Monday, March 18, 2019

Greyhawk Map: The Wastes

Hail Greyhawkers! Today I have another random mini-Greyhawk map drawn by yours truly! If you want to check out some of my previous quickie maps, go HERE. What you are seeing is the Wastes in the northern reaches of the Flanaess - but you are viewing this desolate region from the Icy Sea which means yeah you are upside down.

The Wastes have always intrigued me as a feature since the 80's Darlene map. Indeed, the original Guide to Greyhawk doesn't even detail the Wastes in the section titled "Wastelands"! The accompanying Glossography also does not given encounters for the Wastes which is a shame. Later products would start to develop this place. The most notable feature is the Burning Cliffs first seen in Greyhawk Adventures which allegedly may be connected to the Elemental Plane of Fire, a nice touch considering it is adjacent to the Icy Sea.

Later sources conflate the Barrens and the Wastes into the "Barren Wastes" but the Barrens are actually the grasslands where the nomadic Rovers ride. It is a place where one can find centaurs, gnolls and the strange humanoid qullan. To the south and west is the Cold Marshes and Blackmoor. The Wastes themselves are said to be the blasted remains of a culture from long ago (of course). The remaining features of the Wastes can be seen in the book Iuz the Evil; Icegate, Tomb of Tzunk's Hands, Folly and the Dungeon of Bleeding Walls are all adventure spots that DMs are encouraged to create on their own.

One other source I overlooked when drawing this is the obscure adventure, Ex Keraptis Cum Amore by Andy Miller in Dungeon #77. In this sequel to White Plume Mountain, we are treated to another wizardly dungeon site near the Burning Cliffs called the Melted Fane. If anyone is intrigued by the map to the left, you better find this issue to find out more!

That's all for now. Stay tuned for my next random map.






3 comments:

Jeffrey Boyd Garrison said...

Brilliantly executed map... That frog hidin' in the swamp is celebrity cool!

Mike Bridges said...

lol good eye. I always love adding subtle extras like that. Thanks for the compliments.

Jason Zavoda said...

Excellent map. You should do a book of them so I can steal... be inspired by them