Ring of Five Questions: Scott Casper

Welcome back Greyhawk fans to the Ring of Five Questions! Last time, we reminisced along with freelance writing whiz Greg Vaughan. Today should be a fun read as well. Sharing his time with us is an author who not only has a published Greyhawk article to his credit, but also has been dedicated to online Greyhawk fandom for alot longer than myself. Coming straight from my very own homeland, the prairies of Illinois (or as I like to call it Ullinois), is the sagacious archivist of Greyhawk lore and fiction: Scott Casper. Scott "Scottenkainen" Casper is a longtime presence on the Greytalk mailing list, well known for his work with Canonfire, the fanzine Oerth Journal and his richly detailed article, A Treasure Trove of Tomes in Dragon Magazine #253. Not content with just that, Scott is also a prolific writer of both Greyhawk and comic book fiction. Scott maintains a couple wonderful blogs; The Greytalk Archives and Scottenkainenland for those who wish to follow his ongoing campaigns and projects. Enough background, it's time to see if Scottenkainen can answer his way out of the Ring....

Q1. I'm sure you know my lead question. What land or region of the World of Greyhawk is your favorite?

Scott:  This is only going to be news for anyone who doesn't remember me from Greytalk.  Fifteen years ago, I decided to replace my City of Greyhawk campaign (based on the boxed set) with South Province (or what you might know as the Kingdom of Ahlissa) for a clean slate.  I ran that South Province Campaign for ten years for fourteen players (not all at the same time).  Though there are other contenders, I'd have to say that was the best campaign I ever ran, and that would make South Province my favorite land.
  

Q2. Another easy one. If you could be any one Greyhawk deity which would it be?

Scott:  Boccob, the Uncaring One.  Because then I wouldn't have to care.  I might still care, but at least no one would be expecting it from me. 

 Q3. I know how you really like Gygax's original Castle Greyhawk. How much has this megadungeon played into your campaigns and why is it such an enduring place to use?

Scott:  I bet you're referring to my “Castle Greyhawk” novella that I serialized on Greytalk for a long time.  At the time of my City of Greyhawk campaign, I was using a combination of WG7 Castle Greyhawk and WGR1 Greyhawk Ruins for the castle, and using it strictly for dungeon exploration.  By the time I was running the South Province Campaign, I knew more about the original Greyhawk campaign.  So when I included a time portal leading back to Castle Greyhawk in the recent past, the PCs were able to meet Tenser and Robilar while still adventuring there.  And I used the Castle more for roleplaying with famous NPCs.   

Today, more information is available about what that first Greyhawk campaign was like than ever.  Message boards are dedicated to combing through every bit of lore for new information, or zooming in on photos of Gary holding up a Castle Greyhawk map, trying to read one more word that might tell us something new.  Lots of people don't want to dwell in gaming's past.  Gary never wanted to publish his unpolished notes for Castle Greyhawk (though Rob Kuntz has always been ready to).  He wanted to move on.  But for many gamers, the idea of being able to recreate (either at their gaming table or just in their mind) that gaming experience in its purest form is appealing.  It's nostalgia, but for something you never experienced - sitting around that basement table with Gary, Rob, and the gang and seeing a new medium of entertainment taking shape night by night -- and only wishing you had. 

Q4. Your Greyhawk-centric article in Dragon #253 was full of great material. Did you have any other projects in mind to pitch to Dragon back then? 

 Scott:  In hindsight, I wish I had submitted more during that window of opportunity when Dragon magazine was interested in publishing Greyhawk articles.  I had submitted one other article, non-Greyhawk-related, about taverns and inns that was rejected and is now on my blog.  But for the most part, having already been in Dragon magazine, I focused all my energy on trying to be published in Dungeon magazine after that.  I made a lot of submissions to them, all of them rejected.  Some were rejected for some pretty weak reasons (“The Witch's Cottage” was rejected because it didn't promote the Complete Book of- series enough; the “witch” wasn't made using the witch kit).  “Lost Shrine of the Crystalmist” was almost picked up by Christopher Perkins, but was rejected after a lengthy period of editing and re-editing because he had just bought another adventure that ended too closely to how this scenario was meant to end.  It still kills me that Dungeon magazine was canceled before I got my chance to say I'd been published in both of them. 

