Tales from the Yawning Portal Preview

In the latest issue of Dragon+ over at Wizards there is some preview articles and art concerning the upcoming classic module compilation, Tales from the Yawning Portal. Among other things in this issue, we get some preview pages of the familiar Tomb of Horrors backstory and where it fits in Greyhawk plus a retrospective on an original Dragotha article from Dragon #134. The best part is the new art attached to a few of our beloved classics:

The colorized map of White Plume Mountain is simply fantastic. I don't know if you've ever downloaded Dragon+ before, but at first I wasn't keen on yet another digital Dragon, yet lately their content is starting to get more interesting; albeit they are glorified advertisements. Next issue they promise more previews of Yawning Portal and a report on Garycon, which I will be attending. Can't wait!

Old D&D Back in Print

Hey folks, just chiming in real quick about this news on DM's Guild/DriveThruRPG doing print on demand for old out of print D&D products. So far the selection is small, a couple Greyhawk titles, but will likely grow as the service progresses. What I am most hoping is, could this be a chance to have an ACTUAL print version of Ivid the Undying? Is that even in the parameters of those sites since it was never published before? Come on Wizards help a gamer out!

Update 06/19/2021: The selection of Greyhawk books in PDF or POD is amazing now. However, you're on your own for a print version of Ivid. 

Some Greyhawk Stuff

It's a cold wintry day in Ull so let's recycle some Greyhawk items recently found on the web...

First is this really cool 3D Tomb of Horrors by Josh Plunkett at Down Under DM. Spoilers ahead! If I had the time and space, this type of project would totally be up my alley. I'll stick with 2D for now! Kudos Mr. Plunkett.

Speaking of the Tomb in case you hadn't seen this post yet, someone out there really really hates the module. Those were different times I guess!

Greyhawk is king over at dmsguild.com where PDFs of its classic publications own half of the top 12 hottest downloads. I'm not even counting stuff like OD&D rules and the Blackmoor supplement. Greyhawk is not dead, folks.

Lastly, I'm dying to attend Garycon someday. This March 3-6th at Lake Geneva, WI is Garycon VIII. I know there will be more than a few of our fellow Greyhawk colleagues there, as well as artists and writers who have touched the setting in times past.

Here is some select events going on there:

Grodog's Castle Greyhawk - The Heretical Temple of Wee Jas by Allan Grohe

The Heretical Temple of Wee Jas has gone too far---its excommunicated High Priestess must be brought to justice, and her heretical followers put to the sword! Descend into the depths of Castle Greyhawk's seventh level, to wield the divine wrath of the Suloise goddess of death and magic upon the iconoclast blasphemers! Explore Grodog's version of Castle Greyhawk: bring your graph paper, dice, and a healthy dose of paranoid courage! 7th-10th level characters will be provided.

OD&D: The Invasion of Arun'Kid by Scott Casper
Arun'Kid - a small farming village with a sinister legacy. Now, a group of gnomes seeks vengeance on the hamlet for wrongs done to them long ago and the return of fantastic riches lost in the shadows of the past. To save the village, the heroes must seek answers from the most unlikely sources. The PCs will do their sleuthing from the home of a crazy hermit druid and his unique hedge maze to the tomb of a respected village leader and beyond. Characters of levels 2-4 will be provided.

DGS Presents: "The Tower of Glass" by Chad Parish
A mysterious tower of impenetrable glass has appeared just outside the fabled city of Greyhawk. Who created it and what is its purpose? You and your companions have been charged with finding the answers to these questions. Welcome to the Tower of Glass!

