Warduke

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Greyhawk Character
Warduke
Warduke01.jpg
Warduke, as depicted by Wayne Reynolds in Dungeon #105.
Class(es): Fighter
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Alignment: Chaotic Evil

Warduke is a powerful human warrior and a Hierarch of the Horned Society. He sometimes works as a bounty hunter and assassin, and is heartless, cruel and short-tempered.

Description[edit]

Warduke is a muscular human, equipped with a skull-motif shield, a half-suit of blue scale mail armor with a red and black studded shoulderpad, and most notably, a helmet complete with "bat wing"-like ridges. His favored weapon is Nightwind, a bastard sword purported to be incredibly enchanted with powerful magic. His face is completely unseen aside from his eerie, baleful glowing red eyes.

History[edit]

Warduke's early life is unknown, as is his true identity, though rumors abound. One states that he was once firm friends with a noble paladin, until Warduke's descent into evil forced them to become fierce enemies.

Warduke came to prominence after the Greyhawk Wars, spreading terror among the soldiers, fighting societies, and mercenaries of the Flanaess, from the Solnor Ocean to the Barrier Peaks. Warduke was quickly recruited by the Unnameable Hierarch to aid in rebuilding the Horned Society, and was eventually made a Hierarch himself. Thanks to striking many deals with otherwordly fiends, Warduke had amassed a formidable assortment of magical weapons and armors.

Relationships[edit]

There is some apocryphal evidence that Warduke and Melf may know each other. In 1983's The Shady Dragon Inn, Warduke is mentioned as being a member of the same adventuring party as an elf named "Peralay," both of whom had action figures for TSR's 1983 toy line. The fact that the Peralay figure was originally released under the name "Melf" and Warduke's retcon into Greyhawk continuity provide a topic of apocryphal interest.

Creative origins[edit]

Warduke upon his dark steed.

Warduke's first appearance is as a premade character in the Dungeons & Dragons module Wikipedia:Quest for the Heartstone, featuring many of the characters from the toy line, Warduke and Strongheart were depicted as once having been good friends, until Warduke turned to evil.

Warduke was also a character in the Dungeons & Dragons toy line in the 1980s. Warduke originally appeared as a D&D action figure along with such other characters as Strongheart the paladin, Elkhorn the dwarf fighter, and Zarak the half-orc assassin.

It is worth noting, however, that a (unnamed) figure with Warduke's distinctive headgear appears on the cover of Dragon #17, published by TSR in 1978.

Warduke often was seen teamed with the villainous sorcerer Kelek, and even once appeared on the Dungeons & Dragons animated TV series ("In Search of Dungeonmaster"), where he was depicted as a mercenary. In it, he succeeds in capturing Dungeon Master and plans on ransoming him to Venger. In addition, he and his band of Orcs operate the Slave Mines of Baramore, a mine using dwarves as slaves. The heroes eventually manage to free Dungeon Master and the slaves, and Warduke's pursuit is foiled by a volcanic eruption.

In 2003, the staff of Dungeon magazine added Warduke into Greyhawk continuity.

The Shady Dragon Inn[edit]

As depicted in "Shady Dragon Inn", by Timothy Truman

The Dungeons & Dragons accessory, The Shady Dragon Inn, provides a number of details on Warduke and other characters in the D&D and AD&D toy lines. However, as this accessory was published long before the character's retcon into Greyhawk, it is uncertain how accurate this information is in regards to canon.

Originally a close friend of Strongheart the paladin, the two became mortal enemies when exposed to a magical item called the Heartstone, which brought Warduke's cruel nature to the fore. He is a close ally of a woman named Skylla, an evil wizard. Warduke is loved by one woman, a formerly good cleric named Raven, and hated by another, a good cleric named Mercion.

