Alternate idea for the Raven Queen (Or, Wee Jas comes back) - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Alternate idea for the Raven Queen (Or, Wee Jas comes back)

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
Cohen95
Jun 15, 2008 23:21:40 So my friend and I were kicking around the idea of how Fey Pacts came along, and we had an idea. Wee Jas. Sort of.

Essentially, Wee Jas was the original God of the Nine Hells (Originally called something else). She was a deity of order, magic, and death, just as she was in prior editions. However, she was also the God of Warlock Pacts. They wouldn't have been Infernal, but close. A small few Warlocks made pacts with the stars, or a Fey lord or lady, but most of them came from Wee Jas.

Well, it wasn't long until a certain empire, hoping to expand and secure their borders in order to bring order to more of the "savage" world, decided to concoct a ritual to ask Wee Jas to make a pact with the empire, and their noble lines.

Everything would have been fine, if Asmodeus hadn't caught wind of it.

Moving swiftly, seeing the opportunity to slay his only boss and lay claim to the dominion as a result, Asmodeus rallied his most loyal followers, intercepted the rituals from the humans, and slew Wee Jas. Asmodeus and his lieutenants then entered into the pact with the humans. (This is a variant origin of Tieflings, though only a minor change.)

Wee Jas would have been destroyed, had not it been for her few, secret, followers, the Warlocks. Sustaining herself on what little devotion was shown to her by her most loyal Warlock followers, Wee Jas fled to Feywild. There, she met a charming and powerful Fey Lord, the King of Roses. Now, Wee Jas reigns along side him, as his Queen of Thorns. She has regained much of her once lost portfolio, and, in return for the loyalty shown to her, continues to grant Fey Pacts to all Warlocks who are bold enough to approach her.

===============================================

What do you guys think? I feel like it needs tweeking, or at least a little fleshing out. Any critiques? Additions? Suggestions? Praise?
#2
Cohen95
Jun 15, 2008 23:45:17 Slightly longer, more elaborate version.

=========================================================

Wee Jas was originally the Matron of what is now the Nine Hells. Fill in the blank for what it was called at the time. She ruled over her angels with great efficiency, and was basically just like Wee Jas of Greyhawk, with one key difference- she was a Matron of Warlocks.

Wee Jas "sponsored" many dozens of warlocks throughout the land, granting each of them a small portion of power, in exchange for two things: A simple, but strict code. (Three things, max, that are in no way hard to follow), and that every year on the full moon under which she granted the Pact, the warlock burn a red candle made with rose oil in reverence to her.

This affinity for Warlocks is what lead the priests of Bael Turath to attempt to align themselves with Wee Jas, in order that they might extend their empire to all the lands, and bring all the lands together under one banner. This same closeness to so many mortals is what caught Asmodeus' attention. Asmodeus was the captain of WJ's host of angels, and commanded the loyalty of those angels, executing WJ's orders ruthlessly. When Asmodeus learned of Bael Turath's desire to align with WJ, he moved quickly to consolidate his power within the ranks of WJ's angel's, and they rose up in mutiny against her, "slaying" her (actually her avatar on that domain), and seized control of her astral domain. The Gods of the other domains heard of this, and moved quickly to shut up Asmodeus' new realm.

Unfortunately, Asmodeus had already made contact with the priests of Bael Turath, assuming the visage of WJ, and striking many deals with the priests, eventually leading to the downfall of Bael Turath, and to the creation of the Tieflings. The rest of that story is in the PHB.

As for WJ, she would have been destroyed, except for the pacts she had made with her warlocks. (WJ had no real priesthood to speak of, so without the devotion of her Angels, she was severely weakened). Manifesting in the FeyWild, with little of her former power, she quickly met a powerful Fey Lord who called himself the King of Roses. After falling into good favor with him, and assuming the mantle of the Queen of Thorns, WJ now rules aside her liege in FeyWild, sustained by the occasional devotion of her warlocks, and the shared power of her King. Naturally, she continues to make pacts with warlocks.

Of course, this assumes that the amount of power granted to a warlocks is not nearly as much as the power gained by an entity through worship.

