Baba Yaga (Dungeons & Dragons)

D&D Deity
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In the "Dungeons & Dragons" fantasy roleplaying game, Baba Yaga is a powerful spellcaster.

Publishing history

Baba Yaga was first mentioned in the "Dungeons & Dragons" game in the 1979 "Dungeon Master's Guide", where her hut appears as an artifact. Baba Yaga herself would appear in "The Dancing Hut," a 1984 adventure in "Dragon" magazine. A gamebook, "Nightmare Realm of Baba Yaga" appeared in 1986. In 1988, Baba Yaga had a brief cameo in "Castle Greyhawk," (page 60). Baba Yaga's hut was once more described in 1993's "Book of Artifacts". A full-length adventure module, "The Dancing Hut of Baba Yaga", was released in 1995. Baba Yaga has since been mentioned in two articles in "Dragon" (2005 and 2006), and an adventure in "Dungeon" (2007).

Description

Baba Yaga appears as a hideous, old, human-like woman, some five feet tall. She walks crouched over, and her limbs are almost skeletal. Her skin is grayish brown, and tattooed with magical runes. She has a protruding chin, a long nose covered in warts, and ice-cold black eyes framed by stringy white hair. Her fingers end in sharp iron claws, her stony teeth are filed to sharp points, and two large, tusk-like teeth protrude from her jaw.

Relationships

Baba Yaga is the foster mother of Iggwilv, originally known as Natasha the Dark, , and by extension, the grandmother of Iuz and Drelzna. She has another foster daughter named Elena the Fair. Baba Yaga is also responsible for providing Kostchtchie the means to become a demon lord.

Artifacts

Baba Yaga lives in a mobile hut which travels via a pair of massive chicken legs jutting from its bottom. The hut is far larger on the inside than its exterior size would indicate, due to the fact that it has been built around a tesseract.

Creative origins

Baba Yaga is based upon the eponymous witch of Russian folklore.Fact|date=July 2008

References

*Baur, Wolfgang. "Enemies of my Enemy." "Dungeon" #149 (Paizo Publishing, 2007).
*Breault, Mike, and Jon Pickens. "Castle Greyhawk". Lake Geneva: WI: TSR, 1988.
*Bulmahn, Jason, James Jacobs, and Erik Mona. "Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk". Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2007.
*Cook, David. "Book of Artifacts" (TSR, 1993).
*Gygax, Gary. "Dungeon Master's Guide" (TSR, 1979).
*Holian, Gary, and Owen Stephens. "The Demonomicon of Iggwilv." "Dragon" #336 (Paizo Publishing, 2005).
*Jacobs, James. "The Demonimicon of Iggwilv: Kostchtchie." "Dragon" #345 (Paizo Publishing, 2006).
*Mona, Erik, ed. "Unsolved Mysteries of D&D." "Dragon" #359. Bellevue, WA: Paizo Publishing, 2006.
*Moore, Roger E. "The Dancing Hut." "Dragon" #83 (TSR, 1984).
*Nalle, David. "Larger Than Life." "Dragon" #53. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1981.
*Smedman, Lisa. "The Dancing Hut of Baba Yaga" (TSR, 1995).
*Stephens, Owen K.C., and Gary Holian. "Spellcraft: The Demonomicon of Iggwilv." "Dragon" #336. Bellevue, WA: Paizo Publishing, 2005.