Murlynd
Murlynd (MURR-lind) is the Oeridian hero-god of Magical Technology. Murlynd's symbol is a solid, six-pointed star with rounded points.
Murlynd is a handsome Oeridian man with deep, penetrating eyes[1] and weathered features.[2] He is a well-built man with a "broad, muscular frame".[1] He is clothed in worn leather and wears a light-colored hat of a type unfamiliar to the Flanaess.[2] Murlynd is aloof and taciturn, though he is quite personable among his allies. Murlynd is dangerous only when provoked by evil beings. He is known to wield the longsword, battle axe, and crossbow, as well as weapons of more unusual make. Murlynd is especially fond of a pair of strange, hand-held weapons that emit powerful projectiles. He has referred to these weapons variously as "45's," "six shooters," and "hog legs."[1]
Murlynd dwells in a variety of unusual planes and demiplanes, moving between his various abodes as suits his mood. He has a house in the Land Beyond the Magic Mirror.
Prior to his apotheosis, Murlynd's ability scores were given in Land Beyond the Magic Mirror:[3]
Str 13, Dex 18, Con 16, Int 19, Wis 8, Cha 15
Murlynd has psionic abilities, though these are sometimes unreliable.[1]
Perhaps Murlynd's most famous items are his "six-shooters". They are various described as strange wands which launch arcane projectiles, "a strange hand crossbow with a pipe in place of the bow",[4]. It is his "special aura"[1] that makes the exception to fact that gunpowder or "smoke powder[4]" doesn't normally work on Oerth.
Murlynd is noted for using distinct items which are called "technological" and his spell effects create similar effects, though these are not necessarily futuristic or even modern. It is noted his priests are blacksmiths[4] and they "build, repair, and improve mills, forges, and other sorts of medieval tools and machinery."[4]
Murlynd also has a dancing longsword.[1]
Murlynd was sponsored to godhood by Heironeous. He is also known to be an ally of Celestian, Phaulkon, Zagyg, Keoghtom, Mordenkainen, and Heward. Iuz is one of his most fierce enemies. He was once a member of Zagyg's Company of Seven. Later, he adventured in disguise with members of the Citadel of Eight.
Murlynd contended with Saint Kargoth on another plane (c. 593 CY) over a weapon known as the Quannon.[5]
Murlynd encourages others to learn from the advancements of civilized races to improve the lives of the common folk. His followers will not use inferior items if superior ones are available to them; they are commanded to protect the weak and innocent and to act with honor. They are always to consider Heironeous's followers their allies and Hextor's followers their enemies.[6]
Murlynd's holy book, which often bears his symbol, is titled Murlynd's Early Adventures & Subsequent Ventures.[7][8]
Murlynd's priests strive to uphold the virtues of law and good, and often work with the clergy of Heironeous toward this end. They use their knowledge of technology to aid the common man, and are encouraged to invent new devices and improve upon old ones. They work to destroy extremely dangerous magical or technological devices, and often find themselves working toward this end with followers of Phaulkon.
Spells cast by clerics of Murlynd look different from standard divine magic, adding elements of a technological nature as Murlynd's own spells do.
Paladins dedicated to Murlynd are called the White Paladins. They are an extremely rare sect of the church of Heironeous rather than an independent faith.[9] They share Murlynd's fascination with otherworldly weapons and technology, seeking to use such items in their crusade against Evil. They can usually be recognized by their eccentric hodgepodge armor and clothing, much of it created themselves. They jealously guard the secrets of firebrands—strange devices that can fire metallic balls at high speeds. They travel in search of exotic new equipment.[10]
Their motto is Technology is an instrument of Justice so long as the hand that wields it is True.[9]
Murlynd grants his paladins and others who have Divine Grace the ability to "make and use firearms",[5] since they do not normally work on Oerth, similar to his "special aura" which enables him to do the same.[1]
Murlynd's spoon is a typical-looking spoon. When placed in an empty bowl, cup, or dish, the vessel fills with a thick, pasty gruel that tastes like wet cardboard, but nourishes a creature as much as a full meal.
