Very Best of Greyhawkery

Welcome again Greyhawk lords and ladies! Today I'd like to point out some of my best posts from the past. I have a whole subpage dedicated to the Best of Greyhawkery though. So this post will be my picks for ten of the Very Best of Greyhawkery. Let's get this started, in no particular order. Enjoy!

Virtuosos of Villainy: Eli Tomorast is my love letter to this vile wizard of the Maure Castle fame. Few villains in my home games have been as hated as Tomorast. His distinctive demon claws kind of make him stand out as well. The art for Tomorast by Kalman Andrasofszky, James Ryman and Wayne Reynolds is the best. I also recently learned that Paizo publisher Erik Mona himself owns the original cover painting of Eli from Dungeon #112. Jealous! I wish I had done more Villainy articles like this, but really few ever stand the test of time as well as Eli.

New Greyhawk Map: South Seas is to date, my masterpiece in cartography. This map as far as I can tell is the most downloaded and talked about on my blog. No wonder why, there are few like it. I made the South Seas map for my long-running pirate-themed Sea Princes campaign, but the whole effort was mostly research over actual map making skill. I took what we knew of the inset map from the 1983 Glossography, and combined it with the extended Hepmonaland from the Scarlet Brotherhood sourcebook. Then I really tied it into current Greyhawk by adding all the new locations from the Savage Tide AP such as Sasserine, Scuttlecove, and yes, thanks to Gary Holian the Isle of Dread to the far southwest. Could have I done more with this map? Of course! Artistically its just a line drawing with some clever clip art and layers to give it an old nautical chart look. I encourage anyone to modify, improve, or expand upon this map.

Sword of Kas Through Editions is a short, but effective article that I researched back in 2015. Little was I to know it would end up being one of my top ten most viewed posts. The Sword of Kas is one of those iconic items from D&D so I'm sure people often come across this post in their searches. Magic swords is a popular subject anyways on this blog, but this one beat them all.

Greyhawk Wizards: The Pentad is a short, but inspired post that I did on a hypothetical all-female wizard group ala the Circle of Eight. Greyhawk is full of wizards (or lich-wizards), and besides Iggwilv, it's a male dominated world. I had fun piecing this team together, especially as an attempt to bring Ed Greenwood's creation from the Wizards Three articles, Rautheene, back into the setting since she bears no mention anywhere else.

5 Reasons to Visit the Bandit Kingdoms is the first in a series that I hit upon in 2015 as a way to introduce adventure ideas in the major areas of the Flanaess to new DMs who might otherwise have no idea what to use or where to find it. I'm happy to see this similar effort done to all the nations of the game setting through Canonfire's Touring the Flanaess postcard community project.

Rulers of Ull: Ulzhak the Golden and Kuchakar the Dragon Slayer is two of my favorite home-spun creations for Ull, but I'm counting this as one item. I had intended to do a story on all the rulers of Ull, but that is a tiring exercise I'll save for another day. Instead I did the two that to me, were the most action packed and heroic. These historical rulers were invented as a way to show even lowly Ull can develop some heroes, and that there is epic quests to be had there as well.

Pirate Fleets of Greyhawk is one of my best articles for Greyhawkery, and this has made an appearance in Oerth Journal as well. In my opinion, my Sea Princes material is significantly better than my Ull series, because I've actually ran my friends through this in multiple linked campaigns. The pirate fleets above most of my pirate articles informs best what the factions and political climate of the South Seas is like. Check it out!

Ring of Five Questions: Creighton Broadhurst is the first of an amazing run of interviews that I did from 2011-2012. Creighton is one of my favorite LG authors back in the day (he made Rary the Traitor cool again) and he was an occasional visitor to our nightly Greyhawk chats. He was kind enough to be my first "industry" person involved in the blog. I would go on to pose my custom set of 5 Greyhawk questions to other authors and artists. More recently I resurrected the Ring of Five for all Greyhawk fandom to share their favorite answers regarding our shared hobby.

Furyondy-Iuz War Part 1, Part 2 & Part 3 is part of my epic 2E "Greyhawk Wars" campaign that spanned 24 in-game years. Back in the 90's I kept quite good notes and wrote battle reports on our campaign and such. It all culminated in the final war against Iuz which was probably inspired by Tolkien's the War of the Rings. Check out these battle reports, perhaps they will inspire other DMs to wage war on the Flanaess like good old Gygax probably intended!

Greyhawk A-Z: Spells is not the even close to the first in my A-Z series, but its the most impressive in my opinion. Anyone who is well read on published Greyhawk could easily put together an A-Z list of names, places, or items, but Greyhawk specific spells? That was such an undertaking that I spent hours researching books and magazines to fill the list, and I still had to cheat a few times. Then I did a second A-Z list cause I had so much left over. 

That's all folks! Be sure to check out the Best of Greyhawkery page link at the top where I will hopefully someday have everything categorized for your convenience. Until the Star Break!

Ring of Five Questions: Round 16

Well met, Greyhawkers! If you've reading Greyhawkery for a long time, congratulations, we made it to 2021! Those who are just discovering the blog, where have you been? You have a lot to catch up on! Check out my Best of Greyhawkery link at the top. Moving forward, my first post of this new year is the incredible sixteenth round of my ongoing Return of the Ring of Five Questions, a special community participation column. Search back in the previous posts to read the previous installments (Round 1-15). Who do I have featured today?

There have been many Greyhawk community friends, fans and authors to enter the Ring, but this round may top them all thus far. Please welcome the co-author of the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, and many many Greyhawk articles in Dragon, Oerth Journal and the Living Greyhawk Journal; the head-honcho of Greyhawk fan-site Canonfire! and an all-around fun guy to discuss lore with on Twitch, the master of death-knights, Gary Holian. Enough ego-boosting, let's see what Gary really thinks of Greyhawk. Enjoy!

Q1. What is your favorite realm or region in the World of Greyhawk setting?

Gary: So I always dread questions like this because they are like choosing between siblings or children, an impossible choice. I have many favorites, some of which I got to work on in the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, but if I was forced to choose just one, I would have to go with the Kingdom of Keoland. It's probably the realm that I got to put my biggest stamp on. For whatever reason, Gygax in the 1e campaign and Sargent in the 2e follow-up material, never substantively dealt with the area. The region, though the setting of many iconic modules, never got the full gazetteer treatment. I was the first to take it on. If WGR7 would have been the product code for the never printed Ivid the Undying, WGR8 might have been the product code for The Sheldomar Valley gazetteer (some day perhaps?)

As an avid fan of history it was fun to piece together all the strands from the original 83 Boxed Set through the Vecna Lives! module. Getting to add the Silent Ones from my campaign, explore a different model of government and its implications, putting the dread into the Dreadwood, and planting a bunch of hooks around the realm for further development was very cool.

