Tlāloc — Rain Lord, Storm-Bringer and Master of Tlalocan
Ancient Mesoamerican tradition · Rain · Storm · Mountains · Agriculture · Tlalocan
Tlāloc is the great rain power of central Mexico, older than the Mexica empire and worshipped across Mesoamerican traditions long before Tenochtitlan rose. His northern sanctuary shares the summit of the Templo Mayor with Huītzilōpōchtli. In the campaign present, that pairing has become painfully literal: war can seize tribute, but only rain can make maize grow.
Tlāloc at a Glance
| Tradition | Ancient central Mesoamerican; especially Nahua / Mexica |
|---|---|
| Divine standing | Greater Deity · Divine Rank 17 |
| Campaign alignment | Neutral |
| Portfolio | Rain, storms, mountain water, agricultural fertility, lightning, hail, floods and water-linked death |
| Divine realm | Tlalocan, the verdant water-filled paradise associated with Tlāloc |
| Material anchors | The northern sanctuary of the Templo Mayor, sacred mountains, springs, caves and reservoirs |
| Servitors | The tlaloque, rain-bringing divine attendants |
| Sacred signs | Thunder without visible cloud, frogs calling before rain, turquoise water, lightning-serpents and mountain mist descending against the wind |
| Campaign present | Trying to restore a stable rain cycle during the catastrophic drought and famine of 1 Rabbit while his priests confront increasingly desperate demands for intervention |
Divine Mechanics
Encounter role: battlefield controller / elemental sovereign. Tlāloc changes terrain, sightlines, movement and weather before he destroys anything outright. These are deity-scale manifestations; each edition tab is standalone.
Tlāloc — D&D 5.5e
Huge Celestial (Deity), Neutral
Epic CR 41 (campaign-scale; PB +13)
AC 29 · HP 1,144 (44d20 + 682) · Speed 50 ft., swim 120 ft., fly 120 ft. (hover)
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34 (+12) | 26 (+8) | 40 (+15) | 30 (+10) | 40 (+15) | 34 (+12) |
Saving Throws Str +25, Con +28, Wis +28, Cha +25. Skills Nature +28, Perception +28, Religion +23, Survival +28.
Damage Resistances acid, cold, thunder; bludgeoning, piercing and slashing from non-artifact attacks. Damage Immunities lightning, poison. Condition Immunities Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Paralyzed, Poisoned.
Senses Truesight 500 ft., tremorsense 300 ft., Passive Perception 38. Languages all; telepathy 3 miles.
Traits
Divine Resistance (5/Day). If Tlāloc fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.
Lord of Rain. Natural rain, fog and clouds never obscure Tlāloc’s vision. He can cause or end ordinary precipitation within 10 miles over 10 minutes.
Water Is a Road. Tlāloc moves through water without squeezing, may enter a body of water as small as a fountain and emerge from another body of water within 1 mile as part of the same move.
Mountain Thunder. Creatures that fail a save against Tlāloc’s lightning damage are Deafened until the end of their next turn and cannot take Reactions.
Divine Spellcasting
Wisdom is Tlāloc’s spellcasting ability (spell save DC 36, +28 to hit).
At will: call lightning, control water, create or destroy water, fog cloud, sleet storm, water breathing.
3/day each: chain lightning, control weather, ice storm, maelstrom, wall of water.
1/day each: earthquake, storm of vengeance, tsunami, wish.
Actions
Multiattack. Tlāloc makes three Lightning-Serpent attacks and one Thunder Jar attack.
Lightning-Serpent. Ranged Spell Attack: +28 to hit, range 600 ft.; Hit: 88 (12d10 lightning plus 4d10 thunder) damage.
Thunder Jar. Tlāloc hurls a burst of divine rain at a point within 300 feet. Creatures in a 30-foot radius make a DC 36 Strength save, taking 44 (8d10) bludgeoning damage and being pushed 40 feet and knocked Prone on a failure; half damage with no push on a success.
