Zuoken
| Zuoken | |
 |
|
| Zuoken, as depicted in Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk by Thomas Denmark (2007). | |
| Title: | Master of Da'Shon and Edel, Servant of the Lady, the Survivor |
|---|---|
| Alias(es): | none |
| Home plane: | Oerth |
| Power level: | Demigod |
| Gender: | Male |
| Class: | Monk/Psionicist |
| Alignment: | Neutral |
| Portfolio: | Monks, Mental Powers, Physical and Mental Mastery |
| Domains: | Knowledge, Mind, Strength, War |
| Superior: | Xan Yae |
Zuoken is the Baklunish god of Physical and Mental Mastery. His symbol is a striking fist.
Description[edit | edit source]
Zuoken appears as a Baklunish man of unremarkable appearance. He speaks very little.
Relationships[edit | edit source]
Zuoken is a servant power of the goddess Xan Yae. He is allied with Delleb.
Realm[edit | edit source]
Until 505 CY, Zuoken dwelled in an isolated realm in the Outer Planes. After that, he was imprisoned in the central Flanaess, though he was released by adventurers in 597 CY.
Dogma[edit | edit source]
Zuoken encourages his followers to be disciplined and serene masters of both their bodies and minds. Zuoken's faithful are instructed to become adept in unarmed martial arts before graduating to weapons, as weapons are seen as an unwelcome distraction for beginning students. Zuoken's followers contemplate both sides of an issue before coming to a harmonious conclusion, for harmony is a prerequisite to perfection.
Worshipers[edit | edit source]
Zuoken's followers are almost always monks or psionicists, and the most powerful are both. The god sends his followers into the world to improve themselves and advance the cause of psionics (known as Edel, the Gift of Fate, in the Baklunish tongue). They may rescue psionic families from their superstitious neighbors, hunt down illithids, or search for psionic artifacts such as the Orb of Gerendelik. They attack the monks of the Scarlet Brotherhood whenever possible. Until 597 CY, their consuming quest was to locate and rescue their deity from his prison.
Zuoken sends a thought slayer as his herald. His planar allies are rasts, couatls, and huge elementals of any type.
Clergy[edit | edit source]
Zuoken's clerics watch over psionic creatures, keeping them safe and offering mental training to those who show aptitude. Their favored weapon is the nunchaku. They study at the feet of a master, with their training consisting of long dialogues between the master and students punctuated by intense physical training and martial arts practice.
A typical cleric of Zuoken wears light, plain-colored clothing decorated only with a simple sash bearing Zuoken's striking fist symbol. They spend their days practicing their arts, meditating, and spreading the word about the value of perfection, although they may do this while completing quests for their deity.
Temples[edit | edit source]
Zuoken's temples are typically far from civilization but are commonly known of by those who seek training in psionics. They are often guarded by an order of monks known as the Fists of Zuoken.
Rituals[edit | edit source]
Prayers to Zuoken are short and poetic, often using a strange sentence structure that tends to confuse noninitiates. A common beginning to a prayer is "Zuoken, me to the pinnacle take..."
Holy days[edit | edit source]
Zuoken's followers meditate every full moon.
History[edit | edit source]
In the early decades of the Baklunish-Suloise Wars, Zuoken was a mortal servant of Xan Yae who had mastered both martial arts (his unarmed style was called da'shon, or "falling hail") and psionics. With 38 other monks, all unarmed, he held off a crucial mountain pass for three days and nights against a vastly numerically superior army of Suloise invaders. Though he was the lone survivor, they were successful. After inspiring an entire generation of new monks, Zuoken traveled to the Pinnacles of Azor'alq where he passed the tests needed to become a demigod. It is said that Zuoken ascended to the heavens on the moon's silvery staircase.
Many centuries later, Zuoken met Zagig Yragerne and Kelanen in the Outer Planes. They parted as friends.
Zuoken's imprisonment[edit | edit source]
In 505 CY, Zuoken stopped manifesting to his followers on Oerth. His followers discovered that his essence was being held somewhere in the central Flanaess.[1] Though the exact location was uncertain, Zuoken's faithful continued to seek their master.[1]
The truth of the matter is Zuoken was one of the nine demigods that the mad archmage Zagig Yragerne captured and imprisoned beneath Castle Greyhawk as part of Zagig's plot to achieve godhood. While the other eight prisoners were released around 570 CY after the release of Iuz, Zuoken would remain imprisoned until 597 CY, when he was finally released after an attempt by a similacrum of the witch-queen Iggwilv to attain full sentience in a scheme centering around Zagig's Godtrap.[2]
Gallery[edit | edit source]
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EttRoGH, art by Brian Hagan
References[edit | edit source]
Citations[edit | edit source]
- ↑ a b Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (2000), p.190.
- ↑ Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk (2007), p.188-189.
Bibliography[edit | edit source]
- Bulmahn, Jason, James Jacobs, and Erik Mona. Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2007.
- Cordell, Bruce R. Expanded Psionics Handbook. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2004.
- Gygax, Gary. World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1983.
- Holian, Gary, Erik Mona, Sean K. Reynolds, and Frederick Weining. Living Greyhawk Gazetteer. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2000.
- Noonan, David. Complete Divine. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2004.
- Sargent, Carl. From the Ashes. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1992.
Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index
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
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zuoken | Deity | Worshipped by: Human (Bakluni), | Dragon magazine #263 | 48 |
| Zuoken | Deity | Worshipped by: Human (Bakluni), | Dragon magazine #265 | 59, 60 |
| Zuoken | Deity | Worshipped by: Human (Bakluni), | From the Ashes: References Card | #4 |
| Zuoken | Deity | Worshipped by: Human (Bakluni), | Living Greyhawk Gazetteer | 184, 190 |
| Zuoken | Deity | Worshipped by: Human (Bakluni), | Living Greyhawk Journal #3 | 19 |
| Zuoken | Deity | Worshipped by: Human (Bakluni), | Living Greyhawk Journal #5 | 18 |
| Zuoken | Deity | Worshipped by: Human (Bakluni), | Oerth Journal #01 | 11,12 |
| Zuoken | Deity | Worshipped by: Human (Bakluni), | Oerth Journal #03 | 13,14,15,16,17 |
| Zuoken | Deity | Worshipped by: Human (Bakluni), | Oerth Journal #10 | 86 |
| Zuoken | Deity | Worshipped by: Human (Bakluni), | Oerth Journal #25 | 27 |
| Zuoken | Deity | Worshipped by: Human (Bakluni), | Oerth Journal #27 | 13 |
| Zuoken | Deity | Worshipped by: Human (Bakluni), | Player's Guide to Greyhawk | 20 |
| Zuoken | Deity | Worshipped by: Human (Bakluni), | Polyhedron magazine #128 | 29 |
| Zuoken | Deity | Worshipped by: Human (Bakluni), | Polyhedron magazine #139 | 20 |
| Zuoken | Deity | Worshipped by: Human (Bakluni), | T1-4 The Temple of Elemental Evil | 120 |
| Zuoken | Deity | Worshipped by: Human (Bakluni), | World of Greyhawk boxed set (1983) | 64 |
| Zuokenai | People Group | People, | Living Greyhawk Journal #5 | 18 |