Off to a good start! Gary is not kidding about his contribution to Greyhawk. Much of what we now take as common knowledge of the Sheldomar Valley post 1e-2e is from him (with much assistance from the OG Greytalk crowd I'm sure, that's all they seemed to talk about back then, lol). I agree that the trajectory of the WGR series should've been a printed Ivid then Sheldomar next (and then something Baklunish please?). It makes me wonder now, given what material I've seen him put out since 2000, would a WGR8 be as lengthy as Ivid? I'm sure Holian could've padded that page count! Moving on...

Q2. If you could actually be one Greyhawk deity which one would it be?

Gary: Another tough choice, but I think I would go with Zagyg. I was leaning towards his master, Boccob the Uncaring, but he doesn’t have as much fun as his servant the Mad Archmage. Zagyg probably knows where all the bodies in the multiverse are buried and most of its secrets. His project to capture the Nine Demigods might have been one of the biggest events in the history of the multiverse. He is also friends with numerous other important NPCs in the setting, so I figure I would have the most entertaining interactions of any god. You can mess with both the high and the low from Zagyg’s perch.

I've seen people in the Ring struggle between choosing to be humble quasi-deities, ascended mortal demigods or the loftier true gods. Gary too shoots for a happy middle, choosing Zagyg for his eccentricity (to put it nicely), his Greyhawk connections and his unique place in Flanaess history. You know based on those three things, above anyone I've known besides Gygax himself, I think Holian might actually BE Zagyg. Hmm.

Q3. You have one wish. Which Greyhawk module or accessory would you do over or fix?

Gary: Although there are some obvious choices, I think I would go with WG7 Castle Greyhawk. If that module had been done correctly, it would have never been necessary to do WGR1 and EttRoG wouldn’t have been needed either, except as a sequel. Greyhawk would have remained a legendary setting with an iconic dungeon, unmarred by spite or ridicule. It's a shame that Gary Gygax was never able to present his full Castle Greyhawk as a TSR/D&D product. I would have loved to just edit and polish it and let Gary do his thing. Of course, I have my own head-canon version of what the place was like, probably different from anything that has been published. But I think redo-ing WG7 would make right a great injustice to the setting.

A popular and obvious choice for any grognard fan of Greyhawk (and one who embodies the Castle's main resident). Side note, EttRoG is Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk, which is a mouthful and in my opinion short one word, "castle" because without that word it infers to me that the city is in ruins. I digress...Gary H is right that if Gary G had put out an official published castle in his vision, that would change a lot. I'd even go as far to say it would have opened up more of the setting to development since that dungeon would be "perfect" and TSR could've concentrated their time on stuff like oh I dunno Ivid the Undying or the Sheldomar Valley? Who knows? Maybe then people like Holian or Erik Mona would have never needed to step up and fix/justify the broken pieces of Greyhawk lore. Wishes can be tricky! Living in the present reality though, re-doing WG7 is definitely a high priority on most fans lists.

Q4: You're putting together an all-star Greyhawk NPC group. Who is your number one pick?

Gary: Hmmm, I had to give this one some thought, as there are so many strong choices. But I will have to go with my first choice from the 80s. Kelanen the Sword Lord, was my favorite character from the 1983 Guide. He’s a grizzled anti-hero who loves swords and can control them (always bring an alternative to a bladed weapon against Kelanen). He carries a pair of intelligent ones with amazing powers. He loves to walk the roads of Oerth, looking for battles to join, like some unquenchable mercenary. He takes on all-comers. What’s not to like?

Hah, I know Gary took his time writing all his responses, because he never does anything quickly. That's why his entry to the Ring is monumental to my blog. Kelanen is indeed a strong choice when talking about an NPC group, one that I could definitely get excited over (I went with Iggwilv sadly). Kelanen is one of those hero-gods that is suppose to make player jealous and envious. He is the ultimate warrior with any blade, but just to show off he has two magic swords and just in case your players have an intelligent weapon, well Kel has two. He also has his own demi-plane (I wonder if he got it from Zagyg?). You can't one up him. Pick Kelanen first for your team and everyone else after that, even archmages, is bonus, however the Sword Lord is a loner, so beware. At any rate, good job Gary, one more Q to go...

Q5. If you could possess one artifact or relic from Greyhawk lore, which would it be?

Gary: I think hands down, the most powerful artifact in the setting would be the Throne of the Gods. However, while it appeared in the 1e DMG and Eldritch Wizardry, it was never placed in Greyhawk in canon (perhaps an opportunity for an enterprising DM?). It's a very classical style artifact. The Greek deities had power thrones and so did the Hebrew god of the bible. The idea that a mortal can sit on such a throne and wield powers akin to a god is kind of cool. But in the D&D sense, it's more a wish fulfillment mechanism. You don’t become a god, but you get to ask for their boon. But if you are foolish, you can also get punished or cursed (choose wisely as the paladin in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade would say). It's the greatest prize of the Seekers (also an allusion to the archaeologist-type in my campaign). It’s a Holy Grail and Ark of the Covenant level of artifact. It's supposed to be carved inside of a great mountain, so I am thinking the Crystalmists, Yatils, or Griffs are the main candidates. But I think the Crystalmists have the leg up on the others. But the idea that it moves every time it is discovered is a cool one.

Well, well, well. In all honesty, I could have easily guessed all of Gary's answers but the last one! I think I would've guessed the Regalia (orb, crown, scepter, but what alignment?) knowing his secondary interest in things like Saint Kargoth and the death knights. I was wrong, the Throne of Gods makes sense for Gary. His explanation is compelling. Indeed, his suggested placement for the Throne in the Crystalmists puts it close to his cherished Sheldomar Valley. It's definitely an item that Zagig Yragerne would've sought in the heyday of Castle Greyhawk while seeking answers to immortality. It's also a fabulous treasure that I'm sure Kelanen would lead a quest to find, but in the end, would personally turn down using. He of course would make sure that if his employer, an eccentric mad archmage used it instead, then the Balance will be kept. With extreme prejudice! 

Whew! Thanks again to Gary Holian, my friend, co-conspirator and sometimes heckler of all things Greyhawk for many years and hopefully many more to come. Keep an eye on Canonfire, Gary has more in store for the community, you shall see!

Ring of Five Questions: Round 15

Greetings Greyhawk denizens! If you've been following this blog for the last month or so, you'll know this is the fifteenth round of my ongoing Return of the Ring of Five Questions column! If you're finding this column for the first time, this is a special community participation feature of Greyhawkery. Search back and read the previous installments (Round 1-14) then email me at mortellan@gmail.com with your own five responses. Remember, you can be as short or wordy as you like in these responses. Disclaimer: I will keep taking entries until the end of 2020 so hurry up and respond before Needfest is almost here!

