Greyhawk Quiz #5: Five Letter Chain

Welcome again Greyhawk mavens! 

It's been a fun lazy summer and since I have no GenCon 2024 news of any importance, how about a new Greyhawk quiz? If you haven't already, check out my previous four quizzes on Human Cultures, Capital Cities, Module Covers and Vecna. Good luck, this next one requires a bit of typing. Enjoy!

GREYHAWK 5-LETTER CHAIN QUIZ

Gen Con 2023: I'm Back!

Heya Greyhawkers! I'll be at Gen Con in Indianapolis this year, but only for one day on Saturday unfortunately. I haven't been to GenCon for seven years. I have no idea what I'll do there besides the dealer hall. So, if anyone wants to meet up and chat Greyhawk or con stuff for a while, hit me up on the comments or email me at mortellan@gmail.com

Until then, enjoy!

My GaryCon XV Recap

Greetings Greyhawk friends! I am back and with a quick report of my time at GaryCon XV at Lake Geneva, WI. This is my 5th time going in person, COVID notwithstanding. Last year we were still coming out of the pandemic, masks were a must, but now we've moved on and the con is stronger than ever. Let's get into it...

Me and my best buddies Jayson and Eric (who I've gamed with for nearly 40 years) headed upstate on Wednesday evening. We rolled in too late to hit the con proper and get badges though, so we slept early. Lesson #1 for those going for the first time, the con doesn't officially start until Thursday, but you can pick up badges the day before if you get there early. It saves some time standing in line. The weather was quite nice overall. 

On Thursday we got to our actual hotel and took the trolley to the Grand Geneva. Lesson #2 for those aspiring to go to Gary Con, pay for the gold badge because you get a week head start to get closer accommodations and sign up for games. Or you can do what a lot of my Greyhawk colleagues like Anna Meyer do, and volunteer to work the con, this will get you there early and better chance of closer hotel rooms. Anyhoo, as I am neither there to work on my vacation, nor worried about getting in exclusive games, I arrive later than normal. Kudos to all my friends who do put in the time to make Gary Con a wonderful time for all us slackers! We ran to the vendor hall for a bit, and first place I like to hit up is Black Blade Publishing and talk to Allan "Grodog" Grohe. I bought some new larger hex paper from him, so expect some wild maps from me in the coming months. (more on that later). I also got to give a shout out to this advertisement at Allan's booth. It is Hounds of Oerth by the inimitable Carlos Lising and various authors for his latest charity effort. Be sure to go to Casl Entertainment, download Hounds of Oerth and please donate to this worthy cause.

As a side note, Gary Con had a deal worked out to screen the new D&D Movie Honor Among Thieves, once a day. I did not take part in this exclusive event, because me and the guys already had an early showing of it back home. My short move review is that it is major fun, and worthy of a sequel. I had lowered my expectations after the last movie 20 years ago, but this time they made one with some heart. I can't wait to see it at home so I can try to hunt for movie easter eggs. Good times.

Another astounding thing about Gary Con XV was the number of celebrities keeps growing each year. This year, I either spoke to or saw Vince Vaughn, Todd Stashwick, Tom Morello, Paul White aka Big Show, and of course Joe Manganiello. Then there is all the author and artist celebs that I geek over, such as Jeff Easley, Larry Elmore, Margaret Weis, Zeb Cook, Darlene, and Erol Otus. I also made sure to get a picture with the legendary Ed Greenwood who has always been fun to interact with in the past and now is incredibly a regular among the Greyhawk community, often featuring on Lord Gosumba streams. I've been to several Gen Cons over the years and never saw this many cool celebs all at once and in such proximity. Gary Con is small and intimate, but not a place where it's overly mobbed with people. I can't wait to see who else shows next year!

Thursday afternoon I was fashionably late to the 2nd annual Legends & Lore stream from Gary Con. Anna, Jay Scott and myself showed off a lot of upcoming projects in the Greyhawk community. We took a wild variety of questions from the audience, many who were new to the show, but no less enthusiastic to banter about all things Greyhawk. Special shout out to Eric Menge and Roger Moore for attending and lending their expert commentary as well! At the end of the seminar, I handed out print copies of a new Sea Princes map I created for this con. It's a partially "burned" map that one might find in a chest or on a pirate ship. Download this map at this link for the full-size version and put it to good use!

On Thursday night me and my pals got invited to a pick-up game of 5E Ravenloft ran by the amazing DM Dave from the Twitch stream Guild Superior. This game was incredible in that he hosted over ten of us through his rendition of Curse of Strahd, starting as 0-level Barovian kids, to 5th level seasoned adventurers, and fast forwarding to 9th level heroes. It was quite the concept for a one-shot adventure and those of us who hung in there until 2am fighting Strahd did not leave disappointed (no help from me as I could not roll over a 10 to save my life). 

