“Hardships make or break people.”
― Gone with the
Wind
 |
| Mordenkainen, Friend or Foe? |
What do I think about Mordenkainen, after such lengthy
scrutiny? I don’t know. Not yet. I began with a preconceived notion of who he
was (or who I imagined him to be), one I’d hoped to set aside as I
gathered his scattered references (far more numerous than I’d ever imagined at
first) and set them in order, wishing to approach this (perhaps) most loved of
all characters with an unbiased mind (if that were even possible).
Did I succeed? You tell me. Did you divine hidden
admiration or disdain in my contextual comments? I suppose you did.
Maybe we (meaning me) should take a more analytical
approach in accessing his “achievements,” a tally of successes
and failures, as it were.
It’s time then to consider Mordenkainen as a whole.
Is he what he claims to be: the Champion of Balance? Is
he a hero or a villain? Or merely a believer of his own propaganda?
So, in that vein, let's do just that, tally up. I’ll list his actions, and
whatever other relevant passages I believe illuminate his character, and rate
them as either (to my mind) success or failure, insofar as whether he has made
the Oerth a better place for his efforts, and thus made it a more stable place.
Are you sitting comfortably? Then let’s begin.
|
Passage |
Opinion |
Success |
Failure |
|
He has few friends, and no one in whom he completely
confides. [LGJ#0 – 9]
|
Not friendly.
|
|
1 |
|
You like to keep people guessing, so you do not
confirm or deny anything. [COR1 – 00 The Citadel – PCs – 1]
|
Not trustworthy.
|
|
1 |
|
Mordenkainen would come to learn that Zagig had
cheated death by becoming a deity [.] [EttRoG – 4]
|
Knowledge. This is rather neutral, but forewarned is forearmed, as
they say.
|
1 |
|
|
In his adventurous youth, [Tenser] traveled
throughout the Flanaess and beyond and met Mordenkainen [.] [Rot8 – 58]
|
Befriending (LG) Tenser.
|
1 |
|
|
It was in a
dungeon […] that Mordenkainen encountered and charmed the magic-user Bigby,
and subsequently enlisted that worthy as an apprentice. [Dragon #289 – 28] Your apprentice is quite talented, and you have
managed to imbue him with your dedication to the Balance. He follows your
lead most of the time, which is just what you want. You are genuinely fond of
him, but don’t really trust him with all your thoughts (or anyone else, for
that matter). [COR1 – 00 – 2]
|
“Recruiting,” and ultimately befriending (N) Bigby. [Yes, Bigby was initially evil in Gary’s and Rob’s
campaign.]
|
1 |
|
|
The Citadel
houses Mordenkainen’s unequalled library which is said to contain spellbooks
of every known spell) except those designed by individual wizards),
intelligence reports from across the continent, and a detailed and
continually updated history of the Flanaess. [PGtG – 21,22]
|
Research
|
1 |
|
|
Human
bandits and pirates were loaded with wealth, money, and magic. These “monsters”
were the truly rich, so finding and defeating such robbers was the answer to
the quandary. […] [W]hy not see about recruiting defeated brigands and
corsairs into the assembly of adventurers? [Dragon #299 – 18]
|
Taming his Yatil citadel environs. Choosing not to summarily kill those who are decidedly
evil out of hand.
|
1 |
|
|
A few months ago, you and your apprentice Bigby
discussed taking a more active hand in the preservation of the Balance.
[COR1 – 00 The Citadel – PCs – 1] Mordenkainen had brought the renowned warrior
Robilar to his cause, as well as the cleric Riggby, and his zealous
assistant, Yrag. From the shores of the Nyr Dyv, Mordenkainen recruited the
righteous Tenser, who in turn introduced the dim-witted though well-meaning Serten
to the assembly. [LGJ#0 – 5]
|
The creation of the Citadel of Eight.
|
1 |
|
|
Mordenkainen's view of balance is no tit-for-tat
equality, but a highly detailed and extremely theoretical philosophy derived
from decades of arcane research. [LGJ#0 – 9]
|
Trustworthy?
|
|
1 |
|
In the course of his arcane studies and world
travels, he developed a rigid philosophy based on cosmological balance,
fighting on the side of good as often as he nudged events in the direction of
evil. [EttRoG – 9]
|
Trustworthy? I might opine that a rigid philosophy will fit facts to
opinion and not the other way around.
|
|
1 |
|
[Mordenkainen] relentlessly explored the ruins of
Zagig’s castle, charting its secrets and plundering its priceless treasures.
