Ring of Five Questions: Round 3

Welcome back Greyhawkers. If you've been following, it's time for another installment of the Return of the Ring of Five Questions. If you're coming into this column for the first time this is a community participation feature of Greyhawkery. Go back and read the previous installments then email me at mortellan@gmail.com with your five responses. Remember, you can be as short or wordy as you like in these responses. I think I will keep taking entries until the end of 2020. Now, let's enter the Ring once again, this round we will muse along with two avid Greyhawk fans, Jay Stypinski of Greyhawk Reborn and Rodney Hart (former TSRO/WizO_Rexx from the old TSR/WotC Online forums) This should be good...enjoy!

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

Jay: The Grand Duchy of Berghof in the HotSP (Hold of the Sea Princes)

Rodney: The Gnarley Forest has been the start of many a game through the years as it neighbours all kinds of fun spots, be it the Free City of Greyhawk, Dyvers, Verbobonc, or the Wild Coast.  The realm that fascinates me from an anthropological perspective is Shar, though my one attempt at running a "Scarlet Cell" game was derailed by the natural tendency of 30-something D&D players to act like 12-year old kids at the game table.

Berghof of course is the setting of the UK series mods, The Gauntlet and the Sentinel. I love the Sea Princes too, but I still have not ran these modules. Take Jay's advice. Rodney goes with a classic location, the Gnarley is the central region where the TOEE, Greyhawk and so much more happens. You can't go wrong here.

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

Jay: Murlynd

Rodney: Specific to Greyhawk (sorry Garl)?  Obad-hai.  I am a forester by vocation, so a nature power is the obvious choice.  Besides, I love the Green Man imagery.

Rodney is smart to go with his skill set on this but now I'm intrigued by Garl Glittergold as a choice...Jay on the other hand, Murlynd the hero-god is a deity to aspire to, former adventurer, planar traveler, wields modern tech in a medieval setting. What's not to love?

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

Jay: Rose Estes novelization of Against the Giants

Rodney: Three Faces of Evil, by Mike Mearls. The second installment of the Age of Worms adventure path could have used some tweaks to tie it to the bigger picture, allude to future plans, and add some red herrings of an Aqaa nature.  I offered some fixes back in the days of Paizo's Community Boards, Mike liked the suggestions and would have implemented some of them had a rewrite like The Shackled City hardcover been done.  I still offer the advice to people that are running AoW to this day. Tirapheg!

I know I ran Three Faces of Evil, but I don't recall what the wonky parts would be. I am definitely inspired by ol' WizO_Rexx's love of Wind Duke lore though. Jay, you had me at Rose Estes, lol.

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

Jay: The Slave Lords

Rodney: Tenser

Jay drafts the entire Wu Tang Clan, er, Slave Lords. He is the second person who has chosen this entire power group, so I may have worded this question poorly. At any rate good choice! Now Rodney has Tenser, owing to his central Flanaess love. Tenser is the heart and soul of much Greyhawk goings-on. Perfect pick!

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

Jay: Blackrazor

Rodney: The Rod of the Seven Parts, just so I can say Wind Dukes of Aqaa a lot. Still think that is an awesome name for a prog-rock band.

Rodney does the Wind Dukes proud, he must be a servant of Law! After all, he was a D&D forum moderator! Jay finishes off this round of the Ring with the nastiest blade in the game. So if you're ever in Berghof and run into Murlynd, don't test this old west paladin, he might draw a hog-leg or Blackrazor!

That was a fun set. I will try to pair more posts going forward. I'm eager to hear from more fans in the Greyhawk community new and old! 

Greyhawk Reborn at Virtual GreyhawkCon

Hail Greyhawk heroes! Here is a quick post to help spread the news for our friends at Greyhawk Reborn and Warduke Press as they are participating in the upcoming Virtual Greyhawk Con 2020. I hope to see all my readers tune in to game, view and support the community. Until then I shall let the great Dave Guerrieri himself promote this epic event:

Warduke Press is honored and proud to announce we are offering 15 tables of Greyhawk Reborn adventures at Virtual Greyhawk Con 2020 (VGHC). It is a Greyhawk “Fan Content” Community Event, to celebrate the World of Greyhawk Fantasy Setting. We feel privileged to be standing online beside Anna Meyer, Casey Brown, Allan “Grodog” Grohe, Jay Scott, Gary Holian, Lenard Lakofka, Denis “Maldin” Tetreault, Scott Casper and other Greyhawk stalwarts to focus the spotlight on all that Greyhawk has to offer. 
VGHC is an online only convention on Friday, October 2 through Sunday, October 4, 2020. Friday and Saturday events run from 9 am to 1 am, and Sunday events run from 9:30 am to 10:30 pm.  All money collected, minus TableTop Events charges, will be donated to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Event Registration is now open. 
You may find more details regarding and register for Virtual Greyhawk Con at https://tabletop.events/conventions/virtual-greyhawk-con-2020.
In addition to Greyhawk Reborn adventures, a number of Greyhawk Twitch Community Live Streamers, over two continents, are providing World of Greyhawk content for those wishing to experience some of the best ever made Campaign Setting for D&D. Also we will have fantastic seminars from the likes of the great Anna Meyer, and main Sponsorship from Troll Lord Games.
The Virtual Greyhawk Con 2020 Discord Server is setup at: https://discord.gg/yHyG75


For more information during Twitch Live Streams: https://www.twitch.tv/lordgosumba
Legal Disclaimer: Virtual Greyhawk Con 2020 is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.
Warduke Press will also be offering Greyhawk Reborn and Midgard Chronicle adventures at Save Against Fear on October 9-11, and also at Fall MepaCon on November 6-8. Both of these events will be online only. Expect to hear more on these events, and other exciting news, in the near future!
More information about Warduke Press and Greyhawk Reborn, you may use the following links:

• our Warduke Press Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/wardukepress
• our Greyhawk Reborn website at http://www.greyhawkreborn.net/
• our GHR Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/greyhawkreborn/
• our GHR Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/greyhawkreborn

For any questions you may have about Greyhawk Reborn, please contact info@greyhawkreborn.net
As always, thank you for choosing to spend your valuable time with Warduke Press!
Be well!
Regards,
Dave Guerrieri,
CEO, Warduke Press

Great Greyhawk Couples

 Happy Valentines Day, Greyhawkers! I don't think there is a Greyhawk equivalent to this holiday unless it's a holy day to Myhriss goddess of love. At any rate, that's a topic for another day. The World of Greyhawk is well known for its mega-dungeons, artifacts and warfare, but is it known for romantic storylines? Let's take a look...

Jallarzi Sallavarian and Kieran Jalucian: This is one of my favorite Greyhawk couples. Jallarzi is the only female member of the famous Circle of Eight in the City of Greyhawk and her paramour, Kieran is the Master of the Guild of Wizardry and Principle of the University of Magic Arts. I am going to assume they met when she was a prodigy student of his at the UMA because Jallarzi was 33 when she joined the Circle, and KJ only looks 30, but is clearly very old according to the City of Greyhawk boxed set. Scandals aside, I can see the attraction for them; Kieran is not only an archmage, but he has a 17 STR so he is no aged-wimpy sage. Jallarzi, described as "distractingly beautiful" has a 17 CHA and a pseudo-dragon pet. What's not to like? The pair are seen all over the city and even slum in the Old City in disguise with magic. Their wizardly careers are probably the only thing keeping them from being official. Work and well, that thing that happened in Return of the Eight...

Iggwilv and Graz'zt: Aww yes, you knew I would mention this couple (well off and on). They are the best confrontational pair in the entire setting. Iggy and Graz' even have a child together (spoiled demigod Iuz, such a dysfunctional family). Iggwilv is an aspiring demonologist-witch queen-conqueror. Graz'zt is an aspiring Prince of Demons-would-be conqueror of the Abyss. Clearly the pair's egos are not big enough to fit on one infinite plane. There is a lot of good game info on this diabolical couple I don't have the room to tell it all! Want to know EVERYTHING about Iggwilv though? Check out this amazing post on Power Score.

Cobb Darg and Elayne Mystica: I'm not sure if these two are a romantic pair, but they should be! Cobb is the old wily ruler of Irongate and Elayne is the albino Suel archmage of the same city. There has got to be a spark there, and I'm certain she knows Mayor Darg's secret heritage.

Queen Yolande and (various) Consorts: Elven culture might be different than human-kind in regards to courtly romance since they live so long and are many times xenophobic. Queen Yolande of Celene has had many consorts over the centuries, and the murder of one even started the Hateful Wars that drove all humanoids out of the Lortmil Mountains. I'm sure Yolande has moved on by now, though given her isolationist stand, does she ever look outside Celene for companionship?

Karin Keoffel and Yrag: I'm willing to bet you don't know who is Karin Keoffel. She happens to run the Fruit of the Mill in the lower part of Greyhawk, she is 44 years old and is cheerfully in love with her mercenary boyfriend "Yr". Whether she knows Yr is actually Yrag, a magically preserved 200 year-old adventuring legend is not known. What is for sure is that Yr/Yrag definitely loves his girlfriend and has gone to lengths to discreetly protect her, such as gifting magic items and telling the Guild of Thieves to back off her business. If that isn't love I don't know what is!