Kudos to Dave for putting on such a good game, and a shout out to my Barovian childhood friends, Anna, Scott, Jayson, Eric, Chris, Rob, Karl, Bob, Josh, and Chad. 

Friday morning, I played some Dungeon Crawl Classics and only lost 3 out of my 4 characters! I later caught Anna Meyer and Alysa Faden's mapping seminar. Jay as always was manning the controls so the two could regale us with their mapping projects past and present. I regret however that I didn't catch their party with Troll Lord Games to announce the Free City of Altimira Boxed Set project. There's just so much to do at Gary Con and so little time.

Friday evening me and my crew took part in our second Legends of Roleplaying D&D tourney. Last year we finished top 5 out of over a dozen tables, this year the theme was a return to the Temple of Elemental Evil, and well, we didn't do so hot finishing 9th overall. I was no help in that my elven thief got blown up by explosive runes. Timed games can make you do foolish things. This brings to mind lesson #3, crowded gaming halls are LOUD. So, get there early and sit close to the GM! At any rate, congrats to the winners of this tournament, I heard after the fact there is a trophy that is being passed on each, kinda like the Stanley Cup. I was dismayed after our game, but now I'm back on the horse! 

Saturday morning started out iffy for me. Up to this point Wisconsin weather was being pleasant but then BOOM we had six inches of snow overnight! I was up early and was cleaning the car off like I was in a hurry to get to work or something. Luckily my friends didn't panic like me, and we stayed long enough to see it melt down later that afternoon as we finished with a game of Mutant Crawl Classic by Goodman Games. Fun stuff, it reminds me of old school Gamma World. That was all we had scheduled for Gary Con however since we planned to leave afterward. We made one more run through the con, dealer room and halls, then the most important thing before heading back to Illinois, we got Wisconsin cheese! Accept no substitutes. So yes, I missed a good 1.5 days of convention time, but really it was the best con I ever attended. I did everything I set out to do. There were so many people I met from streams and the community, and I got to game with so many people for the first time. If I missed anyone, I will catch you in 2024!

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!

Some Gen Con 2019 Stuff

Greetings fans of Greyhawk and RPGs in general! This week starts Gen Con 2019 and sadly, I will not be going again this year, but I can point you to some friends who are doing fun Greyhawk related activities. Mind you, most if not all these events are sold out. That's just how Gen Con is, but if you get a chance to meet any of them, be sure to say Mike (mortellan) sent you.

Anna Meyer, Greyhawk mapper extraordinaire and my co-host on Legends & Lore is representing Griffon Lore Games in a seminar on Fantasy Cartography on Sat at 3:00 pm. The seminar is full but if I know free Gen Con sessions like this, anyone can get in if there is space available. If you are into digital creation of RPG maps, go check out how she does her mapping, you won't be disappointed. 

Also, two of my favorite people, Jay "Lord Gosumba" Scott and Carlos Lising are both DMing an epic 9 hour Greyhawk game on Thursday at Gen Con titled Horror in the Hools. Even though this event is also sold out, it may be worth checking out anyhow since they will be at it most of the day and evening. Here is a blurb for the adventure:

"The once-thriving Halfling community of Dun Mounds has fallen on desperate times. Swamps and marshes that were once distant now encroach on the town, infringing upon them at unnatural speed. With their coming, vile creatures beset the settlement almost daily. Only a few brave Halflings refuse to leave their homes in the Mounds, collecting all of their valuable possessions to hire a group of brave adventurers to investigate the cause of their plight. Will your characters unravel the mystery of the Hools - before it's too late? An adventure set in the WORLD OF GREYHAWK for character levels 3-5."

Lastly, the fine folks at The Greyhawk Channel are doing an off-convention site Greyhawk commune. While I don't have any particulars on where this place is and what games they are running while there since it was by invite, I am sure there will be MANY more Greyhawk fans in force this year than in the last ten years! So keep an eye out at the exhibition halls, you never know who might be a fellow community member! 

To those who will be there, be sure to take pictures and tell your stories. I will be anxious to see how it goes!

Update 06/25/2021: Removed old links.

Greyhawk Channel Summer 2019

Welcome Greyhawkers! Summer is heating up on the Greyhawk Channel at Twitch. There is literally a Greyhawk show every day of the week and then some. Besides staples of the channel like Return to Greyhawk, Mordenkainen's Path of the Planes and of course Legends & Lore with Anna Meyer and myself, there is some new faces and stories to check out.

So far my favorite new entry is Seekers of the Scorpion Crown DMed by Lex from the youtube show DankDungeonsTV. This adventure is set in the Bright Desert and has some clever title graphics and maps to go along with it.

