Greyhawkery Comics: Tasha's Cauldron #11

Welcome back to another topical show from everyone's favorite 5E D&D influencer, Tasha the Witch! If you've just joined her channel, follow the links below to see all her "informative" episodes. Unfortunately, this week Tasha has some somber news. Check it out, and enjoy?

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Greyhawkery Comic: Tasha's Cauldron #8

Well met monster hunters!  This month is the debut of the new 5e Monster Manual. I have not seen this book yet, though I'm already using the 2024 ruleset. Tasha on the other hand is always on top of the newest releases. Follow the links below for more of her insightful videos. Let's check out her latest review. Enjoy!

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Greyhawkery Comics: Graz'zt Show #2

Happy Needfest Greyhawk faithful! It's been a hot minute, but I seem to have finally got cable access to the longest running show in the Abyss. If you missed the opening, I saved it for you in the links below. Until next time have a laugh and enjoy the holiday!

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Greyhawkery Comics: Tasha's Cauldron #5

Well met denizens of Greyhawk. Today is a new gem from our resident 5E D&D expert, Tasha! She always has a good topic brewing in her cauldron. Anyone who has peeked around the site D&D Beyond will feel her pain. Follow the navigation links below to see more of her arcane insights and reviews. Enjoy!

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Greyhawkery Comics: Tasha's Cauldron #4

Come on in! If you are new to my comic series, follow the navigation links at the bottom or on the side of the front page. Now as you know, Greyhawk has been all abuzz with news in 2024, so naturally the hardest working D&D influencer is following the story. Check it out and enjoy!

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Greyhawkery Comics: Tasha's Cauldron #1

Hello again Greyhawk readers! Today premiers the second series in my weekly comic relaunch. Following Cultists, I have a "new" character to play with thanks to the fine writers and artists behind 5E D&D. Love her or hate her, Tasha has quite a selection of guises (Nataha, Iggwilv, etc) along with an equally twisted history that just keeps growing. I for one applaud her new career direction...as a D&D influencer. Enjoy!   

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D&D Movie, Vecna Merch and More

Hey Greyhawkers! So we all know there is going to be a D&D movie soon. Some rumors say late 2021, but IMDB seems to think 2022. Hard to tell in the COVID era. Could end up straight to Netflix. This is an early synopsis of the movie (which in 2020 we found will star Chris Pine which I have mixed feelings about): 

"The upcoming Dungeons & Dragons movie currently in development by Paramount will focus on a group of adventurers looking for the Eye of Vecna, a powerful artifact that dates back to the earliest days of the game. Our source indicates that Dungeons & Dragons will feature a group of adventurers led by Raven Hightower, a warrior with a magic flamesword that’s haunted by his sister’s death. Other characters include the “half-dragon” Hack Karroway, the gnome thief Olivan Trickfoot, and a masked warrior named Alyssa Steelsong who is set to take over Palarandusk’s role when the dragon dies. Additionally, the main villain of the movie is a male drow named Razer Horlbar who once kept Raven and his sister as slaves, along with a female tiefling named Damala and a brutish warrior known only as “The Beast.”"

This hits quite a few modern D&D hallmarks, tieflings, drow (Razer tho?), dragonborn (I assume) and sassy gnome thieves. Nevermind that this will be tentatively set in the Realms (the dragon Palarandusk is evidently from that setting), knowing Hollywood they will botch it. At any rate, I've lately been intrigued by two correlating things, one, the rumored plot involves the Eye of Vecna and two, the fact Wizards of the Coast (and Wizkids) is pushing Vecna merch suddenly. I'm not going to link to the march sites though, I'm just showing this stuff. You can easily find them on your own if you're interested. Check it out:

Posted on Twitter, coming soon, trophy Eye and Hand of Vecna by Wizkids. This will set you back quite a bit because of the anti-magic jar I assume. I definitely dig the Vecna cosplay, I'll give them an A for originality. Would've been an A+ if he had only one eye though!

In the Christmas issue of Dragon+ (the digital descendant of old print Dragon Magazine) Wizards showcased a bunch of stuff, among them this sweet shirt. Now this I can get behind. Vecna is going to get more merch soon, you watch. This movie might feature the eye, but you can't really do the item justice without the Hand, so plot device for D&D 2? Once you have both items, Vecna himself can't be far behind! In the meantime, here is some other Greyhawk-y merch from that Dragon+ issue (more of a product catalogue really):

    Warduke. There is a TON of D&D themed shirts out there on the interwebs. This one speaks to me as does anything D&D cartoon related. 

Sure you have dice, dice bags, dice towers, DM screens and all the rule books, but do you have a D&D backpack to carry them in? I bet you don't!

Lastly, courtesy of Joe Manganiello and Death Saves is a sweet St. Kargoth "Death Knight" jacket. I know a few Greyhawkers who would die to have this.

