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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
 Posted - 11 Jun 2006 : 16:01:53
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The following information on Kostchtchie is not meant to be definitive, or the legend that follows to be assumed to be exactly what Kostchtchie's origin in the Realms would absolutely be. Rather, this is a legend that might be useful in relating parts of Kostchtchie's story and tie those elements to the Realms.
For those interested in more information on Kostchtchie, the article on him in Dragon Magazine #345 is an excellent source.
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jun 2006 : 16:06:48
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The history of the creature known as Kostchtchie has been nebulous to many sages that have studdied him. Many have assumed that he was simply a demon from the start, one that was interested in violence and physical power, traits that he decided to use to garner worshipers among frost giants. Others have assumed that Kostchtchie was himself a frost giant that somehow himself became a being of demonic power.
Recently some old folk stories and legends have been found in Rashemen that might actually shed some light on the history of the being known as the Prince of Rage. The veracity of these documents has yet to be examined, but they do provide for some interesting information that might lead to some solid facts about the being that rules the Iron Wastes of the Abyss.
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jun 2006 : 16:40:32
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Koschei of Rashemen
Koschei of Rashemen was a twisted and ugly man. While he was a member of a berserker lodge and trained in the traditions of the warriors of Rashemen, Koschei was violent and ugly, and no woman would have him, no man would count him as friend. Eventually Koschei wandered into the wilderness to be by himself, and the witches considered this to be for the best, to allow him to come to terms with his anger.
Koschei did not know it, but while he went into the wilderness, he was watched by a presense rarely spoken of in Rashemen, the Mother of Durthans, Stara Baba. From her wandering hut, she watched Koschei and sensed his dark spirit and foul temper, and she decided that if Koschei could survive a bit longer, she might have use for him.
Koschei eventually went back to his village, and decided to win friends and women by proving his worth in battle. When a horde of goblins and ogres led by a Bhuer hag attacked the village, Koschei was the first to charge out into battle. Koschei flew into a fury immediately, and tore into the hag's minions, but he also wounded several of his fellow berserkers in the battle in his blind rage.
After the battle, the twisted man Koschei was brought before the witches of the village, and they named him nydeshka, a blunt sword, and was given a blunted sword to use in his next battle. This was a death sentence, a proclamation that Koschei was too dangerous to his own to be allowed to live, and that his rages would be the end of him the next time the village was called into battle.
Koschei was enraged, and left the village. He wandered back into the wilderness where he was spied by Stara Baba, and this time she decided to act on the gift given to her. Stara Baba approached Koschei, who attacked her. The Old Witch easily paralysed the twisted warrior, and presented him with a gift. The gift was a set of skulls, each nested within the other. A sprite's skull within a halflings skull, within a human skull, within an ogre's skull, within a giant skull. But within the sprite's skull was a black gem.
Koschei accepted the strange gift, and Stara Baba told him to hide this skull, for as long as the skull was safe, Koschei would not age, and could not die.
Koschei returned to the village that had spurned him. He killed the women that had spurned his advances, and he killed the witches that declared him nydeshka. Any of the men that would not submit to his authority he tore apart with his bare hands.
Koschei gathered disaffected berserkers, those declared nydeshka, and those that lived outside of tribes. He gathered to him hagspawn and all sorts of twisted creatures, ogres, and goblins. Koschei grew larger and larger, and no man could harm him. He despoiled various villages, slaying first the women of child bearing years, then any witches.
Eventually the Othlor of Rashemen grew concerned about the threat of Koschei the Twisted and his army. The consulted with the Telthor and asked for a champion to aid them. The Telthor took mercy on the Othlor, and saw Koschei as an abomination, and they gave the Othlor the ability to summon a powerful spirit of the planes, a warrior spirit known as Gwynharwyf.
The berserkers and the witches engaged Koschei's army while Gwynharwyf herself beset Koschei. Koschei resisted the power of the spirit warrior, but after seeing how her blows were shrugged off, and the nature of Koschei's strength, she surmised that his strength was not his own.