The map for Seekers is by Daniel F Walthall who is an aspiring fantasy cartographer. This is a well researched and colorful rendition of the region first popularized in Rary the Traitor.

Do you like high seas adventure? Eric Vulgaris' Savage Tide game continues on Tuesdays, but this time there is more! Friday, there is two, count em, two Saltmarsh shows. Ghosts of Saltmarsh earlier in the day is handled by the veteran duo of Grimjack and DMShane. Then later in the day is Saltmarsh Stories which haven't seen yet, but from the sounds of it, adds even more nautical adventure to the lineup.

I also have to point out a couple other shows ongoing this summer by original GHC cast members now running their own games. Sandwiched between the two Saltmarsh shows is The Old Faith, a creepy romp in the Dreadwood Forest, DMed by NPCBree. Then there is the Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan ran by WingedHorizon.who is probably the best person I know who can capture the feel and fear of this Greyhawk classic.

Also, these two and many more of the stalwart fans and cast members of the Greyhawk Channel (not me) should be descending on Indianapolis very soon! Gen Con 2019 fast approaches on Aug 1-4 and they will be there in force running a bunch of games and hopefully streaming some content for the rest of us who can't attend. There is plenty more shows to tell you about, some I haven't even got to see yet. Give them all a look, hang out, meet the cast, maybe throw some love their way. Who knows, maybe you could have a show on the Greyhawk Channel someday!

Update 06/25/2021: Looks like you won't be having a show on GHC after all. Their old episodes can still be found on their YouTube channel. Link updated. 

Needfest Thank You Cards

It's almost the end of the year, which means it's time for me to look over my Needfest bounty of Greyhawk gifts and offer some thanks...

First, I am happy to say thank you to my Legends & Lore co-host Anna Meyer for a successful season on the Greyhawk Channel. We really killed it, averaging 20-30 repeat viewers per show. I made some new friends already through this show and even had great guest-hosts like Joe Bloch from Greyhawk Grognard. Wonderful!

Second, I'd like to thank my friend Scott H for giving me a copy of Hawk & Moor (trilogy 1) by Kent David Kelly. I never heard of this series, but its an amazing study into the life and history of Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. Dry biographical reading material for a young audience, but for an old grognard like me, the Greyhawk references and origins are eye-popping. I can't wait to see more.

Third, gotta give a Needfest thank you card to DMShane for producing the Greyhawk Channel. The number of shows he now hosts keeps outpacing my blog, but my appreciation goes well beyond that to the community that's rallied around it I the form of a vibrant Discord group for subscribers (see the bottom of the page in the Twitch link above). He is even taking it to IRL as well, with a planned GenCon 2019 meet-up unlike any before. I wish I knew for certain if I were going.

Gotta give a fourth thank you card to the old-schoolers who are really building the community back up in other media. Bryan Blumklotz is a driving force with the Canonfire! Facebook group and I'm happy to see not only my old comic strip re-released, but also Bryan's heraldry back in the limelight. Then there is Greyhawk Online being resurrected by W.K. Nolen. Keep checking back for updates for Greyhawk content on this website!

A fifth Needfest card goes to Lord Gosumba for bringing his quite ancient 1E/2E Knights of Ulek campaign to the present day on Twitch. I'm sure he will be a big name in the community for years to come.

I'd like to thank Wizards with a sixth Needfest card for putting out Art & Arcana by Michael Witwer, Sam Witwer, Kyle, Newman and Jon Peterson (and Joe Manganiello). I've never been hyped about a coffee table book like this before. It pushes all my nostalgia buttons at the same time. I actually want the deluxe copy, that's how much I like this book. I highly recommend this work of art history.

Finally I'd like to give my last Needfest card to Scott Casper, for the Castle Greyhawk comic. For those who still haven't seen our effort, Scott wrote a fully-realized, well-grounded story set in the early Gygaxian Greyhawk setting. There is nothing else like this in Greyhawk fandom. It was a joy illustrating the adventures of Tenser, Yrag and Robilar. Now coming to an end in 2019, the final chapter will come with some bonus material for our loyal readers.

I hope everyone has a warm and fun Needfest this winter. Hopefully soon I'll be able to show off my holiday themed one-shot for my friends next week....stay tuned ;)

Inner Planes of Greyhawk

Hola Greyhawkers! This week is GenCon and like many of you, I am not there. Boo! So while Greyhawk is certainly being played by the masses I have some new maps to show those who haven't already seen them. Over at old school fansite The Piazza, Greyhawk super-fan ripvanwormer has created some cool maps based on a multitude of D&D references. Rip got his inspiration from Havard's map of the Plane of Fire for Mystara. This is an incredibly cool idea that I wish I had thought of first.