This week is another special entry to the Ring. In fact, it's unique because this participant is such a curmudgeon concerning Greyhawk lore, that no one else dared to enter the Ring with him! I kid of course! Please welcome Robert "Robbastard" Vest, a long time Greyhawk community contributor of fan articles, wiki articles and at one time his own home campaign website, Bastard Greyhawk. Rob is also the best dressed tavern patron I've ever had the honor to share drinks with at Gen Con Indy. Good times. Enough reminiscing, let's see how he fares in the Ring. Enjoy! 

Q1. What is your favorite realm or region in the World of Greyhawk setting? 

 

Rob: I’d go with the Domain of Greyhawk and neighboring areas—Dyvers, Verbobonc, the Wild Coast, etc.  There always seems to be a lot going on there, and plenty of riches to be unearthed in the published material. A little over half of my campaigns have either started in the City of Greyhawk or ended up there.

I completely agree Rob! It's not called the "World of Greyhawk" for nothing. The Greyhawk Domain is the home base from which Gygax's original campaign spread out and took on a life of its own in D&D (for better or worse). Even if you remove the namesake Castle Greyhawk, the area Rob describes from Dyvers to the Cairn Hills is so rich with adventures and lore that you literally don't need any more than that if you run a new campaign. Good start, keep it going...

 

Q2. If you could actually be one Greyhawk deity which one would it be? 

 

Rob: Olidammara, naturally.  No one has more fun that the god of wine, women, and song.

 

I probably could have guessed this! If anyone is an avatar of Olidammara it's Rob. Interestingly, he didn't mention god of rogues though. Keep your hands on your belt pouches, tavern folk!

Q3. You have one wish. Which Greyhawk module or accessory would you do over or fix?

 

Rob: The easy answer would be something like Child’s Play, Puppets, Gargoyle, or Castle Greyhawk, but reviled as they are, those modules have had little impact on the setting, mostly because the vast majority of fans ignore them. Not to mention the fact they were pretty much disavowed in The Adventure Begins. No, I think I’d pick something more impactful so I could resolve issues that have echoed down through later products.

 

Though not Greyhawk-specific, I think I’d choose the Spelljammer boxed set, and make Greyspace heliocentric, like Gygax obviously intended (see Saga of Old City). If I have to choose a Greyhawk-specific product, then maybe The Temple of Elemental Evil, where I could deal with the conundrum of how an imprisoned Iuz was able to conspire with Zuggtmoy, and remove/clarify the part about the “sharp check dealt to Lolth,” enabling folks to run T1-4, A1-4, and then GDQ1-7 without running afoul of the canonical timeline. Or possibly I’d just go back to World of Greyhawk folio/boxed set and remake the entire setting in my image. 

Dang! I told you this guy is a rat bastard. Actually though, this might be the most sane answer I've seen yet. The stuff we hate about Greyhawk has little impact. So true! I would've never seen Greyspace as a problem though, but sure, easy fix. However, just when I was ready to contemplate the issues of canon timelines, Rob, like the god of rogues and wine that he is, got drunk with power and ultimately decided to remake the entire setting. Well played, Mr. Vest. Upward and onward!

 

Q4: You're putting together an all-star Greyhawk NPC group. Who is your number one pick? 

 

Rob: Though you certainly couldn’t trust him in the long run, I’d probably pick Vecna. Sure, he’s a god now, but he started off as a mere mortal. In 576 CY, he was regarded as a mere arch-lich (though he did have a cult at least as early as the Expulsion of Evil in 209 CY). By 581, he’s a bonafide demigod. Within a decade, he levels up to lesser god. Though his plans are often foiled by meddling adventurers, he nearly always seems to come out ahead.

 

Shew! Vecna?! He is not wrong though. I can't say much, as my team is led by Iggwilv for the same reasons. I think I see his true interest in Vecna actually. Big V is the god of secrets and Rob is certainly a scholarly fellow. If he wants to remake the World of Greyhawk in his image (and the wikis associated with it) who's better to help out with the lore than Vecna? (everyone besides Tharizdun actually, but let's just skip to Q5)  

Q5. If you could possess one artifact or relic from Greyhawk lore, which would it be?

 

Rob: The problem with a lot of Greyhawk artifacts is they seem to come with bad side effects, especially if you use the 1E versions.  If I’m gonna be Olidammara though, I might as well pick the Kanteel of the Oldest.

Rob is careful with his decision like a few before him. Olid's epic Kanteel is an excellent idea! It's an item that isn't often brought up in Greyhawk discussions so, kudos for making such an entertaining choice. Idea, Vecna only has one hand so he has no use for a kanteel. That means as the god of wine and music, Rob can just perform while Vecna does most of hard work re-creating all Greyhawk lore. What could go wrong? Party on! 

Well that was certainly an enjoyable entry in the Ring. Thanks again to Rob Vest for dropping these answers off. They are just what I needed! More next time!

Ring of Five Questions: Round 14

Well met Greyhawk patrons! If you've been following this blog for the last month or two, you'll know this is the fourteenth round of my ongoing Return of the Ring of Five Questions column! If you're finding this column for the first time, this is a special community participation feature of Greyhawkery. Search back and read the previous installments (Round 1-13) then email me at mortellan@gmail.com with your own five responses. Remember, you can be as short or wordy as you like in these responses. Disclaimer: I will keep taking entries until the end of 2020 so hurry up and respond before Needfest is almost here!

This round we have another special entrant to the Ring, my friend and creative compadre, Scott Casper whose novella Castle Greyhawk, I helped bring to life as a graphic novel for several years online. Scott is an old school stalwart of the Greyhawk community who is no stranger to the Ring of Five Questions. Check out Scott's original interview from way back in 2012. Those Five Questions were tailored to him, so this time around he will be answering the same as everyone else, but a couple of the Q's are still classic. Since Scott holds a special place in my history with the Greyhawk community, I'm going to take his return to the Ring up a notch. Let's see how 2020 Scott measures up to the Greyhawk community, 2012 Scott and...ME. Yes I'm throwing myself in the Ring at long last for my final answers. Ready? Enjoy!

Q1. What is your favorite realm or region in the World of Greyhawk setting? 

Scott: Last time my answer was South Province, and I still love that region (the only time in recent years I’ve written anything for Canonfire was when South Province needed some representation in a project), but my last two campaigns have been set in the City of Greyhawk. To an extent, I’ve tried making this the Greyhawk City of the Original Greyhawk Campaign, but I do get lazy on occasion and borrow from Carl Sargent’s amazing City of Greyhawk boxed set. I don’t want to go 100% boxed set version because I’ve already done that -- that was, in fact, my second Greyhawk campaign ever back around 1990. But it’s also just too good to ignore.

