Mordenkainen
Mordenkainen is one of the most formidable and influential wizards ever to walk the face of Oerth. A man of immense intellect, ambition, and magical power, he is best known as the architect of two of the most powerful arcane alliances in the history of the Flanaess: the Company of Seven and the Circle of Eight. Both were formed to pursue his tireless goal—preserving cosmic balance across the world and beyond.
Born in the Free City of Greyhawk, Mordenkainen rose from humble beginnings to become a spellcaster of near-mythic reputation. Even in his youth, he was more than a mere conjurer of arcane might; he was a philosopher of power, a seer of futures, and a manipulator of destinies. His magical talent was equaled only by his far-reaching vision—a vision rooted not in personal ambition or the pursuit of justice, but in the preservation of equilibrium between order and chaos, good and evil.
Mordenkainen keeps residences in both the Free City of Greyhawk and a secluded, magically warded citadel deep within the Yatil Mountains, between Perrenland and Ket. These sanctums are said to be filled with artifacts of staggering power, planar gateways, and a library rivaled only by that of the gods themselves.
Though largely absent from the public eye, Mordenkainen’s influence is felt in every corner of the world. From behind the scenes, he pulls the threads of fate, nudging events in directions that often go unnoticed until long after the consequences have taken root.
Archmage, manipulator, and cosmic arbiter, Mordenkainen is the mind behind the balance that holds the world together—ever watching, ever weighing, and always one step ahead.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Though he has walked among heroes and kings, Mordenkainen stands apart. He rarely takes direct action unless the scales of the world threaten to tip beyond recovery. Instead, he works through agents—carefully chosen allies, adventurers, and fellow arcanists—who can intervene without drawing the attention that Mordenkainen’s presence inevitably brings.
In his younger years, he founded the Company of Seven, a band of extraordinary adventurers who tackled threats of planar, arcane, and divine magnitude. Later, recognizing the need for a broader network of arcane oversight, he formed the Circle of Eight—a council of wizards tasked with monitoring, and occasionally manipulating, world affairs to maintain stability.
To many, Mordenkainen is a remote and inscrutable figure—severe, calculated, and emotionally distant. He is a man who weighs the collapse of empires and the extinction of civilizations not in terms of morality, but necessity. He has sacrificed friends, sundered alliances, and allowed evils to fester if it meant avoiding a greater imbalance.
Yet beneath the dispassionate exterior lies a man haunted by knowledge too vast and consequences too dire for most to grasp. He carries the burden of foresight—aware of threats that span worlds and timelines, of powers that cannot be defeated, only managed. To Mordenkainen, emotion is a distraction from purpose; sentiment, a vulnerability.
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