Crook of Rao

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Greyhawk Item
Artifact
The Crook of Rao, as depicted in Dragon #294 (2002). Art by Richard Pace.
Type: Staff
First Appearance: WG6 Isle of the Ape (1985).


The Crook of Rao is a powerful artifact known for its ability to banish demons; once famously wielded by Canon Hazen of Veluna causing the Flight of Fiends.

Description[edit | edit source]

In Isle of the Ape, the Crook is described as a crooked mace ("a mere toy, it seemed," according to Tenser), but in From the Ashes and Dragon #294, it is described as a crooked staff like a shepherd's crook. It is carved from hornwood, with jacinth, alexandrite, sard, topaz, and other precious stones embedded in it. Its shaft and headpiece are made from cold iron and silver. It gives the impression of immense age.

Powers[edit | edit source]

Powers ascribed to the Crook of Rao include the ability to turn evil beings of the lower planes as clerics do undead, banishing them to their infernal homes for a hundred years. In addition, the Crook prevented such beings from summoning others of their kind within a mile of its presence. Less impressively, it could also be used as a weapon, helping to deflect fiendish attacks as well as banishing them on a successful hit. There were no legends of the Crook functioning as impressively as it did in the hands of Canon Hazen of Veluna in 586 CY, though there are now.

History[edit | edit source]

According to myth, the Crook of Rao was first brought to Oerth by the deva Incarum, who used it to banish the minions of Tharizdun from the face of the world. Its purpose complete, the artifact was lost until 9 CY. That year, the combination of Oeridian divination magic and Flan lore allowed it to be located at the site where the city of Mitrik would come to be built.

The Crook was eventually brought to the Velunan city of Devarnish where, in 355 CY, it was taken as the spoils of war by invading Keoish forces. After that act of sacrilege, the Crook disappeared from history until the 560s CY, when it was discovered beneath Castle Greyhawk by Murlynd, Robilar, Tenser, and Terik. Rumor has it they found it in a chamber where mindless automatons assaulted it with illogical and unreasonable riddles day in and day out; this is rumored to be one of the only ways to destroy it. The band of four continued to explore the dungeon, stumbling into the portal to the Isle of the Ape. Though they managed to escape from the demiplane, all their belongings had to be left behind, including the Crook of Rao.

Ten years later, Tenser sent a group of powerful adventures composed of Agath of Thrunch, Reynard Yargrove, Franz, Lord Torkeep, Rowena of the Silverbrow, Warnes Starcoat, and Rakehell Chert to recover the Crook from the Isle, hoping to use it to oppose the fiendish army of Iggwilv. They were evidently successful, for Iggwilv did not succeed in her plan. With the aid of the crook and an angelic host, Iggwilv's yugoloths were banished. Their task done, the party returned the Crook to Tenser and the Circle of Eight.

The Circle, however, was not able to keep such a holy thing for long. Either they relinquished it willingly or it was taken from them, for it was next recorded in the city of Rel Astra in the hands of its animus ruler, Drax the Invulnerable.

In 586 CY, Drax traded the Crook back to Veluna in exchange for magic items more useful to the city of Rel Astra. In Coldeven of that year, Canon Hazen of Veluna conducted a ritual using the Crook that banished most of the demons in Iuz's armies, as well as many other fiends all over the continent, if not the world. L'Ordre de la Croix-Rose Veritas, an order of St Cuthbert, believes that devils were exempt from this effect and only pretended to be banished so that they could work in secret. It is known that some demons managed to escape the effect due to luck or magic. It is thought the Fiend-Sage of Rel Astra avoided banishment by studying the Crook extensively beforehand.

The nature of Hazen's ceremony was mysterious, but the Canon was attended by his entire College of Bishops and Bigby of the Circle of Eight. There was "an arcane conjunction intended to augment the priestly ritual" in which Tenser and Ilena Norbelos took part.[1] In its aftermath, Hazen was said to have become enfeebled, and there were rumors that the powers of the Crook had become entirely exhausted.

The Crook of Rao illustrated by Robson Michel (2020)

In any case, the Crook of Rao remained in Mitrik, making the city the destination for devout pilgrims who view it was a source of limitless power to combat the forces of the lower planes.

Iggwilv's Curse[edit | edit source]

According to Tasha's Cauldron of Everything the Crook of Rao was "leveraged against the rising power of the Witch Queen Iggwilv .... Although she was defeated, Iggwilv managed to damage the crook during the battle, infecting it with an insidious curse—and the potential for future victory.... When the Crook was last used against Iggwilv, the Witch Queen lashed out at the artifact, infecting its magical matrix. Over the years, this curse has spread within the crook, threatening to violently pervert its ancient magic."[2]

Tasha's reveals more about the powers, and drawbacks, of wielding the Crook. It's Absolute Banishment ability does send fiends back to their home plane for one hundred years. But invoking that ability carries with it the possibility of the Crook's magical matrix failing, causing all those fiends to pour back into Oerth's plane. It was previously thought there was no curse or cost to using the artifact, but this is not the case - it's simply that there's only a chance of the curse finally taking effect. This may be why there are rumors the Crook no longer functions - because no sane person wants to run the risk of this happening and, therefore, it is better to consider it powerless. The process would end in an apocalypse but would be far from swift as a portal releases one fiend per round, "doing so until the gate calls on every fiend ever banished by the Crook of Rao. If the fiend still exists, it is drawn through the gate. This process takes eighteen years to complete, at the end of which the gate becomes a permanent portal to Pazunia, the first layer of the Abyss."[3] The total (from the implied math) is more than 56 million fiends could be released back onto the Material Plane.

References[edit | edit source]

Citations[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ "Playing Pieces: The Despotrix of Hardby".  Living Greyhawk Journal #1 (Sep 2000), p.27.  
  2. ↑ Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, p123-124.
  3. ↑ Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, p124.

Bibliography[edit | edit source]

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

Rao, Crook of Item Artifact, Dragon magazine #225 52
Rao, Crook of Item Artifact, Dragon magazine #270 72
Rao, Crook of Item Artifact, Dragon magazine #294 91, 92, 94, 95
Rao, Crook of Item Artifact, Dragon magazine #299 100, 101
Rao, Crook of Item Artifact, Dragon magazine #351 42
Rao, Crook of Item Artifact, Dungeon magazine #041 47, 48, 57
Rao, Crook of Item Artifact, From the Ashes: Atlas of the Flanaess 75, 76, 85
Rao, Crook of Item Artifact, Living Greyhawk, Living Onnwal Gazetteer, D&D 3.5e 109
Rao, Crook of Item Artifact, Living Greyhawk Gazetteer 16, 47, 62, 93, 129, 130, 181, 190
Rao, Crook of Item Artifact, Living Greyhawk Journal #0 7
Rao, Crook of Item Artifact, Player's Guide to Greyhawk 11, 23, 24
Rao, Crook of Item Artifact, Return of the Eight 32, 55
Rao, Crook of Item Artifact, Slavers, AD&D 2e 127
Rao, Crook of Item Artifact, The Adventure Begins 3, 19-21, 24, 27, 29
Rao, Crook of Item Artifact, WG6 Isle of the Ape 6, 8, 41, 43, 44
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