Collectibles[edit]

Warduke collectibles include:

  • First series AD&D action figure (1983).
  • Second series AD&D action figure, with "battle mattic" action (1984).
  • A miniature unarticulated figure.
  • "Nightmare," Warduke's steed (1983).
  • Warduke pencil sharpener, never released, though prototypes have turned up.
  • Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Coloring Book: The Lost Wand (1983), featuring Warduke on the cover.
  • Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Coloring Book: The Crown of Rulership (1983), featuring Warduke on the cover.
  • Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Characters Coloring Book (1983), featuring Warduke on the interior.
  • The Forest of Enchantment, an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons storybook featuring Warduke as one of the main villians (1983).
  • Warduke Halloween costume.
  • Dungeons & Dragons Lazer Blazers, the "Warduke Collection," 3-D holographic stickers (1985).
  • Dungeons & Dragons Colorforms Adventure Set.
  • An AD&D "puffy sticker" featuring Warduke.
  • Dungeons & Dragons Puzzleforms.
  • Dungeons & Dragons Shrinky Dinks.
  • A Warduke Paint Master sculpture.
  • A Paint by Number set featuring Warduke.
  • In March of 2006 a 'Warduke' miniature figurine was released in the War Drums set of the collectable miniatures game Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures.

Gallery[edit]

  • Dungeon magazine #105, Wayne Reynolds

  • Quest for the Heartsone, cover, Jeff Easley

  • The Dragon #17, cover, by Dave Sutherland (1978)

  • AD&D storybook: The Forest of Enchantment, Marvel Books (1983)

  • AD&D storybook: The Forest of Enchantment, Marvel Books (1983)

  • AD&D storybook: The Forest of Enchantment, Marvel Books (1983)

  • AD&D storybook: The Forest of Enchantment, Marvel Books (1983)

  • AD&D storybook: The Forest of Enchantment, Marvel Books (1983)

  • AD&D storybook: The Forest of Enchantment, Marvel Books (1983)

  • AD&D storybook: The Forest of Enchantment, Marvel Books (1983)

  • AD&D storybook: The Forest of Enchantment, Marvel Books (1983)

  • AD&D storybook: The Forest of Enchantment, Marvel Books (1983)

  • AD&D storybook: The Forest of Enchantment, Marvel Books (1983)

  • AD&D storybook: The Forest of Enchantment, Marvel Books (1983)

  • by Jeff Easley

  • AD&D coloring book: Characters, Marvel Books, (1983)

  • AD&D coloring book: Characters, Marvel Books, (1983)

  • AD&D coloring book: Characters, Marvel Books, (1983)

  • AD&D coloring book: The Crown of Rulership, cover,TSR (1983)

  • AD&D coloring book: The Lost Wand, cover, TSR (1983)

  • D&D Shrinky Dinks, TSR (1983)

  • Warduke Halloween Costume (1983)

Bibliography[edit]

  • Gray, Michael L. Quest for the Heartstone. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1984.
  • Mona, Erik, et al. "Critical Threats: Warduke." Dungeon #105. Bellevue, WA: Paizo Publishing, 2003.
  • Smith, Carl. The Shady Dragon Inn. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1983.
  • Stine, Bob. The Forest of Enchantment. New York, NY: Marvel Books, 1983.
  • Stine, Jane, John Tartaglione, and Jim Mooney. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Characters Coloring Book. New York, NY: Marvel Books, 1983.

External links[edit]

The Index is based on previous work of Jason Zavoda through '08, and his work as continued and updated by Eric Johnson, Richard DiIoia, Jason "PupickDad" Jacobson, a French fan group, and numerous other fans over the years. The wiki page for the EGI has a list of sources, full product names, abbreviations, and a link to the full, downloadable index.

Topic Type Description Product Page/Card/Image

Warduke (Hierach of the Horned Society) Non-player character Male, Human, Ftr18, Dungeon magazine #105 70, 71
Warduke (Hierach of the Horned Society) Non-player character Male, Human, Ftr18, A Brief History of Warduke, D&D 3.5e Web Article
Warduke's Helm Item Artifact, Dungeon magazine #105 71
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