Gwynharwyf called on the Telthor to guide to the source of Koschei's power, and she found the skulls that Stara Baba had given the twisted man. Koschei towered above the battle field, but when Gwynharwyf struck the first skull, Koschei shrunk to the size of an ogre. When she struck the next skull, he shrunk to the size he was as a man. Eventually he was the size of a small sprite, screaming in rage, and then Gwynharwyf shattered the gemstone, and Koschei died.
The witches shattered the rest of Koschei's army, and Gwynharwyf returned to the planes. But Koschei's soul was retreived by the Mavawhan demons when it traveled to the Fugue Plain, and was lodged in the glaciers of the Iron Wastes. The rage and darkness in Koschei's soul grew, and eventually, Koschei bonded with the Iron Wastes, and was reborn as Kostchtchie, the Prince of Rage. |
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jun 2006 : 16:55:53
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Kostchtchie's Current Interests in the Realms
Kostchtchie is a misogynistic being, and his cults view women as only worthy of use for reproduction. Females are never seen as true members of a tribe, and once beyond child bearing years, they are sacrificed to Kostchtchie. Frost giant tribes that worship Kostchtchie do not allow for the worship of other deities, and as such they violently attack tribes that worship Thrym, or even worse, Auril.
The Shining White Crusade
A powerful Thrall of Kostchtchie named Hretic the Stricken has been recruiting bands of frost giants and ogres to his banner to strike down what he sees as a sign of great decadence among the frost giants. Hretic sees the "civilized" frost giants of the Shining White as a symbol of decay, and the fact that they worship Auril, a goddess, and thay Orel the Greyhand allows his daughter, Gerti, to rule in his infirmity, all call out the giants of the Shining White for destruction.
Hretic is travelling the length and bredth of the Savage Frontier trying to recruit more tribes. He preferrs frost giants, but has gained a number of ogres and even trolls to his banner, including many giant hating ogres from the Ice Spires (those these are worshipers of Baphomet, Hretic plans on slaughtering all of his non-frost giant allies after Gerti has been slain anyway).
The Hermit of the Great Glacier
Rovik, a frost wizard living on the Great Glacier, is a nominal worshiper of Kostchtchie. He does not care for Thrym as a god, and sees Auril as a deity too concerned with humans and lesser races. Still, Rovik never thought he would be a major player in Kostchtchie's plans, until recently.
An aspect of Kostchtchie appeared to Rovik and told him to gather to him all of the disaffected frost giants of the great glacier, all of those that chafe under Iryclea's rule, and all of those that lust after the thrill of battle. He has been told to wander the wastes and gather these giants to him, and that a sign will come. When that sign comes, he is to bring all of those affected by the "sign" under him and surge forth to slay and enslave all of the tribes that were against Kostchtchie, and all of the humans and dwarves of the glacier as well.
Rovik does not known what this sign will be, and he does not see himself as a match for Iryclea, but he trusts that the sign will be coming soon. Already he has seen the unread of the dragons on the glacier . . . |
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jun 2006 : 16:59:17
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The above story is essentially just a "Realms translation" of the excellent article found in Dragon Magazine 345 by James Jacobs. There are still a ton of details that I did not "Realmsify" as they work pretty well as presented in that particular article. To anyone interested in using Kostchtchie in their campaigns, I would highly recommend that they acquire this particular issue of Dragon.
Any comments, additions, or suggestions from my fellow scribes would be welcomed, as always.
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Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jun 2006 : 17:34:28
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Now this is very interesting; I think I will put this legend in to my own FR campaign at the first possible moment. I have not read the Dragon article, but I am curious about a few details when it comes to the ogres of the Ice Spires.
What do you think the feeling is among the ogre shamans and Bahometh himself for that matter, when it comes to working with the giants. Are the ogres planning a double cross or are they gradually shifting their veneration over to Kostchtchie?
Anyway, great work, I am looking forward to hearing what others have to say about this. |
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Dargoth
Great Reader
Australia
4607 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jun 2006 : 07:00:53
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Check out Kostchtchie's Aspect in the Hordes of the Abyss Web Enhancement
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20060609b
Its got a Aspects of Kostchtchie in Faerun paragraph right at the end |
“I am the King of Rome, and above grammar”
Emperor Sigismund
"Its good to be the King!"
