Griff's Aztec Alley: Tezcatlipoca

Ah, Tezcatlipoca.  The god we love to hate.  Or hate to love.  Tezcatlipoca, in the raw, is kind of a mess of associated powers, possessing Epic Appearance, Epic Charisma, Epic Dexterity, Epic Manipulation, Epic Wits, Animal (Jaguar), Darkness, Itztli, Magic, Moon, Mystery, Prophecy, Sun, War, and Kitchen Sink.  

While ridiculous, the vast amount of powers granted to Tezcatlipoca is not entirely inaccurate.  More so than any other Aztec deity, Tezcatlipoca was seen as omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent.  He was considered one of the Four Tezcatlipocas, the black one in particular, associated with the northern cardinal direction, alongside Quetzalcoatl (the White Tezcatlipoca, associated with the east), Xipe Totec (the Red Tezcatlipoca, associated with the west), and Huitzilopochtli (the Blue Tezcatlipoca, associated with the south).  

In Scion terms, the best explanation for this is that “Tezcatlipoca” is just a title and the Black Tezcatlipoca’s real name is a secret.  However, in historical terms, this was probably the Nahua way of saying that all those other awesome gods are also Tezcatlipoca, that’s how awesome he is.  

So, rather than try and pare down the powers from what we have given, I’m going to look at Tezcatlipoca from the myths associated with him and work from there...