Greyhawk A-Z: Magic Items 2

Welcome back Greyhawkers! It's time for another fun A-Z list! Some of my previous alphabetical lists of people, places, deities and yes magic items can be found on the Best of Greyhawkery Page. This time around I will look at some magical items that are not swords or artifacts. Wish me luck! I hope you'll enjoy!

Apparatus of Kwalish: Debatably this is an artifact, but it's always been listed among wondrous items in DMG's. We all know this most famous of aquatic magic items, but for future readers I want to make clear, Kwalish is human, and he originally worked out of the Baklunish West in Zeif.

Bucknard's Everfull Purse: This is an item I rarely gave out in my old campaigns, though every group had a Bag of Holding or Heward Haversack. The purse just seemed game breaking to me at low level and useless at high level. Why did Bucknard, a former member of the Circle of Eight, need to make this item? I guess he always got stuck paying for drinks at the tavern.

Cloak of the Couatl: Here's a rare one from The Scarlet Brotherhood. This feather cloak is only found in Amedio or Hepmonaland. As you'd expect it allows the wearer to fly. It also lets you turn invisible. Wow, talk about game breaking!

Dream Cap of Veluna: Greyhawk Adventures really is the best source for GH specific items as you'll see throughout this column. The dream cap gives premonitions in your sleep, usually of bad stuff that will happen. Later on, you get a bonus to save when whatever happens. I never used this before, but it sounds like a good roleplay device for DMs!

Ebon Skull: Possibly a relic (since only three were made), but this major magic item is found in Iuz the Evil. The user can do typical necromancer stuff, animate dead, cloud kill, etc. I believe the book lists which NPCs has the three skulls. I can't recall if I ever used these, I think I'd remember if my players acquired one though...

Flaming Mirror of Tenh: Yes, another gem from GHA. The Flaming Mirror is a cool plane-travelling device (elemental plane of fire) that I did use in the past but for the Baklunish West instead. Tenh sounds cool, but I don't see the thematic connection except to give this item a place name. Personally, I'd trade this one with the Whip of Zeif to make the Flaming Mirror of Zeif.

Gargoyle Cloak: From the Temple of Elemental Evil, this garment obviously polymorphs the wearer into a gargoyle! (helpful if one plays the module Gargoyle?) Interestingly if the wearer takes 20 hp damage from edged or fire attacks the cloak is ruined and stops working. The worst drawback is each 10 minutes you remain a gargoyle there is a 10% chance (cumulative) that your mind is changed to a gargoyle permanently. One more note, the module says there is other cloaks that turn wearers into other types of creatures. See below!

Hasty Barge of Nyr Dyv: Another from Greyhawk Adventures, this is a Rhennee barge that has magical movement, and it automatically repels unintelligent sea creatures. This is one of the only items attached to Rhennee culture that I'm aware of, so this makes the hasty barge valuable indeed!

Iron Bands of Bilarro: Well, this item is pretty standard across D&D editions (and we know by now what the anagram name is about), but what I just realized on re-reading it is the bands start off as a "ball" of iron that you throw at an opponent. The bands unwind and wrap around the target to catch it. Holy crap guys, it's a Pokemon ball!

Jug of Geshtai: Throwing you all a curve ball here. This item was created by ME way back in 2005! Check it out over on Canonfire!

Keolish Plate Mail of the Seas: Interestingly demonym spelling from GHA. Keolish? Misprint or intentional? At any rate this item is great because it has historical relevance. The King of Keoland gave it to his admiral for defeating the Sea Princes. That's the Battle of Jetsom Isle folks! Naturally the armor allows the wearer to not sink in water. Makes you wonder if the Sea Mages of Gradsul made more of these?

Leomund's Labile Locker: I'm a sucker for alliteration. From TOEE once again, Leomund sure knows how to make extra-dimensional storage space. This small box does it all, it shrinks, grows and can be used as a Leomund's Secret Chest spell. More of this please!

Mantle of Celestian: A unique magic item from Unearthed Arcana. This black cloak allows the wearer to breathe and act normally in space! It also has numerous extra-dimensional pockets to store things like food & water while you um, float around in space?

Necklace of Missiles: Found in the DMG, this fireball inducing item isn't necessarily uniquely Greyhawk. But I will tell you a story from my campaign when the players got a bunch of missile beads from the module Greyhawk Ruins. No joke (spoiler) there is a room with 13 jars holding 300 beads each. A chart in the module says 94% are missile beads of various strength (the remaining 6% are beads of force, no big deal). That means this dungeon yields 3666 fireball missiles. Needless to say, my players invented carpet bombing in Greyhawk.

Oracles of Greyhawk: Oracles in this case are specialized crystal balls (likely created by Zagig Yragerne). There is seven of them and once per day the oracle will answer a sagely question about a specific area such as Greyhawk City, Horned Society or the Wild Coast. I like these items because it can allow a DM to insert meta-knowledge into a game. The added danger to this orb is that the rulers of these areas may not want an oracle that can reveal their secret troop strengths or hidden resources. I need to use this next time!

Purple Robes of Tharizdun: Hilariously, these robes first seen in Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun, are given magic item status in Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil. It just protects against the magical cold of their temples, pretty basic, like their cultists. There I said it.

Quaal's Feather Tokens: A classic from the DMG. These were always easy to dish out because they are one shot items. I think my players liked the Anchor best because they would use it offensively like a Looney Tunes cartoon. Tell me I'm not the only one.

Rary's Ring of Memories: This plain ring is from Slavers surprisingly (not Rary the Traitor). I thought it would be cooler, but all it actually does is cast Rary's Memory Alteration. I guess that could be evil if played right. *activates ring* "No Tenser, I didn't try to kill you and Otiluke! It wasn't me, I swear."

