Melf
Encyclopedia
In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting
for the Dungeons & Dragons
fantasy
roleplaying game, Melf, also known as Prince Brightflame, is a grey elven archmage, and was originally a player character
of Lucion Paul Gygax in Gary Gygax
's home campaign. Melf is a native of the elven kingdom of Celene, and is recognized by many as the leader of the Knights of Luna.
In Gary Gygax's 1986 novel Artifact of Evil, Melf is also known as Melf of the Arrow. He seems to acknowledge that Melf is not his real name, but says "it is a simple name, as good as any."
's dungeons of Castle Greyhawk
. He was created by Gygax's son, Lucion Paul (Luke) Gygax.
Gary Gygax later recalled an amusing incident during those early days of role-playing:
.
Prince Brightflame is a strong believer in mediation, diplomacy and open communication, and thus some believe him to be naive. Charming and urbane, Melf enjoys good food, culture, and agreeable persons of the opposite gender.
Melf is vastly knowledgeable and experienced. He specializes in Iuz
and buried evils, and is strongly opposed to both Iuz and the Scarlet Brotherhood.
and a former member of the Citadel of Eight, in Artifact of Evil Melf is said to have sworn fealty to Mordenkainen, and he carries the holy symbol of Fharlanghn
. Melf is also a cousin of Queen Yolande of Celene
. He has also been depicted as fighting side-by-side with Prince Olinstaad Corond of Ulek
, presumably during a 586 counteroffensive to regain Principality lands lost to the Empire of the Pomarj
during the Greyhawk Wars
.
Although secretive and protective, Melf is on good terms with luminaries such as Kieran Jalucian, King Belvor IV of Furyondy
, and the rulers of Dyvers
, Highfolk
, and the City of Greyhawk
. He and Mordenkainen have much respect for each other, but the two do not cooperate, at least not anymore. The mayor of Highfolk
town, Tavin Ersteader, is a former apprentice of Melf.
Melf is on good terms with the Fellowship of the Torch, and is often seen in the company of Kirilarien Allavesse when in Greyhawk
.
Melf was also listed in Greyhawk Ruins
as one of the rumored members of the Ring of Five.
A Prince Archosian Brightflame of Celene is mentioned in Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss
. This other Prince Brightflame is more than 150 years older than Melf and currently a heroic general battling demons
in the Abyss
.
There is some apocryphal evidence that Melf and Warduke
may know each other. In 1983's The Shady Dragon Inn, Warduke
is mentioned as being a member of the same adventuring party as an elf named "Peralay," both of whom had action figures for TSR's 1983 toy line. The fact that the Peralay figure was originally released under the name "Melf" and Warduke's retcon into Greyhawk
continuity provide a topic of apocryphal interest.
, Melf represents the Knights of Luna in Greyhawk. The Greyhawk Player's Guide
says he is currently living in exile from Celene, sometimes in the City of Greyhawk.
's Advanced Dungeons & Dragons toy line. However, the figure was eventually renamed as "Peralay."
Campaign setting
A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. A campaign is a series of individual adventures, and a campaign setting is the world in which such adventures and campaigns take place...
for the Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
roleplaying game, Melf, also known as Prince Brightflame, is a grey elven archmage, and was originally a player character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
of Lucion Paul Gygax in Gary Gygax
Gary Gygax
Ernest Gary Gygax was an American writer and game designer best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons with Dave Arneson. Gygax is generally acknowledged as the father of role-playing games....
's home campaign. Melf is a native of the elven kingdom of Celene, and is recognized by many as the leader of the Knights of Luna.
In Gary Gygax's 1986 novel Artifact of Evil, Melf is also known as Melf of the Arrow. He seems to acknowledge that Melf is not his real name, but says "it is a simple name, as good as any."
Creative origins
Melf was one of the original player characters that explored Gary GygaxGary Gygax
Ernest Gary Gygax was an American writer and game designer best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons with Dave Arneson. Gygax is generally acknowledged as the father of role-playing games....
