Obad-Hai
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In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting and the default pantheon of deities for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Obad-Hai is the god of Nature, Woodlands, Hunting, and Beasts, one of the most ancient known. He is often called the Shalm.
He is also considered to be the god of summer by the Flan. Originally a Flan deity, Obad-Hai is most favored by Rangers, druids and other nature priests. His holy symbol is a mask of oak leaves and acorns.
Publication history
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977-1988)
Obad-Hai was first detailed for the Dungeons & Dragons game in the article "The Deities and Demigods of the World of Greyhawk" by Gary Gygax in Dragon #69 (1983).[1] Obad-Hai was subsequently detailed in the World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting (1983),[2] and in Greyhawk Adventures (1988).[3]
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989-1999)
Obad-Hai was one of the deities described in the From the Ashes set (1992), for the Greyhawk campaign,[4] and appeared again in Greyhawk: The Adventure Begins (1998).[5]
His role in the cosmology of the Planescape campaign setting was described in On Hallowed Ground (1996).[6] Obad-Hai is described as one of the good deities that celestials can serve in the supplement Warriors of Heaven (1999).[7]
Dungeons & Dragons 3.0 edition (2000-2002)
Obad-Hai appears as one of the deities described in the Players Handbook for this edition (2000).[8] Obad-Hai's role in the 3rd edition Greyhawk setting was defined in the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (2000).[9]
Obad-Hai is also detailed in the Manual of the Planes (2001),[10] and Deities and Demigods (2002).[11]
Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition (2003-2007)
Obad-Hai appears in the revised Players Handbook for this edition (2003).[12] His priesthood is detailed for this edition in Complete Divine (2004).[13]
Description
Obad-Hai is most often depicted as a lean and weathered old man of indeterminate age, dressed in brown or russet.
He carries a wooden staff called the Shalmstaff, and is known for playing a woodwind instrument called a shalm or shawm. Obad-Hai can appear as a human, dwarf, gnome, or halfling, and has worshipers among all four races. He is also depicted in the forms of various animals or fey.
Obad-Hai is Neutral with Chaotic Good tendencies.
Relationships
Obad-Hai has an uneasy relationship with Ehlonna; they are rumored to have been lovers long ago. He is the sworn enemy of Phyton. He is an enemy of the vile nature deity Karaan. The Shalm is often grouped with Beory and Berei among the agricultural gods of the Flan.
Realm
The Hidden Wood of Obad-Hai is a patchwork of thick woods,open glades, and rolling fields. Explorers' notes place the Hidden Wood in several specific locations in the Outlands, often near the gate-towns of Fortitude or Faunel. It's rarely found at all except by travelers who become lost in the woods, and by those souls who were dedicated to the Shalm during their mortal lives.
Obad-Hai's domain is nature in all its forms: wild and tamed, savage and domesticated. All four seasons exist simultaneously in balance within the Shalm's realm. In the space of a quarter-mile, snowfields give way to forests draped in fall color next to orchards heavy with fruit and newly plowed fields. Creatures encountered within the Hidden Wood tend to be axiomatic or anarchic, but include a large number of Prime Material Plane animals, beasts, and plants. These creatures are usually hostile to travelers, an attitude that Obad-Hai encourages.
The Shalm has changed the magic traits within his realm. Spells cast by druids here are enhanced, and all spells targeting animals or plants are heightened. He has the power to make other changes to the traits of his realm if he wishes.
Petitioners serving Obad-Hai appear human and have the abilities of typical Outlandish petitioners. In addition, they gain the ability to speak with animals and plants at will. Petitioners are often gardening, herding, hunting, pruning, planting, or harvesting. Great feasts are common within the Shalm's realm.
Dogma
Obad-Hai teaches that one should live in harmony with nature, and that those who would damage the natural balance deserve any vengeance that they bring upon them. Obad-Hai's faith is more neutral and less compassionate than Ehlonna's, preaching that death is just as necessary as life in the balance of energy and nature. When followers of Obad-Hai hunt, they target the weak and sickly first.
Worshipers
Obad-Hai is revered by humans, dwarves, fey, gnomes, and halflings. His faith is strong among the Flan tribesmen in the Bright Lands, in Geoff, in the Gran March, among the Rovers of the Barrens, in Stonehold, in Tenh, in the County of Ulek, and in Verbobonc.
