History Check: The Iggwilv– Graz’zt Affair By John “Ross” Rossomangno Illustration by Eva Widermann The History Check series explores the rich history of Sample file the Dungeons & Dragons® setting. Each installment provides new insight into the game’s iconic personas, organizations, and events, untangling the contradic- tory threads of history when possible. Throughout the text, sidebars present what characters might know based on a successful skill check. Here we look at the entwined histories of Iggwilv, the Mother of Witches and author of the infamous Demonomicon, and her sometimes rival, sometimes lover, the demon prince Graz’zt. NO LOVE LOST “There is nothing unusual about a man searching for his lost love. I can see it in your eyes. Someone you TM & © 2012 Wizards of the Coast LLC. All rights reserved. August 2012 | DRAGON 414 1 The Iggwilv–Graz’zt Affair care about has left you in the dark, and you need my THAT OLD whispered lies and half-truths the Prince of Decep- help to find her. tion spewed while he vied for his freedom. “Be at ease, my friend. We already know of her. BLACK MAGIC “After wringing everything she deemed valuable You will no doubt be surprised to learn that we seek from Zagig and Fraz-Urb’luu, Iggwilv took her leave her as well. Perhaps sharing our knowledge can lead “Let us begin with our fair maiden. She has been in the night, but not before pillaging her loving mas- to an end we both find beneficial. You see, my cousin known by many names over the years: Natasha, Hura, ter’s library. The greatest prize that she absconded is due to return late this evening, and I expect him to then Tasha, and finally Iggwilv. Ah, that name stirs with was the Tome of Zyx, a seminal text of magic that bring news of your lost love’s whereabouts, for though your memory, does it? I’m sure you’ve heard it only became the basis of Iggwilv’s Demonomicon. By steal- she can elude you, she cannot elude us. in passing—you seem a devout fellow with farmer’s ing his work and then subsuming it within her own, “Do not scowl so. You must recognize and embrace hands, rather than the sort who discusses the conju- she robbed Zagig not only of his possessions but also the notion that we are hunting her. But do not be ration of demons. But perhaps a relation of yours is a of his accomplishments. troubled, my friend. Until my cousin’s return, I will student of the Art? And your lost love—did she dote “Hmmm . your troubled look returns. Surely it is impart to you a tale of another love affair to pass the upon him? No matter. You are too wise, I hope, to not due to talk of fell and forbidden objects stolen in time. Many bards consider it the greatest love story dabble in such darkness. the night? Perhaps it is only the nature of the betrayal, the multiverse has ever known, for it reveals the “Iggwilv is known as the Mother of Witches and is cruel and unexpected? I’m certain that Zagig also unsettling foundations of desire. It speaks to the dark the one whose hand penned the Demonomicon. Her wondered how early in their relationship this plan origins of love and our desire to possess that which is title, I dare say, is somewhat undeserved, for Iggwilv had formed in his lover’s mind.” beyond possession. was the adopted daughter of Baba Yaga, the true “Now, as I relate to you the tale of Iggwilv and Mother of All Witches. Now there is a name with Graz’zt, let your mind wander. Reflect on the love which you are certainly familiar. that possesses you. Remember her words and actions, “But Iggwilv’s dark tutelage only began within and then ponder what your future holds.” the halls of the crone’s infamous hut. After a period HS I TORY CHECK of youthful rebellion, looting sealed vaults of arcane A successful DC 25 Arcana check or DC 30 His- treasure meantSample to be kept from ill-intentioned file tory check reveals Iggwilv’s relationship with mortals, Iggwilv turned her eyes to deeper, darker Zagig and her eventual betrayal, as well as her THE ZAROVANS mysteries. interactions with Fraz-Urb’luu in the develop- “She ingratiated herself with the archmage Zagig ment of the Demonomicon. The narrator of this History Check is a member Yragerne. The potent wizard was unprepared for a of the Zarovan tribe of the Vistani, mystical weapon as simple as desire, and soon he turned a wanderers who can cross the planes as if walking deaf ear, and the occasional malicious polymorph, on between rooms. The Zarovans place great value those who openly spoke of his scandalous relation- in the future, which is made relevant by