Ioun
| Game background | |
|---|---|
| Home plane | Hestavar, the Bright City |
| Alignment | Unaligned |
| Portfolio | Knowledge, Prophecy, Skill |
| Domains | Fate, Knowledge, Skill |
| Design details | |
In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Ioun (/aɪˈuːn/ EYE-oon[1]) is the unaligned goddess of knowledge, prophecy and skill, and is a patron of the study of magic and mental power. She is revered by wizards, scholars and tacticians. Ioun is a member of the 4th edition core pantheon.[2]
Publication history
Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition (2008-)
Ioun appears as one of the deities described in the Players Handbook for fourth edition (2008).[3]
Her name apparently derives from the ioun stone, a magical, levitating stone that bestows some enhancement on the user when it is allowed to orbit his head. The ioun stone appeared in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (Dungeon Master's Guide), and itself derives from a magical device in Jack Vance's 1973 story "Morreion."(See.)
History
In the time before the Dawn War, Ioun's dominon in the Astral Sea was a vast lagoon, surrounded by beaches of white sand, used by Ioun as a scrying pool. As the conflict between the gods and the primordials erupted, Ioun fused her dominion with those of Erathis and Pelor, forming the Bright City of Hestavar. The primordial Heur-Ket lay siege to the city shortly after. After the war Ioun relinquished her rule of Hestavar and retreated into the Hall of Enlightenment at the Swan Tower of Kerith-Ald.[4]
Ioun is an ally of Corellon, Erathis and Pelor. She is the antithesis of Vecna, as she urges her followers to share all knowledge that he would keep hidden.
Temples
Ioun is worshiped in the Temple of the Mind of Zerthadlun alongside Corellon, Vecna and the Raven Queen.[5] Ioun has a shrine in the Temple of Erathis in Fallcrest.[6]
Worshippers
Ioun is the second most popular deity among metallic dragons, second only to Bahamut. Among Ioun's exarchs is the mithral dragon Athearsauriv, known as the Eye of Heaven.[7]
References
- ↑ "Dungeons & Dragons FAQ". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2008-10-03. Retrieved 2008-10-03.
- ↑ Heinsoo, Rob, Andy Collins, and James Wyatt Player's Handbook (Wizards of the Coast, 2008), page 21.
- ↑ Heinsoo, Rob, Andy Collins, and James Wyatt. Player's Handbook. (Wizards of the Coast, 2008)
- ↑ Dragon #371 (Wizards of the Coast, 2009), "Hestavar", page 20.
- ↑ Richard Baker, John Rogers, Robert J. Schwalb and James Wyatt Manual of the Planes (Wizards of the Coast, 2008), page 78.
- ↑ James Wyatt Dungeon Master's Guide (Wizards of the Coast, 2008), page 202.
- ↑ Richard Baker, Ari Marmell Draconomicon: Metallic Dragons (Wizards of the Coast, 2009), page 20.