Open the Storm Jars (Recharge 5–6). Tlāloc chooses rain, hail, lightning or flood in a 120-foot-radius area within 300 feet. Rain heavily obscures and extinguishes exposed flame; hail deals 66 (12d10) cold/bludgeoning damage, Dexterity DC 36 half; lightning deals 88 (16d10) lightning, Dexterity DC 36 half; flood moves creatures up to 120 feet, Strength DC 36 negates.
Gate to Tlalocan (1/Day). Tlāloc opens a 30-foot-wide watery gate to Tlalocan for 1 minute. Allies that pass through regain 50 hit points and may re-enter the battlefield from another visible pool or water source within 300 feet.
Legendary Actions
- Mist Step. Move up to half speed without provoking Opportunity Attacks.
- Lightning-Serpent (Costs 2). Make one Lightning-Serpent attack.
- Flash Flood (Costs 2). A 30-foot line becomes rushing water; creatures make a DC 36 Strength save or move 30 feet and fall Prone.
- Mountain Thunder (Costs 3). Creatures of Tlāloc’s choice within 60 feet make a DC 36 Constitution save or take 55 (10d10) thunder damage and become Stunned until the end of their next turn.
Mythic Trait — Tlalocan Opens
Once per encounter, when Tlāloc would be reduced to 0 hit points, he instead regains 572 hit points. The battlefield becomes saturated for 1 minute: nonmagical fire is extinguished, enemy ground is difficult terrain, and Tlāloc regains 30 hit points at the start of each turn while touching water.
Divine Estate Actions — Tlalocan
- Green World. Plants erupt across a 90-foot radius, restraining enemies that fail a DC 36 Strength save.
- Four Rain Jars. Tlāloc changes all weather in the estate to rain, hail, lightning or clear sky.
- Mountain Mouth. A spring or cave opens as a portal between two places in the estate.
Tlāloc — Pathfinder 1e
CR 40; N Huge outsider (aquatic, divine, extraplanar)
Init +12; Senses true seeing 500 ft., tremorsense 300 ft.; Perception +64.
AC 68, touch 34, flat-footed 60; hp 1,120; Fort +46, Ref +39, Will +47; DR 30/epic; SR 53; immune electricity, poison, disease; resist acid 30, cold 30, sonic 30.
Speed 50 ft., swim 120 ft., fly 120 ft. (perfect). Melee storm sceptre +64/+59/+54/+49 (4d8+22 plus 6d6 electricity).
Domains Weather, Water, Earth, Plant. Subdomains Storms, Rivers, Growth, Seasons.
Rain Sovereignty (Su). Tlāloc sees perfectly through weather and may alter nonmagical precipitation within 10 miles.
Open the Storm Jars (Su) every 1d4 rounds: 120-ft. radius within 300 ft.; choose flood, hail or lightning; Reflex or Fortitude DC 45 as appropriate.
Spell-Like Abilities CL 40th. At will—call lightning, control water, fog cloud, sleet storm, water breathing; 3/day—chain lightning, control weather, ice storm, whirlwind; 1/day—earthquake, miracle, storm of vengeance.
Complete Pathfinder 1e Statistics
DEFENSE AC 68, touch 34, flat-footed 60; hp 1,120; Fort +46, Ref +39, Will +47; defensive abilities divine resilience, freedom of movement, regeneration 25 (artifact or opposing deity); DR 30/epic; SR 53.
OFFENSE Speed 50 ft., swim 120 ft., fly 120 ft. (perfect); Melee storm sceptre +64/+59/+54/+49; Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft.; Special Attacks divine blast, flood, hailstorm, lightning jars, mythic surge, weather mastery.