Shoes of Fharlanghn: Another very cool item from UA and also Land Beyond the Magic Mirror. The wearer never fatigues from walking and if they are neutral the boots give extra movement powers. But wait, that's not all! If the wearer is a Fharlanghn worshipper, they get even MORE powers. I don't think we ever had someone play a Fharlanghnite, so this item never got used in my campaign. A shame.

Tenser's Girdle of Giant Strength: From Return of the Eight. This module has a bunch of Tenser created items mainly for fighter-types to use, but this one is of particular interest because it's for only for wizards. This is significant because the original DMG says strength girdles do not work for magic-users. A custom magic rope belt that gives a mage hill giant strength is definitely on brand for Tenser.

Universal Solvent: A classic magic item but who has ever used this actually? It's funny to have an item whose main purpose is to negate its opposite, Sovereign Glue. That's the Gygax era though!

Vecnan Wafers: Okay this one is from way out there. Found in the 2E module, Die Vecna Die this unholy magical flat bread is consecrated to Vecna. If one who worships Vecna eats the wafers it will give a variety of buffs/heals, whereas non-Vecnans can expect reallllly bad stuff to occur. Fun!

Wand of a Wonder: You've heard of the Wand of Wonder, yes? Well, when that item runs out of charges, try the Wand of A Wonder from the TOEE mega-module. It's similar to the DMG version and has a whole new list of random wild effects. Good times!

Xaren Cloak: This is a nifty cheat for the list. Technically it's a variation of the Gargoyle Cloak above, but in the Encyclopedia Magica Vol 1, the listing for this cloak includes a d20 list of other monster cloaks. Xaren was unexpected, why not Xorn? At any rate, there ya go!

Yagrax's Spellbook: Here's another obscure one for the A-Z list compliments of Encyclopedia Magica. In Dragon #82 there is a tome subtitled Alterations of Tangibles and Intangibles. This has the spells melt, transmute water to dust, item, material, fabricate, and the always classy crystalbrittle.

Zagyg's Flowing Flagon: One more from UA to finish off this column. Zagyg is a whimsical mage who has some eccentric magic item tastes. This one is a vessel that refills itself up to six times with ever more potent alcohol each time. Somehow, I have never used this item but I'm putting this one in my next game you can bet!

Revisiting: Ull Encounter Chart

Greetings Greyhawkers! In conjunction with our Legends & Lore stream I am taking another look at my Canonfire article from 2005 on Random Encounters in Ull. I am reposting the article as is, because the formatting on the original article is unreadable, so I tried to clean it up for the blog. Enjoy, and be sure to also check out the linked article to the blink camprat below!

mortellan writes "The World of Greyhawk’s encounter tables vary throughout the editions due to many factors including differing authors and sweeping campaign events. It is no surprise then that unwary adventurers have been given inaccurate statistical information on what they can expect to encounter in the harsh region of Ull. Tragically many deaths and untold fortunes could have been saved if but for a percentage point or two. This is a modest attempt to bring all Ull editions together into an updated contemporary source."

Random Encounters in Ull

N. Ull Plains        S. Ull Escarpment       Encounter*

01-02                    -                                     Camprats (1)                 

-                            01-02                             Ghouls (2)
03-04                    03-04                             Halflings (3)
05-10                    05-14                             Herd Animals                    

11-15                    15-20                             Humanoids
16-20                    21-25                             Men, Bandits
-                            26                                  Men, Dervishes (4)
21-30                    27-36                             Men, Herders
31-40                    37-46                             Men, Merchants (5)
41-50                    47-56                             Men, Nomads (6)
51-56                    57-61                             Men, Slavers (7)
-                            62-66                             Men, Tribesmen (8)
57-61                    67-71                             Patrol, Men, Warband
62-65                    72-74                             Wild Horses
66-00                    75-00                             Use Standard Tables

Ulsprue      W. Barrier Peaks                   Encounter*
-                            01-07                             Giants, Hill
-                            08-12                             Giants, Stone
01-08                    13-27                             Humanoids (9)
09-15                    -                                     Men, Nomads
16-31                    28-43                             Men, Tribesmen (8)
32-46                    44-48                             Ogres (10)
47-53                    49-55                             Special (11)
54-00                    56-00                             Use Standard Tables

* Based on encounter descriptions from the World of Greyhawk Glossography and Monster Manuals.
(1) See Greyhawk Adventures for details. In addition, 5% of camprats here will actually be Kund, also known as blink camprats.
(2) Ghouls are said to prowl the fringes of Kester by night..
(3) Halflings are mainly found in Uli towns and typically share their customs and venal dispositions.
(4) Will always be mystical devotees in the service of the Mahdi of the Steppes.
(5) Daring caravans from the northern Baklunish states are typically bound for Kester a trade nexus with the nomads of the Dry Steppes.
(6) Double standard encounter numbers for nomads in the Northern Plains.
(7) Southern slaving bands search for Yorodhi tribesmen and humanoids while the northern slavers capture Paynim nomads.
(8) Civilized Yorodhi hillmen (Oerid) normally except in the Ulsprues where they are instead less civilized ogre-blooded men (Baklunish).
(9) Humanoids migrating and foraging into the lowlands. It is not uncommon for smaller bands of orcs and half orcs to function in Ull society.
(10) Ogres include many half-ogres and also ogre magi within the Ulsprue Mountains.
(11) Special Ulsprue 1d6: 1-2=Minotaur, 3=Manticore, 4=Chimera, 5=Troll, 6=Giant-kin, Fomorian. Special West Barrier 1d4: 1= Dwarves, 2=Troll, 3=Wyvern, 4=Men, Slavers

