Iggwilv is an enigma to me:
- Witch Queen of Perrenland
- Mother of Witches
- Mother of Iuz
- Tasha of the Company of 7
She is of unknown parents, adopted by Baba Yaga, herself Mother of Witches, lives in Hades, wanted to invade Taerre twice, imprisoned a Demon Lord, then a Demon Prince, killed this Demon Prince, is a mortal of + 150 years, CE (source: greyhawkonline: https://greyhawkonline.com/greyhawkwiki/Iggwilv)
All other members of the Company of 7 are Quasi-gods, his son is a demi-god.
In the Forgotten Realms, Cegilune is the Mother of Witches, dwells in Hades, is NE and a lower ranking goddess.
"The Revenge of Ghorkai," a d20 adventure by Gary Gygax in The Slayer's Guide to Dragons (Mongoose Publishing, 2002), mentions a demigoddess called "The Mother of Witches." Given that Gygax created Iggwilv, and the adventure map strongly resembles the Yatil Mountains, many assume that this demigoddess is meant to be Iggwilv.[55]
To me, Iggwilv is at least a demi-goddess but more likely, given her exploits, a lower-ranking deity, the equivalent of Cegilune in the world of Greyhawk.
The last official write-up of Iggwilv that I am aware of was in The Savage Tide AP, wherein she is a 26th level Wizard/4th level Arch-Mage (30th level spell-caster) living in the Abyss to further her studies into demonology.
She has several linnorms as guards for her tower and several archanodaemons as her students. She is presented as someone the 18+ level characters are meant to seek out for information. If I believed my PCs would actually attack her, I would be sure to have her tower prepared to hold off the hordes of the Abyss, so she could easily defend herself against an attack by the PCs.
Not being familiar with most of those sources, I mentioned in my alternate take on the Greyhawk Wars (see OJ#33) that Iggwilv was in the Abyss. I realized I never actually described her status.
I'd probably have her as a lich, one of the most powerful in all of the Abyss. If she's strong enough to keep Grazz't in thrall, she's certainly strong enough to carve out her own power base. Not to mention there's no way she could have lived 150 years without becoming some sort of undead or extraplanar creature...
The last official write-up of Iggwilv that I am aware of was in The Savage Tide AP, wherein she is a 26th level Wizard/4th level Arch-Mage (30th level spell-caster) living in the Abyss to further her studies into demonology.
The last official write-up of Iggwilv was in 5th edition's The Wild Beyond the Witchlight (2021), where she's defined as an archfey. She has a Boom of Immortality ability that makes her immune to old age or aging.
I thought it'd be more interesting if she sustained her immortality more like how Baba Yaga does in Paizo's Reign of Winter adventure path, where she transforms a succession of daughters into lich-like undead husks in order to transfer their lives to hers (Iggwilv was one of the only ones to escape this fate). I think it has interesting implications regarding her relationship with Drelnza.
Not being familiar with most of those sources, I mentioned in my alternate take on the Greyhawk Wars (see OJ#33) that Iggwilv was in the Abyss. I realized I never actually described her status.
I'd probably have her as a lich, one of the most powerful in all of the Abyss. If she's strong enough to keep Grazz't in thrall, she's certainly strong enough to carve out her own power base. Not to mention there's no way she could have lived 150 years without becoming some sort of undead or extraplanar creature...
The idea that she became an extra-planar creature is very interesting, given her knowledge of demonology. I see her more in the Abyss after a stint in Hades where she was able to study with the arcanaloth and the demon-creating race.
And she has a great ambition: seize control of the Abyss!
