Bane (god)

Bane (also known as the Black Hand and the Black Lord), is the god of hatred, fear, and tyranny and one of the main evil gods in the fictional Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting, Forgotten Realms. Ed Greenwood created Bane for his home Dungeons & Dragons game, loosely inspired by the Babylonian deity Druaga.

Bane is a Lawful Evil Greater Power whose symbol is Green rays squeezed forth from a black fist, and whose divine realm is the Black Bastion in the Barrens of Doom and Despair. His Third Edition D&D domains are Evil, Destruction, Hatred, Law, and Tyranny.

History
In the indefinite past, Bane was a member of the Dead Three, a triad of mortals sworn to achieve godhood. After the three approached the god Jergal and were granted the chance to compete for different godly domains, Bane won command of the forces listed above. For centuries, he ruled in the heavens with power feared by all. The Black Lord's church was strong, and he was feared by all mortals.

During the Time of Troubles, however, when he was trapped in his vulnerable avatar form, Bane was slain by the demigod Torm outside of Tantras. For a time, it looked as if the world was rid of the Black Hand, as his portfolio was divided among the newly-ascendant gods Cyric and Iyachtu Xvim, Bane's half-demonic son. Bane's priests either converted to one of the two new deities or were killed, and it seemed that all traces of the Dead Three were gone from the Faerûnian Pantheon.

However, on Midwinter night, 1372 DR, all former priests of Bane received a vision of Iyachtu Xvim being consumed by a hellish fire, and of the Black Lord rising from the charred husk of his son. Over the past few months, Bane has been reorganizing his forces and rebuilding his strength. Meanwhile, all of Faerûn is bracing for a returning evil.

Bane's Servants
Bane prefers to keep to the shadows, allowing his servants to carry out his intricate plans. He has no tolerance for failure and seldom thinks twice about submitting even a loyal servant to rigorous tortures to ensure complete obedience to his demanding, regimented doctrine.

Relationships
Bane is a ruthless, calculating, power-hungry deity ever obsessed with expanding his power. Since the deaths of Bhaal and Myrkul, his only true allies among the gods, he has forged alliances with the less powerful Malar, Loviatar, Mask, and Talona. Bane holds a special enmity toward Torm, Mystra, and Cyric. This last Bane sees as a loathsome usurper, and his entire following is mobilizing for a holy war against the Black Sun.