Personally, it's got some holes in the flavor, but I think it's complete enough that you can implement it, and it could be a very interesting hook for a Paragon/Epic level adventure.

=====================================================

For Flavor, in addition to everything else listen in my Warlock's Fey Pact, He also, once a year, on the full moon under which the Pact was originally granted, my Warlock burns a candle made with rose oil in it, in honor of his Matron. He doesn't know anything about her history, just that a powerful and influential Fey Lady has taken an interest in him.
#3
james_gaines_dup
Jun 16, 2008 1:04:27 That sounds pretty interesting, but I have one question: Where does that leave the Raven Queen? Did Wee Jas fully regain her portfolio, or is she subsisting off the pacts and the King of Roses? Does that leave the Shadowfell without a spokes-entity?

I'd change it to say maybe you get a Persephone thing going here, like WJ is happy as the Queen of Thorns, but she can't step away from her morbid beginnings, so six months of the year she changes into the Raven Queen and moves to the Shadowfell.
#4
Cohen95
Jun 16, 2008 22:05:28 I like that, although I'm not sure I'd make it half the year, perhaps randomly, when she is completely overwhelmed with grief over her lost dominion.
#5
chrys
Jun 16, 2008 23:27:20 Well, maybe the Queen of Ravens was an Exarch of WJ and when As overthew her Q of R Took over her mantel of death to keep it out of As and Orcus's claws

I like the story.
#6
Cohen95
Jun 17, 2008 3:17:45 Hmm, that makes sense. The Queen of Ravens was an avatar of Wee Jas, originally. When Asmodeus overthrew her, the Queen fled to keep from getting locked in with the others when the other gods caught wind of what happened. Now her sustained avatar roams the ShadowFell, while The Queen of Thorns, an avatar forged of the remains of Wee Jas' former glory, rules in the FeyWild along side the King of Roses.
#7
mythmaker13
Feb 13, 2011 17:57:52 Sorry, but the Raven Queen succeeded Nerull in open grave, so, that may be a thorn in your side.
#8
deliverance
Feb 14, 2011 5:06:33
Sorry, but the Raven Queen succeeded Nerull in open grave, so, that may be a thorn in your side.

