Mordenkainen (pronounced: /ˈmɔːrdɛnkeɪnɛn/ MOR-den-kay-nen[10] 
listen or: /mɔːrdɛnˈkeɪnɛn/ mor-den-KAY-nen[11] or: /mɔːrdɛnˈkaɪnɛn/ mor-den-KIGH-nen[11]) was a prolific archmage from the world of Oerth who was responsible for many powerful and useful spells.[4]
Description[]
Mordenkainen with his staff.
Mordenkainen had a hawk-like face, with a permanent frown that gave the appearance of alertness and almost anger, and a penetrating gaze. He kept a close-trimmed beard and wore grey, high-collared robes. His voice was deep and melodic.[12]
While imprisoned in Barovia, his hair and beard were both long, black and peppered with grey streaks. When mad, his eyes crackled with eldritch power.[6]
He later changed his hairstyle, favoring a bald head and a trimmed goatee, but lost none of his penetrating stare.[13]
Personality[]
Typically stubborn and one who did not suffer fools gladly, Mordenkainen could be difficult even with his friends.[6]
While suffering from his madness, he was convinced that enemies were everywhere and he was being constantly watched by evil agents.[6]
Possessions[]
In addition to many scrolls and potions, Mordenkainen was known to possess a bag of holding, a set of bracers of defense, a crystal ball, a +1 dagger, an efreeti bottle, a wand of cold, a wand of fear, and three pearls of power.[14]
Relationships[]
Elminster and Mordenkainen in Ed Greenwood's living room, with Ed hiding inside a suit of armor.
Mordenkainen was the leader of the Oerthian group of wizards known as the Circle of Eight, which included many spell inventors whose names were well known on Toril, such as Bigby, Drawmij, Nystul, Otiluke, Otto, Rary, and Tenser.[15]
Mordenkainen was a good friend of Elminster Aumar; the two met on numerous occasions at Ed Greenwood's house on Earth to exchange news from each other's worlds, as well as spells and lore, along with his apprentice, Rautheene.[16] On occasion, the two were also joined by Dalamar of Krynn.[17][note 1]
He was also an acquaintance of Khelben Arunsun.[12]
History[]
Although Mordenkainen resided primarily on Oerth, by at least the Year of the Shield, 1367 DR, his spells were not uncommon among spellbooks in Faerûn.[4] He often traveled to Waterdeep with his friends for revelry in a city where he would not be recognized.[18]
Following the demise of the Circle of Eight at the hands of Vecna during the lich's first failed attempt at obtaining greater deity status, a grieving Mordenkainen was consoled by Elminster, as the wizards reflected on the fragility of their good deeds.[17]
At one point, Mordenkainen created the helmet of disjunction; it's unknown if he ever made more than one.[19] It replicated the effect of his spell known as Mordenkainen's disjunction,[speculation] making it capable of breaking any 'enchantment' within its vicinity.[20] However, he later wanted nothing to do with that "accursed thing" for fear of it destroying all his magical possessions, and he angrily rejected Xenk Yendar when he came to him in Waterdeep circa 1400 DR seeking help dealing with it.[21]
Mordenkainen later traveled to Barovia in an attempt to free the local population from its vampire darklord Strahd. However, he underestimated Strahd's power and, after barely surviving a confrontation with him, he lost his spellbook and his staff, eventually losing his memory and being driven to the brink of madness. He became known by the locals as the Mad Mage of Mount Baratok.[6]
In the Year of the Scarlet Witch, 1491 DR, Mordenkainen, still suffering from bouts of madness, was in Waterdeep, where Storm Silverhand and Elminster were helping him to recover from them.[2]
By the Year of Twelve Warnings, 1494 DR,[note 2] Mordenkainen inhabited the Tower of Urm, a dwelling that he used as a vehicle to travel through the multiverse. He occasionally visited Avernus to study the effects of the Nine Hells over the schools of magic and to ensure the balance of the universe.[13]
Rumors and Legends[]
His toenails appeared to be a venerated item in some places.[22]
Spells[]
Mordenkainen during one of his many visits to the House Greenwood of Earth.
Mordenkainen's spells known in the Realms included:
- Mordenkainen's arcane seal[23][24]
- Mordenkainen's celerity[25][26]
- Mordenkainen's defense against lycanthropes[25]
- Mordenkainen's defense against nonmagical reptiles and amphibians[25]
- Mordenkainen's disjunction[25]
- Mordenkainen's electric arc[25]
- Mordenkainen's encompassing vision[25]
- Mordenkainen's faithful hound[27]
- Mordenkainen's faithful phantom defenders[25]
- Mordenkainen's faithful phantom guardian[25]
- Mordenkainen's faithful phantom shield-maidens[25]
- Mordenkainen's force missiles[25]
- Mordenkainen's involuntary wizardry[28][25]
- Mordenkainen's lucubration[26]
- Mordenkainen's magnificent mansion[27]
- Mordenkainen's penultimate cogitation[29]
- Mordenkainen's private sanctum[27]
- Mordenkainen's protection from avians[25]
- Mordenkainen's protection from insects and arachnids[25]
- Mordenkainen's protection from slime[25]
- Mordenkainen's sword[27]
Appendix[]
Notes[]
- ↑ See also other articles in the Wizards Three series in Dragon Magazine.
