Greyhawk A-Z: People Part 2

I thought I'd take another crack at this fun listing article. Check out my last one posted three years ago! This is just some descriptions with quick commentary. Maybe you'll learn something or maybe you'll just be amused.. Enjoy!

Althea: One of Iuz the Evil's top priestesses in the Boneheart. Between her and Halga, I can't recall which was the pretty one. I used to have fun playing them up in my comics.

Belissica: Speaking of pretty, the Countess of Urnst. In my campaign, I cannot think of a more well-liked, well-to-do, comely human female in all of the Flanaess. Must be why one of my players tried so hard to court her!

Ctenmiir: Ah that poor vampire trapped inside White Plume Mountain. Nowadays vampires get out in daylight, join clans, even raise families. How times change!

Drawmij: My favorite aquatic-themed Greyhawk wizard (very specific I know). No wizard gets my creative juices going more than him. I immediately start thinking Cpt. Nemo, meets Jacques Cousteau meets Aquaman.

Elayne Mystica: Hey more wizards! Elayne is an albino human who used to live beneath the Hellfurnace mountains, but now resides in Irongate. Check out what I've done with her.

Fedroot: Good ol' Fedroot owns the Daggerarium in the Old City section of Greyhawk. I don't think there's a finer weaponsmith outside a dwarven forge than Fedroot. So says Mortellan!

Galap Dreidel: Wicked archmage, creator of the Soul Gem and former resident of the Ghost Tower of Inverness. The module says he left northwest over the Selintan River and never came back. Very curious where he went off to since that was a millennia ago. Let's hope wherever he went, he at least changed his name.

Hazen: Aged clerical ruler of Veluna. His artifact, the Crook of Rao is responsible for banishing like 99.9% of the demons on Oerth in a day. Of course nothing said they couldn't just come back...was his Crook a one-shot item?

Immonara: Archdruid of Obad-hai. All I know about her is she leads a sect in the Adri Forest. I would've thought female druids would be into Ehlonna though. Druids are neutral folk though, so equality and all that.

Jallarzi Sallavarian: Speaking of females breaking into men's fields. Jallarzi is to this day the only female member of the Circle of Eight (until Return of the Eight *cough*). As fair magic-users go she is up there with Belissica as well. Also, she had a cool pseudo-dragon pet before it was cool to have little dragon pets.

Kermin Mind-Bender: Yeah yeah, another wizard. Kermin is one of my favorites though. I don't know much about Kermin from Gygax's novels, but he is a Boneheart advisor of Iuz in canon. Kermin however is 18th level which means in addition bending minds, he has Wish-level magic. This is a guy who really could be a BBEG on his own!

Lareth the Beautiful: This evil cleric from the Temple of Elemental Evil is inexplicably more popular in Greyhawk lore than half the NPCs I've mentioned. Recurring villains are good like that though. He never rated in my campaign though. Hm, my mistake I guess.

Murad: The Sultan of Zeif, and a 15th level fighter! It's hard to find high level fighters (still alive) in canon. I wonder what dangerous adventures the sultan undertook to get to that peak of skill. He sounds like a ruler who leads from the vanguard in battle.

Nix and Nox: The Efreeti brothers from White Plume Mountain. Seen in one of my favorite illustrations by Erol Otus from 1E D&D. One evil genie is bad, but twins? Watch out!

Org Nenshen: Leader of the Greyhawk Thieves Guild and best friend to former guildmember (no one is ever a former) Nerof Gasgol the mayor of the city. In this day and age of billionaires and oligarchs in politics, a guy like Org makes perfect sense to me today.

Pluffet Smedger the Elder: Esteemed professor from the University of Rel Mord and the author of the Guide to the World of Greyhawk. As Pluffet lives in the setting's future, the only thing we know for sure happens is that Rel Mord still stands.

Querchard: Needless to say there isn't many good Q-named characters. Querchard is the Earl of Sterich. That is until post-wars when he vanished from Istivin leaving his wife Resbin in charge. One thing unique about Querchard is that in AD&D rules he is a multi-class fighter-thief-bard. None of those classes saved him from being kidnapped however.

Ricard Damaris: Hey it's another fighter! While not as skilled (he is missing a finger) and important as Murad, Ricard does have a cool job, namely he runs the famous Green Dragon Inn in the City of Greyhawk. His boss (spoilers) is secretly another more powerful fight, the infamous Lord Robilar.

Sevvord Redbeard: Speaking of warriors. Sevvord is the leader of the barbarian-adjacent Stonefists. There is probably no barbarian more brutal than this guy. I mean, his army is so tough they have annual try-outs! And I'm not 100% sure the losers live.

Tang the Horrific: And while we're talking barbarians, Tang is one of those ridiculed but highly underrated NPCs. Who else has the moxie and charisma to try and raise a horde to take on Iuz? Too bad he never got his chance!

Utavo the Wise: Okay so it isn't easy finding NPCs starting with a "U". Who knew? Last time I used Uhas and that's apparently the best until you get to Utavo the Wise (Living Greyhawk Journal #0) who is indeed a unique character in the Flanaess. He is a Touv for starters, and second he is a former slave who now leads a sanctuary for other ex-Scarlet Brotherhood slaves in southern Sea Princes. Pretty cool!

Vesparian Lafanel: Also called Vesper, this elf runs a humble pawn shop in the old City of Greyhawk. His actual job however with the Guild of Assassins. His seriousness and skill eventually led to his promotion to guildmaster (and thus Directing Oligarch) of the city, when his superior Turin Deathstalker left to fight Iuz in the north. Don't cross this elf.

Waldorf: What? You've not heard of Waldorf?!

Xavender: Xavender is the (other) Overking of the United Kingdom of Ahlissa (formerly the South Province). You want to see a pompous image of Xavender, check out the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer. At least he's not undead.

Yolande: Queen of Celene. Belissica might be the epitome of beauty for human rulers, so I always assume Yolande is the peak of all elves. When I think of her how can I not picture Galadriel from Lord of the Rings?

Zoltan: It's easy to pick rulers out for a notable people list. I've already done so several times. The last guy for the list is thus Zoltan, the beygraf of Ket. His claim to fame is opportunistically (and against counsel) attacking Bissel during the Greyhawk Wars, thus allying Ket with Iuz. Not popular with Bisselites or even his own people, Zoltan was eventually assassinated four years later. I'd like to think it Turin Deathstalker who was sent.

That's all for now. More A-Z someday soon!