Greyhawk City: Champion's Games

Welcome back Greyhawk faithful. On a recent Legends & Lore stream we talked about mercenaries and adventuring parties. One of the things we discussed was the Dungeon #128 adventure from Age of Worms titled The Champion's Belt by Tito Leati. In this chapter, as the PCs search for answers involving a retired gladiator named Loris Raknian, they must enter a gladiatorial event hosted by the "Free City" Arena where groups of compete for the coveted Champion's Belt. The meta plot involving a cult of Kyuss aside, I love the idea of an annual Champions Games held in the City of Greyhawk. I highly recommend this issue for anyone running an urban campaign. In the Champion's Belt, there is a huge list of NPC "gladiator" groups (these are not traditional gladiators, they seem more like rival adventuring groups), some detailed as opponents for the PCs, but most are left for DMs to flesh out. The focus of this post is to show the brief descriptive backgrounds I gave these Champion's Belt teams for my own Age of Worms campaign. But first here is some background rules on the Champion's Games. Enjoy!

"The Champion's Games is a five-day-long gladiatorial tournament that takes place annually in the Free City Arena. The games themselves consist of a massive four-round elimination event, interspersed with spectacle fights that pit gladiators against exotic monsters and other unique foes. A single team can consist of no more than eight members. Familiars do not count as members, but larger animal companions, mounts, and cohorts do. Finally, each team of gladiators must identify itself with a name and designate a leader."

• The tournament is fought in four successive rounds of elimination. The first round consists of six battles of free-for-all combat between four teams (24 teams total). The six winners of the first round of battles are paired off into three team-versus-team battles. The next round, two of the three remaining teams fight each other, while the third team fights a special exotic monster. The final round is a face-to-face battle between the two remaining teams. The winners of each round is awarded a generous prize (trophy plus 2000-10,000 gp). The winner of the Champion's Games wins the right to wear the Champion's Belt (worth 2000 gp) for a year, along with a cash payout of 20,000 gp.
• All battles are potentially lethal, but a gladiator always has the option of surrender. To surrender, a gladiator must drop his weapons, kneel, and hold both hands in the air. A gladiator who attacks a surrendering foe is disqualified (and likely arrested for assault or murder). A gladiator who surrenders and then attacks anothr foe is also disqualified.
• Gladiators that can fly or levitate may do so up to a height of 40 feet. A gladiator that flues any higher is disqualified. Burrowing into the arena's floor is forbidden.
• A match persists until one team is victorious, either through the death or the surrender of all opposing teams.
• Winning gladiators have no right to the spoils of the fallen. A defeated foe keeps his gear, or in the case of death, ownership of gear reverts to his team.
• Any tactic that endangers spectators is grounds for immediate disqualification and possible legal action.
• A disqualified gladiator must cease fighting at once and must move to the edge of the field of battle. Failure to comply results in the disqualification of the entire team. Once a gladiator is disqualified, he may no longer take part in any remaining battles.

The Competition:

These teams are given a short description by me, and are open to further development by a DM. The module does give an "Encounter Level" for each NPC team which helps. Teams marked with an asterisk are fully detailed in Dungeon #128.

Arcane Auriga* EL 10 

4 elven female archers, exiles from Celene. Led by Rennida Auriga (arcane archer), her daughter Krinasa and two cousins, Eelyssa and Anetah.

Auric's Warband* (defending champion) EL 12

Auric (F10), Khellek (W10) and 3 controlled flesh golems.

Badlands Revenge* EL 9

3 gnoll warriors led by a human druid/barbarian named Joren and his dire badger companion.

Chuko's Ravens EL 7

3 kenku rogues led by a druid named Chuko.

Draconic Brood EL 11

4 half-dragon adventurers (or dragonborn if 5E) including a pseudo-dragon familiar.

Drunken Devilry EL 6

6 drunken students from the fraternal Gnarly House in Greyhawk City.

Final Phoenix EL 7

4 mounted lancers from the Bright Lands.

Guttuggers EL 8

4 half-orc mercenary veterans from Greyhawk City.

Iron (Cairn) Hill Monkeys EL 5

3 monks from Twilight Monastery. 

Night Owls EL 4

2 rogue knife-fighters from Dyvers.

One of Us EL 4

3 human adventurers (triplets) form the Duchy of Urnst. Might be dopplegangers?

Pitch Blade* EL 12

2 dwarven killers (barb 10) named Drusfan and Pharbol.

Rauth's Dragoons EL 6

4 veteran mercenary cavalry from Perrenland managed by Captain Rauth.

Sapphire Squad* EL 9

2 mercenary mounted archers led a jann swashbuckler named Korush.

Snow Leopards EL 9

A half-elf mage and a half-elf ranger with two leopard animal companions from the Lortmils .

Teeth of Kord EL 5

3 clerics led by specialty priest of Kord from Rhizia.

The Crazy Eight EL 6

8 minor gladiators from the Pit in the Foreign Quarter.

The Fisthammers EL 8

4 dwarven warriors from Karakast.

The Gravediggers EL 8

3 of the meanest members of the Gravedigger Union in GHC.

The Skull of Murq EL 9

A mysterious wizard and 4 human bodyguards.

The Unhumans EL 7

A half-orc, an ogre, a lizard man, and a bugbear.

The Woodchuckers EL 3

4 spunky gnomes from Grossetgrottel.

Varmint Patrol EL 5

8 halfling slingers from Elmshire.

World of Greyhawk Campaign: Anne Brown 1993

Welcome back Greyhawk mavens! I've been going through my RPG collection recently and trying to decide which stuff I should sell/trade off and which to keep. Needless to say, I'm very attached to my 1E and BECMI D&D stuff. Then my 2E and 3E era stuff is hit or miss. If it's Greyhawk related I keep it naturally. One item I almost put in the sell section was the hardback 1993 TSR Master Catalog. I did a post on this rare find back in 2013 and I just realized while I posted a picture of the World of Greyhawk foreword by Anne Brown, I didn't really talk about the article itself. It's so good, let's just read the entire thing. One more thing, if someone EVER asks you to describe the Greyhawk setting and why you should play it, point them to this article by Anne Brown! Enjoy!

The WORLD OF GREYHAWK campaign 

by Anne Brown 

    "Through clearing smoke and settling dust, refugees and tired soldiers make their way across a scarred landscape. The wars are finally over, and nations struggle to establish borders, alliances, and protective forces. Scarlet Brotherhood spies infiltrate every corner of the land. An undead king's grip tightens on unsuspecting nations. The Circle of Eight, the most famous clique of wizards across the continent, has scattered to the four winds, two of its members dead and one of them turned traitor. 

    What remain are danger, intrigue, and adventure-opportunities and treasures for those intrepid enough to seek them. Spies must be ferreted out, vital supply lines must be kept open, and victims of war crimes and injustice must be rescued. Perpetrators must be made to answer for their evil deeds."

