Iuz
| Iuz | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Aliases | The Evil, the Old One | |
| Alignment | Chaotic Evil | |
| Divine Rank | Demigod | |
| Pantheon | Oerth | |
| Portfolio | Deceit, Pain, Oppression, Evil | |
| Domains | 3E: Chaos, Evil, Trickery 5E: Death |
|
| Home Plane | Prime Material Plane (Oerth) | |
| Worshippers | Bandits, Barbarians, Inhabitants of The Empire of Iuz | |
| Favoured Weapon | Greatsword | |
Iuz is the demigod of Deceit, Pain, Oppression, and Evil in Greyhawk.
Iuz is the half-fiend son of ... someone. His parentage and how he became so demonic is left open in the 1983 Greyhawk Gazetteer. James Ward's Greyhawk Adventures book mooted he might be a by-blow of Orcus; but, seriously, who'd fuck a god of undead, and how motivated would he be to bother. From The Ashes, in a rare sensible decision by Carl Sargent, narrowed this most-un-immaculate conception to the union in Perrenland between demon prince Graz’zt and the powerful witch Iggwilv. So, born 480-90 CY.
Iuz took command of a minor despotate in the Howling Hills and moved to carve out an empire. This was reckless, which the retcon would explain due to his youth; in CY 505, Zagig caught the ambitious halfbreed and, with eight other near-divine entities, locked him in Castle Greyhawk's dungeon. And there Iuz stayed until 570 CY, when the prison was cracked. Iuz re-emerged in the form of a 5 foot shriveled old man - or a 7 foot fat demonic being. Tenser and Lord Robilar tried to kill him but he escaped them too.
Iuz has many fiendish allies, most infamously Zuggtmoy (whom some sources say he was boning), and impersonates other gods to fool mortals and increase his territory. Besides the Circle of Eight he holds a particular hatred for Zagyg, Vecna, St. Cuthbert, and the City of Greyhawk. He rules the Empire of Iuz.
He was also an enemy in the Temple of Elemental Evil, where he forgot to come with his equipment, so the player can beat his ass silly if he minmaxed correctly, resulting in an amusing ending mentioning his fear of the player. The Mirror of Life Trapping in here is another fun way to boof this guy. Demons are always getting chained up in the Flanaess. They should probably leave it alone.
The Greyhawk Wars and especially From The Ashes had Iuz on the verge of conquering the whole Flanaess, totally fucking up the balance and, thereby, the heart of this setting. The late 1990s Wizards of the Coast shakeup rolled back some of his gains, restoring the status quo somewhat.
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A priest of Iuz alongside other priests
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Image taken moments before a TPK.
