【Inner Sea Faiths】無盡毀滅——達哈克（Dahak, The Endless Destruction）

Dahak, the Endless Destruction, is ancient beyond measure. The first child of the primordial draconic deities Apsu and Tiamat, Dahak turned against Apsu out of jealousy when he saw his father shower his siblings with attention and affection. He rampaged throughout the multiverse, murdering his siblings, only to reforge them into mortals on the Material Plane, where he tormented them further. The extent of his destruction secured his place as the embodiment of savage ruin. Now, Dahak is the patron of a wicked flock. He and his followers wreak havoc wherever they roam, endlessly striving to obliterate all that is good and uplifting across reality in preparation for a final battle with Apsu.

So comes the time when the sky burns, and great wings unfold. So comes the time when all our prayers are answered, and all things are rendered to ash. —The Pyre of Dahak

THE ENDLESS DESTRUCTION
God of destruction, evil dragons, and greed
Alignment CE
Domains Chaos, Destruction, Evil, Scalykind, Trickery
Subdomains Catastrophe, Deception, Demon, Dragon, Rage, Thievery
Favored Weapon bite or whip
Centers of Worship Darklands, the Shackles, Thuvia
Nationality dragon

Obedience Remain entirely silent for 1 hour while you pray to Dahak, ruminating over the glories of wanton destruction committed as the culmination of waiting and planning. While you pray, let hate and anger fill you until you must lash out. Following your prayer, destroy an item worth at least 1 gp and use the shattered remains to cut yourself, preferably along preexisting scar lines, while espousing your love of chaos and destruction. Such an action deals you 1 point of damage that cannot be healed for the following 24 hours. You gain a +2 profane bonus on Bluff and Intimidate checks against creatures who can see your scars.

EVANGELIST BOONS
1: Sorrowmaker’s Pact (Sp) protection from good 3/day, align weapon (evil only) 2/day, or rage 1/day
2: Enemy of Dragonkind (Su) You can protect yourself from the noble forces of the universe and are attuned to blocking out draconic threats. When you are under the effects of protection from good or a similar effect, true dragons with fewer Hit Dice than you count as summoned creatures for the purpose of interacting with you, regardless of their alignment. In addition, three times per day while under such an effect, you can reroll one saving throw against a breath weapon, spell, or spell-like ability used against you by a creature of the dragon type. You can only reroll a single saving throw once.
3: Bow Before Your End! (Su) You represent one of the most powerful deities in the cosmos, and you expect all creatures to recognize the unspeakable power you herald and its capacity for wanton destruction. Once per day as a standard action, you can create an effect similar to overwhelming presenceUM as though you were a cleric with an effective caster level equal to half your Hit Dice. Creatures that fail their saving throws are staggered instead of helpless for the duration of the spell, and suffer no further effects upon a successful subsequent save. Creatures of the dragon type must roll their saving throws twice and take the lower result. A creature that succeeds at its initial saving throw is unaffected by this effect.

EXALTED BOONS
1: Rites of the False Wyrm (Sp) charm person 3/day, mirror image 2/day, or suggestion 1/day.
2: Draconic Decoys (Su) Duplicity is second nature to you, and you know how to manipulate trickery-based magic to further confound your enemies. Anytime you have created an image via mirror image, as a swift action you can direct one of your images to move to a flanking position against an enemy within 15 feet of you. The image allows you or an ally to flank your target for the purpose of a single attack. A redirected image dissipates when you or an ally uses the image to make a flanking attack, or otherwise remains in place for 1 round before dissipating.
3: Flaming Vengeance (Su) You believe that if your enemies are foolish enough to trust you, then they are foolish enough to die by Dahak’s power. Once per day as a standard action, you can gain the benefits of a mislead spell as though cast by a wizard of a level equal to your Hit Dice (maximum 20th level), with the following modifications. At the time of using this ability, you can establish a number of rounds before it will expire, or declare that it will expire when your illusory duplicate is touched. When either criteria is accomplished, the illusory duplicate explodes as a fireball spell cast by a 10th-level wizard.