Grodog's Castle Greyhawk - Enchanted Orchards of the Arimoi by Allan Grohe

Playtest grodog's next Castle Greyhawk dungeon level, GC-02 Enchanted Orchards of the Arimoi. Enchanted Orchards of the Arimoi is an extra-planar sub-level accessible from GC-01 Iounic Caverns (run at GaryCon IV in 2012). Also Greek-themed, this wilderness environ details a mountainous coastline where the magical orchards of the Arimoi grow. The Arimoi are a race of ophidian oracles ruled by their beatific and oracular queen, Echidna. Seek their dark wisdom; steal their magical elixirs, ambrosias, and nectars; or loot their temple lairs! Explore Grodog's version of Castle Greyhawk: bring your graph paper, dice, and a healthy dose of paranoid courage!

7th-10th level PCs will be provided. Event planned for 5 hours, to 1am.

Update 06/11/2021: Had to remove broken link to blog that hates Tomb of Horrors. Sorry folks.

Classic Greyhawk: What Hasn't Been Reused?

As I watch with reserved interest at the upcoming releases for D&D's Elemental Evil story line I think back on the last few years of Greyhawk adaptations. 4E era Dragon and Dungeon publications weren't bad as we saw complete adaptions of Tamoachan, Tomb of Horrors, the Giants Series and several new modules not to mention a reprint of the Slave Lord series in its original AD&D format. As always I credit Chris Perkins a lot for this recent Greyhawk love. Wizard's organized play also got into the Greyhawk cookie jar and used among other storylines Beyond the Crystal Cave and the Ghost Tower of Inverness.

Before this run of course was Paizo's longer 3rd Edition tenure with the magazines where we saw expansions of Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure and a few epic APs and more original modules set in the Flanaess than I can name at the moment. Then of course there was the Expedition series modules. I wonder now, what's left of the World of Greyhawk's extensive library of modules (pre-dating 3e) that hasn't been reused, expanded upon or outright swiped.

EX1 Dungeonland and EX2 Land Beyond the Magic Mirror: These Lewis Carroll inspired modules aren't for everybody but comics, shows and movies with the Wonderland theme are in abundance so I can't see these as a bad option.

I1 Dwellers of the Forbidden City, I2 Tomb of the Lizard King, N1 Against the Cult of Reptile God, U2 Danger at Dunwater, U3 The Final Enemy: Perhaps some day there will be a renewed interest in jungle adventures and/or scaly folk as antagonists? Personally I've never ran any of these but I own them all. There has to be something worthy to use in all these adventures.

UK2 The Sentinel and UK3 The Gauntlet: These little regarded modules are set in a remote part of the Sea Princes and could make a good place to set expansions without much interference with canon.

WG6 Isle of the Ape: This may have been touched on in Paizo's Savage Tide AP but I know there hasn't been a major adaption or expansion done on this homage to King Kong. Again, jungle based modules aren't the in thing yet, however Greyhawk has gobs of them.

Crypt of Lyzandred the Mad, The Doomgrinder, the Star Cairns, WG9 Gargoyle, WG10 Child's Play, WG11 Puppets: Also known as the modules no one in their right mind would adapt. If anything they need gritty reboots with completely different plots.

Vecna Lives!, (Vecna Reborn) and Die Vecna Die: Not all technically Greyhawk modules but they all tie together. If I had to pick the next big Greyhawk thing to be exploited, Vecna would be it. He is an uber-NPC villain with a rich background, more than a few associated artifacts and multi-planar reach.

WG8: Fate of Istus: This module is in a class all its own and it's adaptation value is mostly in a city sourcebook. It could be interesting to do another Fate storyline however if we're talking something more Arabic in flavor this time.

WGA1 Falcon's Revenge, WGA2 Falconmaster, WGA3 Flames of the Falcon: This series based in Greyhawk City is undervalued and so isn't likely to ever be adapted. It still was a successful trilogy which is more than I can say for...

WGS1 Five Shall Be One, WGS2 Howl From the North: I loved the premise and set up of these modules but they were awfully written. It was so bad that evidently the third in the series was cut short and folded into the follow up Greyhawk Wars board game. People like Viking flavor, so this would be my personal choice for an adaptation or expansion module. The five swords could easily be scattered again and the quest renewed, but this time with a real goal in mind.

