Drawmij

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In the Dungeons & Dragons World of Greyhawk campaign setting, Drawmij is an archmage. A founding member of the sorcerous conclave known as the Circle of Eight, Drawmij is reputed to live in an underwater fortress beneath the Azure Sea.

1 Spells
2 Writings
3 Creative origins
4 Humor
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Spells

Drawmij is responsible for developing the commonly known spell Drawmij's Instant Summons.

Drawmij has also developed the following additional spells:

Drawmij's Adventurer's Luck
Drawmij's Beast of Burden
Drawmij's Beneficient Polymorph
Drawmij's Breath of Life
Drawmij's Flying Feat
Drawmij's Handy Timepiece
Drawmij's Instant Exit
Drawmij's Iron Sack
Drawmij's Light Step
Drawmij's Marvelous Shield
Drawmij's Merciful Metamorphosis
Drawmij's Protection From Nonmagical Gas
Drawmij's Scent Mask
Drawmij's Swift Mount
Drawmij's Tool Box

[edit] Writings

Drawmij is known to have authored the following works:

Repertoire of Illustrious Conjurations

[edit] Creative origins

The name "Drawmij" entered Dungeons & Dragons canon through the spell Drawmij's Instant Summons, and was formed by reversing "Jim Ward", the name of one of Gary Gygax's players. By Ward's own account, the spell originated during a session in Gygax's original Greyhawk campaign during which the players were stranded in a dungeon; Ward's character owned a magical item which would have rescued the party, but had left it in an inn before setting out. Ward remarked to Gygax that wizards should have access to a spell which allowed them to recall any item in their possession to their hand; Gygax promptly devised Instant Summons, which did exactly that.

There has been some confusion over whether Gygax created the name in homage to Ward or Ward's character; though it is known that Ward played a character named Drawmij at one time, some sources claim the name of the wizard he was playing at the time Instant Summons was created was "Bombidell", not Drawmij. This leaves two theories as to how the name got started:

Ward named his wizard character "Drawmij" from the outset, and the spell simply used the name of Ward's character.
Gygax devised the name for publication purposes as the name "Bombidell" was derivative of the Tolkien character Tom Bombadil, and Ward subsequently created a new character, Drawmij.

[edit] Humor

A parody spell, Drawmij's Instant Death, appeared in issue 144 of Dragon, in the article "Still More Outrages from the Mages." The spell description reads in part, "When this spell is cast, Drawmij, whoever he is and wherever he is, dies. [...] As this spell has been around for some time, it is safe to assume that Drawmij is getting pretty sick and tired of it."

[edit] References

Cook, David. "History of the Greyhawk Wars." Wars (TSR, 1991). Available Online: [1]
Cook, David. Vecna Lives (TSR, 1990).

Gygax, Gary. Players Handbook (TSR, 1978).

Heard, Bruce. "Spells Between the Covers." Dragon #82 (TSR, 1984).

Holian, Gary. "Silent Sorcery: The Silent Ones of Keoland." Living Greyhawk Journal #4 (Paizo Publishing 2001).

Holian, Gary, Erik Mona, Sean K Reynolds, and Frederick Weining. Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (Wizards of the Coast, 2000).

Mona, Erik, and Gary Holian. "Wheels within Wheels: Greyhawk's Circle of Eight." Living Greyhawk Journal #0 (Paizo Publishing, 2000). Available online: [2]