the past, ship with his apprentice. COURTSHIP AND and they might share their lore with giorgios “Under Zagig’s instruction, Iggwilv’s obsession ALAMITY (non-Vistani) in exchange for an open mind, dark with the Abyss and its inhabitants flourished. The C secrets, or mysterious long-term favors. two successfully called forth the abominable Prince “When Iggwilv fled from Zagig to the Yatil Moun- More information about the Vistani can be of Deception, Fraz-Urb’luu and imprisoned him tains, her desire was simply for more power and more found in Player’s Option: Heroes of Shadow™, the in the bowels of Castle Greyhawk. Although Zagig control over the world around her. And her choice boxed set The Shadowfell: Gloomwrought and meant for his apprentice to learn about the care and of abode was not mere chance. The lost mage Tsoj- Beyond™, and the Vistani articles in Dragon 380. caution necessary when handling summoned fiends, canth was believed to have been laid to rest in those Iggwilv took further instruction from the trapped mountains. Few mortals knew that Tsojcanth was a demon. She extracted countless secrets from the half-demon who masqueraded as a mortal for years August 2012 | DRAGON 414 2 The Iggwilv–Graz’zt Affair and that his talent for deception was inherited from wielded so cunningly. Either way, the Dark Prince’s LIVING IN SIN his father, Fraz-Urb’luu. inevitable betrayal caught her by surprise. “Using the knowledge of binding she had taken “Thanks to her frequent summoning rituals, a rift “Iggwilv was certain that Graz’zt would not forget from Zagig and her conversations with Fraz-Urb’luu, into the heart of the Abyss beneath Iggwilv’s sanctum her abuses at his expense, despite whatever they Iggwilv engaged in a monumental contest of wills began to swell dangerously. Graz’zt proposed a means might have shared. As she struggled to rebuild her with Tsojcanth and emerged victorious. Bound to her, of sealing the breach using the bound essence of the power and recover the arcane treasures lost when her the half-demon did Iggwilv’s bidding for many years oft-neglected Tsojcanth. Iggwilv concurred, but when demesne crumbled, the Mother of Witches lived in and provided her with further insights into the fiends she undertook the ritual, the half-demon she believed fear that the demonic agents of Graz’zt would locate of the Abyss. to be cowed lashed out with nearly overwhelming her. Soon enough they did—whereupon they dragged “Armed with these new realizations, Iggwilv ferocity. her away to the triple-layered realm known as Azza- called forth the demon prince Graz’zt and impris- “Graz’zt reveled in the struggles of his mistress, grat to be subjected to the Dark Prince’s cruel whims. oned him. Unlike with Fraz-Urb’luu, whose essence and when she emerged, horribly weakened but vic- “While I have sullied my tongue with the names was bound in a bas-relief, or Tsojcanth, who was con- torious, he struck at her without mercy. Their titanic of fiends in this tale, I have no intention of speaking fined to ancient caverns beyond the reach of all, the battle is said to have shaken the foundations of the of the abominable depravities that took place in the Dark Prince’s physical form was available to Iggwilv, Yatil Mountains, for the couple’s passion fueled their most hopeless dungeons under the city of Zelatar. Yet and his handsome visage fell under her gaze daily. As hatred as powerfully as it did their desires. Even Iuz, from these wretched acts a new understanding was she pried information from him to expand upon the attempting to separate his warring parents, was torn born, along with other monstrous offspring. Iggwilv Tome of Zyx and thus develop the first entries of the asunder into his human and demonic halves. would often be seen in public with child, but such Demonomicon, Iggwilv discovered that she could toler- “Finally, Graz’zt broke free of his lover’s hold and states were inhumanly brief, and Graz’zt took great ate the presence of no one but Graz’zt. He alone was returned to the Abyss. Iggwilv, in turn, was left shat- pains to keep the identities and whereabouts of his worthy of her attention. tered and nearly stripped of power. One wonders if offspring hidden from enemies. “Iggwilv became known as the Witch Queen, the Dark Prince’s ordeal left him without the strength “Graz’zt and Iggwilv had come to understand that ruling over Perrenland at the foot of the Yatil Moun- to strike a final, decisive blow, or if Iggwilv’s survival they loved nothing more than hating each other, and tains.