The Eight Paths: Dark
Dark is one of the Eight Paths available to your character.
Path Symbol: the void Guardian Clan: Cabal of Invaders Opponent: Path of Light Key words: power, freedom, void Skill groups: sudden death, curses, necromancy
Darkness is ancient and boundless; it is the cradle of all existence and simultaneously its undoing. Darkness can wrap you in a tender shroud and grant sweet dreams, or it can bring nightmares and terror. Darkness can kill in the name of the Lesser Evil, or it can preserve life -- in order to prolong the torment a little longer.
Darkness grants you boundless freedom, strength, and might to achieve your goals and ambitions -- even at the expense of others. You will be able to conquer and dominate, reshape customs and peoples by right of power, and your name will inspire awe and dread across cities and continents.
It is worth understanding the difference between Darkness and Evil clearly. For example, necromancers use the forces of Darkness and Chaos to violate the eternal order of things and raise the dead, turning them into abominations of evil that bring destruction to all living things. Vampires are compelled to bring Evil into the world under cover of Darkness -- such is the nature necromancy gave them.
A cleric or anti-paladin who worship dark gods can inflict powerful curses and agonising pain on their opponents. Meanwhile anti-paladins serve Darkness itself, and not all of their deeds bring Evil -- sometimes they bring law and order by right of might. And ninjas and thieves can use Darkness for the perfectly prosaic art of theft or espionage.
Darkness is many-faced, and quite a few gods and goddesses hold sway on its Path:
- Taiphoen, supreme goddess of dark might and death that stalks in the shadows
- Hauzer, god of all-consuming Darkness and patron of anti-paladins
- Mephisto, god of pain, cruelty, and torture, patron of the githyanki people
- Raven Queen, goddess of cold fate, patron of necromancers
- Lloth, goddess of spiders, patron of drow
- Deimos, god of paralyzing terror
This path suits non-good characters who bring pain, curses, and sudden death, who believe in the dark gods, or who crave power at any price.