SENTINEL BOONS
1: Power of the Endless Destruction (Sp) ear-piercing screamUM 3/day, shatter 2/day, or fireball 1/day
2: Teeth of the Dragon (Ex) Your teeth grow into vicious fangs, akin to those of a chromatic dragon, and elemental power issues forth from your mouth in a divine gift from Dahak himself. You gain a bite attack. This is a primary natural attack that deals 1d6 points of piercing damage for Medium creatures or 1d4 points of piercing damage for Small creatures, with a critical multiplier of ×3. Every time you hit with your bite attack, you deal an additional 1d6 points of energy damage (choose from acid, cold,
electricity, or fire).
3: Elemental Outrage (Ex) You can channel the power of the Endless Destruction through your vicious bites—when you hit a creature with your bite attack, you can force impressive elemental power into the attack. Up to three times per day, when you succeed at a critical hit with your bite attack, you deal 5d6 points of energy damage (choose from acid, cold, electricity, or fire) instead of 1d6 points. This extra damage is not multiplied as part of the critical hit.

DAHAK’S ANTIPALADIN CODE

Antipaladins of Dahak are grim servants of the Endless Destruction, their demeanor calm up until the moment their control slips. They hunt metallic dragons as a means of repaying Dahak for his blessing. Dahak lays down several tenets for his divine warriors to follow.
• I am an instrument of destruction, but the power I wield is mine to control, gifted to me by Dahak.
• My wrath is ceaseless. It is by my judgment alone to decide when I shall unleash it. Once I strike an enemy, I will not stop until they are dead.
• None are safe from the rage that boils within me. While some may be spared immediate death, I offer no such lenience to the metallic dragons, greatest of enemies to the power that gives me strength.
• Forgiveness is for the weak. If I am slighted, I will go to any lengths to enact my vengeance.

UNDERSTANDING DAHAK

Left to fend for himself after his birth, Dahak roamed the fields of primeval Hell. He eventually emerged and came into contact with his siblings—the numerous draconic divinities living under Apsu’s guiding talons. Irrational rage filled Dahak at the prosperity and friendship those deities shared, and so he shattered each of them in turn. He then ensured that they returned as mortals to be tormented again. Each of the broken deities filled the Material Plane with countless draconic progeny, which became the first metallic dragons.

Apsu eventually confronted his wayward son and found that Dahak hunted the metallic dragons for sport. Father and son warred in a terrifying aerial battle, flying between worlds, with Dahak slowly gaining the upper hand. Only the metallic dragons’ intervention turned the tide, and Apsu wrestled Dahak to the surface of the Material Plane and irrevocably scarred the raging dragon. But before Apsu could strike the final blow, Tiamat intervened, saving her son and betraying the noble Apsu. Dahak escaped, along with the first chromatic dragons—creatures reformed through Tiamat’s blessing from the dying metallic dragons that littered the battlefield.

Dahak withdrew, keen to let his wounds heal. He eventually learned of his father’s creation of the roaming demiplane realm known as the Immortal Ambulatory. The Endless Destruction prepared to siege his father’s realm in a decisive battle. But Apsu’s attention suddenly turned to Golarion, joining the greater deific pantheon battling the ravening god Rovagug, and so Dahak followed.

The evil dragon knew Apsu would be present and engaged in the battle himself, intending to betray his father at a key moment in the apocalyptic struggle. Instead, some part of Dahak recognized the universal threat the Rough Beast presented, and so he fully committed to the effort to imprison Rovagug. As the dust of the conflict settled, Apsu spoke with his son; he told Dahak that he had expected betrayal, and was surprised it had not manifested. Dahak vowed then to kill his father, and Apsu declared that Golarion would be their final battlefield. If Dahak ever returns to the world to wreak his destruction—potentially weakening the bonds that hold Rovagug—Apsu has pledged to stop him.

