Campaign Design - The Lords of Hell: Lug

Lug

of the Mighty Blows; The Skull-Smasher; The Bone Grinder; Demon Lord of Hill Giants, Ettins, Ogres, Revenge, and Hatred

Alignment: Neutral Evil.
Domains: Arm of Lug, Destruction, Endurance, (Giant), Hatred, Retribution.

Summon Monster: Lug's clerics and favored souls can summon fiendish and terran creatures using summon monster spells.

Symbol: A stone-headed maul.
Favored Weapon: "The skull-smasher" (maul or ogre mattock)

Lug is the strongest and stupidest of all of the Infernal powers. He is depicted as a great mountain of flesh, enormously fat, but still immensely powerful. It is said that Lug cannot be harmed by forged weapons of any kind and that his mighty blows can shatter any barrier or structure. When roused to a wrathful rage, Lug can be dangerous, as his powerful strikes can crush almost any enemy, but like a massive lump of misshapen earth, he is usually indolent and sluggish, almost inert.

In folktales, Lug is often tricked by smaller, smarter creatures who fool and befuddle the dim-witted giant and escape with some treasure or another. In some stories, Lug is depicted with two heads, which only serves to make him dumber, as the heads invariably argue with one another while the plucky heroes run circles around the simple-minded giant. The versions that giants and ogres tell are almost exactly the same, except that in the end Lug smashes the impertinent creatures into a bloody pulp, flenses the flesh from their bones, and grinds what is left into meal. For most giants, nothing is funnier or more satisfying than smashing smaller creatures - a common "joke" told by Lug's followers goes more or less like this: "A dwarf comes to a Lug's house and knocks on the door. Lug smashes him!" Among giants, this is considered hilarious.

In the War in Heaven, Lug was nigh unstoppable until Wünd fooled him into pursuing the Lord of Smiths into an endless cavern who then slipped out, collapsing the only way out behind him. The giants say that Lug could obviously smash his way out, if only he could remember where the exit had been located. Instead, the Bone Grinder wanders his underground realm, sometimes claiming that this is always where he wanted to be, at other times fruitlessly hunting for the lost exit.

Lug has few non-giant worshipers, but among hill giants, ettins, ogres, and evil earth creatures, he is immensely popular. Above all, his followers worship physical prowess, honoring Lug for his strength and destructive capability. As one might expect, cleverness and planning are not considered to be virtues among Lug's adherents, and such considerations are often treated with contempt, a fact that their foes are sometimes able to exploit.

Home     Three Worlds     Lords of Hell