A rare Saturday post! Warduke is just too awesome to contain in Monday to Friday, I guess.

Here’s Dungeon Magazine 105, from Decemember, 2003. That’s Mr. Duke on the cover, which touts his long awaited return to Dungeons & Dragons. Here, Warduke is placed in Greyhawk (XL1 and AC1 are both for red box D&D, and therefore the Mystara, or Known World campaign setting). In Flanaess, Warduke is a violent agent of the Horned Society (the diabolical nation that rose up in Iuz’s absence) who hunts enemies of the organization, explicitly specializing in single-handedly wiping out groups of heroic adventurers. I am a little rusty on my D&D 3E mechanics, but Warduke’s level 18 stats look beastly, easily making him a match for a party of 5-6 cocksure players. Four attacks at potentially 32 damage each? Eesh.

Warduke is visually redesigned here by the amazing Wayne Reynolds, one of the best things to happen to D&D 3E. Despite some nitpicks (he really ought to be left handed with that shield/armor combo) I’m here for it. My main complaint is how ‘roided out he looks, like a medieval Bane. But hey, I’ll take more Warduke however it comes – and 20 years later, this iteration is perhaps the one that matches my brutal expectations for the character the best.

Reynolds’ design was used as the basis for a miniature, which I’ve included here. Pretty much a direct sculpt of the interior illustration, it’s one of my faves from the modern miniatures line. Naturally.