Iuz and Zuggtmoy: Iuz has many henchmen and allies he could choose as his consort, but in Greyhawk lore (and novels?), the Lord of Pain for some reason has an infatuation with Zuggtmoy the Demon-queen of Fungi. Despite being a power-couple they both have spent time in prisons, so their relationship has always been strained. Despite this I suspect Iuz loves her more than she loves him back. So much so, that Iuz literally gave Zuggtmoy his soul to guard on her abyssal plane. Like that won't ever come back to haunt him some day!

Lady Evaleigh and Gord or Alain IV of Ratik: The comely Evaleigh is a noblewoman from the County of Knurl and was featured as a love interest to Gord the Rogue in Gygax's early TSR novels. How that turned out, I'm not 100% certain, since I never read them all. Evaleigh however did make into the game setting as the widowed ruler of Ratik. She married the son of Baron Lexnol, Alain IV and he was soon killed by gnolls. Evaleigh had to assume rulership after Lexnol then became disabled upon hearing the news. Tragedy!

Wee Jas and Norebo: I would be remiss if I didn't mention this dynamic Greyhawk deity couple! Wee Jas the goddess of death and magic could only be won over by the roguish charm of Norebo right? After all he has been reputedly with every female deity it is said. Unfortunately, being gods of the Suel Pantheon, there's a good chance they are related! Why she puts up with him and his cheating ways in the first place is a matter of theological study. I know cause I've done plenty myself!

Honorable Mentions. I could go on and on, but here is some other couples I think would be worth musing about in future valentines posts...

Dragotha and Tiamat: Draconic love. Till death do they part?

Lorana Kath and Lord Kargoth: Both death knights of the Great Kingdom. A couple that works together!

Sotillion and Zilchus: Married deities of business, wealth and leisure. Gee, I wonder who they remind me of...

Markessa and Markessa: This Slave Lord likes altering the minds and bodies of elven women into doubles of herself. Self-love?

That's all for now. What other great Greyhawk NPC relationships are there?

Thankful For Greyhawk

Greetings fellow Greyhawkers! In the United States we celebrate Thanksgiving by saying what we are grateful to have. When it comes to the World of Greyhawk community we should all be thankful for the growth of our fandom. Indeed, the Greyhawk Channel's own DM Shane is among those leading the resurgence:

"My dear new friends...

Crazy to say that, but it’s the truth. Most of our community is made up of new friends - new to me and new to one another. But reality is that just one year ago, we’d only aired one show. And only a few of you were there to watch it live. There was no Greyhawk Channel - just a small group of friends taking the risk to share their regular Sunday night game.

One year later… we’ve had more than 100 people play on the channel, nearly 20 different DMs, and have streamed more than 700 hours in the process. And @everyone thats super cool.

But waaaaay more cool is that there’s now a community of people who hang out together - supporting each other, foodporning together, sharing snacks and alcohol and crude humor together. Its a big group of good friends. And this is something none of us had a year ago. Its something we all built together.

I’m a blessed man. But this year one of my greatest blessings is something I didn’t expect, didn’t plan, didn’t see coming. Its you. All of you. This year, I’m thankful as hell for every one of you who help me look forward to every morning. You have made The Greyhawk Channel home. A home I deeply love.

This was year one. I promise you all another year of adventure, laughter, and friendship. Who’s with me?"

Who is with him? The Greyhawk community is still active and alive and can be found all over the map. In addition to the many fine DMs and players at the Greyhawk Channel I'm thankful to have:

Anna Meyer for the unparalleled Atlas of the Flanaess.

Dave Guerreri and staff running 5E Greyhawk Reborn.

Joseph Bloch for his foresight and the long-running Greyhawk Grognard.

Scott Casper for co-producing the Castle Greyhawk Comic with me as artist.

The Greyhawk faithful on the forums for Canonfire, Dragonsfoot and the Piazza.

Denis Tetreault for maps, lore and hosting my old comics at Melkot.

My friends Carlos Lising and Allan Grohe for running and producing wonderful professionally made Greyhawk games at conventions like Garycon.

Of course, my game own group for the Gamerstable podcast and putting up with my Greyhawk obsession.

The amazing Facebook groups, Sages of Greyhawk, Flanaess Geographical Society and also Canonfire a Greyhawk Resource for re-releasing my old comics to a new audience.

Lord Gosumba for keeping the old school alive on new media.

