Anyone who delves into D&D cannot avoid Tasha and her influence on the multiverse. The new adventure takes you to Greyhawk, where her equally powerful daughter Drelnza awaits you.
What kind of adventure is this? A new adventure titled “Crown of the Witch Queen” brings players to Greyhawk, arguably the oldest setting of Dungeons & Dragons created by Gary Gygax.
It is set to be released later in 2027, and your adversary (known in the community as the BBEG, or “Big Bad Evil Guy”) is none other than the daughter of the most famous sorceress Tasha, who should be familiar to you due to several famous spells she created – keyword: Tasha’s Horrible Laughter. Others may know her as the Witch Queen Iggwilv.
Her name is Drelnza, and she is ready to claim her birthright and take her rightful place as the Witch Queen of Oerth, the crystal sphere of Greyhawk. But who is she exactly?
Drelnza – the Undead Guardian of Treasures in Virgin Attire
Who is Drelnza? Drelnza is the biological daughter of the famous Witch Queen Iggwilv, who many also know as the powerful sorceress Tasha or the archfey Zybilna from the Prismere.
Who the father is remains unknown to this day. Although Iggwilv had a penchant for demons and eventually also had a son, a demigod named Iuz, with the demon lord Graz’zt, his paternity is rather unlikely due to the different timelines. However, it is not entirely impossible.
She first appeared as an adversary in 1982 in the adventure “The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth,” which was re-released in a shortened version in 2024 as part of the anthology “Quests from the Infinite Staircase.”
Unlike her magically gifted mother, Drelnza did not primarily rely on magic. She was mainly a high-level elite warrior, but a dark fate befell her: she was transformed into a vampire. How exactly that happened remains a mystery just like the question of her father.
One of the most common theories is that Iggwilv transformed her daughter herself to protect her from her final death and turn her into an undead guardian of her most important treasures. In Iggwilv’s treasure chamber, Drelnza took the form of a beautiful, seemingly sleeping maiden in golden armor, serving as a deadly trap for unsuspecting adventurers and thus as the final boss of the dungeon.
In “The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth,” she primarily tormented her intruders with her vampiric abilities and tried to charm and control them. Her sword “Heretic” housed its own intellect and communicated telepathically with its wielder, making her equally dangerous in close combat.
Ultimately, she was finally destroyed by grave robbers in combat, which brought forth the vengeful and unyielding wrath of her powerful mother upon the world, as later D&D stories (such as in the module “Isle of the Ape”) revealed. There, the wizard Tenser reports that Iggwilv harbors a terrible, vengeful grudge against the world because “her beloved daughter was slain.”
Did you know the background about Drelnza? What do you think her role in the new adventure will be like? Feel free to let us know in the comments!
Her origin makes her an important figure especially in the setting of Greyhawk. In addition to Greyhawk and the Sword Coast, there are many other exciting settings in the multiverse of Dungeons & Dragons. We have gathered 7 particularly cool ones for you: 7 settings of Dungeons & Dragons that are at least as exciting as the Sword Coast
Your opinion is important to us!
Do you like the article? Then let us know!