Anyway, short version is that my answer is the City of Greyhawk, or perhaps I should say the Domain of Greyhawk -- since Castle Greyhawk is in the domain, but not in the city!

Mike: Scott wisely changes his answer from 2012. The South Province (Ahlissa) can be a cool place to make your own, but the City (and yes, Domain) of Greyhawk is too iconic in my view to deny. for that reason I too choose Greyhawk as my favorite location. Unlike Scott, I was never versed in Gygax's novel/home game version of the city, but my best campaigns have always been built around the 2E city boxed set, the updates from Roger Moore's The Adventure Begins and the later Living Greyhawk Journal (and Denis Tetreault map) additions. Greyhawk has all the best NPCs, organizations, economy and yes, magic. 

People know me and assume from my extensive Ull and Sea Princes writings on Greyhawkery that these are my favorites, but the Gem of the Flanaess and its surroundings (of course the iterations of Castle Greyhawk) is where most of players have enjoyed adventuring and establishing their characters homes. Every time I run a game there it's like returning home, so it's never difficult to DM. Good start Scott, let's continue... 

Q2. If you could actually be one Greyhawk deity which one would it be? 

Scott: Last time I said Boccob, but that was a joke answer. I don’t want the responsibility of being a greater god. I’d choose to be a quasi-deity, like Heward. He gets to hang out with the gods, play the organ at their parties, but doesn’t have a portfolio or sphere of influence he has to worry about.

Mike: Scott has had years to reflect and become humble. Boccob was a choice of more than a few people in the Ring too. I myself was very tempted to take the Uncaring, then it dawned on me. No I'm not talking about Pelor, or Pholtus! I would chose to be Wee Jas, goddess of Magic, Death, Law and Vanity. Am I vain, no never, but if I were a god I'd have to shake Scott's concern about responsibility. Sure, Heward is a fine choice, alot of the Quasi and Hero-gods get to adventure around still, party with all the Mordys and Zagygs out there and he's right, don't have to answer to anyone. But for me, after some thought I'm WEE JAS. Yeah, yeah, she's a goddess and I'm fine with that! No one else went for her, so surprise!

Boccob has magic and is greater. Nerull has death and is greater. Wee Jas however kind of plays the middle at times, which is very like me. She can be greater or intermediate depending on her mood perhaps? She is lawful, which is also like me. She is also vain and ambitious for more portfolios. This part is not like me, but if I'm Wee Jas, then heck with it!   

Q3. You have one wish. Which Greyhawk module or accessory would you do over or fix?

Scott: I never got this question eight years ago! I’ve seen a lot of answers already that seem like really good answers, but I am going to stake my claim on the Rob Kuntz Archives. His maps and keys to El Raja Key (or Maure Castle, as we know it on Oerth), including some of the levels that also became part of Castle Greyhawk, are on that CD-ROM product (maybe not the original original versions, though; I suspect the keys were rewritten sometime in the early 1980s, given some of the monsters you can encounter there). I have been fleshing out those levels with more detail for recent campaigns. While not technically a “fix,” I am tempted to share my more detailed version of El Raja Key.

Mike: Mr. Casper shows he is a paragon of old school Gygaxian Greyhawk. I'm a big fan of Kuntz too, I love Maure Castle probably more than Castle Greyhawk in fact. Eli Tomorast is my boy! I also have the CD-ROM Scott talks about and it's a wealth of unpublished lore. I got at Gary Con, so I'm not sure where you can still get a copy from. Maybe Scott will know? Anyhoo, I imagine bringing RJK's El Raja Key to life in a finished product would fulfill the wishes of quite a few friends of ours in the community.

Myself though, I have ranted several times in the RoFQ column about the Five Shall be One/Howl from the North/Greyhawk Wars storyline. I will stick with this being my hill to die on for a revision. Sargent was merely taking Gygax's cues and was steering the Flanaess to war. I like wars as anyone who has read Greyhawkery knows. The quest for the 5 Blades of Corusk should have united Thillonria to go conquer lands to the south, Bone March, Pale, North Province, etc. That's how it played out in my 2E campaigns and I think GH Wars as published could have its Great Kingdom/Iuz subplots and still allow for the barbarian faction led by a very real and freed Vatun to carve a new power group in the north. If not that, the mods could be reworked for a South Seas variation like I did in 3E for my players. Instead of questing in the cold north the blades are scattered across the tropics. Instead of barbarians, you need a party of Suel pirates. Good times!

Q4: You're putting together an all-star Greyhawk NPC group. Who is your number one pick? 

Scott: I love Tenser, Robilar, Terik, Yrag, Ehlissa, Murlynd, and all the characters from our Castle Greyhawk webcomic. Eneever Zig, the wizard who goes into the Castle Greyhawk dungeons with Gord and Chert in Night Arrant, has featured prominently in two of my campaigns now. If I’m going by canon characters -- I am going to stick with our main protagonist, Tenser.

If I can include non-canon NPCs, though….I loved using this mage named Mokli in my old South Province campaign. He was based on Quinton, from the comic book Thieves & Kings (created by Mark Oakley). He’s supposedly extremely powerful, but he dresses like a poor apprentice and is never seen casting a spell, ever. He showed up at various points in the campaign, looking for the PCs because he had vital information to tell them about what they needed to do next -- but then something would always happen that would interrupt him and keep him from being able to tell them. It made him seem like he knew a lot about what was happening behind the scenes of the campaign, but every time it was a bluff -- I didn’t actually have anything prepared to tell the PCs. They were good sports and always played along. I’ve been blessed with some great players over the years.

Mike: Good ol' Tenser is a bold choice. He is indeed a wonderful protagonist throughout all Greyhawk lore. He is near and dear to the Greyhawk Domain as well, and someone who a quasi-deity like Heward would hang out with too! I definitely enjoyed drawing Tenser (and all those NPCs he mentioned) for the comics all those years. You could see his progression in power through the chapters, though we never quite got to the pinnacle. Still, as NPCs go he would be a much better team leader than Mordy who always manipulates from the shadows. Also Scott, since we're pals, I will give you Mokli as well. I like nostalgia and sometimes your own creations are better. Yup another mage to run with Tenser. Wizards  is where all the glory is at in Greyhawk.

For myself, I like wizards too. I was tempted to go with an obvious good choice like Mordenkainen, Rary or even Tomorast, but as cool as it would be to have a guy with demon-hands on my team, I realized that I need a more powerful and classy #1 pick. You guessed it, I'm going with Iggwilv the Witch-Queen of Perrenland. She is quasi-deity level, she can make artifacts, she can trap demon-lords and she has a lot of connections in the D&D multiverse. Am I worried about Iggy usurping me? Heck no, I'm Wee Jas remember? Girl power! Okay, one more question to go...

Q5. If you could possess one artifact or relic from Greyhawk lore, which would it be?

