Hail friends of Greyhawk! Today I'm musing about all the children of
Kord god of strength. In fact, I'm entirely surprised there isn't any officially named in canon. At least to my knowledge. Why is this a shock? Well
Len Lakofka set them up to be some heroic progeny way back in
Dragon Magazine #87. Perhaps it's a tease, but even your next character could be the Child of Kord. How? Let's have a look at some
1st Edition lore...
Kord is worshipped more than any other
Suel deity. Thriving churches dedicated to
him can be found in the Barbarian States,
northern Ulek, Almor, the Great Kingdom,
Hepmonaland, and on Lendore Isle. Small
isolated churches may be found among
peasants over the entire route of the Suloise
migration"
Kord is all over, especially within the
Thillonrian Peninsula. So basically any character, especially barbarians, could have a chance to be a demigod child.
"Kord is quite the fool for a pretty face.
He favors elven and human women, but
has also consorted with other humanoids
and even giants. The world is full of his
sons and daughters, but few, if any, of them
can claim demigod status (less than 1%).
Any figures who can make that claim must
have scores of 18 to 20 in two of these three
ability areas: strength, constitution, and
dexterity."
So, Kord is not only loved Oerik-wide but, like many AD&D gods of Greyhawk, he flaunts the fact that true deities aren't supposed to directly enter the
Prime Material Plane without the consensus of the pantheons. Clearly then, carousing with mortals in alternate forms is the classic mythology loophole.
"To determine whether an offspring of
Kord is entitled to demigod status, roll
2d6+6 for each of the character’s ability
scores. Two of the results must be 18 (rolls
of 12, modified), and the numbers must be
assigned so that the character has scores of
18 in two of the three physical abilities:
strength, constitution, and dexterity."
Now the chances an elf having a modified 18 DEX is pretty good, but the other stats means Kord more than likely has children among giants or ogres before medium sized humanoid-kind. Even so, the rules of this edition allow you to try and build your character as a child of Kord upfront (unlike the scant 1%
chance of being psionic after the fact). The 2d6+6 system guarantees a decent PC with minimum stats of 8, average of 13 yet there is no certainty you'll get two 18+ stats. The d4 roll is what separates the demigods from the pretenders though...
"If this criterion is met, roll d4 for each ability score of 18: a result of 1 or 2 means no adjustment, a result of 3 raises that ability score to 19, and a result of 4 raises it to 20.
Only those characters who pass all these
tests and end up with two scores of 19 or
higher among strength, constitution, and
dexterity can dare to claim their birthright
and openly profess Kord as their father.
Kord will not deny such a claim; instead,
on the child’s 17th birthday Kord will come
forth to give the young warrior a great task
based almost entirely on fighting ability.
Those who pass this test will acquire limited
special powers (see the lists below)."
How's that for a 17th birthday party? What's even better for the PC child of Kord is ALL starting ages in 1E (even humans) are already in that range, meaning a player who defies the odds could not only have two exceptional stats, but also some additional powers (assuming the PC can pass this test of combat) at only 1st level!
"Although passing this final test does
qualify the character (in Kord’s eyes) to call
himself or herself a demigod, the overriding
power of Lendor keeps Kord’s offspring
from dominating the Prime Material plane"
Well that's a relief.
"Each demigod character gains from 2-4
special powers; roll d8 once for each of the
following lists."
List #1 :
1. Save vs. poison is 3
2. Save vs. death is 4
3. Save vs. all forms of fear is 3
4. Immune to quest and geas spells
5. Mask alignment at will
6. Immune to normal missiles
7. Immune to sleep, hold, and slow
8. Roll twice, ignoring 8s and
duplicates
List #2:
1. Heal self once/week
2. Jump or levitate at will
3. Enlarge self at will, as 10th level
M-U
4. Climb walls as 7th level thief
5. No non-proficiency penalties
applied
6. Can cast silence on self at will
7. Blood rage: Will go berserk (+2
to strength) if damaged 50% or
more in combat, fighting until
slain or until everything within
60 feet is killed
8. Roll twice, ignoring 8s and
duplicates
Now all these "powers" are quite tailored to the AD&D system, so for an enterprising DM to adopt the Children of Kord into their modern D&D games, it will require a bit of creative game design.
So, you've successfully made a child of Kord...Now for the last paragraph of info on these rare quasi-deities.
"Kord’s children may never be lawful, nor
may they be paladins, illusionists, monks,
or druids. Any of his children who do not
enter his clergy and who reject the fighting
profession (by not becoming a fighter or
ranger) and any of his offspring who display
cowardice will be disowned, which might
mean (30% chance) that Kord himself will
come to the Prime Material plane to slay
the offending character."
No one said being a Child of Kord was going to be easy. For those who hung in there for this long article, here's a bonus Kord comic of mine from
Oerth Journal #21.
The Temple of Elemental Evil becomes the Temple of Elemental Good (of course) where an angelic ally of Zui is bound after her defeat in the Battle of Meridy Fields.
"To determine whether an offspring of
Kord is entitled to demigod status, roll
2d6+6 for each of the character’s ability
scores. Two of the results must be 18 (rolls
of 12, modified), and the numbers must be
assigned so that the character has scores of
18 in two of the three physical abilities:
strength, constitution, and dexterity."
How's that for a 17th birthday party? What's even better for the PC child of Kord is ALL starting ages in 1E (even humans) are already in that range, meaning a player who defies the odds could not only have two exceptional stats, but also some additional powers (assuming the PC can pass this test of combat) at only 1st level!
So, you've successfully made a child of Kord...Now for the last paragraph of info on these rare quasi-deities.
Hail Greyhawkers! Not much going on this week so I'm thumbing through the old 83 Guide and thinking about all the cities and towns that have been mapped in official Greyhawk publications (and there's alot of them!). Now I can imagine during the heyday of Living Greyhawk many many more towns were laid out, but I can't credibly count those since its not accessible anymore, nor should I count fan-made material as much as I want to (I recall a fantastic Radigast City and Rel Astra map out there) but Google is your friend in that case.
Gradsul: The main port of Keoland. A big city indeed. This one is high on my wishlist.
