I am currently running a 4e campaign, with Kord as a pivotal character. The players will via a ritual enter the memories of Kord, and make their way through them, looking for information about something called the Divine Source, a mythical place that fuels the power of the gods. It's a long story, but basically I want them to experience a lot of events in Kord's life.
But in order to do that, I need as much information about Kord as I can get. I looked at the wiki, but some of the books are quite long, time is as always limited, when you have two small kids.
So, in short, I was hoping that you guys here could tell me which articles/books provide the most information about Kord. Maybe even include which chapter of the book the information is in, if you know, so that I do not have to read a 250 page book in order to get a paragraph of information.
Dragon Magazine #87(p. 23) has the first article on Kord. Other than that, background information on Kord is sparse(you won't have to read a 250 page book for instance), and won't be much more informative that the Dragon article anyways. Not much has really been written regarding myths having to do with the various Greyhawk Gods, so you will have to make up most of these life events of Kord yourself.
Not exactly canon but definitely concise, mortellan has at least seven strips that feature Kord, who is played as a dim but good-inclined barbarian, complete with Ahhhnold Schwartzenager accent, ya? _________________ My campaigns are multilayered tapestries upon which I texture themes and subject matter which, quite frankly, would simply be too strong for your hobbyist gamer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Mp7Ikko8SI
I don't think it made the list in the Encyclopedia but you might be particularly interested in an adventure in Dungeon # 99, "Quadrapartite", which gives some background on an adventure a young Kord undertook with Pelor, Nerull, and Obad-Hai when "...Oerth was newly formed and the gods themselves were but young upstarts in the cosmos..."
Kord's conception and childhood
Kord is the son of Phaulkon, chaotic good god of the air, and Syrul, neutral evil goddess of lies and deception, and that's got to be an interesting story, doesn't it? How did those two lovebirds get together, do you think? Perhaps Syrul was masquerading as another goddess, such as Lydia, who Phaulkon had intended to woo, or perhaps she merely made herself seem more beautiful and compassionate than she actually was. Perhaps Syrul was much nicer and more honest before Phaulkon saw her true form and decided to abandon her. Kord seems to take much more after his father in alignment and attitude, so maybe Phaulkon was the one who raised him after Syrul was cast away, or perhaps his parents stayed together, one deceiving the other, until Kord came of age. There's no hard canon here; all we know, from the original article in Dragon #87, is that these were his parents. We don't know why.
Kord's brothers
Greyhawk canon doesn't give Kord any siblings that we know of (though Suel theogony is vague, and there are a variety of ways the gods could be related). 4th edition "core" has an interesting variant myth in Dragon #372, saying that Kord had two brothers: Achra and Tuern. All three were lovers of battle, although Kord competed for the pure thrill of competition, while Tuern did so to satisfy his sadistic desires, and Achra fought for the love of dominance over his foes. During the war against the Primordials, Kord was too independent to cooperate with his brothers, seeing cooperation as weakness, though Achra and Tuern cooperated uneasily, Tuern seeking to sabotage the efforts of his brother Achra. After the war, Achra - who was by then known as Bane - killed Tuern and took over his realm.
This isn't remotely Greyhawk canon, but you're playing 4th edition so maybe you want to use it. For what it's worth.
Khala the winter queen
Another 4th edition source, Divine Power, tells of an ancient goddess of winter, Khala, who allied with Gruumsh, Tiamat, her consort Zehir and her son Kord to take over the world and bring about an age of eternal cold. Kord initially fought for his mother eagerly, but he was finally confronted by Moradin, who showed him the harm his actions were causing and convinced him to switch sides. Losing the aid of her powerful son and soon losing Gruumsh and Tiamat as well, Khala was finally slain by the Raven Queen, who took her position as goddess of winter for herself. This myth contradicts Kord's ancestry established above, but I'll include it for whatever it's worth.
Quadripartite
Dungeon #99 tells of an ancient invasion of the Far Realm opposed by four gods: Pelor, Nerull (who had not yet fallen into evil), Obad-hai, and Kord. The first three gods opposed the Far Realm entities in order to preserve the balance between Law and Chaos, while Kord (who belonged to an entirely different pantheon) just went along for the ride for the thrill of the fight. The four gods each sacrificed a part of their power to create an anchor that would sever the ties of the invaders to their unguessable masters, and so were able to defeat them.
Kelmar
At some point, Kord came into the possession of a mighty greatsword known as Kelmar. Kelmar is an electrified, dancing, intelligent weapon driven to destroy dragons - up to and including Tiamat herself, although it is incapable of hitting Bahamut. It is substantially smarter than Kord himself. The story of Kelmar's creation and how Kord came into the possession of it is one worth telling.
Dragon-slaying
Whether Kord slays dragons because his sword tells him to, or if he acquired his sword to assist him in slaying dragons is fairly irrelevant. The point is, Kord likes to kill dragons a lot. Three mighty dragons in particular are important in Kord's story: the red dragon from which he made his girdle, the white dragon from which he fashioned his gauntlets, and the blue dragon from which his boots were made. To be worthy of becoming part of the regalia of a god, these must have been fearsome dragons indeed, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if your PCs find the memories of killing these three dragons are particularly strong in Kord's head.
There may be other myths, of course, of Kord fighting mighty dragons and draconic gods. It may be relevant that the Suel goddess Beltar takes the form of a red dragon on occasion.
Blood rage
Again according to Dragon #87, Kord has a tendency to go into berserk rages in the heat of battle from which he cannot be roused by anyone short of his grandfather, the creator deity Lendor. In such a fugue, he will attack friend or foe alike. Memories of Kord dripping with the blood of his allies may be very important to Kord.
Bastards
Kord cannot resist a pretty face, be she human, elven, or even giant, and Dragon #87 says that the world is full of Kord's descendants. Some few of them are even considered to be demigods in their own right. Memories of children who have particularly pleased or disappointed Kord will be powerful ones. Kord has been known to murder those among his children who he believes to be cowards. There's a tragic, untold myth worth telling.
The best sources on Kord's faith are probably Dragon #87, Complete Divine, and Complete Champion.
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