Good intro! This sums up the state of the Flanaess post-Greyhawk Wars and leading into From the Ashes era. Evil is ascendant and the wars while over, are still simmering. Back then we are still a way off from the Return of the Eight, and the reversals of war leading into the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer. Let's continue...

    "The WORLD OF GREYHAWK campaign setting, the oldest world devised or the ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game, is a land of chivalry, valiant knights, heinous villains, and wrongs waiting to be righted. It has stood the test of time as a gaming ground, boasting such adventures as Temple of Elemental Evil, Tomb of Horrors, and Vecna Lives! It provided a starting point for thousands of AD&D game players, young and old.

    The GREYHAWK setting is also home to some of the most famous names in the ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game-Mordenkainen, Bigby, Tenser, Rary, Vecna, Iuz, Zagyg, and more. These heroes and villains have no doubt both saved and threatened the necks of all player characters over the years. Their influence is unmistakable and their absence would be painful."

Greyhawk does benefit from being the innovator. Really the only thing you need to know is classic adventures and famous D&D personages is what separates Greyhawk from all the others. The examples Anne lists are perfect, even Vecna Lives! which is not highly regarded for its quality is now very relevant in 5E. Like she says, the absence of these names associated with their famous spells and magic items is a grave mistake. Greyhawk's influence reverberates through all D&D history. Moving on...

    "The famed City of Greyhawk, described in its own boxed set, is a gaming jewel in its own right. Filled with interesting characters from Mayor Nerof Gasgal (a former member of the thieves' guild) right down to gamblers and street urchins, this bustling metropolis is filled with adventure and intrigue. It boasts a marketplace, gambling house, opera house, museum, wizards' academy, and library. It is a city inhabited by thieves, merchants, wizards of all levels, sewer zombies, and plenty of friendly, ordinary folk.

    Like any civilized continent, Greyhawk is not without its problems. Raiding barbarians, evil necromancers, and the occasional dragon have all beleaguered innocents and adventurers alike. It would be a boring land without interesting villains."

Anne leads into the City of Greyhawk which is literally the center of this great setting. Since the boxed set she mentioned, the city has had timeline updates and additions through the editions. Whatever source you use for the Gem of the Flanaess, the description here holds true. There is more...

"The Winds of War

    In recent years, political frictions built into the campaign world came to a boil. Deceit, treachery, double-dealing, and expansionism desired by greedy leaders all took their toll. Shaky alliances fell and armies mounted by forces of evil besieged coveted lands. Horrible tales of war machines, destructive wizardry, and massive humanoid armies on the march are now told in every inn, tavern, and outpost.

    For two long years, the nations of the Flanaess schemed, murdered, and warred against each other until nearly all sides lay bloodied and beaten: war had exhausted the land and the people. Furyondy, and Iuz ground to a stalemate; Nyrond's vast coffers drained dry and its overtaxed peasants grew rebellious; the Great Kingdom shattered into a swarm of petty landholdings vying for power; Keoland ought invasion on all sides; countless men, dwarves, elves, and orcs marched off to war, never to return; farms stood empty; fields lay fallow... the Flanaess could war no longer.

    The leaders of the fatigued nations finally agreed to a truce-no small undertaking. Each nation sent ambassadors to the Free City of Greyhawk. Six months of strained negotiations commenced, and in the end, came the Day of the Great Signing. Finally, the nations of the Flanaess rested in an uneasy peace. The documents were signed. But across the countryside, the world was far from peaceful."

So again, Anne lets us know war is a major backdrop of the setting. This is another huge selling point for the setting. Only Birthright really goes more into medieval fantasy warfare than Greyhawk does. From its war gaming roots, Gary Gygax's Greyhawk was meant to have this kind of continent-wide conflict. She goes on to name-drop some of the most important kingdoms on the map and finishes with the event that leads to the unfortunate Rary the Traitor. What comes next from Anne Brown?

"After the War

    The GREYHAWK campaign setting now offers more gaming opportunities than ever before. In December 1991. the original boxed set was amended by the Greyhawk Wars boxed set, describing the status of the war and providing a complete wargame, allowing fans of the setting to play out the events of the war.

    In October 1992, the game line was again amended by a boxed set, entitled From the Ashes. This set provides a complete update describing the aftermath of the war, and includes new maps, encounters, and gaming hooks. Countless rumors and whispered tales are included as fuel for the imagination of the DUNGEON MASTER.

    From the Ashes also includes new non-player characters to provide player characters with tour guides and enemies. These folks run the range from law enforcing rangers and patrols to mischievous wizards and fiendish undead creatures. Of course, plenty of friendly natives, grumpy dwarves, and sly elves fill in the gaps.

    The most powerful creatures in the world of GREYHAWK, the gods themselves, are also detailed in this boxed set. Major deities are outlined to provide both players and the DM with just enough to understand their workings but still keep them guessing."

  Anne brings it back to the stuff being sold in the catalog. I would not recommend Greyhawk Wars for a campaign simulation, but it makes for a fun boardgame. Like or not, From the Ashes does indeed build on previous published Greyhawk. The 90's was of course the golden age of prolific author Carl Sargent and sourcebooks like Iuz the Evil, Marklands and the unpublished Ivid the Undying; all would go on to add an abundance of new lore undreamt of during the Gygax era. Let's finish this off...

  

    "The lands of Greyhawk will be recovering from the wars for decades. Certain areas are wild as ever, while some regions, once safe, have fallen under evil influence. Skirting the Scarlet Brotherhood spies, avoiding the eye of Iuz, and eluding Ivid and his undead will make for years of memorable gaming!"

Well said Anne Brown! Built off this momentum in 1993, Greyhawk would go on to have even more 2E updates and adventures, then it was made the core world of 3.5E D&D. This was the peak of the Greyhawk setting; featured by Paizo Publishing in dozens of adventures for Dungeon magazine and was the setting for the unmatched Living Greyhawk campaign where players from all over the world created hundreds more modules for several years. Though the star has faded since then, Greyhawk lore continues to influence modern D&D for all the reasons Anne listed above. If you are just now learning about the World of Greyhawk, the 90's is actually a great place to start because it has all the wondrous simplicity of 80's Greyhawk with a respectable amount of gritty new adventure seeds and you won't get overwhelmed by all the published lore that comes out in the 2000's. Thanks again, Anne for writing this article.  

All About Manzorian the Archmage

Hail Greyhawkers! To coincide with a Legends & Lore discussion on Tenser and Mordenkainen, I decided to break out the old Paizo Age of Worms AP and see what was going on in that module with Tenser aka Manzorian. I am still flabbergasted that WotC made Erik Mona and company genericize much of Greyhawk's proper names in this series. Greyhawk was the defacto setting in 3.5 D&D and Paizo made highly detailed conversion articles for Forgotten Realms and Eberron. So....yeah. Anyhow, this post is a look into some of the material written about Manzorian, mainly from The Spire of Long Shadows by Jesse Decker in Dungeon #130. I hope you enjoy my commentary. Let's get into it!

