these shrines with offerings during tough times while neglecting them in times of health and abundance.

Devoted followers of Talona brew poisons in her name and summon magical contagions to unleash on the people of Faerûn as punishments for neglecting the Mistress of Disease. Among these fanatics, her Chosen are gifted with immunity to poisons and magical maladies.