Which doesn't stop anyone from creating alternative and more interesting stories such as this one.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Cohen95 Jun 15, 2008 23:21:40	So my friend and I were kicking around the idea of how Fey Pacts came along, and we had an idea. Wee Jas. Sort of. Essentially, Wee Jas was the original God of the Nine Hells (Originally called something else). She was a deity of order, magic, and death, just as she was in prior editions. However, she was also the God of Warlock Pacts. They wouldn't have been Infernal, but close. A small few Warlocks made pacts with the stars, or a Fey lord or lady, but most of them came from Wee Jas. Well, it wasn't long until a certain empire, hoping to expand and secure their borders in order to bring order to more of the "savage" world, decided to concoct a ritual to ask Wee Jas to make a pact with the empire, and their noble lines. Everything would have been fine, if Asmodeus hadn't caught wind of it. Moving swiftly, seeing the opportunity to slay his only boss and lay claim to the dominion as a result, Asmodeus rallied his most loyal followers, intercepted the rituals from the humans, and slew Wee Jas. Asmodeus and his lieutenants then entered into the pact with the humans. (This is a variant origin of Tieflings, though only a minor change.) Wee Jas would have been destroyed, had not it been for her few, secret, followers, the Warlocks. Sustaining herself on what little devotion was shown to her by her most loyal Warlock followers, Wee Jas fled to Feywild. There, she met a charming and powerful Fey Lord, the King of Roses. Now, Wee Jas reigns along side him, as his Queen of Thorns. She has regained much of her once lost portfolio, and, in return for the loyalty shown to her, continues to grant Fey Pacts to all Warlocks who are bold enough to approach her. =============================================== What do you guys think? I feel like it needs tweeking, or at least a little fleshing out. Any critiques? Additions? Suggestions? Praise?
#2 Cohen95 Jun 15, 2008 23:45:17	Slightly longer, more elaborate version. ========================================================= Wee Jas was originally the Matron of what is now the Nine Hells. Fill in the blank for what it was called at the time. She ruled over her angels with great efficiency, and was basically just like Wee Jas of Greyhawk, with one key difference- she was a Matron of Warlocks. Wee Jas "sponsored" many dozens of warlocks throughout the land, granting each of them a small portion of power, in exchange for two things: A simple, but strict code. (Three things, max, that are in no way hard to follow), and that every year on the full moon under which she granted the Pact, the warlock burn a red candle made with rose oil in reverence to her. This affinity for Warlocks is what lead the priests of Bael Turath to attempt to align themselves with Wee Jas, in order that they might extend their empire to all the lands, and bring all the lands together under one banner. This same closeness to so many mortals is what caught Asmodeus' attention. Asmodeus was the captain of WJ's host of angels, and commanded the loyalty of those angels, executing WJ's orders ruthlessly. When Asmodeus learned of Bael Turath's desire to align with WJ, he moved quickly to consolidate his power within the ranks of WJ's angel's, and they rose up in mutiny against her, "slaying" her (actually her avatar on that domain), and seized control of her astral domain. The Gods of the other domains heard of this, and moved quickly to shut up Asmodeus' new realm. Unfortunately, Asmodeus had already made contact with the priests of Bael Turath, assuming the visage of WJ, and striking many deals with the priests, eventually leading to the downfall of Bael Turath, and to the creation of the Tieflings. The rest of that story is in the PHB. As for WJ, she would have been destroyed, except for the pacts she had made with her warlocks. (WJ had no real priesthood to speak of, so without the devotion of her Angels, she was severely weakened). Manifesting in the FeyWild, with little of her former power, she quickly met a powerful Fey Lord who called himself the King of Roses. After falling into good favor with him, and assuming the mantle of the Queen of Thorns, WJ now rules aside her liege in FeyWild, sustained by the occasional devotion of her warlocks, and the shared power of her King. Naturally, she continues to make pacts with warlocks. Of course, this assumes that the amount of power granted to a warlocks is not nearly as much as the power gained by an entity through worship. Personally, it's got some holes in the flavor, but I think it's complete enough that you can implement it, and it could be a very interesting hook for a Paragon/Epic level adventure. ===================================================== For Flavor, in addition to everything else listen in my Warlock's Fey Pact, He also, once a year, on the full moon under which the Pact was originally granted, my Warlock burns a candle made with rose oil in it, in honor of his Matron. He doesn't know anything about her history, just that a powerful and influential Fey Lady has taken an interest in him.
#3 james_gaines_dup Jun 16, 2008 1:04:27	That sounds pretty interesting, but I have one question: Where does that leave the Raven Queen? Did Wee Jas fully regain her portfolio, or is she subsisting off the pacts and the King of Roses? Does that leave the Shadowfell without a spokes-entity? I'd change it to say maybe you get a Persephone thing going here, like WJ is happy as the Queen of Thorns, but she can't step away from her morbid beginnings, so six months of the year she changes into the Raven Queen and moves to the Shadowfell.
#4 Cohen95 Jun 16, 2008 22:05:28	I like that, although I'm not sure I'd make it half the year, perhaps randomly, when she is completely overwhelmed with grief over her lost dominion.
#5 chrys Jun 16, 2008 23:27:20	Well, maybe the Queen of Ravens was an Exarch of WJ and when As overthew her Q of R Took over her mantel of death to keep it out of As and Orcus's claws I like the story.
#6 Cohen95 Jun 17, 2008 3:17:45	Hmm, that makes sense. The Queen of Ravens was an avatar of Wee Jas, originally. When Asmodeus overthrew her, the Queen fled to keep from getting locked in with the others when the other gods caught wind of what happened. Now her sustained avatar roams the ShadowFell, while The Queen of Thorns, an avatar forged of the remains of Wee Jas' former glory, rules in the FeyWild along side the King of Roses.
#7 mythmaker13 Feb 13, 2011 17:57:52	Sorry, but the Raven Queen succeeded Nerull in open grave, so, that may be a thorn in your side.
#8 deliverance Feb 14, 2011 5:06:33	Sorry, but the Raven Queen succeeded Nerull in open grave, so, that may be a thorn in your side. Which doesn't stop anyone from creating alternative and more interesting stories such as this one.