(https://greyhawkonline.com/greyhawkwiki/Iggwilv)
"Allies
She has a famous love-hate relationship with the demon lord Graz'zt, who have fought and betrayed each other in the past.[8]
Her allies include the yugoloth Tul-oc-luc,[21] the demon lords Zuggtmoy and Demogorgon, and Tuerny the Merciless.[8]
She secretly holds significant influence over the demon lord Kostchtchie, and is responsible for his rise to power. His long-term goals are to use him to defeat Orcus and Demogorgon, allowing Iggwilv to seize control of the Abyss.[22]
Iggwilv also has numerous contacts across the planes, and could use this to bring together a large army should the need arise.[23]
8. The Demonomicon of Iggwilv, Dragon #336 p.76-78.
21. WG6 Isle of the Ape p.44.
22. Demonomicon (4th) p.123.
23. Return of the Eight p.10. "
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Baernaloth
"Some reports claimed that the baernaloths created the first demon lords and archdevils to keep an eye on the respective races, though many alternative histories for both races existed, and supposedly after both tanar'ri and baatezu rose to prominence, the Baern suddenly left in ones and threes to the corners of Hades.[14]
14. Colin McComb, Monte Cook (July 1996). “The Dark of the War”. In Ray Vallese ed. Hellbound: The Blood War (TSR, Inc.), p. 11. ISBN 0-7869-0407-0."
Are the Baernaloth "canon" in the world of Greyhawk?
Jacques
Are the Baernaloth "canon" in the world of Greyhawk?
Jacques
Why wouldn't they be? Oerth exists in the same multiverse as the planes detailed in sources like Hellbound: The Blood War and Faces of Evil: The Fiends that detail the baernaloths.
But of course the advantage of tabletop RPGs is that you can determine what's canon for your own table.
The baernaloths are ancient fiends who created the daemons and demodands, and may have played a role in the development of other fiendish races.
I don't think Iggwilv is a baernaloth, though. She's not nearly that ancient.
The last official write-up of Iggwilv that I am aware of was in The Savage Tide AP, wherein she is a 26th level Wizard/4th level Arch-Mage (30th level spell-caster) living in the Abyss to further her studies into demonology.
The last official write-up of Iggwilv was in 5th edition's The Wild Beyond the Witchlight (2021), where she's defined as an archfey. She has a Boom of Immortality ability that makes her immune to old age or aging.
I thought it'd be more interesting if she sustained her immortality more like how Baba Yaga does in Paizo's Reign of Winter adventure path, where she transforms a succession of daughters into lich-like undead husks in order to transfer their lives to hers (Iggwilv was one of the only ones to escape this fate). I think it has interesting implications regarding her relationship with Drelnza.
Thank you Rasgon. I don't know of this Paizo's adventure path.
Baba Yaga is an archfey in this Dungeon adventure.
Alana Abbott (November 2011). “Court of Stars: Baba Yaga, Mother of All Witches”. In Steve Winter ed. Dungeon #196 (Wizards of the Coast),
Are the Baernaloth "canon" in the world of Greyhawk?
Jacques
Why wouldn't they be? Oerth exists in the same multiverse as the planes detailed in sources like Hellbound: The Blood War and Faces of Evil: The Fiends that detail the baernaloths.
But of course the advantage of tabletop RPGs is that you can determine what's canon for your own table.
The baernaloths are ancient fiends who created the daemons and demodands, and may have played a role in the development of other fiendish races.
I don't think Iggwilv is a baernaloth, though. She's not nearly that ancient.[/quot
Iggwilv is not a baernaloth. She is therefore an Archfey.
She was able to meet arcanaloth and even a baerneloth who taught her new secrets to transform into a powerful Princess or Demon Lord and take over the Abyss with the help of her allies ???
It will take time ...
"But of course the advantage of tabletop RPGs is that you can determine what's canon for your own table."
Je suis tout à fait d'accord.
Iggwilv is not on the path of divinity because doing so means following certain rules and accepting certain constraints. Iggwilv accepts none other than those of her own choosing.
I will admit that I am not a huge fan of making her Natasha the Dark, but if you want to go that route, why not ignore the classification of Baba Yaga as an archfey and make her a baernaloth? That way Iggwilv gains the benefit of extensive study under one without being of extraplanar origin herself.
In an age of very powerful mortal wizards, Iggwilv is the strongest of them all. She might even be the strongest to have ever walked on Oerth, I would say that only Vecna and Zagyg enter the conversation, and you can argue for any of them.
