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Revision as of 23:37, 14 April 2008 by 70.234.180.41 (talk) (→Relationships: fixed common year link)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Xan Yae is the Baklunish goddess of Twilight, Shadows, Stealth, and Mental Power.
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.
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.
References
- Gygax, Gary. Monster Manual II (TSR, 1983).
- Gygax, Gary. World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting (TSR, 1983).
- Hawvermale, Lance. "Powers that Be: Xan Yae." Polyhedron #139. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 1999.
- Holian, Gary, Erik Mona, Sean K Reynolds, and Frederick Weining. Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (Wizards of the Coast, 2000).
- 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:
- Noonan, David. Complete Divine (Wizards of the Coast, 2004).
- Sargent, Carl. From the Ashes (TSR, 1992).
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