ABRIEFHISTORYOF

WARDUKE

Wetakealookbackatoneofthegame's
oddlyiconicvillains.NotVecna,notArtemis
Entreri...butthelonewarriorinademon
wingedmask.
Hulking,strangelyarmoredononehalfofhisbody,
garbedinafiendish,redeyedhelmjustwhoisthis
humanfighterknownasWarduke?

BeforeappearingintheD&DMinisWar
Drumsexpansion,Wardukedebutedasa
1980sD&Dactionfigurecompletewithsignature
glowingeyedhelm,sword,andskullembossedshield.

Aroundthesametime,Wardukeaswellasmanyof
theotherD&Dactionfiguresappearedin1984sXL
1:QuestfortheHeartstoneadventuremodule.Inthis
inception,Wardukewaslistedasan8thlevelhuman
fighterwiththemodeststatsofAC:2,HP:59,S16,I
9,W11,D11,Cn14,Ch11.Hardlythepowerhouse
hewouldlaterbecome.
Theadventuresnamesakeheartstonewasdescribed
aswell:

Aheartofstone,beyondthe
mistyoullfind,Loftossaid
softly.Theheartstonewilltell
youwhoshouldbeyourking.
Butwhereisthisstone?
HowwillIfindit?the
queenasked.

Thestonewasstolenover50years
agobyDahnakrisstheMasterThief.
HeWhoWatchesoriginallygavethe
tiny,heartshapedstonetoQasmar,
whowastheKingofGhyrduringthe
PrismWars.Duringthesewars,
Qasmarusedthestonetoseeintothe
heartsofmen,andwassoableto
choosehisfriendsandallies.Soon
afterthewar,themagicalstone
vanishedfromCastleGhyrs
supposedlythiefproofvaults.Until
now,nooneknewwhathadbecome
oftheheartstone.AccordingtoHe
WhoWatches,itliesnorth,inthe
greatMountainsofIce.

Wemustconvinceapartyof
adventurerstoretrievethestoneand
 bringitbacktous.Butwemustbe
verycareful.Noonemustknowofthe
stonespower,especiallynotthose
whowouldaspiretothethrone.Even
thosewehiretofindthestoneshould
notknowofitsstrength!

1983sAC1:TheShadyDragonInnpregenerated
characteraccessoryofferednearlyidenticalstats(with
theoddexceptionofWardukesConstitutiondropping
from14to8),plusastabathisbackstory
referencingQuestfortheHeartstone:

Wardukewearsasuitofhalf
chainandablack,winged
helmet.Hisshieldbearsthe
signofademonshead.He
wasanoldfriendof
Stronghearts(goodpaladin),
butnowthetwoareenemies.
BothwereexposedtotheHeartstone,and
Wardukescruelnaturewasbroughtout
whileStrongheartsjustnaturebecame
stronger.
[He]especiallyhatesStrongheart,
whohefeelswasteshistime
protectingtheweakandhelpless.A
truefighter,Wardukefeels,makes
 himselfrichandpowerfulbythe
strengthofhisswordarm.Hetakes
whathecanifyouwouldkeepyour
possessions,killthosewhoseekto
takethem.Hecallshissword
Nightwind.

Asanaddedpieceoftrivia,TheShadyDragon
InnidentifiedStrongheartssword+2asPurlblade,
giventohimbysomedwarveshehelped.

Therearefewpowersgreaterthan
nostalgiakidswhoonceplayed
withtheirD&Dactionfiguresgrew
intoadultswiththepowerto
resurrectthesechildhoodicons.
Forproof,justtakealookatErik
Monasletterstartingoff

DungeonMagazine105
(December2003):Warduke,with
hisbeadyredeyes,hisnastyblue
helmet,andhisskullfacedshield,
quicklyrosetoallstarstatusinmyplaytime
adventures.

Inthesameissue,Wardukemadehistriumphant
return,nowan18thlevelhumanfightercompletewith
fargreaterstats:AC:34,HP:318,S32,I13,W15,D
16,Cn28,Ch20.Hisoriginalsword+1(flameson
command)becamea+3anarchicflamingbursthuman
banebastardsword,andhisotherpossessionswere
stattedoutasadaggerofvenom,+3moderate
fortificationadamantineceremonialspikedhalf
plate,+5bashingheavysteelshield,Wardukes
helm,amuletofhealth+6,gauntletsofgiantstrength
+6,bootsofspeed,ringofprotection+3,and
afearsomeeyefiendishgraft(fromFiendFolio,pg.
210).

ThatissuesCriticalThreatscolumnwentontoexplain
Warduke'ssomewhatillogicalhalfsuitofarmor,as
ceremonialarmortypicalwornnotforcombatbut
forshow,ortointimateorimpress.Italsosupplied
Wardukewithanimprovedbackstory:

TheUnnameableHierarchmanagedto
rebuildhisorganizationsoquicklyin
largepartduetotheinfluenceofa
ruthlessfighternamedWarduke,a
mysteriousandrelentlesskillerwho
emergedfromnowhereafterthe
GreyhawkWarstospreadterrorand
uncertaintyamongmercenaries,
soldiers,andfightingsocietiesfromthe
BarrierPeakstotheSolnorOcean.

Finally,wehavetheD&DMinisWar
Drumsversion.Wardukehascomefull
circle,backtophysicalrealityoncemore,
andwithartworkandstatsvirtually
matchingthoseofDungeonMagazine
(withtheexceptionofanACdropfrom34
to32).AccordingtoMatthewSernett,
WardukesdepictioninDungeondrove
hisinclusionasaD&Dminiandwhile
therearenoplansforsuchcharactersas,say,Venger
orUnifromtheD&Dcartoon,thatdoesntexcludethe
possibilityofStrongheartappearinginsomefutureset.

Andthereyouhaveit,abriefhistoryofthislongfan
favoritevillain.Ofcourse,justasmanyquestionsare
raisedasanswered.Whatwerehisexploitsbeforethe
GreyhawkWars?Whatdoeshisfacelooklikebeneath
themask?AndcanWardukesfriendshipwith
Stronghearteverbemended?