Regarding Tasha/Iggwilv being fey in the latest 5E product (which is very good at extending her lore from previous sources), the boon of immortality IIRC is a byproduct of her dwelling in the Feywild for an extended period. By that reasoning even your own PCs could turn into fey if they chose to live in the Feywild. Even though I'm sure Iggwilv already had quasi-deity level immortality by the time of this adventure, I wonder if turning into a fey is something that can be lost then if one moves out and back to Oerth or the Abyss for instance.
Extra thought: Wouldn't it be a nice full-circle if "Natasha" was originally from the Feywild and was taken away by Baba Yaga? Maybe her passing familiarity with the feywild is what lures her back here later in life to "hide from her enemies" as the adventure sets up.
Regarding Tasha/Iggwilv being fey in the latest 5E product (which is very good at extending her lore from previous sources), the boon of immortality IIRC is a byproduct of her dwelling in the Feywild for an extended period. By that reasoning even your own PCs could turn into fey if they chose to live in the Feywild.
That would fit with legends about e.g. the dangers of eating faerie food, etc., or being trapped permanently in Faerie.
I will admit that I am not a huge fan of making her Natasha the Dark, but if you want to go that route, why not ignore the classification of Baba Yaga as an archfey and make her a baernaloth? That way Iggwilv gains the benefit of extensive study under one without being of extraplanar origin herself.
Good idea !
[quote : "Mortellan"
Extra thought: Wouldn't it be a nice full-circle if "Natasha" was originally from the Feywild and was taken away by Baba Yaga? Maybe her passing familiarity with the feywild is what lures her back here later in life to "hide from her enemies" as the adventure sets up.
Yes ! Note that her alignment in the adventure is CN.
"She became less interested in personal power and more interested in exploring her fey existence."
"Iggwilv's father is unknown."
Iggwilv kidnapped by Baba Yaga ? Who is her father ? A powerful character who protects her in the Feywild. Or a powerful character who entrusted Iggwilv to Baba Yaga.
Iggwilv kidnapped by Baba Yaga ? Who is her father ? A powerful character who protects her in the Feywild. Or a powerful character who entrusted Iggwilv to Baba Yaga.
I have my own ideas about Iggwilv's father, explored in this thread. I had her be the daughter of the pre-demonic Kostchtchie (so she's fully human; her father didn't become a demon until after he sired her).
Iggwilv kidnapped by Baba Yaga ? Who is her father ? A powerful character who protects her in the Feywild. Or a powerful character who entrusted Iggwilv to Baba Yaga.
I have my own ideas about Iggwilv's father, explored in this thread. I had her be the daughter of the pre-demonic Kostchtchie (so she's fully human; her father didn't become a demon until after he sired her).
Hello Rasgon
Beautiful literature that connects our world to the world of Greyhawk and Slavic legends.
I prefer the idea of an Iggwilv born or raised in the Feywild. Time passing much more slowly here (a few decades for a few hours on Oerth?), she could become an Archfey or inherit the office of Baba Yage, her adoptive mother.
"Her first memories were of growing up in the Feywild, something Tasha resented due to frequent occurrences of bizarre and unpredictable natural phenomena".[25]
25. Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, p.150.
"During her time in the Feywild, Iggwilv garnered the aid of the high elf Raezil Uthemar, who spied on other fey courts on her behalf".[17]
17. Christopher Perkins (September 2021). The Wild Beyond the Witchlight. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 193.
"She was known to have at least one patron, the amenable old warlock Madryck Roslof".[34]
34. Christopher Perkins (September 2021). The Wild Beyond the Witchlight. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 18
We see the difficulty of handling such a character. I believe that Gary Gygax did not see her intervening directly on Oerth but playing the role of a "deus ex machina".
Most of this is from Pathfinder's Reign of Winter adventure path, and the correspondence between Earth and Golarion dates is based on that as well. Oerth and Midgard dates are based on what the "present day" was when they were published (Oerth progressed when it was published by Paizo similarly to how Golarion's date progressed later on). The Nehwon date is based on the assumption that the Gray Mouser is the same age as Gord the Rogue, which has no real basis other than the fact that they're similar characters (which is also the basis of the assumption that Baba Yaga is Sheelba of the Eyeless Face, though TSR Nehwon sources say flat out that Sheelba has Baba Yaga's Hut, or a version of it).