Archmage Manzorian (LG male human wizard 16/archmage 5)

Manzorian is an interesting wizard name that definitely has more of a Greyhawk feel than an Ed Greenwood Realms name. Hm, Manzorian's Floating Disk? If I had never heard of the name Tenser, then Manzorian would be suitable. Also, I noticed the root name "Manz" is found in Living Greyhawk Journal #1 for a Count Ignaz Manz who is a 16th level fighter. Coincidence or some deep lore connection? Even though Jesse Decker wrote the module, I can imagine Erik Mona had a hand in renaming this important NPC.

One more thing, Tenser/Manzorian's level in previous products ranges up to 20th. I see in this timeline he got a bit more experienced. More on that later. Let's look at Manzorian's neighboring village, Magepoint.

"A community shaped and defined by the presence of an archmage, the village of Magepoint offers myriad portals to adventures of surprising breadth and difficulty, a result of the many visitors seeking Manzorian's advice...Magepoint has grown considerably in recent years, its growth spurred by a combination of untapped economic potential, readily available land, and the safety that comes from living within the shadow of Manzorian's power."

"After all but one of his clones were destroyed by a treacherous ally several years ago, the archmage's return to Magepoint has ushered in a time of prosperity for the village."

The latter part is a reference to Rary the Traitor killing Tenser and Otiluke before the Great Signing to end the Greyhawk Wars. Manzorian's return means the events of Age of Worms are chronologically meant to take place after the module Return of the Eight. Get this classic module for more info on Magepoint and the Fortress of Unknown Depths.

"Archmage Manzorian is a tremendously powerful character - in fact he's one of the most powerful NPCs the characters are likely to encounter...Handle him with care. You don't want the PCs to come to depend on him too much, but his presence shouldn't be downplayed."

The module goes to great lengths to show Manzorian is too busy to get directly involved, but the PC's quest is too important to ignore. He has agents and allies who can intercede for him if necessary.

"When the PCs first arrive in Magepoint, Manzorian is not present - he's finishing off important business on another plane. Anyone in town can tell the PCs this..."

"Manzorian returns from his travels to Arcadia..."

What was Manzorian doing in the plane Arcadia following his return from death? Was he getting his memory or abilities restored? Clones are just save-points after all, so he probably missed out on a few years. Since Manzorian is one level higher than Tenser was in RotE maybe he was on a divine quest for more power? The only Greyhawk deity I know who resides in Arcadia is Saint Cuthbert. Hmm. 

Two of the notable Magepoint citizens are long time agents of the archmage, Cymria of Celadon (13th level elven fighter-mage) from the module Vecna Lives! and clerical ally Agath of Thrunch (19th level) from the module Isle of the Ape.

Manzorian's Fortress of Unknown Depths (and to a lesser extent Magepoint itself) sits atop a mysterious well-spring of arcane power...The origins of this power are known only to a few, but many reap its benefits...even Manzorian himself has not yet mastered its full potential."

The origin of this power is called Oerthblood. For more info on this mystery read Return of the Eight or Dragon #351, Irongate: City of Stairs by Denis Tetreault and Gary Holian. For AoW however, all arcane spells cast within 1000 yards of the Fortress of Unknown Depths can potentially gain effects of metamagic feats Enlarge Spell, Extend Spell or Empower Spell without having to increase the spell's caster level. That's pretty cool and definitely makes Magepoint a place wizards would want to visit.

"Manzorian knows a fair amount about the Age of Worms and Kyuss."

"A former companion of mine, a wizard named Balakarde, made an extensive study of Kyuss and his ways. You might even say he was obsessed with Kyuss...When Balakarde learned Kuluth-Mar was the likely location of Kyuss' divine apotheosis, he could barely restrain himself. I cautioned him against going to investigate the ruins. One does not simply teleport into an unknown region without doing some research."

Oh, like when Mordenkainen sent you to Halmadar the Cruel's tomb in Vecna Lives? Tsk tsk Manzorian. This is the part of the adventure where Manzorian starts dumping lore on the players. It's really good stuff and even if you never intend to play Age of Worms, get it just for the lore. He continues: 

"I intended to try to track him down, but unfortunately, other events conspired to take my attention away. I suspect he is dead now. Or worse."

Again, if not for a botched Circle of Eight mission in Vecna Lives, a subsequent cloning, followed by Rary zapping him dead then his next clone being turned into a dretch, and a trip to Arcadia that couldn't wait, he would've totally gone after his friend. Sure, Manzorian, sure. For those who haven't read AoW, Balakarde is actually Bucknard of the Everfull Purse fame. It's silly that besides his famous purse, this is perhaps the first time the NPC has been utilized in some useful lore and he had to be renamed. Ah well, let's see what other lore Manzorian is dispensing...

"The Age of Worms prophecy predicts that several major magical artifacts shall surface in the months before the end...I know of several that have surfaced of late; the Black Blade of Aknar Ratalla, the Tome of the Black Heart, the Obsidian Eye, the Dread Forge, the Bindings of Erivatius, and...a fragment of the Rod of Seven Parts."

What are all these delicious artifacts? I mean, we all know the Rod of Seven Parts, and the Tome of the Blackheart I know from Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure, and the Maure Castle Dungeon #112 megadungeon. I had to do some searching for the others, but it looks like the Paizohawk crew was slipping in easter eggs via Manzorian. For instance. Dungeon #119 has a generic high-level adventure, Tomb of Aknar Ratalla by Jack Flynn. Then Dungeon #120 has a module named The Obsidian Eye by Nicholas Logue and Brendan Victorson. The Bindings of Eritavius is from the epic level module Quicksilver Hourglass in Dungeon #123 by Anson Caralya. Erivatius is the Lord of Inertia, a demigod of aging and death and would be just as bad freeing as Kyuss. I couldn't find a reference to the Dread Forge but based on the others I am 100% certain it's from a Dungeon adventure. If anyone recalls the reference let me know in the comments.

"When the PCs are ready to go, Manzorian directs their attention to the numerous paintings on the walls - to one in particular. These paintings are of significant locations of historical import throughout the world, and each is imbued with divination magic to aid in teleportation."

As I mentioned before, there is supplemental articles on how to port Tenser/Manzorian in other game worlds. In Eberron, Age of Worms suggests that Magepoint is a haven for dragons, and that Manzorian is actually a dragon in human form (LG wyrm gold dragon archmage 4). In the Forgotten Realms, it is suggested the Fortress of Unknown Depths is called the Tower of Twilight and is inhabited by a family of wizards. Manzorian here is even MORE powerful and goes by the name Malchor Harpell, a NG Illuskan wizard 20/archmage 5). This seems unnecessary since Tenser was already recast, but he does get a more Realmsy name this way, I guess. 

Manzorian meets the PCs again before the climatic end of the adventure in Dungeon #135, Dawn of a New Age by Tito Leati. No spoilers, but ol' Manzorian counsels and finds a way to help the PCs battle Kyuss without getting directly involved of course. Check out that issue for some epic level information. That's all for now. Until next time!

