Dionysus

God of wine and vegetation, mysteries, and the theatre. Also known as Bacchus. He showed mortals how to cultivate grapevines and make wine. He is good and gentle to those who honored him, but he brings madness and destruction upon those who spurned him or the orgiastic rituals of his cult.

Used with permissiom from Palindrome

As seen in Palindrome’s thread at Dicefreaks

Lord of Revelry
Intermediate Olympian Deity
Symbol An upwards pointed Thyrsus.
Home Plane Olympus
Alignment Chaotic neutral.
Aliases Lord of the Vines
Superior Zeus.
Allies Hermes, Hestia, Thetis
Foes Hera
Servants Maenads, Muses, Seilenos (Silenus)
Servitor Creatures Lions (Anarchic and normal), Maenads, Nymphs, Panthers (Anarchic and normal), Ichthyocentaurs, Satyrs, Centaurs, Fauns,
Manifestations Disembodied laughter, rapid plant growth, appearance/disappearance of wild animals, music playing in the wind
Signs of Favor Bunches of grapes appearing, wild animals following the worshipper without harming them, sudden flashes of artistic inspiration, water turning into wine
Worshipers Playwrights, Performers, Vintners, Centaurs, Cultists, Drunkards, Maenads, Satyrs, Fauns, Revelers, Rogues,
Cleric Alignments CE, CG, CN, TN
Speciality Priests Dionysian Cultists
Holy Days Bacchanalia
Portfolio Inebriation, revelry, theatre, wildness
Domains Music, Wine, Plant, Madness
Favored Weapon Thyrsus (quarterstaff or Morningstar)

Dionysos
Bard 20
Medium outsider (Chaotic, Extraplanar)
Divine Rank	13
Hit Dice	40d8 (outsider) plus 20d6 (bard) plus 780 (1220 hp)
Initiative	+20 (+12 Dexterity, +8 Superior Initiative)
Speed	60 ft.
Armor Class	76 (+28 natural, +13 divine, +12 Dexterity,+13 deflection), touch 48, flat-footed 64
Base Attack/Grapple	+50/+63
Attack	Thyrsus +85 melee or unarmed strike +75 or +63 melee touch or +62 ranged touch
Full Attack	Thyrsus +85/+85/+80/+75/+70 melee (1d8 plus +2d6 (chaotic) plus +18 and Will save DC or inebriated) or unarmed strike +75 (1d3 plus +13) or +63 melee touch or +62 ranged touch or thrown weapons
Space/Reach	5 ft./5ft.
Special Attacks	bardic music (23/day, countersong, fascinate, inspire competence +4, inspire greatness 13 mile radius, inspire courage +8, inspire heroics +8, Mass suggestion, song of freedom, suggestion), salient divine abilities, spells, spell-like abilities
Special Qualities	bardic knowledge +32, divine aura (1300 feet, DC 34), divine immunities, Domain powers, DR 25/epic and adamantine, godly realm (10 miles outer plane, 1300 ft. Material Plane), greater teleport at will, plane shift at will, remote communication, resistance (fire) 18, speak, and read all languages and speak directly to all beings with 13 miles, SR 75
Saves	Fort +58 Ref +57 Will +54
Abilities	Strength 36, Dexterity 34, Constitution 37, Intelligence 34, Wisdom 35 (Madness Score 6), Charisma 37
Skills	Balance +44, Bluff +75, Concentration +84, Craft (alchemy) +68, Decipher Script +65, Diplomacy +97, Disguise +54 (+58 observed in character), Escape Artist +79 (+83 escape rope), Gather Information +30, Handle Animal +56, Intimidate +70, Jump +80, Knowledge (arcana) +65, Knowledge (history) +52, Knowledge (local) +55, Knowledge (nature) +82, Listen +42, Move Silently +50, Perform (acting, wind instruments) +89, Profession (brewer) +108, Ride +29, Search +45, Sense Motive +47, Sleight of Hand +54, Spellcraft +74 (+80 spells on scrolls), Spot +42, Survival +52 (+54 find/follow tracks, +56 aboveground), Tumble +61, Use Magic Device +89 (+93 scrolls), Use Rope +79 (+83 bindings)
Feats	Combat Reflexes, Deflect Arrows, Extend Spell, Extra Music, Green Ear, Heighten Spell, Improved Initiative, Improved Unarmed Strike, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Quick Draw, Ranged Disarm, Throw Anything, Twin Spell, Weapon Focus (Thyrsus)
Epic Feats	Deafening Song, Hindering Song, Improved Heighten Spell, Reflect Arrows, Spell Knowledge (plant growth, speak with plants), Superior Initiative
Environment	Olympus
Organization	Solitary, with Silenus, troupe (Silenus or 1 Seilenos 3–9 advanced dire tigers, 4 -6 centaurs , ichthyocentaurs, leanan sidhe,  21 -30 Maenads, 2 -4 satyrs, or NPCs of at least 11th level), or Bacchanalia (Silenus and 1–3 Seilenos plus 1–3 muses, 4–12 centaurs and satyrs, and 3–9 leanan sidhe,  30-40 Bacchae ( Drunkards), 21 -30 Maenads, 1-2 storm giants)
Challenge Rating	55
Treasure	Ivy Wreath, Thyrsus
Alignment	Chaotic Neutral
Advancement	—
Level Adjustment	–