I didn't date Roger Moore's adventure Baba Yaga's Dancing Hut from Dragon #83, but it probably took place a few decades before Natasha/Iggwilv assumed the throne of Irrisen. Iggwilv was likely adopted by Baba Yaga sometime between 4013 AR, when her older sister Karina took the throne, and 4113 AR, when Iggwilv was made queen, and Baba Yaga's Dancing Hut took place somewhere in that century.
AR dates are Golarion's timeline, CY is Oerth, and BC/AD is Earth.
2621 AR (-1390 CY)(75 BC): Yanca, later called Baba Yaga, is born in what would one day be Ukraine on the world of Earth.
2631 AR (-1380 CY)(65 BC): On her way to fetch water during a particularly harsh winter, Yanca stumbles into a magical grotto, where she is tutored in magic by the primordial norn Yigliv.
2633 AR (-1378 CY)(63 BC): Two years pass without Yanca being aware of time passing. She attempts to return to her family only to find them long gone. With nowhere else to go, she returns to the grotto to master magic.
Over the following decades she travels the world, growing more cynical even as she grows vastly more powerful, beginning her practice of asking stiff prices in exchange for her boons. She discovers the secret of immortality early on, but believes it's best to live to old age naturally before accepting that gift.
2822 AR (-1289 CY)(27 AD): At the age of 102, Baba Yaga finds herself dying of some ailment, and finally embraces immortality. She creates her Dancing Hut and begins traveling other planes and worlds. The events of the 2nd edition module The Dancing Hut of Baba Yaga might have happened at this time.
2922 AR (-1189 CY)(127 AD): On the world of Golarion, Baba Yaga teaches the secret of immortality to Kostchtchie.
3213 AR (-798 CY)(418 AD): Baba Yaga and her hut travel to the First World (Faerie), where she creates a realm that she names the Thrice-Tenth Kingdom.
3313 AR (-698 CY)(518 AD): Baba Yaga gathers an army of giants and fey and conquers the nation of Irrisen on the world of Golarion. She crowns her daughter Jadwiga queen of the realm, returning every century to replace her with another for the next 1,400 years.
3413 AR (-598 CY)(618 AD): Baba Yaga installs her daughter Morgannan as the second queen of Irrisen.
3513 AR (-498 CY)(718 AD): Baba Yaga installs her daughter Urvalane as the third queen of Irrisen.
3613 AR (-498 CY)(818 AD): Baba Yaga installs her daughter Pjallarane as the fourth queen of Irrisen.
3713 AR (-398 CY)(918 AD): Baba Yaga installs her daughter Aelena as the fifth queen of Irrisen.
3813 AR (-298 CY)(1018 AD): Baba Yaga installs her daughter Harcatha as the sixth queen of Irrisen.
3913 AR (-198 CY)(1118 AD): Baba Yaga installs her daughter Sascha as the seventh queen of Irrisen. On the world of Midgard, the humans and tieflings of Caelmarath revolt against elven rule. Baba Yaga offers her services to the rebellion, calling up fortress walls overnight, unbinding elven wards, and releasing demons by the score.
4013 AR (-98 CY)(1218 AD): Baba Yaga installs her daughter Karina as the eighth queen of Irrisen.
4113 AR (3 CY)(1318 AD): Baba Yaga installs her daughter Natasha the Dark as the ninth queen of Irrisen, calling her Tashanna on this world.
4213 AR (103 CY)(1418 AD): Tashanna leads the Witchwar, a rebellion against Baba Yaga, impressing her enough that she is spared the fate of becoming an undead crone queen. Baba Yaga installs her daughter Velikas as the tenth queen of Irrisen.