That's all for now. Let's hope the movie comes out sooner than later. Between comic book movies, LotR, Game of Thrones, and Star Wars, this has been a golden age of nerdom in my opinion. Fingers crossed that D&D becomes even more pop-culture. 

Tasha's Cauldron of Everything

Hello Greyhawkers! I don't often do reviews, but I think the latest 5E splat book by Wizards deserves some attention from this discerning Greyhawk expert. Tasha's Cauldron of Everything has been talked about across the D&D community for some time, but I finally got my hands on it and well, news rules and crunch arguments aside (psionics, meh), I'm pleased with the entire package not to mention the numerous nods to Greyhawk throughout in this book. Not convinced fellow grognards? Let me explain... 

First off, kudos to Jeremy Crawford for leading this book. Using Tasha as the authorial voice of the book at first seems like another Greyhawk swipe, but then I read the intro and you can tell it isn't uninformed. They did their research. Tasha pens a foreword introducing herself to the reader that drops names faster than a Carl Sargent sourcebook. Unless there was doubt, she is indeed Natasha the Dark, Hura of Ket and the daughter of Baba Yaga. She reminisces of her days interacting with the "original" Mad Archmage Zagig Yragerne, the Company of Seven and Mordenkainen (there is an awesome illo of her playing chess with Mordy btw). These throw-away references are not useless however. Right there at the beginning and in her boxed text comments throughout the book, a new reader may very well wonder where is Ket, who else was in the Company of Seven or what is original about Zagig, etc. Fan-service doubles as trivia teasers.

What else do I like about Tasha as a brand name character in 5E? Wizards had all of D&D to choose from and they went with an alter-ego of the Witch-Queen from the Greyhawk setting. Not one of the Seven Sisters like the Simbul, or the thousands of other NPC wizards from the Forgotten Realms, not Raistlin, nor Azalin from Ravenloft (oh wait his pic is in this book). Worst case scenario Tasha becomes a famous D&D name alongside Elminster and Mordenkainen and she grows even more, best case scenario more and more people become curious about Tasha and what she represents, want more, and we edge closer to more official Greyhawk content in the future.

Okay enough gushing about the first part of this book. What other references can you expect to see in Tasha's? Here's a sample list just from casual perusal:

Strange technologies of the Barrier Peaks tied to the artificer class.

Clerics of Order give Wee Jas and Pholtus as examples.

Tasha jokes about spells "Mordenkainen's Bountiful Back-Patting and Heward's Hot Air" being left out of the book.

Graz'zt and Tasha illustration (not to mention the gorgeous variant cover by artist Wylie Beckert with the two).

Travel to other worlds like Oerth using the spell Dream of the Blue Veil.

Wow your friends with new spells "Tasha's Caustic Brew, Tasha's Mind Whip and Tasha's Otherworldly Guise." 

Magic items: Baba Yaga's Mortar and Pestle, the Crook of Rao (includes some Iggwilv lore), the Demonomicon of Iggwilv (of course! Includes mentions about Fraz-Urb'Luu and the Tome of Zyx), the Mighty Servant of Leuk-O (plus a bad-ass illustration), and the Teeth of Dahlver-Nar (d20 effects).

No doubt there is more subtle references here, you're not going to find extensive lore on anything in a rule splat book after all, but in closing I love Tasha's. I don't know how much of it will find use in my game, but as a Greyhawk enthusiast and collector, this is a must-have alongside Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes. Yeah I'm a sucker for products named after Greyhawk NPCs. That said, if anyone at Wizards R&D is reading, I'm hoping the next splat book is presented by Tenser or Bigby. Let's see, how about Bigby's Handbook of Heroes or Tenser's Guide to Adventuring? Just a thought. 

Regarding the WotC Rumors

Hail Greyhawk enthusiasts! It's been a bit, so I'm sure everyone by now has seen the WotC panel remarks by head honcho Ray Winninger concerning the future of D&D and his hint that they are already working on a few classic setting books coming in the next couple years. Right. Not going to speculate. My mood is pessimistic though. They tease this every year.

The bulk of the panel involved talking about their fan outreach and initiatives to find new authorial and artist talent going forward. DMsGuild is what they are mainly looking at, so if someone is aspiring to be on the D&D team, get your stuff on there now or start hitting them up on social media like Twitter. There was a lot of talk about an anthology product to come out of this effort, which this time does not sound like the usual Greyhawk module plundering and repackaging, but diversely original adventures done by mentored creators they discover. We shall see. I hope so. Again, pessimistic.

So, now is the time if anyone wants to catch Wizard's eye and affect D&D's future. I'm content watching.

Update 10/15/2024: Hello from the future. Not only is the 2024 revised DMG going to have a Greyhawk chapter and an attached map of the Flanaess/GHC; they announced today that Greyhawk is unlocked for third party content creators on DMsGuild. Oh boy...

