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===Encounter with an iron golem===
===Encounter with an iron golem===


One of the most well-told stories of Mordenkainen's is his encounter with an iron golem in a campaign run by Rob Kuntz. Recollections of this story vary between times and individuals. An early recollection appeared in ''Wargamer's Digest'' #7, dated May 1974, an article reprinted in Dungeon #112 in July 2004. It recalls that Mordenkainen was level 13, and accompanied by Bigby, at level 11.
One of the most well-told stories of Mordenkainen's is his encounter with an iron golem in a campaign run by Rob Kuntz. Recollections of this story vary between times and individuals. An early recollection appeared in ''Wargamer's Digest'' #7, dated May 1974, an article reprinted in Dungeon #112 in July 2004. It recalls that Mordenkainen was level 13, and accompanied by Bigby, at level 11. This campaign pre-dated the official release of D&D, taking place in 1973.<ref>Kuntz: "The eight dimensions (from the original "Iron Golem" adventure 1973 that EGG--as Mordenkainen/Yrag/Bigby--played in) were indeed covered, but also via the tablets he found within the main room (i.e., carved coral tablets not included in the published WG5). These indicated/lead to off-world/Kalibruhn/dimensional realms, and were not planar locales (i.e., the planes of our own known dimension)." [https://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=106&t=16993&p=1309507 Q&A with Rob Kuntz]. Dragonsfoot forums, Dec 12, 2012.</ref>


Mordenkainen and Bigby entered the fourth level of a dungeon, in a room identified as the Great Hall, featuring great pillars of ivory some fifty feet high and ten feet in diameter. There, among two smaller iron statues, they encountered an iron golem wielding a poisoned sword in one hand and a whip tipped with cockatrice feathers in the other. Mordenkainen and Bigby flew to atop a tower, and attempted to trap the with ''rock to mud'', only to discover that the iron golem also had the ability of levitation, as well as to breathe fire.
Mordenkainen and Bigby entered the fourth level of a dungeon, in a room identified as the Great Hall, featuring great pillars of ivory some fifty feet high and ten feet in diameter. There, among two smaller iron statues, they encountered an iron golem wielding a poisoned sword in one hand and a whip tipped with cockatrice feathers in the other. Mordenkainen and Bigby flew to atop a tower, and attempted to trap the with ''rock to mud'', only to discover that the iron golem also had the ability of levitation, as well as to breathe fire.

Revision as of 13:55, 23 August 2020

"Perhaps it was madness that compelled me to scry into the Abyss, or perhaps it was my ever growing hunger for knowledge. Both, I think, are equal curses."
—Mordenkainen, Codex of Mordenkainen


Greyhawk Character
Mordenkainen
Mordenkainen, as depicted on the cover of Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk (2007), art by Michael Kormarck
Names and titles
Title(s):Lord Mage of Greyhawk
General info
Occupation:Leader of the Circle of Eight
Home:Yatil Mountains
Former home:Wild Coast
Alignment:Neutral
Gender:Male
Species:Human
Ethnicity:Oeridian
Class:Wizard
Dates
Age:82 (as of 591 CY)
Birthdate:509 CY

Mordenkainen is one of the most well-known and most powerful wizards in the Flanaess. A master of high-level magic, Mordenkainen retired from a decades-spanning adventuring career to found the Circle of Eight, a cabal of powerful mages dedicated to maintaining balance in Oerth. Spells bearing his name are known across hundred worlds.[1]

Mordenkainen's name is pronounced "MOR-den-kay-nen", with "kai" pronounced to rhyme with "day" or "weigh".[2] He is occasionally referred to by the appellation Mordenkainen the Mage.[3] In other realms, he is known as Mordenkainen of Oerth or the Lord Mage of Greyhawk.[4]

Description

Appearance

Mordenkainen is a male who appears to be in his forties, although his true age is around twice that. His most notable figure are his piercing eyes, behind which lie a volatile sense of genius tinged with madness; lesser individuals are readily persuaded by his gaze alone. He has brown eyes and black hair, though of late he has begun shaving his head bald. His dark beard is streaked with a little grey, and is kept neatly trimmed to a point.[5][6] His facial features are craggy, wise, and alert, likened to a hawk looking for its prey.[7]

Mordenkainen stands 5'11" tall. He typically dresses in traditional robes and wears black satin coats, lined with red,[5] or fine dark red cloak. [8] He is known to wear high collared robes of gray,[7] or robes of black or brown with silver decorative threading. He often disguises as a humble merchant when traveling alone,[6] as when he travels to to the village of Bar Strannach along the Jalpa to Rel Deven highway, to consult the prophetic riddles recorded in the Lays of Bar Strannach.[9][10]

His voice is deep, and melodic.[7]

Personality and alignment

"The world need not be, nor cannot be swallowed by the Abyss or drawn into the Heavens. In so doing, its destruction is assured. Oerth is Oerth, a place for all and any, and there are but few who can act to assure that it remains so. I resolve to be one of them."
—Mordenkainen, The Codex of Mordenkainen, Sunsebb 551 CY

Mordenkainen commonly takes a harsh and serious tone. For example, in a meeting of the Circle of Eight, when Jallarzi Sallavarian noted Drawmij's growing eccentricity with age, Mordenkainen was quick to scold her for her rudeness. He is irritated when his authority is questioned,[5] though his judgements are rarely disputed. He is frequently stubborn and difficult to work with, and does not suffer fools gladly.[6] He considers idealism a flaw in others.[11]

He is bold and decisive in carrying out his plans, thorough, resourceful, and a skilled leader.[12] He reacts angrily to insults, silliness, or disrespect, and is quick to dispense witty insults when offended. Otherwise, he treats those he deals with with respect, though he rarely if ever treats others as an equal.[13] Despite his stern tone, however, he is not entirely without a sense of humor.[8]

He enjoys debate, at which he is skilled. His emotions have been known overwhelm him in the rare occasions in which he fears defeat.[5] He can be volatile, a trait disliked by his former ally Rary the Traitor, who considers the Mordenkainen too obsessed with petty intrigues and debate rather than the acquisition of power.[14] He typically listens more than he talks,[6] keeps an open mind, and is quick to share pertinent information.[13]

Mordenkainen often acts in secrecy, manipulating politics of the Flanaess from behind the scenes.[15] He is suspicious in nature, a trait which has served him well in numerous occasions.[16] In his later years, he has begun to show signs of paranoia, applying Mordenkainen's disjunction to wands and staves which might one day be used against him.[17]

He feels a great responsibility to Oerth, though he has little interest in protecting other worlds, a task he leaves to their inhabitants. Despite his vast experience and a growing cynicism with age, he is still joyed by the wonder of magic, even relatively well-known items like Quaal's feather token or the portable hole.[18]

Mordenkainen is true neutral in alignment, embracing a strict philosophy of Balance.[19] Mordenkainen's philosophy of neutrality is a detailed formal theory derived from decades of arcane research. He has worked both good and evil to further his aims of maintaining stability in the Flanaess.[15]

Religion

Mordenkainen is known to have prayed to Boccob from time to time.[5]

He is critical of the role of deities on Oerth.[20]

Mordenkainen holds a certain reverence for Zagig Yragerne, considering that mage's study in the Guild of Wizardry to be sacred ground. He once made an oath to Zagig, pledging that he would never again enter Castle Greyhawk, an oath he kept.[19]

Abilities

Spellcasting mastery

Mordenkainen is without a doubt one of the most powerful wizards in the Flanaess, if not the most powerful.[19][21] He is of exceptional intelligence, and has mastered the ultimate ninth level of spells, by some accounts knowing forms of magic even more powerful than that.[22]

Powerful spells used by to Mordenkainen include time stop, mind blank, true seeing, Mordenkainen's magnificent mansion, Mordenkainen's faithful hound (and other spells of his invention), and Bigby's hand (a creation of his apprentice).[23] He has a tendency to appear suddenly as if from thin air, taking enemies by surprise.[24]

He sometimes communicates with agents from the distance in illusory form, projected by a ring carried by an agent.[13] In other instances, he appears to people via a simulacrum designed to impersonate him.[25]

Mordenkainen is known on countless worlds for spells of his own creation, which bear his name (see spells, below, for a full list).

Mordenkainen possesses a deep understanding of the nature of magic. While most wizards understand magic as a form of instructions for manipulating reality, Mordenkainen understands magic and the mundane to be part of the same continuum, and that the common understanding of magecraft to barely scratches the surface of the true nature of reality. However, he concedes that this ultimately cannot be truly understood, except perhaps by deities.[20]

Other abilities

"We who hold discourse with demons and cull reagents from corpses should not be so effete that we fear calluses upon our palms. Indeed, every wizard should take note of the use of martial weapons. If nothing else, you will understand as you die why you should have ducked instead of parried."
—Mordenkainen, Magnificent Emporium[26]

Mordenkainen's command of magical knowledge and obscure lore is unmatched in the Flanaess. His name is frequently uttered in reference to pieces of magical lore known only by a handful of exceptionally learned individuals.[27]

He has some skill with melee weapons, having used various weapons to great effect during his career. He considers a basic understanding of armed combat to be of great use to adventuring wizads.[26]

Home

Mordenkainen occupies the Obsidian Citadel, a fortified complex in the Yatil Mountains. Its location is a closely guarded secret, known to only to himself, Tenser and Bigby. It is protected against accidental discovery by terrain, weather, illusions, and magical effects which cause a searcher to become easily lost. A certain single-use magical amulet allows it to be located once only. It is immune to entry by teleportation and similar magic. It is likewise exceptionally well guarded, including by an army of elite dwarves, gnomes, and humans.[6]

Mordenkainen has other bases of operations, including the plane-traveling Tower of Urm, a small iron fortress which he took with him to Avernus in order to study the planar effects of the Nine Hells in modifying magic. Mordenkainen had a rival in the Nine Hells, a tall human wizard, but that individual was eaten by a barlgura demon named Ubbalux.[25]

Equipment and possessions

Mordenkainen possesses a great number of significant magic items. Among them are bracers of defense, a ring of protection, a bag of holding, a carpet of flying, a crystal ball, a dagger more effacious against giant creatures, pearls of power, and wands of fear and frost. [6] He possesses an efreeti bottle, and numerous scrolls and potions of his own creation.[12]

He possesses the Silver Key of Portals, a silver skeleton key created by the god Dalt; his rediscovery of this item led to a resurgence in the obscure deity's popularity. Among his other powerful magic items are a staff of fiery power, a rod of absorption, a pink ioun stone (enhancing his constitution), a ring of protection, and a ring of wizardry.[22] He himself crafted a similar item, the Arcane Key.[28]

