The Other Side blog: In Search Of...Drelnza, Iggwilv's Treasure

Thursday, February 13, 2025

In Search Of...Drelnza, Iggwilv's Treasure

Drelnza holding Daoud's Wondrous Lanthorn aloft.
Art by Jeff Easley, 2012.

My son is getting ready to run Module S4, The Lost Caverns of Tsojconth, one of my all-time favorite adventures. And as it turns out I recently re-acquired my original S4 from my old DM's collection. So I have that, the 5e version from Quests from the Infinite Staircase, the 3e extension, and other variants so I am well prepared to help him out.

Then he asked about Drelnza.

Of course I know who she is in the context of this adventure. I know who she is in relationship to Iggwilv, but beyond that...there is just not a lot about her. So I set out to discover more. Was she once a Lawful Good Paladin? Who was her father? How did she become a vampire? I might not be able to answer all these questions, but I will give them a try as I go In Search of Drelnza, Iggwilv's Treasure.

In Search Of...Drelnza, Iggwilv's Treasure

What can we say we know for certain?

Drelnza (sometimes Drelzna) is a vampire found in the spherical chamber guarding Iggwilv's stash of magical treasure.

She is called "Iggwilv's Treasure" and is her daughter. Whether that is a biological daughter can be debated.

She is a standard vampire in the original S4 for AD&D 1st Ed. In later editions, she gets a few upgrades, including fighter (or Samurai) levels and a really powerful sword (named "Heretic").

What is tantalizing about her is how little we really know.

From reading the original Winter Con V version of the adventure, we do know that she was originally just a "vampiress lord" sleeping on a stone slab, a bit like Sleeping Beauty, and designed to catch the characters and players off guard. It is a ruse that is only likely to be used once and lampooned in the later Castle Greyhawk adventure "Temple of Really Bad Dead Things."

Outside of that, there is very, very little about her in the adventure itself. However, I have learned that on Oerth-Prime, she was killed by Melf.

Drelnza's Life and Unlife

Nearly nothing is known here. We have one tidbit of information, though. The warlock Mary Greymalkin is the daughter of Drelnza and an Eladrin. This makes Mary the grand-daughter of Iggwilv. Something I should explore more.

According to the Dastardly Decimal System Podcast, Drelnza was a warrior Princess. I like the idea of her being something akin to Xena.

In any case, she must have had Mary while she was young, which means she is not a very old vampire at all.

Who's Your Daddy?

Gary never confirmed, or even really knew, who Drelnza's father was. He firmly left that in the hands of the players to decide in their own games if they ever felt the need. According to Dragon Magazine #336 (October 2005), Drelnza was born between 481 and 491 CY. But this seems really late into Iggwilv's rule of Perrenland and not long enough ago to be "centuries" since Iggwilv was last seen. Reminder the "current" year in Greyhawk is considered to be 591 CY.

In the article "History Check: The Iggwilv-Graz’zt Affair" from Dragon #414 it is stated that her father is still unknown and she might be the only being in the multi-verse Iggwilv ever truly loved. So I'd like to think she was born early enough in Tasha's/Iggwilv's life when she was still capable of loving someone.

Let's say that Iggwilv conquers Perrenland with her undead army in 481 CY. She is a Queen, but she needs a general, and who better to be a general of her undead army than her own vampire daughter, who also happens to be an excellent fighter (or even paladin/anti-paladin).

So, her exact date of birth is really in question (by me), but honestly, I would push it back to the 460s or even the 450s. This would give Drelnza time to grow into a woman, have her own child (Mary), and then get turned into a vampire, likely something caused by Iggwilv herself.

As for her father, there are many interesting prospects here. Let's look at them one by one.

Graz'zt

He has been the father of Iuz since his time with Iggwilv, but it is almost universally agreed that he is not the father of Drelnza.

Mordenkainen

Now here is an interesting idea. I like the idea that Iggwilv, maybe when she was still known as Tasha, and Mordenkainen having an illicit affair resulting in a daughter. The basic trouble here is one of timing. Back when Iggwilv/Tasha was young she had not met Graz'zt yet and it widely held that Iuz is older than Drelnza. Unless Drelnza is older, but was turned into a vampire and the age refers to her "living" age. Still...the timing is not exactly right.

Ok. So not Drelnza's father, but maybe there is another child out there where Mordy and Tasha are the parents. Maybe this is the origin of the "Son of Pohjola" who she gave birth to on an alternate Earth?

Orcus

This is who I went with when I created the Noidan Tytär, or the Daughters of Iggwilv. However, I think I will stick with this for Iggwilv's Nine Daughters. I feel less inclined these days to make Drelnza among their number. This means Noidan Tytär, Iuz, and Drelnza are all half-siblings.

Tsojcanth

We also don't have many details on who Tsojcanth was. The ever-helpful OSR Grimoire features a bit of an interview with Gary about Tsojcanth, stating he was a powerful wizard, and almost certainly Good and human. This contradicts what is presented in Iggwilv's Legacy: The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth. I am more inclined to go with Gary's notion that Tsojcanth was human and good if not Lawful Good. The "fiend" Tsojcanth feels lazy and dull to me. Not to say he was not corrupted later on, but it still feels lazy. Plus it just means that Tsojcanth is the same as Iuz, only instead of Graz'zt and Iggwilv it is Fraz-Urb'luu and Vilhara. Even down to the imprisoning. No. We can do better.

I am more likely to go with Tsojcanth dying and Fraz-Urb'luu pretending to be Tsojcanth turned evil.

So let's say Tsojcanth was a lawful good wizard. Iggwilv in her search for more power seduces and corrupts him (she is evil, after all) but there is an unexpected consequence; Drelnza. Drelnza becomes a fighter, no, a lawful good Paladin, until Iggwilv twists her into her "treasure" and makes her a chaotic evil Anti-Paladin Vampire.

I like it. It is evil, devious, and filled with tragedy.

BUT the dates don't work here either since Tsojcanth was also supposed to have been dead for centuries.

Lerrek

One last choice comes from The Oerth Journal. In Issue #13 Lerrek (and sometimes "Lerrik") is mentioned as the father of "Drelzna." According to author Andy Seale (aka Fallon, Ranger-Sage of the Vesve), Drelzna was born in 453 CY.

Now this is from a fan publication, but the Oerth Journal has some weight behind it, and in the absence of other details we might as well use it.

Given her two "birth" years, I am going to say she was born in 453 CY and turned into a vampire between 481 and 491 CY. That 453 CY works well with my own thoughts on when she should have been born.

Ultimately, I guess it doesn't really matter who Drelnza's father was. The more important relationship is between her and her mother Iggwilv.

In the current state of things, Iggwilv is shedding her past to become the new Arch Fey Zybilna, and her alignment is drifting from Chaotic Evil to Chaotic Neutral. I guess we all slow down as we get older. While it is often stated that Iggwilv truly loved her daughter, I don't think there would really be a joyous family reunion even if Drelnza had somehow survived.

Still. I would like to say she did somehow and is still out there somewhere in the Multi-verse. Is she searching for her mother? And if so what will happen if they meet up again after so many years apart?

Sounds like something I might want to run someday.