Comments on New D&D Book: Tasha's CoE

 

Ahoy Greybeards! I'm sure I don't need to belabor the news of Wizard's teased and now announced splat book Tasha's Cauldron of Everything. So I'll make some comments based on what little I know:

• The cover of Tasha and variant cover especially are gorgeous. I don't know the artists, but it's the first time I'm uncertain which I want to buy. I'll probably lean toward the evil Tasha (Iggwilv as we call her) because it subtly shows Graz'zt and his six fingered hand and possibly a hint of Vecna in the corner as well. The contrast of the off-white margins with her distinctive dark green apparel and dark hair  along with Graz'zt's ebony form is eye-catching!
• The use of Tasha as a licensing character for a D&D book is remarkable. We've had the privilege to see Iggwilv on the covers of magazines and as interior art throughout the editions. Never before have we seen Tasha (or Natasha the Dark as she was known when adopted by Baba Yaga) depicted in this early form before she got heavily invested in demonology. There is extra art I assume from this book showing Tasha sitting outside the Hut. Love it.
• The book Tasha holds on the primary cover in Greyhawk lore could potentially be the Tome of Zyx, a book discovered by the Company of Seven back when she hung out with the likes of Zagig Yragerne who with Tasha's aid would entrap the demonlord Fraz-Urb'luu. Tasha would go on to steal this book, run off to the Yatil Mountains, become Iggwilv and add on to this book renaming it the Demonomicon of Iggwilv and go on to trap Graz'zt. I will give the writers of TCoE all my money if they manage to include all of this esoterica in their book.
• Again I'm positive about having an obscure character like "Tasha" headline this even if 99% of gamers will only know her by the Hideous Laughter spell. It's just another feather in the cap of Greyhawk as far as I'm concerned. Ed Greenwood used to write dozens of mage and spell articles for Dragon Magazine. I don't see them naming a book after the Simbul.
• As to the contents, I won't list them here. Go read the press releases and news articles online. It's a slew of new variant rules which I'm positive will be a turning point for fans of 5E D&D. I predict 6E will be informed by this book in the future. Mind you I don't believe a new edition is on the way, I'm just hoping this is a marker along the way. I'm still pleased with the pace of WotC releasing new books and stories.
• I'm very intrigued to see their magic tattoo rules. I only ever seen magic tattoos in play for Eberron (dragonmarks), but I haven't kept up with that setting in 5E, so it'll be cool to see what core D&D offers.
• I'm anxious to read the sidebar comments in Tasha. They have been a treat in previous books, so I'm positive this one will carry on that tradition.
• I'm positive I will buy this. I love anything Iggwilv related. She used to be one of my faves from my old Greyhawk webcomic.

That's all for now. Once I have Tasha CoE in my hands, we will see how it measures up!

State of Greyhawkery 2020

Welcome back Greyhawk readers. This post is not so good, and it's probably an overreaction, so bear with me. In the middle of a fandom renaissance online the last couple years, I have felt our community has never been more active in streaming, mapping, blogging, convention-play and article writing. I expect this creativity to continue, but will it for me? I don't know. I feel like Frodo at the end of Return of the King. I often go through moods like this during my decade long blog and comic run, except this time, an announcement by WotC has me feeling down and conflicted.

I will let you read the article, suffice to say it's a positive direction for D&D and one I agree should be done for the game and any content produced going forward. What I'm not thrilled about is that it means Greyhawk as we know it, in my opinion, might no longer be desirable as a published setting for the next generation of D&D players. After reading this press release, how can I not think the World of Greyhawk (and even Forgotten Realms for that matter) is only considered "legacy D&D content" to Wizards and that if they ever decide to use it again, rather than just strip-mine the best parts, the setting will require a HUGE overhaul in order to appeal to a new, younger, more diverse audience? That is not to say Greyhawk and its old school sensibilities can't be brought in tune with the new one. But is it worth the effort? At this moment, I'd be fine with Wizards focusing on Wildemount or Eberron or Theros,

That brings me back to this blog. I enjoy doing nostalgic posts on our game's history or musing on the intricacies of the setting. After literally thousands of posts, comics and articles I don't feel I have anything left in my tank. I've tried to raise awareness of Greyhawk, to keep it relevant through three different editions. I've educated, I've entertained, I've promoted others work and now I just want to sit back and see where it goes next. To that end I have about 73 more posts to reach the 1000 post milestone. I'd like to get to that point before hanging up Greyhawkery, so there's still several more months left in me. When that rolls around, we shall see what the state of D&D and Greyhawk is like in 2021 and then I'll reassess my plans like I always do.

Update 06/27/2021: 1000 post milestone achieved. I'll see you all on the streams and forums.

Two D&D Announcements

Heya Greyhawk enthusiasts! Quick post today. If you followed Legends & Lore yesterday you'll know a virtual con was announced for the Greyhawk community! Check it out:

I really don't have any details on this even yet, but it's in the works. When I know more I'll be sure to promote it! And for those who worry, will Wizards be concerned a con is being put on with the Greyhawk name? I think it's extremely doubtful. Why? Because of this bit of news from Wizards reported today on ENWorld:

"Early this week, WotC announced on Twitter that today there would be some kind of announcement on their Twitch channel. Those who tuned in were treated to an an announcement that the new storyline will be announced at a live event in June.

The press release announcing the impending announcement also mentions a new setting, as well as the storyline, so it sounds like it won't be set in the Forgotten Realms. Recently, they've released a bunch of settings: Eberron, Ravnica, Wildemount, and the upcoming Theros.

The new storyline specifically will be revealed at 12pm PST (8pm GMT) on Thursday, June 18th."

So a celebrity D&D charity stream will announce the next big story line (always a hyped event) and this one will include a new setting? My my, with all these game worlds being thrown around it suddenly feels like 2nd Edition era again! 

No need to speculate on what this world will be like, though if Chris Perkins is involved it'll have Greyhawk DNA. Cynically, this news puts even more distance between the fan community and the current powers that be in D&D. So yeah, by October Virtual Greyhawk Convention should be good to go!

D&D: Alternate Vision Rules

Hey there Greyhawkers! Today is an off day for me, because I want to discuss D&D instead of setting lore. Strange I know, but this issue popped in my head recently and has been a concern of mine for a very long time I imagine, but has only become more pronounced in recent 5E rules. I am talking about playable races with darkvision. I apologize in advance if you've read a rant like this on other blogs years ago, it's caught up to me finally.

I will not get into a lengthy comparison with previous editions for expedience sake. I know AD&D had varying degrees special sight like infravision, later low-light vision, etc. I am going to assume the nine presently playable races in the PHB have traits consistent over their D&D history. Okay, my gripe is that darkvision (seeing normal in dimly lit conditions or seeing dim in darkness) is an easy crutch for D&D games to get around pesky things such as lanterns and torches. Sure, human and halfling characters still need to use these devices, but can easily circumvent this need through simple spells or magic items. Why is this important to me? Because as a DM, having a party that is either intentionally or unintentionally comprised of characters entirely with darkvision takes an entire tool out of your storytelling tool bag; fear of the dark. For a game that is traditionally built on dungeon crawling and cave exploration, PCs venturing into the darkness is part of the challenge. If this challenge is nullified easily by the game itself, then the DM may as well provide ample lighting for the PCs and move on.

Quick note: yes, magical darkness can be used to nullify superior PC vision, but if it's used too much it becomes obvious and personally directed at the players which isn't cool either.

Out of nine playable races in the 5E PHB, only three do not have darkvision. That means if a group of five players randomly picked their race at character creation, there would 3.33 heroes with darkvision at start. If the number leans to 4 out of 5, from my experience, that one outlying player is immediately pressured to make up for this visual deficiency somehow or become a burden to his night-sight allies. In my opinion, an option to remove this mechanical advantage, is to leave darkvision to creatures or races that live a majority of their life underground, which is logical, and give them a more personalized vision trait. Now let's examine these six races with darkvision and what can be given alternatively.

Side note: why don't Dragonborn have darkvision? Intuitively, being related to dragons you'd think they would! I saw this as the designers realizing that there were too many races with darkvision and made the unfortunate choice to exclude this new race from the club. Moving on...

Dwarves: Most PC dwarves are either hill or mountain. Sure, they work in dim conditions at home, but do they not have lighting in their stone halls? Of course not! Now the subrace Duergar deserve DV being a true Underdark culture. For those dwarves who tend to spend most of their time in the light I'd instead give them Expertise in Investigation skill (double proficiency bonus to checks) based on their years of detailed crafting in dim conditions. I'd also give dwarves, a martial culture Blindfighting, a trait which will negate the disadvantage of combat in darkness.

Elves: Again, elves who are an above-ground race are assumed to be superior to humans in every regard. This is summed up in the Keen Senses trait which gives them advantage to Perception checks. This is huge on its own because perception is all the senses, not just sight. So the fact they have DV is overkill. Drow, like Duergar deserve it because they are a true underdark culture. Instead of DV I'd give elves as a whole the ability of Telescopic Sight, so they suffer no range penalties and give them advantage on a single aimed shot per round (think Legolas archery in LotR).

Gnomes: Deep Gnomes, Underdark, yadda yadda. Rock gnomes however, more so than dwarves I gather, tinker in dim places so their eyesight should be ideal for up close things. This is why I suggest Keen Senses on Investigation (advantage on all checks).

Half-Elves: Not totally cool like parent elves, these characters still deserve some good eyesight, but certainly not full on darkvision. Let's make them resilient since they are typically outcasts by giving them Keen Senses on Survival (advantage on all checks). Think Tanis in Dragonlance.

Half-Orcs: Okay half-orcs have darkvision, why? Cause orcs like to raid at night, might be sensitive to light, I don't know, but that shouldn't make these characters on par with drow or duergar or heck plain elves! Let's scale them back with Expertise in Perception (double proficiency bonus on checks) and Blindfighting like above.


Tieflings: The newest, popular entry to the PHB, these characters have fiendish heritage. They are not necessarily from the Underdark, but neither are they from the Abyss either (I'm sure all demons and devils have DV). Let's make Tieflings unique by giving them Infravision, a trait that gives them Keen Senses on Insight (advantage on all checks), to spot lies and read people's intentions and Expertise on Perception (sight only) to locate creatures who are hidden, based on the ability to see faint heat signatures. Obviously this only works on living creatures.

How's these house rules look? Got a better idea or tweak? Let me know in the comments!

Greyhawk Lore in Tome of Foes

Howdy Greyhawkers! Even if you don't play the most recent editions of D&D like myself, then you may have got Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes by now. This book has a very nice smattering of Mordy lore in the sidebars of course, but it also does some decent bits of Greyhawk lore in the main sections as well. Let me point out the ways.

The Balance: The moral philosophy that drives Mordenkainen and his Circle of Eight is detailed here. It spells out pretty well that the Blood War between lawful devils and chaotic demons is a focal point on this cosmic-level concept. Examples are telling:
"a disciple of the Balance might act cruelly or heartlessly one day, and benevolent and caring the next."
"Keepers of the Balance sometimes resort to strategies that seem inexplicable to those who don't grasp the whole situation. A crusading paladin might be discouraged from seeking out and defeating Demogorgon because doing so could weaken the Abyss..."


This can perfectly explain the questionable behavior of not only Mordy but also Rary the Traitor. I surmise that the fact the Circle of Eight didn't stop the Flight of Fiends is because it affected both sides of the Blood War. If it were instead the Flight of Demons, then there would have to be an equal purge elsewhere.

Tzunk on Stygia: Speculation that the layer of Stygia was once a prime material plane that was pulled into Hell by Asmodeus mentions the archmage Tzunk who researched the topic extensively. Tzunk should know some things about the planes, he used to own the Codex of the Infinite Planes and tried to conquer the City of Brass with it!

Demonic Boon of Zuggtmoy: Creatures who serve the Fungi Queen might get some rewards including stat and spell bonuses. There is also this nasty boon, Spore Kissed. "Zuggtmoy's followers are primarily mindless victims of her children's strange spores. The spores burrow into a victims' brain, turning it into a fanatic servitor." Basically the creature is immune to being charmed or frightened and if slain, the spores break and poison everyone. Nice.

Elf Deities (Seldarine): The entire elven pantheon is listed here. This is good news to fans of obscure Greyhawk deities such as Ye'Cind (music, enchantment) and Gadhelyn (independence, outlawry)

Vecna's Obsession: Apparently the Archlich Vecna wants to take the Raven Queen's power (elven goddess of the Shadowfell). "Vecna has long coveted her ability over knowledge and souls; to steal souls would give him the ability to amass and army of the dead large enough to conquer the Shadowfell (Plane of Shadow) and turn it into his own kingdom of death...Vecna has embroiled himself in a terrible conflict, leading his armies into relentless battles against the Raven Queen and her shadar-kai fanatics..." Yes, Vecna has moved on from taking over Oerth to an entire inner plane! He still hates Kas though. Woe to any PCs who get involved in this war.

More Deities Listed: Ulaa appears in the dwarven pantheon list, Bleredd (labor, crafting) in the gnome list and Charmalaine (keen senses, luck) in the halfling pantheon. Charmalaine gets some lore in fact, including her ferret friend Xaphan and the power to astrally project to scout out things before she goes into danger.

Types of Halflings: Greyhawk halflings are mentioned specifically. They live in underground burrows or cottages. They have hairy feet and hands and rarely wear shoes. The list also describes the three subraces, stout, hairfeet and tallfellows.

Elder Elementals: Epic level elemental monsters are in this bestiary. "The methods for summoning elder elementals remain hidden in forbidden tomes or inscribed on the walls of lost temples raised to honor the Elder Elemental Eye." Oh no not him!

Skull Lords: These three-headed undead bosses are new to me, and Vecna is to blame: "Infighting and treachery brought the skull lords into existence. The first of them appeared in the aftermath of Vecna's bid to conquer the world of Greyhawk, after the vampire Kas betrayed Vecna and took his eye and hand. In the confusion...Vecna's warlords turned against each other, and the dark one's plans were dashed. In a rage, Vecna gathered up his generals and captains and bound them in groups of three, fusing them into undead abominations cursed to fight among themselves for all time."