He sometimes wears a Robe of Useful Items when in his tower, for the convenience of having useful items to hand.[29]

Mordenkainen's library is believed to contain a copy of nearly every spell known to mages of Oerth, with the exception of certain carefully-guarded signature named spells created by individual wizards. It also contains numerous works on history and politics, as well as reports written by many of his aides.[6] He is quick to add new arcane spells to his library as they are discovered.[22]

Mordenkainen once owned a galleon, which he used to sail across the Azure sea in his adventuring days. Unfortunately, the ship sank in a ferocious storm, taking with it such treasure as an apparatus of Kwalish, with a marilith demon bound to guard it. It now rests some hundred feet below the waves in an unknown location.[30]

Relationships

Enemies

Iuz has long hated Mordenkainen, as have his underlings, particularly the archmage Kermin Mind-Bender.[5]

Mordenkainen holds great enmity for Rary, a long-time schemer who betrayed him by attacking the Circle of Eight in 584 CY, slaying Tenser and Otiluke; as well as Lord Robilar, whose betrayal took Mordenkainen by surprise.[5] A rumor holds that Robilar is Mordenkainen's bastard son, though it is unsubstantiated.[31]

Mordenkainen's personal philosophy of neutrality and meddling in affairs of the Flanaess with have made him a huge number of enemies, including former allies Evard the Black and Terik. He is distrusted by various factions. The neutral-aligned Hierophants of the Cabal find his concept of Balance self-centered and arbitrary.[5]

Mordenkainen is hated by the evil archmage Reydrich, who has long held a grudge ever since his application to join the Circle of Eight was rejected.[32]

He has a distrust of warlocks, due to their connection to dangerous extraplanar beings.[33]

Allies and minions

Mordenkainen controls the Circle of Eight, a cabal of eight powerful mages formed to preserve balance in the Flanaess after the rise of Iuz the Old. He and the Circle possess a powerful network of agents, secretly influencing events across the Flanaess, although they are far from omniscient.[15] Among his known agents are the wealthy fighter Cendol Fallow,[34], mercenary turned political activist Gustin Longspike,[35] and the snow barbarian ranger Kendyra of the North.[16]

He is an ally of Ravel Dasinder, high cleric of Boccob in the City of Greyhawk.[36]

He also possesses a private army, the Obsidian Citadel, who guard his secret fortress of the same name. Notable defenders of his fortress include a very old silver dragon who occasionally serves Mordenkainen as a mount, a clan of stone giants who helped to build the citadel, the griffon-riding fighter lords Eraj and Felnorith, a clan of cloud giants, and a considerable army of loyal elite dwarves, gnomes, and humans.[6]

His apprentices have included the now legendary Bigby, and more recently the candid Rautheene.[37] The apprenticeship of Qort[18] ended after he stole a copy of Mordenkainen's work Magnificent Emporium, then slew Mordenkainen's seven other apprentices to keep it a secret.[38]

Mordenkainen occasionally sponsors adventurers whose skill impresses him. Such missions range from the mundane to to the exceptionally deadly, though all ultimately support his schemes in some unknown way.[39] He has sponsored adventuring parties in the Valley of the Mage, all of which had high casualties.[40]

Mordenkainen is an ally of Ravel Dasiner, Patriarch of Boccob in the City of Greyhawk.[41] He works with Kondradis Bubka at the Guild of Wizardry in Greyhawk to identify items. In exchange, he taught him the spell Mordenkainen's lucubration.[6]

Mordenkainen has a connection to the Highfolk, and would likely protect it in invasion.[42]

Other acquaintances

Tenser was once a strong ally of Mordenkainen, but left due to political disagremeent over Mordenkainen's agenda.[15] Melf does not consider himself an ally of Mordenkainen, though the two quietly have mutual respect for one another.[43]

Mordenkainen is known to have visited the world of Earth, and has met great mages of other worlds. Among those with whom is is acquainted are Elminster of Faerûn,[7], Dalamar of Krynn,[44] Fistandantilus of Krynn,[45] and Shaan the Serpent Queen of Faeruˆn,[24] and the apprentice Savengriff of Faerûn.[24] He is a particular friend of Elminster, who keeps tabs on Mordenkainen's welldoing.[24]

Mordenkainen is friendly with the eccentric and ancient storyteller Gwydiesen of the Cranes, whose knowledge may exceed Mordenkainen's.[46] He is frequently visited by the hero-deity Heward, and is close with Keoghtom and Murlynd.[47]

He enjoys discussions about magical research,[48] and often communicates by written letter to learned individuals whose rare knowledge is invaluable. Among them are Heward,[49] Otto, Elayne Mystica of Irongate, Khelben "Blackstaff" Arunsun of Faerûn, and priestess Johanna of Almor.[50]

He is not known for his relationships, though he once competed with Vangerdahast of Faerûn for the hand of an extra-planar beauty.[51] His fame in Greyhawk makes it difficult to openly carry on relationships there, though since he first mastered planar travel he has enjoyed virtual anonymity in Waterdeep in Faerûn for recreation.[8]

History

Early life

Mordenkainen was born circa 509 CY[5][52] in the Wild Coast.[53]

It is known to only a few that Mordenkainen is of Oeridian descent, related to House Cranden of the Great Kingdom of Aerdy; other notable figures who share this honor include the hero-goddess Johydee, Tuerny the Merciless, the lawmaker Schandor, and Mordenkainen's own apprentice Bigby.[54] He is distantly related to Heward, who in turn is a distant relative of Zagig Yragerne.[47]

He has lived in various places around the Flanaess, including the Wild Coast, the Free City of Greyhawk, and Highfolk.[5]

Adventuring career

According to writings in the Codex of Mordenkainen, he began developing his philosophy of neutrality at least as far back as 551 CY.[5]

Mordenkainen first explored the infamous Castle Greyhawk circa 557 CY in the company of his apprentice Bigby, the warrior Lord Robilar, and the cleric Riggby. No fewer than a dozen other compatriots were slain in adventuring.[55] The four are among only thirteen individuals who have made it to the eighth level beneath Zagig's Tower of Magic since 409 CY.[56]

In 561 CY, Mordenkainen established an adventuring group known as the Citadel of Eight, modeled after the Company of Seven once founded by former Lord Mayor of Greyhawk Zagig Yragerne. This group explored the central Flanaess with the goal of uncovering lost treasures and knowledge of fallen civilizations. Among its members were the legendary warrior Lord Robilar, and Tenser, a good-aligned mage whose disagreement Mordenkainen's philosophy of balance ultimately led to the Citadel's dissolution.[55]

Mordenkainen continued to adventure with Robilar across the Flanaess, visiting such distant places as the City of the Gods in the northern wastes and the Amedio jungle of the south.[55][5] The political activism of Mordenkainen's group began as early as 569 CY, when he and his allies directed adventures to destroy the Temple of Elemental Evil.[57]

At an unknown point, Mordenkainen rediscovered the forgotten minor Suel deity Dalt, god of doors and locks, when he discovered one of Dalt's artifacts. Mordenkainen was almost single-handedly responsible for the revival of this deity's popularity in the Flanaess.[58] Mordenkainen also visited other planes, discovering the sealed seventh layer of the Abyss, known as the Phantom Plane.[59]

Mordenkainen's exploration of Castle Greyhawk in particular spanned some thirteen years (c. 557-570 CY), and resulted in the discovery of the Godtrap, an artifact created by Zagig Yragerne to steal the divine power from nine captured demigods. Zagig had used this artifact c. 505 CY to ascend to divinity, becoming the deity Zagyg. The captured demigods were still imprisoned some 65 years later when discovered by Mordenkainen.[55][60]

Fearing that others would the Godtrap, Mordenkainen recruited Lord Robilar to put it beyond use by freeing and assassinating the imprisoned demigod Iuz the Old. Robilar, accompanied only by his orc henchman Quij and the cleric Riggby, resolved to accomplish this task. However, just as he dispelled the barriers holding Iuz, he was interrupted by an party composed of Tenser, Bigby and the warrior Neb Retnar, who opposed Mordenkainen's assassination plan on moral grounds. The attempt to slay Iuz failed, with the six adventurers barely escaping with their lives. In the battle, the dungeon level was collapsed and the remaining gods were freed.[55]

Mordenkainen himself did not personally take part in this battle, intending to avoid the scorn of good-aligned allies like Tenser who objected to the assassination attempt, while also avoiding Iuz's vengeance should the plan fail.[55] However, he did gift Robilar the Blade of Black Ice shortly before the attempt, a freezing sword crafted by Iuz himself.[61]

Circle of Eight

Yrag, Mordenkainen, Bigby, and Riggby, as depicted in Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure (1984).

Feeling resposible for the release of Iuz, Mordenkainen recruited several of his former Citadel allies into a new organization, the Circle of Eight.[55] Formed in Fireseek of 571 CY, its original members included such now-legendary figures as Bigby, Otto, Rary, Nystul, Drawmij, and Bucknard. Mordenkainen met Alhamazad the Wise around this time, though he would not join the Circle for nearly twenty years.[5]

This cabal of eight powerful mages, subtly controlled by Mordenkainen, foiled many of Iuz's schemes between 571 and 581 CY.[55] They acted both directly and indirectly, often quietly sponsoring adventurers to undertake quests such as the raid on the Tsojcanth Caverns in the mid-570s CY. Members also took part in significant adventuring and personal quests.[5]

In 575 CY, Mordenkainen rescued a group of cloud giants from a flight of evil dragons. The giants have subsequently offered their assistance to protect his citadel. Many such groups rescued by Mordenkainen now serve in his armies out of gratitude.[6]

Mordenkainen's policy of distancing himself from the operations of the Circle paid off in 581 CY, when the lich Vecna slew the entire Circle. Mordenkainen led his lesser allies in a failed attempt to prevent Vecna's ascension to divinity. Mordenkainen then dedicated his efforts to cloning the members of the Circle and returning them to life, a slow process which limited his ability to prevent the outbreak of the Greyhawk Wars in 582 CY. However, its members did have significant impact on major events of the war, including its conclusion.[5]

The Greyhawk Wars ended with a treaty signed in 584 CY. On this day, the Circle of Eight was betrayed by the archmage Rary, and Lord Robilar. Rary slayed Tenser and Otiluke, and severely wounded Bigby. Meanwhile, Lord Robilar destroyed clones and phylacteries belonging to Tenser and Otiluke, preventing their return to life. Mordenkainen was confused by Lord Robilar's defection.[55]

Recent events

In 589 CY, Mordenkainen began shaving his head.[5]

As of 591 CY, he has given full attention to leading the Circle of Eight. He believes that recent history has been predicted in the Tome of the Black Heart, a work prophecying dark times ahead.[5] He visits the Free City of Greyhawk on an irregular basis.[62]

By 591 CY, Mordenkainen and the Circle of Eight were the most famous living persons in the entire Flanaess.[63] Despite this, he was still unknown to many common folk in the Free City of Greyhawk, perhaps due to the infrequency of his visits.[13]

At some unknown point after his mastery of ninth-level spells, Mordenkainen traveled to Barovia to free its inhabitants, but was trapped there for a year, during which time he suffered from paranoia and memory loss.[23] His planar journeys have also taken him to the Nine Hells, including Avernus, where he studies magic, and Cania, where he hopes to find valuable scraps of informations in its vast laboratories.[64]

Works

Spells

Mordenkainen, as depicted on the cover of Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure (1984).

