Kord

Kord
Symbols of Kord.
Deity information
Type	Prime Deity
Title	The Stormlord The Storm Lord
Province	Battle, Competition, Storms
Common symbol	Four bolts of lightning radiating from the center of a shield
Gender	Masculine
Pronouns	He/him/his
Alignment	Chaotic Neutral
Home plane	Ysgard
Worship
Worshipers	Athletes, Warriors
Holy day	Day of Challenging (Misuthar 7th)
Major temples	Trial Forge
Associated domains	Tempest War
Vestiges	Titanstone Knuckles Stormgirdle
Appearances
First seen	"Labenda Awaits" (2x20)
Last seen	"The Eve of the Red Moon" (3x81)
Stream	Campaign Two (6 episodes) Campaign Three (1 episode)
Comic	The Mighty Nein Origins: Yasha Nydoorin

Fan art of Kord, the Stormlord, by Christian Thor Lally.

Fan art of Kord the Stormlord, by Kent Davis.

Kord, the Stormlord, is the storm god and the lord of battle and warfare. He is worshiped by the denizens of the Braving Grounds district of Vasselheim and sailors of the Menagerie Coast in Wildemount.

His worship is banned in the Dwendalian Empire.

Appearance

An iron statue in Vasselheim depicts Kord as a human-like man, barrel-chested and with massive muscles. He wears iron bracers around his wrists. His beard is long and goes down to the middle of his chest. In one hand he carries a long, thick shortsword. His legs and midsection are clothed in furs and leathers.

Commandments of the Stormlord

“

Commandments of the Stormlord

• Bravery above all. There is no glory in cowardice.

• Strength is the path to greatness, but greatness is the responsible use of strength.

• The glory of the Stormlord lives through your own glory on the battlefield.

”

– 

from the Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn

[!h]

Known worshipers

• Earthbreaker Groon, a human monk at the Trial Forge in Vasselheim, and one of the Dawn Marshals of the city
• Kern, a half-orc barbarian/monk brawler who probably follows Kord
• Samson, a blacksmith in Vasselheim
• Yasha Nydoorin, his champion, an aasimar barbarian and member of the Mighty Nein
• Quethir Droh, a warrior of the Dawn Fist, and one of the Dawn Marshals of Vasselheim, currently in a mission against the Ruby Vanguard
• Some Air Ashari worship the Stormlord due to his connection with wind and storms

History

Pre-stream

Kord carved the Titanstone Knuckles from the heart of the earth titan that fell in the Founding, and bestowed them as a gift to mortals.

In the Calamity, Kord impaled Lolth with one heave of a thunderspear before her troops even saw battle, making her one of the first casualties of the war and leaving her drow leaderless during that time. It is said that Kord created the Stormlord's Heart, which would allow his champions to enter Lolth's domain in the Abyss in case the final battles of the Calamity failed in some respect; the Stormlord's Heart was found much later in Bazzoxan.

Whether intentionally or not, Kord is responsible for the existence of cyclops stormcallers, who are born during raging storms and can eventually use innate magic to conjure storms, fly within storms, and cause cold damage with each swipe of their hands. Ironically for creatures shaped by Kord, stormcallers are notably smaller and weaker than other cyclops, causing them to be bullied relentlessly in childhood. Goliaths born in similar circumstances, called stormborn, are if anything slightly more robust than other goliath warriors, have some limited ability to evoke lightning, and are resistant to lightning damage.

Between Campaign One and Campaign Two

Official art of Kord freeing Yasha, by William Kirkby and Diana Sousa from The Mighty Nein Origins: Yasha Nydoorin.

The first time Yasha Nydoorin was under the magical domination of Obann, she found herself at a shrine to Kord and the domination was lifted from her.

Campaign Two: The Mighty Nein

"Steam and Conversation" (2x09)
Yasha revealed to the rest of the group that she is a follower of the Stormlord and greatly indebted to him.

