Lei Kung

Lei Kung, also known as the Duke of Thunder or the Thunder God, was a minor god of thunder and vengeance who served the Celestial Emperor in the Celestial Empire, the dominant religion of Kara-Tur, particularly Shou Lung.Many of the deities detailed in Oriental Adventures and Kara-Tur: The Eastern Realms were referred to simply by their titles, expecting readers to infer which deities in Legends & Lore they were intended to be. Lei Kung is assumed to be the same deity as the "Thunder God" detailed in those sourcebooks, as they share the same portfolios and are punishers of wrongdoers. 
==Avatar==
Lei Kung's avatar was an ugly brute with blue or smoking black skin, a large nose, two large tusks, eyes with puils that resembled lightning bolts, claws, and wings that were red and spotted with a span of . He was typically clad in only a belt and loincloth, but sometimes wore +3 plate mail.
==Personality==
Lei Kung was a vicious, vengeful, and and malicious individual. He had infamous tantrums. And he derived enjoyment from inflicting pain upon wrongdoing mortals and spirits alike. This sadism was so strong, that if he ever ran out of deserving victims Lei Kung would resort to going after those who were merely accused of wrongdoing, whether those accusations were true or false.
==Abilities==
The avatar of Lei Kung was impervious to harm from attacks based around water, electrity, or thunderous sound. It could cast druidic spells, but only those from the elemental or weather spheres.
==Possessions==
Lei Kung possessed an enchanted pair of drums, green in coloration, that he hung from his belt. When struck, these drums unleashed an effect similar to a horn of blasting and drums of panic. He also typically carried around a hammer and a chisel, which he used as weapons to strike criminals dead. The former unleashed electricity upon those it struck and had a +4 enchantment.
==Activities==
Lei Kung had several duties as a deity in the Celestial Empire. He was in charge of thunder during storms, making foul weather at the request of other members of the Celestial Empire in order to teach their worshipers a lesson. He delighted in windstorms that destroyed beautiful or valuable things of fragile quality.
More importantly, when instructed to do so by the Celestial Emperor, Lei Kung punished those who committed crimes not governed by mortal law and hunted down evil spirits that dominated mortal bodies, such as the wicked hu hsien. Regardless of whether they were a mortal or spirit, Lei Kung brutally punished wrongdoers the same.
==Realm==
He resided in the plane of Acheron, on the layer of Avalas. His divine realm there, Resounding Thunder, was a thundercloud island that he had devised. The sound of thunder in Acheron always signalled the appraoch of this free-floating realm. Standing atop the cloud was a small temple, sites of punishment like prisons and execution grounds, various residential homes roofed with green or black tiles, and a palace, known as the Firecracker Palace or Exploding Palace, where he rested in when not out doing his duties. The roads of this realm were paved in dark red bricks and were lit by bright green lanterns.
Being the only divine realm in Acheron not devoted to war, Resounding Thunder acted as a sanctuary for the many deserters, traitors, and cowardly individuals who would flee from the ongoing wars between Gruumsh and Maglubiyet. Such individuals would convert to his faith and devote their time to defending his borders, gaining the allegiance of others, or scouting for approaching armies.
Whenever the Great Modron March made its scheduled sojourn through the Avalas layer of Acheron, Lei Kung guaranteed the modrons safe passage through Resounding Thunder.
==Worshipers==
The priests of Kei Lung's faith typically wielded hammers and javelins. They wore black leather as part of their priestly vestments. They also had skills like that of a thief and access to spells from the all, combat, elemental, sun, and weather spheres.
His priests dedicated their lives to ferreting out the misdeeds of others, even minor ones. To this end, they often worked as informers or spies, but were sometimes asked to assist Lei Kung in tracking down spirits that had assumed the form of a man. It was deemed sometimes permissible for a cleric of Lei Kung to attribute false misdeeds to their enemies, though doing so was considered a minor misdeed and thus had to be done in secrecy.
On the Kara-Turan calendar, Kei Lung had a holy day on the month of Kao II.
==Appendix==
===Notes===
===Appearances===
:;Adventures
::Black Courser
:;
::The Great Modron March
===External Links===
* 
===References===
Category:Deities
Category:Lawful evil deities
Category:Human deities
Category:Members of the Celestial Bureaucracy
Category:Inhabitants of Avalas
Category:Inhabitants of Acheron
Category:Inhabitants of the Planes of Law
Category:Inhabitants of the Lower Planes
Category:Inhabitants of the Outer Planes
Category:Inhabitants of the Great Wheel planes
Category:Inhabitants of masculine gender