Wee Jas

Greyhawk Deity
Wee Jas
Wee Jas, the Ruby Sorceress, as depicted in Dragon #88 (1984).
Title(s)	The Ruby Sorceress, the Dark-Eyed Lady, the Witch Goddess, the Stern Lady, the Taker, the Lady of Book and Bone
Home Plane	Infernal Battlefield of Acheron
Power Level	Greater/ Intermediate
Gender	Female
Class(es)	Wizard 20/Cleric 20
Alignment	Lawful Neutral (Lawful Evil tendencies)
Portfolio	Death, Magic, Vanity, Law
Domains	Death, Law, Magic
Alias(es)	{{{alias}}}
Superior	none

Wee Jas is the Suel goddess of Magic, Death, Vanity, and Law.

Description

Wee Jas always appears as a highly attractive human female; other than that, details of her appearance vary wildly. It has been suggested that she could appear as another humanoid race if she so wished, and that her appearance varies by what her followers in the area would consider most attractive.

Relationships

Wee Jas and Norebo have been romantically linked. She bears great enmity toward Phyton, for his dominion over beauty. Among the other Suel gods, she is closest to Phaulkon and Bralm. She is close to all lawful deities, for she favors Law above all things. Demons and other chaotic beings generally despise her for this reason, which makes her on-again, off-again romance with Norebo that much more unusual.

As written in an article in Dragon #350, Wee Jas is uncontested in her domains of Magic and Death. Boccob and Nerull, greater gods with which she shares the domains of magic and death, are not Suel deities; as a Suel deity, Wee Jas is more or less outside their sphere of influence. It has been suggested that this uncontested power means she will one day expand her influence, possibly to other planes.

Realm

Wee Jas has two realms in Acheron, in Tintibulus (called the Patterned Web) and in Ocanthus (called the Cabal Macabre).

Dogma

Wee Jas thinks of herself as a steward of the dead. Though she is a relatively benign death goddess, she has no problem with undead being created - as long as they are not reanimated against their will, and their remains are procured in a lawful manner. Wee Jas is unconcerned with questions of morality; if it can be done within the confines of the law, she will allow it.

Worshippers

Wee Jas is especially popular with Suel wizards and sorcerers. As a death goddess, more people look to her for safe passage into the afterlife than harsher deities like Nerull. She is also honored by those involved with upholding and interpreting laws (judges, magistrates, justicars, etcetera), and is sometimes even revered as a love goddess.

Notable temples to Wee Jas can be found in Hardby, Alhaster, and Hesuel Ilshar. She was worshiped in Lo Reltarma in Lendore Isle before the elven conquest of that land. She is worshiped by many in the Pale. There is also a major temple in Sasserine, in the Amedio Jungle, as the town was originally founded by priests of Wee Jas. A splinter sect known as the Cult of the Green Lady, which reveres a long-dead Jasian priestess as a saint, operates from a burial cairn near Diamond Lake.

Rituals

Services to Wee Jas include the reverent flattery of her icons, offering of finery and gems, and magically produced fires. Most temples have extensive magical and law libraries, and all endeavor to preserve what few fragments still remain of the ancient Suel laws.

Wee Jas in Urban Arcana

In the Urban Arcana setting for d20 Modern, Wee Jas's worshippers are called "The Beloved," and hide behind a very selective national fraternity and sorority of business and management majors, known as Epsillon Alpha. Her believers are all said to have a small tattoo of a stylized skull. The tattoo is placed in one of three locations, in the armpit on the arm, in the crotch on the inner thigh, or on the sole of the foot. The tattoo subjects all members to scry spells of other members without a chance for a saving throw.

Urban Arcana indicates that sororities and fraternities dedicated to Wee Jas include large marble altars, used for initiating pledges, known as suitors, and possibly for blood sacrifices of animals.

Publishing history

Wee Jas was originally described in the first edition Greyhawk references and Dragon #88 (the first description of Wee Jas that is longer than one sentence) as a "greater" goddess, but her status was demoted to "intermediate" in From the Ashes. Dragon #88 has her alignment as lawful neutral with lawful evil tendencies rather than simply lawful neutral, and most sources since have followed this. Dragon #350 states she is still a greater goddess, but she hides much of her power in a mystical well in order to disguise this fact.

Bibliography

• Conforti, Steven, ed. Living Greyhawk Official Listing of Deities for Use in the Campaign, version 2.0. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2005. Available online:[1]

• Grubb, Jeff, David Noonan, and Bruce Cordell. Manual of the Planes. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2001.

• Gygax, Gary. World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1983.

• Holian, Gary, Erik Mona, Sean K. Reynolds, and Frederick Weining. Living Greyhawk Gazetteer. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2000.

• Lakofka, Lenard. "Gods of the Suel Pantheon." Dragon #88. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1984.

• Moore, Roger E. Greyhawk: The Adventure Begins. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 1998.

• Noonan, David. Complete Divine. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2004.

• Redman, Rich, Skip Williams, and James Wyatt. Deities and Demigods. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2002.

• Reynolds, Sean K. "Core Beliefs: Wee Jas." Dragon #350. Bellevue, WA: Paizo Publishing, 2006.
• -----. The Scarlet Brotherhood. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 1999.

• Sargent, Carl. From the Ashes. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1992.

• Tweet, Johnathan, Monte Cook, and Skip Williams. Player's Handbook. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2000.
• -----. Player's Handbook. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2003.

External links

• Wee Jas Dissected Part I and Part II, at Canonfire!.
• "Wee Jas Resurrected," at Canonfire!.