Other magical items created by Murlynd include Murlynd's Hat and Murlynd's Rattlesnake Whip.[11
Murlynd's origins are unknown, other than his ethnic background. In his mortal life, he was a paladin of Heironeous and a member of the Company of Seven. He aided Zagyg in imprisoning Iuz beneath Castle Greyhawk, which has earned him the enmity of the Old One for life. At some point, Murlynd was sponsored to godhood by Heironeous. Though the date of the ascension is unknown, he gained the ability to grant spells to his followers independently on his own c.590 CY.[4]
In disguise, he adventured for a time with members of the Citadel of Eight, including Tenser, Robilar, and Terik.[5]
The following arcane spells are attributed to Murlynd:
Murlynd's Ogre[12][13]
Murlynd's Void[
Murlynd began as a player character created by Gary Gygax's closest friend Don Kaye in 1972 for the second-ever session of the game that would become D&D. Kaye continued to play Murlynd in Gygax's nascent Greyhawk campaign, developing him as a crossover between "swords & sorcery" D&D and the Old West. After Kaye's unexpected death in 1975, Gygax subsequently created a tribute to his friend by highlighting Murlynd as one of the unique characters of the world of Greyhawk. In later editions of D&D, Murlynd was elevated to deityhood, becoming the Oeridian deity of Magical Technology.
Gary Gygax's childhood friend Don Kaye created Murlynd for the second-ever session of Gygax's World of Greyhawk™ campaign in 1972, rolled up on Gygax's kitchen table at the same time as Rob Kuntz's Robilar and Terry Kuntz's Terik.[14] Gygax later recalled that, in those early days when most players including Gygax himself simply used their own name as a basis for their character's name — Tenser/Ernest, Yrag/Gary — "Murlynd" was the first attempt by a player to make a creative name for a character.[15] Don Kaye was a fan of the Western genre,[16] and at one point during the early days of the Greyhawk campaign, Gygax had Murlynd transported to an alternate universe set in the Old West. When Murlynd was eventually transported back the Greyhawk setting, he sported the hat, boots, Colt revolvers, and stereotypical outfit of a cowboy. Although Gygax did not allow the use of gunpowder in his Greyhawk setting, he made a loophole for Kaye by ruling that Murlynd actually carried two "magical wands" that made loud noises and delivered small but deadly missiles.[17] Many years later, Gygax created a similar item called "Kaydon's Thunderous Bolters" for the Lejendary Adventures role-playing system. Gygax made it clear that these items fired their six charges using magic, not gunpowder.)[18]
The game Kaye and Gygax were playing would become D&D, and Kaye would go on to help Gygax start up TSR. In late 1974, Kaye also helped develop the rules for a Western-genre game called Boot Hill. However, Kaye died unexpectedly in 1975. As a tribute to his friend, Gygax published Boot Hill in 1975 in memory of Kaye. In 1983, Gygax would pay additional tribute to Kaye's memory by referencing Murlynd in the published version of EX2 The Land Beyond the Magic Mirror, which also included the spells Murlynd's ogre and Murlynd's void,[19] and further highlighted Murlynd in the March 1983 issue of Dragon magazine.[1] The following year, Gygax paid further tribute to Kaye when he borrowed Murlynd's name for Murlynd's spoon, a magical spoon described in Unearthed Arcana that created a bad-tasting but nutritious gruel when placed in an empty bowl.[20]
First edition
In Gygax's Dragon article,[1] a pencil illustration shows a stereotypical cowboy of the Old West genre, wearing a cowboy hat, and holding a revolver. (See Gallery image below.) Murlynd wields his "weapons of technology" (revolver pistols) in both hands simultaneously. His personality is described as aloof and taciturn, though he is quite personable among his allies. Murlynd is described as dangerous only when provoked by evil beings. In addition to his pistols, which are simply described as a pair of wands in the shape of six shooters that shoot projectiles, Gygax notes that he is also proficient with longsword, battle axe, and crossbow.[1] Additionally, Gygax describes Murlynd's origins as unknown.
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Saint Kargoth is currently contending with Murlynd over an artifact known as the Quannon.
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