View source for Obad-Hai

{{Greyhawk Deity|fgcolor=#fff|
image=[[Image:Obad-Hai01.jpg]]|
caption=Obad-Hai, the Shalm, as depicted in ''Deities and Demigods'' (2002).|
bgcolor=#000|
fgcolor=#fff|
name=Obad-Hai|
title=The Shalm|
home=[[Outlands|Concordant Domain of the Outlands]]|
power=Intermediate|
gender=Male|
class=|
alignment=Neutral|
portfolio=Nature, Woodlands, Freedom, Hunting, Beasts|
domains=Air, Animal, Earth, Fire, Plant, Water, Weather|
alias=none|
super=none|
}}
'''Obad-Hai''' is the god of Nature, Woodlands, Freedom, Hunting, and Beasts, one of the most ancient known. He is also considered to be the god of summer by the [[Flan]]. Originally a Flan deity, Obad-Hai is most favored by druids and other nature priests. His holy symbol is a mask of oak leaves and acorns.

==Description==
Obad-Hai is most often depicted as a lean and weathered old man of indeterminate age, dressed in brown or russet. He carries a wooden staff called the ''Shalmstaff'', and is known for playing a woodwind instrument called a shalm or shawm. Obad-Hai can appear as a [[human]], [[dwarf]], [[gnome]], or [[halfling]], and has worshipers among all four races. He is also depicted in the forms of various animals or [[fey]].

==Relationships==
Obad-Hai has an unfriendly rivalry with [[Ehlonna]], and is the sworn enemy of [[Phyton]]. He is an enemy of the vile nature deity [[Karaan]]. The Shalm is often grouped with [[Beory]] and [[Berei]] among the agricultural gods of the Flan.

==Realm==
''The Hidden Wood of Obad-Hai'' is a patchwork of thick woods, open glades, and rolling fields. Explorers' notes place the Hidden Wood in several specific locations in the [[Outlands]], often near the gate-towns of Fortitude or Faunel. It's rarely found at all except by travelers who become lost in the woods, and by those souls who were dedicated to the Shalm during their mortal lives.

Obad-Hai's domain is nature in all its forms: wild and tamed, savage and domesticated. All four seasons exist simultaneously in balance within the Shalm's realm. In the space of a quarter-mile, snowfields give way to forests draped in fall color next to orchards heavy with fruit and newly plowed fields. Creatures encountered within the Hidden Wood tend to be axiomatic or anarchic, but include a large number of Prime Material Plane animals, beasts, and plants. These creatures are usually hostile to travelers, an attitude that Obad-Hai encourages.

The Shalm has changed the magic traits within his realm. Spells cast by druids here are enhanced, and all spells targeting animals or plants are heightened. He has the power to make other changes to the traits of his realm if he wishes.

Petitioners serving Obad-Hai appear human and have the abilities of typical Outlandish petitioners. In addition, they gain the ability to ''speak with animals'' and ''plants'' at will. Petitioners are often gardening, herding, hunting, pruning, planting, or harvesting. Great feasts are common within the Shalm's realm. 

==Dogma==
Obad-Hai teaches that one should live in harmony with nature, and that those who would damage the natural balance deserve swift vengeance. Obad-Hai's faith is colder and less compassionate than Ehlonna's, preaching death in balance with life. When followers of the Shalm hunt, they target the weak and sickly first.

==Worshipers==
[[Image:Obad-Hai04.jpg|108px|thumb|right|A symbol of Obad-Hai, as depicted in ''Deities and Demigods'' (2002).]]
Obad-Hai is revered by humans, dwarves, fey, gnomes, and halflings. His faith is strong among the Flan tribesmen in the [[Bright Lands]], in [[Geoff]], in the [[Gran March]], among the [[Rovers of the Barrens]], in [[Stonehold]], in [[Tenh]], in the [[County of Ulek]], and in [[Verbobonc]].

===Clergy=== 
Obad-Hai's clerics favor russet-colored clothing and simple quarterstaves. They have no hierarchy; all members are treated as equals. They keep to the wilderness and to themselves, rarely getting involved with society and often living as hermits. Most get along very well with rangers and druids.

===Druids===
Many druids of the [[Old Faith]] revere Obad-Hai. Druids of the Shalm are found within the [[Adri Forest]], where they are led by Archdruid [[Immonara]]. Archdruid [[Reynard Yargrove]] in the [[Sheldomar Valley]] is another worshiper of the Shalm.

==Temples==
[[Image:Obad-Hai03.jpg|106px|thumb|right|A symbol of Obad-Hai, as depicted in ''[[From the Ashes]]'' (1993).]]
Temples of Obad-Hai are wooden structures in rustic settings, almost invariably laden with oak trees. The god's shrines are often stone circles or circles of oaks deep in the wilderness.