D&D 5th: A Greyhawk Perspective

By now everyone in the gaming blogosphere (is that still a word?) knows that next Gencon will see the long awaited and playtested release of D&DNext or 5th Edition, whatever. What can a grizzled Greyhawk fanbase expect in the coming year or so? Here's one guess:

Reprint Mania: The last couple years, Wizards' reprints of AD&D rules and classic Greyhawk modules have been a deliberate attempt to reconnect with old school fans and from my own anecdotal point of view it seems to have worked, in at the least got everyone's attention back on them. Along with the protracted release of many out of print books for sale on PDF, this has kept the D&D brand alive while 4th Edition was largely a lame duck outside Dungeon and Dragon (also defunct currently). My opinion is they should and likely will continue to trickle out more Greyhawk reprints (mainly since there are still plenty to go) and PDFs. This coinciding with their own "retro" rules edition makes sense, that is until 5th Edition is established (and Forgotten Realms has jelled again). Sooner or later reprint mania will end.

My wish? While they are so busy reprinting already written publications, why not ACTUALLY print the one Greyhawk book that didn't get to paper, Ivid the Undying! I guarantee a real printing of ItU would end up being the biggest selling Greyhawk book of the last 10-15 years. And who knows? If it was successful they might consider doing more sourcebooks again.

Revived Setting: Every Greyhawk fan's favorite topic during an Edition launch. We got snubbed (or lucky depending) during 4th Edition. Plenty of articles and cameos in other books. Mordy even got a book of magic items in his name. There hasn't been any substantial talk yet of doing campaign worlds in 5th, though it looks to me like the climate is better for that to happen to Greyhawk. The very fact it was skipped in 4e tells me they were saving Oerth for something more fitting, like say, a retro-rules system. Of course any relaunch of Greyhawk would be daunting for those in charge. In past eras it was easy to just advance the timeline a bit and continue writing. Now you have an ungodly amount of Living Greyhawk material to consider, Paizohawk (Paizo's wild run on Dragon and Dungeon magazines with Greyhawk info) and also a near 15 year span since the last Gazetteer. It might be easiest to wipe the slate clean and start over sans those sources.

I wouldn't bet on Oerth being rebooted however, since that would confuse all the prior published material that Wizards has been steadily re-releasing. Their impulse to remake things like Temple of Elemental Evil or the Tomb of Horrors with new endings or plots would be a natural move and likely lead to two parallel timelines with subtle yet growing differences. The farther I look into the catalogue however I see opportunities to right wrongs in Greyhawk canon. The prospect sounds both exciting and troubling to me.

Community Voice: One of the reasons Greyhawk got picked up and dusted off at the turn of the century was a strong fan community proved to the company that they deserved to be published. In this day and age, there's plenty of avenues online for people to support Greyhawk and if we're lucky, crowd-sourced for our input. In my opinion, the window for a true Greyhawk revival is closing. 5th Edition wants to harken back to the D&D we all loved when Greyhawk was iconic. If this edition is a repeat of the last, then who will be left to care when 6th Edition rolls around?

Dungeon #221 Two New Greyhawk Adventures!

Well folks, the end is here for Dungeon (and Dragon) Magazines in the 4th Edition digital era. When they return and in what form is anybody's guess. Dungeon #221 went out on a high note though, and the World of Greyhawk got some mighty good love in this issue! As always, you'll need a D&DI subscription to see this issue. Until then here is what you're missing out on:

Lowdown in Highport by Thomas M. Reid is set in the lawless Pomarj during the heyday of the Slavelords. This AD&D adventure for levels 3-5 is a follow up to the prequel module A0: Danger at Darkshelf Quarry that you can only find in the recent Against the Slave Lords reprint. Regardless, Lowdown in Highport still works as a stand-alone mission. In this adventure, a cleric of Trithereon named Mikaro Valasteen hires the PCs:

"Ever more desperate to find a new means of escape from Highport, Mikaro has started work on a plan that is both daring and dangerous. He intends to use a series of old sewers coupled with natural caverns running beneath the town as an escape route to the sea beyond the walls. But he needs someone to clear out the creatures and pitfalls he knows lie within."