The Oerth Plane of Fire is similarly a place where the inner plane mirrors the world it touches on in a twisted way. It uses the same Flanaess/Eastern Oerik landmass but the locations of this fiery world correspond to places linked to the regular World of Greyhawk in canon such as Tovag Baragu. Most however are reflections like the Land of Black Ice becoming the Land of Black Flame. I love it.

The latest variation of these inner plane maps is the Plane of Shadow a world cast by the shadow of Oerth according to ripvanwormer.  Places like the Dim Forest, the Valley of the Mage and Carahast's Caves of Sleep have obvious connections to the shadow realm.

All three of these maps are an amazing work, please check them out, and keep an eye out for more I'm sure!

1981 TSR Hobbies Catalogue

Welcome Greyhawk mavens and fans of D&D. As I showed off last week, I recently purchased an old Expert Boxed set and within this box (no dice unfortunately) was a mint copy of the 1981 TSR Hobbies game catalog. Oh my is there a lot of stuff in here. Strap in for a nostalgia ride!

I love the index to this document, such big text and the fantasy font. Very 80's. One the right is the two games that got me started, the Basic and Expert Sets. I now possess both of these great boxes with amazing Erol Otus art on the covers. My favorite part of the product blurb is how they describe dice:
"DRAGON DICE(tm) random number generators."
"DRAGON DICE(tm) Randomizers"

I vaguely recall TSR bringing back Dragon Dice in the 90's but as a game of some sorts. I never knew they tried to trademark the polyhedron set. And I certainly have never told a player to roll a 20-sided randomizer to attack. Too funny.

The next spread shows us the basics needed to run our Basic & Expert games plus the advent of the new Advanced D&D line (which I had soon jumped to). I like the blurb for Palace of the Silver Princess. If I knew then what I know now, a copy of the orange cover version of this module would've been worth money today due to its racy interior art.

The D&D Player Character Record Sheets were among my earliest buys. I still have many of those green sheet characters. Advanced D&D of course is what really got me going. My friend Charles got me the DMG for my 10th birthday and my other friends have been paying for it ever since. I also recall spending many a night pouring over the Deites & Demigods Cyclopedia. I was always a fan of mythology in school (weirdo) so to see stats and images associated with pantheons I'd never heard of was fascinating (oh yeah, and I hear it had nudes).

I never had the 1981 Dungeon Masters Screen though I did acquire it a few years ago. The Rogues Gallery is also a must if you want to learn more about the obscure luminary characters of Gygax's Greyhawk history. I never had the DM Log and Record stuff, regular notebooks always seemed to do the trick. I use steno notebooks to this day.

On the right is a whole assortment of early Greyhawk history in AD&D Modules. All of these old adventures (which all got their start in convention play) form the meat of the published World of Greyhawk setting as we know it. Check it out, even back in 1980-81 the Tomb of Horrors was a best seller.

This spread shows some classic games. One I've not heard of is Warlocks & Wizards. Talk about simple you are either a warrior or a warlock no other choice, and your quest is to escort a princess through the wilderness. Easy enough! Top Secret was always a guilty pleasure of mine. I love James Bond movies and though I didn't have this edition specifically I'd love to look through it today. Boot Hill and Gamma World are also games I'm sure my friends would jump at today. These original editions I'm sure are much more fun than their descendants.

I never had a chance to buy Boxed Games like Snits Revenge and Awful Green Things though I did get to sample some Tom Wham games like Elefant Hunt from the pages of Dragon Magazine. It's also incredible to see that the white booklet set of D&D was already a collectors edition in 1981! These are booklets I try to collect at conventions when I see them. So far I own Blackmoor and Eldritch Wizardry. 

At last, here we see the ad for the World of Greyhawk fantasy world setting. This is the 1980"folio" version which contains the same poster maps we all know and love by Darlene but the booklet on the kingdoms was still rather brief back then and didn't include deities at the time. In another two years, we'll have the full boxed set with maps and two guide books. 

I owned the Dungeon Geomorphs. Neat stuff. Didn't really do it for me. The Hex Books on the other hand...I used the hell out of those and to this day I still love drawing maps on them (thanks Black Blade Publishing). Lastly, check out the advert for Dragon Magazine. D&D got me hooked, but this magazine (until it went out of print for good) was really what kept me in the hobby for life. Getting a new magazine in the mail every month was a joy. Seeing the cover was always a surprise in of itself. The content was bonus: comics, games, fiction, letters. When I see how openly popular RPGs are today, it makes 10 year old me feel validated for staying with the hobby.

Finally we see the spread for GenCon Game Fair and TSR Shirts. It's crazy to think the convention (now in Indianapolis) had it's 50th anniversary this year. Back in 1981 I would've never dreamed I'd go to one of these much less ten or so! As to the t-shirts, I want them all! No wonder I never saw them before, you can only get them through the catalog (only $6 per shirt!). Hm, I wonder what would happen if I sent a check and T-shirt order to TSR in Wisconsin...