4313 AR (203 CY)(1518 AD): Baba Yaga installs her daughter Kseniya as the eleventh queen of Irrisen.
4413 AR (303 CY)(1618 AD): Baba Yaga installs her daughter Betyrina as the twelfth queen of Irrisen. Natasha/Tashanna is seen on the world of Oerth, going by the name Hura, where she inhabits a tower near the city of Lopolla. Looting the vault of Daoud, she is driven from the region by the enraged Kettites. (Dragon #336)
4428 AR (318 CY)(1633 AD): Natasha/Tashanna/Hura is next seen as a member of the Company of Seven, where under the name Tasha she becomes the apprentice and lover of Zagig Yragerne. Tasha travels with Zagig and his companions to steal the Tome of Zyx from ruins near Rift Canyon and to distant worlds.
4480 AR (370 CY)(1685 AD): ("about two centuries" prior to 595 CY; Fiendish Codex I says Fraz-Urb'Luu was imprisoned for more than 200 years, though, and he was freed circa 572 CY by Erac's Cousin and Ayelerach), Tasha and Zagig summon Fraz-Urb'Luu. Tasha absconds with the Tome of Zyx, adding to it and renaming it the Demonomicon, and with it one of the prisons of Zagig. Now calling herself Iggwilv she eventually claims the Caverns of Tsojcanth in the Yatils as her new home. Consider that 370 CY, when Zagig's "eccentric personality began to deteriorate," was when Fraz-Urb'Luu was summoned and his madness and paranoia were a result of the strain of binding a demon lord and Iggwilv betraying him.
4513 AR (403 CY)(1718 AD): Baba Yaga installs her daughter Yelizaveta as the thirteenth queen of Irrisen. On the world of Midgard, gnomes make a deal with Baba Yaga and it goes very, very wrong. They promise her great things, arcane wonders, the blood of kings, the sighs of valkyries, the tears of statues, and the wealth of Mammon. They promise far too much and deliver far too little. She swears an oath of vengeance and an oath of fury to destroy the gnomes entirely. The foolish gnomes are so terrified they make a new pact, this time with the archdevils of the Eleven Hells, in exchange for protection from Baba Yaga.
4570 AR (460 CY)(1775 AD): Iggwilv summons Graz'zt, binding him to a prison of Zagig artifact. Nine months later, Iuz is born.
4591 AR (481 CY)(1796 AD): Iggwilv completes her conquest of Perrenland.
4601 AR (491 CY) (1806 AD): Iggwilv loses control of Graz'zt. Though she banishes the demon prince to the Abyss, she is left weakened and retreats to other worlds for a time to regain her strength.
4613 AR (503 CY)(1818 AD): Baba Yaga installs her daughter Elvanna as the fourteenth queen of Irrisen.
4668 AR (558 CY)(1873 AD): Gord the Rogue is born on the world of Oerth, approximately in the month of Harvester. On the world of Nehwon, the Gray Mouser is born and soon attracts the attention of Sheelba of the Eyeless Face, the aspect of Baba Yaga known to that world.
4713 AR (603 CY)(1918 AD): Elvanna conspires with her half-brother Rasputin to betray and imprison Baba Yaga before her mother can claim her soul. Events of the Reign of Winter adventure path for the 1st edition Pathfinder RPG.
4113 AR (3 CY)(1318 AD): Baba Yaga installs her daughter Natasha the Dark as the ninth queen of Irrisen, calling her Tashanna on this world.
4213 AR (103 CY)(1418 AD): Tashanna leads the Witchwar, a rebellion against Baba Yaga, impressing her enough that she is spared the fate of becoming an undead crone queen. Baba Yaga installs her daughter Velikas as the tenth queen of Irrisen.
"I thought it'd be more interesting if she sustained her immortality more like how Baba Yaga does in Paizo's Reign of Winter adventure path, where she transforms a succession of daughters into lich-like undead husks in order to transfer their lives to hers (Iggwilv was one of the only ones to escape this fate). I think it has interesting implications regarding her relationship with Drelnza."
When does the scene described in this previous post take place ?
How does Iggwilv escape this fate ?
I read a French translation where Baba Yaga's daughters defend the Hut in the last episode.
When does the scene described in this previous post take place ?
The Witchwar was 500 years before the events of the adventure path. (The Snows of Summer, page 52; The Witch Queen's Revenge, pages 48, 59, 63, 65, 73, 84).