Mel Brooks |
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jun 2006 : 15:40:36
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| And thankfully it lines up pretty well with what I was thinkning when I wrote the "current interests" section above. |
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Dargoth
Great Reader
Australia
4607 Posts |
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Eremite
Learned Scribe
Singapore
182 Posts |
Posted - 24 Jun 2006 : 17:45:52
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| Thanks KnightErrantJr. That's a really good FRification of a rather good article. |
Best
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
12077 Posts |
Posted - 06 Jul 2006 : 23:03:34
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| Pretty neat idea. I would say that one thing needs to be checked. The witches of Rashemen... while old, still only came about about 1300-1400 years back. However, the witches came from the Rus, and the Rus bred with the Rashemi remnants of ancient Raumathar to make the current people of Rashemen. Therefore, IF this demon lord has been around for longer than this time, it could be a Rus legend (maybe in Ruathym). |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jul 2006 : 01:58:24
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Well, the Witches have been known to the Rashemi for about 1482 years at "this" (1374) point in time. So, either Kostchtchie is around 1300 years old, or the legend is indeed older than the witches. Its very probable that the legends date back to the Rus, since Star Baba seems like she would have fit in with ancient Rus legend as well, and its very likely that as the story is retold, its gets "modernized" (i.e. the spellcasters of the day in the Rus legend eventually assumed to be the witches of Rashemen, for example).
But Kostchtchie may just be a relatively "young" demon as demons lords go, especially considering how self delusional he is (after all, he goes into a rage if someone implies he wasn't a frost giant as a mortal, and hates other Tanar'ri even though he himself is one). It could be that he still has yet to come to grips with his "newly" demonic nature.
But then again, thats the fun thing about writing this up as legend instead of history. It gives some bits of lore that might be useful about the subject, but may not be 100% accurate.
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lowtech
Learned Scribe
USA
315 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jul 2006 : 01:48:00
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| Is the extreme misogyny Canonical, or a personal innovation? I've considered making Kostchtchie the primary god of frost giants in a campaign world (long story short, only lesser and demigods can access this world, and powerful fiends and archomentals count as demi-gods), but it would be difficult to come up with Kostchtchie cults functional enough to compete with Auril and other evil gods of cold if they sacrifice the entire female population at menopause... |
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jul 2006 : 01:53:01
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| According to the article on him in Dragon magazine, this is the direction they have gone with the Prince of Rage. So that's what I ran with. It was a very interesting article if you have the chance to pick it up or read it. |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
12077 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jul 2006 : 20:20:07
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| I really need to pick up this issue of Dragon apparently. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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Dargoth
Great Reader
Australia
4607 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jul 2006 : 03:44:01
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I asked Ed how the variou Frost Giant "Gods" dealt with each other (Including Kistchtchie) and hes just responded
quote:
Worship of all the deities you mention takes place in the Realms, because creatures from many planes and worlds have found their way to Toril by various means. However, veneration of Kostchtchie in Faerűn strengthens Thrym, master of frost giants (unless a Faerűnian mortal has the power to summon Kostchtchie, a Demon Lord, and does so, but in doing so has the carelessness or ignorance to bring Kostchtchie to the Realms uncontrolled - - whereupon Kostchtchie would gain power from worship, but also attract the attention and enmity of Thrym and other Faerűnian giant deities, who would move to harm, hamper, and banish him).
So between Thrym and Kostchtchie: hatred; they are rivals. (But very little contact.)
As for the relationships between Auril and Thrym: they have very little to do with each other, as Auril concerns herself foremost with frost, cold, snow, and winter, and their effects on humans (and to a lesser extent other races), and Thrym concerns himself with frost giants. They largely ignore each other; Auril doesn’t mess with frost giants and Thrym pays attention only to frost giants.
