Canon:Wee Jas
| Wee Jas | |
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Title(s): |
The Ruby Sorceress, the Dark-Eyed Lady, the Witch Goddess, the Stern Lady, the Taker, the Lady of Book and Bone |
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Home Plane: |
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Power Level: |
Greater/ Intermediate |
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Alignment: |
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Portfolio: |
Death, Magic, Vanity, Law |
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Domains: |
Death, Law, Magic |
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Settings: |
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In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting and the 3rd Edition core pantheon in D&D, Wee Jas is the Suel goddess of Magic, Death, Vanity, and Law. She makes her home on the layer of Acheron known as Ocanthus, where she dwells in an elegant castle of black ice known as the Cabal Macabre.
Contents
Description[edit]
Wee Jas always appears as a highly attractive human female; other than that, details of her appearance vary wildly. It has been suggested that she could appear as another humanoid race if she wanted to, and that her appearance varies by what her followers in the area would consider most attractive.
Relationships[edit]
Known as the Dark-Eyed Lady and the Ruby Sorceress, Wee Jas and Norebo have been romantically linked. She bears great enmity toward Phyton, for his dominion over beauty.
As written in an article in Dragon #350, Wee Jas is uncontested in her domains of Magic and Death. Boccob and Nerull, greater gods with which she shares the domains of magic and death, are not Suel deities; as a Suel deity, Wee Jas is more or less outside their sphere of influence. It has been suggested that this uncontested power means she will one day expand her influence, possibly to other planes.
Dogma[edit]
Wee Jas thinks of herself as a steward of the dead. Though she is a relatively benign death goddess, she has no problem with undead being created - as long as they are not reanimated against their will, and their remains are procured in a lawful manner. Wee Jas is unconcerned with questions of morality; if it can be done within the confines of the law, she will allow it.
Worshippers[edit]
Wee Jas is especially popular with Suel wizards and sorcerers. As a death goddess, more people look to her for safe passage into the afterlife than harsher deities like Nerull. She is also honored by those involved with upholding and interpreting laws (judges, magistrates, justiciars, etc.), and is sometimes even revered as a love goddess.
Clergy[edit]
Temples and rituals[edit]
Notable temples to Wee Jas can be found in Hardby and Alhaster. There is also a major temple in Sasserine, in the Amedio Jungle, as the town was originally founded by priests of Wee Jas.[1].
Services to Wee Jas include the reverent flattery of her icons, offering of finery and gems, and magically produced fires. Most temples have extensive magical and law libraries, and all endeavor to preserve what few fragments still remain of the ancient Suel laws. Urban Arcana indicates that sororities and fraternities dedicated to her include large marble altars, used for initiating pledges, known as suitors, and possibly for blood sacrifices of animals.
Status[edit]
Wee Jas was originally described in the first edition Greyhawk references and Dragon #88 (the first description of Wee Jas that is longer than one sentence) as a "greater" goddess, but her status was demoted to "intermediate" in From the Ashes. Dragon #88 has her alignment as lawful neutral with lawful evil tendencies rather than simply lawful neutral, and most sources since have followed this. Dragon #350 states she is still a greater goddess, but she hides much of her power in a mystical well in order to disguise this fact.
Wee Jas in Urban Arcana[edit]
In the Urban Arcana setting for d20 Modern, Wee Jas's worshippers are called "The Beloved," and hide behind a very selective national fraternity and sorority of business and management majors, known as Epsilon Alpha. Her believers are all said to have a small tattoo of a stylized skull. The tattoo is placed in one of three locations, in the armpit on the arm, in the crotch on the inner thigh, or on the sole of the foot. The tattoo subjects all members to scry spells of other members without a chance for a saving throw.
References[edit]
- Jeff Grubb, David Noonan, Bruce R. Cordell (September 2001). Manual of the Planes. (3e) Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-1850-8.
- Gary Gygax (1983). World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting. (1e) TSR.
- Gary Holian, Erik Mona, Sean K Reynolds, Frederick Weining (November 2000). Living Greyhawk Gazetteer. (3e) Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-1743-1.
- Lenard Lakofka. "Gods of the Suel Pantheon." Dragon #88 (TSR, 1984).
- Roger E. Moore (1998). The Adventure Begins. (2e) TSR. ISBN 0-7869-1249-9.
- David Noonan (May 2004). Complete Divine. (3.5e) Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-3272-4.
- Redman, Rich, Skip Williams, and James Wyatt. Deities and Demigods (Wizards of the Coast, 2002).
- Sean K. Reynolds "Core Beliefs: Wee Jas." Dragon #350 (Paizo Publishing, 2006).
- Carl Sargent (1992). From the Ashes. (2e) TSR. ISBN 1-56076-341-8.
- Wee Jas Dissected Part I and Part II, an analysis of the history of Wee Jas in the various editions of D&D.
- Wee Jas Resurrected, a view of Wee Jas that attempts to unify the diverging descriptions.
External links[edit]
There is an article about Wee Jas at the Great Library of Greyhawk.
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