Six from Shadow
| Six from Shadow | |
|---|---|
| Type: | Adventuring party |
| Leader: | Unknown |
| Members: | Six legendary adventurers |
| Symbol: | Unknown |
| Headquarters: | Unknown |
| Allies: | The Disciples of Legend |
| Enemies: | Ampathzeredes, Tharizdun, the Fleshless Brethren |
The Six from Shadow were a legendary party of adventurers who are said to have played a role in the imprisonment of Tharizdun.
History
Long ago, an army of heroes from every faith moved against the mortal cult of Tharizdun while their deities sought to imprison the Dark God in a far plane. When the dust cleared after the battle, only six remained of the army. These six, who became known as the Six from Shadow, ventured into the depths of Tharizdun's greatest temple and went on to defeat many other evils, from the dracolich Ampathzeredes, who sought to become the heir of Vecna, to an invading army of duergar. Decades later, half the company was destroyed by a group of Juiblex cultists known as the Fleshless Brethren. The remaining three went their separate ways and were chronicled no more.
According to the Monster Manual IV, Tharizdun was imprisoned long before the birth of the Princes of Elemental Evil. Because the princes fought at the Battle of Pesh, this must have been very long ago indeed, in the so-called Age Before Ages. Yet the Six must have lived much more recently, since the betrayal of Vecna by Kas at the earliest. It has been suggested[1] that the Six were time travelers, and/or that this imprisonment of Tharizdun represented a more recent sealing away of one of the Dark God's avatars, as Tsojcanth is said to have played a part in doing.
A century ago, a group called the Disciples of Legend formed to research and emulate the Six from Shadow. The Disciples have suppressed knowledge of the gods worshiped by the six for fear that doing so would discourage those of incompatible faiths from emulating their deeds.
Members
The Six from Shadow included:
- Dardallion of Greyhawk
- The devout Imdastri of the Heavens
- The sagely Ktolemagne Sky-Reader
- The relentless Orsos the Black
- The brutish but brilliant Sunyartra Eight-Fingers
- Lord Marshal Sir Reikhardt of Geoff
Creative origins
The story of the Six from Shadow conforms with the background of the Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun adventure, which stated:
- The Temple was built in a previous age, a secret place of worship to Tharizdun, He of Eternal Darkness. It drew the most wicked persons to it, and the cult flourished for generations, sending out its minions from time to time to enact some horrible deed upon the lands around. However, a great battle eventually took place between Tharizdun and those opposed to his evil. Unable to destroy him, they were strong enough to overcome his power and imprison him somewhere, by means none have ever been able to discover. Thus Tharizdun disappeared from the face of the earth, and from all of the other known planes, and has not been seen again since.
Gary Gygax has since said [2] he believes the Temple in the Yatils was built after the Twin Cataclysms, and that the Tharizdun involved with the temple was a lesser avatar of the true, imprisoned being.
The Six from Shadow were first described in the book Complete Champion (2007). They had not been named as individuals or as a group prior to then.
Bibliography
- Gygax, Gary. The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1982.
- Kestral, Gwendolyn. Monster Manual IV. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2007.
- Stark, Ed, Chris Thomasson, Ari Marmell, Rhiannon Louve, and Gary Astleford. Complete Champion. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2007.
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.
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