Mordenkainen is a fictional wizard from the ''

World of Greyhawk Greyhawk, also known as the World of Greyhawk, is a fictional world designed as a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy roleplaying game. Although not the first campaign world developed for ''Dungeons & Dragons''— Dave Arnes ...

campaign setting A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. A ''campaign'' is a series of individual adventures, and a ''campaign setting'' is the world in which such adventures and ca ...

for the ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical Studies Rules ...

roleplaying game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...

. He was created by

Gary Gygax Ernest Gary Gygax ( ; July 27, 1938 – March 4, 2008) was an American game designer and author best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') with Dave Arneson. In the 1960s, Gygax created an ...

as a

player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...

, only months after the start of Gygax's Greyhawk campaign, and is therefore one of the oldest characters continuously associated with ''

''. Once Gygax was forced out of

TSR, Inc. TSR, Inc. was an American game publishing company, best known as the original publisher of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D''). Its earliest incarnation, Tactical Studies Rules, was founded in October 1973 by Gary Gygax and Don Kaye. Gygax had bee ...

, he lost creative control of Mordenkainen. TSR then made Mordenkainen a powerful wizard with strong convictions against moral absolutes, and the leader of the

Circle of Eight Greyhawk, also known as the World of Greyhawk, is a fictional world designed as a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy roleplaying game. Although not the first campaign world developed for ''Dungeons & Dragons''—Dave Arneson ...

, a cabal of eight powerful wizards. In fiction associated with the ''World of Greyhawk'', he has played diverse roles as both protagonist and antagonist. Official publications for the ''World of Greyhawk'' sometimes contradict each other regarding Mordenkainen. It is clear, however, that he is an important figure in the fictional history of the

Flanaess Greyhawk, also known as the World of Greyhawk, is a fictional world designed as a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy roleplaying game. Although not the first campaign world developed for ''Dungeons & Dragons''—Dave Arneson ...

Creative origins

In late 1972, Gary Gygax created

Castle Greyhawk Castle Greyhawk is one of the central dungeon settings in the fictional ''World of Greyhawk'' campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' roleplaying game. The Castle was originally developed by Gary Gygax, for his own campaign and later deta ...

and the dungeons beneath it. After a few months of almost non-stop play as the Dungeon Master, Gygax asked one of the players, Rob Kuntz, to become co-Dungeon Master, which would allow Gygax an opportunity to experience the game as a player. Gygax subsequently created several characters, including a 1st-level wizard in early 1973. Gygax was interested in

Finnish mythology Finnish mythology is a commonly applied description of the folklore of Finnish paganism, of which a modern revival is practiced by a small percentage of the Finnish people. It has many features shared with Estonian and other Finnic mythologies, ...

, and named the wizard Mordenkainen, a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsMordecai Mordecai (; also Mordechai; , IPA: ) is one of the main personalities in the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. He is described as being the son of Jair, of the tribe of Benjamin. He was promoted to Vizier after Haman was killed. Biblical acco ...

and

Lemminkäinen Lemminkäinen () or Lemminki () is a prominent figure in Finnish mythology. He is one of the heroes of the ''Kalevala'', where his character is a composite of several separate heroes of oral poetry. He is usually depicted as young and good-loo ...

Robert J. Kuntz Robert J. Kuntz (born September 23, 1955) is a game designer and author of role-playing game publications. He is best known for his contributions to various ''Dungeons & Dragons''-related materials. Biography Early life Rob Kuntz was born Septe ...

started a role-playing campaign in his Kalibruhn setting in 1973, in which Mordenkainen and Yrag developed as

s of

. He was to become Gygax's most famous character, and also his favorite to play. Over several years of gameplay, mainly from 1973 to 1985, Gygax developed the character traits and adventures with which Mordenkainen would become associated, as well as raising the wizard to "twenty-something levels". During this period, Gygax united Mordenkainen with seven of his other characters to form the Circle of Eight. During his lifetime, Gygax never disclosed any of Mordenkainen's original game statistics. When Gygax was forced out of TSR in 1985, he lost the rights to most of the characters he had mentioned in TSR publications, including Mordenkainen. TSR subsequently changed Mordenkainen in ways unforeseen by his creator. When the Greyhawk campaign world was reset in 1991's '' From the Ashes'', Mordenkainen was refashioned as the world's most powerful wizard. The Circle of Eight was now described as a cabal of eight wizards supervised by Mordenkainen, who together sought to balance the forces of good and evil. Mordenkainen is one of the famous mages whose spells were included in the 1988 ''

Greyhawk Adventures ''Greyhawk Adventures'' is an accessory for the ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' (''AD&D'') ''World of Greyhawk'' campaign setting. Contents ''Greyhawk Adventures'' contains information about Greyhawk deities, clerics, major non-player characte ...

'' hardbound. His name has been associated with various spells published in the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' system of magic.