[EttRoG – 4] |
Knowledge. He’s also gathering up greater and greater magics that
would aid in his endeavour.
|
1 |
|
|
[T]he Citadel of Eight, was a known opponent of
darkness in its many guises. Its members stood, and fell, protecting the
balance and defending Oerth from the influence of malign beings and, rarely,
benevolent interlopers, as well. [LGJ#0
– 4] |
|
1 |
|
|
Having found Robilar's servant, the euroz Quij,
wholly incorruptible (insofar as loyalty to his master was concerned), the
Archmage of Greyhawk set upon a more mundane plan. Working through contacts
in the Prelacy of Almor, he drafted an aspiring magic-wielding priest of
Boccob as his mole. [LGJ#0 – 10] |
Mordenkainen recruits Otto to spy on his friend. He does not trust his friends.
|
|
1 |
|
This book was written by
several evil magi, whose time of existence upon Oerth is not recorded, save
that they dwelt near the Valley of the Mage. The Tome was lost during those
years when the Mage of the Valley brought down a great ruin upon these evil ones.
[WG5 Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure – 25]
|
The Tome of the Black Heart is retrieved from Maure
Castle. In my narrative I suggest that his perusal of this fell
tome changed him, and not for the better. Did it expose a greater threat to the multiverse? It
might have. Either way, he became more obsessed. One cannot say whether this was a success or not, but
his obtaining it took it out of the hands of others.
|
1 |
|
|
Gustin [Longpike] is also one of the few people who
can say he knows the archmage Mordenkainen personally, as he worked for the
wizard a few times on missions in the Yatils. He cannot say he’s a close
friend of Mordenkainen, but he thinks well of the wizard and passes along
interesting information to the [Citadel] of Eight. [TAB – 102]
Ravel Dasinder, Patriarch of Boccob Ravel is a member of the Directing Oligarchy,
elected precisely because he virtually never interferes in the affairs of the
city. Ravel knows much and says almost nothing. He is only truly concerned
with the safety of Greyhawk, and cares little about the day-to-day minutiae
of politics. […] The High Patriarch of Boccob has unequaled knowledge
of future events, and it is this which makes him a valued contact of
Mordenkainen. [CoG:FFF – 28] He is a close ally of Mordenkainen of the Circle of
Eight [TAB – 63]
|
He has gathered a great many allies to his cause,
however much they might know of his methods and aims.
|
1 |
|
|
The Vesve also has its powerful allies. In addition
to Philidor, Mordenkainen looks out over Highvale and would help protect it,
were it invaded or in dire peril. [WGR4 The Marklands – 55] |
|
1 |
|
|
Dwarves, gnomes, and humans all serve as troops
within the citadel, and are usually of elite quality and strongly loyal to
the archmage. Many do so in grateful return for Mordenkainen’s help in
protecting their clans and homes against marauding humanoids in the Yatil
range. [CoG:FFF – 21]
|
And allies. Perhaps minions.
|
1 |
|
|
[Mordenkainen’s] philosophy has gained the archmage
a virtual army of enemies, not a few of whom once considered him a good
friend. Among these last can be counted Evard the Black, Terik and, of
course, Rary. [LGJ#0 – 9]
|
Trustworthy? Friends become enemies?
|
|
1 |
|
For decades, [Mordenkainen] has been collecting his
thoughts in a work known as the Codex of Mordenkainen. Archmages across the
Flanaess would give anything to peruse its pages. [LGJ#0 – 9]
|
Knowledge. I expect he is gathering his own tally of greater goods
and evils throughout the multiverse.