Mordenkainen is a prolific creator of spells.

  • Mordenkainen's Ascent[65]
  • Mordenkainen's Buzzing Bee[66]
  • Mordenkainen's Capable Caravel[67]
  • Mordenkainen's Celerity[68]
  • Mordenkainen's Defense Against Lycanthropes[69]
  • Mordenkainen's Defense Against Nonmagical Reptiles and Amphibians[69]
  • Mordenkainen's Disjunction[70]
  • Mordenkainen's Electric Arc[69]
  • Mordenkainen's Encompassing Vision[69]
  • Mordenkainen's Faithful Hound[71]
  • Mordenkainen's Faithful Phantom Defenders[69]
  • Mordenkainen's Faithful Phantom Guardian[69]
  • Mordenkainen's Faithful Phantom Shield-Maidens[69]
  • Mordenkainen's Force Missiles[72]
  • Mordenkainen's Guardian Hound[73]
  • Mordenkainen's Involuntary Wizardry[74]
  • Mordenkainen's Joining[65]
  • Mordenkainen's Lucubration[70]
  • Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion[70]
  • Mordenkainen's Penultimate Cogitation[69]
  • Mordenkainen's Private Sanctum[69]
  • Mordenkainen's Protection From Avians[69]
  • Mordenkainen's Protection From Insects and Arachnids[69]
  • Mordenkainen's Protection From Slime[69]
  • Mordenkainen's Sword[71]
  • Mordenkainen's Trusted Bloodhound[75]

Writings

Mordenkainen as depicted in Expedition to the Ruins of Castle Greyhawk

Mordenkainen is known to have authored or co-authored the following diegetic works:

  • Architecture (with Leomund): A spellbook.[76]
  • Codex of Mordenkainen: A highly secretive tome in which Mordenkainen has been collecting his thoughts for decades; including the trance in which he saw the Blood War reach Oerth.[77]
  • Cosmogony of Magnetic Fluids: A spellbook.[76]
  • Dark Reflections[78]
  • Epic Saga of the Great Conjurers: A spellbook.[76]
  • Magnificent Emporium: A later work. Mordenkainen destroyed the original copy, but not before eight copies were made, perhaps for members of the Circle of Eight or eight of Mordenkainen's apprentices. Additions made to the copies magically updated the original book. The copies were also later recalled and destroyed, but not before his apprentice Qort was able to make a copy.[79]
  • Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes: Mordenkainen's seminal work, in which he first described his philosophy of The Balance, dictated to Bigby early in his apprenticeship; later stolen by the yugoloth Shemeshka the Marauder.[80]
  • On the Rise of Magecraft and Modernity: A book in which Mordenkainen argues that the development of written wizardry that allowed magic to spread so broadly over the last millennium.[81]
  • The Dark Sides of the Memory: A spellbook.[76]
  • The Weapons of the Ether (with Melf): A spellbook.[76]

Mordenkainen has opposed attempts to copy and distribute his works.[80]

In Living Greyhawk

The formation of the Citadel of Eight appears in the core Living Greyhawk adventure The Citadel, set in 560 CY. According to this, Mordenkainen's neatly trimmed beard is based on a popular style in Nyrond, while his closely-trimmed hairstyle is against the fashion of the day. It is described that Mordenkainen is not humanocentric, giving equal respect to all the main demihuman races of Oerth, though he does not say the same about humanoids like orcs and ogres. It asserts that in 560 CY, Mordenkainen was only level 10, a heigh of 6'1" and weighing 190 pounds, aged 52 years; his group included Robilar, at level 8, and Bigby, Riggby, Yrag and Otis, all level 7.

The core adventure COR8-06 Entrapment asserts that none truly know what Mordenkainen's plots are carried out with such expert secrecy that none know what he is up to until it is already done. He always seems to know more about what is going on than anyone else, and always seems to be right. He has no control over Jaran of the Valley of the Mage, who careully guards his secrets from Mordenkainen. Tenser distrusts Mordenkainen, suspecting he may have leaked critical information to Iuz about Tenser's last clone.

In COR8-11 Restoration and Empire, Rary reveals that his betrayal of Mordenkainen was due to disagreement with his philosophy of balance. He believed that making peace with Iuz to end the Greyhawk Wars was a mistake, and that decisive action should rather be taken to destroy him.

In HIG1-03 Of Elven Make, a character falsely claims to be Mordenkainen's son, Mordenkainen Jr. However, he reveals the true fact that Mordenkainen once lived in Highfolk. He operates a market booth named Mordenkainen's Grand Junction, where he dispenses mostly made-up "facts" about the Circle of Eight.

Creative origins

Mordenkainen was originally a player character created by D&D creator Gary Gygax in a campaign run by Rob Kuntz. The D&D character of Mordenkainen would eventually diverge somewhat from Gygax's original character.

Origin

In late fall of 1972, Gygax created the first levels of what would become Castle Greyhawk, in a playtest scenario of the fantasy rules which would be known as Dungeons & Dragons.[82][83] Gygax served as Dungeon Master for the Castle Greyhawk campaign.

Around January 1973, player Rob Kuntz began his own campaign set in Castle El Raja Key, allowing Gygax to create his own player character. Gygax created a fighter named Yrag (his own name backwards), soon followed by a wizard named Mordenkainen, with Gygax adventuring primarily as a solo player controlling both characters.[84][85]

Mordenkainen was inspired by Finnish mythology, with the name bearing similarity to the character of Lemminkäinen of the Finnish epic Kalevala. Gygax describes his influences as including a black and white Russian movie based on the Kalevala; likely Sampo (1959), released in English as The Day the Earth Froze (1964). He also cites The Green Magician (1954) by L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt, possibly drawing on the anthology Wall of Serpents (1960), which includes both that story and The Wall of Serpents, in which the protagonist visits the world of Finnish mythology.[86][87]

Gygax did not give much thought to the ethnic background of Mordenkainen, other than that he was human. In 2005, he suggested that he was probably of Oeridian descent.[88] He envisaged Mordenkainen as around thirty years of age at the beginning of his adventuring career, eventually reaching around 80, though physically appearing around 50 due to the use of potions of longevity. Gygax would also assert that Mordenkainen had no plans to become a lich.[89]

Gygax did not give much thought to Mordenkainen's appearance. In 2007, he stated upon some thought that he envisioned Mordenkainen as tall, lean, and pale of complexion, though tanned by sun and weather; with gray eyes and sharp features, bushy hair, and a long moustache, but no beard; often dressed in gray with black or bright blue accents, such as a girdle and blouse.[90]

Adventuring career

Mordenkainen began at 1st level.[91] He had a significant adventuring career, playing in several DM's campaigns on request.[92]

Mordenkainen soon recruited Bigby, then a third-level character, who he defeated using charm magic. He managed to change Bigby from neutral evil to neutral in alignment, and he soon became Mordenkainen's loyal henchman. Gygax went on to play Bigby as a character.[93]

In Rob Kuntz' campaign, Mordenkainen's adventures included exploration of the Machine Level of Castle El Raja Key; the Lost City of the Elders in early 1973 (which would inspire Kuntz's Kalibruhn Supplement in 1976); the high-level technological Dungeons of Krazor the Mad in 1974; the Orcky Level in late 1975; and the Temple of the Latter Day Elder Ones.[94]

Upon attaining 12th level, Gygax decided that Mordenkainen should set some goals, becoming politically powerful and keeping the balance in the Flanaess. To this end, he desired to control some territory upon which to keep his armies.[95]

As was common at the time, Mordenkainen had no shame about fleeing from risky encounters, sometimes hiding from powerful enemies or fleeing using teleport magic.[96] Mordenkainen at one point adventured with lawful evil characters, including Robilar, Terik, and Erac's Cousin.[97]

Encounter with an iron golem

One of the most well-told stories of Mordenkainen's is his encounter with an iron golem in a campaign run by Rob Kuntz. Recollections of this story vary between times and individuals. An early recollection appeared in Wargamer's Digest #7, dated May 1974, an article reprinted in Dungeon #112 in July 2004. It recalls that Mordenkainen was level 13, and accompanied by Bigby, at level 11. This campaign pre-dated the official release of D&D, taking place in 1973.[98]

Mordenkainen and Bigby entered the fourth level of a dungeon, in a room identified as the Great Hall, featuring great pillars of ivory some fifty feet high and ten feet in diameter. There, among two smaller iron statues, they encountered an iron golem wielding a poisoned sword in one hand and a whip tipped with cockatrice feathers in the other. Mordenkainen and Bigby flew to atop a tower, and attempted to trap the with rock to mud, only to discover that the iron golem also had the ability of levitation, as well as to breathe fire.

Mordenkainen was turned to stone, and Bigby fled before teleporting to find reinforcements, returning with the fighters Yrag and Felnorith and the cleric Bishop Ranaulf. Mordenkainen was restored, but in the fight Bigby was turned to stone and Yrag was slain. After defeating the golem, Bigby was restored and Yrag returned to life by the Patriarch of Greyhawk.

However, Gygax's various recollections of this event vary. In the preface to Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure (1984), Gygax rather recalls that he was rescued by Yrag and Rigby.

In an ENWorld forum post in May 2003, Gygax recalls that Bigby was slain by the golem's poison, and the pair were rescued by Rigby and Nigby, with Rigby restoring Mordenkainen with stone to flesh, and Nigby using wish to restore Bigby.[99]

In Dragon #307 (May 2003), Gygax recalls that Bigby was killed by the golem's poisoned sword in the same round, and the pair were rescued by Nigby, Yrag, Felnorith, and Rigby the cleric, with the party using wishes to restore Mordenkainen and Bigby. He additionally recalls that the plan was for Mordenkainen to use rock to mud in front of the golem, then Bigby to use mud to rock once it had stepped into it.

