Sess'Innek
In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Sess'Innek is a tanar'ri lord that is worshipped by the lizard kings as a deity of Civilization and Dominion. His symbol is a green, clawed, reptilian hand.
Publication history
Sess'Innek was first detailed in the book Monster Mythology (1992), including details about his priesthood.[1]
Sess'Innek received further details in third edition in Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss (2006).[2]
Description
Sess'innek takes the form of a six-armed lizard king with brown vestigial wings. Each of his six hands wields a longsword of potent magical power.
Realm
Sess'innek dwells on the seventh layer of the Abyss, known as Kearackinin, or the Phantom Plane. Furthermore, Sess'innek has sealed and "locked" the layer so it cannot be accessed without his expressed permission. It is said that Sess'innek was tired of the Blood War, and went into this self-imposed exile, having nothing to do with the politics of the Abyss.
The Phantom Plane was discovered long ago when the wizard Mordenkainen managed to temporarily break the seals.
Relationships
Sess'inek keeps himself apart from other demon lords, sealing his layer from all intruders. As a result, he has no particular enemies or allies. Even the lizardfolk deity Semuanya ignores him, despite his poaching of that god's worshipers.
Dogma
Kill and devour those who oppose Sess'innek. Take their territory. Destroy the shamans of Semuanya. Sacrifice lives and souls to Sess'innek. Aid the khaasta in their war of vengeance against the ancient progenitors of serpentkind.
Worshipers
Sess'innek is revered by khaasta, by the half-demonic lizard kings, and by those lizardfolk tribes ruled by lizard kings. Such tribes will generally have only a single lizard king ruler - all those who fail to prove their worthiness to rule the tribe are killed and sacrificed to Sess'innek. The exception is those who elect to become shamans instead of leaders. Most are too prideful to take that route, however.
Clergy
Sess'innek has few shamans at this point; the vast majority of them are lizard kings, the descendants of lizardfolk and demons loyal to Sess'innek. Sess'innek requires his shamans to be aggressive in spreading his faith, and to slay clerics of Semuyana on sight.
Lizardfolk druids are sometimes incorporated into the hierarchy of Sess'innek as well.
Holy days and rituals
Sess'innek demands regular sacrifices in his name and little else. The khaasta sacrifice approximately one in ten prisoners to their demonic patron. Twice a week, lizard kings gather late at night to tear the hearts from sentient beings and devour them amid prayers to Sess'innek.
History
When Demogorgon freed his creations the khaasta, that race of planar lizardkin began to gather under Sess'innek's banner. In order to aid the khaasta in their war against the most ancient reptilian races of the Prime Material Plane, Sess'innek sent demons to rally lizardfolk tribes to his banner. The lizard kings are the half-demonic descendants of those demons. The lizardfolk ordinarily follow the deity Semuanya, who at the present has not stepped in to stop Sess'innek's attempts at corrupting and usurping his worshipers.
References
- ^ Sargent, Carl. Monster Mythology (TSR, 1992)
- ^ Jacobs, James, Erik Mona, and Ed Stark. Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss (Wizards of the Coast, 2006)
Further reading
- Greenwood, Ed, Eric L. Boyd, and Darrin Drader. Serpent Kingdoms (Wizards of the Coast, 2004).
- Smith, Lester W., and Wolfgang Baur. Planes of Chaos. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1994.