This adventure has good old school encounters, dungeon crawling maps and even random charts. As always the events and backstory fit well into the greater Greyhawk/Slave Lords story arc. Greyhawk collectors, you won't be disappointed by this charming little mod.

Lastly is a very ambitious adventure that I've been quite eager to see. The Battle of Emridy Meadows is by Christopher Perkins and Jon Leitheusser. The adventure for 5-7 level is made using D&DNext rules, so you'll need playtest material or the published Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle to aid in running this properly. As the title says, it's set during the defining battle of the Greyhawk setting:

“The Battle of Emridy Meadows” is a collection of missions, all of which take place in and around Emridy Meadows (also referred to as the Meadows) before and during the eponymous battle. The Meadows are located south of the Velverdyva River, along the edge of the Gnarley Forest where it meets the Kron Hills, not far from the villages of Hommlet and Nulb. Although the battle takes its name from the Meadows, it is a moving conflict that spills out into other nearby areas. The missions included here take place at different times and in different places over several days, with little time between."

The PCs aren't directly involved in the battle itself, but instead play an important part in aiding the outcome:

"Rather than fight on the front lines alongside the humans, dwarves, gnomes, and (eventually) elves of the Righteous Host, the characters undertake three critical missions to help Prince Thrommel and his forces gain the advantage. How the characters acquit themselves during these missions directly affects the outcome when the two armies meet."

The module also includes well written historical details on the area and info on a few important NPCs from Greyhawk lore such as Prince Thrommel, Viscount Wilfrick and Serten that figure greatly in this story. There is also a map for the village of Nulb and a few other set locations for the missions abroad. Played out, The Battle of Emridy Meadows could possibly have a different result than what is written in Flanaess history. This masterfully crafted module is the perfect gateway for a new era of D&D that I hope will someday prominently showcase more Greyhawk. Download it if you can!

Update 05/27/2021: Changed link from Wizards to DMsGuild. Download this issue, it's a good one!

 

 

 

 

A Few Minor Greyhawk Things

Howdy readers, it's a quiet night so I'm posting a few Greyhawkish items that caught my eye this week. Let's check it out...

First off, if you haven't seen Anna Meyer's zoomerific Flanaess map test run you should now. A map this ginormous needs an online version like this to handle it all at once. Hey I think I can see Kester from here!

Next up is a Deviant Art page from a couple years ago that I came across by chance during a pic search. Someone made plushies of Iggwilv and Graz'zt! All I can say is that's dedication!

Over at Wizards they are promoting a reprint set of OD&D:

"On November 19th, the deluxe reprint version of Original Dungeons & Dragons releases, which includes seven booklets (the first three rules booklets and four supplements) and dice within an engraved and illustrated wooden storage case."

Talk about a luxury buy. Thanks, but no thanks Wizards. Once again, I'm not that nostalgic for Gygax stuff. More next time!

Update 05/23/2021: Changed a link to a more recent zoomable map by Anna. The Deviant art page is closed so, link removed. 

Mortellan's Gencon Recap

 

Crosslinked from the Canonfire Crier blog, here is a summary of some items from Gencon 2013 that may be of interest to the Greyhawk community. Enjoy!

Darkshelf Quarry and More Greyhawk Maps.

Howdy Greyhawk mavens! On this hot July day I bring some cool and interesting Greyhawk items.

First up is a new post by Anna Meyer. She has posted a series of preview maps of the Sea Princes (yay), Sasserine and Cauldron (of Paizohawk), plus the North, Central and Southern verges of the Amedio Jungle. Wow, she has been busy! Get these downloads now, but take heed, these are not her finished products. If you spot any errors be sure to let Anna know on her site or on the maps thread at Canonfire.

But that's not all!