THE CHURCH

Few willingly serve in what constitutes Dahak’s church, as most who learn of the Endless Destruction are revolted by what he represents. The dictates of Dahak require the application of overwhelming force to defeat one’s enemies. These beliefs differ from Rovagug’s uncontrolled raging, as Dahak is capable of periods of civility and discussion. He often broods during such times—right up until he undertakes a violent rampage. The church of Dahak is similar, especially on Golarion where it is currently engaged in a “civil” phase. Dahak’s Golarion-based clergy will turn on others only when their enemies have sufficiently aggravated them, or Dahak’s own divine messages shift fully toward destruction.

One of Dahak’s greatest champions on Golarion is Aashaq the Annihilator (CE female great wyrm red dragon cleric of Dahak 7). She is a powerful red dragon who shuns all her draconic kin save those who serve her. Residing on the island of Dahak’s Fang within the Shackles, Aashaq has carved a path of destruction throughout the piratedominated region. Now Dahak’s Fang and a collection of surrounding islands called Dahak’s Teeth are home to Aashaq’s dragon underlings, each vying for prominence in the red dragon’s growing congregation.

Enclaves of Dahak-worshiping humans also secretly meet in Thuvia, particularly in the settlement of Pashow. These faithful of the Endless Destruction work alongside the servants of the demigod Ahriman, seeking to entice the Lord of All Divs to leave Abaddon and enter Golarion through the nearby House of Oblivion.

Many of the disparate kobold tribes residing below the earth, in subterranean sewers and some regions of Nar-Voth, venerate Dahak. These tribes connect with their religion through one or more dragon speakers—kobolds whom Dahak blesses with nightmares. Such divinely touched kobolds work within their tribes to promote the great Dahak, speaking of the countless creation myths that surround him and the kobold race as a whole. The lifestyle of a kobold is fitting for servants of Dahak, who often work for long stretches of clarity and purpose, only to explode in bursts of rage and bloodletting.

Beyond Golarion, worship of Dahak is common on Triaxus, as is that of Apsu, and the two faiths’ adherents often find themselves coming into conflict—particularly when dragons and dragonkin are concerned.

TEMPLES AND SHRINES

Dahak is as vain a creature as any chromatic dragon and heartily approves of places of worship erected in his name. Such sites are predominantly in hidden places, away from the prying eyes of Apsu’s noble followers or other equally altruistic deities such as Iomedae or Sarenrae. The majority of Dahak’s temples are found in subterranean caves or in secret complexes beneath cities. Smaller sites of worship are often the purview of lone chromatic dragons defying others of their kind to seek Dahak’s blessing, or crafted by tribes of kobolds who see Dahak as part of their creation myth. Powerful dragons typically maintain the larger sites, though humanoids sometimes clandestinely craft vast cathedrals to the Endless Destruction under their cities’ streets.

Dahak’s few temples are almost always crafted from wellworked stone and are majestically cyclopean sites. These temples are designed to awe visitors and accommodate creatures the size of massive dragons. Illusion magic powers these temples’ lights, which usually resemble the blazing breath weapons of chromatic dragons held within jagged stone cages.

A PRIEST’S ROLE

Other than the obediences performed by the most faithful, a devotee of Dahak is not expected to follow a given routine, or to perform daily deference to the deity. The true calling of Dahak’s devoted is to serve their master’s role in preparing Golarion as the battleground for the fateful final combat between Dahak and his father. Even worshipers far removed from Golarion can contribute to this goal, the best method being to hunt down metallic dragons. By performing these purges, Dahak’s followers ensure that Apsu’s strength will be weakened come their eventual battle.

On Golarion, Dahak communicates primarily with his faithful through powerful nightmarish visions. Such touched servants catch glimpses of the endless rage beneath Dahak’s falsely calm surface and can relay their god’s words to others following their creed. The veracity of such visions is often debated, and many times requires a supposed prophet to prove he has Dahak’s blessing by performing a task or by demonstrating the benediction of the Endless Destruction. Those gifted with these visions must continually contend with other members of their church, even when the facts revealed are indisputable, lest the visionaries find themselves betrayed at the hands of a new prophet.

