Xan Yae
| Game background | |
|---|---|
| Title(s) | Lady of Perfection, the Perfect Mistress |
| Power level | Lesser |
| Alignment | Neutral |
| Portfolio | Twilight, Shadows, Stealth, Mental and Physical Mastery of Mind over Matter |
| Domains | Celerity, Knowledge, Trickery, War |
| Superior | none |
| Design details | |
Xan Yae is a fictional goddess from the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting, Xan Yae is the goddess of Twilight, Shadows, Stealth, and Mental Power worshiped by some of the Baklunish people who inhabit the fictional lands of Flanaess and Oerik. Her symbol is a black lotus blossom. She appears as a Baklunish human of any age and gender, with a slender and graceful build, and wielding a pair of magical, easily concealed falchions.
Publication history
Xan Yae was first detailed for the Dungeons & Dragons game in the World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting (1983), by Gary Gygax.[1]
Xan Yae was one of the deities described in the From the Ashes set (1992), for the Greyhawk campaign.[2]
Xan Yae's role in the 3rd edition Greyhawk setting was defined in the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (2000).[3] Xan Yae's priesthood is detailed for 3rd edition in Complete Divine (2004).[4]
Description
Xan Yae appears as a Baklunish human of any age or sex, slender and graceful, wielding a pair of magical falchions that she can shrink to easily conceal. She is usually dressed in cloth of dove gray, dusty rose, or golden orange.
Relationships
Xan Yae was served by the demigod, Zuoken, before he vanished in 505 CY. She is a close ally of the Cat Lord, Rexfelis, and opposes Pholtus and Pyremius. She is also allied with Kurell.
Realm
Xan Yae's realm in the Outlands is known as the Tower of Iron Will.
Dogma
Xan Yae's highest ideal is the mastery of the unseen. Anything that achieves true balance attains invisible perfection. The greatest mysteries are hard to find.
In Xan Yae's philosophy, there are three great universal principles:
- The Universal Mind. This is the creator and sustainer of the universe. One mind is all minds.
- Perpetual Harmony. Symmetry and balance between Good and Evil and all things. When the individual achieves a similar state of balance, harmony with nature can be attained.
- Internal Peace. The mastery of the mental and martial arts can be combined to attain a higher level of existence.
Worshippers
Xan Yae is revered in Ket, the Plains of the Paynims, Tusmit, and Zeif. Though a Baklunish goddess, the Perfect Mistress has some measure of popularity throughout the Flanaess, especially among rogues and monks, thieves and less savory sorts, young lovers, and those of cautious nature. Xan Yae's worshippers seek out dungeons and labyrinths full of hidden lore.
Clergy
Xan Yae's clerics wear cloaks of gray and typically carry falchions or those weapons associated with monks. They are agents of harmony and discipline, seeking out extreme alignments and factions and bringing them toward balance. They train others in the martial and mental arts, study with gurus, and seek out evidence of the Universal Mind. They are active in seeking to change the world. They pray at dusk.
Temples
Because she teaches mastery of the unseen, Xan Yae's temples and monasteries are usually very hard to find, typically in secluded settings. In urban areas they tend to be large but disguised as some other form of building.
One of Xan Yae's better-known monasteries beyond the Baklunish Basin is the Twilight Monastery, located three hours northwest of Diamond Lake in the Cairn Hills.
Rituals
Xan Yae's services include dance-like exercises, meditation, reading, chanting, and prayer. The light is always shadowy and dim, and breezes tinkle bells and chimes to create peaceful background noise.
Holy days
Worshipers of Xan Yae celebrate the Autumnal Equinox, marking the day of balance between darkness and light. Two ceremonies are held on this day, one at dawn and another at dusk, and during these ceremonies neophytes are initiated into the greater body of the church.
On the 27th of Harvester, worshipers of Xan Yae celebrate the Day of the Legion Will. On this day, every member of the church meditates from sunrise to sunset, as deeply as they can, attempting to come in direct contact with the Universal Mind and bend the fabric of existence with the collective will of the church.
References
- ↑ Gygax, Gary. World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting (TSR, 1983)
- ↑ Sargent, Carl. From the Ashes (TSR, 1992)
- ↑ Holian, Gary, Erik Mona, Sean K Reynolds, and Frederick Weining. Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (Wizards of the Coast, 2000)
- ↑ Noonan, David. Complete Divine (Wizards of the Coast, 2004)
Additional reading
- Conforti, Steven, ed. Living Greyhawk Official Listing of Deities for Use in the Campaign, version 2.0. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2005. Available online:
- Gygax, Gary. Monster Manual II (TSR, 1983).
- Hawvermale, Lance. "Powers that Be: Xan Yae." Polyhedron #139. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 1999.
- Miller, Andy. "The Oeridian Lesser Gods." Dragon #263. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 1999.
- Mona, Erik. Age of Worms Overload. Bellevue, WA: Paizo Publishing, 2005. Available online:
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