Sources:
A Guide to the World of Greyhawk
World of Greyhawk Glossography
Greyhawk Adventures
Living Greyhawk Gazetteer
Monster Manual

Living Greyhawk Journal #5

From the Ashes: Atlas of the Flanaess

Greyhawk Lore: The Great Embarkation

Welcome Greyhawkers! Having recently watched the new series Rings of Power, and in conjunction with Legends & Lore, I have elves and scaly races on my mind. One of the apocryphal sources that usually sticks in my brain is found in The Great Embarkation by Erik "Iquander" Mona which is posted on Canonfire! back in 2002. This article is not official Greyhawk but I believe it was written around the same time Mona worked on the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, so I'd consider it pseudo-official lore given his and Paizo's publishing cred. Let's have a look at this article and see how it stands up. Enoy! 

"Myths tell of a time in the distant past when the elves were newcomers to the Flanaess, and great wars which raged across the landscape between the olvenfolk and those lizard-like species which lived here before them. During the final days of these wars, it is sometimes told of how the kuo-toa were driven from the land into the oceans about the subcontinent. Some of these tales go on to tell of elvish pleas to their gods to let them follow the kuo-toa into the watery depths to exterminate their enemies. Few even among the elves know the truth of these ancient tales, and they know better than to speak of them, especially to strangers. And yet, the tales still spread. Maybe they are true..."

    The elves definitely do not want to speak of these tales, because they are the bad guys! Mona was once an avid scholar of ancient Greyhawk lore. Here he is dialing the timeline far into the past, way before the human histories like the Suloise and Baklunish Wars which most players are familiar. I presume this is the mythic era of the Wind Dukes of Aaqa and the Battle of Pesh. (another pet topic Mona covered in the Age of Worms AP for 3.5E Dungeon Magazine)

The Great Embarkation

"Elven legends tell that, prior to the coming of their race, the lands of the Flanaess were overrun by the scaly races and their amphibious brethren. The elves viewed these creatures as abominations, leftovers of an ancient era in which the aboleth created foul spawn to take their evils from the seas and the underdark to the realm above. Whether fittingly or not, the elves saw many of the world’s oldest beings as servitors of the aboleth, and marked them for extermination. In this manner, the elves gained the enmity of dozens of races, including troglodytes, lizard men, grung, grippli, skum, bullywugs, firenewts, ingundi, blindheim, muckdwellers and kou-toa. These last were seen by the olvenfolk as the very worst of their kind – ambitious, industrious, fecund and supported by at least one god who sponsored potentially powerful clerics. For these reasons and more, the elves named the fish men their primary target."

    To borrow a Tolkien analogy, our "First Age" elves in the Flanaess are not beset by a known enemy, they intentionally migrated to the continent (from over the Solnor Ocean?), discovered hideous scaly folk were indigenous there, and straight up went genocidal. I love the comprehensive list here; Trogs and Lizardmen (classic D&D creatures), Igundi, Grung, Muckdwellers, and Grippli (who did they ever offend?), Skum and Kuo-Toa (definitely aboleth friendly), Bullywugs (my favorites from the D&D Cartoon), Firenewts and Blindheim (hey more Fiend Folio!). Of all these baddies, Kuo-toa end up as the main adversaries for the almighty elves? Right, let's continue...

"Few records remain of the centuries of warfare between the two races. If the kuo-toa had any relations with the gloomy aboleth, nothing came of them during the conflict. Evil to their cores, they had enslaved or killed all races they had contacted in the early aeons, and thus enjoyed no allies. The olve, on the other hand, recruited many to their cause. Unable to rouse the dwarves from their underground lairs, they nonetheless enlisted many gnomes, as well as extremely early Flan and the dying race of the Rujari, primitive antecedents of human beings. These latter folk coined the name "gogglers" for the kuo-toa, an appellation that remains popular to this day."

    The aboleth are indeed evil schemers bent on domination, but by then they are out of the picture it seems. Even more amazing is the Kuo-toa are so reviled in this era they are apparently dominant in the Flanaess, enslaving other amphibious races? Needless to say, the elves aren't teaming up with lizardmen or bullywug filth. What's funny is now we see dwarves are here too? Why are they not itching for a fight, but the gnomes are? Yeah, stereotypically dwarves and elves don't get along, that is evidently until many millennia later in the Hateful Wars where they battle orcs, goblins, and such out of the Lortmils. Elves will eventually shun everyone, ask Queen Yolande. I also like the reference to "extremely early" Flan. Maybe these are the ancestors of Sulm or the Isles of Woe in the central Flanaess? One more thing, the Rujari people is also a super obscure reference, and amazingly I remember asking Erik Mona about them in a forum discussion ages ago:

Mortellan (me): how about the Rujari? I can't recall where I heard that one but I think it was in some writing you or Gary Holian did.

Erik: "Rujari," incidentally, is my name for the primitive humans (think non-Homo Sapiens) who were around before the rise of the Flan, and who still exist in very small numbers in remote mountain caves. I don't think they've made their way into the "official" Greyhawk, but I will attempt to fit them into this current project.

Kirk: So the Rujari are like Flores Man perhaps?

Erik Mona: More like Neanderthals, but you get the idea.

    Very cool, so all those entries for "Cave Men" on the World of Greyhawk Glossography encounter charts are Rujari! Back to the article.