- ↑ Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus is set in 1492 DR per the "Baldur's Gate Gazetteer" section (p. 159) and a clarification from the adventure's lead writer. Baldur's Gate III, which is a direct sequel to Descent into Avernus set immediately after its events, is also set in 1492 DR. In an apparent error, pages 7 and 47 of Descent into Avernus describes certain events as occurring "fifty years" after 1444 DR (1494 DR).
Appearances[]
Adventures
Novels & Short Stories
Honor Among Thieves: The Junior Novelization
Comics
Video Games
Card Games
Organized Play & Licensed Adventures
When the Lights Went Out in Candlekeep
Gallery[]
External Links[]
Mordenkainen article at the Greyhawk Wiki, a wiki for the Greyhawk campaign setting.- Mordenkainen article at Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
References[]
- ↑ Ed Greenwood (June 2006). “A Dark and Stormy Knight: Another Evening with the Wizards Three:”. In Erik Mona ed. Dragon #344 (Paizo Publishing, LLC), p. 57.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ed Greenwood (2016-06-07). Death Masks. (Wizards of the Coast). ISBN 0-7869-6593-2.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Andy Collins, Bruce R. Cordell (July 2002). Epic Level Handbook. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 308. ISBN 0-7869-2658-9.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Ed Greenwood, Eric L. Boyd (1996). Volo's Guide to All Things Magical. (TSR, Inc), p. 109. ISBN 0-7869-0446-1.
- ↑ Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford (May 29, 2018). Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes. Edited by Kim Mohan, Michele Carter. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 4. ISBN 978-0786966240.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Christopher Perkins, Tracy Hickman, Laura Hickman (March 2016). Curse of Strahd. Edited by Kim Mohan. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 39–40. ISBN 978-0-7869-6598-4.
- ↑ Robert J. Kuntz, Gary Gygax (1984). Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure. Edited by Frank Mentzer, Michael Dobson. (TSR, Inc.), p. 30. ISBN 0-88038-168-X.
- ↑ Jason Bulmahn, James Jacobs, Erik Mona (August 2007). Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk. Edited by Penny Williams, Beth Griese. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 92. ISBN 978-0-7869-4358-6.
- ↑ Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Christopher Perkins (2014-09-30). Monster Manual 5th edition. Edited by Scott Fitzgerald Gray. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 342. ISBN 978-0786965614.
- ↑ Frank Mentzer (January 1985). “Ay pronunseeAYshun gyd”. In Kim Mohan ed. Dragon #93 (TSR, Inc.), p. 28.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Adam Lee, et al. (September 2019). Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus. Edited by Michele Carter, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 4. ISBN 978-0-7869-6687-5.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Ed Greenwood (September 1992). “The Wizards Three: Magic in the Evening”. In Roger E. Moore ed. Dragon #185 (TSR, Inc.), p. 57.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Adam Lee, et al. (September 2019). Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus. Edited by Michele Carter, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 97–98. ISBN 978-0-7869-6687-5.
- ↑ Brian Blume, David Cook, Jean Wells (1980). The Rogues Gallery. (TSR, Inc), p. 44. ISBN 0-935696-18-0.
- ↑ David Cook (January 1991). Vecna Lives!. Edited by Mike Breault. (TSR, Inc.), pp. 8, 84–89. ISBN 0-88038-897-8.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood (September 1992). “The Wizards Three: Magic in the Evening”. In Roger E. Moore ed. Dragon #185 (TSR, Inc.), pp. 56–63.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Ed Greenwood (December 1992). “The Wizards Three: Sorcery from Three Worlds”. In Roger E. Moore ed. Dragon #188 (TSR, Inc.), pp. 27–34.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood (November 1994). “The Wizards Three: A Night of Shadows”. In Kim Mohan ed. Dragon #211 (TSR, Inc.), p. 84.
- ↑ Legendary Magic Items. D&D Beyond. Wizards of the Coast. (2023-03-31). Retrieved on 2023-03-31.
- ↑ Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley (2023). Honor Among Thieves. (Paramount Pictures).
- ↑ Jeremy Lambert, Ellen Boener (February 2023). Honor Among Thieves: The Feast of the Moon. Edited by Jonathan Manning, Zac Boone. (IDW Publishing), p. 68. ISBN 978-1-68405-911-9.
- ↑ Kate Novak, Jeff Grubb (July 1997). Finder's Bane. (TSR, Inc.). ISBN 0-7869-0658-8.
- ↑ Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley (2023). Honor Among Thieves. (Paramount Pictures).
- ↑ David Lewman (February 28, 2023). Honor Among Thieves: The Junior Novelization. (Random House Worlds), chap. 11, pp. 75, 81. ISBN 0593647955.
- ↑ 25.00 25.01 25.02 25.03 25.04 25.05 25.06 25.07 25.08 25.09 25.10 25.11 25.12 25.13 Mark Middleton et al (March 1998). Wizard's Spell Compendium Volume Three. (TSR, Inc), pp. 592–599. ISBN 978-0786907915.
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 Dale Donovan (January 1998). Cult of the Dragon. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), p. 64. ISBN 0-7869-0709-6.
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 27.3 Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford (2014). Player's Handbook 5th edition. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 261–263. ISBN 978-0-7869-6560-1.
- ↑ Dale Donovan (January 1998). Cult of the Dragon. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), p. 125. ISBN 0-7869-0709-6.
- ↑ Dale Donovan (January 1998). Cult of the Dragon. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), p. 74. ISBN 0-7869-0709-6.