Bhaal

Bhaal, Lord of Murder, is a fictional deity of the Forgotten Realms Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting, created by Ed Greenwood.

One of the Dead Three, Bhaal was originally a mortal, who along with Bane and Myrkul took the portfolios of the ancient deity Jergal. Bhaal was god of death.

Patron of Assassins, Bhaal was feared throughout Faerûn - especiallly in the island realm of the Moonshaes. A wholly evil, debased and sadistic god, Bhaal was served by the goddesses Talona and Loviatar and in turn served Bane (Myrkul, to a lesser extent, was also his master).

However during the Time of Troubles, when the gods were forced to walk Faerûn, Bhaal was slain by the upstart mortal Cyric, who then stole Bhaal's divinity.

However, much like Myrkul - who invested his divine essense in the artifact known as the Crown of Horns - Bhaal was not utterly removed from Faerûn. Part of his divinity remains in the Winding Water, around Boareskyr Bridge where he was slain, his blood having flowed into the river. More importantly, Bhaal forsaw his death and impregnated many mortal women - creating his heirs, the Bhaalspawn. The Bhaalspawn were involved in a series of conflicts along the Sword Coast, with one standing above the others - Abdel Adrian. The tale of the Bhaalpsawn is recounted in the Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate II computer games.

Of all the dead deities of Abeir-Toril, Bhaal most likely has the most scattered cultists attempting to bring him back to 'life'.

Bhaal features prominently in the following Forgotten Realms novels: Darkwalker on Moonshae, Black Wizards, Darkwell, by Dounglas Niles; Shadowdale, Tantras, Waterdeep, by Scott Ciencin and Troy Denning; and Baldur's Gate, Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal, by Philip Athans;