Can anyone point me to the first official source that introduced Wee Jas, I don't seem to recall her being in any of the older TSR material and my efforts to track down her source of creation have been fruitless. _________________ Kneel before me, or you shall be KNELT!
The first official source to feature the goddess was the Greyhawk Campaign Setting Folio (1980), which is, for all intents and purposes, the same material that was repackaged as the WoG Boxed set (1983). Wee Jas doesn't get a whole lot of detail in those two sources though, the first real write up of her is from Dragon Magazine, issue 88. Len Lakofka's 'Gods of the Suel Pantheon' series (which begins in issue 86) touches on Wee Jas, as well as Fortubo and Syrul in that issue. If you have access to back issues, or the Dragon Archive CD set, the article is definitely worth reading to gain some insight into how the 'old gaurd' designers intended her.
Aside from the Planescape book Cwslyclgh mentioned, there was no real coverage of Wee Jas in 2e aside from the basic info (allowed weapons, Spell Spheres, etc) in From the Ashes and thePlayer's Guide until Sean K. Reynolds Scarlet Brotherhood sourcebook came along in 98 or 99. Though I'm honestly not a big fan of that product, a Wee Jas completist may find it useful. The one contribution to Wee Jas lore that Sean made that I do like is the term 'Jasidan' to denote her followers, ie. "I'm a Jasidan Cleric'" means "I'm a cleric that follows Wee Jas". Some fans have commented here and there that 'Jasian' sounds better, but after a few years of use, I'll stick with the canon version, 'Jasidan'.
In 3e, there's the brief blurb in the Player's Handbook, as well as the slightly more detailed one in the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer. As mentioned, Deities & Demigods 3e includes the divine stats for the goddess, and some more detail about her, her celestial domain and her followers, and the Defenders of the Faith sourcebook and its web enhancements (www.wizards.com/dnd) offer a sample Jasidan mortuary/temple to use in your game.
The one point to bear in mind with the 3e Wee Jas material is that her migration into the 'D&D Core Pantheon' was accompanied by a new shift in her portfolio that means she now actively endorses necromancy and those who practice it. While the prior canon never actually outlawed this, many Wee Jas fans, myself included, do not associate her with undeath. This really only matters if you're playing in the Living Greyhawk campaign or preparing an article for the Living Greyhawk Journal or something, but it's worth considering if for no other reason than to document the evolution of the goddess in published canon. _________________ What would Raxivort do?<br />
Jeez, leave it to them 3rd Ed. guys to frag something else. Now Wee Jas is endorsing necromancy all of the sudden.
The "death" clause in her portfolio is specifically said to come from suel of the Sea of Dust requesting she (Wee Jas) lead their lost loved ones to the heavens, not to an eternal unlife.
Next thing you know, Wee Jas will be a 1/2 dragon. _________________ Kneel before me, or you shall be KNELT!
It's these little things that push 3e over the top for me. Sure, the d20 core mechanic makes sense, and in other genres (Modern especially) I like the system a lot, but the little things they've done with d20 D&D just don't feel like D&D to me anymore. Oh well, to each their own...
Back to the topic at hand, It's worth noting that the Wee Jas illo in Len's Dragon article depicts her as a certified babe! Not the stern schoolmarm she's depicted as in 3e D&DG.
Wee Jas' whole Death portfolio was intended to portray her as a "guardian of the dead". She is utterly opposed to the undead, seeing them as an abomination and seeking to cheat her of her power over death. She was also loathe to allow her clerygy to raise or ressurect the dead, requiring them to commune with her to see if it would be allowed. And forget it if the target was of a non-lawful alignment.
Another thing was a change in the color of the vestments that Her clergy wears. Originally LG wore black, LN wore grey, and LE wore white. I believe this was altered somewhere along the way.
Just to share a few ideas, in my campaign I created a character known as The Black Paladin of the Hellfurnaces who is an infamous high level NPC dedicated to Wee Jas, though he is only known by name/reputation(somebody is about to encounter him though). I also played a wizard who worshipped Wee Jas. In homage of Her, he created his only spell before his untimely demise at 6th level(the DM was beyond brutal). I'll have to look it up and send it in.
I also located a temple of Wee Jas in Istivin, though at this point I cannot recall if I loated it there or read a reference to one being located in that city.
That is too bad Nellisir. Somebody also changed Robilar's heraldry in Rary the Traitor. Probably thought the original wasn't cool enough, or something to that effect(its a rampant green dragon on a yellow field by the way, in case anybody didn't already know).
Anyways, as far as the Death domain for Wee Jas goes, I suggest a variant Death domain list just for her clerics with the following changes: replace Animate Dead with Halt Undead, replace Create Undead with Undeath to Death, replace Create Greater Undead with Symbol of Death. This variant list represents Wee Jas' opposition to undead/undeath very well.
I remember there being a spell that can be cast on a corpse that prevents it from being raised as undead, but I cannot remember the source. That is another spell I would seriously consider swapping with an appropriate level spell in the Death domain list, just for clerics of Wee Jas.
I have a good idea who(just check the resource authors), but lets not duff up somebody on the net. Interpretations vary from author to author(and from campaign to campaign). Use what you want to. I'll stick with the original myself.
Last edited by Cebrion on Fri Mar 29, 2013 8:43 pm; edited 1 time in total
Yer right Ceb, I'll check into it. I'm profusely disgusted with the necromantic treatment though. bleh! _________________ Kneel before me, or you shall be KNELT!
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