's dungeons of Castle Greyhawk
Greyhawk
Greyhawk, also known as the World of Greyhawk, is a fictional world designed as a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game...
. He was created by Gygax's son, Lucion Paul (Luke) Gygax.
Gary Gygax later recalled an amusing incident during those early days of role-playing:
- "In punishment for crimes against nature, Melf was commanded to rise before dawn each morning for a year, [and] frolic merrily at dawn singing:
- When the sun in the morning peeps over the hill
- and caresses the rosebuds on my windowsill,
- my heart fills with gladness when I hear the trill
- of the birds in the treetops around any old hill.
- Tra-la-la, fiddle-dee-dee-dee,
- it gives me a pain to dance and sing this, must I do it again?
- Tra-la-la, fiddle-dee-dee-dee, there’s penance to do,
- how happy I'll be when it’s finally through!"
Description
Melf is 5'8", 147 lbs, and about 200 years old (appearing in his late 20s in human terms). He changes his appearance from time to time, though he always appears as an elf. 1983's The Shady Dragon Inn describes his counterpart Peralay as "left-handed, blond, hazel-eyed, and large for an elf (5'8", 148 lbs.)." It says furthermore that Peralay's shield is decorated with "the hunting hawk symbol of his clan" and that his sword, Gnoll-Cleaver, was forged long ago by dwarvesDwarf (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, dwarves are a humanoid race, one of the primary races available for play as player characters...
.
Prince Brightflame is a strong believer in mediation, diplomacy and open communication, and thus some believe him to be naive. Charming and urbane, Melf enjoys good food, culture, and agreeable persons of the opposite gender.
Melf is vastly knowledgeable and experienced. He specializes in Iuz
Iuz
In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, Iuz is the chaotic evil demigod of Deceit, Evil, Oppression, Pain, and Wickedness. Iuz is variously called "The Old One" and "Old Wicked," among other titles. Unlike most Greyhawk deities, Iuz makes his home on...
and buried evils, and is strongly opposed to both Iuz and the Scarlet Brotherhood.
Relationships
An ally of MordenkainenMordenkainen
Mordenkainen is a fictional wizard from the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. He was created by Gary Gygax as a player character and is one of the oldest characters in roleplaying fiction...
and a former member of the Citadel of Eight, in Artifact of Evil Melf is said to have sworn fealty to Mordenkainen, and he carries the holy symbol of Fharlanghn
Fharlanghn
In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting and the default pantheon of deities for the third edition of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Fharlanghn, the Dweller on the Horizon, is the Oeridian god of Horizons, Distance, Travel, and Roads. He is a well-known deity on the world of Oerth...
. Melf is also a cousin of Queen Yolande of Celene
Celene (Greyhawk)
In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, Celene, properly known as the Faerie Kingdom of Celene, is a political state, and the most prominent elven nation in eastern Oerik.-History:...
. He has also been depicted as fighting side-by-side with Prince Olinstaad Corond of Ulek
Principality of Ulek
In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, the Principality of Ulek is a political state of the Flanaess, and one of the three Ulek States ....
, presumably during a 586 counteroffensive to regain Principality lands lost to the Empire of the Pomarj
Pomarj
In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, the Pomarj can refer either to a large peninsula located in the central Flanaess, or to the Orcish Empire of the Pomarj, located in the same region....
during the Greyhawk Wars
Greyhawk Wars
In the Dungeons & Dragons World of Greyhawk campaign setting, the Greyhawk Wars raged across the whole of the Flanaess from 582-584 CY.-History:...
.
Although secretive and protective, Melf is on good terms with luminaries such as Kieran Jalucian, King Belvor IV of Furyondy
Furyondy
In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Furyondy, properly known as the Kingdom of Furyondy, is a feudal kingdom of the Flanaess, and a successor state of Ferrond.-History:...