STATISTICS Str 34, Dex 26, Con 40, Int 30, Wis 40, Cha 34; Base Atk +48; CMB +66; CMD 94; Feats Combat Casting, Combat Reflexes, Elemental Focus (electricity), Greater Spell Focus (evocation), Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Quicken Spell-Like Ability, Skill Focus (Perception), Spell Focus (evocation), Toughness, Epic Fortitude, Epic Will, Epic Spell Focus; Skills Fly +60, Knowledge (nature) +61, Knowledge (planes) +61, Knowledge (religion) +61, Perception +64, Sense Motive +64, Spellcraft +61, Survival +64, Swim +70; Languages all, telepathy 3 miles; SQ divine rank 17, immortality, portfolio sense, remote communication.
Tlāloc — D&D 3.5e
Greater Deity; Divine Rank 17; N Huge Outsider (Aquatic, Extraplanar)
CR 41; Hit Dice 48d8+720; AC 68; Speed 50 ft., swim 120 ft., fly 120 ft. (perfect).
Portfolio rain, storms, water, agricultural fertility and water-linked death. Domains Weather, Water, Earth, Plant.
Salient Divine Abilities Alter Reality, Control Creatures (water), Divine Blast, Divine Earth Mastery, Divine Storm, Divine Water Mastery, Energy Burst (electricity), Life and Death, Shapechange.
Portfolio Sense. Tlāloc senses major droughts, floods, destructive storms and threats to sacred waters seventeen weeks before or after they occur.
Spell-Like Abilities. At will—call lightning, control water, fog cloud, sleet storm; 3/day—chain lightning, control weather, whirlwind; 1/day—earthquake, miracle, storm of vengeance. Caster level 41st.
Complete D&D 3.5e Statistics
Initiative +12; Armor Class 68, touch 36, flat-footed 60; Base Attack/Grapple +48/+68; Attack storm sceptre +64 melee; Full Attack +64/+59/+54/+49; Space/Reach 15 ft./15 ft.
Special Attacks salient divine abilities, divine aura, portfolio powers, spell-like abilities; Special Qualities divine immunities, DR 30/epic, electricity immunity, acid/cold/sonic resistance 30, SR 54, immortality, remote sensing, portfolio sense.
Saves Fort +46, Ref +39, Will +47; Abilities Str 34, Dex 26, Con 40, Int 30, Wis 40, Cha 34; Skills Concentration +66, Knowledge (nature) +61, Knowledge (planes) +61, Knowledge (religion) +61, Listen +64, Sense Motive +64, Spellcraft +61, Spot +64, Survival +64, Swim +70; Feats Combat Casting, Combat Reflexes, Great Fortitude, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Quicken Spell-Like Ability, Spell Focus (evocation), Epic Fortitude, Epic Will, Epic Spell Focus.
Environment Tlalocan, mountains, sacred waters and storm sites; Organization unique; Advancement —.
Worship in the Living World
Tlāloc’s cult is older and wider than the Mexica state. At Tenochtitlan his sanctuary occupies the northern summit of the Templo Mayor, where rain, food and agricultural life stand beside Huītzilōpōchtli’s war cult. Mountain shrines, springs and caves extend his sacred geography far beyond the city.
He is not simply a benevolent rain-giver. The same divine water that makes crops possible can arrive as hail, destructive storms or flood. His worship therefore recognises dependence rather than uncomplicated favour.
Mythic Identity
Tlāloc is recognised by the round or goggle-like eyes, fangs and water imagery that recur across central Mexican art. His tlaloque attendants participate in bringing rain to the earth, while Tlalocan is the verdant divine destination associated with him and with particular forms of water-linked death.
For adventurers, the important point is that water is a divine system: clouds, mountains, caves, springs, reservoirs and storms are connected. Damaging one sacred point can produce consequences far away.
Pantheon Realm — Tlalocan
Tlalocan is a green, saturated divine country of springs, mist, flowering vegetation and endless mountain water. Every stream seems to begin there. The realm is beautiful but not tame: thunderheads move like herds, floodwater can change a road in seconds, and the tlaloque guard the jars and channels through which rain reaches the mortal world.