As for the relationship of either of them with Zzutam: none (at least, no more than any deity pays heed to ambitious mortals). PRINCE OF LIES uses unreliable narrators, remember, and therefore not everything stated or implied in its pages is true.
Frost giants in the Realms, like humans, are both intelligent and spiritual: everyone “believes” in the gods, remember, having to take nothing on faith except the “true nature” of specific deities, and therefore whom they should worship. Frost giants can worship any deity they hear of, but are likely to worship only relevant deities (a drow divinity of fire, for example, would be largely meaningless to them) - - and in the Realms, Thrym is by far the most relevant. Ergo . . .
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“I am the King of Rome, and above grammar”
Emperor Sigismund
"Its good to be the King!"
Mel Brooks |
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David E
Seeker
USA
55 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jul 2006 : 08:26:47
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| This is fantastic! The flavor about how the Witches exile Rashemi berzerkers by declaring them "nydeshka" - and really, all the other tidbits like the Shining Crusade - really make this FR-ification of the Kostchtchie article seem like it came straight out of a FR supplement from Wizards. Nice work KnightErrantJR! I'm totally saving this post. |
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Ergdusch
Master of Realmslore
Germany
1720 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jul 2006 : 10:01:54
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| Nice work KEJR! Very enjoyable tale! |
"Das Gras weht im Wind, wenn der Wind weht." |
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jul 2006 : 11:11:50
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| Thanks all, I appreciate it. |
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Ardashir
Senior Scribe
USA
544 Posts |
Posted - 05 Aug 2006 : 18:49:00
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quote:
Originally posted by Eremite
Thanks KnightErrantJr. That's a really good FRification of a rather good article.
I agree. When I first read the article, I thought, "Is this Russia or Rashemen we're talking about?"
Bet his cultists just love the durthans, though. And when I say "love", I mean in that hammer-out-their-brains way. |
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Ardashir
Senior Scribe
USA
544 Posts |
Posted - 05 Aug 2006 : 18:50:27
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quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
I really need to pick up this issue of Dragon apparently.
Do it. The Thrall of Kostchtchie PrC is a killer. Literally. |
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Ardashir
Senior Scribe
USA
544 Posts |
Posted - 05 Aug 2006 : 18:51:58
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quote:
Originally posted by lowtech
Is the extreme misogyny Canonical, or a personal innovation? I've considered making Kostchtchie the primary god of frost giants in a campaign world (long story short, only lesser and demigods can access this world, and powerful fiends and archomentals count as demi-gods), but it would be difficult to come up with Kostchtchie cults functional enough to compete with Auril and other evil gods of cold if they sacrifice the entire female population at menopause...
I believe they're basing it on Russian legends of Koschei the Cruel. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36906 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2006 : 03:32:28
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quote:
Originally posted by Ardashir
I agree. When I first read the article, I thought, "Is this Russia or Rashemen we're talking about?"
Well, Rashemen does have some Russian overtones dropped in here and there... |
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FridayThe13th
Learned Scribe
USA
132 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2006 : 18:11:39
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| I have one question. Why would a Russian man end up becoming a patron of frost giants when he wasen't even a frost giant to begin with? |
"The Lady of Pain? You mean Loviatar runs this place?"
-- Torilian Prime
"You guys should seriously rename yourselves The Horny Society, you popularity would soar."
-- A miscillaneous Kender to a member of the Horned Society
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36906 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2006 : 18:51:45
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quote:
Originally posted by FridayThe13th
I have one question. Why would a Russian man end up becoming a patron of frost giants when he wasen't even a frost giant to begin with?
Well, for one thing, we're not speaking of him as a Russian. And for another, he liked cold and brute strength. He likens himself to frost giants, so it's natural that he'd become their patron. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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Mumadar Ibn Huzal
Master of Realmslore
1338 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2006 : 20:37:18
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| KnightErrant, have you thought about publishing this adaption in the Candlekeep Compendium? That would seem a good home for an excellent article. I enoyed reading it and will probably incorportate it somehow in my PbeM campaign (featuring a Rashemi witch to-be) |
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Kostchtchie: A History in Faerun