|
1 |
|
|
For a group that so decisively defeated its enemies,
there remained several problems. Robilar never quite
bought into Mordenkainen’s philosophy, and he and Tenser often bickered over
matters of morality. Serten, though seen as useful, was never truly
respected and Otis, tired of underground excursions and forays into urban
territories, left the group, decrying his friends as cave-delvers and
treasure seekers blind to the real problems of the world. [LGJ#0 – 5]
|
Trustworthy? Friends have not bought into his philosophy of Balance? He does keep Robilar close and counts him as a friend
despite his friend’s slide into evil.
|
|
1 |
|
[B]y this time [Robilar] had begun to grow weary of
his old friends [.] Feeling that all the others had grown soft and weak as a
result of their prestigious positions, Robilar maintained friendly relations
only with Rary. [WGR3 Rary the Traitor – 11]
|
Trustworthy? One would imagine he would have taken his best friend
into his confidence. He did not.
|
|
1 |
|
Mordenkainen’s darker actions brought him into
conflict with certain members of the Citadel, notably the good wizard Tenser,
who advocated direct intervention on the side of weal and who couldn’t grasp
why Mordenkainen would not dedicate himself and his band to the eradication
of evil. Such rifts eventually tore the group apart [.] [EttRoG –
9]
|
Trustworthy? Another of his greatest allies and friends leaves the
Citadel of Eight.
|
|
1 |
|
After the dissolution of the Citadel, Mordenkainen
remained great friends with the organization’s most cunning fighter, Lord
Robilar, and together they traveled the length and breadth of the Flanaess,
from the City of the Gods in the northern wastelands of Blackmoor to the vine-choked
crumbling pyramids of the Amedio Jungle. [OJ#25 – 15/ EttRoG – 9]
|
Evil is on the rise everywhere, yet Mordenkainen
persists in his friendship with an ever more evil Robilar. |
|
1 |
|
All were absent save Serten, who fought valiantly at
the side of Prince Thrommel against the hordes of Elemental Evil. [LGJ#0 – 5]
|
Mordenkainen was absent from the Battle of Emridy
Meadows.
|
|
1 |
|
Robilar freed the demoness Zuggtmoy, who was
imprisoned beneath the temple complex. [OJ#7 – 42] Robilar insists that Mordenkainen was present and
purposefully assisted in "freeing" Zuggtmoy in some scheme designed
to preserve the Balance. [Artifact of Evil/OJ#7 – 42]
|
Mordenkainen either aids in, or directs Robilar, to
free Mordenkainen. At the very least he stood by while it was done (while
Tenser acted to prevent it).
|
|
1 |
|
After decades of viewing
himself as a chessmaster, Mordenkainen naturally began to view his friends
and companions as pawns. [EttRoG – 9]
|
He views his friends as pawns. Either he knows a great secret or his is just plain untrustworthy.
|
|
1 |
|
When the opportunity to destroy Iuz once and for all
presented itself to the wizard, he manipulated Lord Robilar and Riggby into
releasing the imprisoned demon-god, freeing himself from the disastrous
consequences and the scorn of his more altruistic associates should the plan
fail. [EttRoG – 9]
|
Mordenkainen manipulates Robilar and Riggby.
|
|
1 |
|
In 570 CY, Lord Robilar, his orc henchman Quij and
Riggby, Patriarch of Boccob, freed Iuz. [PGtG – 24]
|
Bidgby is almost killed in trying to stop Iuz’s
release. Where is Mordenkainen, BTW?
|
|
1 |
|
The chaos surrounding the return to power of the
demigod, luz, in CY 570 prompted Mordenkainen to consider a new paradigm. […]Thus
was born the Circle of Eight. [LGJ#0 – 6]
|
Mordenkainen still believes in Balance, and will scheme
to achieve it.
|
1 |
|
|
He has fought ardently for the forces of good […],
but just as often he has been known to work as a shadow player for
malevolence. [LGJ#0 – 9]
|
As if evil ever needs help….
|
|
1 |
|
So it was that Otto worked his way into Robilar's
organization, and onto the path of events that would see him as a founding
member of the Circle of Eight. [LGJ#0 – 10]
|
Otto betrays Robilar’s presence in the Pomarj.
