Kwalish - Great Library of Greyhawk (2024)

Kwalish (pronounced "kway-LISH")^[1] is a gnome archmage and renowned inventor. Born over 400 years ago, he is best known as the creator of the Apparatus of Kwalish, among other magic items. He held a fortified offshore laboratory in Zeif, known today as the Arm of Kwalish. Following his disappearance, it is rumored that he is still alive today in some form.

Description[edit | edit source]

Kwalish is an inventor more interested in machines than absolutely anything else.^[2] A skilled wizard, and an expert in both architecture and engineering, he is best known for inventing the Apparatus of Kwalish, a large crab-shaped aquatic vehicle which he made to explore the ocean and make contact with aquatic species.^[3]

Kwalish was "an elderly gnome arcane inventor" by about the late 500s CY.^[2]

Abilities[edit | edit source]

The Extra Life charity adventure Lost Laboratory of Kwalish used a stat-block for an evoker rather than give stats for Kwalish.^[2]

History[edit | edit source]

Kwalish was a wizard skilled in architecture and arcane engineering. He built the original "Apparatus of Kwalish" to explore the ocean and make contact with aquatic races.^[4]

Kwalish, a scholar, joined an ill-fated expedition into the Barrier Peaks trying to find Daoine Gloine, a legendary city of glass creatures. The rest of the party perished, but Kwalish found a wrecked planar craft of unknown origin. He spent years exploring it, and used much of the craft’s unique magical technology as a laboratory building planar gates of his own design. One gate resulted in a bone devil driving him out of the laboratory, and turning it into a monastery for its own cult. Kwalish then relocated to Daoine Gloine, inhabited by kenku worshiping a medusa than turned victims to glass. Kwalish opened a gate to Jubilex's Slime Pits to clear the city to use for his new laboratory, which he then cut off access to allow him to research further.^[5]

Kwalish is best known as the creator of the Apparatus of Kwalish. Later in his life, he created a superior Greater Apparatus of Kwalish, an iron barrel which transforms into the shape of a small dragon capable of flight, and capable of firing a small cannonball from its mouth. However, the risk of accidental backfire is significant.^[6] Other items of his creation include Heward's Hireling Armor, part of his research into the archmage Heward.^[7]

The Ark of Kwalish, a grand flying machine, was once used by the giant demon lord Kostchtchie, in a raid against the City of Brass. Whether Kwalish created this vehicle is unknown.^[8]

Others have followed in Kwalish's footsteps in seeking out magical inventions.^{[note 1]}

Works[edit | edit source]

Kwalish was credited as creating various mechanical inventions including:

• Apparatus of Kwalish.
• Greater Apparatus of Kwalish.
• Heward's Hireling Armor.
• Possibly the Ark of Kwalish.

He created various murals, sculptures, and bas-reliefs, and designed the Dome of the Reef for the sea people.^[9]

Kwalish wrote at least one book which was circulated widely enough to become well-known:^[10]

• Extreme Powers of Observation

In Living Greyhawk[edit | edit source]

Kwalish built a "fortified workshop" in the city of Nadiq in Zeif and lived there in the late 100s CY. The workshop was located on an inaccessible rock pillar several hundred yards from the mainland known by locals as the "Arm of Kwalish". The narrow arch that once spanned the gap between cliff and pillar has crumbled into the surf, and the upper works are heavily weathered. The workshop is thought to be filled with traps and guardians designed by Kwalish, and a number of his works. It is also thought plans for unfinished works are there, but they have never been found. Examples of his work (murals, sculptures, bas-reliefs, and mechanical inventions) are found in Zeif and abroad, and they or even plans of his works are much sought after by collectors. The Sidi of the sea people was one of his patrons, and he designed the Dome of the Reef and many devices for the Sidi's subjects.^[9]

Creative origins[edit | edit source]

Omar Kwalish was a pseudonym of Tim Kask^[11], as whom he wrote the article "What To Do When the Dog Eats Your Dice" in Dragon #7 (June 1977). The name was presumably based on his character of the same surname.

Kwalish was the name of Tim Kask's first magic user player character, and the named item in the first edition Dungeons Masters Guide had been named after him.^[12] Given the Lost Labratory of Kwalish detailing him as a gnome, it is worth noting that gnomes could not be magic-users in the first edition of the game, suggesting he was likely a human.

Publishing history[edit | edit source]

Kwalish was first mentioned in the name of the highly valued "Apparatus of Kwalish" in the AD&D (1e) Dungeon Master's Guide (1979), and the Apparatus of Kwalish has appeared in every edition of the game.

Kwalish's race was never detailed, until being described as "an elderly gnome arcane inventor" in the "Lost Laboratory of Kwalish" released by Wizards of the Coast in 2018 as a fund raising release for Extra Life 2018.^[2]

Gallery[edit | edit source]

External links[edit | edit source]

Disclaimer:Any lore presented through the following links does not necessarily adhere to established officially published content, and the views expressed do not necessarily represent the views of the editors of this wiki.

• "Q&A with Tim Kask" on Dragonsfoot Forums.[3]

References[edit | edit source]

Notes[edit | edit source]

Citations[edit | edit source]

Bibliography[edit | edit source]

• Gygax, Gary. Dungeon Master's Guide. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1979.
• Heard, Bruce. Spells between the covers: Details for delving into magical research. Dragon #82. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, February 1984.
• James Wyatt & Steve Berman. "Bazaar of the Bizarre". Dragon #244. Renton, WA: TSR, February 1998.
• Weining, Fred. "Zeif: Rock of the West". Living Greyhawk Journal #5. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, July 2001.
• Logan Bonner, Eytan Bernstein & Chris Sims. Adventurer's Vault. Renton WA: Wizards of the Coast , 2008
• Brian R James, Mike Mearls & Steve Townshend. Demonomicon. Renton WA: Wizards of the Coast , 2010
• Carroll, Bart. Lost Laboratory of Kwalish. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2018.

Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index

The Index is based on previous work of Jason Zavoda through '08, and his work as continued and updated by Eric Johnson, Richard DiIoia, Jason "PupickDad" Jacobson, a French fan group, and numerous other fans over the years. The wiki page for the EGI has a list of sources, full product names, abbreviations, and a link to the full, downloadable index.