Thanks for reading!

GenCon Stuff I Missed

Heya Greyhawkers! I didn't go to GenCon and after seeing news on ENWorld, I'm really regretting seeing the GenCon50 Museum. I had no idea it was going to have this many old school artifacts on display. I already saw alot of the art on display at Garycon earlier this year, but the museum they erected inside my beloved Lucas Oil Stadium is way more impressive. Check it out (Thanks Morrus).

And then some quick notes on the Ennies awards. It is surprisingly refreshing to see so many new games and companies winning awards in recent years. Last time I attended the awards (which was a few years) Paizo swept everything. And with the popularity of 5E you'd think Wizards could dominate every year too. This year both are conspicuously off the winners podium. Wizards did manage to win Best Publisher which at the surface seems weird if they didn't have anything else to offer. Wizards has lately taken a rather laid back approach to GenCon to focus on other conventions, which apparently benefits the rest of the gaming industry. No complaints I guess. I do feel extremely grognardy reading these winners though; I am so out of the new RPG loop I've not heard of half these winners. I did hear Tales From the Yawning Portal won a Judge's Spotlight nod, so kudos to, ahem, Greyhawk in the very least.

Update 6/20/2021: I still regret not seeing the 50th anniversary set-up. Then again, in hindsight, I've met more people involved in D&D by staying home thanks to Twitch than I ever did going to conventions. Go figure!

Mortellan Interview on the RPG Academy

Hey Greyhawk fans and RPG players alike! I may not be at GenCon this year but I do have something exciting to show everybody! I recently did a podcast interview for The RPG Academy's "Show & Tell" feature. You can now listen to me ramble on about Greyhawk, Canonfire, Greyhawkery, art and other things. Enjoy!

Thank you to the host Michael and the rest of the RPG Academy network. Check out their site and look around!

Update 6/20/2021: Looks like the fine folks with RPG Academy are still humming along. This may be the first online interview I ever did outside my friend's podcast. Ever since then you can find me all over the internet. But if you stumble upon this, checkout my first awkward interview.

GenCon 50 and Gamerstable Returns

Ahoy Greyfolk! Sadly this week is Gen Con 50 week and while I've known for a while I wasn't going (sold out of 4-day badges!) and I further don't feel I'll miss anything epic, it still kind of makes me feel glum to not be among the gamer crowds like I've done for the last decade.

On the bright side next year I'm sure I'll be back given that my friends at Gamerstable have a Kickstarter going to bring our gaming podcast back from hiatus. So far we are funded with more stretch goals in sight. Help us out if you can! See you in Indy in 2018!

Update 6/20/2021: I'm pretty sure I have not been back to Gen Con since before this year. Also, removed Kickstarter link. I'm sure that's long expired.

GenCon 2017

Quiet week at Greyhawkery. Hey it looks like I won't be going to GenCon this year. If I do it'll be for one night and very last minute planned. I'm not entirely sure I'll miss much as most of the big games I'm interested in have already announced plans or released their stuff at other dates. GenCon for the average D&D enthusiast is really lacking for me nowadays. I love the social aspect, I love Indianapolis and I love the crowds, but I don't miss the hotel scramble and the sameness of everything. I've been to too many of these I guess, which is why GaryCon was a nice diversion this year.

At any rate, is anyone going this year? Is there something I'm missing out on?

GaryCon 2017 Recap

Well folks, I'm back and recovered from GaryCon and wow was it quite different than GenCon Indy. Different as in going back in time by 20 or 30 years. Here's a rundown on the weekend that I shared with my long time gaming best friend Jayson.

Wisconsin and Lake Geneva is gorgeous. I'm from southern Illinois so geographically Wisconsin isn't much different, but the city of Lake Geneva and the resort that GaryCon is held at is simply wonderful. I could do a whole blog just on the peripheral sights to see. Needless to say, if you go to GaryCon in the future, venture out to the Lake, explore, it's worth it.

Good friends, amazing artists. We had planned zero events for GaryCon and truly had zero idea what to expect. In two days though, we filled our entire schedule with invites to gaming, a panel and meals. We felt really appreciated being among a smaller, more intimate crowd. That said I definitely was there to meet some fellas from the Greyhawk community. My good friend and patron from the Canonfire! community, Kraftwerk was first to greet us (though our hockey rivalry would soon strain that relationship) and invite us to his game. Fellow Castle Greyhawk comic scribe, Scott Casper was there as well and we hung out for the game and then for a good part of the day in the Exhibition Hall and where we got to meet the legendary artist behind the World of Greyhawk map, Darlene herself. I don't need to tell any of you how great it was to meet her and have her sign one of my Greyhawk maps. It was even greater to spend the rest of the evening with her and Kraftwerk afterward! Not to be outdone, on Saturday we were invited by one of my favorite community friends, Allan Grohe of Blackblade Publishing to play in one of his "gygaxian" Castle Greyhawk dungeon crawls. More on the games in a bit.