|
|
1 |
|
Mordenkainen […] formed the Circle of Eight
as a tool to manipulate political factions of the Flanaess, preserving the
delicate balance of power in hopes of maintaining stability and sanity in the
region. [LGG – 156] By the first month of 571 CY, [Mordenkainen] had
gathered eight mages to his cause, among them Bigby, Otto, Rary, Nystul,
Drawmij, and the affable Bucknard. [LGJ#0 – 5]
|
This group appears for focused on achieving “Balance”
than the Citadel of Eight ever was.
|
1 |
|
|
Mordenkainen let it be known that one who relied so
much on compulsion and servitude was no true mage, for such acts are a
substitute for true magical prowess and understanding. Reydrich took the
insult badly indeed, and if given any way of stymieing the Circle, he would
certainly do so. [Ivid – 136]
|
Mordenkainen makes an enemy of Reydrich of South
Province.
|
|
1 |
|
In all things, the Circle of Eight prefers to work
behind the scenes, subtly manipulating events to ensure that no one faction
gains the upper hand. [LGG – 156]
|
Working behind the scenes is not bad in itself,
manipulating states and people seems less benevolent, however. One imagines that taking his allies into his confidence
might achieve his aims more effectively.
|
|
1 |
|
Mordenkainen met Alhamazad almost 20 years ago, when
a crisis in Zeif drew the Archmage of Greyhawk to the assistance of the old
mage. The affair ended with the departure of Alhamazad's traitorous
apprentice, Kermin Mind-Bender. [LGJ#0 – 7] Mordenkainen and Alhamazad have been fast allies
ever since. [LGJ#0 – 7]
|
Mordenkainen makes a powerful allie, and exposes
adangerous apprentice who is secretly allied with Iuz.
|
1 |
|
|
Leomund, an immigrant from the east […] retired from
the Circle in 576 CY and has been little seen since. [TAB – 60] Kieran
[Jalucian] was considered unacceptable to join the Circle by virtue of
alignment [.] [CoG:FFF – 27] Otiluke replaced him later that year. [TAB – 60]
|
Mordenkainen recruits a mage he can manipulate.
|
|
1 |
|
In the years approaching the Greyhawk Wars, the
Circle thwarted several of Iuz’s schemes, explored treasure-laden tombs in
the Cairn Hills, and made itself known in courts throughout the Flanaess,
achieving a measure of political influence. [EttRoG – 9] They also disrupted plots of the Horned Society and
Iuz, and performed other deeds too numerous and sensitive to mention,
primarily by arranging for adventurers to take up these causes as their own. [TAB
– 61]
|
The Circle works to defeat evil in the north.
|
1 |
|
|
The Crook of Rao first appeared in the adventure WG6
Isle of the Ape, where it had to be rescued from a demiplane by adventurers. [TAB
– 20]
|
The Circle recruits adventurers to find and retrieve a
powerful artifact that can be used to stem the tide of evil.
|
1 |
|
|
[T]he powerful wizard Bucknard […] vanished in 579
CY while exploring an unknown demiplane. His fate is not known. [PGtG – 23]
|
A member of his Circle disappears. Mordenkaninen cannot fathom how or where to.
|
|
1 |
|
But then, a year ago, the bandits began to ride the
roads again—not frequently, but to some effect. [T1-4 Temple of Elemental Evil – 5] [Lareth] and his servants were slain by the small
band of heroes who helped defeat the temple, with the aid of locals such as
Y’dey and Elmo [.] [RttToEE – 19] Y’dey was not able to get to Otis’s body quickly
enough to raise him. [RttTEE – 10]
|
Mordenkainen is either oblivious to the re-emergence of
evil around the Temple of Elemental Evil; or does nothing to stop it.
|
|
1 |
|
The Wizards Three sessions. [Dragon #185, 188, 196, 200, 211, 219, 238, 242, 246, 344, 359]
|
Mordenkainen (TN) has meetings with Elminster (LG) and
Dalamar the Dark (LE). Let’s assume it is to combat the assault on magic and
the loss of Balance across the multiverse.
|
1 |
|
|
The Mage of Greyhawk looked thoughtful. “I’ve news of more import – to me, at least – but less specifics.