Scott: If I’m Heward then naturally I want my Mystical Organ (insert your own dirty jokes here). But I also want the Mighty Servant of Leuk-O because I always pictured that being Voltron.

Mike: Okay Scott you talked me into it again. Since he is Heward and has to impress at those parties in Tenser's Castle, I will grant the Mystical Organ is a given. The Mighty Servant though, yeah that gets the job done. Mentioning Voltron definitely plucks at my 80's cartoon heart-strings too. So there you go buddy, two for one! Well played!

To finish off this truly epic round of the Ring, I am going to go with the best artifact in all of D&D and probably RL mythology, the Dancing Hut of Baba Yaga. Skip Twitchell first picked the hut back in round 4 and that stuck with me. If I'm the ultimate deity of magic and death with the ultimate witch queen at my side, then our base of operations is going to be mobile and plane-hopping! Baba Yaga would have to be in this witchy group too, I can't kick her out of her own home after all. Who knows, maybe when we visit the City of Greyhawk, Heward and his organ can entertain us at a party inside the hut. Well that was a load of fun everybody. 

Thanks to Scott Casper for his entry. I hope you were tickled by my answers as well. There is still time, send me an email if you'd like to share your five answer with the Greyhawk community! 

Ring of Five Questions: Round 13

Well met Greyhawk patrons! If you've been following this blog for the last month or so, you'll know this is the thirteenth round of my ongoing Return of the Ring of Five Questions column! If you happened upon this column for the first time, well put simply this is a community participation feature of Greyhawkery. Search back and read the previous installments (Round 1-12) then email me at mortellan@gmail.com with your own five responses. Remember, you can be as short or wordy as you like in these responses. Disclaimer: I will keep taking entries until the end of 2020 so hurry up and respond before Needfest is almost here!

Every so often someone finds a loop hole in my plans where I didn't explain my rules well enough. This time a daring reader of the blog has (through no fault of his own I'm sure) responded to the questions in one of my original RoFQ interviews instead of the stock five Greyhawk questions I posed at the start of the column. This is significant because I used to customize a couple of the questions to each person I interviewed especially when they were published authors. I will indulge this gentleman's entry and take it up a notch by comparing his answers to the original custom interview. But from here on, the loop hole is closed. Only respond to the questions in rounds 1-12. Without further ado, let's enter the Ring! I present the ineffable Christopher Lerch versus the legendary Creighton Broadhurst of Living Greyhawk fame and freelancer at Raging Swan Press. Good luck Christopher...enjoy!

Q1. As a long time Greyhawk fan, you should know the Darlene map by heart. What is your realm of choice in the World of Greyhawk?

Creighton: I have a lot of good memories of Onnwal because of my time in Living Greyhawk - I made some very good friends in LG and had some great games! I'm also becoming very partial to the Great Kingdom - and its successor states; most of my recent campaigns have been set there.

Christopher: Verbobonc because I've had so many adventures there (starting with Hommlet), both as a player and as a DM.

Creighton was instrumental in developing Onnwal during the 3.x era as well as being notable for his adventures and lore further developing Rary the Traitor and the Brightlands. That he takes interest in the fractured Great Kingdom is no surprise here. I imagine he would love for the Iron League to exact some payback on Aerdy! Christopher holds his own with an old school answer in Verbobonc. While I'm not sure if he was involved in Living Greyhawk (Verbobonc was the region I lived in and I didn't), I do know Hommlet, the Moathouse and the Temple of Elemental Evil is where alot of long time fans cut their D&D teeth. Good show, moving along...

Q2. If you could be one Greyhawk deity which one would it be?

Creighton: Boccob. I almost always play wizards, sorcerers and the like so it would be cool to play at being the best wizard ever!

Christopher: Definitely St. Cuthbert!  He, to me, represents not only Greyhawk, but 1e AD&D as well going all the way back to the DMGs Artifacts & Relics.

Christopher shows his gallant side as he identifies as the most proactive good god in the game, St. Cuthbert! His love of Hommlet, AD&D and the original DMG emanates from him! Or maybe it's that Mace he is holding? Creighton counters with the enigmatic Boccob. D&D has magic, so who has the most? No, not Mordenkainen! No, not Elminster! The Uncaring One of course! A wise choice, sir. Now knowing this, I wonder if Creighton was pro-Rary the Traitor? Hmm...

Q3. You published alot about Rary for Living Greyhawk. What NPC/organization would have been your second choice for a major storyline?

Creighton:  Rary was actually my second choice! Originally, when we were casting about for a major core plotline I got very interested in exploring the ruins of Medegia. It's an area ripe for development and we could have explored some very apocalyptic themes. I think adventures in the ruins of Pontylver would have been particularly cool. I even had an article basically ready to go for the Living Greyhawk Journal (which later saw the light of day in the Oerth Journal). Eventually, however we decided that the plot would have been too regional in focus - in that Medegia isn't exactly central in the Flanaess and its plots would have focused a lot around the Splintered Sun meta-region.

Christopher: I would have liked to have seen more Mordenkainen-centered stories.  Maybe something about his fortress in the Yatils?

So far the first two questions have been standard for the Ring. This one is slightly tailored to Br. Broadhurst because of his publishing credit in Greyhawk. It is very interesting to see his Rary writings was utilized by LG because of its central location. This explains alot, why the living campaign didn't venture too far into the edges. For those who want to track down his Oerth Journal stuff, go to GreyhawkOnline. He has alot of contributions, including his mentioned Medegia idea featured in issue #25. Mr. Lerch has a mountain to climb now as I don't know if he has published any Greyhawk material of his own. Few in the Ring can compare to CB. However! He does pose a great idea for a story line that people would absolutely EAT UP. Anything Mordenkainen is a must have, and I would definitely go for an adventure set in or around his Obsidian Citadel in the Yatils. So much potential. So many dark secrets there...

Q4. Is there any Greyhawk module that you wish you had never ran?

Creighton: No, but there are lots I wish I could run. I really, really want to run GDQ1-7. I've played it twice, but never DMed it. Sadly, my current group has a player who has just run it as a DM and thus knows it rather well. I'll have to bide my time. I'd also like to make my players forget the Temple of Elemental Evil and run that again - it's one of my all-time favourite modules, but sadly we all know it rather well.

Christopher: No! I love those old modules.  I need to expand out of the 1e (I have run *some* 2e), maybe check out the 3e Living campaign.

Well, well, looks like Chris has NEVER ran a module he didn't like. I would expect nothing less from the god of zeal. Well, there is a significant segment of 1E/2E that I wish I could undo or even unpublish. The Sargent and Moore eras are not bad, but I'll assume you used the best of what came out. As for 3E era stuff, I'm sure anything by Broadhurst is top notch. I'd stick to the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer and select issues of the Living Greyhawk Journal however. Creighton meanwhile, agrees with Chris, but goes in the opposite direction wanting to relive Greyhawk's AD&D classics. If he was Boccob he could make his players forget what they previously ran. Good times...