Alter Reality (Su): 

Dionysus exerts a considerable measure of control over reality itself, and his presence can command the very essence of the world around him. This warping of reality manifested in a number of ways. Dionysos can use wish when doing so could bring about inebriation, help inspire artists, or promote wildness and debauchery in general. Note that in the situation where Dionysos and another deity both try to Alter Reality in opposition to each other, an opposed rank check may be necessary to determine how reality is actually altered.

• Dionysos can use Alter Reality to cast any cure spell at will as a standard action; Dionysos can apply metamagic feats to the spells if desired, but doing so requires him to forego using Alter Reality for 1 round for each level the feat would normally add to the equivalent spell.
• As a free action, Dionysos can assume any size from Fine to Colossal. he can also change the size of up to 100 pounds of objects he touches. This ability allows Dionysos to assume any proportions from the size of a grain of sand up to as much as 1,600 feet tall. A radical change in size can have great impact on Dionysos’ combat ability. Dionysos’ Strength, Armor Class, attack bonus, and damage dealt with weapons changes according to the size the deity assumes. Dionysos’ Strength score can never be reduced to less than 1 through this ability. Also note that use of this divine ability does not affect all of Dionysos’ characteristics.

Divine Immunities

Ability damage, ability drain, banishment, binding, cold, death effects, dimensional anchor, disease, disintegration, dismissal, energy drain, imprisonment, mind-affecting effects, Paralysis, poison *, repulsion, sleep, sonic, soul bind, stunning, Temporal Stasis, transmutation, Trap the soul, and turning and rebuking.

Divine Power

Dionysos is a living embodiment of power, and ancient divine magic flows through his veins. As such, mortal items are of virtually no use to him, being so much weaker than his own innate powers. Dionysos gains no benefit from a deflection, enhancement, resistance, insight, sacred or profane bonus that is less than +13. Note that this only applies to bonuses that affect Dionysos himself; weaponry and armor is unaffected by this.

Domain Powers

Casts chaotic spells at +1 level; casts Divinations at +1 caster level and treats all Knowledge skills as class skills; possesses an Insanity score of 6 that she may use for the purpose of determining bonus spells and save DC’s but penalizes her on Will saves; rebukes plants 16/day and treats Knowledge (nature) as a class skill.

Salient Divine Abilities

Alter Form, Call Creatures (Maenads), Command Plants, Divine Bard, Divine Inspiration (13 creates at once, 13/day, Frenzy), Divine Recall (parties or festivals involving drinking), Divine Skill Focus (Profession [brewing]), Divine Spellcasting, Divine Weapon Focus (Thyrsus), Fruit of the Sacred Vine (Unique Salient Divine Ability), Inebriation (Unique Salient Divine Ability), Irresistible Performance (130 feet, 13/day), Mind of the Beast, Power of Nature, Shapechange, Wave of Chaos (130 feet, Will save DC 37)

Spell-Like Abilities:

At will animate objects, animate plants, barkskin, bolts of bedevilment, chaos hammer, clairaudience/clairvoyance, cloak of chaos, command plants, confusion, control plants, demand, detect secret doors, detect thoughts, discern location, dispel law, divination, Emotion, entangle, find the path, foresight, geas/quest, insanity, legend lore, magic circle against law, maddening scream, phantasmal killer, plant growth, protection from law, rage, random action, repel wood, shambler, shatter, summon monster IX (chaotic creatures only), touch of madness, true seeing, wall of thorns, weird, word of chaos.

Dionysos uses these abilities as an 73rd level caster, except for chaotic spells and Divinations, which he uses as a 74th-level caster. The save DCs are 48 + spell level.