"Only one race of note defied the elves, the strange furred folk known as quaggoths. These creatures had profited much from their relations with the kuo-toa, and saw themselves as masters of the northern forests, near which most of the fighting in the final years of the War of Extermination took place. When the olve arrived, and claimed much the same territory, the quaggoths rebelled, attacking an elven encampment. The minor skirmish ended with the death of Amaranthe, a great olven princess thought to be more than 2000 years old. Her death is still heralded as the major loss of the war, and the violent retribution against the quaggoths defied both the elven reputation of goodness and all perceptions of scale. Thousands of quaggoths were put to death for each member of Amaranthe’s slain party. Though far fewer in number today than in those ancient times, the quaggoths of the Forlorn Forest remember still this slaughter at the hands of the olve, and they take every opportunity to return the favor in kind."

    Quaggoth enter the fray and interestingly Fiend Folio says they hate surface elves and will ally with Drow to fight surface elves. Again, the elves push out the native folk, this time in the northern forests. Apparently, those sentient races who were not scaly or amphibious had to pick a side? Geez, elves are the worst. The poor furred folk lose their lands, then in retribution slay -one- elven princess and this practically turns olvendom chaotic evil as a result! Maybe this event is why Valley Elves don't play with the rest of their kin anymore. Side note, Amaranthe has to be one of the oldest elves in Greyhawk lore that I know. I'm getting Silmarillion elf vibes, but I digress. Continuing on...

"Eventually, the elven alliance defeated the kuo-toa, laying waste to their cities and culture and destroying vast hatcheries of kuo-toan young. Finally admitting defeat, the gogglers pulled back to the shores and took to the waters. Though the tide had been for the elves all along, losses numbered in the hundreds of thousands – unacceptable to the olvenfolk rulers. At a great war council near the front of the final battles, the elves entreated their gods, the Seldarine, for a means by which to follow the kuo-toa to the seas, and exact their vengeance upon them completely. Their mournful pleas found purchase in the ears and hearts of their gods, who instructed a fifth of all elves in the Flanaess to take to the ocean."

    The more I read about this, the more it does start to sound like myth instead of history. Like, can you imagine mass combat on land between kuo-toa and elves? Hundreds of thousands of elves die? So, I'm assuming millions of fishmen are slain in this war. Also, can you picture the coasts of the Flanaess hosting great kuo-toan cities and vast hatcheries? Where would those exist in present day? Guess it doesn't matter, the elves wiped them out of existence! Anyhow, the elves aren't satisfied with conquering the Flanaess, nope, now they want to take the war underwater...

"This event, known as the Great Embarkation, saw thousands of elves simply walk into the sea. These chosen olve found their hands and feet webbed, their necks marked by fully-functioning gills. Accepting this gift with great happiness, the newborn race of aquatic elves took to their task immediately. Within four centuries, every kuo-toa who had fled to the seas had been hunted down and destroyed. Within a millennia, the sea elves had spread to all the oceans bordering the Flanaess."

    Fantastic! So, this myth becomes the origin story of the sea elves. The elven War of Extermination which raged for untold centuries, continued unabated beneath the seas for four more centuries, and in the end the scaly folk are wiped out (I wonder when Sahuagin come on the scene though?). Side question, when does the Drow-Elf schism happen? Before or after this story? If it's afterwards, were some elves changed into drow and sent to the underdark to hunt the other kuo-toa? (but they rebelled instead)

"Today, the sea elves are as numerous as any of their kind, and can be found around the entire globe. Though the gogglers of the ocean were destroyed, those who fled underground survived, where they yet plot a return to their place in the surface world. The tale of the Great Embarkation remains a tightly guarded secret among the elves. Some decry it as myth. Others deny it completely, citing the brutality of the olvenfolk as an example of an attempt to make the race look much more violent than they actually are. The oral tradition of the quaggoths does not equivocate on the matter."

    Aha the awful Kuo-toa of the D-series modules are the underground remnant of this great ancient culture slaughtered by the elves. I like that Mona acknowledges the mythic history is not flattering for the elves and that they go to great lengths to never speak of this age. This provides a good reason why there's very little lore on elven history outside recent Flanaess timelines. And the quaggoths? Oh, they remember. The Great Embarkation is a great bit of lore that a DM can use to turn otherwise "good" elves into antagonists as they struggle to keep players from discovering the secret and letting it get out. 

Ull: Land of a Thousand Villains - Nura bint Ramil

Welcome back Greyhawk faithful! Today is the start of another new blog column. This one is dedicated to the late Jason Zavoda, who would post NPCs and monsters on his blog Hall of the Mountain King. Jason is why I'm naming this series, Ull: Land of a Thousand Villains. My first post is on the alluringly deadly Nura bint Ramil. Originally an NPC from my own 2E home campaign, this villain first appeared in 2010 as my entry in Postfest XIV on Canonfire. Twelve years later it is time to re-examine this shady lady from Ull so she can be used in your own Greyhawk campaign. Enjoy!

"There are few sights in Ull rarer than a woman who wields power and wealth. In the seedy heights of Kester is one such woman, and though she is not a native of Ull, none dare contest her right to live and prosper in that harsh frontier land.”

Nura bint Ramil the Pit Mistress (human female, rogue 12)

   Nura bint Ramil arrived in the far-flung trade-town of Kester during the reign of Draske the Short in 581 CY, and she brought enough wealth and attitude to effectively buy her way into the upper echelon of Kester’s popular gladiatorial market. Her sudden fame, and influence was considered remarkable by locals, because in Ull a woman of any lineage has to be twice as ambitious and aggressive as her rivals. Nura bint Ramil operates from a walled compound on the edge of Kester, that includes holding pits and a training yard for her hand-picked stable of gladiators. Known across the region as the “Pit Mistress”, she is frequently found at Kester’s markets appraising new talent or at the Grand Pavilion by the fighting pits. placing bets with her fellow Pit Masters on their upcoming fights. Nura is always accompanied by a retinue of loyal eunuch bodyguards and other sycophant servants. Whispers tell that she also has a very powerful, but secret benefactor watching over her in return for some unknowable bargain. Indeed, no one in Ull seems to know Nura’s history, and the Pit Mistress does not tolerate personal questions about her past.