Anna has also posted her previews of the Olman Isles, Scarlet Brotherhood's home, the Tilvanot Peninsula. This work is stunning. It is a culmination of years of practice making maps of the wider Flanaess. Well done Anna. Now when are you starting on Ull? ;)
Next up I'm happy to announce I have got my copy of the Against the Slave Lords reprint. Check it out:

So yes, there it is. I know I've been gushing about Wizards stuff a lot lately, but darn it this is Greyhawk! And even if it's reprinted content, hey, this book has fan art inside as well. In addition to a small illo by yours truly, there is even better artwork by friends of the community such as Brian "Glad" Thomas, S. Michael Twitchell, Mike Lowe and of course my comic co-conspirator Scott(-enkainen) Casper.

Still not good enough for ya? Okay, how about the brand new prequel module for the A-series, Danger at Darkshelf Quarry? Well I haven't read through the whole adventure yet, but it is by Skip Williams and his cover blurb reads:

"Darkshelf Quarry holds more than limestone and granite. Whispered rumors abound that the quarry's dwarf overseer isn't what he pretends to be, and that he's involved in unscrupulous dealings with foreign threats. Investigation is the only way to learn the truth, but beware! The quarry is well defended, and the danger lurks within its dark tunnels and hidden chambers."

For those who are geographically curious, the village and quarry of Darkshelf is located on the coast of the Sea of Gearnat in Nyrond. That's all for now folks. Enjoy!

Update 05/23/2021: Removed broken links to Anna's map sections. For the full Flanaess experience follow the new link above to her current site. Also changed the link for AtG reprint to DMsGuild if you're interested in purchase.

D&D Next, Cosmology and More

Mike Mearls recently posted an article explaining Wizard's approach to D&D's cosmology and how it will fit with D&D Next and previous editions' worlds. You can read this article without a sub, so check it out first.

WotC's experiment with a streamlined 4th Edition compatible universe was nice in many respects, but they tried too much to ditch elements of older settings that they thought were not worth carrying over. Now I am happy to see they're back-pedalling (a little) on the cosmological changes they made and are even acknowledging areas ignored up till now.

The elemental planes get a hybrid treatment. Looks good.

"the elemental planes will be divided into three basic rings that surround the prime material plane. The innermost ring consists of the border elemental planes. These regions are like the regular world dominated by a specific element. The border plane of fire is a land of ash deserts, billowing volcanoes, and lakes of lava. The next ring out consists of the deep elemental planes, which are areas of pure, elemental energy much as the elemental planes were portrayed in the Planescape material. Finally, the outermost ring is the elemental chaos, a region of pure, fundamental elemental energy."

Wizards put a lot of energy into their 4e vision of Feywild and Shadowfell to retract it. Personally I never used these areas much in my extra-planar adventures and it seems Ravenloft gets to stay put, the poor place having been retconned so much the last couple editions.

"we're treating the Feywild as a similar border plane between the positive energy plane and the prime material. The dreaded domains of Ravenloft are its opposite number, between the negative energy plane and the prime. Elements of the Shadowfell can become domains within Ravenloft."

Planescape fans can rejoice as their favorite setting gets a second chance.

"When it comes to the outer planes, we're treating Planescape as our default assumption. It's a much-beloved setting and one that's fairly easy (by design) to integrate into existing campaigns. That means the return of the Great Wheel, the Blood War, and other classic elements of the D&D cosmos."

(If it was so beloved and easy to integrate why did the Wheel cosmology have to go?)

Now the biggest surprise of the article is serious talk about Spelljammer:

"The biggest setting change we're looking at concerns Spelljammer. In the past, it incorporated all of D&D's settings as places you could visit. I'm not sure that's the strongest selling point of the setting. In my mind, Spelljammer was an interesting exercise in placing D&D in space. Adding in Faerûn, Oerth, and other worlds muddied its initial vision. It also says stuff about settings that might be fairly jarring given a world's flavor and feel. Not everyone wants the equivalent of spaceships in their campaign, so I think that when we talk about Spelljammer as it relates to other settings, we're going to focus on it as its own setting and downplay its role as the connecting tether between various D&D Next worlds."