One thing to note: when you walk into Gary Con there is a whole roster of gaming veterans and VIPs at every turn who freely mingle with the crowd. You can't get that as easily at a huge convention like GenCon. We sat in on a TSR panel which included Darlene and the likes of Larry Elmore, Bill Willingham, Jeff Easley, Jeff Dee, Steve Sullivan, Tom Wham, Diesel and Jeff Butler. The stories they told about working in the old offices at Lake Geneva, how they got hired, bagging on artists not present or honoring those passed away, was the highlight of the con. It was a different time for artists back then, they really taught each other a lot. Coming out of that I really felt like I was born in the wrong era.

Speaking of art. On the second floor in the historical gaming room (how this all got started), was an original art display of the likes you'll not see anywhere else. Among the best and most iconic pieces there was the paladin in hell illustration by Dave Sutherland from the 1E Players Handbook. Crazy good linework. This picture inspired me to run many encounters with demons of the lower planes.







Then there is Jeff Easley's sleeping vampire Drelzna from the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth. Easley is usually known for his amazing full color cover paintings, but even his B&W interior art is inspiring. I had the privilege of seeing a new painting Mr. Easley did for the con, which I'm hoping you will all get to see in the coming year.

One more to show, is the full wrap-around painting for the cover of the 1E Dungeon Masters Guide also by Dave Sutherland. He wasn't the best artist of that era (my faves are Erol Otus and Dave Trampier) but this painting is among my favorite D&D works of art, so to see it in person was an honor if not eye opening on how art was done back in the day.




Greyhawk Gaming! So like I mentioned earlier me and Jayson (and his recurring female dwarf fighter) took part in three Greyhawk games over two days. We played in one Greyhawk in ten years of GenCon attendance. Just saying. Here's a quick overview of the adventures we had in Greyhawk:

Kill Markessa. Kraftwerk's mission was supposed to be simple. A powerful benefactor hires a fellowship of heroes to go into a lair and slay the infamous Slaver and vile surgeon Markessa. In two hours real time. A couple illusions and one orc room later, a chaotic melee broke out including misshapen trolls and guard dogs. We found and woke a Markessa duplicate only adding to the confusion. That we failed and the real Markessa got away is no surprise. There is always next time for Die Markessa, Die! I guess. What made this adventure extra special was our VIP guest, Luke Gygax! Now being able to say I gamed with a Gygax is definitely a feather in my cap for the rest of my life.

Diamonds in the Rough. Allan Grohe's Castle Greyhawk is heavily inspired by the original Gygax campaign and he runs it 1E style all the way. This scenario is a continuation of his larger ongoing convention exploration of the famous dungeon. It is a mapping nightmare too. It's been so long since I DMed a mega-dungeon that I forgot how careful and slow players go! After an hour of silent searching and geometry, our guards were down and no one saw the door shaped mimic coming! I love when I fall for D&D tropes. Needless to say things got intense when giant insects and demon Chasme started chasing our party. One intrepid player used a wish from his sword however and transported all into a room full of gems (and one certain artifact gem) belonging to a dazzling gem dragon. What ensued was much groveling and placating of the noble creature before we were allowed to leave (though my halfling sneaked a few gems out). Our wizard however bugged out too soon, escaping to an uncertain doom in the astral plane...

Upon Thy Head a Crown. I hope I got this title right. Our last game was ran by Kraftwerk again, involved several deceased, chosen proxies (yes the female dwarf, Marya was there again) of a variety of deities being sent into a series of rooms to test who is most worthy to gain the object at the end, with the prize being you are resurrected, thus lifting the station of their patron deity. It was a game of the gods. Each room had an elemental theme and required more than combat to cross, indeed it took a marvelous amount of thinking to get by the wind and water and icy environments when we all started with nothing but clothes and a signature weapon. Literally everything we came across or took from a slain foe was used in some way to get past the traps and hazards. It was fun and the end wrap up was nicely done leaving everyone happy and applauding our DM.

That's the run of it all. I could go into my haul or other stuff but we'll leave that to your imagination. I am so glad to have met a host of new gamers, many of which are Greyhawk fans, and many which I got to hang around multiple times. I hope to see you guys online, just drop me a line if you read this! Maybe I'll see you at another GaryCon soon!

State of Greyhawkery 2017

Hello Greyhawk loyalists!

It's been an extremely slow Fall for Greyhawkery. I am writing this post to address my thoughts on the future of Greyhawk community projects going into 2017. This isn't an early new years resolution thing either, this is a state of the blog brainstorm for any who would like to chime in. Here we go...

