I'm working on a rewrite of White Plume Mountain, collating bits from every published version into a single, cohesive whole. I'm stumped on the history of Wave, though. As originally written, Wave was consecrated to the sea god Poseidon ("or any similar sea-god you choose"). I'm using Xerbo for my purposes, but that's academic. In the history presented in the Weapons of Legacy web enhancement, however, Wave was crafted by prisoners of this unnamed sea god and wielded in a rebellion against the sea god. WTF? Can anyone help me make sense of this?
You could assume it was created by prisoners of Procan (or perhaps Panzuriel) and concecrated by priests of Xerbo (or whatever sea god you prefer). That's why it's useful to have multiple gods with the same portfolio; their followers can generate conflict. The background usually assumes there's only a single major sea god, but obviously in Greyhawk this isn't the case.
Thanks, rasgon. What I ended up doing is tying in Surge (from Evil Tide) by having the cyclopes imprisoned on Thunderforge by Xerbo himself. There they were forced to craft Wave (N alignment) for Xerbo and Surge (LN alignment) for Osprem. I just glossed over the Dravenda story, skipping to where Keraptis (the Benevolent ) liberates the cyclopes in exchange for Wave. It's not a perfect reconciliation, but it'll do (though I'm still open to other ideas).
Is the Weapons of Legacy WE still available anywhere? I must have missed that one.
Prata, I'm afraid I can't help with your question, but I have a couple more puzzlers to add:
1) what are your thoughts on a wealthy Tenha church of Geshtai(!) claiming Wave as a sacred relic in the Paul Kidd novel?
2) I recently ran across a reference saying Wave is a sword, not a trident. For the life of me I can't remember where. Anyone know the source?
If a bunch of Tenhese are eccentric or confused enough to worship Geshtai, it isn't surprising that they'd also misattribute the provenance of holy relics. Perhaps they're a syncretic cult that believes all watery gods spring from the same source, and so use their names interchangeably.
Is the Weapons of Legacy WE still available anywhere? I must have missed that one.
Prata, I'm afraid I can't help with your question, but I have a couple more puzzlers to add:
1) what are your thoughts on a wealthy Tenha church of Geshtai(!) claiming Wave as a sacred relic in the Paul Kidd novel?
2) I recently ran across a reference saying Wave is a sword, not a trident. For the life of me I can't remember where. Anyone know the source?
Yeah, I should probably add the novel to my list of sources for completeness. Thanks for reminding me.
I can't help you with a sword reference, but IIRC Wave appeared in one of the Baldur's Gate games as a halberd.
I recently ran my players through the 3.5e rerelease of White Plume Mountain, which I converted to Pathfinder. Their PCs acquired all three weapons, which isn't too overpowering now that they use the Legacy Weapon template (highly adjusted by me) and gain more powers as the wielder gains levels.
Anyway, below is the history of Wave from that adventure as rewritten by me to apply more directly to the World of Greyhawk and my own campaign (ibid. references to Aaron House and the Old Characters).
Note that I am happy to revise this short history, if anyone has suggestions for doing so.
Wave Description and history
Description: Wave is a trident whose head is forged of steel with a distinctive blue-green sheen. The wooden haft is intricately carved with fish, twining seaweed, and similar aquatic motifs. As more of Wave’s powers become available to the wielder, appropriate motifs appear upon its haft. Anyone who clutches Wave constantly hears a sound like that of distant waves washing against some unseen shore.
History Knowledge (history) DC 15: According to legend, the trident Wave was forged by giants who were imprisoned on the desolate island called Fireland by agents of an ocean deity known to them as the Storm Lord (Procan). The first hero to wield it was the half-giant Dravenda, said to be a daughter of the Storm Lord himself, who used it in rebellion against her father’s servants and paid for her insolence with her life.
Knowledge (history or the planes) DC 20: Dravenda used Wave in her epic battle with an enormous crab that was supposedly another of the Storm Lord’s offspring (and thus Dravenda’s own half-brother). Dravenda fought bravely, but she grew weaker and weaker as the battle raged on. Finally, while held in the crab’s huge claw, she managed to hurl her trident into a gap in the creature’s adamantine plating, killing it instantly. Dravenda died in battle the next day, and her kin buried Wave with her.
Knowledge (history or the planes) DC 25: Shortly after Dravenda’s death, the notorious wizard Keraptis encountered the imprisoned giants of Fireland and agreed to help them win their freedom. In return for the magical aid he provided, the giants exhumed Wave from Dravenda’s tomb and gave it to him. Keraptis carried the weapon with him in his vtravels before he eventually settled in the mysterious volcano known as White Plume Mountain and disappeared from history.
Some one hundred years ago, a group of powerful heroes calling themselves the Old Characters entered the dungeons of White Plume Mountain, fought the monsters still living there, and returned in triumph with Wave and assorted other treasures. A ranger named Aaron House claimed Wave as his own and carried it during his later adventures, long after the Old Characters had been disbanded. Eventually, Aaron retired from the adventuring life and married, but tragedy struck on his wedding day. Shortly after Aaron and his bride boarded the Wyndsome Wench for their honeymoon journey, a sudden storm struck and the ship foundered. Aaron survived thanks to Wave’s magic, but his new bride drowned – although legend says that her spirit somehow joined with the figurehead of the ship.
Knowledge (history or the planes) DC 30: Aaron blamed Procan for his wife’s death and swore an oath of vengeance on the deity. His quest for revenge brought him at last to Fireland, the birthplace of Wave, where he confronted an avatar of the god. Though the battle was initially violently destructive, both combatants tired and came to an agreement in their mutually weakened condition. Procan returned Aaron’s wife to him (true resurrection) and the ranger gave up his prized weapon. Decades later, the trident reappeared in the possession of a wealthy collector in the City of Greyhawk.
I would have preferred to use Procan, as the pre-eminent Greyhawk sea god, but A) he's Chaotic Neutral, and Wave is Neutral (meaning a devout C/Neutral cleric of Procan couldn't wield a weapon dedicated to the same god); and B) Procan carries a spear, not a trident. That's why I found Xerbo a better fit.
When has that stopped any of us from altering that which did not 'work' for our campaigns?!
I agree with you, DMPrata. I think Procan would be a better fit. So change it, if that pleases you. Even Gygax mentioned that it's your game, and that "rules" shouldn't be binding. The spirit of the game is more important.
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) liberates the cyclopes in exchange for 