Someone, it is certain, is trying to slay those of the Circle.” [Dragon #185 – 58]
|
Someone has tried to assassinate Circle members, and
Mordenkainen has no clue who, and never discovers who either.
|
|
1 |
|
Vecna destroyed the entire Circle, save
Mordenkainen, who had elected to remain in Greyhawk as a safeguard against
just such an occurrence. [LGJ#0 – 6]
|
Mordenkainen sends the entire Circle on a mission. He does not accompany them. They die.
|
|
1 |
|
When news reached the archmage, he mobilized the
Circle's allies, and a small cadre of apprentice wizards, former companions,
and long-time confidantes embarked on a nearly hopeless bid to thwart Vecna's
apotheosis [.] [LGJ#0 – 6] Mordenkainen wants the [allied adventurers] to
discover the fate of the Circle of Eight. [WGA4 Vecna Lives! – 18] [Mordenkainen] elected to remain in Greyhawk as a
safeguard against just such an occurrence. [WGA4 – 17]
|
He does send affiliate members to discover what
happened, even if he himself does not lead them.
|
1 |
|
|
Mordenkainen addressed this absence by recovering
what was left of his fallen comrades and cloning them. [LGJ#0 – 6]
|
He clones his friends. There’s that, at least.
|
1 |
|
|
To the north, the Horned Society menaced all
nations bordering them, combin[ing] the masses of humanoid troops with the organization
and powers of humans. Deviltry is the religion of the Society [.] [Folio
– 11]
|
The Horned Society prospers.
|
|
1 |
|
To the south, the existence of the highly secretive
and paranoiac Scarlet Brotherhood was first confirmed by returning
travelers in 573 CY. It seems incredible that this monastic sect of religious
militarists could have escaped notice for so long, even given their isolation
in the closed city of Kro Terlep and the remote plateau south of it. But
while the secret of this land became more widely known, the existence of a
veritable army of spies and assassins in the imperial courts of the Flanaess
was not. [FtAA – 5]
|
The Scarlet Brotherhood prospers.
|
|
1 |
|
[Mordenkainen] revels in the art of debate, though
his emotions can overcome him if he fears defeat. Luckily for him, this is a
rare occurrence (though allegedly the spike that tore a rift in his once-strong
friendship with Rary). [LGJ#0 – 9]
|
Mordenkainen makes an enemy of Rary.
|
|
1 |
|
Though the Circle never acted concertedly during the
Greyhawk Wars, certain "hotspots" received a good deal of their
attention. [LGJ#0 – 5,6]
|
The Circle does its best during the Greyhawk Wars. |
1 |
|
|
Almor presents the greatest tragedy in all the
Flanaess in some ways. [Ivid –
146] Already, more than 50,000 Almorians have perished,
and many more die by the day. [Ivid
– 146]
|
Almor is all but destroyed.
|
|
1 |
|
Worse, Mordenkainen soon
received word that his greatest friend, the fighter Lord Robilar, had sacked
the slain wizards’ strongholds and destroyed their clones and soul objects,
preventing their return to life. [EttRoG – 9,10]
|
Rary betrays the Circle. Mordenkainen is oblivious to his old friends now evil
nature and intent.
|
|
1 |
|
Tenser was returned to life in 585 CY [, rescued] [from
the clutches of the infamous necromancer-witch Iggwilv {LGG – 156}] [,] but chose not to
return to the Circle of Eight. [PGtG
– 21] Tenser, chafing at Mordenkainen's agenda, left the
group in disgust after his rescue. [LGG – 156]
|
Tenser has had enough of Mordenkaines’s schemes.
|
|
1 |
|
A brilliant thinker, Mordenkainen feels responsible
for the Flanaess and manipulates political and military events to suit his
vision of what the Flanaess should be.
|
Let’s assume his aim is true.