   DM’s Background: Nura bint Ramil was born in 564 CY in the city of Sefmur in Tusmit. She is the daughter of a small-time guild thief named Nadira and the notorious assassin, Ramil the Serpent of Ceshra. Nura never knew her father, she was only a year-old when he was apprehended on a mission in Ket, never to be seen again. Nura grew up on the streets of Sefmur, running with a youth gang after she was abandoned by her mother at age eight. She faced the judgment of the qadi magistrates several times for pick pocketing and cut-pursing, spending her formative years in more than one detention house and finally as an indentured servant to a clothier. At the age of sixteen Nura caught the eye of a lieutenant in the Sefmur thieves guild named Mirak al-Massari, who often came to the clothier to have custom garments made. By chance one day, he saw young Nura casually concealing sewing needles, strong thread and even a pair of shears on her as she worked. Mirak watched her pocket these items from afar and was impressed with what he saw so he took her aside during a break. Nura was told she had special talents and that she was wasting her time here, so Mirak managed to get her released from the sweatshop after bribing the head seamstress with promises and fake jewelry.

   Sponsored by Mirak, Nura became a valued guild-thief in only a few years, concentrating on house burglaries at night, or bait and switch jobs during the day. One fateful night at the guild-house, she overheard talk about how she was the spitting image of her mother Nadira, who once spurned the Guildmaster’s advances and fell for a Ceshran assassin. Nura became obsessed with learning more about Ramil the Serpent, what happened to him, and even what kind of debts the guild may have owed him. A couple years later, her curiosity led to trouble when one day she broke into the Guildmaster’s chambers and found a journal. To her dismay, Nura discovered that the mission Ramil was sent to Ket on was in fact a set-up with the Ketite authorities by the jealous Guildmaster. Nura had just finished reading the account when Mirak, and the other senior lieutenants caught her in the act. Rather than kill Nura, the Guildmaster punished the daughter of Ramil by turning her over to Sefmur’s corrupt qadis, who were handsomely paid to convict her on false charges.

   Nura was sentenced and sold to an unscrupulous caravan master whose last recorded expedition was south through Ull toward the Dry Steppes. Istus intervened however, and the caravan was scattered by a freak dust storm that took the life of the caravan master and left everyone to survive on their own. Nura surprisingly turned up in Kester a week later, a free Baklunish woman again with new-found wealth to start her life over. While she now enjoys an extravagant career beyond her wildest dreams, Nura bint Ramil privately plots revenge for her father on the Sefmur thieves’ guild in the near future.

   Description: By all standards in the West, Nura is a comely individual, fit and youthful in appearance with lustrous black hair down to her waist. However, her severe hazel-colored eyes and harsh demeanor show what a rough life she has in fact lived. Nura is normally dressed in the finest robes and dresses that can be found in Kester, along with an endless assortment of veils and jeweled accessories won from bets with other Pit Masters or gifted from visiting merchants. When travelling outside the comforts of Kester through the rugged land of Ull, she dresses in leathers, a light cloak and often a heavy turban to disguise her appearance. Nura is highly proficient in many light weapons and will always have at least one blade hid on her during any given encounter. Since moving to Kester, Nura bint Ramil is not above the use of poisons. Her eclectic collection includes exotic poisons that can be delivered with a kiss or from her painted fingernails. Given her resources and contacts, any of the above items in her possession could be magical with an emphasis on worn protective devices. In certain dangerous situations, Nura may also have access to magical dusts, sands and possibly even a one-use item with the ability to summon an earth elemental.

   DM’s Campaign Notes: Nura bint Ramil was in fact rescued from the dust storm by the enigmatic necromancer Abi Dalzim, recently returned to the outskirts of Kester after his long banishment at the hands of his nemesis Alhamazad the Wise. Nura is completely in his thrall, secretly doing his bidding without fail, and fearing his omnipresent attention from the crumbled ruins of his tower in the Ulsprue foothills. When not tasked with some fell quest by her shrouded master, Nura is independent to pursue her own goals. This is an arrangement she freely chose, thus making her even more cunning than most would-be villains. Her position as a Pit Master in the lawless trade town of Kester makes her an excellent source for information or minor missions for Player Characters who don’t mind her shady nature. In the most extreme situation, she can even buy captured PCs and put them to work in Kester’s deadly fighting pits until they can win their freedom back.

In Memory of Two Greyhawk Sages

Welcome back readers of Greyhawkery. Yes, this is my 1002nd post overall, and my second since going on hiatus last year. If you are new to the blog, well, thank you for joining in. You have a lot to catch up on! If you are reading this as it's posted, thank you for keeping on top of my activity in the Greyhawk community. I haven't gone anywhere, and I appreciate those who encourage me to get back to blogging. 

This post is special however, so no promises. As many in the Greyhawk community know, we lost two friends over December 2021. It took me a while to process the loss, to decide if I wanted to blog about them, or leave it at sharing kind words on Legends & Lore stream. Well folks, I'm finally in the frame of mind to do a post. 

Michael, or Leahcim the Learned, was a kind soul, witty and quick with a bit of Greyhawk lore. Michael was a fixture in the Greyhawk community and on streams. I remember first meeting him through the Greyhawk Channel, as he was quick to educate the new players in Greyhawk lore through the chat window, and later he got involved through Lord Gosumba channel and the community Discords. I was lucky enough to play some Greyhawk with Michael before he died, and I could tell he relished every session playing a Suel wizard. Michael was also a contributor to Canonfire, Oerth Journal, and I'm sure more if only he had more time. I wish I had got to know more about the man behind Leahcim, maybe at a convention, or guesting on a stream. Now he'll just have to remain a legend, along with the pantheon of other learned Greyhawk deities.

Jason Zavoda by contrast, needed no introduction in our community. Or if you didn't know him, one only had to point out his body of Greyhawk work. If I was to sum Jason up in on word I'd say "prolific". He is first and foremost known for his Zavoda Index a tool that has no equal in the D&D community. There is no one writing in fandom who hasn't used his index for reference. If that was all JZ did, he'd still be a legend to me. But no, he also started a blog Hall of the Mountain King which in his words, was inspired by Greyhawkery. That's an honor. Of course, Jason grew tired of Blogger. Yeah it's not the best, I agree. Well, he moved his posts to Canonfire Journal: Hall of the Mountain King where Jason had already been a long-time member of Canonfire. In fact, Jason used to post Greyhawk fiction there such as Nosnra's Saga

Speaking of fiction, I don't know anyone who loved Gary Gygax's Gord novels more than Jason Zavoda. Anytime Jason would guest on Legends & Lore or Gabbin' streams, he was ready to dispense sagely lore about these books. His love of these novels led him to another innovative idea: Jason Zavoda Presents: Reading and Annotating the Gord Novels, with Chris (Cthaeh). Audio readings of Greyhawk novels (or any D&D book for that matter), is an incredible idea, and with annotations makes it even more fun to experience. I hope Chris and someone else can take up where Jason left off and finish this project. And I think that's what drove Jason to be so prolific. We all knew his health wasn't the best (nor was Michael's) and he was posting blogs, reading books, and talking in streams and voice chats daily. He knew his time was limited and was making the most of it. Now, Jason can kick back and have a drink with Gygax, Arneson, and all the other legends of the game.

Let these two guys be your motivation to contribute your fan work with the Greyhawk community (or any D&D community). You may start small, but if you are consistent and your body of work grows, people will be inspired by you in turn, and that's a fitting reward for being a part of this community.  

1000th Greyhawkery Post!

Cold iron avail you! Welcome Greyhawkery readers new and old. When I set out to do a Greyhawk themed blog 11 years ago, I was already nearing the end of a long 5-year run doing Greyhawk themed comic strips. The commentary on my comic strips had evolved into such long winded affairs, that I realized a full Greyhawk blog made more sense. In the decade or more of doing Greyhawkery, I've created more comics (Castle Greyhawk), as well as talked about D&D news, nostalgia, the fan community, and my own home campaigns set in places like the Sea Princes and the Greyhawk Wars. One thousand blog posts is a lot of words to pour out onto a screen. I've covered everything imaginable about the World of Greyhawk, from nations to geography to mysterious places, and everything in-between. I had a couple close calls along the way, where I despaired and contemplated ending the blog, but the community has always been there to push me, inspiring me to keep going and write more. I'm grateful for everyone that has read my blog. One thousand blog posts was a milestone I wanted to reach as a challenge to myself, because this time I really am putting the blog on hiatus. 

I am reluctant to say I am ending the blog because there is always more to write about, or new editions of D&D to come out, and perhaps someday when I'm 70, a newly published Greyhawk setting to meticulously pick over. For now though, I really have hit a wall creatively and it seems better to me to press the pause button than to stress myself trying to come up with content twice a week, in order to keep up an arbitrary pace I set a decade ago, back when my ideas were fresh and indeed I had more time and energy. The other dynamic at play, and this is not a bad thing, is that there is a lot more going on in the Greyhawk community. Indeed the most I've seen since the 2000s when Living Greyhawk hit the scene. When I started Greyhawkery, Paizo had already lost their Dragon/Dungeon magazine license, Living Greyhawk was done, and it was more or less just Greyhawk Grognard and me, plus the hold-out fan sites, fan forums and fanzines when it came to dedicated Greyhawk content. Fast forward to 2021 and there is SO MUCH MORE fan content being produced that I feel I can take a sabbatical! 

That's right folks, I'm doing fine and I'm not technically going anywhere. I'm still going to write and draw at my leisure (more Ull?). If something seems particularly good I might even post it on Greyhawkery, or submit it to one of our other excellent fan content outlets. I plan on reading more (I'm terrible at that), continuing to stream (or chat in streams), and hopefully run or play in more Greyhawk rather than just talk about it. I also need to go back through these 1000 posts and fix some dead links, organize my "best of" section, and finish some primer stuff on the home page. One more thing (since this post is written at the tail end of the COVID pandemic), ideally I'd love to get back to a physical convention someday to meet all the Greyhawk friends I've made. 

In the meantime, I'd like to acknowledge and direct you to all the fabulous content creators out there that I follow or collaborate with occasionally. These people will keep us all entertained in the years to come, and who knows someday maybe they'll inspire me to regularly blog again. Enjoy!

Joseph Bloch is my original inspiration to blog and write articles. At his blog Greyhawk Grognard, Joe continues to create content such as maps and gazetteers Beyond the Flanaess, and he even finds time to make fun YouTube videos revisiting classic D&D products. I met and hung out with Joe a couple times at Gary Con, and its been a pleasure. Please follow Greyhawk Grognard if you are new to this community, there is a wealth of content to be found on his blog.

Carlos Lising is always foremost on my mind when I discuss Greyhawk with people. Ever since those long Thursday night Greytalks, I could tell this guy was in a whole different league than me (not the NHL though). Now he runs CaslEntertainment where he has published dozens of modules with an old-school flair, all play tested at conventions so you know they are good (I can attest to his DM skill from meeting at Gary Con). To go with his publishing efforts, Carlos has a stream on Twitch, he does charity events, and he still finds time to collaborate on other Greyhawk projects. You must check out Carlos' work if you haven't already!

David Leonard has the blog Greyhawk Musings where he has been putting out the best deep dives on Greyhawk history. David also has an associated Facebook group, and is also a recurring guest on the Lord Gosumba Twitch streams. His research and commentary is always top-notch, which is why his blog posts are among my favorites.

Tommy Kelly also runs an inspired blog called Greyhawk Stories, where he showcases a variety of fiction for Greyhawk, and does author interviews. His serialized novel the Hateful Wars has been a saga unlike any told in the Greyhawk community. If you have fiction of any kind set in the World of Greyhawk that you want to share with a wider audience, Tommy is the person you should talk to!

Anna B. Meyer should need no introduction. She is of course the pre-eminent cartographer in the Greyhawk community, if not the entire RPG industry. Anna is definitely among the top people who have influenced me to create and share stuff for the community. I've been streaming and hanging out with Anna at conventions for quite a long time now, and she is always gaming, chatting, and developing new projects. Anna never rests. If you are aspiring to make custom maps, or do any sort of content for Greyhawk, talking to Anna will motivate you! Check out her website for downloads of the best maps on the internet, and for updates on her future work. She also has the Flanaess Geographical Society on Facebook.

 

Jay Scott is a relatively recent, but strong influence on me and the entire Greyhawk community. His time put into his campaign, his drive to stream, and his talent at community-building is truly awe-inspiring. Jay does old school 1e/2e AD&D, with elaborate miniature and terrain set-ups, all streamed on his LordGosumba channel on Twitch. Jay is always active online, running games for his home group, or mixing in guest players from the community like Anna. His organizational efforts have now given us an annual Virtual GreyhawkCon, and has lifted up Virtual GaryCon during the pandemic. Jay has an amazing "Gabbin" talk show on his channel with Anna every week where they bring on creative guests from our community and often from the D&D industry (past and present). Jay has incredible sponsors for his channel, and is always hosting prize giveaways to his viewers. That alone is worth looking into his channel if you haven't already. Oh yes, and every Wednesday you can watch Jay, Anna and myself on Legends & Lore yakking about Greyhawk topics until we drop. The content never ends at Lord Gosumba.

Casey Brown incidentally is a huge asset to the Greyhawk community. His (Unofficial Living Greyhawk) Bandit Kingdoms Summary continues to be a legendary publication, the only one of its kind. If only we had more books like his. More recently, Casey has been the go-to contact for former Living Greyhawk writers to be interviewed on the Lord Gosumba channel, thus allowing more fans to reengage with the active Greyhawk fanbase.

Speaking of the community, here is a bunch more of my creative friends!

Bryan Blumklotz is a devoted loremaster and creator of the finest Greyhawk heraldry in the community. I've had the pleasure to meet Bryan at Garycon, and be on a panel with him. I hope to do so again someday. Besides his work on Canonfire! Bryan runs the Facebook group Greyhawk Resources where you can see some of the best discussion and content from the past and present posted on a near daily basis! 

Denis Tetreault is the mad mind behind Maldin's Greyhawk, which I'm positive is the longest running Greyhawk fan site on the internet. You might remember Maldin from his work on Melkot and Irongate, plus the amazing print revision of the City of Greyhawk maps in the pages of Living Greyhawk Journal. You can still find those digital maps, and much much more on his website. Denis is a very good friend of mine, going back to the late night Greytalk chats. More recently Denis has been on our Greyhawk streams, and he has been hosting my old Greyhawk Comic strip for several years now. Oh and he has a Facebook group, Greyhawk Adventures. I'm looking forward to whatever new stuff ol' Maldin will put on his website in the future.

Jason Zavoda of the blog Hall of the Mountain King has put out unique Greyhawk content at a prolific pace. Jason is a very knowledgeable guy that I have enjoyed talking to in chats and on stream, in fact you might know him best from his Greyhawk index.

Scott Casper is a self-published game designer and fiction writer. His Castle Greyhawk graphic novel and webcomic has been the best collaboration of my Greyhawk career. It's unreal to think that for several years I illustrated the adventures of Tenser, Yrag, and Robilar. Scott is above all things an old school gamer who is always involved in running or playing at conventions. To see what Scott is up to check out his blog Scottenkainenland.

Allan Grohe of the blog From Kuroth's Quill, also owns one of the oldest Greyhawk fansites on the web, Grodog's Greyhawk. For longer than I can remember, Allan has been a highly respected member of the Greyhawk community. You can usually find him at game conventions either working a booth or running old school games such as his long running Castle Greyhawk campaign based on Gygax's original maps.

Scott McMillan and his Aerdi History blog is one you need to add to your reading list. I've known Scott a long time from forums and chats. I put Scott's research and commentary on Greyhawk lore up there with the best in the community. 

Charles Akins has the blog Dragons Never Forget. (formerly Dyvers) He is a humorous guy that I've interacted with for several years now. Charles is also author of the annual Great Blog Roll Call, so he knows the gaming community quite well.

I haven't mentioned enough Greyhawk streaming and video creators yet, here are some favorites...

John Burchfield runs the incredible Twitch stream Blue Box RPG. John is a master of his DM craft, he runs live game sessions with a very talented squad of players. He also hosts a talk show on his channel called the Loremaster's Arcanum which can often be seen live ahead of my own Legends & Lore. John and the folks at BlueBox have an insanely devoted fan following (shout out Mad Chatters!), which have only added to the growing Greyhawk community. I hope to some day get on BlueBox now that I have the free time. If you haven't watched or heard of BlueBox yet then I only have one question for you, "What Are You Doing?!"