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!

Virtual Greyhawk Con Experience

Hey hey heroes of Greyhawk! On the last day of Virtual Greyhawk Con, I'm here to write about my experience in gaming and streaming with this new community event. If you didn't take part, let me tell you first, it was a resounding success in attendance. So many games and DMs and players pitched in, and I hear tell that VGC 2021 is already planned for early October, so start setting aside time now!

My two favorite parts of the convention that I took part in was Casey Brown's Living Greyhawk Bandit Kingdom tournament module. He ran and scored three tables Friday-Sunday in a module written by former LG author Chris Gorsuch. I was in the initial Friday party, playing Gariveena the Pure, cleric of Pholtus (Ebongleam). My teammates at the virtual table were Jon Dawes, Steve Fridsma, Matt Shephard and Matt Robertson. Just our luck, Chris Gorsuch was also on hand to watch us speed run our way through his creation, a nasty insane asylum in the city of Rookroost. Fortunately for us, Pholtus shined the way through this darkness and got us to the final boss, and thus scored enough points along the way to win this tournament!!!! As the winning table we each acquired a PDF copy of Casey's Unofficial Living Greyhawk Bandit Kingdoms Summary. The tournament MVP, Jon Dawes got a hardcopy of the book for his charming portrayal of halfling rogue Tammy Gonegan. 10/10 would do this again.

Then on Saturday I filled in for my good friend Gary Holian at the Greyhawk All-Stars RPG ran by Jay Scott. This table drew the largest crowd and included other RPG luminaries like Luke Gygax, Erik Mona, Anna Meyer, Stephen Chenault and Chuck Cumbow. I was definitely the low man on this esteemed group! In this 1e/2e scenario set in the Cairn Hills, I played Gary's unique creation, Sir Gareth Lundern, cleric of St. Benedor the Ashen Hand, hero-god patron of the Knights Protector. We were on the hunt of Nazim Bin Kalifa, a former elementalist apprentice of Alhamazad the Wise who was corrupted by Abi-Dalzim into also being a necromancer and was about to use an artifact called the Tongue of Rugero Bloodmoon! Fun fact, I helped Jay create this villain before I was called on to play in the game. It did not help because this wizard was deadly and nearly broke Sir Gareth's neck!

Luke Gygax got to play Eliador (Smelf) the son of his original PC, Melf, from his dad Gary Gygax's home game. The highlight was when Eliador cast his "Dad's Acid Arrow" spell! Anna was her regular ranger-magic-user Imrie from Jay's home game and so was defacto our representative to the Order of Ulek who hired our characters. Chuck was the roguish follower of Ralishaz, Fritz Winchester who sneaked around and stabbed everything. Steve was Angrim the dwarven fighter (who probably did most of the killing). Jay also gave Sir Gareth a squire named Joseph Kocur (yes that Kocur) who would've been my PC if Holian had been able to show. Finally, Erik Mona was the breakout star of the show with his well-role played one-eyed cleric of Ralishaz Vanarium. He charmed us, he fought with us and in the end after Kalifa was beaten to a pulp by Smelf, he double-crossed us, taking the Tongue of Rugero after drinking his potion of gaseous form and LEFT! I hope this plot gets resolved in the future! Damn you Mona!

In the end, we all survived and had a good time. Plenty of people watched and threw cheer points our way to help out (big time). Again, there was many other amazing games and panels this weekend. I can't cover them all, but check around the community and there will be plenty of stories for us to tell from this convention for the rest of our lives!

Greyhawk Thoughts: The Flight of Fiends

Hail Greyhawkers! Today's topic was recently brought up in discussion on our Twitch show Legends & Lore, but it's something I haven't researched much, and certainly have never referenced in my own campaign. I'm talking about the Flight of Fiends. If you haven't heard of the Flight, it's probably one of the most significant events in all of published World of Greyhawk. The short of it is that the most powerful cleric in the world used the artifact, Crook of Rao to mass-banish all demons and devils from the Flanaess. Let's analyze the Flight of Fiends and see if it is truly as momentous as it would seem:

Here is a few other events to put the Flight into perspective:


1. The "Greyhawk Wars" raged from 582-584 CY. Much of Iuz and Ivid V's might was due to the influence of many demons and devils summoned by way of gates.

"The Blackspear Chamber is Iuz's gate to the Abyss. Fiends are summoned through it and upon their return to the Abyss, the powerful nexus strengthens them..."
-Iuz the Evil

"Baalzephon guided Ivenzen's men to the Cauldron of Night and instructed the priests and wizards how to fashion the malachite throne. The baatezu offered diabolic aid in the form of spinagon and barbazu troops for the House of Naelax. Further, it gave the House of Naelax dark magical artifacts which the overking and his mages hold to this day...In return, Baalzephon asked for two things. First, the House of Naelax had to agree to cease all dealings with tanar'ri—except for enslaving them and banishing them. Second, Baalzephon graciously demanded the souls of Ivenzen's heirs and descendants for 888 years—should they rule from the malachite throne."
-Ivid the Undying

"Ivid's own throne room is a 40-yard diameter circular chamber with the great malachite throne set into the north wall...Once per week, if the correct command word is uttered, the throne can be used to open a gate to the uppermost of the Nine Hells."
-Ivid the Undying 

2. Delegates sign the Pact of Greyhawk ending the Greyhawk Wars in Harvester 584 CY. Rary "the Traitor" tries to subvert the Great Signing, killing Tenser and Otiluke in the process. When Rary fails to stop the signing, he flees to the Bright Desert and sets up his own realm with some planar aid.

"He summoned yugoloth and other creatures from the planes, and ordered them to transport Rary' Tower, as well as Robilar and his army, into the Bright Desert. There he ordered the yugoloth to construct a fortress for his new headquarters."
-Rary the Traitor

3. Circa 576 CY, at the behest of the Circle of Eight, a band of heroes liberate the Crook of Rao in the adventure Isle of the Ape, thus foiling the Witch Queen Iggwilv and her demonic allies. After this event, the Crook goes out of sight until it seemingly comes to Rel Astra post-wars.

"The Crook of Rao then passed from view for a time, until it resurfaced in the Great Kingdom following the Greyhawk Wars in the hands of the LordProtector of Rel Astra, an animus known as Drax the Invulnerable. How he acquired it is unknown, but some speculate it was lost by an agent of the Circle of Eight seeking to relieve the forces of Commandant Osson of Almor before their destruction in Medegia."
-The Crook of Rao, Oerth Journal #3 by Eric L. Boyd

"Rumors abound that the Lord Protector of Rel Astra. Drax the Invulnerable, has made known he has acquired a powerful artifact of Good. sacred in the Power Rao. He has offered this to the rulers of Veluna in trade for magical items more useful to the forces of Rel Astra. Veluna's Canon Hazen is depserate to have the artifact and is said to looking for powerful adventurers to travel to Rel Astra and back."
"This mission is important enough that Hazen's second-in-command, Patriarch Lemuel will accompany the PCs."
"Chaotic evil enemies of Veluna will not be pleased to see a mighty artifact of lawful good retrieved (Iuz is the obvious case)."
-From the Ashes, Atlas of the Flanaess

The Flight of Fiends and its Aftermath: 

Indeed, the Flight of Fiends was made possible not because of the wisdom of the Circle of Eight, but due to their misguidance or carelessness and of course the greed of Drax, who likely didn't know what the Crook could really do. Using the Crook of Rao was no small matter.

"In Coldeven 586, Canon Hazen of Veluna employed the Crook of Rao, a powerful artifact, in a special ceremony that purged the Flanaess of nearly all fiends inhabiting it. Outsiders summoned by Iuz, Ivid, or independent evils fell victim to this magical assault, which became known as the Flight of Fiends."

"In a stirring private ceremony attended by the entire College of Bishops, Canon Hazen (along, it is said, with the help from the archmage Bigby of Mitrik) employed the fabulous artifact to trigger the Flight of Fiends."

-Living Greyhawk Gazetteer

Whatever the Circle of Eight's internal politics was during the Greyhawk Wars, at least Bigby redeemed himself by helping with the Flight as well as assisting Veluna in pursuing Iuz afterward:

"...word spread through Furyondy of an extraordinary event. The great fiends that had patrolled and ravaged the many lands seized by Iuz were no longer in sight."
"...the artifact known as the Crook of Rao had been recovered, and it had been used by His Venerable Reverence, Canon Hazen, aided by many lesser priests and the archmage Bigby, to rid the Flanaess of the fiends' presence. Reports confirming the absence of those monstrosities conflicted with later news that a few fiends in scattered locations had withstood the Crook's effect and remained at large. Still, a majority of these demons had been cast from the Oerth, back into the depths of their home planes."
-Greyhawk, the Adventure Begins 

"Without his support structure of fiendish officers, Iuz's armies lost much of their striking power and organization. Belvor knew well that this chaos would not last forever. Furyondy's plight demanded action. At great cost to his own power and holdings, King Belvor IV initiated the Great Northern Crusade."

"Bereft of their powerful masters, many lesser nonhumans and ambitious human generals attempted to stage coups throughout the occupied lands, even as rebel bandits and indigenous populations took advantage of the Flight of Fiends to strike back at their oppressors."
-Living Greyhawk Gazetteer

Meanwhile, in the Great Kingdom, things weren't so hot for mad overking Ivid either:

"Immediately after the Flight of Fiends, it was announced in Rauxes that Ivid V was no longer overking, though it is unclear if he had actually died. Conflict engulfed the capital in a matter of hours as many of Ivid's generals and nobles, filled with rage and ambition, marched upon Rauxes. No one can explain the events that followed, but the city itself was soon engulfed in a strange magical field. Few willingly approach Rauxes now, given the bizarre eldritch forces that prevail where the ruined city stands." 
-Living Greyhawk Gazetteer

Did the Flight of Fiends have any lasting impact? Certainly the Great Kingdom was already smashed apart before then. The Flight of Fiends removed Ivid's last, best means to keep his very powerful rivals (wizard, animus, death knight, etc) in check. With Ivid gone, the east was up for grabs. Back in the west, the Great North Crusade in just three years, resulted in reversing many of the losses that Furyondy and the Shield Lands suffered in the Greyhawk Wars, the main victory coming in the Battle of Crockport (with Bigby's help). Some of the Bandit Lands and Stonehold also shook free of the yoke of Iuz's evil for now. Unfortunately, Iuz the Old still managed to bring the fighting to a stalemate despite the "permanent and unalterable state of war" declared by Belvor.

By 591 CY, as Belvor predicted it seems, Iuz either started summoning demons again or perhaps the proximity of his permanent Abyssal gate in Dorakaa protected some of them.

"Even after the Flight of Fiends, demons walk the grim battlements..."

"No one knows how many demons survived the Flight of Fiends in 586 CY; few have surfaced."
-Living Greyhawk Gazetteer

Post-Flight it's said Hazen, who was already old, was too weak to get out except in special occasions, like announcing the Great Northern Crusade. The Crook of Rao like Hazen, was kept out of sight during the intervening years. This is the only snippet I could find on what happened in Living Greyhawk play concerning Hazen and the Crook:

"In events that take place in the Living Greyhawk campaign, it is revealed that three Raoan priests were tricked into betraying Canon Hazen by accepting magical curses which transcribed the true names of 101 demons onto their skin in the forms of magical tattoos. These 303 demons were not banished. It is further revealed that most of the powerful demons left of their own accord to make the ceremony appear more successful than it truly was. In the aftermath, the Canon has rarely been seen due to his weakened condition and the Crook has lost most of its power."

-The Crook in Living Greyhawk

My Speculation and Conclusions:

1. It's glaringly important to ask, why did the Crook become lost soon after it was recovered by heroes in Isle of the Ape? Eric Boyd's war-focused theory is pretty solid for why it ended up in the Great Kingdom. A more scandalous reason however, is that Mordenkainen (who is not only obsessed with the Blood War between fiends, but also the Balance) wanted the wars to continue and dropped the Crook off in Rel Astra for his own twisted ends.

2. Did the Flight of Fiends directly affect Rauxes or the Malachite Throne? It's not known for sure how the capital of the Great kingdom fell to magical ruin, but Ivid or another wizard trying to use a broken Malachite Throne to summon more devils and accidentally destroying the city would make a pretty cinematic scene.

3. Did all of Rary the Traitor's yugoloth minions get unsummoned during the Flight or were they already released from service after constructing his fortress? This would have to be addressed for any campaign that uses this area in post-586 CY.

4. Can the Crook be used again to abjure evil on a grand scale? Not likely according to LG sources, but author Roger Moore in The Adventure Begins leaves the door open for it to be used again in some fashion. Due to his great age, Hazen would surely be replaced in anyone's campaign at some point. Perhaps a promoted Patriarch Lemuel would be strong enough to power the artifact again.

5. The ascendancy of evil was set up by Carl Sargent in the Greyhawk Wars/From the Ashes era. The Crook of Rao and Canon Hazen, in the Tales of the Year of Peace, was one of the suggested events that Sargent seeded for the next timeline advance that eventually came in the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer. In my opinion, the Flight of Fiends should have ultimately led to Iuz's defeat in Greyhawk publication if not at least in living campaign play. Sure Ivid V was removed from the chess board, but was he ever really an existential threat except in wartime? Vecna was arguably more a threat than Ivid the Undying in the same time frame. The Great North Crusade, billed as the push to end Iuz once and for all, was one backdrop for the Living Greyhawk campaign that played out over several more real life and in-game years. As far as I know, by the end of LG play and official Greyhawk publication (Paizo or WotC), Iuz still remained the defacto main villain.
Now, I understand there is a thematic reason to always have a Big Bad Evil Guy like Iuz at the center of the World of Greyhawk setting. I just think in hindsight, Iuz's ever-present, unbeatable evil made the Flight of Fiends less spectacular, especially once the demons started to inevitably creep back in (see Paizo's Savage Tide). The retrieval of the Crook of Rao and the Flight of Fiends should have been the Greyhawk equivalent of blowing up the Death Star in New Hope which led to the defeat of Emperor Palpatine in Return of the Jedi.

6. The Flight of Fiends was meant to turn the tide for Good. Rather than someday using the Crook for Flight of Fiends 2.0, future Greyhawk authors should look to build on the Flight and Crusade by chipping away at the Old One even more. Develop the Soul Husk Caverns or have the REAL Vatun unite the north this time. Or hell have Mayaheine actually do something; wasn't she physically brought to Oerth to help Furyondy fight Iuz? There's plenty of work left to be done, Iuz must be vanquished. The Flight of Fiends should not go to waste.

Random Greyhawk Esoterica

Welcome back Greyhawkers. Well I don't have my copy of Ghosts of Saltmarsh yet and our Legends & Lore stream show returns in a couple weeks, so for now I'm going to do one of my favorite things and talk about random published Greyhawk tidbits. This time I'm going to peruse some stuff from Dungeon and Dragon Magazines. Let's dig in...

Dragon #277 had an interesting article called Greyhawk 2000 by Philip Athans. This article was an example of advancing timelines in a fantasy world that includes gods, monsters and magic. I had to look it up again because I thought I was dreaming this happened. Guns, automobiles, fighter jets, etc. Indeed it reminds me of the near-future-fantasy of Shadowrun, but without proliferation of cybernetic technology. If Mr. Athans were to update his article to be "Greyhawk 2020", I'm sure there would be even more familiar concepts from real life entering the Flanaess (like smart phones). At any rate, check out this wiki Greyhawk Timeline that includes the future-hawk events, it's good for a fun read.

Raiders of the Black Ice by Wolfgang Baur of Kobold Press fame, can be found in Dungeon #115 and it is one of my favorite Greyhawk adventures from the magazines. This adventure was a tie-in to the 3.5E environmental splat-book Frostburn. This book involved arctic settings and was my favorite of the series. Using it to run in the Land of Black Ice was just perfect. RotBI has more than black ice and surviving the elements, it has frost-folk, automatons and an amazing map of Blackmoor region by Rob Lazaretti. If you don't own this issue, I highly recommend it.

In Dragon #351 is the long overdue article Irongate - City of Stairs by my good friends Gary Holian and Denis Tetreault. The guys had an Irongate Project in the works for ages and this sadly short offering was published by fellow Greyhawk loremaster Erik Mona before the tragic end of Paizo's run on the magazines. While there is so much more to Irongate, they capture the history of the free city and manage to develop some cool stuff for an otherwise untouched part of the setting. One thing is they tie the mysterious World Serpent Inn to the city making it a multi-planar destination for some NPCs. Another thing is a sidebar on Oerthblood. This rare material also known as blood-iron, is unique to the World of Greyhawk and is useful in crafting weapons and armor. Before the stuff is even enchanted it grants a +1 luck bonus to hit or variable damage resistance. Want some of that? Go to Irongate!


 Lastly, is a treat from Dragon Magazine Annual #3 by Noel Graham called Falcon's Bazaar. This article made during 2E I believe, covers a bunch of intriguing mundane items that can be found in the markets throughout the Flanaess. It reminds me alot of Aurora's Whole Realms Catalogue which funny to say, may be my favorite FR book of all time. In Falcon's Bazaar you can find items you never knew your character needed, like Bronzewood Portals for your bar (20-175 gp for doors, 11-85 sp for shutters), Luminous Paste made from Phostwood trees to help mark your way in the Underdark, Rhizian Shield Harness for barbarians who need to use two-handed weapons time to time, and chewable Tamal Leaves from the Amedio Jungle for hardened adventurers who are too cool (or disgusting) for halfling pipe-weed.

That's all for, good luck finding these articles, they are all timeless and useful in any edition of D&D. You won't be disappointed. Until next time!

Avengers Endgame Thoughts

Hello Greyhawkers. It's been a long, busy week, but I did manage to see Avengers: Endgame and I must say, after 10 years of amazing Marvel comic movies building up to this finale I got some thoughts to share in relation to running a D&D/RPG campaign (not just Greyhawk). Also, no don't worry, there won't be any spoilers in this post. If you haven't seen the movie do so NOW. If you haven't seen any Avengers movies, what's wrong with you? Okay let's start in no particular order...

1. Adventure Paths, much like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, are hard, but if you can finish it the memories and emotional pay off will be worth it. Be it the Against the Giants/Queen of Spiders, Age of Worms or your own series of adventures. If you intend to do the long-campaign, see it through!

2. A central uber-villain like Thanos is worth his weight in gold. This guy has to be untouchable, but so personally hated by the PCs that they will try to defeat him/her no matter the odds. I think of heavy villain types like Iggwilv, Iuz or Vecna.

3. Villains can win. Yeah they can and it only makes the players want to try harder to undo what victory the bad guy may achieve. In the module Vecna Lives! there is a scenario in which the arch-lich wins. Does he? Probably not in 99.9% of games played, but if he does, it ups the stakes for your entire campaign.

4. Call backs to old NPCs or locations or events is a great way to reward players. Referencing something a PC has done to change the world is a good way to acknowledge that the players have mattered and their time is not wasted. If such a place or person is revisited, the platers will want to defend it just that much more. It's also a good way for a DM to show that no minor detail or random NPC you may meet in a Greyhawk tavern is unimportant because they might matter some point in the future.

5. If you're going to have an epic finale, be sure there is plenty for every hero to do. Having a character be the "chosen one" is fine in many stories with only one central character, but RPGs are usually ensemble casts. Give them stuff to do and personal goals to tie up at the end. this is why I feel quests like Five Shall Be One's quest for the five Blades of Corusk is great, because it requires all the heroes to be invested in the story and lend a hand in victory.

6. Character death should be epic, not pointless. This is of course easier said than done. But if the PCs live as well, there should always be an opportunity to take one for the team. The struggle against Kyuss in Age of Worms was quite good at handling climatic situations in this fashion.

7. Sometimes a new player thinks outside the box better than veterans. If this ever happens it is a breath of fresh air for DMs and a shot in the arm for long time players. I've seen it happen occasionally over the years. Never discourage creative plans and ideas, no matter how silly or over the top they may seem at first.

8. It's okay to move up the timeline. RPGs these days work in at accelerated pace. It's easy to do an Adventure Path like Savage Tide, that takes less than a game year to finish but takes the PC from 1-20th level. So your PC may be ultra powerful and rich now, but has he really developed? As a DM, adding incremental timeline changes gives the players an opportunity to change not just their stats but their character's personal story moving forward.