|
1 |
|
|
In Coldeven 586, Canon Hazen of Veluna employed the
Crook of Rao, a powerful artifact, in a special ceremony that purged the
Flanaess of nearly all fiends inhabiting it. [LGG – 16]
|
The Flight of Fiends. Tenser and Bigby aids Hazen. This is undoubtedly a good
thing. But Mordenkainen does not participate. One wonders why
he should not believe that the banishment of fiends from the Oerth is not
good for Balance. They win. He fails.
|
|
1 |
|
The Free City is still the nub of the Flanaess, and
little has changed there; Mordenkainen still watches from the Yatils;
Furyondy is beleaguered, but Veluna still stands as a beacon of good in the
darkened days of the post-war world. [Dragon #191 – 64]
|
Evil still dominates the entirety of the north. This is not Balance, this is status quo.
|
|
1 |
|
The archmages Rary and Mordenkainen were said to
have sponsored rival adventuring parties to the [Valley of the Mage]—both
suffering high casualties. [LGG –
128]
|
Both achieved nothing.
|
|
1 |
|
The Mad Mage of Mount Baratok (CN male human
archmage) came to Barovia more than a year ago to free its people from
Strahd's tyranny, but he underestimated Strahd's hold over the land and the
creatures in it. [Curse of Strahd – 39] [H]e is none other than Mordenkainen, an archmage of
Oerth[.] [CoS – 39]
|
Strahd defeats Mordenkainen and he loses his mind.
|
|
1 |
|
Famous archmage who inhabits the Tower of Urm in
Avernus [Baldur’s Gate; Descent into Avernus – 4] Mordenkainen, a chaotic neutral human archmage,
often sojourns to Avernus to study how the Nine Hells affect the schools of
magic. [BGDA – 97]
|
Mordenkainen treats with devils? He gains knowledge, but other than “know thy enemy” how
is this in any way a good thing?
|
|
1 |
|
No living persons are more famous in the Flanaess
than Mordenkainen and the Circle of Eight. These nine wizards serve as
unofficial “watchdogs” on the continent, monitoring Oerik for trouble.
Because most members are neutral in alignment, the group is concerned with
maintaining balance in its world and not allowing any faction to become too
powerful or overwhelming. In recent years, however, as evil forces have
threatened to seize control of the land, the Circle of Eight has worked on
the side of good in order to contain these ever-growing evils. [PGtG – 21]
|
The Circle continues to work to aid Good, to defeat
Evil, and bring the Oerth back into Balance.
|
|
1 |
|
Totals |
|
S=23 |
F=36 |
 |
| 23 Successes and 36 Failures |
By my interpretation, the tally of their collective
creativity is 23 successes and 36 failures.
Does that (and did they) make Mordenkainen a villain? No,
it does not. In his defence, most positive passages concerning both his Citadel
and Circle are very broad and altogether vague. Take these, for instance:
[T]he Citadel of Eight, was a known opponent of
darkness in its many guises. Its members stood, and fell, protecting the
balance and defending Oerth from the influence of malign beings and, rarely,
benevolent interlopers, as well. [LGJ#0
– 4]
In all things, the Circle of Eight prefers to work
behind the scenes, subtly manipulating events to ensure that no one faction
gains the upper hand. [LGG – 156]
For a group that so decisively defeated its enemies […]
[LGJ#0 – 5]
In the years approaching the Greyhawk Wars, the Circle
[…] disrupted plots of the Horned Society and Iuz, and performed other deeds
too numerous and sensitive to mention, primarily by arranging for adventurers
to take up these causes as their own. [TAB – 61]
Etc.
 |
| His Fingers in a Great Many Pots.... |
I might mention that the columns were neck and neck until our subject laid hands on the Tome of the Black Heart. It was thereafter that his dark
obsession appears to take over.
Why might that be? One might surmise that Mordenkainen
peered too far into the Dark. He saw there what mortals ought not to know.