Q5: There's a vacancy in the Circle of Eight. Which NPC wizard would you pick to fill the spot?

Creighton: I guess that depends on what year it is! Assuming it's after Return of the Eight, I'd add Graf Reydrich (from South Province [Ivid the Undying]). His write-up includes a very interesting snippet about him pleading to join the circle 15 years ago (so around 569/570), but that he was rebuffed by Mordenkainen. That really intrigues me; after all Tenser was on the Circle for some time and he wasn't exactly neutral. It would be interesting to see how Reydrich's influence would be felt in the policies of the group. 

Christopher: Drax! He's an NPC wizard in my game that was retired to my realm by a great player that moved away long ago to Florida and we've since lost touch. Drax had a lot of memorable moments in the game and it would be great for other players in my realm to see what they could become one day.

The final question of this round. Creighton brings up a delicious point I didn't know, (he did because Boccob knows all of course) Graf Reydrich wanted in the Circle??? That's very interesting indeed. I am supremely sure Mordy would love to have him on the team due to his political influence in the east. Maybe Bigby opposed him or goodie good, Tenser. Much to ponder here. Christopher gets to end this Ring with an Aerdian of his own. Drax of Rel Astra?!  I had to check the boxed set to be sure, but yes, Drax is an Assassin/Magic-user! While Mordy would love to have Rel Astra in his Circle, much like the South Province in Reydrich, I wonder if Drax wouldn't be rebuffed as well? Christopher however, makes reference to his home campaign which is poignant for this old school man in the chapeaux. Drax must've really been a big deal to his players if they measured up to him. Yeah I never let one of my friends have a PC in the Circle either, so they tended to make their own wizard groups to compete. That's what I like about Greyhawk, we can all share our stories and takes on the setting, they are all valid. Last thing, I do hope that Mr. Lerch can get in touch with that player again some day.

And that ends round 13! Thanks to Christopher and Creighton once again (hopefully he comes on Legends & Lore stream someday). What is in store for the next round? Perhaps another look back into the past of the Ring of Five Questions???

Rive of Five Questions: Round 12

Welcome again, fellow Greyhawkers! If you've been following this blog in recent weeks, you'll know this is amazingly the twelfth round of my ongoing Return of the Ring of Five Questions column! If you happened upon this column for the first time, well put simply this is a community participation feature of Greyhawkery. Search back and read the previous installments then email me at mortellan@gmail.com with your own five responses. Remember, you can be as short or wordy as you like in these responses. Disclaimer: I will keep taking entries until the end of 2020 so hurry up and respond before Needfest is almost here!

Let's slide back into the Ring with a couple more willing participants. First is a new reader to Greyhawkery, but nonetheless a very knowledgeable fan of Greyhawk, Rich DiTullio. And sharing the spotlight with him is William "Giantstomp" Dvorak of Wicked Studios; Greyhawk blogger, streamer and Oerth Journal author. Let's see what these two have to say...enjoy!

Q1. What is your favorite realm or region in the World of Greyhawk setting? 

William: This is a tough one as I like adventuring, and running, all over the Flanaess. If you were to hold my feet to the fire though I'd have to say the Bandit Kingdoms. There is a ton of diversity there before and after the war with the different Free Lord realms. Of those of course my favorite has to be Rookroost. What better place to place adventures with characters that have flexible morals. 

Rich: I love the Ulek states for the start of an adventure especially the Principality.  The realm being controlled by demi-humans makes almost any combination of heroes makes sense to be from there.  You can strike out in so many directions: north to the Suss Forest, Wild Coast, or Celene, south to take to the sea and encounter the Sea Princes and Saltmarsh, and of course who can resist heading east to try and find the hidden treasures of Pomarj from under the noses of the goblinkin.    

William like many of us have travelled all over the map and find it hard to pick a favorite. But yes you can't go wrong with the Bandit Kingdoms and Rookroost. The map and info on that city in Fate of Istus is the only reason to get the module IMO. BK is right in the middle of the action from Greyhawk Wars to White Plume Mt to Age of Worms. Good choice! Rich going with the tri-states of Ulek is also a smart decision. I always imagined the realms like Tolkien. The duchy is Rivendell, the county is the Shire and the principality is Moria/Iron Hills? Well said Rich, its a great launching place for heroes.

Q2. If you could actually be one Greyhawk deity which one would it be? 

William: Brandobaris. He's a great god for adventurers and he's a halfling so what's not to like? He is the ultimate trickster god and playing tricks and being able to get out of a jam in a pinch would be helpful. 

Rich: Zagyg, no question.  He saw Greyhawk in a way that no one else ever did or will again and followed that crooked path all the way to godhood. 

Rich brilliantly goes with Zagyg. He again shows some insight I haven't seen in the Ring before. Zagyg indeed is the driver in much of Greyhawk lore so what better god to embody, even if he is mad as a march hare. Will OTOH goes a humorous direction as well, but instead he reveals that he's a little prankster at heart. IMO Brandobaris is a very very rare choice for the Ring or even for a character patron, kudos sir! Moving along...

Q3. You have one wish. Which Greyhawk module or accessory would you do over or fix? 

William: Well, I have to go with the one that is freshest in my mind and that would be WGS1 Five Shall be One. In the adventure, that sets up the Greyhawk War, Iuz tricks adventures into collecting the 5 Blades of Corusk. Well, if you collect all 5 it's said that it would free Vatun from his imprisonment. The blades are collected but Vatun isn't freed. Instead, they simply disappear, and then Iuz pretends to be him. Boo, I say! If the 5 swords came together then Vatun should have really come back and then put a beat down on Iuz for trying to dupe his people.

Rich: Fate of Istus.  I remember the first time I tried to run it.  We finished the first encounter and now they are heading to Rel Mord for the second encounter.  They need to be at a higher level when they arrive but they ignored every adventuring hook because of the threat of the plague.  That is when I realized this one just wasn’t going to work as written and I never did quite figure out how to get them hooked on the mystery of the plague and so that they would continue to follow it from city to city. It still disappoints me to this day.

Five Shall be One (and Howl from the North) is a popular sentiment for me and others in the Ring. I love the concept, but the pay off was not there I agree. Iuz duping PCs and entire nations always left me wondering, is Vatun supposed to be real or a figment of the barbarians? I mean, Carl Sargent did create him without prior development. Who knows! Meanwhile, Rich brings Q3 back to what I was saying earlier, FoI is only good for the source material. It's a concept that could work, I imagine Paizo could've done better with their APs, but as wishes for a redo go, yeah please Istus rewind time.