"Labenda Awaits" (2x20)
Yasha dreamed she saw the gloomy fields of Xhorhas covered in dead bodies. Dull blue flames and streaks of blood started curling down her arms. The dream then shifted to a broken statue of the Stormlord, the entity that had pulled her from the darkness. Rolling storm clouds formed the body of a giant man. A voice crept into the back of her head, saying that she walked the right path and never to forgot who she was and what she will become. After waking from the dream, Yasha said a short prayer to the Stormlord and carved his symbol into a piece of bark.

"A Storm of Memories" (2x46)
After going to sleep, Yasha had a vision of her wife Zuala calling out to her. The dream shifted with a flash of lightning to the Stormlord calling out to Yasha to find her strength. Yasha woke up suddenly and saw a being made of pure energy fly down from the sky and start attacking her.

Fan art of Yasha's struggle, by Viktor Engholm.

"A Turtle By Any Other Name" (2x60)
As Yasha slept outside with the rain pounding down on her face, she felt her wrists get cold. She looked down and saw shackles binding her wrists together. There was a sudden flash of bright light in the sky and the clouds parted, revealing two glowing eyes. The Stormlord called out to Yasha to fight against the chains and release herself. Yasha strained against her shackles, but wasn't able to break them.

"Unwanted Reunions" (2x88)
After being freed from Obann's control, Yasha had a dream where she was walking through the barren fields of Xhorhas in a heavy storm. As she reached the top of the mountain path, Yasha looked down and saw the shackles now broken from her wrists. She saw in the roiling clouds the glowing, electric eyes of the entity that found her on the ship weeks before, and although there were no words, she felt a sense of pride and welcoming.

"Dark Waters" (2x98)
While sleeping during a heavy storm at sea, Yasha dreamed of walking through the muddy fields of Xhorhas, exhausted and sore. She looked up to the sky and saw the familiar glowing eyes of the Stormlord and a warmly lit path. As she walked down the path she tried to jump over a wide chasm, but started to plummet. She called out to the Stormlord for help, but he responded back saying, "Prove". A bolt of lightning came down from the sky and zapped Yasha, her vision going blurry for a moment. Using Necrotic Shroud, she summoned her wings which were feathered rather than their usual skeletal. The Stormlord told Yasha that she was worthy of his acceptance and her own as well.

"Rumble at Rumblecusp" (2x105)
Before fighting Vokodo, Yasha had a dream where she saw a small white feather drifting into a pool of still water. As she moved toward it, a storm moved in around her, and when she moved to pick it up, lightning struck the pool. Turning, she saw behind her was respite and escape, but she heard a voice saying "Do not run from yourself. Overcome what faltered, and rise stronger." She took a deep breath, grabbed the feather, and sensed lightning streaking towards her. Saying, "I do not want this fear anymore," she stood firm and took the impact. A dark abyss below her revealed an endless underwater hillside of broken chain link, and the voice said, "Show me you can be reborn." She bamfed out her wings and saw, like flowers blossoming on the extended branches of a tree in the beginning of spring, feathers emerging to fill them into full, angelic wings.

"The Neverending Day" (2x125)
Yasha dreamt of herself walking aimlessly in the broken fields of Xhorhas, with nothing to protect and having failed to protect. The bare fields gave way to grass and she saw the newly borrowed Holy Avenger before her. As thunder rolled, she saw the others of the Mighty Nein calling to her to save them, but as she ran toward the Avenger, it moved farther away. Lightning struck beside her and she saw the face of the Stomlord, saying, "You found your strength, Yasha. Now, you must learn to use it. [...] You are an avatar of the Storm Lord. I work through you, but your strength is your own. You've begun the first steps, but you must earn this one."

"The Calm Before the Storm" (2x130) and "Into the Eye" (2x131)
In another dream, Kord challenged Yasha to show her worthiness to be his champion, sending spirits of storm and lightning to fight her past the point of death. When she defeated the spirits and flew, technically dead but still raging, into the storm clouds above to speak with Kord, he asked her where she found her strength, and she said it was in those she would protect. When she awoke she was attuned to the Holy Avenger, which can usually only be attuned by paladins.