9. Cross-overs can work. Are you a DM that runs more than one game group? Do they play in a shared world like the World of Greyhawk? If you ever get to mix these game groups up and let them cross over the teams, it can make for some interesting relationships and new group dynamics. I used to run games like this frequently and we still proudly talk about those games decades later.

10. Have an easily defined villain plot or quest. If you're playing an RPG involving intrigue, investigation or horror then sure, it can be good to slowly dish out information and build to a reveal. In an epic fantasy quest, sometimes it's good to know the danger up front and what will happen if they fail. All the stuff in between is the meat of the story and for a DM can be fluid at this point. Iuz's demons will overrun the Flanaess unless you get the Crook of Rao, And....GO!

11. A good villain or hero never stays gone for long. It's more true for comic books, but in a game like D&D it's easy for recurring villains or even heroes to be brought back into the story if needed, such as clones, simulacrum, resurrection, raise dead, reincarnation, undeath, etc. If done right this can span a wide timeline gap like in Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure and the sequel Maure Castle which was also written 20 real years apart.

12. Sometimes villains can make great allies or can even be redeemed. If you haven't tried to have a villain team up with the PCs to take down a greater threat, you are missing out on some great roleplay opportunities. Imagine the possibility of a romantic storyline with a villain like in the movie Willow, or something familial like Thor and Loki or Raistlin and Caramon from Dragonlance.

13. The story goes on. And when you finish your epically long campaign, sometimes it is nice for your heroes to lay the ground work for your next campaign. Pass the torch so to say. This could be like a legacy game where the Circle of Eight loses and adds new members, or maybe the timeline changes and you carry on the name of a previous PC. Or maybe your PC becomes a ruler of a nation that your next character hails from and is sent on the next quest by this mentor. There's many ways to tie up the end of a campaign and let your PC leave a permanent mark on the world.

Where Is Saltmarsh?

Hello Greyhawkers! The title of this post is of course facetious, it's part of the World of Greyhawk. But for a small port first introduced in 1981's U1: Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh, it's surprisingly a house-hold name in popular culture (27th all-time) while at the same time under-appreciated in the setting that spawned it. Allow me to explain:

WotC's new book Ghosts of Saltmarsh is taking up the iconic seaport and allowing it to fit into any campaign world. And that's fine. Indeed, the 3.5E DMG2 first expanded on Saltmarsh, taking a one page description of the town in U1 and developing it into a fully realized campaign location, 33 pages in length.

Where is Saltmarsh? According to U-series authors Dave Browne and Don Turnbull, Saltmarsh is in Keoland, fittingly at hex coordinate U4/123. The U series is initialed as such because it was written by TSR's United Kingdom division. I wonder then if this is why Saltmarsh for all its rave reviews is hard to find referenced in other Greyhawk sources.

The original Darlene map of course doesn't feature towns this small and it predates the creation of the module in the 1980 World of Greyhawk Folio. The module however DOES predate the 1983 World of Greyhawk boxed set. In the boxed set Glossography booklet there is a listing of hex locations for modules set in the World of Greyhawk. None of the U series modules make this list. Thankfully the modules themselves give its hex location.

Furthermore, a ton of modules was released from 1981 onward such as I1: Dwellers of the Forbidden City and L1: The Secret of Bone Hill. On the back of all these modules would be advertisement listings to help you collect the whole library of D&D products. Shockingly, UK mods don't appear on the American module ads, but the U and UK series mods sure as heck reference the home office's work. Now the reality of business between oceans and promoting each others works may have been an obvious geographic choice. Even so, I can only conclude short of being featuring in Dragon Magazine, that the U1 got popular by word of mouth!

Despite being an underground hit, the dearth of Saltmarsh references is pretty steady until the second DMG is put out towards the end of 3.5E (set 7 years after the events of the U-series). Earlier works in the same edition like The Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, does not list Saltmarsh among major towns (Keoland is quite large). Worse, the Living Greyhawk Journal #1, has an article about Keoland by my friend Gary Holian. However, this well-developed article does not show Saltmarsh on it's close-up map (it shows Seaton though) and only mentions Saltmarsh in the caption of a piece of art showing the haunted house of the module (named Makaster House).

What else references Saltmarsh? A Dungeon Magazine #77 adventure titled To Walk Beneath the Waves by W. Jason Peck, makes mention of the module being set in the Flanaess near Saltmarsh. By the way, this mod must've slipped by WotC while they were combing Dungeon for aquatic adventures in GH like The Styes and Tammeraut's Fate. Fortunately, Paizo's 4-part World of Greyhawk map from Dungeon (118-121) is a hex for hex update of the Darlene map and does give Saltmarsh it's proper placing.

In summary, Saltmarsh the adventure defied the odds and became a D&D icon. That Wizards would take the town, build upon it, or even suggest it be played in another setting is entirely fine then, because the town deserves the spotlight for once.

Colorful Places of Greyhawk

Greetings Greyhawkers! Today I bring you another fun topic on Greyhawk geography. This one follows suit with the post I did on "Cold Places" in the Flanaess. This time let's look at the colorful places found in the World of Greyhawk. In our world there is plenty of colorfully named locations such as the Black Sea, Greenland or Yellowknife. Naming places with colors is catchy and evocative and that's why Gygax made ample use of it in his setting. Let's take a look...

BLACK
Land of Black Ice: This is the first place I think of when you mention the color black on the Darlene Flanaess map. Is the ice literally black or blue-black or transparent showing off stone below? Does it absorb heat or repel it? I have too many physics questions about this place. For more on the Land of Black Ice check out my most recent article on cold places mentioned above.

Blackmoor: Naturally next to the black ice is the grim-colored Blackmoor. While it might not be Dave Arneson's original Blackmoor, the Blackmoor we get in the World of Greyhawk is an homage that includes the same gloomy environment, the castle of Blackmoor, the mysterious City of the Gods and the even more mysterious villain Egg of Coot. Want to spice up your Blackmoor or heck play the Mystara version? Go to Havard's Blackmoor Blog.

BLUE
Azure Sea: The biggest and boldest blue on the map is naturally the Azure Sea. Azure according to Wikipedia is bright blue, like the color of the sky on a clear day. I'm no expert on physics, but perhaps this means the Azure Sea is more clear and calm than say the Solnor Ocean or the warmer Drawmij Ocean? I'd love to hear theories because I know on Earth, there is a difference in our oceans and seas.

Blue: No I'm not being facetious, there is a town called Blue on the east coast of the Pomarj. Why is it called Blue you ask? Good question. I really don't know at the moment. I do know it's been a fisherman and pirate haven for centuries and most recently it's now a port in control of the Slave Lords or Turrosh Mak's Orcish Empire or both? Whatever the case, Blue is a nice rough port to stop at for PCs who want to get in some roguish trouble.