DMWill is one of the hardest working, most fun people in the gaming community. He has a blog called the Greyhawk Companion where he posts original game material for 5E. Of course Will also has a gaming stream WickedStudiosLLC where he does a variety of games. Be sure to follow Will!

WuTangPiglet carries on the tradition of Greyhawk Channel as he brings the action on Greyhawk Tales. Wu is a riveting DM, and has a fun group of players. They are always looking to add someone to the table too, so stop by and have a look!

WilyHobbit is running Greyhawk 5E with his Greyhawk Lives episodes. Wily has always been a devoted fan of the streaming community and now he is actively contributing with his own hosted games. Please give WilyHobbit a follow.

Oronir is all the way from Belgium and he is the creator of the Grey League a unique and educational Youtube series. Oronir really does his research and is only getting better with each episode on his channel. I say it a lot, but if you haven't seen the Grey League yet, go there now.

DMGalger has an up and coming stream on his channel, SorrowsTale. You should check out his ongoing game, it's a 5E Greyhawk campaign called "We of Oerik". 

There is so many people creating and sharing content online, I'm struggling to remember them all!

The folks at the fan site Dragonsfoot have always run with the old school Greyhawk crowd. This top-notch community is where the late Len Lakofka and other fans that I know continue to chat and work on projects such as the Footprints ezine. 

Big Mac is a superfan from the UK, and I know him best from The Piazza forums where one can interact with the Greyhawk, Spelljammer, or just about any D&D fanbase. Big Mac can be found on just about any stream or chat these days. I look forward to discussing more with him in the future.

Dave Guerreri and the Greyhawk Reborn staff have continued to write and DM new Greyhawk adventures at conventions since the end of LG. Check out their Facebook group and website for more info. This group knows their craft and always have a bunch of games offered at each event. I met Dave and some of his co-creators many years ago at Gen Con. They have been carrying the torch for a long time now, so give them some love.

Scott Agnew is an amazing entrant to the content creator club. He has a Patreon for a completely converted 5E Greyhawk Rebooted. Check out this stuff, it's quite amazing. If you see him on Facebook give him some feedback.

Last, but not least!

None, I repeat NONE of my Greyhawk contributions would've been possible without the fansite Canonfire! and the esteemed author Gary Holian. His site is where in 2002, I first started sharing articles, replying to forum posts, and taking part in late night Greytalks. It is here I made dozens and dozens of friends in the Greyhawk community. Time flies! I credit Gary "PluffetSmedger" for keeping Canonfire going for so long, even when it's seemed near dead, but now from what I've seen it's getting vibrant again with a new Post Fest and other popular fan projects. Gary has always been accessible to the community, including to collaborate on content (albeit at a glacial pace), but in the present he is way more active. You can find him on the Canonfire Discord, or on Lord Gosumba stream either trolling us from chat or participating as a guest.

Speaking of Canonfire, there is so many contributors on that site I cannot list them all, you will just have to get involved in sharing Greyhawk content, meet these fellow creators on the forum or discord, then feel welcomed into the greater community. There are a few notable people active on the site that I can praise though. If I miss anyone don't worry I'll thank you in person eventually.

Rasgon aka Ripvanwormer is probably the smartest loremaster in the entire Greyhawk community, but modesty keeps him out of the spotlight. Rasgon can still be found on the forums though ready to answer your questions in extreme detail.

CruelSummerLord is one of the most prolific writers of articles and fiction on CF. CSL is the example for those who have a lot of content they want to share and how to serialize it over a long span. He's a legend.

 

Rich DiIoia has been a huge contributor to CF for a long time as well. Known as "Longetalos" he currently is very involved in the community, heading projects on Canonfire like Touring the Flanaess. He is a fixture in chats and on discords. Rich is also a helluva DM I hear. ;)

Cebrion has been an author, editor, and forum moderator on Canonfire for many years. Though I would say I'm not actively staff on CF anymore, I have always valued spending time with LordCeb the most on the Greyhawk forums and the old Thursday night chats. Waaaagh!

Brian Dougherty is another amazing author who has graced Canonfire and my blog. "Braggi" on the forums, Brian went as far as to do an insanely cool conversion of my Wonders of Ull: Old Skool Edition. He is also a master at heraldry and much more. I hope Brian keeps producing more Greyhawk content!

Finally, and just as important, much of our Greyhawk community is tied together and curated by the skillful dedication of Kristoph Nolen. He runs the resurgent Greyhawk Online. which has been around for years, but now it facilitates even more online Greyhawk content than ever. GHO hosts not only my first Greyhawk Comic, but many other classic fan websites, and archived Living Greyhawk websites. GHO also hosts a Discord, and has the BEST Greyhawk Wiki you'll ever find (kudos to the Wiki team, I know you guys and appreciate your work). Kristoph of course is the editor in chief Oerth Journal our longest running and most important fan project, now almost on its 35th issue as of this post. Under Kristoph he has brought the OJ to print with the help of Patreon. I was fortunate enough to have met him (and many other Greyhawkers mentioned above) and contributed to the first print issue ever, given out at GaryCon XI. The Oerth Journal team is always looking for more authors, artists, and editors. If you want to get involved in the Greyhawk community and make a name for yourself, this is your opportunity. Kudos to all those authors and artists, too many to name, that have been instrumental in creating the Oerth Journal.

That's enough I think. Now let me see what Greyhawk stuff you can create. I can't wait to read, comment and discuss more Greyhawk content in the future. 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!