Lydia (Greyhawk)

Lydia
Game background
Title(s) The Mother of Truth, the Pure Song
Home plane Elysium
Power level Lesser
Alignment Neutral Good
Portfolio Music, Knowledge, Daylight
Domains Good, Knowledge, Sun, Travel
Superior Lendor
Design details

In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, Lydia is the Suel goddess of Music, Knowledge, and Daylight. Her holy symbol is a spray of colors from an open hand.

Publication history

Lenard Lakofka created Lydia.

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977-1988)

Lydia was first detailed for the Dungeons & Dragons game in the World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting (1983), by Gary Gygax.[1]

Lydia was further detailed by Lenard Lakofka in Dragon #92 (1984), in the article Gods of the Suel Pantheon V.[2]

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989-1999)

Lydia was one of the deities described in the From the Ashes set (1992), for the Greyhawk campaign.[3]

Lydia is described as one of the good deities that celestials can serve in the supplement Warriors of Heaven (1999).[4]

Lydia is further detailed in The Scarlet Brotherhood (1999).[5]

Dungeons & Dragons 3.0 edition (2000-2002)

Lydia's role in the 3rd edition Greyhawk setting was defined in the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (2000).[6]

Description

Lydia is depicted as a dynamic, white-haired woman with clear blue eyes. She wears a white gown trimmed in silver and gold. She is constantly surrounded by a sphere of force.

Realm

Lydia's realm is in Elysium, associated with the town Release From Care.

Relationships

Lydia interacts with many other deities, exchanging songs and information. She opposes Pholtus, feeling that others must see the light of truth without being blinded by it. Her philosophy pleases Trithereon, who similarly presses for the freedom of the individual.

Dogma

Lydia promotes the progress of knowledge in each individual for the sake of their self-improvement. She teaches that music is a key to learning, and that light permits the ignorant to see the truth.

Worshipers

Lydia is favored by musicians, bards, sages, and by women seeking fame. She supports women's education and her church helps women who want to travel.

In the Scarlet Brotherhood, many followers of Lydia are lawful neutral bards who use stories and songs to promote ideals of Suloise racial supremacy and resentment, though a few are good-aligned and more closely follow their goddess's true ideals.

Clergy

80% of Lydia's clerics are female. They are constantly driven to learn and discover, and many travel in the company of clerics of Fharlanghn. Their white vestments are trimmed in silver and gold. They use education to uplift women from lesser stations in life. This tends to make her church unpopular with patriarchies.

The records kept by Lydia's church are open to all, for Lydia hates secrets.

Temples

A large wooden temple of Lydia can be found in the city of Leukish north of the business district, greeting those who enter the city from the lake. Apart from that, Lydia has five notable churches in the Flanaess: in Lo Reltama, in Niole Dra, in Gryrax, in Nellix, and in Pitchfield.

Rituals

When praying, priests of Lydia are required to give their patron updates on the things they have learned. Lydia's teachings are presented in song form to aid memory, and her church often converts historical texts to ballads.

References

  1. ↑ Gygax, Gary. World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting (TSR, 1983)
  2. ↑ Lakofka, Lenard. "Gods of the Suel Pantheon V." Dragon #92 (TSR, 1984)
  3. ↑ Sargent, Carl. From the Ashes (TSR, 1992)
  4. ↑ Perkins, Christopher. Warriors of Heaven (TSR, 1999)
  5. ↑ Reynolds, Sean K. The Scarlet Brotherhood (TSR, 1999)
  6. ↑ Holian, Gary, Erik Mona, Sean K Reynolds, and Frederick Weining. Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (Wizards of the Coast, 2000)

Additional reading