Apshai
N Demipower of insects [It/Its]
Pantheon: Egyptian
Symbol: Praying mantis
Known Proxies: None
Apshai is the Egyptian demipower of bugs and creepy crawlies. Now it’s not exactly the most popular cutter among the primes—or even the other gods, but like its favourite insects, it’s got a niche.
First off, Apshai’s not the sort who’s got worshippers lining up. Sure, a few farmhands might mumble a prayer to keep their fields free of critters, but that’s about the size of it. In the grand scheme of the Egyptian pantheon, Apshai is more of a background player, a demipower clinging to its spot, but not really shaking the cosmos.
The Book of the Dead’s got Apshai pegged as a bit of a sinister sort. It’s the creature who can summon a horde of insects to snuff out the sun, which frankly can be a bit of a Bad Day. Apshai’s usual forms are a mantis or a scarab, which both giving the creeps to folks. Apshai is not so much worshipped as placated, especially given its penchant for hanging around battlefields, munching on the dead.
Apshai’s followers, now they’re a shifty bunch, skulking about in the shadows, spreading disease and mucking up food supplies. If you’re caught praying to Apshai, you’re likely to end up as a torch before you can say “pestilence.” So, the cultists keep it on the down-low, doing their dirty work under cover.
Despite being a bit out of favour, Apshai’s recently got a new bunch of fans in Sigil, a colony of entothropes—mostly weremantises. They’ve got Apshai in a little pantheon alongside Achaekek and Deskari. Still, Apshai is not the top dog there, but its followers, especially the rangers and druids, they get around, serving as traders and envoys on other planes.
And here’s a juicy bit of chant: Anubis, the Guardian of Dead Gods, has apparently found something worrying. Beetles, likely Apshai’s minions, nibbling away at the stone corpses of dead gods in the Astral. They say that Anubis on the lookout for some brave (or barmy) souls to find out what Apshai’s really after with these ghostly remains.
Canonical Source: On Hallowed Ground [2e] p86-76 (brief power and realm description)
Source: Jon Winter-Holt