* See the Inebriation Salient Divine Ability

Fruit of the Sacred Vine (Unique Salient Divine Ability)

16 times a day, Dionysos may cause to sprout from the ground within 160 feet of himself a thick tangle of grapevines that instantly flower and bear fruit. While the fruit itself possesses healing properties as the spell restoration cast at 50th level if eaten within three days, if brewed into wine or another fermented beverage, or crushed and added to such, it’s real powers may come into play. Any being that drinks wine or other inebriants made from the Fruit of the Sacred Vine may receive one or more of the following benefits, with a 25% chance of any of the following benefits taking effect:

• The imbiber receives a +13 sacred bonus on Perform (dance), Perform (oratory), or Perform (theatre) checks. If they do not already possess ranks in Perform, then they receive a +6 sacred bonus along the same lines.
• The imbiber will begin to dance on the nearest flat surface and then stop. Every being except for Dionysos within 130 feet of the imbiber must make a Will save DC 36 or else be affected as the spell irresistible dance.
• The imbiber becomes temporarily anesthetized and becomes immune to spells that inflict pain upon them for the duration, although they experience loss of coordination as well and take a –4 penalty to all Dexterity-related skills and attack rolls.
  Two effects take place simultaneously.

Any benefit derived from drinking lasts for 2 hours. After this time, the inebriated mortal falls into a deep slumber from which they cannot be awakened by any being of lower divine rank than Dionysos for 4d6 hours.

Dionysos may additionally select Druidic spells which control or relate to plants to be cast as Arcane spells through his Bardic spells slots.

Inebriation (Unique Salient Divine Ability)

Unique among deities, Dionysos is not completely immune to poison. While Dionysos is immune to the power of addictions, Dionysos takes normal ability damage from the use of drugs (particularly inebriating beverages), and should he consume at least two doses within the same time period, then one of the following effects may occur to him:

• Inspired Dionysos gains artistic insight and becomes a more competent performer, gaining a +13 anarchic bonus to his Perform checks for the next 13 rounds.
  
• Rage Dionysos becomes extremely sensitive to any potential slight and is Unfriendly. If insulted or challenged, he will fly into a rage, gaining +4 Strength, +4 Constitution, +2 Will, and a -2 penalty on his AC. Rages inspired in this manner last for 13 rounds, before he calms down again.

Possessions

Dionysos wields the Thyrsus aka the Sceptre of Dionysus., a +5 speed and spell storing chaotic Morningstar crafted into the form of a staff tipped with a pine cone and entwined with ivy leaves with a bunch of grapes on the top made out of solid, silver, gleaming metal. All beings struck by the Thyrsus must make a Will save DC 38 or else be affected as if they were inebriated by a drug of Dionysos’ choice, although they are not at risk of becoming addicted otherwise.

Dionysos also wears the Ivy Wreath. The Ivy Wreath provides Dionysos with a continuous freedom of movement spell against any spells or attempts to entangle him using plants or plant material, as well as a continuous pass without trace spell along the same lines. Once a day, Dionysos may use the Ivy Wreath to create a growth of plants that wraps around everything within of Dionysos as the epic spell verdigris, except that any being that touches the ivy growths must make an additional Will save DC 38 or else go insane as the spell.

Other Divine Powers

As an intermediate deity, Dionysos gets the best result on any roll if he is required to make a roll at all. He is immortal.

Senses Dionysos can see (using normal vision or Low-Light Vision), hear, touch, and smell at a distance of 13 miles. As a standard action, he can perceive anything within 13 miles of his worshipers, holy sites, objects, or any location where one of his titles or name was spoken in the last hour. He can extend his senses to up to twenty locations at once. He can block the sensing power of deities of his rank or lower at up to two remote locations at once for 13 hours.

Portfolio Sense Dionysos senses any action that affects wild animals, large parties, or production of intoxicating beverages up to 13 weeks in the past.

Automatic Actions Dionysos can use Perform, Craft (alchemy), or Knowledge (nature) as free actions if the DC for the task is 25 or lower, or Profession (brewing) if the DC for the task is 38 or lower. He can perform up to 20 such free actions each round.

Create Magic Items Dionysos may create any magical item related to wine, inebriation, performances, or can be used to acquire knowledge if it is worth less than 200,000 gp.

Bardic Spells

(0th-15th level) (Sp): 4/8/8/8/7/7/7/4/3/3/3/3/2/2/2/2 Dionysos casts his Bardic spells at 50th level and at 63rd level for the purposes of Spell Penetration. Saving throws against Dionysos’s Bardic spells is DC 25 + spell level. The saving throw DC’s are Wisdom-based.

