RAGGOK(MAD PASSION)

Typical Appearance: Raggok usually manifests as a large man with the head of a ram. Scores of open wounds continously appear, heal, and reappear on the incarnation’s bloody flesh.

Common Elements: Skeletons, the undead, swords, wounds, insects, snow and ice

Powers: Raggok can call forth painful memories, raise the undead, inspire hatred, and travel through the thoughts of Name-givers, leaping from the mind of one Name-giver to any other within fifty miles. As he travels, he evokes painful memories in the minds he passes through.

Questors: Questors of Raggok study the undead and the Horrors. This Mad Passion’s followers come from both Thera and, unfortunately, Barsaive. Raggok never lacks followers, as a sizable portion of the population always seems to enjoy terrorizing others. Masters of both mental and physical torture, these questors constantly indulge their cruel sense of humor at others’ expense.

Questors of Raggok fall into two camps, divided by their interpretation of their Passion’s ideals. One group surrounds itself with all the pleasures of the flesh that wealth can buy, constantly searching for more money and treasure. The other group follows an ascetic way of life, believing that bringing pain to the world should take precedence over their own comfort. Any wealth they accumulate, they use to buy poisons, hire mercenaries to raze villages, and the like. The two groups’ styles of dress reflect their different outlooks. The sybaritic questors dress in expensive and luxurious clothing; the ascetics dress shabbily, preferring to spend their money on spreading pain, suffering, and fear wherever they can.

Commentary: The most terrible of the Mad Passions, Raggok embodies all that is corrupted in the world. He causes the dead to walk the earth, he sows the baseless hatreds that erupt between once-loving husbands and wives, he tortures the insane with disembodied voices. People say he has made countless pacts with Horrors, to aid them in their evil endeavors and receive their aid in kind. Like the Horrors he allegedly serves, Raggok loves to inflict pain and strives to satisfy this perverse desire.

THYSTONIUS

Typical Appearance: Thystonius usually appears as a tall, muscular man or woman of any race.

Common Elements: Weapons, banners and pennants, armor, battlefields

Powers: Thystonius can increase martial abilities and strength, overcome pain, and travel instantaneously within a mile of any physical conflict.

Questors: The questors of Thystonius tend to be good athletes, and often make excellent warriors. They continually seek challenges and enemies to test themselves against and believe that diving headfirst into physical danger is the only way to fully experience life. They believe that their Passion wants them to challenge other people to do the same, whether their potential opponents are willing or not. Though few would call Thystonius’ questors thugs, they seem incapable of contemplation or introspection. They “think” with their muscles far more often than with their brains, preferring to follow their physical impulses rather than their minds.

Commentary: Thystonius is the Passion of Physical Conflict and Valor. Most soldiers mistakenly believe him a Passion of war and try to claim him for their own, but Thystonius cares little for killing. He resides in living bones and muscles, not in the corpses of the fallen. He loves the flexing and exertion of bodies competing against the odds—a foot race, an arm wrestle, or a man swimming for his life against the impossible currents of the Serpent River give him infinitely more pleasure than the carnage of battle.

In addition to those who embrace him wholeheartedly, Thystonius rushes to aid those who feel daunted by a physical challenge. The epic poem “The War of Tears,” recounts two camps of opposing warriors, both fearful of taking the battlefield the next day. Thystonius entered both camps during the night and spoke to each army, extolling the glories of war and promising the warriors they would all emerge heroes. Inspired by the Passion’s words, both sides joined in vigorous combat the following morn. The Passion kept his promise —the warriors’ heroic deeds were immortalized in the “The War of Tears.” Nevertheless, Thystonius’ habit of encouraging people to throw themselves at each other makes many people uncomfortable.

UPANDAL

Typical Appearance: Upandal generally manifests as a craftsman of any race, clad in dirty work clothes.

Common Elements: Hammer, building plans, compass, smith’s forge

Powers: Upandal can make tools quickly; fortify buildings, fortresses and city walls; create temporary bridges and towers; and travel instantaneously between cities or any other large, ornate constructions.

Questors: Happy only when involved in a project, Upandal’s questors are usually either building something or collecting money to build something. They view everything they build as an offering to Upandal and believe that each structure enriches the world. In addition to buildings, these questors enjoy tinkering with objects. They question Thief Adepts about the nature of traps and secret doors, or pester Archer Adepts for instructions on how to make the best bows. Easily distracted by any mechanical object that lies along their path, they frequently must be dragged away from any item of interest that they cannot take with them.

Their analytical minds give Upandal’s questors a penchant for devising war plans and other strategies. Unfortunately, their love of the complex and ornate tends to produce strategies that are aesthetically pleasing on paper, but impractical for battle.

Commentary: Upandal is the Passion of Construction. He reinforces the need to build shared by all the Name-giver races of Barsaive, helping them to create order and beauty by building structures as well as giving names. Upandal gives aid where he can, inspiring architects and craftsmen and protecting beautiful cities and towers. On occasion, he presents enchanted tools to craftsmen he deems particularly worthy of his patronage.

VESTRIAL(MAD PASSION)

Typical Appearance: Vestrial usually manifests as a humanoid form, wearing a dark hood and cloak.

Common Elements: An assassin’s dagger, blood, ambush

Powers: Vestrial can confuse listeners, beguile people with lies, discover a person’s true desire, and travel instantaneously within a mile of any place where someone has just uttered a lie.

Questors: The questors of Vestrial scurry about the world dressed in the black cloaks of their Passion, carrying out the Mad Passion’s schemes. They often have no idea what they are doing or why. Frequently, different groups of questors unknowingly work at cross-purposes, and Vestrial reveals his true intentions only after the efforts of both groups have gone to waste. Despite this seeming disorganization, the questors of Vestrial should not be taken lightly. For every ten mindless rabble among them, one intelligent questor can be found guiding his fellows through brilliant plans. Ten years ago, one such questor almost assassinated the heir to the throne of Throal. In fact, the precision, subtlety, and effectiveness of such plots have led some to suggest that the buffoonery and incompetence of the most visible questors actually hides countless unrecognized and frighteningly brilliant questors of Vestrial within society at large. If true, such questors might masquerade as village leaders, judges, kings, and traders for years, waiting for the right moment to strike and take control of all Barsaive.

Commentary: Before the Scourge, Vestrial was the prankster Passion, blending good humor with trickery to puncture the overblown egos of the arrogant. Insanity took hold of him during the Scourge, however, making him as arrogant as the former butts of his jokes. Seeing himself as the sole inheritor of all the world’s Passion-worshipers, he creates elaborate plans for world conquest that his questors enthusiastically carry out. He uses his vast intelligence to spin webs of intrigue that no one save himself can understand. Some believe that Vestrial has woven so many plots and deceits that even he has lost track of the ends he originally desired.