Dahak’s priests have little interaction with the countless humanoid civilizations of the Material Plane, save for the missions of their god. In cases where Dahak’s will is not evident, priests seek out those they believe may have a connection with their god. In many cases, such priests end up at the feet of a great chromatic dragon only to find out that the dragon has no connection with Dahak—in fact, many chromatic dragons oppose the Endless Destruction and slay those foolish enough to utter his name in their presence. Another misconception about Dahak’s faithful is that they actively pursue Apsu’s agents. In truth, while the clergy of Apsu is righteously dedicated to expunging Dahak’s servants, adherents of the Endless Destruction have no similar drive, other than to slay those metallic dragons in service to Apsu. Furthermore, Dahak often guides his children away from attacking the non-draconic followers of Apsu, for he wishes to slay each of them personally on the eve of his final battle with his father.

Among Dahak’s worshipers, half-dragon adherents receive the highest esteem, especially if they are of chromatic descent. The chromatic dragons’ large-scale abandonment of Dahak was a serious blow to the Endless Destruction’s martial power, so loyal servitors (even of mixed parentage) are seen as divine apostles in most churches of Dahak. Other draconically inclined creatures, such as drakes, dragonkin, kobolds, and even humanoids with levels in the dragon disciple prestige class, are thought of as valuable or symbolic tools, as long as they willingly serve Dahak’s destructive needs.

ADVENTURERS

Dragons, kobolds, and half-dragons are the creatures most likely to willingly worship Dahak without joining an official religious order. Preferred class levels include barbarian, bloodrager, ranger, sorcerer, and warpriest. Such followers of Dahak can be civil up until the point of combat, whereupon they erupt in a flurry of destructive rage against their enemies. Adventurers serving Dahak differ from the nihilistic followers of Rovagug in the simple fact that they can maintain self-control, and usually only unleash their anger when faced with people or situations that provoke their ire them.

Kobolds are the only race whose common folk have any accepted devotion to Dahak; several of their tribes believe that the Endless Destruction is a key part of their genesis. Among other humanoids, knowledge of Dahak is so scarce that few even know the name, and those that happen upon a text detailing the Sorrowmaker often have little reason to venerate such a power.

CLOTHING

Outsiders believe the favored color of Dahak to be black, when in fact his followers wear numerous chromatic vestments. Among adherents, black and red are staple colors simply because clothes and armor are often stained black by fire or red by carnage. Priests able to properly clean their attire present themselves in robes of varying colors, with blue, green, and red being dominant. Those among dragon families and kobold tribes often use the coloration of robes to denote rank; typically, the natural color of the specific draconic species is the highest rank.

HOLY TEXT

Upon hearing of the penning of the Draconic Apsu by the esteemed gold dragon sage Gunnarrex, Dahak wished for a similar treatise to distribute to his servants. Gunnarrex was yanked into Dahak’s realm, where the Endless Destruction tortured him into penning The Pyre of Dahak. Detailing a ruinous future promised to Apsu and his metallic dragon progeny, the religious text has made its way through the Material Plane and the Great Beyond. Dahak’s livid discourse scarred the dragon sage’s mind and soul; after penning the document, Gunnarrex tore out his eyes and declared himself an atheist.

HOLIDAYS

Dahak’s followers are not a sentimental lot, but they typically recognize two major holidays.

Day of Amends: Once per year, on a date of their choosing, Dahak’s followers try to coax a chromatic dragon into returning to the worship of the Endless Destruction. Such attempts are often met with gruesome deaths.

The Release: Occurring once every millennia on the date Dahak is said to have first fought Apsu, this event provides an opportunity for Dahak’s followers to sate their pent-up bloodlust, turning on those around them in a day of unending ruin. Many scholars speculate that the next Release soon approaches.

APHORISMS

The following sayings are common among Dahak’s followers and mirror the destructive deity’s primal ways.

I Am Descended of Tiamat: Attributed to Dahak during his first battle with Apsu, this line is spoken by the Endless Destruction’s modern servants to boast of their connection to the primordial dragon mother. Speaking these words refer to the powers that created Dahak and acts as a battle cry for those entering combat—particularly against the servants of Apsu.

My Patience Is Like Fire: Many deities have noted Dahak’s capacity for civility, despite his moniker of the Endless Destruction. Dahak’s followers use this aphorism to warn others not to unduly test their tolerance.