Return to the Bandit Kingdoms for being there with the streaming Greyhawk fandom.

Bards of Greyhawk for doing what no one else is doing in D&D fandom. Original music.

And to so many other creators of Greyhawk content and online entertainment that I can't recall you all, Happy Thanksgiving all and let's have a great CY 2019.

Ideas For Greyhawk Maps

Good day Greyfriends! It's a slow week, but I am heartened by the uptick I've been seeing of Greyhawk community interest online. Whether its because of the token announcement of a Mordenkainen book I don't know, but hopefully the likes of Anna Meyer, Return to Greyhawk, Greyhawk Grognard, Greyhawk Reborn and various Facebook groups can keep pushing Wizard's buttons. For my own part, you know I have more projects than I can handle, so let's create some more. Here is some ideas for various Greyhawk themed maps I'd love to see or create myself:

Updated Resource Map. The small map in the 1980/1983 Greyhawk Guide showing regional resources of the Flanaess is one of my favorites. The LGG updated each nation's resources with new entries like livestock and ship building. A new map with this info is high on my list of DM utility maps.

Battle Maps. This one is also a long term dream of mine. We've all seen the Flanaess map that shows the migrations, but it would be just as interesting and informative to see the direction of various battles and wars. Just hearing about the Battle of Emridy Meadows, the Short War or the Hateful Wars is nice, but where do these forces originate and what direction do they advance or retreat? A simple themed map with arrows can teach players about the conflict faster than a long, boring treatise on the subject.

Ancient Flanaess Maps. Another handy map for history lessons on the fly. What did Eastern Oerik look like 500 years ago? 1000? and so on. I've meddled in making one before but the research of canon often shuts me down. A good example, someone once made an amazing series of maps showing the evolving size of the Great Kingdom of Aerdy. (map to the left) I need to find the link to this map. Also what DM wouldn't like to know what the Flanaess looked like when elves and dwarves held sway? Or ancient Flannae civilizations? There would even be geographical differences, like larger forests or cities that are now ruins. The applications for such maps are unlimited.

Update: Got a link to those historical maps here courtesy of Greyhawk Grognard (thanks Joseph).

Magic Aura Map. This one is extreme so bear with me. It would be daunting to research but fun to see all the magical sites (such as Tovag Baragu and other permanent gates) and ley lines (sites of druids, lost lands, wizards towers, etc) and lingering auras (Dry Steppes, Sea of Dust)  present in the Flanaess, all charted on the map somehow in levels of intensity. The utility is that wizards would know which areas to go or avoid in a general arcane knowledge sense.

Monster Hunting Maps. How about a reference map for common D&D monsters for PCs use in game? You could have areas marked where dragons or giants are found and what type. Heck you could even get create and tag owlbears, ogres or otyughs. Anything! Hand that out to hack n slash players and let them pick a destination.

Population Density Map. This one I've done before with a color coded population density map of the Great Kingdom based on data from Ivid the Undying; unfortunately it was hand drawn and crude (see to the left). I'd love to see one of the entire Flanaess someday. This type of map is more informative and esoteric, something only a hardcore Greyhawk DM's could care about. However, such a map would be easy to show to players to tell them, yes you are traveling to a populated area or no you are heading into wilderness, without need of a history or politics lesson.

That's all I got for now. Anyone else have some crazy ideas for a Greyhawk themed map?

Blog Redesign Idea

Hey Greyhawkers! This weekend I've been contemplating upping my blog game instead the usual melancholy thoughts of hanging it up! Before I did anything I decided I need to air my ideas and perhaps get some feedback. I'm lazy and might not do anything after all, but at least this could get the ball rolling. What do I have in mind?

A slight change in website design/layout. With some added content if I can ever get it done. The front page elements would stay the same or be rearranged. What I'd like to add however, is some more focused Greyhawk primers for various topics like Deities, Nations, Power Groups, etc. The Greyhawk primer I wrote a couple weeks ago has made me realize I cater too much to old fans, but I have a chance to be a hub for new gamers needing easily digested info on Greyhawk. One thing also: having wikis with Greyhawk info is great if you know what you're looking for, but having essential material presented in one location is the next best thing to a setting book.

Speaking of which, I know others have done 5E conversions for Greyhawk. Greyhawk Reborn is doing good things in that regard, carrying on the old timeline. I am more aligned to Greyhawk Grognard's feel to bring 5E Greyhawk back to the old 576 CY starting point. So, while I'm no expert at game design, any Greyhawk primer I do will be fluff not crunch. I'd try to focus on what's important or relevant for new gamers and then crosslink to any "advanced" information I can find online either on 3rd party sites or on my own blog.

