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Werdna is a major antagonist of the Wizardry series.
Biography[]
Werdna is a old wizard who sought to conquer the world, having set his sights on a mysterious magical amulet which was said to have the power of the gods. Said amulet was kept in an ancient temple, and everyone who tried to take it never returned. One day, Werdna met with an antiques dealer, who sold a old scroll to him. Werdna carefully studied the scroll, which talked about the amulet and a pair of magical gauntlets. Werdna then sent his minions after the gauntlets, but they only managed to find one. Without much of a choice, Werdna wore the Gauntlet to retrieve the amulet, but it was already gone when he got to the temple. Using his magical powers, Werdna discovered that it had been taken by soldiers of the mad overlord Trebor, the tyrannical ruler of Llylgamyn, who had also bought a scroll from the dealer and found the other gauntlet. Furious, Werdna invaded Trebor's castle and cast a paralyzing spell on everyone, snatching the amulet from Trebor's own hands.
The game starts with Werdna, who steals the magical amulet from Trebor. Seeking to use the amulet's powers to take over the world, he creates a huge maze beneath Trebor's castle, hiding in the lowest floor to further study the amulet and unlock it's powers, while infesting the dungeon with monsters so he wouldn't be interrupted. Trebor, driven to madness, decide to use the dungeon as a testing grounds for applicants to his personal army, hoping one would be brave or crazy enough to defeat Werdna and retrieve the amulet.
As it turned out, a group of adventurers managed to defeat Werdna and recover the amulet. However, it was impossible for them to slay the evil warlock, so they imprison his dormant body inside an underground labyrinth and fill the place with death traps, as an insurance in case he attempts to leave the place. Many years later, Werdna finally awakens, and drained of his powers decides to escape the place, recover his full power and retrieve the amulet. The player is cast on the shoes of Werdna, who can summon monsters to aid him on his quest, fighting waves of do-gooders on his way as well as the ghost of Trebor, who now haunts the place.
Werdna manages to banish the ghost of Trebor and escape from the ziggurat where he was imprisoned and finds himself back at the Llylgamyn castle. Werdna's ultimate fate will depend on the player's choices, with a total of five possible outcomes:
- In the Good Ending, Werdna is cleansed of all his evil deeds and, after doing various tasks for the orders on the Adventurer's Inn, he gives up his quest for the amulet and is proclaimed the new Overlord of Llylgamyn. However, he is reminded that one day he shall return the favor owed to the witch which helped him.
- In the three Evil Endings, Werdna goes to Gilgamesh's tavern, where he meets with the Softalk All-Stars, the party of adventurers who defeated and imprisoned him, finally exacting his revenge on them. Exploring further, he comes across a temple and none other than Lord Hawkwind, leader of the Softalk All-Stars, protecting the way to the inner sanctum. After defeating Lord Hawkwind, Werdna finds the statue of the god Kadorto, which is holding his precious amulet. After awakening Kadorto and destroying him, Werdna finally becomes a god. The ending will change depending on which sword you retrieved from the altar in the dungeon, with Werdna either becoming a giant statue himself, becoming a beloved god or a tyrannical god who lays waste to the world.
| “ | But even so, you always wonder... Have you forgotten something? | „ |
| ~ Werdna's final thoughts |
- In the almost-impossible to achieve Grandmaster Ending (considered the True Ending), which involves finding your way to the floor below the one you started the game, Werdna finds himself in the Tree of Life, where he is bestowed with the Kris of Truth. Upon exacting his revenge on the Softalk All-Stars and Lord Hawkwind, Werdna faces the statue of Kadorto. However, the Kris of Truth shines and reveals that Kadorto was but a large robot controlled by the Priests. Werdna retrieves the amulet, which is revealed to be merely a trap created by the Gods to draw on people's power-lust, so he vows to one day return it to it's makers. Werdna finally rejoices, for now he is above good and evil and the master of his own fate, thanks to the Tree of Life, which now illuminates his path.
Gallery[]
![Werdna, as he appears in the original Apple ][ version](/wiki/File:WerdnaApple2.gif "WerdnaApple2.gif (805 bytes)")
Trivia[]
- Werdna's name is actually the name of one of Wizardry's creators, Andrew Greenberg, spelled backwards.
External links[]
- Werdna on the Wizardry Wiki