Lydia
| Lydia | |
|---|---|
 Lydia, the Mother of Truth, as depicted in Dragon #92 (1984). | |
| General information | |
| Portfolio: | Music, Knowledge, Daylight |
| Home: | Elysium |
| Alignment: | Neutral good |
| Gender: | Female |
| Class: | 20th level magic-user, 20th level illusionist, sings as a 20th level bard |
| Superior: | Lendor |
| Rules items | |
| Domains: | Good, Knowledge, Sun, Travel |
Lydia (LIH-dee-ah) is the Suel goddess of Music, Knowledge, and Daylight. Her holy symbol is a spray of colors from an open hand.
Description
Lydia is depicted as a dynamic, white-haired woman with clear blue eyes. She wears a white gown trimmed in silver and gold. She is constantly surrounded by a sphere of force.
Realm
Lydia's realm is in Elysium, associated with the town Release From Care.
Relationships
Lydia interacts with many other deities, exchanging songs and information. She opposes Pholtus, feeling that others must see the light of truth without being blinded by it. Her philosophy pleases Trithereon, who similarly presses for the freedom of the individual. She is also allied with Ye'Cind.
Dogma
Lydia promotes the progress of knowledge in each individual for the sake of their self-improvement. She teaches that music is a key to learning, and that light permits the ignorant to see the truth.
Worshipers
Lydia is favored by musicians, bards, sages, and by women seeking fame. She supports womens' education and her church helps women who want to travel.
In the Scarlet Brotherhood, many followers of Lydia are lawful neutral bards who use stories and songs to promote ideals of Suloise racial supremacy and resentment, though a few are good-aligned and more closely follow their goddess's true ideals.
Clergy
Lydia's clerics are female 80% of the time. They are constantly driven to learn and discover, and many travel in the company of clerics of Fharlanghn. Their white vestments are trimmed in silver and gold. They use education to uplift women from lesser stations in life. This tends to make her church unpopular with patriarchies.
The records kept by Lydia's church are open to all, for Lydia hates secrets.
Temples
A large wooden temple of Lydia can be found in the city of Leukish north of the business district, greeting those who enter the city from the lake. Apart from that, Lydia has five notable churches in the Flanaess: in Lo Reltama, in Niole Dra, in Gryrax, in Nellix, and in Pitchfield.
Rituals
When praying, priests of Lydia are required to give their patron updates on the things they have learned. Lydia's teachings are presented in song form to aid memory, and her church often converts historical texts to ballads.
Bibliography
- Brown, Anne. Player's Guide. Renton, WA: TSR, 1998.
- Conforti, Steven, ed. Living Greyhawk Official Listing of Deities for Use in the Campaign, version 2.0. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2005. Available online: [1]
- Findley, Nigel, Dan Salas, Stephen Inniss, and Robert J. Kuntz. Fate of Istus. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1989.
- Gygax, Gary. World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1983.
- Gygax, Gary, and Frank Mentzer. The Temple of Elemental Evil. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1985.
- Holian, Gary, Erik Mona, Sean K. Reynolds, and Frederick Weining. Living Greyhawk Gazetteer. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2000.
- Lakofka, Lenard. "Gods of the Suel Pantheon." Dragon #92. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1984.
- Perkins, Christopher. Warriors of Heaven. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 1999.
- Reynolds, Sean K. The Scarlet Brotherhood. Renton, WA: TSR, 1999.
- Sargent, Carl. From the Ashes. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1992.
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
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lydia | Deity | Mother of Truth, Pure Song, | Dragon magazine #092 | 22, 23 |
| Lydia | Deity | Mother of Truth, Pure Song, | Dragon magazine #AN4 | 20 |
| Lydia | Deity | Mother of Truth, Pure Song, | From the Ashes: References Card | #4 |
| Lydia | Deity | Mother of Truth, Pure Song, | Living Greyhawk, Living Onnwal Gazetteer, D&D 3.5e | 25, 26, 65, 67, 69, 107 |
| Lydia | Deity | Mother of Truth, Pure Song, | Living Greyhawk Gazetteer | 63, 64, 68, 110, 119, 123, 124, 175, 188 |
| Lydia | Deity | Mother of Truth, Pure Song, | Living Greyhawk Journal #1 | 19 |
| Lydia | Deity | Mother of Truth, Pure Song, | Living Greyhawk Journal #3 | 18 |
| Lydia | Deity | Mother of Truth, Pure Song, | Living Greyhawk Journal #4 | 31 |
| Lydia | Deity | Mother of Truth, Pure Song, | Living Greyhawk Journal #5 | 31 |
| Lydia | Deity | Mother of Truth, Pure Song, | Oerth Journal #01 | 6 |
| Lydia | Deity | Mother of Truth, Pure Song, | Oerth Journal #10 | 22,32 |
| Lydia | Deity | Mother of Truth, Pure Song, | Oerth Journal #11 | 57,59 |
| Lydia | Deity | Mother of Truth, Pure Song, | Oerth Journal #13 | 3,11 |
| Lydia | Deity | Mother of Truth, Pure Song, | Oerth Journal #16 | 45,67 |
| Lydia | Deity | Mother of Truth, Pure Song, | Oerth Journal #20 | 5 |
| Lydia | Deity | Mother of Truth, Pure Song, | Oerth Journal #23 | 13 |
| Lydia | Deity | Mother of Truth, Pure Song, | Oerth Journal #24 | 16 |
| Lydia | Deity | Mother of Truth, Pure Song, | Oerth Journal #25 | 47 |
| Lydia | Deity | Mother of Truth, Pure Song, | Oerth Journal #27 | 6,33 |
| Lydia | Deity | Mother of Truth, Pure Song, | Player's Guide to Greyhawk | 20 |
| Lydia | Deity | Mother of Truth, Pure Song, | T1-4 The Temple of Elemental Evil | 120 |
| Lydia | Deity | Mother of Truth, Pure Song, | The Scarlet Brotherhood | 11, 12, 83 |
| Lydia | Deity | Mother of Truth, Pure Song, | World of Greyhawk boxed set (1983) | 63 |
| Lydia the shopkeeper | Non-player character | [F5], | L2 The Assassins Knot | 5, 6 |
| Lydia, Temple of (Gryrax) | Building | Temple, | Dragon magazine #092 | 23 |
| Lydia, Temple of (Leukish) | Building | Temple, | WG8 Fate of Istus | 59, 60, 65 |
| Lydia, Temple of (Lo Reltarma) | Building | Temple, | Dragon magazine #092 | 23 |
| Lydia, Temple of (Nellix) | Building | Temple, | Dragon magazine #092 | 23 |
| Lydia, Temple of (Nellix) | Building | Temple, | Living Greyhawk Journal #4 | 31 |
| Lydia, Temple of (Niole Dra) | Building | Temple, | Dragon magazine #092 | 23 |
| Lydia, Temple of (Pitchfield) | Building | Temple, | Dragon magazine #092 | 23 |