Vatun

Greyhawk Deity|fgcolor=#fff


caption=
bgcolor=#000
fgcolor=#fff
name=Vatun
title=The Great God of the North, the North God
home=Plane of Cold (formerly Ysgard)
power=Lesser
alignment=Chaotic Neutral
portfolio=Northern Barbarians, Cold, Winter, Arctic Beasts
domains=Air, Animal, Chaos, Storm, Strength
alias=
super=

In the "World of Greyhawk" campaign setting for the "Dungeons & Dragons" roleplaying game, Vatun is the god of Northern Barbarians, Cold, Winter, and Arctic Beasts. Though rather popular among the Suel barbarians of the Thillonrian Peninsula, Vatun was not worshipped by the Suloise Imperium and is not generally considered part of the Suel pantheon.

Description

Vatun appears as a massive Suel barbarian dressed in the skins of polar bears. His beard is made of snow and ice, and his breath is a frozen fog. He wields a mighty battleaxe called "Winter's Bite", made completely of ice.

Vatun's realm is the "Hall of the Hunter" in the Heroic Domains of Ysgard. However, he is currently trapped in the Plane of Cold in the "Prison of Ice".

Relationships

Vatun's only allies are his brother, Dalt, and the Suel god Llerg. His enemies include Telchur, Iuz, and the archfiend Belial.

Dogma

Vatun teaches that winter is an opportunity to cull the weak from the strong, and that cowards should be covered by snow and forgotten. The Great God of the North also speaks of a "Great Winter" which will cover the land, allowing the northern barbarians to inherit the Oerth.

Worshippers

Vatun is worhipped primarily in the Barbarian States of the Thillonrian Peninsula.

Clergy

Vatun's priests are charged with aiding their tribe in battle, helping their people survive winter, and healing the injured members of their community. The most capable priests seek the legendary "Five Blades of Corusk", which will free Vatun if the five are united. Their favored weapon is the battleaxe.

Vatun's priests preach that cowardice is to be despised, and that Telchur's faith is to always be opposed, preferably with violence. They are also foes of devils and those who serve them.

Vatun's imprisonment has made it more difficult for his priests to use their magic. In order to prepare and cast spells, they need to be within ten feet of a burning flame, no smaller than a torch.

History

Legend says that some time after the Invoked Devastation and the Rain of Colorless Fire, when the fleeing Suel houses of the Fruztii, Cruski, and Schnai had settled the Thillonrian Peninsula, a great barbarian empire was created by the warriors of Vatun, hailed as "the Great God of the North." Vatun himself was said to have granted the title of "Fasstal of all the Suelii" to the king of the Cruski, a title which made the bearer preeminent among all the nobles of the Suel, and granted him the authority to pronounce judgement on any member of the Suel race. This great empire, if it did indeed exist, lasted only as long as the first fasstal's lifetime.

About the same time as the Battle of a Fortnight's Length (-110 CY), Vatun was imprisoned by priests of Telchur, who were perhaps aided by Belial. Vatun's imprisonment is said by some to have caused the fall of the barbarian empire.

In 582 CY, Vatun was said to have finally returned to Oerth, appearing on the Thillonrian Peninsula. Vatun successfully united the Frost, Ice, and Snow Barbarians, along with the natives of the Hold of Stonefist, and led this great force to invade Tenh, an event which kick-started the Greyhawk Wars. However, it wasn't long before this "Vatun" was revealed to be the demigod Iuz, and the alliance soon fell apart.

As of 591 CY, the real Vatun remains imprisoned.

Creative origins

Many fans of the "World of Greyhawk" setting note that Vatun shares many characteristics with Odin, and point out that Robert J Kuntz's character, Lord Robilar, was a follower of Odin in the early days of Gary Gygax's campaign, before the setting was published.

References

*Cook, David. "History of the Greyhawk Wars." "Wars" (TSR, 1991). Online: [http://www.nyrond.org/turbine/page/university/greyhawkwars.html]
*Henson, Dale. "Howl from the North" (TSR, 1991).
*Holian, Gary, Erik Mona, Sean K Reynolds, and Frederick Weining. "Living Greyhawk Gazetteer" (Wizards of the Coast, 2000).
*Sargent, Carl. "Five Shall Be One" (TSR, 1991).
**Sargent, Carl. "From the Ashes" (TSR, 1992).