“Lost Shrine of the Crystalmist”, incidentally, almost had a second chance at life.  Rob Kuntz and I were, at one point (2005, I think), going to re-write this together for his Pied Piper Publishing company, but after announcing it on his message board he decided to drop the project.  I haven't done anything with it since, though part of the original version of “Lost Shrine” has been on Canonfire! for years.   

Q5. You've been around the internet block. What personal contribution to online Greyhawk fandom are you most proud?

Scott: I've got a few contenders.  I'm very proud of the “Castle Greyhawk” novella and think it's one of my best works of fiction ever (I finished that back in 2007; it's currently hosted on fanfiction.net).  I'm also extremely proud of the “Gazetteer of Ahlissa” published in Oerth Journal #16 (also back in 2005; it's currently hosted on Canonfire!), as that was a parting gift, if you will, to my players as the South Province Campaign wrapped up.  I'm also very proud of “A Treasure Trove of Tomes” because, hey, it was in Dragon!   

But I'd say my most important contribution to Greyhawk fandom has been the work I've put into the Greytalk mailing list all these years.  After the Greytalk Archive website disappeared years ago, people kept talking and talking about how someone needed to bring it back, but no one did.  So I decided to do something about it and I made the Greytalk Archives blog back in 2008.  It still only has a fraction of all the great material from Greytalk on it, but it's the only place on the 'Net right now where you can find well over 200 of the “best” posts from Greytalk all in one place.

Extra: For more fun info about Scott Casper's "Treasure Trove of Tomes" see this old Greyhawk comic from 2008.

AD&D Reprints and a D&DNext Plea

I wasn't sure if I wanted to comment at all on the latest Wizards news to make the rounds in the gaming blogosphere until I recently found a certain Greyhawk point of view to address. As everyone knows has heard, Wizards is (belatedly in my opinion) reprinting the three core 1st Edition AD&D rulebooks (new premium cover same old content) in order to support the Gygax Memorial Fund. Huzzah right?

I support the cause and I'm even somewhat interested in seeing the reprints. The 1e Dungeon Masters Guide is my all time favorite rulebook after all. I even have the mini version! No one is surprised by this P.R. move as it comes on the heels of their much heralded next edition of D&D which promises to win back older gamers. That's what turned on the light bulb in my head. Now, when Mearls and company claimed D&D Next would somehow be "backwards compatible" with previous editions, this led to many online bloggers calling for Wizards to put up or shut up and bring back the sale of old books on PDF. While that hasn't happened yet, the fact that their next move was releasing three classic books in print is quite intriguing. I'm no expert here, so correct me if I'm wrong, but there is hardly any production time needed to reprint old material beyond making a new cover and sending it off to the printers. Even advertising is a breeze over the internet these days. So, if they can do this for a charitable cause, they can certainly do it, at will, for their own profit. The point I'm rambling towards is this:

There is one book that we Greyhawk fans got stiffed on way back before Wizards came along and bought D&D from TSR. It is already highly praised, fully developed, and it only needs covers. Yes folks, I am talking about Carl Sargent's unpublished Ivid the Undying. Sure we all own the PDF. It's been freely available all over the internet for years, but what true blue collector of all things Greyhawk would pass at a chance to own a real tangible hard (or soft) copy of Ivid? Not me. What is in it for Wizards is throwing a huge bone to a large segment of the Greyhawk community that they want back for their next D&D run. Indeed, publishing this "obscure" book could attract new buyers as well just out of the surge of online hysteria that would surely follow from such a monumental move. That's my dream product for D&DNext. It's not a full on rally call for them to support new Greyhawk (yet), but it could be a nice boost in the right direction...

Update 4/28/2021: Removed link to the memorial fund and the broken link to Wizards' article. Take the post as is I suppose!