RELATIONS WITH OTHER RELIGIONS

Most deities prefer to keep their distance from Dahak. Asmodeus, however, is cordial with him, having dealt with Dahak in the days when the dragon god flew over the primordial landscape of Hell. Rumors hold that the Dark Prince has made several proposals of a partnership to Dahak, offering to weaken the Endless Destruction’s father before their final conflict in exchange for some unknown favor. Other whispers tell of the Asmodeus conducting similar negotiations Apsu, making the Lord of the Pit’s actual intentions doubly unclear.

Calistria is said to bear at least one hidden scar from her attempts to court Dahak. Now, the elven goddess warns her followers to be wary of Dahak’s servants, while also encouraging them to manipulate the Endless Destruction’s followers into acts of vengeance when merciless destruction is necessary.

Dahak’s greatest enemy is his father, Apsu. The two draconic gods have battled throughout history, only having ever fought side by side once, in the skies of Golarion, when they helped to imprison the Rough Beast. Despite the clarity of purpose Dahak showed in helping the other gods in this venture, he has no plans to ever work alongside his father again—in fact, Dahak’s entire existence is now focused on preparing for his final confrontation with Apsu.

The archdevil Mephistopheles has a longstanding relationship with Dahak, having ceded territory within his home of Caina to serve as the evil god’s realm. Dahak eagerly took the archdevil’s offer, building a sanctuary in which he could recover his strength. In exchange for this boon, Dahak crafted the quill of Caina’s lord, the artifact Visineir, from the heart of an adamantine mountain in the upper reaches of Nessus. Despite this, Mephistopheles holds no contract or binding oath with Dahak. The devils of Hell’s lowest regions whisper of Asmodeus’s direct involvement in this arrangement, some believing the lord of Hell and Mephistopheles came to an agreement to ensure Dahak’s continued existence for some nefarious purpose.

REALM

The Adamantine Morass is Dahak’s realm, a web of tunnels stretching throughout the lowest depths of Caina, Hell’s eighth layer. The winding paths begin as a maze of dirt and stone tunnels, and end in a series of warrens leading into a realm of adamantine. Here, Dahak stalks those foolish enough to enter his realm uninvited, enjoying the thrill of the chase through the lightless, twisting tunnels. Those unable to provide the Endless Destruction with enough enjoyment through their chase are instead cast into the Well of Venoms, a caustic blend of acid and hellfire said to be capable of shattering an Orb of Dragonkind.

PLANAR ALLIES

Despite his fickle nature, Dahak’s planar alliances stretch back almost to the beginning of his existence. The following creatures can be summoned using spells such as planar ally.

Emissary Rixmar (unique contract devil): This always-smiling contract devil (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 3 76) walks with the assistance of a great tridentlike quill crafted from one of Dahak’s teeth. Rixmar’s legs were shattered for disappointing his previous patron—the archdevil Mephistopheles. Now, he serves as Dahak’s favored emissary, a sociable enough creature when such skills are required. What brought Rixmar into the service of Dahak is obvious: the contract devil has an incredible temper, ignoring the terms of the contracts he makes if those he deals with sufficiently anger him.

Kronoroth (herald of Dahak): The unique ancient white dragon mercilessly hunts metallic dragons. As Dahak’s herald, she accepts only the summons of mortals who promise to let her slay metallic dragons or metallic halfdragons. Her back is lined with spines of black ice, each of which impales the preserved head of a young metallic dragon. Each head allows her to inflict a different torment on her foes. If killed, such creatures rise as ice golems under Kronoroth’s command.

The Roiling Mass (unique Medium magma elemental): This magma elemental (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 2 118) is little more than a sentient pool of lava. The Roiling Mass is said to have been created when Dahak’s rage was so great that it imparted the fiery residue of his breath weapon with a modicum of self-awareness. The mass has little intelligence, and is summoned only to unleash immediate and rampant destruction as it consumes all in its oozing path. Those caught and melted alive in its wake can later be seen as rough body features pushing out from within the Roiling Mass.