Star Spawn and Elder Evil Blessings: These is some quite evil creatures in MToF and the worst might be the star spawn I'm not sure. Cultists and creatures serving evils like Kyuss or Tharizdun have some ammo in this book. If you're tired of these gods, well there is a bunch of new names to add to your list, like Tyranthraxus the Flamed-One, Ragnorra the Mother of Monsters and Bolothamogg Who Watches from Beyond the Stars. Cthulhuian stuff indeed!

Sword Wraiths: Yes the undead sword wraiths first featured in Greyhawk Adventures are adapted to 5E here. This book takes it up a notch though, and adds Sword Wraith Commanders!

That's all I got on one run through. I'm sure there is more. This book is a must have for those who like planar stuff in their campaigns.

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.

Wish List: Greyhawk Relaunch

Okay Greyfriends, here's another quick topic I'll throw out until I get some more original content to show you. We all love to wish list when it comes to D&D, Greyhawk and so forth. For all I know I've done this before, but with a fresh, well-rested mind here we go, what would I like to see in a new Greyhawk relaunch in the 5E era:

One caveat is we all know how WotC runs things now, so there is no pretending they'll do a full boxed set treatment with supplemental books each year. Indeed, even most of the good adventures for Greyhawk have already been redone either by anthology or thematically. So let's not pretend they'll do a series of modules either. Oh, but wait a second. This is the World of Greyhawk. Because this isn't just any adventure rehash, maybe there is room here to tweak the normal business model!

5E Guide to the World of Greyhawk: Your regular hardback book with a condensed guide to the nations, history and politics of the Flanaess like in original 80's setting. Plus, the modern approach to players with up to date relevant information for making characters; classes, races, factions, domains, etc. This leaves room for a modest poster map. I know it can be done, check out Curse of Strahd.

Deluxe 5E Guide to the World of Greyhawk Boxed Set: Yes, Wizards does like promoting the higher end products because they know collectors will buy them, and in advance. So why not make a Greyhawk boxed set? It would have the above book, plus bonus features like more maps, or reprints of old fluff books? Don't care, it's a deluxe box. Fill it.

5E Vecna Returns! (Crossover Adventure Event): Here's the draw. In my opinion the arch-lich god of secrets, Vecna is the biggest, best threat to bring back to D&D. This book would be one hardback, or maybe two leaner books like the Tiamat storyline. Doesn't matter. Where it works is that it can start in Greyhawk (preferably the City of Greyhawk for additional maps and fluff). From there, the crossover event is much like what they tried to do in 2E, but with more follow through. Jump next to Planescape, or Faerun, or Ravenloft again if need be. You get to use ALL your previous 5E books with this storyline because Vecna is a multiversal threat. That's right give Vecna an ambition bigger than just one world. He is that crazy evil. Bring the story full circle on Oerth and give the heroes a chance to then defeat Vecna and impact the multiverse and thus the Greyhawk setting permanently by their decisions. It's not much different than could have happened in VL! but the stakes are much bigger.

Greyhawk Minis: Be it Wizkids or GF9, they have been making minis based on iconic Greyhawk NPCs for a long time now. No reason to stop now. May I suggest the entire Circle of Eight and apprentices? That would be eight sets of two minis (3 in Jallarzi's case if you include her familiar). You're welcome.

Dragon+: Standard series of tie-in articles and product advertisements for the current Greyhawk event. Maybe a celebrity interview or two, they could look up David "Zeb" Cook author of Vecna Lives! perhaps?

I'm sure there's other tie-ins I can't think of right now. Boardgames? Unearthed Arcana articles? Eye and Hand of Vecna merch? That's quite a good run. It's enough in my opinion to give Greyhawk some respect and still push the entire line at the same time. And the best part, it opens Greyhawk up to DMsGuild for fans to do all the rest...

A Treasure Trove of D&D Books

Welcome Greyhawkers! Those who've gamed with me, met me at a convention or seen stream me on Legends & Lore will know I love to collect old Greyhawk and classic D&D publications. My super best friend forever, Brandi recently joined in this collecting craze when a gracious former co-worker of hers named Patrick, who was also an avid gamer wanted to find a home for his old D&D stuff rather than throw it out. Naturally, me and our friend Jayson helped appraise what was best in this collection for her bookshelf first; including a loving worn AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide, Monster Manual, Deities & Demigods (second print), City of Greyhawk books and maps (no box), a set of 1980 Darlene Greyhawk maps, many Forgotten Realms books, a mint set Silver Anniversary TSR Collection and the full four volumes of the Encyclopedia Magica. Trust me there was much more, so she is gushing with old school books now.

Of course knowing about my insatiable D&D mania, Brandi gave me anything Greyhawk related and then some. Let's have a look at this wonderful treasure trove of Patrick's. I could tell he was a hardcore Greyhawker by his classic AD&D character sheets, poster maps with holes in the corners from being mounted on the wall, custom hand drawn maps (shown for another day) and a sturdy binder that contained a full printing of Ivid the Undying and more. I am proud to carry on his collection and add it to mine. Indeed, I hope in the very distant future I too will be able to find someone as crazy and dedicated as me to curate my collection.