So yes, Mearls and company want the planes in "5E" to work well with any setting you play. This is a smart move in my opinion and though the workings of the planes matter little in a casual Greyhawk campaign, this article and many others, plus every action Wizards has taken in the last year from reprints to re-releasing PDFs, shows that they are respecting prior material more this time around.

Update 05/23/2021: Removed link to article. At least I quoted the relevant bits. It's fun to see in hindsight how well 5E is doing. D&D Next is cringe worthy though.

A Few Greyhawk Things

Welcome Greyfriends. Just checking in quickly to link a few items of note related to Greyhawk that you may have missed or likely already know.

First up is Anna Meyer. She is currently working on the Tilvanot Peninsula, home to a certain group of monks. Follow the link to see her progress on this vastly underused location.

Next up is a special adventure published over at old school fansite Dragonsfoot by author David Prata titled The Tower of Azal'Lan. This module is set in the Adri Forest region of the World of Greyhawk setting. If the name sounds familiar it's for good reason. Mr. Prata writes:

"The lich Azal'Lan ruled his people with an iron fist, that is until his enemies marched against him and he was forced to flee and was never heard of again. An AD&D adventure for 5-9 characters of level 4-6."

Download it HERE

Last up is from Wizards. The reprint of Against the Slave Lords is now released and to celebrate this, amazing comic artist Jason Thompson has put out another of his incredible module walkthrough maps. This time he covers Slave Pits of the Undercity. Check it out.

Update 05/21/2021: Anna Meyer site link changed. Jason Thompson's entire collection of walk-thru maps are linked compliments of Rended Press.

Coming Soon From Dungeon #215

Howdy Greyhawk aficionados. Today I'm going to pass over a review of Wizards' Dungeon #214 and go straight to the teaser ad for next issue cause there will be an interesting Greyhawk adventure in it to coincide with the upcoming reprint of the A-series hardback. Check it out:

The Last Slave Lord

by Robert J. Schwalb

The Slave Lords are dead, yet one survives! Journey to a lost monastery to end the vile threat once and for all. This 1st Edition AD&D™ adventure for characters of levels 6–9 can be run as a standalone scenario or as a sequel to the classic “A” series adventures. It also includes 4th Edition conversion notes.

Yeah you read that right, a new 1st Edition module. Having played the 2nd Edition Slavers, (Already a sequel to the original A series) I'm curious to see how The Last Slave Lord fits into Greyhawk continuity. And most importantly, which Slave Lord is it? Stay tuned.

Update 05/21/2021: Updated link from Wizards to DMsGuild.

Download at Wizards: Dungeons of Dread Illos

One of the most charming things about some of the old school dungeon crawls TSR made was the illustrations that came with them for players to see. These handouts helped the players better visualize places like the Tomb of Horrors. Now available at Wizards is downloads for the art from the "S series" modules. You won't need a D&DI subscription to download these art booklets either. Enjoy!

Update 05/21/2021: Removed broken link. As previously reported, I'm sure you can get this product on DMsGuild. Whether the art is still free on Wizards website is another story.

Against the Slave Lords Cover Art

Just saw this over at Wizards. Their creative concept and work on the cover for the reprint of the Against the Slave Lords hardback this summer. I got an illustration in it, so I can't wait to get my grubby mitts on this one. Until then updates like this will have to do...

Greyhawk Round-up

Howdy Greyhawk-files. Here is a quick round-up of Greyhawk related things going on:

At Canonfire, the third part of Ragr's Greyhawk fiction series The Knot is available for your perusal. Ragr writes:
"Life flies by and when it does, Greyhawk waits for you."

Follow the links to read the most current or previous episodes.

Also at the Canonfire Crier, check out Argon's post about lesser known holidays of Growfest.

