Skadi is a deity in the Norse pantheon. She is the wife of Uller and former wife of Njord.
Description
Appearance and personality
Skadi is a female frost giant with blonde hair.[1] She is often seen standing only seven feet tall,[2] although her natural height is around fifteen feet; like many of the Norse pantheon, she has the ability to change her height at will.[1]
Skadi is brave in battle. She first encountered the Aesir when she traveled to Asgard in order to kill Thor for slaying her father. Her bravery so impressed the Aesir that they allowed her to join the Norse pantheon in exchange for abandoning her blood feud.[2]
Skadi is true neutral in alignment,[2] although she has occasional chaotic good tendencies.[2]
Titles
Skadi is called the Showshoe Goddess, and the Goddess of Mountains.[1] She is called Goddess of Winter and Skiing,[2] a role which she shares with her husband Uller.
Abilities
Skadi cannot be caught by surprise, except by a more powerful deity such as Sif. She can assume the form of any animal or elemental. She can cast druid spells, handle animals, jump, climb, and find her bearings in the wilderness instantaneously. She can burrow through the earth and sense the location of enemies within sixty feet.[1]
She is particularly skilled at tracking, hunting and slaying dragons, undead, magical beasts, aberrations, and vermin, and any weapon she wields is supremely lethal against such creatures. She has all the abilities of a druid and ranger.[1]
Skadi's senses extend to a distance of six miles from herself, her holy sites, holy objects, or any place where one of her titles or names is spoken. She can understand and read all langauges, and speak directly to anyone within six miles.[1]
Skadi can create any magic item related to mountain climbing or travel and survival in the wilderness, though her ability is limited, and she cannot create legendary items.[1]
She can cast a variety of spells, including bull's strength, disintegrate, elemental swarm, harm, and implosion.[1]
Portfolio
Skadi is a goddess of earth, mountains, winter, and skiing. She has power over the domains of destruction, earth, and strength.[1][2]
Skadi automatically senses any natural event involving the earth or mountains which involves five hundred or more people. This includes such things as mudeslides, avalanches, and earthquakes.[1]
Worship
Dogma
Worshipers
While the people of Midgard typically worship the Norse pantheon as a collective group, Skadi is particularly followed by
Clergy
Holy sites
Holy symbol
Skadi's holy symbol is a mountain peak.[1] It is similar in this regard to Magni, whose holy symbol is a mountain. She is sometimes represented by a pair of snowshoes.[2]
Favored weapon
Skadi favors the greataxe.[1]
Relationships
Family
Skadi is the daughter of the frost giant Thjazi.[2]
Enemies
Skadi once had a feud with Thor, who killed her father Thjazi. She set this dispute aside when the Aesir offered her entry into the Norse pantheon by marriage.
Allies and minions
Skadi has an awakened dire bear companion which is as intelligent as the average human. Its name is unknown.[1]
Artifacts
Realm
Publication history
Original D&D
Skadi is first named in Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes (1976), p.29 as Uller's wife, and inhabiting Ydalir.
AD&D 1st edition
Skadi is mentioned on Legends & Lore (1e) (1984), p.101 as mother of Frey, and Deities & Demigods (1e) (1980). She is mentioned in the article For better or Norse: I, Dragon #110 (Jun 1986), p.18-21, where she is a frost giant and a lesser goddess in her own right, and is Njord's wife, who she selected on the basis of his feet; and For better or Norse: II, Dragon #110 (Jun 1986), p.24, which tells the same story.
AD&D 2nd edition
Skadi is mentioned in the Planescape sourcebook On Hallowed Ground (1996), p.149, where she is a 16 HD frost giant and wife of Uller.
Her name appears in Against the Giants: The Liberation of Geoff (1999) as a female frost or fire giants.
D&D 3rd edition
Skadi is given the most detail in Deities and Demigods (3e) (2002), p.189-190, where she is Uller's wife and Njord's ex-wife.
D&D 4th edition
The Norse pantheon does appear in D&D 4th edition.
D&D 5th edition
Skadi is one of twenty Norse gods listed in the Player's Handbook (5e) (2014), where she is incorrectly listed as a god rather than a goddess.
Creative origins
Skadi appears in Norse myth.