Later, after wandering through a portal to a world where everything was super-sized, the party fled on the assumption that it must be inhabited by some creature whose tusks were large enough to construct those pillars.[100]

A version of this adventure module was published for AD&D as Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure (1984), and for D&D 3.5 in Dungeon #112's Maure Castle (July 2004).

Continuing adventures

In 1976 Gygax also played Mordenkainen in a session run by Dave Arneson, where they explored the City of the Gods. A retelling of this adventure appears in Oerth Journal #6, as told by Rob Kuntz, who also played Robilar in the original adventure.

At one point, Mordenkainen was played in a high-level campaign run by François Marcela-Froideval. In 2004, he recalled that Mordenkainen had been 14th level at the time, a low level for this especially high-powered campaign world, which included NPCs at least as high as 40th level.[101]

Throughout his adventuring career, Mordenkainen encountered and defeated several dragons, among them the red dragons Gorki and Porki.[102] The two dragons were subsequently kept in the dungeons beneath Mordenkainen's citadel.[103] Porki, the smaller of the two, often accompanied Mordenkainen and company on excursions, hidden in a merchant's wagon and used as a diversion in battle.[104]

Mordenkainen possessed extensive spell books, and was fond of the spells magic missile, fire ball, lightning bolt, ice storm, cone of cold, cloudkill, death spell, power word stun, and Evard's black tentacles.[105] Mordenkainen also knew the enlarge spell, which he taught to all of his apprentices for its usefulness.[106] Although capable of casting ninth level spells, he rarely used wish except to restore slain allies to life.[107]

Mordenkainen revered Boccob, deity of magic, as was common in that campaign.[108] He was of Neutral alignment, though tending slightly toward good over evil, and chaos over law.[109]

Late in his career, Mordenkainen and his allies formed the Circle of Eight, and used their vast wealth to construct the Obsidian Citadel. The Circle at this point consisted of Mordenkainen and eight other of Gygax's PCs, including Bigby, Yrag, Rigby, Zigby, Nigby, Vram, Vin, and Felnorith, with some others involved as well.[110] The Citadel's location was intentionally chosen inside enemy territory to ensure a steady supply of combat encounters. It was constructed with the aid of an army of dwarf mercenaries, and took three years to complete.[111] Its design consisted of an octagonal castle with eight wall towers, with walls extending to a significant distance beyond the central keep in order to house a massive number of troops.[112] On several occasions Mordenkainen and his army engaged in large-scale battles with thousands of troops, including city sieges and an instance where they wiped out 3,000 goblins from a distance.[113][114]

Mordenkainen also recruited horse archers from the Wolf Nomads.[115]

Mordenkainen possessed numerous personal magic items. The Obsidian Citadel contained a large hoard of magic items, although much of it was low-level.[116]

Retirement

Following numerous adventures, Mordenkainen rose to above 20th level, a rarity in those days.[117] He went into general retirement around 18th level, after acquiring 9th-level spells, returning only for special high-level adventures.[118]

In one such special adventure, he was attacked by liches armed with rods of cancellation. In his final two adventures, which occurred a year apart, Mordenkainen visited the Metamorphosis Alpha RPG's Starship Warden, and in the other, a campaign run by his son Ernie, he was recruited in to fight two ancient white dragons, which he easily bested. Mordenkainen only rarely slew dragons throughout his adventuring career.[119][120]

According to a post by Gary Gygax in May 2005, Mordenkainen had not been played since around the year 2000, when he fought two white dragons in Ernie's campaign.[121]

Following his retirement from adventuring, Mordenkainen became involved in politics.[122] He rarely left his fortress, but when he did it was typically alone and in disguise.[123]

Later use

Gygax never released Mordenkainen's true statistics. Although statistics for Mordenkainen appeared in The Rogues Gallery (1980), p. 44, Gygax denied that this was an accurate reflection of his original character, saying that he refused to give his character's statistics to Brian Blume to produce the book, with the result that the statistics included were largely made up.[124]

After Gygax left TSR in 1985, he lost creative rights to the name and character of Mordenkainen, although he retained the right to use characters whose names were near-anagrams of his own, such as Zagyg.[125] As with the rest of the World of Greyhawk, TSR and later Wizards of the Coast subsequently developed the character or Mordenkainen in directions of which Gygax had no creative control.

In 2002, Gygax asserted that the statistics for Mordenkainen as depicted in the Epic Level Handbook came "pretty close to nailing Mordie's level". That sourcebook places Mordenkainen as a level 27 character, suggesting that Mordenkainen's level is in the high twenties. However, Gygax declined to provide any further details.[126]

In 2007, Gygax suggested that were Mordenkainen to appear in a movie, he would like him to be played by noted D&D fan Vin Diesel.[127]

Mordenkainen was Gygax's most famous character, and also his favorite to play.[128]

Originally depicted with dark hair, Mordenkainen was first drawn as bald on the cover of TSR Jam 1999, a trait which would be continued in all subsequent D&D products. Todd Lockwood based his depiction of Mordenkainen on illustrator Fred Fields.[129] Living Greyhawk Journal #0 (Aug 2000) attributes this baldness to Mordenkainen's decision to shave his head in 589 CY, a habit which he has continued until at least 591 CY.

Publishing history

The name Mordenkainen has appeared in hundreds of Dungeons & Dragons works, whether as a character or in reference to one of the many spells named for him.

AD&D 1st edition

Mordenkainen is first mentioned in the AD&D 1st edition Player's Handbook (1978), in reference to the spells Mordenkainen's Faithful Hound and Mordenkainen's Sword. Countless D&D sourcebooks would later reference these or other spells, including Unearthed Arcana (1985), which describes Mordenkainen's Lucubration, Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion, and Mordenkainen's Disjunction.

Mordenkainen himself is first mentioned in the Dungeon Masters Guide (1979), p. 160, regarding his research into the creation of Queen Ehlissa's Marvelous Nightingale.

Statistics for Mordenkainen and other notable characters appear in The Rogues Gallery (1980); however, Gygax asserts that he did not supply Brian Blume his original characters to create the work, and the statistics depicted there do not accurately reflect his original statistics.

Mordenkainen is briefly namedropped in the World of Greyhawk Folio (1980) and mentioned in the subsequent World of Greyhawk Box Set (1983) in regards his friendship with the quasi-deities Heward, Keoghtom and Murlynd.

He appears on the cover of WG5 Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure (1984), an hack-and-slash style adventure module based on one which which Rob Kuntz ran for Gary Gygax. It is set in Maure Castle. Mordenkainen's statistics are given as a 12th level magic user, though Gygax notes that they are not exactly correct.

Mordenkainen is mentioned in several of Dragon magazine From the Sorcerer's Scroll articles in this period, including issues #37, #68, and #71, as well as in Dragon #82's Spells between the covers.

Following Gygax's departure from TSR in 1985, he no longer retained creative control of the character of Mordenkainen, the Castle Greyhawk dungeon, or the World of Greyhawk setting. Perhaps the most egregious example of this is Mordenkainen's appearance in the parody adventure WG7 Castle Greyhawk (1988), featuring a level titled Mordenkainen's Movie Madness, where he has set up a movie studio; likely a reference to his real-world journey to the west coast to work on the Dungeons & Dragons movie. Additionally, Dragon magazine's writers guidelines rejected all adventure modules featuring Greyhawk characters, citing Mordenkainen by name.

AD&D 2nd edition

Spells named for Mordenkainen once appear again in the Player's Handbook, specifically his Faithful Hound, Lucubration, Magnificent Mansion, Sword, and Disjunction. They appear in the repetoire of characters in various campaign settings, including Dark Sun, Forgotten Realms, Al-Qadim, Ravenloft, Spelljammer, and Dragonlance.

Mordenkainen is detailed in The City of Greyhawk boxed set (1989), which details the Circle of Eight and gives statistics for Mordenkainen, as well as a great deal of information about the Obsidian Citadel, Mordenkainen's activities, and his acceptance of Jallarzi Sallavarian into the Circle of Eight.

He has a significant role in the adventure modules Vecna Lives! (1990) and Treasures of Greyhawk (1992), and is mentioned in Rary the Traitor (1992).

From the Ashes (1992) notes the ability of powerful mages like Mordenkainen to go by a single name due to their fame, and makes several mentions of the archmage.

Mordenkainen appears in the 1991 TSR Trading Cards set as #494, depicting his artwork from the cover of Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure and describing him as a 20th level wizard. He appears again in the 1992 TSR Trading Cards set as #165 with the same art.

He is namedropped in Creative Campaigning (1993), p. 111, along side Leomund and Bigby as "characters who have become household names in the AD&D game", noting that in the Players Handbook and Dungeon Master Guide, "any names on spells or items probably started as characters in the original Greyhawk campaign".

He is mentioned in MC8 Monstrous Compendium: Outer Planes Appendix, as the author of the Codex of Mordenkainen, a book predicting that the baatezu devils will one day open a portal to the material plane. The Codex of Mordenkainen is briefly mentioned in the Greyhawk Wars boxed set (1991).

A rare appearance of Mordenkainen in the Forgotten Realms occurs in The Seven Sisters p. 34-35, where he meets the Faerûnian archmage the Simbul. Pages from the Mages, p. 4, notes that Mordenkainen and Bigby have visited Faerûn, while Elminster has visited Oerth, helping to explain the appearance of Greyhawk-based named spells in the Forgotten Realms.

Mordenkainen and the Circle of Eight appear significantly throughout Return of the Eight, describing his plans to return the Circle to full strength after its reduction to five members. The Greyhawk Player's Guide (1998) and The Adventure Begins (1998) go into the history of Mordenkainen and recaps his background and activities circa 591 CY.

Ivid the Undying mentions Mordenkainen, notably revealing his little-known place of birth.

Mordenkainen appears in several Dragon magazine articles from 1992 onward. He meets Elminster and others in Dragon #185's Magic in the Evening, #196's 3 Wizards Too Many, and notably Ed Greenwood's article series The Wizards Three, appearing in Dragon #188, #200, #211, #219, #238, #242, and #246. Letters written by or about Mordenkainen appear in Dragon #230's The Orbs of Dragonkind and Dragon #241's Legacies of the Suel Imperium.

D&D 3rd edition

Spells named for Mordenkainen appear in the Player's Handbook (2000) and the revised Player's Handbook v.3.5: his Disjunction, Faithful Hound, Lucubration, Magnificent Mansion, and Sword, with Mordenkainen's Private Sanctum additionally appearing in the 3.5 version.

Mordenkainen is described in the D&D Gazetteer (2000) and the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (2000), set in 591 CY.

Full statistics for Mordenkainen appear in the Epic Level Handbook (2002), p. 308-309, where he is a 27th level wizard, described as one of the most feared and respected living mages in the Flanaess.

Mordenkainen appears on the cover of Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk (2007), in which he plays a major role.

Following Wizards of the Coast's acquisition of the Dungeons & Dragons brand in 1997, articles by Gary Gygax were once again welcomed in the pages of Dragon magazine. Articles describing the adventures of Mordenkainen appear in Dragon #289, #299, #306, #307, #311, and #317. Additionally, Ed Greenwood's The Wizards Three series continued in Dragon #344 and the final print issue of #359.

Maure Castle appears in Dungeon #112, making significant references the adventuring history of Mordenkainen in Rob Kuntz' original dungeon.

In Living Greyhawk, Mordenkainen appears in COR1-00 The Citadel, set in 560 CY and describing him as a level 10 mage. He plays a significant role in COR8-06 Entrapment. HIG1-03 Of Elven Make features a character named Mordenkainen Jr., who falsely claims to be his son and correctly claims Mordenkainen once lived in Highfolk.

He is mentioned throughout the Living Greyhawk Journal publications, most notably LGJ #0's "Wheels Within Wheels: Greyhawk's Circle of Eight", #9, where he appears on the cover in an artwork by Greg Staples.

He also received a D&D Miniatures card, as a 269-point character.[130]

D&D 4th edition

Very little Greyhawk-specific content appeared in D&D 4th edition, though several spells named for Mordenkainen still appeared.

The Player's Handbook featured Mordenkainen's Sword and Mordenkainen's Mansion, while Arcane Power added Mordenkainen's Lucubration and Mordenkainen's Guardian Hound. Dragon #366 introduced the rituals Mordenkainen's Ascent and Mordenkainen's Joining. The implement Mordenkainen's Tome appears in Adventurer's Vault 2, which improves the bearers ability to cast Mordenkainen's Sword.

The magic item sourcebook Mordenkainen's Magnificent Emporium (2011) is named for him, re-using the artwork from 3e's Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk and including several lengthy excerpts of his writings.

Quotes from Mordenkainen appear in The Book of Vile Darkness, and Heroes of Shadow, while while a debate between Mordenkainen and the Circle of Eight regarding planar origins appears in Heroes of the Elemental Chaos.

Mordenkainen is cited as creator of the Arcane Key in Dragon #387. Dragon #401 states that he may be the famous wizard ever to have lived, giving backstory into his spells. Dragon #405 gives backstory into Mordenkainen and the Circle of Eight.

D&D 5th edition

"The day I start writing frivolous disclaimers for game manuals—particularly one written with text stolen from my notes—is the day I retire from wizardry and abandon all self-respect."
—Mordenkainen, in the disclaimer to Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes (2018)

Mordenkainen's spells once again appear in the Player's Handbook (2014): his Faithful Hound, Private Sanctum, Magnificent Mansion and Sword. Mordenkainen is also mentioned alongside Bigby in the Dungeon Master's Guide (2014) as a hero of Oerth who is driven by ambition.

Mordenkainen makes an appearance in the Ravenloft adventure modules Curse of Strahd (2016) and Descent into Avernus (2019). The wreck of ship he once owned appears in Ghosts of Saltmarsh (2019), p. 26. Descent into Avernus asserts that his name can be pronounced as "mor-den-KAY-nen" or "mor-den-KIGH-nen", contradicting earlier sources as well as Wizards of the Coast writers interviewed in the YouTube video Who is Mordenkainen in Dungeons & Dragons, who stick to the traditional pronunciation of "MOR-den-kay-nen". One might rationalize that this adventure module is set in the Forgotten Realms, where most who know his name may have only seen it written in spellbooks.

He appears on the cover of Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes (2018), in which he is mentioned. He makes a small cameo in a cartoon drawing in Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, depicted with his faithful hound in a discussion with Elminster, The Simbul, Qilué Veladorn and Alustriel Silverhand.

See also

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Player's Guide, p. 18.
  2. ↑ "Ay pronunseeAYshun gyd", Dragon #93.
  3. ↑ WGR3 Rary the Traitor, p.4.
  4. ↑ FOR6 The Seven Sisters, p. 34-35.
  5. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Living Greyhawk Journal #0 (2000).
  6. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j The City of Greyhawk, Folk, Feuds, and Factions, p. 118-127.
  7. ↑ a b c d Dragon #185, Magic in the Evening, by Ed Greenwood.
  8. ↑ a b c Dragon #211, The Wizards Three, by Ed Greenwood.
  9. ↑ Ivid the Undying, p. 123.
  10. ↑ Note that The City of Greyhawk boxed set asserts that Mordenkainen is 6'2", rather than 5'11" as asserted by Living Greyhawk Journal #0. It describes him as 72 years old (concurring with a birth date of 509 CY if it assumed that this book is set in 581 CY), appearing to be 46.
  11. ↑ Living Greyhawk Journal #5, p. 6.
  12. ↑ a b The Rogues Gallery, p. 44.
  13. ↑ a b c d WGA4 Vecna Lives!, p.15-18.
  14. ↑ Living Greyhawk Journal #22.
  15. ↑ a b c d Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, p. 156-157.
  16. ↑ a b WGR3 Rary the Traitor, p.31.
  17. ↑ Mordenkainen's Magnificent Emporium (2011), p.38.
  18. ↑ a b Mordenkainen's Magnificent Emporium (2011), p.4.
  19. ↑ a b c Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk (2007), p. 92-93.
  20. ↑ a b Mordenkainen's Magnificent Emporium (2011), p.58.
  21. ↑ Mordenkainen's statistics vary between sources, but are given in Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk as a level 27 wizard, as of 597 CY.
  22. ↑ a b c Epic Level Handbook, p.308-309.
  23. ↑ a b Curse of Strahd, p.39-40.
  24. ↑ a b c d Dragon #219, The Wizards Three, by Ed Greenwood.
  25. ↑ a b Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus, p.97-98.
  26. ↑ a b Mordenkainen's Magnificent Emporium (2011), p.18.
  27. ↑ Ivid the Undying, p.74.
  28. ↑ Dragon #387, Bazaar of the Bizarre, by Peter Schaefer.
  29. ↑ Mordenkainen's Magnificent Emporium (2011), p.17.
  30. ↑ Ghost of Saltmarsh, p. 26.
  31. ↑ The Lands of Robilar. Wizards.com, Jan 9, 2008.
  32. ↑ Ivid the Undying, p. 136.
  33. ↑ Mordenkainen's Magnificent Emporium, p. 47.
  34. ↑ The Doomgrinder, p.44.
  35. ↑ The Adventure Begins, p. 101-102.
  36. ↑ Dragon #338, p.50, Core Beliefs: Boccob, by Sean K. Reynolds.
  37. ↑ Dragon #238, The Return of the Wizards Three, by Ed Greenwood.
  38. ↑ Mordenkainen's Magnificent Emporium (2011), p.122.
  39. ↑ Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk (2007), p. 189.
  40. ↑ Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, p. 128.
  41. ↑ The Adventure Begins, p. 63.
  42. ↑ WGR4 The Marklands, p.55.
  43. ↑ From the Ashes, Campaign Book, p.69.
  44. ↑ Dragon #188, The Wizards Three, by Ed Greenwood.
  45. ↑ Dragon #196, 3 Wizards Too Many, by Ed Greenwood.
  46. ↑ Ivid the Undying, p.116.
  47. ↑ a b World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting, Glossography, p.35.
  48. ↑ 1991 TSR Trading Cards, #494.
  49. ↑ Dragon Annual 1, p. 72.
  50. ↑ Dragon #241, Legacies of the Suel Imperium, by Roger Moore.
  51. ↑ FOR8 Pages from the Mages, p.4.
  52. ↑ According to the Living Greyhawk Journal #0, Mordenkainen's true age is 82 as of Spring 591 CY, suggesting a birth date of 509 CY. Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk p. 4 implies he may be slightly older, already a youth when Iuz disappeared in 505 CY, though that may refer to the rise of the Horned Society in 513 CY.
  53. ↑ WG8 Fate of Istus, p.40.
  54. ↑ Ivid the Undying, p. 137.
  55. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk (2007), p. 4-10.
  56. ↑ Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk (2007), p. 125.
  57. ↑ The Adventure Begins, p. 61.
  58. ↑ The Scarlet Brotherhood, p.82.
  59. ↑ Planes of Chaos, An Abriged Lexicon of the Abyss.
  60. ↑ Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk dates Iuz's capture to 65 years prior to his escape, which occurred 27 years ago as of 5978 CY; i.e. 505 CY. The Living Greyhawk Gazetteer concurs with this date. However, F. Wesley Schneider's The Godtrap, dates Zagig's apotheosis to 421 CY, the year he retired from public life. The latter is probably an error.
  61. ↑ Epic Level Handbook, p.307.
  62. ↑ The Adventure Begins, p. 7.
  63. ↑ Player's Guide, p. 21.
  64. ↑ Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes (2018), p. 16.
  65. ↑ a b First appeared in Dragon #366.
  66. ↑ First appeared in the Miniatures Handbook (2003).
  67. ↑ First appeared in Stormwrack.
  68. ↑ First appeared in Tome of Magic (1991).
  69. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l First appeared in Greyhawk Adventures (1988).
  70. ↑ a b c First appeared in Dragon #68 (Dec 1982). Reprinted in Unearthed Arcana (1985).
  71. ↑ a b First appeared in the AD&D 1e Player's Handbook.
  72. ↑ First appeared in Player's Option: Spells & Magic.
  73. ↑ First appeared in Arcane Power.
  74. ↑ First appeared in Dragon #200's The Wizards Three: Once more the three, by Ed Greenwood.
  75. ↑ First appeared in Complete Mage.
  76. ↑ a b c d e Spells between the covers, by Bruce heard. Dragon #82, p. 58-59.
  77. ↑ Greyhawk Wars; MC8 Monstrous Compendium: Outer Planes Appendix; Living Greyhawk Journal #0
  78. ↑ Heroes of Shadow, p. 138.
  79. ↑ Mordenkainen's Magnificent Emporium, p. 38, 122.
  80. ↑ a b Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes (2018), p. 4.
  81. ↑ Living Greyhawk Journal #4, p. 11.
  82. ↑ Gygax: "It was in the late fall of 1972 when I completed a map of some castle ruins, noted ways down to the dungeon level (singular), and invited my 11-year-old son Ernie and nine-year-old daughter Elise to create characters and adventure. ... After they went upstairs I stayed in my study and went to work on a second dungeon level. The next day they played, and with their PCs were two new ones, that of Rob Kuntz and Don Kaye's Murlynd. After that it was a race for me to get more levels done as the player group grew and got more able in their delving." Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 73. ENWorld, Jul 22, 2003.
  83. ↑ Gygax: "The initial plau-testers were my son Ernie and my daughter Elise, then ages 12 and 10 years respectively. They adventured on the first of what became 13 levels of "Castle Greyhawk" of the "Greyhawk Campaign" and loved it. I went to work immediately on a second level, even as Rob and Terry Kuntz and Don Kaye joined the play-test group." Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 286. ENWorld, Jul 2, 2006.
  84. ↑ Gygax: "My first PC was a fghter named Yrag, back in 1972. Mordenkainen came into being about the first month of 1973. That's about all that I can recall with any level of certainly." Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 140. ENWorld, Mar 1, 2005.
  85. ↑ Kuntz: "Gary started in the "mists" when rolling his first PC, Yrag. ... Within a day I allowed him to roll up his second PC, Mordenkainen, this to pair with Yrag, and because he was for the most part adventuring solo (but do read hereafter)." The First Living Campaign. Lake Geneva Original RPG Campaign, April 6, 2013.
  86. ↑ Gygax: "The background I created for Mordenkainen was Finnish-like in nature, and his master was a chap called Old Waino..." Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 277. ENWorld, Jun 13, 2006.
  87. ↑ Gygax: "I really was captivated with Finnish myth after seeing a B&W movie done by the Russians, I think, about him, Leminkainen, and Ilmarinen adventuring to Pojola and entering Louhi's fortress, then reading "The Green Magician" by de Camp and Pratt as well as the Kalevala." Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 277. ENWorld, Jun 13, 2006.
  88. ↑ Gygax: "Actually, no, I never really worried aboiut the ethnic origination of my human PCs. I would assume that Mordenkainen would be mainly of Oeridian stock and that Bigby is from Flan-Suloise background."Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 145. ENWorld, Mar 10, 2005.
  89. ↑ Gygax: "I envisaged Mordenkainen as around 30 year of age when he began adventuring, so that would make him around 80 years of age now (considering campaign time)--although he has quaffed a number of potions of longevity preiodically, always when a wish was cast, so likely he appears more like a vigorous 50." Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 257. ENWorld, Nov 12, 2005.
  90. ↑ Gygax: "As a matter of fact u have nor given this matter much thought before this, as my mental picture of my PCs sufficed, it being rather vague. ... Mordenkainen I pictured as tall, lean, with a pale complexion tanned by sun and weather. His features are sharp, eyes gray. His hair is rather byshy, with a long moustache but no beard. He favors garments of gray with black or bright blue accents--girdle and blouse for example. His age apears to be somewhere around 50."Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 389. ENWorld, Jun 30, 2007.
  91. ↑ Gygax: "Yrag and Mordenkainen both began as 1st level, and Rob Kuntz, the main DM for their adventures, was not prone to cutting slack for anyone." Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 50. ENWorld, Mar 15, 2003.
  92. ↑ Gygax: "Mordenkainen and Bigby, mainly by demand, played in so many different campaigns that they kept climbing. Most of my other PCs that did likewise, but were mainly active in Greyhawk with Rob as DM, are in the range of 16th level (Yrag) on down."Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 53. ENWorld, Mar 27, 2003.
  93. ↑ Gygax: "Mordenkainen did indeed manage to get the drop on Bigby, charm him. At the time bigby was a 3rd level NE dungeon dweller. By word and deen Mordie brought him around from NE to N, and thus Bigby became his apprentice. I got to roll the stats for that character after rob determined he was a loyal henchman of Mordenkainen." Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 133. ENWorld, Feb 19, 2005.
  94. ↑ The First Living Campaign. Lake Geneva Original RPG Campaign, April 6, 2013.
  95. ↑ Gygax: "Survival and ability to adventure widely were my first concerns for Mordenkainen. When he made 12th level I decided he should have some greater purpose, so I added political concerns, keeping the balance in the Flanaess, growing powerful and influential, and keeping aggressive bad guys at bay. At no time was there a desire to rule more than a minor domain where he and his associates and followers would be secure and properly housed and fed. Of course, he had a lot of followers, so a small demesne was out of the question." Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 277. ENWorld, Jun 14, 2006.
  96. ↑ Gygax: "When small parties adventured--well stocked with potions of healing and extra-healing--often no cleric would be present, for the members were high level and had a lot of magical goodies to cover them in crises. for example, Mordenkainen and Bigby would teleport away in a pinch." Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 98. ENWorld, Feb 11, 2004.
  97. ↑ Gygax: "When my son Ernie became angry with me as DM he switched to playing an LE character, Erac's Cousin. That PC adventured fairly frequently with two othe LE ones, Robilar and either Terik or the monk PC that Terry Kuntz liked to play. ... Mordenkainen would adventure with that lot, always with a strong henchman. He was never assualted or even threatened." Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 395. ENWorld, Jul 25, 2007.
  98. ↑ Kuntz: "The eight dimensions (from the original "Iron Golem" adventure 1973 that EGG--as Mordenkainen/Yrag/Bigby--played in) were indeed covered, but also via the tablets he found within the main room (i.e., carved coral tablets not included in the published WG5). These indicated/lead to off-world/Kalibruhn/dimensional realms, and were not planar locales (i.e., the planes of our own known dimension)." Q&A with Rob Kuntz. Dragonsfoot forums, Dec 12, 2012.