My First Interview

Real cool Greytalkin' colleague of mine, Dark Herald has recently posted a lengthy interview of yours truly on his blog Greyhawk Adventures 576CY. No one has interviewed me before, so it was kind of neat to take my time and answer some gaming related questions. I've always been rather accessible among the community and I'd love to do something like this again someday. Check it out!

Update 4/28/2021: Nice to see I'm still humble as I was ten years ago haha. This was a nice interview.

Sea Princes #19: Nurses and Curses

I'm still a week behind on these sessions. I hope my memory is fresh and my notes are good. When last we saw the adventurous members of the Bird of Prey, they had just defeated two orc pirate ships near the Pomarj with the help of a Duxchaner vessel named Osprem's Kiss. This ship is different than any other found on the Azure Sea in that it is commanded entirely by women! That should spice things up! Here are the protagonists:

Victor Emmitt Hammond (rogue, easily enamored)

Araxo Tydan (rogue, easily endangered)

Cuahtehmoc aka "Cuahto" (ranger, easily enemies)

Brother Pickles (cleric, easily entertained)
and Henri Morgan (rogue, easily encountered)

 

The slave galley Gruumsh's Fist was freed by the pirate hunting crew of Osprem's Kiss and commandeered by its former oarsmen.  As the Wounded Eye sank to "Xerbo's Vault" the Bird was hailed and the two allied ships met for the first time, and everyone still on their feet crowded with excitement as it was learned...the entire commanding crew of Osprem's Kiss were women! The sleek carrack from the Lordship of the Isles, a member of the Iron League, had been protecting merchant vessels and hunting pirates for profit along the coasts. The vessel however was also a floating temple of sorts, as their primary marines consisted of nearly a score of young Suel-blooded priestesses devoted to Osprem goddess of sea voyages. These priestesses were not soft but battle-hardened; wearing decorative brass-coated breastplates and helms along with their blue vestments embroidered with dolphins and whales.

 

The Ospremites follow the ship's master, one Sister Merci, a trident wielding, middle aged woman with a fiery hatred of orcs. A defiantly cursing Glork Spleenstabber and a dozen other orcs from Gruumsh's Fist were soon made to walk the plank as part of a ritual sacrifice to her sea goddess. The sisters, ignoring cat-calls from the Sea Princes crew came aboard to help tend to the wounded, including poor Salty Sal Silverblade who lost an arm but lived, and a severely wounded Victor Hammond who must've thought he had died and gone to the afterlife. The cat-calls soon turned to silence once they found out (much to their surprise or chagrin) the regular deckhands on Osprem's Kiss, some forty men, were all eunuchs!

 

A weakened Captain Rennaud hobbled back on deck assisted by Quartermaster Rotario and along with his able-bodied officers (Lord Key among them) met with the remaining officers of Osprem's Kiss: Captain "Jet" Cassidy, a black garbed, dark haired buccaneer from Duxchan who seemed quite familiar with their Captain Rennaud as they hugged and congratulated each other. Next was the first mate, the moody, armed and deadly Sasha Dirk. Lastly came the bosun, the short of stature, but brutal "Half Pint" Moira. Everyone from both staffs immediately became concerned with the condition of Cpt. Rennaud who showed no signs of any injury, yet was too weak to stand. With all eyes on him, the "Blackguard" knew then that his quest was on the line and had to reveal his dark secret...