Perhaps THE END. Ultimate Oblivion. A sundering of everything, Tharizdun’s
ultimate goal realised. Mayhap he has since strove to defeat that fell being,
or to forestall the ultimate defeat indefinitely. That would ultimately tip the
balance in Mordenkainen’s favour, forevermore, to my mind. That he decided that
he must bear that load himself is damning, however. He had mortal friends who
would surely have rallied to such a noble cause, however doomed it might be had he entrusted them with what he discovered:
Tenser, for instance, and the ever stalwart Bigby. Yrag and Riggby, as well! The list goes
on: He has powerful allies: Murlynd, Heward, and Keoghtom; and through them
Celestian. Perhaps even Zagyg, himself. Between them, he/they might surely sway
greater beings up the celestial chain, the lesser and greater gods themselves.
Those higher beings had imprisoned The Chained One once; one imagines that they
could be called upon to save the multiverse from oblivion again. But
Mordenkainen did not, has not, confided in a single soul – not that we know,
anyway.
Perhaps he has.... I reflect on his meetings with Elminster
and Dalamar. Perhaps he did indeed confide in others, after all....
 |
| Mordenkainen, Left Well Enough Alone! |
Or so I thought.
Do I still think that?
At my most generous I will say that I do not believe that
anymore. I believe him beleaguered, fighting a battle beyond his ken, desperate
to save everything, not knowing if success were possible, and ultimately ill-equipped to succeed against the dark
fate he had gleaned. He is only one man, after all; a mere mortal.
Honestly, I believe that Mordenkainen is overused, way overused.
Disastrously so. He’s everywhere! He should have been left well enough alone. He was Gary
Gygax’s character, after all, not latter creators’ muse and plaything. Respect should have dictated leaving his
alter-ego in peace. If they could not, and they obviously could not – the proof in publication – they ought
to have elevated him to a setting sage, an expository wonder who enlightens us
with esoteric lore and sage wisdom, much like Volo did. But alas, we'd far too many cooks in the kitchen for our own good. C'est la vie.
I wonder whether fans ever asked Gary what he thought
about the attention given to his creation. Maybe he was flattered by it, all that love for his favourite character. But I also wonder if he was quietly – secretly – horrified
by how ill-used it was. Would I have been? I think I most surely would have been; to both.
“He knew that all the hazards and perils were now
drawing together to a point: the next day would be a day of doom, the day of
final effort or disaster, the last gasp.”
―
One must always
give credit where credit is due. This History is made possible primarily by the
Imaginings of Gary Gygax and his Old Guard, Lenard Lakofka among them, and the
new old guards, Carl Sargant, James Ward, Roger E. Moore. And Erik Mona, Gary Holian,
Sean Reynolds, Frederick Weining.
The list is interminable.
Special thanks to Jason Zavoda for his compiled
index, “Greyhawkania,” an invaluable research tool.
The Art:
Mordenkainen, by Thomas Denmark, from Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk, 2007
Mordenkainen, by James Zhang, from Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk, 2007
Mordenkainen, by Clyde Caldwell, from WG5 Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure, 1985
Mordenkainen, by Ken Wood, from Living Greyhawk Journal #0, 2000
Sources:
1015
World of Greyhawk Boxed Set, 1983
1043
City of Greyhawk Boxed Set, 1992
1064
From the Ashes Boxed Set, 1992
9025
World of Greyhawk Folio, 1980
9112 WG5 Mordenkainen’s Fantastic Adventure, 1984
9147 T1-4 The Temple of Elemental Evil, 1985
9153 WG6 Isles of the Ape, 1985
9309 WGA4 Vecna Lives!, 1990
9386 WGR3 Rary the Traitor, 1992
9398 WGR4 The Marklands, 1993
9576
Return of the Eight, 1998
9577
The Adventure Begins, 1998
9578
Player’s Guide to Greyhawk, 1998
WGR7 Ivid the Undying, 1998
11743
Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, 2000
11846 Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil, 2001
Expedition
to the Ruins of Greyhawk, 2007
Dragon
Magazine #185,188,196,200,211,219,238,246,289,299,344,359
Artifact of Evil, 1986
Oerth
Journal #7,25
Living
Greyhawk Journal #0
COR1 – 00 The Citadel PCs
Greyhawkania,
Jason Zavoda