  99. ↑ Gygax: "Mordenkainen and Bigby faced an iron golem in Rob Kuntz's campaign. It could levitate and breathed fire. That construct was armed with a poisned sword and a whip tipped with cockatrice feathers. Mordenkainen was turned to stone and Bigby was slain when he failed his save:( Fortunately others of the circle came to their rescue, and as Rigby used a stone to flesh spell, Nigby used a wish to bring Bigby back to life." Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 62. ENWorld, May 4, 2003.
  100. ↑ Gygax: "Fact is I never got to try any of those gates. Rob alone knows where those sent the PC activating them. All Mordie & Company found was a portal to a world where everything was super-sized--recall the huge ivory pillars thet he and Bigby sought refuge atop when the iron golem attacked. Not wanting to meet creatures armed with tusks as large as towers, we scooted away. the plan was to return another day, but fate intervened to disallow that--I was moved out to the West Coast." Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 54. ENWorld, Mar 31, 2003.
  101. ↑ At 14th level through the next few above that he played for a good bit of time in Francois Marcela Froideval's campaign. At those levels Mordenkainen was a low-level "flunkie" type, as the movers and shakers in that setting were of high 30th and 40th level. Frnacois had a complete campaign based on ultra-high level characters, and believe me it was filled with challenges and a very real sense of danger for PCs of under 30th level, I should think. there was a lot of roleplay, and the wrong dialog coming from a chatacter could be fatal..." Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 99. ENWorld, Feb 15, 2004.
  102. ↑ Gygax: "Encounters with dragons were not common, quite rare, all things considered. Mordenkainen encountered several over his years of adventuring, subdued two red ones, the very old Gorki and the young Porki (thank you for naming them Rob...)" Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 159. ENWorld, Apr 11, 2005.
  103. ↑ "Gygax: that's so even though Mordenkainen has two red ones in his citadel's subterranean complex..." Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 169. ENWorld, May 19, 2005.
  104. ↑ Gygax: "Ghorki remained behind to guard the Citadel, but little Phorki often accompanied expeditions into the surrounding terrain to rid the area of undesirable elements...and take their stuff. Uncorking him from a "merchant's wagon" was an effective diversionary attack ;)" Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 387. ENWorld, Jun 22, 2007.
  105. ↑ Gygax: "Mordenkainen always had a fair stock of magic missile, fire ball, and lightning bolt spells to go with ice storm, cone of cold, cloudkill, death spell, and power word stun (later on) Evard's black tentacles was another oft-used casting. Dropping a cloudkill spell around his party and advancing on loe-level monsters was a lot of fun. Of course depending on intelligence he would alter the usual. Mordie had some pretty extensive spell books, of course, and he and Bigby exchanged spells to broaden their repertories." Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 12. ENWorld, Sep 14, 2002.
  106. ↑ Gygax: "Mordenkainen taught all of his apprentices the enlarge spell for such possibility...and to give them a healing sans cleric :lol:" Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 249. ENWorld, Oct 31, 2005.
  107. ↑ Gygax: "Mordenkainen used wishes only in extremis to bring back associates that had met their end." Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 256. ENWorld, Nov 9, 2005.
  108. ↑ Gygax: Mordenkainen being a mage was indeed a follower of Boccob, and thus generally honored Zagyg. The other magic-users in the group took also did the same. That meant that their cleric would be dedicated to Boccob, and the fighters and others, wanting the benefits of clerical ministrations came along for the ride;) Boccob was never an active deity in play, and none of the PCs was eager to have Zagyg intervene..." Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 93. ENWorld, Jan 29, 2004.
  109. ↑ Gygax: "No. Mordenkainen is Neutral, although he tends to prefer Good over Evil, Chaos over Law." Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 118. ENWorld, Feb 6, 2005.
  110. ↑ Gygax: "The Obsidian Citadel and its Circle of Eight wasoriginal to my own campaign. When Mordenkainen was at a level I considered too high for normal adventuring, I used the money he and his associates had amassed to construct the siad fortress. The members of the 'Circle were Mordenkainen and his associates--others of my PCs. The latter included Bigby, Yrag the fighter, Rigby the cleric, Zigby the Dwarf, the Elves Vram and Vin, and Felnorith as principles. A number of lesser PCs were associated." Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 72. ENWorld, Jul 8, 2003.
  111. ↑ Gygax: "It came into being because Mordenkainen and Associates had a lot og wealth stored up from successful adventuring, located a place for a stronghold deep in enemy territory to assure plenty of action, and then went to work building the citadel. As there was an small army of dwarves associted with the larger, mounted field army, the building project went relatively quickly, about three game years to complete. While it was in progress, the "boys" were active in raiding the lands around to keep the enemy forces back on their heels." Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 82. ENWorld, Nov 1, 2003.
  112. ↑ Gygax: "The Obsidian Citadel was indeed my personal creation as a player. The eight (actually nine) main PCs of mine that occupied it were Mordenkainen, Bigby, Yrag, Rigby, Vram & Vin, Zigby, Felnorith, and Nigby. It was an octagonal castle with eight wall towers and a central keep with much space between the outer wall and the inner works because of the number of troops housed in this fortress."Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 105. ENWorld, Mar 26, 2004.
  113. ↑ Gygax: "Rob was the DM for some of Mordenkainen's roving forays with several thousands of troops, even city siege attacke. He winged such, as we both had considerable experience with large-scale military miniatures battles. That's what I did when a large PC force met a large NPC one opposed to it." Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 119. ENWorld, Feb 7, 2005.
  114. ↑ Then again, Mordenkainen, bigby, and several other members of their group did wipe out 3K of goblins Rob Kuntz sent against them, luckily from a distance, and I found it quite appropriate." Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 390. ENWorld, Jul 19, 2007.
  115. ↑ Gygax: "Mordenkainen was in the lands of the Wolf Nomads, recruited a troop of horse archers there. I brought in no NPCs from East or West as there were plenty from the central and north." Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 363. ENWorld, Apr 15, 2007.
  116. ↑ Gygax: "The magic hoard in the Citadel is large...and sadly mostly of very low level. Poor Zigby the dwarf lost his +2 shield in the frost giant jarl's ice caves and had to accept a +1 replacement from Mordenkainen  :\ This is not to say that Mordenkainen, Bigby, Yrag, and Riggby don't glow like bonfires when a detect magic spell is played upon them...Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 257. ENWorld, Nov 11, 2005.
  117. ↑ Gygax: "Never did I demand a retirement of a PC. Most of the players with characters in the high-teens level voluntarily took those PCs into semi-retirement, keeping them only for adventures that called for potent adventurers. My own top-level PC Mordenkainen, went past 20th level thus--special high-level scenarios." Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 66. ENWorld, Jun 14, 2003.
  118. ↑ Gygax: "When PCs got to around 15th level they were generally retired, went only on special adventures. (Even given that, Mordenkainen took enough of those to get into the 20s, although his general retirement was at 18th level, when he could finally use 9th level spells!)" Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 76. ENWorld, Jul 25, 2003.
  119. ↑ Gygax: "In one in company with several other like PCs. the first encounter faced by the group were liches armed with Rods of Cancellation that charging the party. ... Mordie's last two adventures were one there he was accompanying some mid-level characters who got transferred to the MA game's Starship Warden and another in which two ancient white dragons were awaiting the party. Each of those was about a year apart." Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 66. ENWorld, Jun 14, 2003.
  120. ↑ Gygax:" To the best of my recollection my PCs have managed to slay only a few [dragons]. Of course Mordenkainen and party did subdue a couple of red dragons. The last time Mordie was involved in dragon slaying was in an OAD&D campaign run by my son Ernie. Two ancient white dragons had ambushed his main players' PC party, killed most. So they sought help, Mordenkainen agreed to the deal, and lead the survivors and some new PCs into the dragons' lair. a Power Word Stun took care of one, and the other, lurking invisibly above on a ledge was then assailed and laid low--many a Magic Missile lightening the combat load on the other characters in the melee." Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 3. ENWorld, Sep 3, 2002.
  121. ↑ Gygax: "Mordenkainen has not ventured forth from his citadel for about five years. The last adventure he assisted with was to deal with a pair of ancient white dragons." Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 166. ENWorld, May 16, 2005.
  122. ↑ Gygax: "As for Mordie, no such pretensions;) He adventured a lot, made a substantial level, and then got involved in politics." Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 29. ENWorld, Nov 7, 2002.
  123. ↑ Gygax: "Nowadays he seldom ventures forth, but when he does it is in disguise and usually alone." Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 277. ENWorld, Jun 14, 2006.
  124. ↑ Gygax: "Heh, and a slight error in reasoning there, amigo. The information in the ROGUE'S GALLERY was quite fallacious, made up im many cases when we refused to give Brian our PCs' stats. Rob respected my wishes and didn't use Mordie's actual stats and information, and whatever was written thereafter based on those works continues the error."Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 81. ENWorld, Nov 1, 2003.
  125. ↑ Gygax: "Anagrans of my name are exclusively my property according to my settlement agreement with TSR, so that is how I can use Zagyg, or Zagyg, as well as Yrag;)" Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 243. ENWorld, Oct 20, 2005.
  126. ↑ Gygax: "Actually, I am given to understand that the EPIC 3E book has come pretty close to nailing Mordie's level. I haven't seen it, so I can't comment further. As I do still play that PC now and again, I won't reveal anything else." Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 4. ENWorld, Sep 3, 2002.
  127. ↑ Gygax: "To the point, though, i have never thought about the matter, and I do not have any actors in mind. I wouldn't mind seeing Vin Deisel as Mordie, though. That's because he is a D&D fan, of course." Q&A with Gary Gygax, page 388. ENWorld, Jun 29, 2007.
  128. ↑ Q: "Of the characters you have played, which is your favorite?" Gygax: "I really must admit Mordenkainen is my favorite. I enjoy playing fighters, rangers, thieves, clerics, and multi-classed sorts in OAD&D, but the magic-user is usually most fun for me." [Dungeons & Dragons Creator Gary Gygax Passes Away; Interview]. Boing Boing Gadgets, May 14, 2009.
  129. ↑ "The art order called for a representative character for each world. I thought it would be fun to use characters from the Wizards Art and Cartography Departments as models: Illustrator Fred Fields as Mordenkainen, from Greyhawk. ... Todd Lockwood, TSR Jam 1999.
  130. ↑ Mordenkainen Epic Stat Card. Wizards.com, 5 Apr, 2004.

