An archmage dressed in tan robes with intricate gold patterns, part of the Circle of Eight. The Circle of Eight, which was created by the wizard Mordenkainen (played by Gary Gygax). This man, known as Rary of Ket (played by Brian Blume), would be part of a discovery that would end in the loss of two of the main members.
Background of a Turncoat
Born around 511 CY (Common Year), growing up Rary was seen as a quiet living legend of his homeland. Reigning from Paynim and was known as a living legend, being a skilled mediator and peacemaker.
Regularly Rary would meet with shamans and wise men, telling them tales of their past, gaining great respect in his lands. This led to a large decrease in raids on his country, and due to all of this was invited to the Circle of Eight.
He would regularly dress in his tan robes with gold patterns, standing at six feet tall. Rary has auburn hair, bright green eyes, a tanned complexion, and weighed in at 170lbs. The real age of this archmage was 86 but had the complexion of a person in their fifties. Rary would age himself this way knowing that plans could take decades to come to fruition.
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Circle of Eight
As mentioned above, the Circle of Eight was created by the wizard Mordenkainen. The group had collected enough wealth and a military force that rivaled nations forces. With this in mind he brought together eight characters, creating the group known as the Circle of Eight.
Check out our article on Mordenkainen! – The Most Powerful Wizard in DnD: Mordenkainen
The group originally consisted of Mordenkainen (wizard), Yrag (fighter), Bigby (wizard), Rigby (cleric), Zigby (dwarf), Felnorith (fighter), Vram (elf) & Vin (elf). Rary the traitor would join later interations. They pooled their resources together and created a stronghold in the middle of an evil land. Three years (in game) passed and the stronghold known as the Obsidian Citadel was born. This octagonal-shaped citadel would house their forces and resources.
The City of Greyhawk
Gary Gygax would, at this point, be outed from TSR. Car Sargent and Rick Rose would take and mold the Circle of Eight into the boxed set, The City of Greyhawk. They would take Gygax’s original creation and create a new Circle of Eight.
This new box set would take these allies, who had sailed into this evil land to fight evil, into something else entirely. They would then take this group, describing them as “a powerful and influential local organization of wizards” (Ken Rolston). The Circle of Eight would be a small and knowledgeable organization, central to the Greyhawk setting, and all of them members still being important members.
These new members, which existed in Gygax’s original game, would be as follows: Bigby, Otiluke, Drawmij, Tenser, Nystul, Otto, Jallarzi, and Rary. This group would be lead by the Mordenkainen, with him technically being the ninth member.
They would be mandated as to act as neutral referees between good and evil. This would make sure that neither side would either have the upper hand for too long. The Obsidian Citadel would now be transformed into Mordenkainen’s castle, placed somewhere in the Yatil Mountains.
Greyhawk Wars
Six years after the original setting was placed, the third module known as Greyhawk Wars would be a heavy strategy war game. Regional conflicts would plague the land, which would widen until affected almost every nation in Flanaess. Two years in the game would pass and there would finally be a peace treaty signing.
Rary the Traitor is Born
Rary of Ket, was originally retired as a 3rd level character after Brian Blume thought the character had its run. He would then return to the module, The City of Greyhawk. Rary would then be elevated to a 24th-level archmage by the day of the treaty signing.
During this time, Rary of Ket was thought to be semi-retired from the circle. This would mostly be due to him being fed up with the internal squabbles of the group, specifically with the overbearing Otiluke. Squabbles led to plans not being executed, and Rary had not de-aged himself to waste more time talking.
From here he would start studying, mostly from groups like the Scarlet Brotherhood and the Overkings. While not impressed with their evil ways, he saw attraction in the way they focused their power and actually got things done. This would be stark contrast to
Along with Robilar (who would be found out to be an evil clone of the character), they would begin to hatch a plan. This would kill most of the delegates of the upcoming peace conference and key Circle of Eight members (specifically Otiluke). They would set up magical traps, which would be blamed on the Scarlet Brotherhood. The two would then take over the Circle of Eight and its influence with it.
Safety Audit
Unexpectedly, Tenser, Otiluke, and Bigby would arrive last minute for a magical inspection. They wanted to make sure this would be an actual peace treaty, with nothing stopping the signing. This would catch them by surprise, and Tenser would be killed by the trap laid before them. Bigby would accidentally cause Otiluke to break concentration. Leading Rary of Ket to have an opportunity to destroy Otiluke, letting Rary the Traitor to officially be born.
Troops attack the citadel of dead wizards, leaving Robilar and Rary to flee to the Bright Desert, where they would build their own kingdom.
Spells Inspired By Rary the Traitor
| Level | Spell |
| Level One | Rary’s Empathic Perception |
| Level Two | Rary’s Aptitude Appropriater |
| Level Three | N/A |
| Level Four | Rary’s Memory Alteration Rary’s Mind Scan Rary’s Mnemonic Enhancer Rary’s Spell Enhancer |
| Level Five | Rary’s Hesitation Rary’s Mind Shield Rary’s Replay of the Past Rary’s Superior Spell Enhancer Rary’s Telepathic Bond |
| Level Six | Rary’s Protection from Scrying Rary’s Urgent Utterance |
| Level Seven | Rary’s Plane Truth |
| Level Eight | Rary’s Vicious Missiles |
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Sources
- Wiki, C. T. G. F. (n.d.). Rary. Greyhawk Fanon Wiki. https://greyhawk.fandom.com/wiki/Rary
- Leonard, D. (2023, March 10). Rary’s Spells. https://davidleonard-greyhawkmusings.blogspot.com/2023/03/rarys-spells.html
- Wikipedia contributors. (2024, April 18). Greyhawk. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greyhawk#Significant_player_characters_of_the_home_campaign
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