At Wizards people have been buzzing about cartoonist, Jason Thompson's wildly detailed and humorous "walk-thru" maps of classic modules. So far he has done White Plume Mountain and the Tomb of Horrors. A walk-thru of Expedition to the Barrier Peaks is coming soon. Check these out.

Speaking of the Tomb, Greyhawk Grognard reviews the old D&D novel Tomb of Horrors by Keith Francis Strohm. That is a book I've yet to read, check out the post for more info.

Dennis Higgins' Hyborean Greyhawk blog has done it again. His campaign notes for combining Howardian worlds with Greyhawk interests me to no end. Now he has turned the world on end (or sideways) in a way I've never seen before. Have a look see.

Anna Meyer has been hard at work on her Atlas of the Flanaess. In her blog she has recently posted first maps of Gran March, Geoff and the Valley of the Mage. I can't wait till she gets to the Hold of the Sea Princes! It's a map I'll be needing fairly soon...

Update 05/13/2021: This post didn't age well. I had to move the links to Thompson's artwork. The articles are gone but I'm sure the art is on the net somewhere. Hyborean Greyhawk is defunct sadly. Link removed. And Anna's website has changed, so instead of individual map sections you'll have to refer to her newer, better work.

Update 08/25/2021: I broke down and bought Tomb of Horrors novel. Looks good so far. Strohm uses the map and lore quite effectively.

Dungeon #212: Greyhawk Action!

Wow, okay, so the latest from Wizards is Dungeon #212 and it's the most Greyhawkish issue I've seen since Paizo ran the show. I'll give you a run down, but alas my friends you will need a D&DI subscription to download and read the adventures for yourself...

Editorial: Classic Connections, by Christopher Perkins talks about the upcoming S-series reprint and how it has inspired the three adventures following (all 4th Edition of course). Perkins continues to be the best there is to offer at Wizards when it comes to promoting old Greyhawkian works.

Never Say Die, by Claudio Pozas (who recently did an article on Hochoch) is an intriguing adventure that builds off the classic White Plume Mountain:

"In the shadow of White Plume Mountain lies a smaller, lesser known landmark whose eerie silhouette has earned it the ominous name of Dead Gnoll’s Eye Socket. For years, adventurers determined to unearth the mysteries and treasures of White Plume Mountain sought refuge in the caves beneath this hill, which clearly resembles a supine gnoll with water trickling from its cavelike eye socket. Recently, a small tribe of gnolls has taken over this hill. Their bloodlust and devotion to Yeenoghu drive them to capture and hunt humanoid prey, and the adventurers are their latest victims."

 

Court of the Dark Prince, by John “Ross” Rossomangno is an amazing new outerplanar adventure featuring the demon prince Graz'zt and more:

 

"Within the sacred halls of Kord on Celestia, dark rumors suggest that one of the god’s angels has been corrupted by the demon prince Graz’zt. The adventurers are tasked with entering Graz’zt’s triple realm of Azzagrat to search for the suspected fallen angel, Galewing."

 

As if that isn't enticing enough, what Graz'zt adventure would be complete without the Witch Queen, Iggwilv? Check it out.

 

Finally, the last adventure is a dutiful adaptation of Gary Gygax's The Village of Hommlet, by Andy Collins. Andy writes:

 

"In “The Village of Hommlet,” the player characters are introduced to the denizens of a farm village at the edge of the wilderness. There, they learn of bandits troubling the locals and head to a nearby ruined moathouse to investigate. At the moathouse, the adventurers discover that a band of brigands is the least of the village’s worries. An evil priest is assembling a small army of monsters to help restore the foul glory of the infamous Temple of Elemental Evil!

“The Village of Hommlet” includes details on the village itself as well as a nearby ruined keep and dungeon. Based on the classic adventure of the same name published nearly 30 years ago, this version updates the material for the 4th Edition rules while retaining key elements of the original."