Q4: You're putting together an all-star Greyhawk NPC group. Who is your number one pick? 

William: Obmi. What can I say I've been a fan of this guy since I read about him in the Gord books. Besides that he's had a long career working for Giants and Iuz, he's just a great bad guy. Girdle of giant strength, dwarven thrower, boots of speed, and a murderous attitude, what's not to like.

Rich: Bigby.  With all the plotters, schemers and cryptic mages out there, it is refreshing to have a mage dedicate his life to making bigger magical fists to punch people with.

Rich cracks me up. Yeah, Bigby does have a simple charm to him. Don't mess with Bigby. Also those hand spells are good to keep the team in line! Mr. Dvorak gets serious now with Obmi. If he's putting together a team led by this evil dwarf then it must be a hard hitting team indeed! On to the last Q...

Q5. If you could possess one artifact or relic from Greyhawk lore, which would it be?

William: Blackrazor! Hands down man, the scariest and baddest sword in the game!. All you have to do is keep it fed and it will be happy. :-) 

Rich: As dangerous as it would be, I’d want the Codex of Infinite Planes.  The lure of instant travel to so many other worlds would be irresistible. 

William the avatar of Brandobaris isn't all fun and games after all. He wants to possess a soul sucking sword?! Well with Obmi leading your NPC team (probably out of Rookroost) then I suppose you'll have a ready supply of victims for Blackrazor. Maybe he can outfit Obmi's team with more magic blades, say...five of them? Rich finishes off this stimulating round of the Ring by selecting the Codex! Like William, Mr. DiTullio likes to flirt with danger. He is crazy as Zagyg after all! The Codex may be fun and have all these powers to see other planes and stuff, but eventually, fate, Istus y'know, catches up to those who use the Codex. However, with Bigby and his Ulek friends involved, maybe Rich can convince Istus to re-write his fate. Okay enough riffing for now!

That was a great round! Thanks to William for your responses. See you on the streams! And thanks to Rich, don't be a stranger! If you or anyone else reading who wants to get more involved in the community or would like to just hang out with Greyhakwers go to Twitch where you will find a wealth of community activity like LordGosumba channel or on Facebook's many Greyhawk groups. Until next time! 

New Map: Ice Barbarian Campaign

Howdy Greyhawkers! Taking a break from my Ring of Five Questions column this post, I have to first thank everyone for their participation, it has been a blast, and yes there is still time to email me your answers: mortellan@gmail.com

Now onto my new map. I recently started a 5E Ice Barbarian campaign for my local group, to fill in-between games. We are already on hiatus unfortunately at 4th level, but the setting was fun and very local themed. I hope to continue it again someday because if I make a map for a game that means I'm having fun. The map below is actually based on a set of maps I did back in 2E for my Thillonria campaign. This new map is a zoomed in (1  large hex = 30 miles) section of Cruski which I have called Atliland. This area is by the fjord in northern Cruski between the "Corusk" and "Mountain" labels on the Darlene map and north of the mountain lake at the narrow point between Frost and Snow Barbarians.

The players are village heroes and did a series of minor, but harrowing adventures on behalf of their wilderness home. I apologize for the rough look of this map because it got rained on one day and curled before I decided to scan it at home. It's pen and marker, hand-drawn on a rather wide piece of hex paper by Black Blade Publishing so I had to scan it in two pieces. I then added some coloration to give it that worn map look and to disguise the wet spots. This was a map in progress mind you. I was adding stuff to it as each session was played. A remote area of the Flanaess like this is perfect for sandboxy type DM development. Click on the map and check it out. I'll add some notes on the locations below. Enjoy!

Taival Tundra: This is the name given to the expanse of land across the top of Thillonria. Not sure if it includes Stonefist or not? I take it most Cruskii live on the east coast of Thillonria, whereas the hardiest of the Ice Barbarians, like the Atli, live along the Icy Sea coast. Here on the featureless plain, I imagine huge herds of elk, polar bears, wolves and maybe even a remorhaz or two!

Atliland: The Jarldom of Atli is everything east of the Rusk Run. West of the river is Jarldom of Skosvid.

Lannharbor/ Lannshan: This is the waterway and capital for Atliland. I have not done much with Lannshan, except this is where major purchases must be made. Long ships of Atliland gather here and sail north to the Icy Sea when the fjord is open.

Ringford and Atvala: Two villages upstream from Lannshan. No notes on them yet except to have potential local rivals for the PCs.

Mihr: This is the village where the PCs hail from. It is defended by earthen-work ramparts. Up the Silent Stream from here is the neighboring woodsman village of Varnir which is allied closely to them.

Winterwood: This is a smaller forest I created in Atliland. Alot goes on here as it is very wild and unexplored. So far there have been gibberlings, treants, ettins, pesky fey creatures and the lair of a dead linnorm. There is also a trapper's cabin in the woods that may or may not be haunted.

Torund Hills: This is an area I expanded off the Corusks, but have not fully developed yet. Good chance that its inhabited by giant-kin. However, at the edge of this foothill region the players discovered an abandoned dwarven mine, which was taken over by orc scouts that have began to filter through the mountains eastward. I imagine these baddies are related to the orc city of Garel Enkdal from Five Shall Be One, set far to the west near Stonefist.

Borr Lake and Ice Fort: I have not developed these areas yet. They are seeds for future stuff. I think it may tie into our homebrew power group, the Night Shadows though.

That's it! Comments are appreciated. If anyone else has ran a campaign in Cruski let me know. I'd love to add to the lore of this regional map.

Ring of Five Questions: Round 11

Greetings, Heroes of Greyhawk! If you've been following this blog in recent weeks, you'll know this is the eleventh round of my ongoing Return of the Ring of Five Questions column! If you happened upon this column for the first time, well put simply this is a community participation feature of Greyhawkery. Search back and read the previous installments then email me at mortellan@gmail.com with your own five responses. Remember, you can be as short or wordy as you like in these responses. Disclaimer: I will keep taking entries until the end of 2020 so hurry up and respond before Needfest is upon us!

Let's jump into another fiery Ring with two more readied participants! In this epic clash of Greyhawk enthusiasts we have in one corner, Michael Rooney and facing him in the other corner is Kevin "suprunown" Peden. Let's get it on!

Q1. What is your favorite realm or region in the World of Greyhawk setting?

Michael: After mulling it over to make sure, I must go with my first instinct: the SEA OF DUST.  It's the first thing I learned about the setting on opening the original gazetteer, with Erol Otus' dramatic drawing of the end of the Suel Imperium on the second full page of text. An absolutely perfect hook for the beginning of a book, straight from the pulps, full of mystery (what would a colorless fire look like?) and horror (it rained magical fire that reduced the HILLS THEMSELVES to ASH, goddamn!).  Yet the Suel capital (oddly located deep inland, near the mountainous frontier of the empire) was nearly intact!  Can you say LOST CITY DUNGEON EXPLORATION in the heart of a LIFELESS DESERT, my friends? Seven years of anticipation were rewarded by Gygax's sketch of the Ashen Desert in his third Gord novel, complete with slug-made tunnels, weird plant monsters, and degenerate Suel derro worthy of Shaver, Howard, or Beneath the Planet of the Apes. What of Uattho, indeed? 