[[StoneRing]] in the [[Domain of Greyhawk]] is often used as a site of worship by druids of Obad-Hai.

==Rituals==
Prayers in honor of the Shalm often begin with references to birth and growth and end with references to death and dying. Services involve the consecration of earth, fire, living flowers, and water. Rites in Obad-Hai's name are seasonal, often triggered by events such as the year's first birdsong or snowfall.

Worshipers of Obad-Hai work to protect the wilderness from dangers such as unnatural corruption or cataclysms, or from deforestation by woodcutters.

==Holy days==
Worshippers of Obad-Hai consider [[Summer Solstice|Midsummer's Night]] to be the holiest of all. All quarrels between the faith of the Shalm and other sects are set aside, and they join in celebration of the [[Oerth]] and the Balance they serve. This is considered the best night to harvest mistletoe.

==Artifacts and other associated magical items==
[[Image:Armor of Fallen Leaves01.jpg|202px|right|thumb|The ''Armor of Fallen Leaves'', as depicted in ''Complete Divine'' (2004).]]
The '''''[[Singing Stones of the Vesve]]''''' are a very ancient artifact of Obad-Hai taking the form of a stone circle that, according to divination, seems to be waiting angrily for some response. 

The '''''Armor of Fallen Leaves''''' is a relic sewn together from actual leaves by Ehlonna and presented as a gift to Obad-Hai during a time when they had better relations.

There are three '''''Staves of the Unyielding Oak'''''. These staves are actually treants who have willingly bound themselves to quarterstaff form in order to aid followers of the Shalm. They have the ability to reassume their treant forms at the command of their wielders.

==Myths and legends==
===Obad-Hai and the Summer Tree===
According to the ancient traditions of the [[Old Faith]], Obad-Hai is reborn every spring, hatching in the form of a young boy from the fruit of a sapling that grows from his own grave. By summer Obad-Hai takes the form of a strong young man, the Stag King, leading the Wild Hunt against those who would defile Nature. By autumn he has grown into the weathered old man of his standard depictions. When winter begins he is slain by [[Nerull]], who hangs his corpse on the Summer Tree. After seven days, [[Pelor]] cuts him down and buries him in the earth, where [[Beory]]'s tears cause a new sapling to grow, which drops the fruit that hatches into the young Obad-Hai once again in the spring.

==Obad-Hai in other media==
In the movie ''Dungeons & Dragons 2: Wrath of the Dragon God'', a priest of Obad-Hai is one of the main characters.

==Gallery==
[[Image:Obad-Hai02.jpg]]
[[Image:Obad-Hai05.jpg]]

==Bibliography==
*[[Brown, Anne]]. ''[[Player's Guide]]''. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 1998.

*Conforti, Steven, ed. ''[[Living Greyhawk]] Official Listing of Deities for Use in the Campaign,'' version 2.0. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2005. Available online:[http://www.wizards.com/rpga/downloads/LG_Deities.zip]

*[[Grubb, Jeff]], [[David Noonan]], and [[Bruce Cordell]]. ''Manual of the Planes.'' Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2001. 

*[[Gygax, Gary]]. "The Deities and Demigods of the [[World of Greyhawk]]." ''[[Dragon (magazine)|Dragon]]'' #69. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1982.
*-----. ''[[World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting]]''. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1983.

*[[Holian, Gary]], [[Erik Mona]], [[Sean K. Reynolds]], and [[Frederick Weining]]. ''[[Living Greyhawk Gazetteer]]''. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2000.

*Menge, Eric. "Power Groups: Druids of the [[Old Faith]]." ''Wizards of the Coast''. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2008. Available online:[http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=lg/lgpg/20080122a]

*[[Moore, Roger E]]. ''[[The Adventure Begins]]''. Renton, WA: TSR, 1998.

*[[Noonan, David]]. ''Complete Divine''.  Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2004.

*Perkins, Christopher. ''Warriors of Heaven''. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 1999. 

*Redman, Rich, [[Skip Williams]], and [[James Wyatt]]. ''Deities and Demigods''. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2002.

*[[Sargent, Carl]]. ''[[From the Ashes]]''. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1993.

*[[Jim Ward|Ward, James M]]. ''[[Greyhawk Adventures]]''. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1988.


[[Category:Dwarven deities]]
[[Category:Flan deities]]
[[Category:Gnome deities]]
[[Category:Gods of freedom]]
[[Category:Gods of hunting and archery]]
[[Category:Halfling deities]]
[[Category:Human deities]]
[[Category:Nature deities]]
[[Category:Seasonal deities]]
[[Category:Sylvan deities]]