Moander

Moander is the God of rot and corruption in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting of Hasbro's Dungeon's & Dragon's role-playing game. Although the deity's origins have never been made clear, Moander appears throughout some of Faerun's earliest historical recordings and folklore. One legend holds him responsible for corrupting Tyche, the goddess of fate in ancient times, which resulted in the deity splitting into the two "sister" goddesses of fate that exists today, namely Tymora and Beshaba.

In the time of Myth Drannor, the Cormanthyr Elves battled the god and sealed his essence in a spell-bound brick amid the area that is present day Yulash, to be released only upon meeting certain conditions. These conditions were met in the 1350's DR and the God was released for a time as described in the Finder's Stone trilogy by Kate Novak and Jeff Grubb. The story culminates with Moander's death on his home plane at the hands of Finder Wyvernspur (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finder_Wyvernspur) who then takes the divine mantle for himself and becomes a demi-power of change in the arts.

Though Moander drifts among the bodies of other dead gods in the Astral plane, which provided an interesting level in the SSI computer game Pools of Darkness (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pools_of_Darkness), the god is not completely dead.

In 75 DR, Moander the Darkbringer hurled his forces and the "creeping evil" against the elven city of Tsornyl, blighting much of the surrounding woods. The magic of Moander twisted all life, both follower and victim alike, into corrupt monsters, including deepspawn and shambling mounds. While the evil could not be destroyed, High Magic severed the creeping evil from Moander and imprisoned the corruption at Tsornyl (soon to be called the Darkwatch). This weakened the Darkbringer's presence in Toril, though it cost the lives of thirty-two elves, including two High Mages, to sever and bind the power.

This evil still lurks in the area known as the Darkwatch and awaits a sliver of divine energy to return Moander to life.

References The novels Azure Bonds, Song of the Saurials, Finder's Bane, and Tymora's Luck by Kate Novak and Jeff Grubb, TSR. Powers and Pantheons, Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition accessory, by Eric L. Boyd, TSR. Faiths and Pantheons, Dungeons & Dragons 3e accessory, by Eric L. Boyd and Erik Mona, Wizards of the Coast.