Brainstorm over.

Update 06/24/2021: Cripes I need to finish my primers still. Ugh! That said I did redesign the look of my blog, and put up quite a bit of content for beginners. The links are on the left of the homepage. Enjoy!

Mortellan's 2016 Gen Con Recap

Howdy Greyhawkers, I am still recovering the day after a fun filled and long GenCon 2016 weekend in Indianapolis. As usual this post is intended to report on anything tangentially about Greyhawk which is always like squeezing blood out of a turnip. Let's see what I came up with:

First off, the Greyhawk meet and greet was called off. My bad to anyone who inquired, but attendance is hard to muster sometimes. Next time I'm going to shoot for more informal meet ups around the con. That said I had a good time with the legendary Anna Meyer of Greyhawk Atlas and Kobold Press fame. Anna attended a couple eat-outs with me and the Gamerstable podcast crew and one location was at Champs Restaurant where she had on display a HUGE 9'x9' printing of her entire World of Greyhawk map. I hope plenty of people made the trip to see it like we did. That map deserved to be displayed in the con hall itself, but GenCon must be anti-Greyhawk. Who knows?

If you haven't been following her work, this map is an over 10 year labor of love that has won her wide community acclaim and even freelancing work with Kobold Press for which she was included at the Ennies awards this year in the Best Cartography category for her work on the Southlands Campaign Setting Map. Anna did not win unfortunately, somehow losing out to Shadows of Esteren and Maze of the Blue Medusa. She will be back.

On the topic of the Ennies, my very good friend over at Melvin Smif's Geekery was nominated for back website category and lost to the juggernaut of Gnome Stew. No bad feelings there, being nominated is a reward all its own for a first time entry.

Another Ennie tidbit, Wizards' Curse of Strahd did very well at the awards winning gold for Best Cover and Best Adventure. Not sure who picked up their award since the WotC group supposedly weren't attending. I'd love to hear how that went. At any rate, it's good to see Ravenloft get so much love. It gives me hope that fans want more than just another Forgotten Realms product.

Greyhawk Reborn had another successful run at the 3rd floor hall in the JW Marriott this year. I know all the slots were sold out cause I tried to get into an earlier game. I was too busy for a Sunday game. If anyone took in a GHR game I'd love to hear how it went.


Speaking of Greyhawk convention play, I met and played in a Savage Worlds game ran by Chris Hussey from the show Titansgrave Diggers and more. Chris is a Living Greyhawk player from way back and out of the kindness of his heart he gave me his Shield Lands t-shirt. I am overwhelmed. I love it!!

Lastly, at the Gamerstable Appreciation Dinner we hosted the incredible Monte Cook and the lovely Shanna Germaine from Monte Cook Games. It was a good time and definitely the biggest gaming celebrity I've had the chance to sit down with in my life. Monte even signed my coveted Book of Vile Darkness. It was a great memory for someone who has played 3.5 D&D for so long. Well that's about it for Greyhawk news. Anyone have some things to share? I'd lvoe to hear about it in the comments section!

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: Two For One

Welcome back Greyhawk readers! Well now I'm not even trying. Somehow I'm two episodes behind in promoting chapter four in our ongoing Castle Greyhawk graphic novel. Check out page-three and page-four to see some alluring illusions by  Scott Casper. On our site you can also check the archives and follow the entire Castle Greyhawk story from the very beginning.

Artist's Commentary: So much to say about these pages that I must've forgot. At any rate, both pages should have been easy given Scott's minor use of dialogue. The pictures certainly tell the story of these two pages. Page three was a tough one for some reason. 

I think it was the "beat-panel" set up which I was out of practice on. Given I draw on paper, it's not always easy to "copy paste" a scene and make subtle adjustments. I did this a lot back during my comedic Greyhawk strips, but they were much less detailed. I ended up drawing page three twice basically. The first time I tried to be cute and draw the poses over a stock background but it failed. The second time I sucked it up and drew it all out and I'm glad I did. The expressions and gestures on Erac and Ehlissa are priceless.

Page four was a different challenge.Scott wanted to do an homage for the late great comic artist Gene Colan. I was slightly disturbed that I did not know him when I'm such a Marvel fan. After some research I had indeed obviously seen his masterful work before. This page four "collage" is all black & white as a tribute to his style of illustration. It was quite a joy to draw if not a composition dream. I wouldn't mind having another crack at this style of art, I'm sure I could do even better.  Astute D&D fans will also notice my other homage in this page. Enjoy! 

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.