• Bardic Spells Known 0th level: dancing lights, detect magic, lullaby, mage hand, prestidigitation, resistance
• 1st level: entangle, goodberry, grease, hideous laughter, ventriloquism
• 2nd level: enthrall, hypnotic pattern, mirror image, rage, suggestion
• 3rd level: deep slumber, glibness, good hope, major image, speak with animals
• 4th level: break enchantment, freedom of movement, rainbow pattern, shadow conjuration, shout
• 5th level: mind fog, mirage arcana, song of discord, suggestion (mass), wall of thorns
• 6th level: charm monster (mass), heroes’ feast, irresistible dance, transport via plants

Avatars

Dionysus’ Avatar appears as a human, bare chested male and is typically accompanied by a pair of Anarchic or Legendary lions or panthers. Dionysus sends Avatars in response to two different circumstances; the defense of his various cults of worshipers, which tend to run afoul of various lawful authorities on a regular basis, necessitating his actions on their behalf, or when he senses a particularly raucous or extravagant party and simply decides to ‘liven it up’ through his own presence. An Avatar of Dionysus will generally stay within The Prime Material Plane unless it is specifically banished or becomes bored (whichever occurs first).

Dionysus’s Avatar
Bard 18
Medium outsider (Chaotic, Extraplanar)
Divine Rank	0
Hit Dice	12d8 (outsider) plus 18d6 (bard) plus 300 (504 hp)
Initiative	+17 (+9 Dexterity, +8 Superior Initiative)
Speed	60 ft. (12 squares)
Armor Class	44 (+15 natural, +9 Dexterity, +10 deflection), touch 29, flat-footed 35
Base Attack/Grapple	+23/+33
Attack	+37 +3 speed Morningstar or +33 unarmed strike or +33 melee touch or +32 ranged touch
Full Attack	+37/+37/+32/+27/+22 +3 speed Morningstar (1d8 plus +13) or +33 unarmed strike (1d3 plus +10) or +33 melee touch or +32 ranged touch
Space/Reach	5 ft./5ft.
Special Attacks	bardic music (21/day, countersong, fascinate, inspire competence +4, inspire greatness, inspire courage +4, inspire heroics +4, Mass suggestion, song of freedom, suggestion), Domain powers, salient divine abilities, spells, spell-like abilities
Special Qualities	bardic knowledge +27, divine aura (1300 feet, DC 20), divine immunities, DR 10/epic, greater teleport at will, plane shift at will, resistance (electricity) 5, SR 47
Saves	Fort +23 Ref +26 Will +24
Abilities	Strength 30, Dexterity 29, Constitution 31, Intelligence 29, Wisdom 30 (Madness Score 6), Charisma 31
Skills	Balance +16, Bluff +37, Concentration +36, Craft (alchemy) +31, Decipher Script +17, Diplomacy +42, Disguise +18 (+22 observed in character), Escape Artist +15 (+17 escape rope), Handle Animal +18, Intimidate +40, Jump +28, Knowledge (arcana) +35, Knowledge (history) +15, Knowledge (local) +18, Knowledge (nature) +30, Listen +13, Move Silently +18, Perform (acting, wind instruments) +33, Profession (brewer) +25, Search +17, Sense Motive +17, Sleight of Hand +25, Spellcraft +27 (+31 spells on scrolls), Spot +18, Survival +24 (+26 aboveground, find/follow tracks), Tumble +20, Use Magic Device +43 (+45 scrolls), Use Rope +19 (+21 bindings)
Feats	Deflect Arrows, Extra Music, Green Ear, Improved Initiative, Improved Unarmed Strike, Quick Draw, Throw Anything, Weapon Focus (Morningstar)
Epic Feats	Deafening Song, Reflect Arrows, Superior Initiative
Environment	The Prime Material Plane
Organization	Avatar and 2 animals (Anarchic Lions /Panthers)
Challenge Rating	34
Treasure	+3 speed Morningstar, Ivy Wreath
Alignment	Chaotic neutral
Advancement	—
Level Adjustment	–

Divine Immunities: Ability damage, ability drain, mind-affecting effects.

Domain Powers Casts chaotic spells at +1 level; casts Divinations at +1 caster level and treats all Knowledge skills as class skills; possesses an Insanity score of 6 that she may use for the purpose of determining bonus spells and save DC’s but penalizes her on Will saves; rebukes plants 13/day and treats Knowledge (nature) as a class skill.

