Kurtulmak

Kurtulmak is the chief deity of the kobold pantheon. He is a hateful deity, one who despises all life, save kobolds. He has an especial antipathy for brownies, pixies, sprites and their kin -- and, most of all, Gnomes.

Kurtulmak is not a stupid deity. He has skills; he taught the first kobolds the skills of mining and tunneling, and also the skills of ambushing, although Gaknulak is now the more important influence in this sphere. Rather, Kurtulmak is a creature dominated by his emotions and hates. Thus, Kurtulmak is intelligent, but he is not wise. He is fairly easily trapped or tricked and out-maneuvered if his weaknesses are played upon. He is arrogant in his hatred of his enemies, and loves to gloat over his successes at length.

Kurtulmak has the psychology of the small creature written large all over him. He carries grudges, and has a huge chip on his small shoulder. He hates being bettered by any means, especially by deception or by some "frivolous" means such as illusion or practical joking. Kurtulmak has absolutely no sense of humor. He makes characteristic errors as a result of this weakness. He often tries to gain revenge over his enemies in the same ways that they gained an advantage over him.

Nonetheless, Kurtulmak should not be underestimated. He is a savage deity who is always attentive to events on the Prime Material Plane, and who is always active in trying to secure some advantage for his people on that plane. He is reluctant to oppose other goblinoid gods, especially Maglubiyet whom he fears (while he considers Gruumsh and the Orcish gods stupid and oafish), and thus while his people often contest with other goblinoid races for living space, Kurtulmak will rarely over-actively intervene in such conflicts.

Kurtulmak does not bother with omens; he instructs his priests directly through commands which are given in dreams, dozing, daydreaming and other states of mind when the threshold of consciousness is lowered. Priests who do not act immediately on the basis of these commands are simply snuffed out of existence by the god.

Note: Kurtulmak originally appeared in this form in Monster Mythology for the AD&D game from TSR. His use here is for the purposes of providing context for the campaign only.