G2 The Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl: Rough shape, original monochrome edition. Never owned this before love it. I could run from this tomorrow.

G3 Hall of the Fire Giant King: A very rough copy that was missing the cover (which means no maps). Never owned this so I'll take it in with love anyways. Patrick didn't have G1, so that's now on my to-do list.

D1 Descent Into the Depths of the Earth: Another classic monochrome module, in good shape. Again I didn't have this before. More of the Drow series...

D1-2 Descent Into the Depths of the Earth: This was a revised edition that combined D1 and Shrine of the Kuo Toa. Already own it, but good shape. Definitely could use this mod someday.

Q1 Queen of the Demonweb Pits: This purple covered classic was wrecked from years of use and storage. The covers/maps are torn apart, but the book is still in one piece. Luckily I own it. I hope Patrick's game group defeated Lolth to cause this much damage.

L1 The Secret of Bone Hill: This classic Lakofka module was in rough shape and definitely was played through. Oddly Patrick had cut out pieces of the module (perhaps art or flavor text?). This one will have to take a rest beside my copy.

L2: Assassin's Knot: Another in the Lendore Series. Good shape. I need to run this someday...

S1 Tomb of Horrors: This classic module was also in bad shape, and the art inserts were colored (something I did to a lot of my early AD&D stuff as well). Again, I'm sure a lot of PCs died in this one, so I'd like to imagine frustrated players shredded the Tomb in revenge.

T1-4 The Temple of Elemental Evil: Much like the others, this module was wrecked, wrote in (which means it got a lot of play) and was missing most of the maps. My own copy of TOEE isn't much better. This one can hang on my shelf any day though.

U2 Danger at Dunwater: Wrecked book and covers. Luckily I got a copy of this last year and have recently ran it for 5E out of Ghosts of Saltmarsh. I'll see what I can salvage from this classic.

U3: The Final Enemy: Part three of the Saltmarsh series. This book was in very bad shape and had no covers/maps. Sadly Patrick didn't have U1 The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh. I find it hard to believe he had these, but not U1. Wish I had asked him about it.

Greyhawk: The Adventure Begins and Players Guide to Greyhawk: Both these 2E products were in mint looking condition. Well, compared to mine. Clearly Patrick made better use of the early boxed set era stuff like many of us from that generation. Still, these books are a godsend and I will try my best to take care of them for my own Greyhawk research.

Against the Giants: The Liberation of Geoff: This adventure sourcebook is used, but in about as good shape as my own copy, so I'll gladly have two on his shelf just in case. While he didn't have much Sargent era "Greyhawk Wars" stuff, Patrick did have a lot of the stuff from that era printed out which was available online.

UK4: When a Star Falls: Good shape. Never owned this TSR United Kingdom module, but have others in the series. Can't wait to read it.

B5: Horror on the Hill: Never owned this module, unfortunately this one has a torn cover, but the booklet is in good shape. Would make a good Halloween one-shot.

I8: Ravager of Time: Another module I've never owned before. Rough shape. I own I6 Ravenloft, but what the hell happened to I1-5?

X1 The Isle of Dread (blue cover): Who didn't own this? Patrick's was worn, loving played through and now can reside by my other three copies ;)

B2 Keep on the Borderlands: Speaking of everyone owning a copy. It doesn't get any more classic than this one. This copy was also well used as I would expect. If Brandi were to change her mind and want some of these old mods, X1 and B2 would be no brainers.

B7 Rahasia: This module by Tracy and Laura Hickman had no cover and the booklet was rough looking. A shame because I never owned this one before and it looks fantastic with amazing interior art I've never seen before by Jeff Easley. A keeper nonetheless!

DA1 Adventures in Blackmoor: Patrick and his friends did a lot of Basic D&D evidently and they were no strangers to Dave Arneson's Blackmoor either. This module, which I do own coincidentally, was in decent shape, but with a torn cover. Interestingly he also donated to us, an amazing copy of a Blackmoor campaign hex map that I haven't seen in my life, but I'm sure a lot of my fellow Blackmoor aficionados would be very familiar with. (save for another day)

REF4 Book of Lairs II: This book was in good condition and is a welcome addition to my shelf since I only had volume one.

Lastly, he gifted us with a 2nd Edition DM Screen and Players Option DM Screen, both in very good condition. Both my copies were long since worn to death so this is nice to have even if I don't use screens much these days. Well that's it. Patrick if you read this blog post, you have my eternal gratitude and know that you have left a huge footprint in the Greyhawk community.