Kevin: Tough question. My go to region for using when starting a campaign is usually the Duchy of Geoff, but the region that grabs my imagination the most is actually Zeif.

Wow! Where to start? Kevin goes with Geoff which after recently talking to members of the Living Greyhawk: Geoff Triad on stream, I have been really intrigued to play in this nook of the Flanaess. It's one of the few places left I haven't tried out. Zeif on the other hand is -always- on my mind as well, because they are always trying to exploit poor little Ull. Fools! Michael is no fool though, he crushes this answer with another good choice, the Sea of Dust. He shows some old school Gygax roots here with references to the Gord novels and evoking classic lit that surely inspired this post-apocalyptic region. Michael is right, this is the place that kicks off the boxed set. So yes, I have used the Sea of Dust, but never for long. Why? It has to remain mysterious and feared! One more thing before moving on, Erol Otus might be my favorite D&D illustrator (Trampier is a tie I think). 

Q2. If you could actually be one Greyhawk deity which one would it be?

Michael: Boccob's 26 Intelligence is very tempting, but the peaceable, reasonable nature of Rao sounds more pleasant.  Plus, I've always assumed that Rao is the same being as Krypton's supreme deity, and it'd be useful to have the respect of a species of Supermen.

Kevin: Boccob. Definitely Boccob. My longest surviving PC is a mage, and I love playing wizards.

Oh, snap! Kevin and Michael almost took the same form of Boccob! I suppose two avatars of Boccob could've made sense, he is his own best company. At any rate Michael changes last second into Rao, a rare choice being a peace deity, but then he ties Greyhawk into DC Comics? I've discussed the Rao connection before with my friend Jayson who loves Superman, but I've never mused about it on this blog. A superhuman move, sir! Kevin sticks with the 26 INT, ensuring that he is the ultimate mage in all of the multiverse. Comparing the two, Boccob has a staff, Rao a crook. Rao has the country of Veluna (Kryptonians in disguise) and Boccob has um, Zagyg? Like the honey badger, Boccob doesn't care! 

Q3. You have one wish. Which Greyhawk module or accessory would you do over or fix?

Michael: The obvious choice is replacing Greyhawk Ruins with Gygax's own Greyhawk Dungeon.  But while on the topic, I have a wish list: Gygax's City of Greyhawk, the Stoink supplement ("Wasps' Nest"), Skip and Gary's WG7: Shadowlands.  If you object that these are more unpublished vaporware rather than fixing published works, I will cede the point.  For just one "fix," then, I wish that WG4 The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun had been illustrated by the regular TSR staff artists (ideally Otus, Trampier, and Dee, or at least Easley and Holloway) rather than the artist who made the published module bizarrely uninspiring and utterly incongruous with any other TSR work.

Kevin: Oooooh...toughie. Do I actually try and fix some of the really broken modules, like Child's Play and Puppets? Or do something else? The obvious answer is, redo WG7 Castle Greyhawk to actually BE Castle Greyhawk, but the one thing that keeps jumping out at my and bugging me the most is the From The Ashes boxed set. I cannot STAND the idea that all those generals got turned into souped-up undead monstrosities...really tore the soul out of the game. Actually...pretty much anything they did from Fate of Istus on could probably stand redoing.

LOL both Ring guests had some strong feelings on this Q. Coincidentally, Kevin and Michael both mentioned Skip Williams who was a recent guest on Legends & Lore #73. Go check it out, if you want to hear about what happened with Shadowlands and some other TSR era developments. Good stuff. Anyhow, Castle Greyhawk seems to be the consensus on this part, a Holy Grail that many strive for, but will never be fully realized. I think Allan Grohe or Joseph Bloch are your best champions of this crusade. Kevin hates the animus from the Greyhawk Wars. Ditto. Do I dislike all developments since Fate if Istus? Heck no. FoI should've been reworked though. Michael finishes off this tough Q with his actual wish, classic D&D illustrators in FToT. Hell yes I can get behind that! What happened there?

Q4: You're putting together an all-star Greyhawk NPC group. Who is your number one pick?

Michael: Gravestone, from the later Gord novels, is about the toughest NPC villain who isn't an outright quasi-deity or better.  I remember writing up a version of his prismatic monster spell and I had to make it take up two ninth-level spell slots because it was so badass.

 Kevin: Hmmm.... well, I would love to have Murlynd leading the charge, but I would settle for one of the lesser members of the Circle of Eight, like maybe Otiluke or Bigby.

Michael picks Gravestone, who I must admit I know nothing about because I've never read (or own all) the later Gord books. Prismatic Monster? Two 9th level slots? WHUUUU? Okay sir, I'll defer to you, if he is that bad ass and not a quasi-deity. Well done! Speaking of quasi-deity, Kevin nearly took Murlynd on his team, but then modesty overcame him and he took Bigby or Otiluke (I'd have to favor Bigby on this one, what has Otiluke really done that is significant except die alot?) Question for Mr. Rooney, can a Bigby Hand Spell hold off a Prismatic Monster?

Q5. If you could possess one artifact or relic from Greyhawk lore, which would it be?

Michael: The Head of Vecna! Just kidding. Most artifacts and relics are extraordinarily dangerous.  About the only ones I'd be willing to risk keeping are the Cup and Talisman of Al-Akbar, whose malevolent powers only affect neutral or evil users.  I guess that would keep me Good!  The weekly curative magic (if I were a cleric, which I guess such an artifact would persuade me to be!) would be worth it.

Kevin: Actually, the only artifact I would want is the one my longest surviving PC owns (in my plane of gaming...) - Queen Ahlissa's Marvelous Nightingale.

Kevin closes out the Ring with a surprise choice that I haven't seen before, the Nightingale! Very nice! I have never used this item sadly. Artifacts are the best because they weave ancient history into the present timeline. Mr. Peden shows he has a sense of history by holding onto Queen Ahlissa's most treasured item for a long time. I would expect that from a guy who embodies Boccob and hangs out with the Circle of Eight. Michael finishes off this incredible round of the ring with a set of artifacts: The Cup and Talisman. This is one of the few sensible choices out there isn't it? He must be a really Good person if he is an avatar of Rao and uses those items. His right hand man is kinda sketchy though...

Alright folks, that ends this round. Thank you to Michael and Kevin on some thrilling answers. Stay tuned for some more Ring of Five Questions action!