Quote:
How does Iggwilv escape this fate ?
"Tashanna, who led her own revolt against Baba Yaga 500 years ago, impressed her mother enough that she was spared this fate." (The Witch Queen's Revenge, 48).
Rasgon, I'm curious how you peg Gord's birthday to CY 558?
Thanks,
Joe / GG
This thread has some more thoughts on dating the Gord series. Looks like I subtracted 13 from 571 CY, assuming only a year had passed between the beginning of Saga of Old City and the war between the Beggar's Union and Thieves Guild.
Erik Mona had him born in Flocktime, 559 CY, which I think implies that less than a year passed between the beginning of the novel and the war. In that thread, Bubbagump argued it should have been more, perhaps four years, and he could be right.
Rasgon, I'm curious how you peg Gord's birthday to CY 558?
Thanks,
Joe / GG
This thread has some more thoughts on dating the Gord series. Looks like I subtracted 13 from 571 CY, assuming only a year had passed between the beginning of Saga of Old City and the war between the Beggar's Union and Thieves Guild.
Erik Mona had him born in Flocktime, 559 CY, which I think implies that less than a year passed between the beginning of the novel and the war. In that thread, Bubbagump argued it should have been more, perhaps four years, and he could be right.
Thank you all for your replies and the links you sent me. I have no solution for the status of Iggwilv, a fascinating character. But so much information that everyone can integrate it into their campaign.
Was reading the 3.5 entry for Cambions and it notes that:
“ Although the term "cambion" is often applied to any humanoid half-fiend, a true cambion springs from a union between a powerful tanar'ri father and a planetouched mother - usually a tiefling. The higher-ranking marquis and baron cambions result from the unions of demon lords or princes with female humanoid half-fiends. ”
Thus if Iuz was born a cambion, and I think Marquis/Baron cambion due to his inherent high intelligence and wisdom, and his father is a demon lord, Grazzt, then his mother, Iggwilv, would seem to have to be a humanoid half-fiend, although she need not have been born as such. Just a 3.5 thought.
Was reading the 3.5 entry for Cambions and it notes that:
“ Although the term "cambion" is often applied to any humanoid half-fiend, a true cambion springs from a union between a powerful tanar'ri father and a planetouched mother - usually a tiefling. The higher-ranking marquis and baron cambions result from the unions of demon lords or princes with female humanoid half-fiends. ”
Thus if Iuz was born a cambion, and I think Marquis/Baron cambion due to his inherent high intelligence and wisdom, and his father is a demon lord, Grazzt, then his mother, Iggwilv, would seem to have to be a humanoid half-fiend, although she need not have been born as such. Just a 3.5 thought.
Kwint
"A cambion is the offspring of a fiend (usually a succubus or incubus) and a humanoid (usually a human)." D&D5 MM 36
If I remember correctly, this is also the case in AD&D.
Jacques
"A cambion is the offspring of a fiend (usually a succubus or incubus) and a humanoid (usually a human)." D&D5 MM 36
If I remember correctly, this is also the case in AD&D.
Jacques
Most sources define cambions that way. The 1st edition Monster Manual II tells us "When a human female mates with a demon, the result is always a cambion male." The 3.5 Monster Manual says "humanoid half-fiends are sometimes called cambions."
The exception was Expedition to the Demonweb Pits (D&D 3.5), which included a description of cambions as a creature separate from the half-fiend template in the 3.5 Monster Manual, and said "Although the term 'cambion' is often applied to any humanoid half-fiend, a true cambion springs from the union between a powerful tanar'ri father and a planetouched mother—usually a tiefling." I guess they wanted cambions to be more powerful than you would get from just applying the half-fiend template to a human.
In any case, Expedition to the Demonweb Pits is the only source that defines cambions that way. It's possible that Iuz isn't a true cambion by that definition, just a cambion in the broader sense used by everyone else.
Of course, Iggwilv's father (or even her birth mother) isn't specified in canon, so she could be a tiefling if you really wanted her to be. I suggested above that her father was Kostchtchie; maybe he was demonic enough to father a tiefling even before becoming an Abyssal lord.
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