 

Sir Eduard Rennaud of Gradsul was once a youthful new member of the Kinghts of the Watch. Rennaud was assigned to a commander who was charged with patrolling the fringes of the Hool Marshes for outlaws and incursions, though in truth they were actually a corrupt knight squadron that worked with smugglers. The young, idealistic Sir Eduard objected to their illicit operation and decided to desert the company and report what he found to the order in Gran March. Discovered before he could get far, Rennaud had to fight his way out of the camp and in doing so, slew the knight commander. The other conspiring knights quickly sent word by bird and magic to the Order and told their skewed account of Sir Eduard's treachery. Once Rennaud reached civilization, he found no friendly counsel nor any who would listen to the truth. Worst of all came when Sir Eduard appealed to a high-priest of Heironeous, who not only called for his capture, but also angrily invoked a curse on the knight as he again escaped from his brothers. This curse of justice put on Sir Eduard would manifest anytime he attempted an act of heroism or bravery, so that he would be temporarily inflicted with bodily weakness, until such a time he could be redeemed in the eyes of the gods. Sir Eduard returned to his family in Gradsul whereupon he was smuggled out by ship to serve the Prince of Monmurg in exile. Since then he was branded the Blackguard- accused of many things like treason, murder, piracy and even adultery.

 

It became clear to all on board, that the voyage to find the Well of All Heals was really a quest for Captain Rennaud to atone to the gods and thus prove to his order that he was wronged. Feeling for her old comrade, Captain Cassidy swiftly pledged Osprem's Kiss to act as a consort on his voyage. Lord Ronaldo Key, acting master for Count Tydan was enraged however that he and his count were duped into investing in his personal quest and demanded that the Bird of Prey be taken back to Port Torvin. This stirred Victor, Cuahto, Araxo and the others to jump in to the captain's defense, as they threatened Key with bodily harm. Key backed down, but only after he cravenly reminded all present that the count would get his fair share of the prize and that he was still under the captain's protection. The search for the sage Lockard Meek and the Well would continue...

 

Fiction: By Steel & Spell

It's been quite active since the holidays and to that end I've slacked on posting updates on new Greyhawk fiction at Canonfire! As I will be taking over duties for posting new articles there sometime this year, I need to get on the ball now. Catching back up, here is the first three episodes of a new series by prolific Canonfire member MasterArminas, entitled By Steel & Spell. This series should be of special interest to any fans of a certain realm of horror. MasterArminas writes:

"In the northern reaches of the Timberway Forest, an ancient evil is growing stronger.  Old friends -- once separated -- must now come together to battle and defeat this malevolent presence . . . once and for all!"

"Journey with them now as they travel to confront the menace growing within the halls of a once-great castle; a castle now as ruined and corrupt as its inhabitants."

Catch up to the first three episodes now!
By Steel & Spell (Part 1)

By Steel & Spell (Part 2)

By Steel & Spell (Part 3)

Greyhawk Comic #315: Freeday the 13th

Okay Greymaniacs, I don't normally post on Greyhawkery this frequently and I certainly haven't contemplated doing any comics since my last epic Needfest Special mainly due to laziness and a lack of good ideas. But wouldn't you know it, much to my surprise (chagrin), our good friend Mr. Klein over at Greyhawk Adventures 576CY called me out on a good subject I haven't covered before. It's short notice so I apologize for the lack of annotations. Read the comic, then read the commentary below. Enjoy!

CLICK HERE FOR THE COMIC

The relevant facts you need to know: In the World of Greyhawk, there are twelve months each with 28 days (and four week long 'fests' every three months) totaling 364 days per calendar year. There are seven days in a week, starting with Starday, then followed by Sunday, Moonday, Godsday, Waterday, Earthday and Freeday. What all this means is, unlike our Gregorian calendar with its varied length of months, days of the month in Greyhawk always fall on the same week. Thus it is impossible to have the analogous "Freeday the 13th" since it would always be Earthday the 13th. Tsk!

This isn't to say people of the Flanaess aren't still superstitious of the number 13. The number can still hold plenty of dubious connotations if applied in the right fashion. Especially if you're a worshiper of this guy.

Blackpowder Weapons in Greyhawk Part 2

Welcome back! For those just tuning in, go back and check this link to read my last manifesto on why blackpowder weapons belong in Greyhawk. Before I continue I'd like to add one more reference I overlooked, that was smartly pointed out to me on the Canonfire forums by "Iron Golem" and that is the appearance of blackpowder in the 2nd edition module Greyhawk Ruins. Look it up for yourself, while I move on...