Publishing history

Mordenkainen's ''AD&D'' statistics were first published in ''

The Rogues Gallery ''The Rogues Gallery'' is an accessory for the first edition of the ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game. Contents ''The Rogues Gallery'' is a supplement for the Dungeon Master containing hundreds of non-player character li ...

'' (1980), although Gary Gygax was later emphatic that he never gave author

Brian Blume Brian John Blume (January 12, 1950 – March 27, 2020) was an American game designer and writer, principally known as a former business partner of Gary Gygax at TSR, Inc., original publishers of the fantasy role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons' ...

any information about the wizard, and insisted that Blume had been forced to make up the published statistics. Variations on Mordenkainen's ''AD&D'' statistics were also published in ''

Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure ''Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure'' by Robert J. Kuntz and Gary Gygax is an adventure module for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game, published by TSR, Inc. in 1984. It originally bore the code "WG5" and was intended for use with ...

'' (1984), ''

The City of Greyhawk ''The City of Greyhawk'' is a boxed set accessory for the World of Greyhawk campaign setting, part of the ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game. It was designed by Doug Niles, Carl Sargent, and Rik Rose, and published by TS ...

'' (1989) and ''

Epic Level Handbook The ''Epic Level Handbook'' is a rule-book by Wizards of the Coast for the 3rd edition of ''Dungeons & Dragons''. The book was published in 2001, and contains optional game rules for playing characters who have reached a higher experience leve ...

'' (2002). He was also mentioned in the following publications: *''

Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk ''Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk'' is an adventure book for the 3.5 edition of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game. The adventure is set in the game's World of Greyhawk campaign setting, specifically in and around Castle ...

'' (2007) *"The Wizards Three" series of articles from ''

Dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

'' Magazine *'' Mordenkainen's Magnificent Emporium'' (2011) *''

Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes ''Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes'' is a sourcebook for the Editions of Dungeons & Dragons, ''5th edition'' of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game, published in 2018. It is, in part, a supplement to the 5th edition ''Monster Manual'' ...

'' (2018) *'' Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse'' (2022) Mordenkainen also figured prominently in the parody adventure ''

'' (1988), in which he runs a film studio, possibly a reference to Gary Gygax's work at the time as TSR's liaison to Hollywood while he was developing the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' cartoon and other projects. Mordenkainen appears in material for the fifth edition of ''D&D'', including ''

Curse of Strahd ''Curse of Strahd'' is an adventure book for the 5th edition of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game. It was released on March 15, 2016 and is based on the ''Ravenloft'' module published in 1983. Contents Adventurers are mysteriously ...

'' (2016), and '' Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus'' (2019). Mordenkainen's name appeared in certain spells core rulebooks of the game's 3rd edition's as one of the few elements from ''Greyhawk'', even though that was designated as the core setting. Spells named after Mordenkainen also appear in D&D-based

computer game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

s like ''

Neverwinter Nights ''Neverwinter Nights'' is a series of video games developed by BioWare and Obsidian Entertainment, based on the ''Forgotten Realms'' campaign setting of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game. Aside from also being set in the Dungeons & Dra ...

''.

Description

Mordenkainen is described as tall, with a greyly streaked

Van Dyke beard A Van Dyke (sometimes spelled Vandyke, or Van Dyck) is a style of facial hair named after the 17th-century Flemish painter Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641). The artist's name is today normally spelt as “van Dyck", though there are many variants, ...

, wearing long boots and carrying a staff. He keeps his own council and does not tolerate fools. He operates according to a theory based on power balance and Neutrality, trying to keep neither Good nor Evil from getting the upper hand; he operates very much from the shadows.

Reception

Mordenkainen was #9 on ''Game Rant'''s 2020 "10 Must-Have NPCs In Dungeons & Dragons Lore To Make Your Campaigns Awesome" list — the article states that "As an NPC, players might search for Mordenkainen for his expertise in the magical arts. After all, Mordenkainen heads the Circle of Eight, a group of Wizards and prolific spell inventors. Campaigns planning on adapting ''Curse of Strahd'' may also include Mordenkainen as an NPC they need to save– or face, depending on the circumstances." Writer Aubrey Sherman called Mordenkainen one "of Dungeons & Dragons's most famous wizards" and found similarities with both

Elminster Elminster Aumar is a fictional character appearing in the ''Forgotten Realms'' campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game. He is also known as the Sage of Shadowdale, and is depicted as a powerful wizard featured i ...

and

Gandalf Gandalf is a protagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. He is a Wizards (Middle-earth), wizard, one of the ''Istari'' order, and the leader of the Fellowship of the Ring (characters), Fellowship of t ...

with respect to appearance, demeanor, outlook and importance in their respective worlds. ''Backstab'' magazine contributor Kaneda considered Mordenkainen one of the greatest magicians from the Greyhawk campaign setting.

Creative origins

Publishing history

Description

Reception

See also

References

Further reading