Clergy and temples
Obad-Hai's priests favor russet-colored clothing and simple quarterstaves. They have no hierarchy; all members are treated as equals. They keep to the wilderness and to themselves, rarely getting involved with society and often living as hermits. Most get along very well with rangers and druids.
Druids
Many druids of the Old Faith revere Obad-Hai. Druids of the Shalm are found within the Adri Forest, where they are led by Archdruid Immonara. Archdruid Reynard Yargrove in the Sheldomar Valley is another worshiper of the Shalm.
Temples
Temples of Obad-Hai are wooden structures in rustic settings, almost invariably laden with oak trees. The god's shrines are often stone circles or circles of oaks deep in the wilderness.
StoneRing in the Domain of Greyhawk is often used as a site of worship by druids of Obad-Hai.
Rituals
Prayers in honor of the Shalm often begin with references to birth and growth and end with references to death and dying. Services involve the consecration of earth, fire, living flowers, and water. Rites in Obad-Hai's name are seasonal, often triggered by events such as the year's first birdsong or snowfall.
Worshipers of Obad-Hai work to protect the wilderness from dangers such as unnatural corruption or cataclysms, or from deforestation by woodcutters.
Holy days
Worshippers of Obad-Hai consider Midsummer's Night to be the holiest of all. All quarrels between the faith of the Shalm and other sects are set aside, and they join in celebration of the Oerth and the Balance they serve. This is considered the best night to harvest mistletoe.
Artifacts and other associated magical items
The Singing Stones of the Vesve are a very ancient artifact of Obad-Hai taking the form of a stone circle that, according to divination, seems to be waiting angrily for some response. The Armor of Fallen Leaves is a relic sewn together from actual leaves by Ehlonna and presented as a gift to Obad-Hai during a time when they had better relations.
There are three Staves of the Unyielding Oak. These staves are actually treants who have willingly bound themselves to quarterstaff form in order to aid followers of the Shalm. They have the ability to reassume their treant forms at the command of their wielders.
Myths and legends
Obad-Hai and the Summer Tree
According to the ancient traditions of the Old Faith, Obad-Hai is reborn every spring, hatching in the form of a young boy from the fruit of a sapling that grows from his own grave. By summer Obad-Hai takes the form of a strong young man, the Stag King, leading the Wild Hunt against those who would defile Nature. By autumn he has grown into the weathered old man of his standard depictions. When winter begins he is slain by Nerull, who hangs his corpse on the Summer Tree. After seven days, Pelor cuts him down and buries him in the earth, where Beory's tears cause a new sapling to grow, which drops the fruit that hatches into the young Obad-Hai once again in the spring.
Obad-Hai in other media
In the movie Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God, a priest of Obad-Hai named Dorian is one of the main characters who perishes in the battle with a White Dragon.
References
- ^ Gygax, Gary. "The Deities and Demigods of the World of Greyhawk." Dragon #69 (TSR, 1983)
- ^ Gygax, Gary. World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting (TSR, 1983)
- ^ Ward, James M. Greyhawk Adventures (TSR, 1988)
- ^ Sargent, Carl. From the Ashes (TSR, 1992)
- ^ Moore, Roger E. Greyhawk: The Adventure Begins (TSR, 1998)
- ^ McComb, Colin. On Hallowed Ground (TSR, 1996)
- ^ Perkins, Christopher. Warriors of Heaven (TSR, 1999)
- ^ Tweet, Jonathan, Cook, Monte, Williams, Skip. Player's Handbook (Wizards of the Coast, 2000)
- ^ Holian, Gary, Erik Mona, Sean K Reynolds, and Frederick Weining. Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (Wizards of the Coast, 2000)
- ^ Grubb, Jeff, David Noonan, and Bruce Cordell. Manual of the Planes (Wizards of the Coast, 2001)
- ^ Redman, Rich, Skip Williams, and James Wyatt. Deities and Demigods (Wizards of the Coast, 2002)
- ^ Tweet, Jonathan, Cook, Monte, Williams, Skip. Player's Handbook (Wizards of the Coast, 2003)
- ^ Noonan, David. Complete Divine (Wizards of the Coast, 2004)
Additional reading
- Brown, Anne. Player's Guide to Greyhawk (TSR, 1998).
- 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:[1]
- Gygax, Gary, and Frank Mentzer. The Temple of Elemental Evil (TSR, 1985).
- Menge, Eric. "Power Groups: Druids of the Old Faith." Wizards of the Coast. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2008. Available online:[2]
- Living Greyhawk Journal no. 3 - "Gods of Oerth"