Ilmater

Ilmater is a fictional deity of the Forgotten Realms Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting devised by Ed Greenwood. Ed Greenwood created Ilmater for his home Dungeons & Dragons game, inspired by the fictional deity Issek of the Jug, created by Fritz Leiber in the short story "Lean Times in Lankhmar". (The satirical intent of Leiber's Issekianity, however, does not seem to have significantly influenced the depiction of Ilmater's faith.)

Ilmater is known also as the Crying God, the Lord on the Rack, the One Who Endures and the Broken God. He seeks to offer words of comfort and calming to those in pain, oppressed, or in great need. He will seek to endure any pain if it will lessen the pain of another. As a result, the Crying God and his followers are a bane to Loviatar and her worshippers. At any opportunity, the followers of Loviatar will seek to torment Ilmater's people, finding the greatest pleasure in forcing a restrained Ilmatian to watch someone else be tortured to a slow and painful death.

Often Ilmater is found traveling with Tyr, to whom he is allied. Ilmater seeks to teach Tyr to live without his sight and to rely upon his feelings instead.

Followers of the Crying God are often perceived as martyrs and intentional sufferers, to the point of ridicule by some. However, they are known as some of the best healers in the realms, and are often found in some of the worst possible conditions, helping the oppressed, the diseased and the poor. In adventuring groups, they are often the ones who will take all risks to save a person in danger, putting the needs of others above their own, to the exclusion of their personal risk.

In the early days, Ilmater's symbol was that of a blood-stained rack, but with the change to his current symbol of two hands bound with a red cord, his popularity has increased, especially among the poor in the cities.

The church of Ilmater sponsors an order of paladins called the Holy Warriors of Suffering.

Ilmaters allies include Tyr, Torm and Lathander. His foes are Loviatar, Malar and Talos.

Ilmaters clerics generally multiclass to paladin, monk, and the Martyred Champion of Ilmater prestige class.