Greyhawk Talk: Anna Meyer News

Greetings Greyhawkers! Today I'm spreading two news items. First, I'm promoting tonight's Legends & Lore show on the Greyhawk Channel. I was out last week due to the Stanley Cup, so thanks to Bryan Blumklotz for filling in for me. You can fill in any time. Seriously ;)
This week me and Anna Meyer are going to discuss Wizards' new book Ghosts of Saltmarsh. There's already been a lot of talk involving this book by now, but I might have some extra points and we will certainly discuss how this book will affect our campaigns and maps.





In addition, Anna recently announced that she will be soon be releasing a true type Greyhawk Gothic Font created by Greyhawk's original goddess of cartography Darlene! This collaboration is the stuff of dreams in the Greyhawk community. I for one cannot wait to use this font on some of my Greyhawkery graphics. Stay tuned to our show, Legends & Lore, Wednesdays at 7:00 pm central to hear info on the font and more coming from Anna's wonderful world of map-making. See you there!

Update 06/25/2021: Changed link for GHC to YouTube archive. L&L is now on LordGosumba channel.

My Ghosts of Saltmarsh Review

Ahoy, Greyhawkers! I don't review just any D&D product as you know. I often promote them, but I'll only dig into them if there is a really good Greyhawk angle to discuss. Well, Ghosts of Saltmarsh is really good and as you've heard it's VERY grounded in the World of Greyhawk.

First, it bears repeating here that Ghosts' "Greyhawk pedigree" is amazingly good given the path of classic adventures that comprise the book. The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh, Danger at Dunwater and The Final Enemy are all firmly located in the Keoland/Hool Marshes area. The Styes by Richard Pett was made with Prymp in mind and Tammeraut's Fate by Greg Vaughan is set in the south coast of Nyrond. Mr. Vaughan is a stalwart having written many Greyhawk themed adventures in Dungeon back in 3.5E. Salvage Operation is by Mike Mearls, the head-honcho of D&D, but also an avid Greyhawk fan.

Saltmarsh is perfect for a coastal setting book of course, not because it's big and iconic like Waterdeep, but because it's remote and generic. These traits are often why Greyhawk is the setting to turn to for D&D campaigns. Needless to say the ship sailing rules are effective and easy, building upon info already presented in previous 5E books, not superseding them. I am also jazzed about the ship upgrades in Ghosts, because it can get boring for one sailing vessel to pretty much be identical to the next one. This book also gives players some new character backgrounds that tie wonderfully into a nautical themed campaign, and then update familiar ones from the PHB to also work best with Saltmarsh's region.

A fun feature of Ghosts is the three factions which fit neatly into the setting. Traditionalists like the way things are in Saltmarsh and have been there a long time. Loyalists are fairly new to the town or favor bringing the region back under control of the Kingdom of Keoland, and then the Scarlet Brotherhood faction is well, the Scarlet Brotherhood we all love, sneaking and spying! This Saltmarsh is clearly set in the pre-Wars era because otherwise the backdrop of this book would look difficult, not to mention, most of these modules were written before the publication of Greyhawk Wars anyhow. I personally approve of this early part of the time line for it is has a high emphasis on adventures and exploration, less so on pointless war and destruction. Indeed it's the era that I've based my Hold of the Sea Princes campaign upon and will continue to now that this book is in play.

Ghosts really does emphasize the Greyhawk setting. Maps in this book are done by Dyson Logos and Mike Schley. The section on geography is a huge boon to anyone wanting to learn more about the setting because there is info on the town of Burle and Seaton. The Dreadwood and Hool Marshes are heavily detailed, along with encounter charts. The Azure Sea is even given some good encounter charts, including my favorite bit, a few unique pirates of the region. When I say unique, I'm not kidding either. You won't find these crews in any pirate movie you've seen before!

Furthermore, Ghosts offers DMs many, many wonderful charts to help create mysterious islands, ocean dangers, random ships to keep the campaign going beyond the adventures presented in between. This is a must own book whose usefulness can go beyond 5E rules.

Lastly, go check out DMsGuild now and you'll see Saltmarsh is an approved "Story Line" for 5E authors. Indeed, there is already several new Saltmarsh publications on the site which I have yet to check out. At any rate, sorry folks, according to WotC staff it's not a true setting, but yes you can write about, uh, let's just call it the "World of Saltmarsh" perhaps? Just be sure to keep your Greyhawk references coming from a Ghosts of Saltmarsh perspective. I mean if Procan (in the book) is worshiped in Saltmarsh, why not nautical deities Osprem and Xerbo as well? Oh, and those priests brought the religions to the port town from across the Azure Sea (in the book) in the neighboring Sea Princes (in the book) port called, um let's see, I got it, Monmurg. Meanwhile, here's a bunch of useful NPCs from Monmurg who are visiting Saltmarsh (some could be Scarlet Brotherhood spies, shh), and hey you already finished the six modules in Ghosts, well these guys have heard of some other places to adventure very close to Saltmarsh like Beyond the Crystal Cave, the Sentinel or Baltron's Beacon. See, I can do this all day. Come on Wizards, open up Greyhawk to the fans!