Greyhawkery as a blog has been a lot of fun for the last 6.5 years, but I'm not sure I have enough good content to keep up even my regular two post a week schedule. I've tailed off to once a week and many times those posts are just promoting the Castle Greyhawk webcomic blog. I'm not entirely sure how much traffic I send to Scott's comic blog for the comic in this fashion.The comic is drawn by me so it does count as content for my own site I guess, but in terms of my blog stats those posts flag way behind on pageviews from my random articles on various topics or new items.

That said, I recently stopped doing game recaps of my Sea Princes campaign as well due to the same lack in viewership. Having the content is good for the site yes, but many times I felt this was all I had to offer. I still have put out my art and conversions to 5E as I feel these have more use to other people who might frequent my blog. I'm curious if there's a huge demand for 5E Greyhawk conversion? Thats one avenue I've flirted with here, but not wholly embraced.

Back to random articles and news, I time to time hit on a great idea to write about from a chat discussion or game night and I love composing those things - if I ever have the time. Stuff like 5 Reasons to Visit Nyrond and The Pentad are great educational exercises and add to the setting overall. I'd love to do more like that which leads to my next thought.

The Greyhawk community is dormant. A lack of contemporary Wizards involvement in 5E has forced many gamers to move on to other settings or RPGs entirely. My stalwart home Canonfire still chugs along after all these years as the unofficial #1 fansite, but new fanon content is all but dried up and the website itself is sorely out of date. The forums still have life and that's good but hardly the preferred means of social media anymore (and IRC chat is dying out too). Add to this, the lack of backing for a continued Oerth Journal ezine. The old publication was a blast back in the 3E era when the setting and community was vibrant with freelance creators and a call for conversions. This excitement hasn't translated to 4E or 5E D&D for that matter. So between these three creative outlets I have chosen to utilize my own blog first, then anything else second. Outside my blog and a couple others, there isn't anyone carrying this torch besides Greyhawk Reborn perhaps.

The dearth of newsworthy items has also hampered my ability to blog effectively. At one time I could always count on an eDungeon adventure by Chris Perkins or scour the internet for map projects and the like, but these opportunities are too dried up. Even my GenCon efforts to generate Greyhawk buzz have waned (Anna Meyer's map notwithstanding) to the point I'm thinking of skipping 2017 and going to Garycon instead.

What's all this mean? I guess I'm searching for a mission or some validation to keep it going in 2017. I'm sure I can hold out one more year and see. However, it'll take a BIG Greyhawk storyline from Wizards in the next couple cycles to keep my interest from finally fading altogether.

Update 06/19/2021: WOW! Looks like things turned around the last 4 years. Even though 

I'm on hiatus now, it's for entirely different reasons than in December of 2016. Wizards still isn't fully supporting GH but it has put out plenty of anthologies of old modules. Oerth Journal and Canonfire is resurgent and both have an active Discord channel, that rivals the old outdated IRC chats. Along with that, streaming service Twitch has been the injection of fan involvement I wished for, and then some! 2020 was a rough patch with the pandemic, so alot of these online outlets thrived. Good times!

Onto GenCon 2016

Well folks I'm leaving extra early for GenCon even though it technically starts Thursday. If any one wants to attend a Greyhawk meet and greet, I'll be at the JW Marriott on Friday evening @5-6pm. Just drop me a line on Twitter: @GreyhawkMike
or email me: mortellan(at)gmail.com

I am all over the place during GenCon if you can't make Friday. You can find other Greyhawk fans, possibly including me all week at the Greyhawk Reborn events in the JW Marriott. I will also be at the RAM Brewery on Wednesday night with the GamersTable podcast crew and friends or if you want to just say hi randomly inside the convention hall I'll do my best to find ya.

Update Friday: I am calling off the get together due to various factors. Sorry everyone. Maybe next year. I am willing to meet and talk hawk with anyone at the con. Just drop me a line.
Later!

Castle Greyhawk And Conventions

Last weekend I had the pleasure to attend the Schaumburg Township District Library Comic Con with my co-conspirator from the Castle Greyhawk webcomic, Scott Casper. After more than a few years working together, and living in the same state, this was our first ever live meeting and I must say after attending many GenCons, being on the business end of a small convention was a pleasure! Scott was a gracious host and went the extra mile (or twenty) for me. The STDL is an amazing place with so many events and visitors. My tiny hometown library could learn a thing or two from them.

Pitching our webcomic to people who don't know Greyhawk or even D&D was an interesting exercise and actually has been an important learning experience. I also learned to not leave people empty handed. Not everyone is going to want your work unless you're super-famous, so the next best thing is to give people something free to remember you by, even if its just a business card with your email or website URL. Postcards, buttons or other knick-knacks might suffice as well.