This adaptation includes new cartography and character portraits by a host of artists. Download Dungeon #212 if you can, it's a must have for the Greyhawk-completist.

Update 05/13/2021: Good news, you no longer need a subscription. Link updated to DMsGuild where you can find all 4E era material.

Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth

Over at Wizards, they are still excerpting parts of the Dungeons of Dread "S series" modules in anticipation of their reprinting. The latest snippet (yes you'll need a sub) is on the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth and Lawrence Shick's foreword actually revealed an interesting tidbit that I personally didn't know:

"S4 The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth marked the end of the S series—and rightly so, because despite being based on a gilded-hole dungeon originally designed for a tournament in 1976, its updated version really belonged more to the '80s campaign-setting school of design than to the wild-and-woolly '70s. S1 through S3 were standalone modules that could be easily dropped into any DM's campaign, but Tsojcanth is firmly based in Gary's World of Greyhawk. Indeed, there’s evidence that Gary considered Tsojcanth part of a longer Greyhawk campaign, placing the adventure between T1–T4 The Temple of Elemental Evil and WG4 The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun. (By this reckoning, The Village of Hommlet, The Temple of Elemental Evil, and Tsojcanth are thus the "lost" WG1 through WG3 modules.) So, Tsojcanth was published in the S series because it got completed out of order, but was too good to delay."

It may have been obvious to others, but in retrospect, yeah Lost Caverns is so much more Greyhawk setting appropriate than the vague Tomb of Horrors or White Plume Mountain for instance. Way back when I never understood (or cared) how these S-series mods got lumped together and now reading this it's definitely wasn't because they formed a cohesive story like in the Slave Lord series or the Giants-Drow saga. Temple of Elemental Evil-Lost Caverns-Forgotten Temple does make alot more sense!

Update 05/13/2021: Link changed. Head over to DMsGuild to find this reprint.

Wizards Excerpts: Dungeons of Dread

Over at Wizards of the Coast they have posted a couple excerpt articles in advance of their reprint of the S-series Dungeons of Dread collection. First up was one on the Tomb of Horrors, this week is a short bit on White Plume Mountain. You will need a D&DI subscription to read the entire excerpt but really, who hasn't read these mods before? You aren't missing anything. In the least, the forwards to these excerpts are a nice quick read. Enjoy!

Update 05/13/2021: Fixed link, you can find this reprint at DMsGuild.

Update on A-Series Art Contest

Mission Accomplished!

Wizards sent an email stating my humble illustration, "Markessa Defends Her Lab" was chosen to be published in their reprint of the A-Series (Against the Slave Lords) megamodule this year. I have a good feeling most if not all of my fellow artistic friends in the Greyhawk community got in as well since there was talk about the contest being light on entries. I think this is great of course for everyone, but bad for prospects of them doing this type of contest again.

Having gone through this process once, my guess is Wizards will not go through this exact means of getting fan art in the future. In the very least, using Facebook for a voting system failed horribly. One, alot of people I chatted with don't even use Facebook (shock) so it's hardly the best gauge for D&D-fan voting. To make matters worse, I heard it was easy to vote for yourself multiple times and it showed. Last I checked a week ago, my illo had only a couple dozen votes for the entire period (and extension) of the contest, while others accumulated thousands of votes in a fraction of the time. Voting should've been done on their own site where users have one account and get one vote. But hey I understand why they put it on a big social media site. Broken voting or not, I wonder how many fewer entries there might have been otherwise! At any rate I'd be happy with just a panel of industry names as judges next time. If there is one. Thanks for including me, Wizards. This is one reprint I will buy.

I Like Greyhawk, But Not That Much

I like classic D&D, I like Blackmoor and I really like Greyhawk, but Wizards of the Coast's new reprint of the OD&D booklets? Uh, no thanks! I'd rather have the original copies in a shoe box. What do you guys think? Is this reprint over the top?

Update 05/13/2021: You'll probably have to go to DMsGuild to find this product, I'm not sure.