Salient Divine Abilities Alter Form, Command Plants, Power of Nature

Spell-Like Abilities: 3/day animate objects, animate plants, barkskin, bolts of bedevilment, chaos hammer, clairaudience/clairvoyance, cloak of chaos, command plants, confusion, control plants, demand, detect secret doors, detect thoughts, discern location, dispel law, divination, Emotion, entangle, find the path, foresight, geas/quest, insanity, legend lore, magic circle against law, maddening scream, phantasmal killer, plant growth, protection from law, rage, random action, repel wood, shambler, shatter, summon monster IX (chaotic creatures only), touch of madness, true seeing, wall of thorns, weird, word of chaos.

Dionysos’ Avatar uses these abilities as a 30th level caster, except for chaotic spells and divinations, which he uses as a 31st-level caster. The save DCs are 20 + spell level.

Bardic Spells (0th-6th level) (Sp) 4/8/8/8/7/7/7 Dionysos’s Avatar casts his Bardic spells at 27th level. Saving throws against Dionysos’s Bardic spells is DC 23 + spell level. The saving throw DC’s are Wisdom-based.

Bardic Spells Known

• 0th level: dancing lights, detect magic, lullaby, mage hand, prestidigitation, resistance.
• 1st level: goodberry, grease, hideous laughter, silent image, ventriloquism.
• 2nd level: enthrall, hypnotic pattern, mirror image, rage, suggestion.
• 3rd level: deep slumber, glibness, good hope, major image, speak with animals.
• 4th level: break enchantment, freedom of movement, shadow conjuration, shout.
• 5th level: mind fog, mirage arcana, song of discord, suggestion (mass).
• 6th level: charm monster (mass), heroes’ feast, irresistible dance.

Liber Mysterium

The Netbook of Witches and Warlocks

By Timothy S. Brannan and The Netbook of Witches and Warlocks Team

The God of wine in both it’s meanings. He is the God of abundance and religious ecstasy. He is also the God of drunken revelries, debauchery and madness. Nymphs and Satyrs always accompany his followers, called the Maenads.

The Orphic mysteries

Deities & Demigods

Rich Redman, Skip Williams, James Wyatt

Dionysus’s mystery cult teaches a secret myth about the deity’s origin, supposedly passed on to mortals by the epic bard Orpheus. Zeus and Demeter’s daughter Persephone had a dalliance that resulted in the birth of a deity named Zagreus. Hera, in a jealous rage, sent some Titans from Tartarus to kill the child god. Zagreus tried to escape by shapechanging into various forms Zeus, Cronus, a young man, a lion, a horse, a serpent and finally a bull.

Catching him in his bull form, the Titans tore his body apart and ate it. Before they could finish their grisly meal, Zeus appeared and incinerated them with bolts of lightning, rescuing Zagreus’s heart and forming humanity from the ashes of the Titans. Because the Titans had consumed Zagreus, some of his divine nature remained in their ashes, forming a ‘divine spark’ deep inside human nature.

Zeus then gave Zagreus’s heart to Semele. Some legends say that she ate the heart, while others say Zeus used it to make a potion that impregnated her. In any event, Dionysus was born as a result. Thus, Dionysus’s origin remains true to the common mythology that calls him a son of Zeus and Semele, but it also makes him a reincarnation of Zagreus.

Semele also died as a result of Hera’s jealousy. Hera tricked Semele into persuading Zeus to reveal his Divine Splendor to her, but her mortal frame could not withstand his glory and she disintegrated into ash. The child in her womb, being half divine, survived, and a vine grew from her ashes to shield the infant Dionysus. Zeus took the child and sewed him into his own thigh where he finished his gestation. As a result of this remarkable birth, Dionysus is known as the twice-born.

As an adult, Dionysus discovered wine and shared that mixed blessing with mortals. He also descended into the underworld to find his mother, Semele, and brought her up to dwell with him in Olympus as an immortal. (Orpheus, too, descended into the underworld to find a loved one, his wife, but was unable to bring her back to the mortal world.)

The Orphic Mysteries of Dionysus, like Demeter’s mystery cult, allow acolytes to reenact this complicated mythic history, becoming participants in Dionysus-Zagreus’s life, death, and rebirth. As in the cult of Demeter, acolytes in the mysteries believe they meet Dionysus or his avatar firsthand, in a ritual in which they symbolically die to their old lives and rise again to new lives. After their initiation, they enjoy a life of carefree celebration and orgiastic frenzy, and they look forward to life with Dionysus-Zagreus in Olympus after their death.