Bibliography

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

Architecture By Leomund & Mordenkainen Item Book, Dragon magazine #082 58
Architecture By Leomund & Mordenkainen Item Book, Encyclopedia Magica - Volume III 1140
Codex of Mordenkainen Item Book, Greyhawk Wars: Adventurer's Book 27
Codex of Mordenkainen Item Book, Living Greyhawk Journal #0 4, 5, 9
Cosmogony of Magnetic Fluids By Mordenkainen Item Book, Dragon magazine #082 58
Cosmogony of Magnetic Fluids By Mordenkainen Item Book, Encyclopedia Magica - Volume III 1157
Dark Sides of the Memory By Mordenkainen Item Book, Dragon magazine #082 58
Dark Sides of the Memory By Mordenkainen Item Book, Encyclopedia Magica - Volume III 1162
Epic Saga of the Great Conjurers By Mordenkainen Item Book, Dragon magazine #082 58
Epic Saga of the Great Conjurers By Mordenkainen Item Book, Encyclopedia Magica - Volume III 1165
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Artifact of Evil 126, 131, 200, 218, 229, 230, 232, 236, 321-324, 326, 330, 331, 333, 347
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus, D&D 5e 4, 97, 98
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Bigby's Curse 56, , 88, 89, 106, 184, 185, 186
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Come Endless Darkness 60, 62, 117, 246, 247, 248, 256, 290, 371, 372, 373, 375
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], CGR1 The Complete Spacefarer's Handbook 105
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], The City of Greyhawk: Folks, Feuds and Factions 2, 18, 20-24, 27, 28
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Curse of Strahd, D&D 5e 39, 40
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Dungeon Masters Guide 1st Edition 160
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], DMGR5 - Creative Campaigning 111
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Dance of Demons 33, 34, 35, 36
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Dragon magazine #037 11
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Dragon magazine #068 24
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Dragon magazine #071 19, 20, 21
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Dragon magazine #082 58, 59
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Dragon magazine #185 57, 58, 59, 62
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Dragon magazine #188 27, 28, 29, 30
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Dragon magazine #191 64, 68
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Dragon magazine #196 83, 84, 85, 86, 88
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Dragon magazine #200 22, 23
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Dragon magazine #204 54, 56
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Dragon magazine #208 54
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Dragon magazine #211 83, 84
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Dragon magazine #219 92, 93, 94
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Dragon magazine #225 49, 50
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Dragon magazine #230 8, 13
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Dragon magazine #233 93
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Dragon magazine #238 43, 44, 46
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Dragon magazine #241 40, 43, 44, 47
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Dragon magazine #242 49, 50
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Dragon magazine #246 87, 88
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Dragon magazine #268 70
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Dragon magazine #289 28
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Dragon magazine #293 91
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Dragon magazine #299 18
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Dragon magazine #306 16
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Dragon magazine #307 16
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Dragon magazine #344 57-61
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Dragon magazine #351 42
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Dragon magazine #359 70, 72, 79, 80, 81, 82
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Dragon magazine #AN1 72
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Dragon magazine #AN2 99
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Dungeon magazine #077 33
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Epic Level Handbook, D&D 3.0 308, 309
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], From the Ashes: Atlas of the Flanaess 15
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], From the Ashes: Campaign Book 29, 30, 38, 42, 69, 86
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], From the Ashes: References Card #13
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Greyhawk Adventures 3, 56-58, 127
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Ghosts of Saltmarsh, D&D 5e 26
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Greyhawk Wars: Adventurer's Book 27
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Ivid the Undying 8, 63, 66, 74, 83, 84, 116, 123, 136, 137, 146, 157
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Living Greyhawk, Living Onnwal Gazetteer, D&D 3.5e 5
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Living Greyhawk Gazetteer 15, 128, 156, 157
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Living Greyhawk Journal #0 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Living Greyhawk Journal #2 8
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Living Greyhawk Journal #4 11, 17
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Living Greyhawk Journal #5 6
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Monster Manual 1, D&D 5e 167
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Oerth Journal #03 9
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Oerth Journal #06 26,30,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Oerth Journal #07 21,43,44
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Oerth Journal #12 8
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Oerth Journal #16 28
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Oerth Journal #18 16,17,25
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Oerth Journal #22 27,48,60
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Oerth Journal #23 4,5,9,15,22,25
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Oerth Journal #25 3,15,16,17,18
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Oerth Journal #29 7,9
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Oerth Journal #32 8,12
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Oerth Journal #33 28
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Player's Guide to Greyhawk 5, 18, 21, 22, 48
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], The Rogues Gallery 44
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Return of the Eight 2, 3, 5, 10, 12, 18, 20, 32, 45, 53, 54, 58, 59, 62
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], Sea of Death 27, 68, 386
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], The Adventure Begins 3, 6, 7, 24, 60, 61, 63, 71, 102, 114
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], The Adventure Begins: Adventure Maps 1
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], 1991 TSR Trading Cards - Factory Set 494
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], 1992 TSR Trading Cards - Gold Set 165
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], LT3 The Doomgrinder 44
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], The Scarlet Brotherhood 82
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], WG5 Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure 1, 2, 4, 5, 22, 30, 32
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], WG8 Fate of Istus 40
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], WGA4 Vecna Lives! 1, 8, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 47
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], The World of Greyhawk Fantasy World Setting (Folio) 19
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], WGR1 Greyhawk Ruins 84
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], WGR2 Treasures of Greyhawk 32, 37, 38, 39, 40
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], WGR3 Rary the Traitor 4, 6, 8, 11, 31
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], WGR4 The Marklands 55
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], World of Greyhawk boxed set (1983) 42
Mordenkainen Non-player character Male, Human, [M16][M20][3e M20+], World of Greyhawk boxed set (1983) 33-36
Mordenkainen's Capable Caravel (LVL8) Spell Spell (Magic User), Stormwrack, D&D 3.5e 119
Mordenkainen's Celerity (LVL4) Spell Spell (Magic User), Player's Option - Spells And Magic 180, 182
Mordenkainen's Celerity (LVL4) Spell Spell (Magic User), Tome of Magic, AD&D 2e 30
Mordenkainen's Celerity (LVL4) Spell Spell (Magic User), Wizard's Spell Compendium - Volume III 592
Mordenkainen's Defense Against Lycanthropes (LVL3) Spell Spell (Magic User), Greyhawk Adventures 56, 127
Mordenkainen's Defense Against Lycanthropes (LVL3) Spell Spell (Magic User), Wizard's Spell Compendium - Volume III 592
Mordenkainen's Defense Against Nonmagical Reptiles and Amphibians (LVL3) Spell Spell (Magic User), Greyhawk Adventures 57, 127
Mordenkainen's Defense Against Nonmagical Reptiles and Amphibians (LVL3) Spell Spell (Magic User), Wizard's Spell Compendium - Volume III 593
Mordenkainen's Disjunction (LVL9) Spell Spell (Magic User), Player's Option - Spells And Magic 181, 182
Mordenkainen's Disjunction (LVL9) Spell Spell (Magic User), Spelljammer Boxed Set: Concordance of Arcane Space 85
Mordenkainen's Disjunction (LVL9) Spell Spell (Magic User), Unearthed Arcana, AD&D 1e 31, 65
Mordenkainen's Disjunction (LVL9) Spell Spell (Magic User), Unearthed Arcana, AD&D 1e (Premium Edition) 31, 65
Mordenkainen's Disjunction (LVL9) Spell Spell (Magic User), Wizard's Spell Compendium - Volume III 593
Mordenkainen's Disjunction (LVL9) Spell Spell (Sorcerer), Player's Handbook, D&D 3.5e (Premium Edition) 196, 205, 238, 255
Mordenkainen's Disjunction (LVL9) Spell Spell (Cleric), Player's Handbook, D&D 3.5e (Premium Edition) 188, 205, 238, 255
Mordenkainen's Disjunction (LVL9) Spell Spell (Magic User), Dragon magazine #068 24, 59
Mordenkainen's Disjunction (LVL9) Spell Spell (Magic User), Dragon magazine #347 81, 82
Mordenkainen's Disjunction (LVL9) Spell Spell (Magic User), Hidden Lore, D&D 3.0 8
Mordenkainen's Disjunction (LVL9) Spell Spell (Magic User), Player's Handbook, AD&D 2e 127, 196, 238, 243
Mordenkainen's Disjunction (LVL9) Spell Spell (Magic User), Player's Handbook, D&D 3.5e (Premium Edition) 196, 205, 238, 255
Mordenkainen's Electric Arc (LVL4) Spell Spell (Magic User), Greyhawk Adventures 57, 127
Mordenkainen's Electric Arc (LVL4) Spell Spell (Magic User), Wizard's Spell Compendium - Volume III 593
Mordenkainen's Encompassing Vision (LVL2) Spell Spell (Magic User), Greyhawk Adventures 56, 127
Mordenkainen's Encompassing Vision (LVL2) Spell Spell (Magic User), Wizard's Spell Compendium - Volume III 593, 594
Mordenkainen's Faithful Hound (LVL5) Spell Spell (Magic User), Hidden Lore, D&D 3.0 5
Mordenkainen's Faithful Hound (LVL5) Spell Spell (Magic User), Player's Handbook, AD&D 1e 41, 81
Mordenkainen's Faithful Hound (LVL5) Spell Spell (Magic User), Player's Option - Spells And Magic 181, 184
Mordenkainen's Faithful Hound (LVL5) Spell Spell (Magic User), Wizard's Spell Compendium - Volume III 594
Mordenkainen's Faithful Phantom Defenders (LVL5) Spell Spell (Magic User), CGR1 The Complete Spacefarer's Handbook 108
Mordenkainen's Faithful Phantom Defenders (LVL5) Spell Spell (Magic User), Greyhawk Adventures 57, 58, 127
Mordenkainen's Faithful Phantom Defenders (LVL5) Spell Spell (Magic User), Wizard's Spell Compendium - Volume III 594, 595
Mordenkainen's Faithful Phantom Guardian (LVL6) Spell Spell (Magic User), CGR1 The Complete Spacefarer's Handbook 109
Mordenkainen's Faithful Phantom Guardian (LVL6) Spell Spell (Magic User), Greyhawk Adventures 58, 127
Mordenkainen's Faithful Phantom Guardian (LVL6) Spell Spell (Magic User), Wizard's Spell Compendium - Volume III 595
Mordenkainen's Faithful Phantom Shield-Maidens (LVL4) Spell Spell (Magic User), CGR1 The Complete Spacefarer's Handbook 108
Mordenkainen's Faithful Phantom Shield-Maidens (LVL4) Spell Spell (Magic User), Greyhawk Adventures 57, 127
Mordenkainen's Faithful Phantom Shield-Maidens (LVL4) Spell Spell (Magic User), Wizard's Spell Compendium - Volume III 595
Mordenkainen's Force Missles (LVL4) Spell Spell (Magic User), Player's Option - Spells And Magic 147, 182, 184
Mordenkainen's Force Missles (LVL4) Spell Spell (Magic User), Wizard's Spell Compendium - Volume III 595, 596
Mordenkainen's Involuntary Wizardry (LVL5) Spell Spell (Magic User), Dragon magazine #200 24
Mordenkainen's Involuntary Wizardry (LVL5) Spell Spell (Magic User), Wizard's Spell Compendium - Volume III 596
Mordenkainen's Lucubration (LVL6) Spell Spell (Magic User), Dragon magazine #068 24, 54
Mordenkainen's Lucubration (LVL6) Spell Spell (Magic User), Hidden Lore, D&D 3.0 6
Mordenkainen's Lucubration (LVL6) Spell Spell (Magic User), Player's Option - Spells And Magic 181
Mordenkainen's Lucubration (LVL6) Spell Spell (Magic User), Unearthed Arcana, AD&D 1e 31, 61
Mordenkainen's Lucubration (LVL6) Spell Spell (Magic User), Unearthed Arcana, AD&D 1e (Premium Edition) 31, 61
Mordenkainen's Lucubration (LVL6) Spell Spell (Magic User), Wizard's Spell Compendium - Volume III 596
Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion (LVL7) Spell Spell (Magic User), Dragon magazine #068 24, 55
Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion (LVL7) Spell Spell (Magic User), Hidden Lore, D&D 3.0 7
Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion (LVL7) Spell Spell (Magic User), Player's Handbook, AD&D 2e 127, 185, 238, 243
Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion (LVL7) Spell Spell (Magic User), Player's Option - Spells And Magic 181, 184
Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion (LVL7) Spell Spell (Magic User), Spelljammer Boxed Set: Concordance of Arcane Space 84
Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion (LVL7) Spell Spell (Magic User), Unearthed Arcana, AD&D 1e 31, 62
Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion (LVL7) Spell Spell (Magic User), Unearthed Arcana, AD&D 1e (Premium Edition) 31, 62
Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion (LVL7) Spell Spell (Magic User), Wizard's Spell Compendium - Volume III 596, 597
Mordenkainen's Penultimate Cogitation (LVL7) Spell Spell (Magic User), CGR1 The Complete Spacefarer's Handbook 110
Mordenkainen's Penultimate Cogitation (LVL7) Spell Spell (Magic User), Greyhawk Adventures 58, 127
Mordenkainen's Penultimate Cogitation (LVL7) Spell Spell (Magic User), Wizard's Spell Compendium - Volume III 597
Mordenkainen's Private Sanctum (LVL5) Spell Spell (Magic User), Greyhawk Adventures 58, 127
Mordenkainen's Private Sanctum (LVL5) Spell Spell (Magic User), Hidden Lore, D&D 3.0 5
Mordenkainen's Private Sanctum (LVL5) Spell Spell (Magic User), PHBR4 - The Complete Wizard's Handbook 103
Mordenkainen's Private Sanctum (LVL5) Spell Spell (Magic User), Player's Option - Spells And Magic 180, 181, 185
Mordenkainen's Private Sanctum (LVL5) Spell Spell (Magic User), Tome and Blood, D&D 3.0e 84, 93
Mordenkainen's Private Sanctum (LVL5) Spell Spell (Magic User), Wizard's Spell Compendium - Volume III 598
Mordenkainen's Private Sanctum (LVL5) Spell Spell (Sorcerer), Tome and Blood, D&D 3.0e 93
Mordenkainen's Protection From Avians (LVL1) Spell Spell (Magic User), Greyhawk Adventures 56, 127
Mordenkainen's Protection From Avians (LVL1) Spell Spell (Magic User), Wizard's Spell Compendium - Volume III 598
Mordenkainen's Protection From Insects and Arachnids (LVL3) Spell Spell (Magic User), Greyhawk Adventures 57, 127
Mordenkainen's Protection From Insects and Arachnids (LVL3) Spell Spell (Magic User), Wizard's Spell Compendium - Volume III 598
Mordenkainen's Protection From Slime (LVL4) Spell Spell (Magic User), Greyhawk Adventures 57, 127
Mordenkainen's Protection From Slime (LVL4) Spell Spell (Magic User), Wizard's Spell Compendium - Volume III 598
Mordenkainen's Sword (LVL7) Spell Spell (Magic User), Hidden Lore, D&D 3.0 7
Mordenkainen's Sword (LVL7) Spell Spell (Magic User), Player's Handbook, AD&D 1e 42, 88
Mordenkainen's Sword (LVL7) Spell Spell (Magic User), Player's Option - Spells And Magic 183, 184
Mordenkainen's Sword (LVL7) Spell Spell (Magic User), Wizard's Spell Compendium - Volume III 599
Mordenkainen, Codex of Item Book, Reference SEE Codex of Mordenkainen
On The Rise of Magecraft and Modernity By Mordenkainen Item Book, Living Greyhawk Journal #4 11
Weapons of the Ether By Melf & Mordenkainen Item Book, Dragon magazine #082 59
Weapons of the Ether By Melf & Mordenkainen Item Book, Encyclopedia Magica - Volume IV 1261
WG5 Mordenkainens Fantastic Adventure Adventure Located in: Abbor alz, El Raja Key Archive (Standard Edition) 47, 48, 60, 65, 136, 247
WG5 Mordenkainens Fantastic Adventure Adventure Located in: Abbor alz, From the Ashes: Atlas of the Flanaess 73
WG5 Mordenkainens Fantastic Adventure Adventure Located in: Abbor alz, The Adventure Begins: Adventure Maps 2, 5
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