YELLOW
Gold County: So gold is yellow of course, but where is the Gold County you may be asking? It's a southern part of Furyondy along the Velverdyva River bordering Verbobonc and Dyvers. In other words it's safe, quiet and wealthy while up north they are battling Iuz 24-7. Not only do the nobles love hiding out here, with their gold, there is also an abundance of sunflowers on the plains. Yellow indeed.

WHITE
White Fanged Bay: White immediately gives you the impression of cold. Set along the Icy Sea, this is a frozen coast noteworthy for its walruses and seals. Ivory and fur can be had by any enterprising barbarian willing to trek to White Fanged Bay. With that much food in a crowded area, what's the chances there's white dragons as well?

White Plume Mountain: Speaking of white in the north, there is one iconic location that is not cold, but rather a volcano. White Plume Mountain, the home of Keraptis the wizard, is the destination of many a treasure seeker wishing to recover the lost magic weapons that were stolen away to this dungeon. You can find a version of this module online for just about any edition of D&D imaginable. Good luck!



GRAY

City of Greyhawk: Naturally, the city that started it all would be named for a color. Growing up I would always spell the color gray, grey because I'm a D&D nerd. I definitely know Grayhawk would look weird to me. The City of Greyhawk may be nicknamed the Gem of the Flanaess but I believe the name of the town does indeed come from a species of hawk living in the area. I also suspect Gygax chose grey for the name of his famous campaign, because gray is a neutral color, much like the free city itself is neutral politically. It is also centrally located on the map, in a neutral position from all the law and chaos swirling around it. Perfection.

Grayflood River: A tributary of the Thelly River, this gray-sounding river is what forms the boundary between the South Province (Ahlissa) and the Iron League member state of Sunndi. One can imagine, in more peaceful times this was a decent river to cross and trade. Nowadays with the Great Kingdom ruled by mad-men and undead, the Grayflood sounds as dismal as its name.

Silverwood: This tiny forest within the Duchy of Ulek is just what you imagine it might be from the metallic sound of its name. It's a primeval wood, out of bounds for mere men and inhabited by sylvan elves, unicorns, treants and other fey creatures. Ironically there is no actual silver here, but the inhabitants value their trees more than silver!

Iron Hills: By now you're thinking, yeah the World of Grey-hawk has a lot of gray in it. The Iron Hills is yet one more, this one is though is known for its dwarven clans, indeed the place is actually the Kingdom of the Iron Hills. Given it's proximity to the city of Irongate and it being an ally of the Iron League, you can see a theme here.

Irongate: As mentioned before, there's also Irongate, another grayish metal themed place and what I imagine as Minas Tirith from Lord of the Rings, but on the coast. This city (ruled by a dragon some say) has never been conquered, not by a thousand Aerdian nobles, nor the sneak attacks of the Scarlet Brotherhood. Want a good aligned place to start a campaign, especially with dwarves and gnomes? Try Irongate!

Greysmere: Not enough dwarven lore for you? Okay one more. In the Abbor Alz Mountains is a clan of dwarves living in an underground town called Greysmere. If you'd like to know more about this place, grab a copy of the City of Greyhawk boxed set. I'm moving on...

RED
Scarlet Brotherhood: Another great example of a color capturing the mood of a name. This remote peninsula region isn't the name for a nation per se, but rather a semi-secret, evil organization led by dangerous Suel monks and assassins. Unlike the Red Wizards of Thay in Forgotten Realms, if they were called the Red Brotherhood, they wouldn't sound half as sinister would they? (hmm Red Monks of Ilshar?) The Scarlet Brotherhood source book is all you need to get in order to know all the inner workings of this power group. Highly recommended.

Redspan: This red-colored city is in the Duchy of Tenh. What I know about it is mainly from the book, Iuz the Evil. This fortified town used to protect the duchy from the Bandit Kingdoms, but it couldn't withstand Iuz's forces. DMs looking for a contentious city on the edge of war in all directions could give Redspan a look.

Redhand: One more red themed place for you is Redhand. This is the bandit principality that touches on the Nyr Dyv coast including the town of Alhaster. It might be heretical to the fine folks who worked on the Bandit Kingdoms for Living Greyhawk, but if you want easy accessed info on Redhand, check out 3.5 Edition Age of Worms AP by Paizo in the pages of Dungeon Magazine.

PURPLE
I seriously cannot find a purplish place in the Flanaess. Unless you want to count "Mauve" Castle which is ridiculous because that's a sorry misrepresentation of Maure Castle from the novel Saga of Old City.

GREEN
Greenreach: Well I'm quite stunned by how hard it is for me to find places named for shades of green in Greyhawk. Greenreach, an Iuz town near the Vesve Forest is one. As you can imagine, it's a staging area for the demigod's attacks to the west. Listen up heroes, someday you may very well have to raze Greenreach before tackling the big names in the Land of Iuz.

Celadon Forest: Celadon is a shade of green, kind of like jade color. The great Celadon Forest is in between the Duchy of Urnst and Nyrond. It's an old forest, home to sylvan creatures, elves, good woodsmen, rangers and so-forth. It's a wonderfully green base of operations for nature-oriented characters.

ORANGE
Copperstead: Yup, orange is just as hard as you'd think to find. Copper is an orangish metallic color though and coincidentally the village of Copperstead lies within the aforementioned Celadon Forest! This tiny hamlet is the HQ for the little-known Defender of Celadon.a group of woodland freedom fighters trying to repel a brutal local baron.

Gamboge Forest: Oh that sneaky Gygax, he almost got this shade of orange past me. Gamboge is a saffron like color like the robes used by Buddhist monks. The Gamboge Forest therefore must be orangish right? Well unfortunately, there is no mention of this, but maybe in the Fall the leaves here are very orange in color? Not surprisingly this a home to sylvan elves, halflings, gnomes and the like, caught between the political drama of Nyrond and the Pale. Sounds like a cool place to visit.


BROWN
Sepia Uplands: The shade of sepia is a (reddish) brown color of course. The Sepia Uplands sound like they must be as monochromatic as the sepia photos we remember from history. It's an hilly region along Lake Quag, mainly controlled by Perrenland, but also bordering the Wolf Nomads and extending into the Vesve. Quite picturesque!

Bronzeblood Haunt: Bronze is a brownish color right? Metallics are hard to judge. At any rate, this eerie ruined castle is found within the lawful and good Kingdom of Furyondy. Want a cool place to send players without the need for a long trip? Try this place. For more info, check out this article on Furyondy.

Sablewood: Sable is actually a very dark brown, going on black. I couldn't decide which entry to place it, so I made it last. The Sablewood is in the extreme NE of the Thillonrian Peninsula in Cruskii. The fir trees in this wood of course are valued for their deep (black) color when treated. The barbarians love sable wood so much they don't export it! According to the Trees of the Flanaess section in the boxed set (yes Gygax loved tree-lore, don't judge), sablewood branches make excellent arrow shafts. Now you know where the "black arrow" comes from.

Phew! That's it! I'm sure I missed some obscure color-coordinated place in Greyhawk. If I did chime in and let me know. Until next time!