I also see the need to promote my personal art more. Even if the comic's content is IP owned by WotC, I think I have enough striking images, pages or even individual frames from the comic that could appease even a casual "sword and sorcery" fan looking for a print to put on their wall. Now if I only knew something about making prints, pricing and stuff like that.... On the other hand, I can see myself being open to commission work. I have published some pieces for BRW Games and some ezines, but beyond that I've always been leery of art-for-pay projects. Too modest I guess. I will give it more thought and perhaps get into that once I have an online portfolio to show off.

The best part of the event however was sitting in on an authors/artists panel in front of a crowd. I never saw myself doing this, maybe a private interview like I'm used to on the podcast GamersTable, but not this! It was fun answering questions and interacting with the audience. I wish I had been this relaxed at public speaking 25 years ago.

Anyhow, it was a lot of fun. Looking forward to another event, possibly an in-state con or to Wisconsin for GaryCon next year. Who knows?

Some Love For Greyhawk Reborn

Hello again Greyhawk maniacs. It's been a week since the end of GenCon and I still have it on my mind. Today I return to a highlight of the con and our community, Greyhawk Reborn. On the table outside their game room was a few brochures and pamphlets describing GR's mission of restoring Greyhawk's living campaign setting (now 5E). First, to give you an idea of the campaign's rather "dark and gritty" mood here is the blurb from the back of their main pamphlet:

From the Ashes, Greyhawk is Reborn!

It is a dark and dire world where people have fled from the wilds, looking for the protection of fortified villages and walled towns. Travel is safe in numbers, yet still dangerous.Goblins, kobolds and their ilk fill the vast spaces between towns that are now bullied by hobgoblins, gnolls and orcs. People carry about their business by day, and lock themselves behind their defenses at night. The darkness becomes more dangerous each day; it's darker, more sinister, more evil.

Rumors recently emerged of great fiends and other abyssal creatures now rule over weaker monsters. No, it's not a safe world anymore, not since The Breaking.

It is just the kind of world where heroes are needed.

Yet again explore one of the oldest, most beloved campaign worlds of all time. The world of Greyhawk will come alive again as your characters, your heroes, wander upon the Flanaess, pushing back the darkness. Create new player characters in your favorite world with classic races and classes. Create mighty warriors, powerful wizards, saintly clerics and dubious rogues. Your characters' actions will continue to shape the world of Oerth.

Venture forth anew in the realm that brought you classics such as The Village of Hommlet, White Plume Mountain, Against the Giants, Slavers, and the Living Greyhawk Campaign. Revisit placers such as Saltmarsh, Greyhawk City, the Vast Swamp and the Amedio Jungle.

Dubious rogues indeed. Next, to show you where their campaign is set and the story behind it's inception I'll share this section from Why Greyhawk Reborn, by GR Lead, Dave Guerrieri:

Why Choose the Greyhawk Setting?

The idea started with a home game we were doing in Keoland after Living Greyhawk ended. We had left Keoland rather fragmented. I know, I was the Keoland triad that left it there. A large part of "Breadbasket of the Sheldomar Valley" was destroyed (think Sherman's march to the sea). Not only were the existing crops wiped out, but it also ruined much of the arable land in Keoland. The land upon which the Army of the Returned marched is still barren and infertile 17 years after the fact.

Many of the Keoish citizens in the way of the Army of the Returned were killed and reanimated as some form of undead. Many fine Keoish soldiers perished in the last battle against the Invasion in Niole Dra, as well. So even right after the victorious final battle, many citizens of the Empire were dead. With food destroyed and land barren, the starvation and widespread disease that usually follows such strife and crime ensued.

The Flight of Fiends was a ruse by Iuz, who used the trick to aid him in his ascension to full godhood. With Iuz away from the Flanaess, and the Flight of Fiends a ruse, we pictured fiends being loosed upon the Flanaess, as well as the remains of both Iuz's army and the Army of the Returned let loose upon the lands.

So, with little food available and disease, starvation and crime on the rise, it seems likely that those remaining would look for shelter in the protection of towns, villages and cities. Most villages and towns have been fortified with protective walls and other such devices. Add in the rapid proliferation with which humanoids breed, and it seems likely to us that orcs, goblins, gnolls, kobolds and the like would quickly fill the empty spaces in the countryside.

That makes Keoland, and the Flanaess, once again a dangerous place outside city walls. Very much like it was in the Greyhawk of 1E, the famous "gold books", where populations of cities and countries was much smaller than the 3E Greyhawk Gazetteer numbers. We feel it gives it a very old school "Gygaxian" feel.

Remember 4E's "points of light" mantra? I think GR nailed it. In later posts I'll talk about Greyhawk Reborn's call for fans to get involved.