Kelemvor Lyonsbane

Kelemvor - Lord of the Dead and Judge of the Damned - is a fictional god in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.

Fair yet cold, Kelemvor is the god of Death and the Dead - the most recent deity to hold this position, following in the footsteps of Jergal, Myrkul and, briefly, Cyric. Unlike these other deities, whose rule as gods of death made the afterlife an uncertain and fearful thing, Kelemvor urges knowledge that death is a natural part of life and should not be feared as long as it is understood.

Kelemvor is a Lawful Neutral Greater Power. His symbol is an upright skeletal arm holding the golden scales of justice, his divine realm is the Fugue Plane, and his Third Edition D&D domains are Fate, Law, Protection, Repose, and Travel.

Curse of Lyonsbanes
The Curse of the Lyonsbanes has been passed down for generations in Kelemvor's family. All this started from the greedy mercenary Kyle Lyonsbane, who was utterly ruthless in extracting payment, to the point that one day he left his sorceress companion on the battlefield to die so that he could plunder the enemy 's stronghold. In her last breath, the sorceress bestowed a curse upon Kyle. From that day on the mercenary can never attempt to perform an act for any type of reward without becoming a [[panther], and transform to human only by killing a life. Under the curse, only unselfish and heroic acts were permitted. The curse continued to Kyle's son in a reveresed form, which made him unable to perform any act "without" asking for a reward, or suffer the metamorphosis. This resulted in a long line of mercenary family in the Lyonsbane family, and as family member grew old it become more dangerous for those who live around them, since the seniors could no longer remember if a reward had been offered. Thus it became the responsibility of every Lyonsbane to slay their father when they reached fifty.

Mortal Life
Kelemvor Lyonsbane was the seventh descendant of Kyle. Because of the curse, Kelemvor had become a panther and mercilessly killed his own cruel father when trying to protect an innocent house maiden. After that he evaded the Lyonsbane castle, and became a sellsword, as most of his family members did. However because of the curse, many of his comrads die in front of his very eyes, and all he could do was turning away. Kelemvor dreamed of a day when he can perform heroic deeds free from the curse, become a true hero as those stories he had read when he was a child in the Lyonsbane castle. Eventually he had the curse removed by the god of fear, Bane. Not long after he met up with Midnight (Mystra to be) and Adon of Sune, and during the Time of Troubles they somehow managed to retrieve the 2 Tablets of Fate that the gods needed to return to the planes. Cyric the Mad pursued them the whole way, and eventually with the help of the Great Archmages Khelben and Elminster, they suceeded in destroying the threats of Myrkul and Cyric, and saved Waterdeep. Kelemvor eventually would take Myrkul's place in the realm of the dead, Cyric would become the god of strife, after temporarily commanding the powers of the gods of Murder (Bhaal) and Death (Myrkul).

God of Death
Kelemvor is now the God of Death, rules in [Realm of the Dead] in [Hades]. As mortals, Kelemvor and Mystra were lovers, but it is unlikely this is maintained now they are both deities with responsibilities. Kelemvor's greatest enemy is Cyric, but he also fiercely opposes the machinations of Velsharoon, the necromancer god who animates the dead into undead and thus stands against everything Kelemvor works for, and Talona, for the unnatural deaths caused by her diseases. This also makes him an ally of Lathander the Morninglord, who also opposes undeath. Kelemvor maintains practical alliances with good- and neutral-aligned gods of death in other pantheons - Sehanine Moonbow, Osiris and Urogalan amongst. Kelemvor is served by the original deity of death, the mysterious, fatalistic and pragmatic Jergal, who keeps records the final disposition of spirits of the deceased.