"Fond Farewells" (2x141)
When warriors of the Dolorav tribe charged at Yasha and Beau, the latter two women did not actively resist, but suddenly lightning blasted from the sky and charred a line in the ground between the two groups, which intimidated the charging cavalry into calling off the attack.

"The Mighty Nein Reunited Part 2" (Sx74)
Even after Yasha stopped acting as an active adventurer, Kord's attention never left her, and when the Mighty Nein sailed through the Lucidian Ocean to fight Uk'otoa, the Stormlord helped his champion in the battle, sending his influence through the tempest initially summoned by the Great Leviathan.

Campaign Three: Bells Hells

"The Eve of the Red Moon" (3x81)
After the apogee solstice of 843 PD Earthbreaker Groon joined the alliance against the Ruby Vanguard, and in the meetings in which he was present, Kord let his power be known through the voice and the crackling gaze of his follower.

Later, the old human, who had declared he wanted the Ruidusborn Fearne Calloway and Imogen Temult as allies, touched the latter's shoulder, showing her a vision of his god. The Stormlord spoke to the sorcerer, telling her that he believed there was greatness in her, and asking her not to let them down.

Appearances

• Campaign Two
  • "Labenda Awaits" (2x20) (first appearance)
  • "A Storm of Memories" (2x46)
  • "Rumble at Rumblecusp" (2x105), dream
  • "The Neverending Day" (2x125), dream
  • "The Calm Before the Storm" (2x130)
  • "Into the Eye" (2x131)
• Campaign Three
  • "The Eve of the Red Moon" (3x81), in a vision
• The Mighty Nein Origins: Yasha Nydoorin

Mentions

• Campaign One
  • "Hubris" (1x17) (first mentioned)
  • "Loose Ends" (1x84)
  • "A Bard's Lament" (1x85)
  • "The Fate-Touched" (1x103)
  • "Elysium" (1x104)
  • "The Endless Atheneum" (1x106)
  • "Vecna, the Ascended" (1x114)
  • "The Chapter Closes" (1x115)
• Campaign Two
  • "Steam and Conversation" (2x09)
  • "Lost Treasures" (2x22)
  • "Divergent Paths" (2x25)
  • "Encroaching Waters" (2x34)
  • "A Turtle By Any Other Name" (2x60)
  • "Agreements" (2x61)
  • "Chases and Trees" (2x65)
  • "Beyond the Eyes of Angels" (2x67)
  • "Reflections" (2x68)
  • "Causatum" (2x70)
  • "The Folding Halls" (2x80)
  • "The Cathedral" (2x86)
  • "Punishment and Politics" (2x87)
  • "Lingering Wounds" (2x89)
  • "Bathhouses and Bastions" (2x90)
  • "Stone to Clay" (2x91)
  • "Dark Waters" (2x98)
  • "Devoutness and Dicks" (2x107)
  • "New Homes and Old Friends" (2x111)
  • "Cat and Mouse" (2x128)
  • "Hell or High Water" (2x136)
  • "Long May He Reign" (2x140)
• Campaign Three
  • "The Tunnels Below" (3x15)
  • "Heart-to-Heartmoor" (3x17)
  • "Aid of the Tempest" (3x66)
  • "Embattled in Bassuras" (3x70)
• Specials
  • "Critical Role: Bar Room Blitz" (Sx21)
  • "The Mighty Nein Reunited Part 2" (Sx74)

Trivia

• Though the Stormlord is based primarily on Dawn War version of Kord, his holy symbol in the Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting bears a closer resemblance to that of the Greyhawk version of Kord.
• His holy day is the Day of Challenging, on the seventh of Misuthar. It is a rowdy holiday celebrated with well-attended Godsbrawl tournaments in Kord's temples in both Emon and Port Damali; aside from the champion of Kord, in Emon many also root for the champion of Bahamut, and in Port Damali the other major draw is the champion of Moradin.
  • Though the date isn't mentioned in the episode, Vox Machina slew Thordak (and attempted, with a metallic dragon's help, to slay Raishan) as their allies sieged Emon on the Day of Challenging in 811 PD, amidst a thunderstorm.

References

Art: