Warduke

Warduke is a fictional character in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game. He is a powerful human fighter, who sometimes works as a bounty hunter and assassin, and is heartless, cruel and short-tempered. He has made appearances set in multiple campaign settings as well as in merchandise.

Description

Warduke is a muscular human, equipped with a skull-motif shield, a longsword with a gold hilt, a half-suit of blue scale mail armor with a red and black studded shoulderpad, and most notably, a helmet complete with "bat wing"-like ridges. His face is completely unseen aside from two glowing red eyes.

Appearances

Mystara

Warduke's first appearance is as a premade character in the Dungeons & Dragons module Quest for the Heartstone. The Dungeons & Dragons accessory, The Shady Dragon Inn, provides a number of details on Warduke and other characters in the AD&D toy line. Originally a close friend of Strongheart the paladin, the two became mortal enemies when exposed to a magical item called the Heartstone, which brought Warduke's cruel nature to the fore. He is a close ally of a woman named Skylla, an evil wizard. Warduke is loved by one woman, a formerly good cleric named Raven, and hated by another, a good cleric named Mercion. He works under the evil Sorcerer Kelek, but he and Skylla plan to overthrow him once all the good fighters are defeated.

Dungeons & Dragons cartoon

Warduke makes an appearance in the Dungeons & Dragons animated series episode "In Search of Dungeon Master". In it, he succeeds in capturing Dungeon Master and plans on ransoming him to Venger. In addition, he and his band of Orcs operate a mine using dwarves as slaves. The heroes eventually manage to free Dungeon Master and the slaves, and Warduke's pursuit is foiled by a volcanic eruption.

Greyhawk

Warduke came to prominence after the Greyhawk Wars, spreading terror among the soldiers, fighting societies, and mercenaries of the Flanaess, from the Solnor Ocean to the Barrier Peaks. Warduke was quickly recruited by the Unnameable Hierarch to aid in rebuilding the Horned Society, and was eventually made a Hierarch himself. Thanks to striking many deals with otherwordly fiends, Warduke has amassed a formidable assortment of magical weapons and armors.

Creative origins

Warduke originated as a character for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons toy line in the 1980s. Warduke originally appeared as an AD&D action figure along with such other characters as Strongheart the paladin, Elkhorn the dwarf fighter, and Zarak the half-orc assassin.

It is worth noting, however, that a (unnamed) figure with Warduke's distinctive headgear appears on the cover of Dragon Magazine #17, published by TSR in 1978.

Apocrypha

There is some apocryphal evidence that Warduke and Melf may know each other. In 1983's The Shady Dragon Inn, Warduke is mentioned as being a member of the same adventuring party as an elf named "Peralay," both of whom had action figures for TSR's 1983 toy line. The fact that the Peralay figure was originally released under the name "Melf" and Warduke's recent presence Greyhawk continuity provide a topic of apocryphal interest.

Collectibles

Warduke collectibles include:

• First series AD&D action figure (1983)
• Second series AD&D action figure, with "battle-matic" action (1984)
• A miniature unarticulated figure (1983)
• "Nightmare," Warduke's steed (1983)
• Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Coloring Books: The Lost Wand and Crown of Rulership (both 1983), featuring Warduke on the cover; Warduke also appears in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Coloring Books: Characters Coloring Book and The Rescue of Ringlerun (both 1983), though he is not on the cover
• Warduke Halloween costume
• Dungeons & Dragons Lazer Blazers, the "Warduke Collection," 3-D holographic stickers (1985)
• Dungeons & Dragons Colorforms Adventure Set
• An AD&D "puffy sticker" featuring Warduke
• Dungeons & Dragons Puzzleforms
• Dungeons & Dragons Shrinky Dinks
• A Warduke Paint Master sculpture
• A Paint by Number set featuring Warduke
• In March 2006 a 'Warduke' miniature figurine was released in the War Drums set of the collectable miniatures game Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures.

References

• Gray, Michael L. Quest for the Heartstone (TSR, 1984).
• Mona, Erik, et al. "Critical Threats: Warduke." Dungeon #105 (Paizo Publishing, 2003).
• Smith, Carl. The Shady Dragon Inn (TSR, 1983).

External links

• A Brief History of Warduke