Otis
| Otis | |
|---|---|
| General info | |
| Home: | Hommlet |
| Alignment: | Neutral Good |
| Gender: | Male |
| Species: | Human |
| Class: | Ranger 10 |
| Dates | |
| Age: | Unknown |
Otis was a ranger, a Knight Bachelor of Veluna, and a former member of the Citadel of Eight. He helped battle the second rising of the Temple of Elemental Evil.
Description
Otis was a powerful man with large hands and a bushy beard.
Relationships
Otis has a brother, Elmo. As a member of the Citadel of Eight, Otis is the former adventuring companion of Murfles, Mordenkainen, Bigby, Riggby, Robilar, Serten, Tenser, and Yrag. He ventured with Y'dey and Elmo (among others) into the Temple of Elemental Evil.
History
Otis was recruited into the Citadel of Eight sometime after 561 CY, when he was still a young man. In time, he became frustrated with what he saw as his companions' preoccupation with dungeons, dragons, and treasure-hunting. He left the group and never returned to it, although he retained an association with Tenser [Dragon #37, p.30].
In 579 CY, Otis was living incognito in Nulb as an ordinary blacksmith, secretly watching the Temple of Elemental Evil for suspicious activity. With his brother Elmo and the priestess Y'dey he joined a party of adventurers in order to put a stop to the Temple's second rising. He died during the adventure, and Y'dey was not able to get to his body in time to resurrect him [RttEE, p.10].
Otis was also said to have been part of the Army of Good that drove Robilar from his castle in the Domain of Greyhawk in retribution for his freeing of Zuggtmoy [ToEE, page 28]. Perhaps he returned to the Temple and died there afterwards, or perhaps either RttEE or ToEE is simply wrong.
Character Origin
Luke Gygax has discussed his previous characters on various forums, but, perhaps the most notable regarding Otis is from GaryCon, the convention celebrating his father's work:
"I started playing Otis back in the early 1970s. I was probably 4 years old and wanted to play with all the big guys. Dad allowed me to roll for the NPCs sometimes. The party had just entered the Village of Hommlett and had hired a number of men-at-arms to help then explore the keep int he area. One of the men-at-arms was actually a 1st level ranger sent to spy on the group and see what their intentions were- Otis. The party did not know this right away and only discovered it later during the adventure. I don't recall who was at the table, but I imagine it was Ernie, Rob for sure and perhaps Mike Ratner, Jim Ward, Mike Menard and others that escape my memory. I played Otis as a "tank" in today's terms, which was perfect for a young player. I played Otis in the Giant series, Drow series and even made an excursion into the Tomb of Horrors. I retired Otis as a 10th level Ranger Lord. Shortly thereafter I switched to Melf." —Melf, Jul 6, 2009[1]"
References
Citations
- ↑ Gygax, Luke. “Otis.” Gary Con Forums, Jul 6. 2009
Bibliography
- Cook, Monte. Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2001.
- Gygax, Gary. "Greyhawk: The shape of the world." Dragon #37. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, May 1980.
- Gygax, E. Gary and Frank Mentzer. The Temple of Elemental Evil. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1985.
- Mona, Erik, and Gary Holian. "Wheels Within Wheels: Greyhawk's Circle of Eight." Living Greyhawk Journal #0. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2000. Archived online
Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index
The Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index (EGI) is based on previous work of Jason Zavoda through '08, continued by numerous other fans. The EGI article has a list of sources, product names, abbreviations, and a link to the full, downloadable index.
| Topic | Type | Description | Product | Page/Card/Image
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hypnotism (LVL1) | Spell | Spell (Illusionist), | Player's Handbook, AD&D 1e | 42, 95 |
| Otis the ranger | Non-player character | [R10], | Dragon magazine #037 | 30 |
| Otis the ranger | Non-player character | [R10], | Living Greyhawk Journal #0 | 5 |
| Otis the ranger | Non-player character | [R10], | Oerth Journal #07 | 42 |
| Otis the ranger | Non-player character | [R10], | Oerth Journal #10 | 65 |
| Otis the ranger | Non-player character | [R10], | Oerth Journal #16 | 77 |
| Otis the ranger | Non-player character | [R10], | Oerth Journal #25 | 15 |
| Otis the ranger | Non-player character | [R10], | Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil, D&D 3.0e | 9, 10 |
| Otis the ranger | Non-player character | [R10], | T1-4 The Temple of Elemental Evil | 6, 7, 8, 28, 31, 32, 34 |
| Otis the skeleton | Non-player character | Oerth Journal #29 | 3,13 |