What Is Tlāloc Doing Now?
The 1454 drought is the defining crisis of his cult. Years of failed rain, frost and hunger have pushed communities to exhaustion. In Tenochtitlan the northern sanctuary of the Templo Mayor receives increasingly urgent rites while the state attempts to keep people alive from stored food.
Tlāloc is not absent. Storms are forming over the mountains, but too many break as hail, dry winds or violent local downpours that do not restore the wider fields. He has ordered the tlaloque to inspect every sacred channel between Tlalocan and the Basin of Mexico. Priests, engineers and water-keepers are therefore seeing the same omen: cracked greenstone vessels filling themselves overnight, then emptying before dawn.
His immediate objective is to restore the path of useful rain. He rewards anyone who repairs springs, clears blocked channels, protects communal water and identifies magical interference. He does not promise gentle weather to those who merely demand it.
Domain Spells and Divine Gifts
Suggested 5.5e domains: Tempest, Nature. PF1e / 3.5e domains: Weather, Water, Earth, Plant.
1st: create or destroy water, fog cloud · 2nd: gust of wind, lesser restoration · 3rd: call lightning, sleet storm · 4th: control water, ice storm · 5th: maelstrom · 6th: chain lightning · 7th: whirlwind · 8th: control weather · 9th: storm of vengeance.
Divine Relic — Jar of the Four Rains
This original game relic is an echo of Tlāloc’s rain vessels. Once per day its bearer can pour out one of four forms of weather—gentle rain, heavy rain, hail or a single lightning strike. It ceases to function for a bearer who deliberately poisons a communal water source.
Regional Effects
- Frogs Speak Before Rain. Frogs and toads call several minutes before supernatural weather begins.
- Water Remembers Neglect. A polluted spring near a favoured Tlāloc site briefly shows reflected images of those responsible.
- Mountain Clouds Descend. Mist forms around sacred high places even when the surrounding lowlands remain dry.
Relationships
Huītzilōpōchtli: ritual neighbour at the Templo Mayor. The famine makes the balance between food and war brutally practical.
Quetzalcoatl-Ehecatl: wind moves the clouds and opens the path for rain; their portfolios meet in weather rather than simple hierarchy.
Tlaloque: the rain-bringing attendants who distribute Tlāloc’s waters and form the working machinery of his cultic weather.
Use Tlāloc Tonight
The Empty Rain Jar
A sacred vessel fills every night but is empty at sunrise. Following the lost water reveals a route beneath the city.
Hail on One Field
A single estate receives destructive hail while neighbouring fields remain untouched. Everyone assumes divine punishment; the real cause must be proved before retaliation begins.
The Mountain Channel
A spring shrine has collapsed, and three settlements downstream are days from losing their water. Repair means entering a cave the priests refuse to disturb.
Rain for a Price
A magician claims to have trapped one of the tlaloque and offers guaranteed rain to the highest bidder.
Deep Link Dive
Mesoamerican Pantheon
Return to the full cluster.
Druid
Use water, weather and living-land relationships in play.
Cleric
Build divine servants of rain, storm and sustenance.
Weather Domain
Continue into the site’s weather-focused divine magic.
Salient Divine Abilities
Use deity-scale powers beyond mortal rules.
Mexico and Central America
Place the cult in living geography.
Sources and Licensing
INAH identifies Tlāloc as an ancient rain deity whose rains sustain crops and whose storms can also destroy them, and places his sanctuary on the northern side of the Templo Mayor. Archaeological research also connects Tlāloc to Tlalocan, mountain water, the tlaloque and the severe drought crisis of 1454.
INAH — Templo Mayor · Museo del Templo Mayor — Tlāloc · INAH — drought of 1454
Historical and mythological material is presented from the cited sources. Encounter statistics, relic mechanics, regional effects and adventure hooks are original fantasy-RPG adaptations.
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