, and the rulers of Dyvers
Dyvers
In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, Dyvers, the "City of Sails," is a free city and political state in the central Flanaess...
, Highfolk
Highfolk
In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Highfolk, properly known as the Free Town of Highfolk, is a political city-state of the Flanaess...
, and the City of Greyhawk
Free City of Greyhawk
The Free City of Greyhawk, also known as Greyhawk City and the "Gem of the Flanaess," is a fictional city-state in the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game...
. He and Mordenkainen have much respect for each other, but the two do not cooperate, at least not anymore. The mayor of Highfolk
Highfolk
In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Highfolk, properly known as the Free Town of Highfolk, is a political city-state of the Flanaess...
town, Tavin Ersteader, is a former apprentice of Melf.
Melf is on good terms with the Fellowship of the Torch, and is often seen in the company of Kirilarien Allavesse when in Greyhawk
Free City of Greyhawk
The Free City of Greyhawk, also known as Greyhawk City and the "Gem of the Flanaess," is a fictional city-state in the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game...
.
Melf was also listed in Greyhawk Ruins
Greyhawk Ruins
Greyhawk Ruins is an adventure module for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It was published in 1990 by TSR, Inc...
as one of the rumored members of the Ring of Five.
A Prince Archosian Brightflame of Celene is mentioned in Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss
Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss
Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss is an optional supplemental source book for the 3.5 edition of the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game.-Chapter 1: Demonic Lore:...
. This other Prince Brightflame is more than 150 years older than Melf and currently a heroic general battling demons
Demon (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, demons are the most widespread race of fiends. The demons are chaotic evil by nature, and are native to the Abyss...
in the Abyss
Abyss (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the Abyss or more fully, the Infinite Layers of the Abyss, is a chaotic evil-aligned plane of existence. It is one of a number of alignment-based Outer Planes that form part of the standard Dungeons & Dragons cosmology, used in the Planescape...
.
There is some apocryphal evidence that Melf and Warduke
Warduke
In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, Warduke is a powerful human warrior and a Hierarch of the Horned Society...
may know each other. In 1983's The Shady Dragon Inn, Warduke
Warduke
In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, Warduke is a powerful human warrior and a Hierarch of the Horned Society...
is mentioned as being a member of the same adventuring party as an elf named "Peralay," both of whom had action figures for TSR's 1983 toy line. The fact that the Peralay figure was originally released under the name "Melf" and Warduke's retcon into Greyhawk
Greyhawk
Greyhawk, also known as the World of Greyhawk, is a fictional world designed as a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game...
continuity provide a topic of apocryphal interest.
Home
According to From the AshesFrom the Ashes (Dungeons & Dragons)
From the Ashes is a supplement for Dungeons & Dragonss World of Greyhawk campaign setting. It was published in 1992 by TSR as a boxed set of materials...
, Melf represents the Knights of Luna in Greyhawk. The Greyhawk Player's Guide
Greyhawk Player's Guide
The Player's Guide, also known as the Greyhawk Player's Guide or the Player's Guide to Greyhawk, is a sourcebook for the World of Greyhawk campaign setting. Written by Anne Brown, the work was published by Wizards of the Coast under its TSR imprint in 1998.-Contents:The Player's Guide contains...
says he is currently living in exile from Celene, sometimes in the City of Greyhawk.
Spells
Melf is responsible for developing such spells as Melf's Acid Arrow, Melf's Unicorn Arrow, and Melf's Minute Meteors.Writings
Melf is known to have authored or co-authored the following works:- Treatise of Universal Astronomy
- Weapons of the Ether (with Mordenkainen)
Collectibles
In 1983, a Melf action figure was released as part of LJNLJN
LJN was an American toy company and video game publisher. It created toy lines and video games based on movies, television shows, and celebrities. It was headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and later in Lyndhurst, New Jersey.-Founding:...
's Advanced Dungeons & Dragons toy line. However, the figure was eventually renamed as "Peralay."