In my Sea Princes campaign I use a simple set of game rules (3.5e) governing the use of guns and cannons. The stats I use for these weapons can be found in the old 3.5e DMG and in the seafaring supplement Stormwrack. Characters do not need the obscure feat "Secret of the Firebrands" to use blackpowder but instead need it in order to create them. A character must still take an Exotic Weapon proficiency or else suffer a -4 penalty to hit. This applies to each type of blackpowder weapon be it a pistol, musket, cannon or bomb.

Another restriction on these destructive weapons is that they cannot be enchanted (see below). "Masterwork" versions of these weapons can still be made at standard price increases but beyond having a customized appearance, they only afford a minor bonus to hit. Blackpowder is considered a hazardous alchemical substance that also cannot be further modified through the use of magic. In fact, merely igniting blackpowder from any other enchanted device will almost certainly result in catastrophe (99%). The jury is still out on enchanted ammo, but due to the aforementioned volatility of blackpowder, I would say trying this should at least incur a 50% chance of a firing mishap (DM choice of effect). Mundane bullets made of rare materials (like silver or cold iron) sound acceptable for overcoming special damage resistance.

The rate of fire and shorter range increment for blackpowder weapons ensures that they are still inferior to other missile weapons like long bows and crossbows which can still be enchanted along with their ammunition. This essentially makes an item like a flintlock pistol no better than a one shot item used before switching to a main melee weapon. Until the technology progresses another 500-1000 years they're pretty much more flair than effect which is perfect for a swashbuckling game. The background for how blackpowder weapons came to be developed in the Flanaess is unique to my campaign, but it should not interfere with canon in any era of Greyhawk:

The Oerids of the Great Kingdom of Aerdy were masters of the art of war, conquering all before them in no small part to the knowledge of the clergy of Delleb who once specialized (with the urging of more militant religions) in the creation of devices such as stirrups, crossbows and the trebuchet before withdrawing to more peaceful and scholarly concerns. The greatest of these Aerdian geniuses was a female engineer named Daern whose skill at building castles and defenses in Aerdy would go unmatched until the founding of Spinecastle two centuries later. Daern "the Unshakable" met her end some time after the Battle of a Fortnight's Length (-110 CY) but before her death and rumored apotheosis, she recorded much of her unfinished ideas for her loyal acolytes to finish. Among these writings was plans for the Tower of Daern (eventually built in Irongate), designs for the creation of the extra-dimensionally folding Daern's Instant Fortress, and an overlooked tome titled Components and Reactions of Phosphorus.

Murlynd an Oeridian himself, rose to some fame for carrying his strange quasi-magical "hoglegs" in early 300's when he adventured along with Zagig Yragerne and the Company of Seven. While his strange weapons were acquired from another plane this didn't stop sages and wizards from trying to copy them, yet all their attempts failed until a series of events happened long after Murlynd's adventuring career ended. In 447CY, the Iron League was formed by a group of small nations to defend against the evil of the Aerdian Overking Ivid. During the intervening century these small states (especially the Free City of Irongate), in alliance with the dwarves and gnomes of the Iron Hills would become renowned for their manufacture of quality weapons.

By the late 570's Murlynd rose to prominence again as a small-time hero-god with followers scattered throughout the central Flanaess including parts of the Iron League where his storied weapons were not forgotten by adherents of another hero-god, Daern. The subsequent rediscovery of Daern's lost manuals on blackpowder brought these two minor clergies together in a common interest, with the goal of recreating and manufacturing lesser versions of Murlynd's artifacts to give the lawful realms of the aptly named Iron League, an edge against their enemies on land and at sea. With the explosion of innovation, certain  economic and political realities would soon lead to these blackpowder weapons falling into the hands of other nations most notably the Kingdom of Nyrond, the Hold of the Sea Princes and some say the hidden Kingdom of Shar. Despite the recent proliferation of these weapons, the Iron League still remains the only good source for the blackpowder that powers them; a situation that has made the League both rich and a target for espionage.