Ring of Five Questions: Allan Grohe

Welcome back fellow greybeards to another installment of the Ring of Five Questions! Last time we got some insightful answers from Living Greyhawk's Creighton Broadhurst. Facing the Ring today is another of the Greyhawk community's finest and most knowledgeable old school fans, Allan "grodog" Grohe. Allan is best known in Greyhawk circles for his long running fansite The Grodog's Greyhawk Adventures and an incredible run of articles on the fansite Canonfire! Allan was also once fortunate to have a Greyhawk article published in Dragon Magazine #299 titled All Oerth's Artifacts. Presently, Allan is still heavily involved in the old school gaming scene and is co-founder of Black Blade Publishing. Now without further ado, let's put Mr. Grohe to the Ring of Five Questions:

Q1. As a long time Greyhawk fan, you should know the Darlene map by heart. What is your realm of choice in the World of Greyhawk?

Allan: In terms of my favorite place to run Greyhawk campaigns, I really do prefer the central Flannaess:  from the Nesser River in the east to the Lortmils and Whyestil in the west, and from the Pomarj in the south to the Rift Canyon in the north. In terms of my favorite places that inspire adventures in Greyhawk, the Valley of the Mage, Rift Valley, and the Land of Black Ice have piqued my curiosity and interest since I first discovered them in the Folio.  Carl Sargent's Isle of Lost Souls is equally fascinating!

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

Allan: Hmmm.  I've always had a lot of interest in Olidammara and Phaulkon, and Kuroth once he was promoted.  I found Marc Tizoc's portrayal of the priestesses of Wee Jas very compelling, too.  So likely one of those four.

Q3. Greyhawk has had it's ups and downs over the decades. What do you think was the biggest mistake made in published Greyhawk?

Allan: Wow.  That's a tough one---there are so many to choose from!:
- the failure of TSR to publish Castle Greyhawk and the City of Greyhawk when Gary was still in control of TSR.
- the cancellation of WG7 Shadowlands by Skip Williams, and of Steve Marsh's Starstrands planar modules.
- the publication of WG7 Greyhawk Castle by TSR after Gary's ouster.
- the failure of New Infinities to publish Castle Greyhawk and the City of Greyhawk.
- the decision to stop publishing Greyhawk and focus on the Forgotten Realms during the 2e era, despite the two product lines being nearly equal in sales.
- the "Return To..." series of products, which set the example for 3.x and 4.x's inability to produce quality new Greyhawk adventures (instead relying on the rehashing of old standbys)
- the decision to not follow-up on the popularity of the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer with more published Greyhawk products.
- the decision to not publish Living Greyhawk RPGA modules.
- the decision to close the Living Greyhawk campaign at the height of its popularity.
- the decision to mine Greyhawk as a source for names in the multitudes of 3.x rulebooks (and perhaps 4.x, I'm not really in touch there).
- Gary's prioritization of Yggsburgh for Troll Lord Games over the publication of Castle Greyhawk.
The failures to publish Castle Greyhawk probably irk me the most personally, but I think that the most damaging mistake to the Greyhawk setting and fanbase was the 2e era decision to shut GH down in favor of publishing FR content:  I think that set the stage for the 3.x strip-mining of Greyhawk NPC and deity names, locations, and such---so, it's a double-whammy of sorts.

Q4. Judging by your writing credits, you know your Greyhawk artifacts. Which is your favorite?

Allan: Hmmmm.  That's a tough question, since I like so many different aspects of artifacts:  I love the historical snippets in The Codex of the Infinite Planes and the Vecna/Kas items; the mythological and literary ties to Baba Yaga's Hut and The Silver Key of Portals; and the fun in creating new artifacts or adding to the history of others, like Druniazth or Kuroth's Quill.  (In my regular column From Kuroth's Quill in Knockspell magazine, I often create new snippets of lore extracted from The Fables of Burdock, The Demonomicon of Iggwilv, and similar sources). In the end, I think that Tenser's Fortress of Unknown Depths captures the spirit of all of these qualities, and it's probably tied with Kuroth's Quill as my favorite artifact.

Q5. If you could publish a new Greyhawk megadungeon where would you place it?

Allan: If I could publish any Greyhawk mega-dungeons, my first choices would be Castles Greyhawk and El Raja Key, of course.  Followed by Castle of the Mad Archmage and my own version of Castle Greyhawk.  But, if I'm to be publishing a brand-new mega-dungeon, I think some sort of large ruined ice city set in and
below the dusky glaciers of The Land of Black Ice would be quite fun (although pretty remote, of course...).

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.

Ring of Five Questions: Round 14

Well met Greyhawk patrons! If you've been following this blog for the last month or two, you'll know this is the fourteenth round of my ongoing Return of the Ring of Five Questions column! If you're finding this column for the first time, this is a special community participation feature of Greyhawkery. Search back and read the previous installments (Round 1-13) then email me at mortellan@gmail.com with your own five responses. Remember, you can be as short or wordy as you like in these responses. Disclaimer: I will keep taking entries until the end of 2020 so hurry up and respond before Needfest is almost here!

This round we have another special entrant to the Ring, my friend and creative compadre, Scott Casper whose novella Castle Greyhawk, I helped bring to life as a graphic novel for several years online. Scott is an old school stalwart of the Greyhawk community who is no stranger to the Ring of Five Questions. Check out Scott's original interview from way back in 2012. Those Five Questions were tailored to him, so this time around he will be answering the same as everyone else, but a couple of the Q's are still classic. Since Scott holds a special place in my history with the Greyhawk community, I'm going to take his return to the Ring up a notch. Let's see how 2020 Scott measures up to the Greyhawk community, 2012 Scott and...ME. Yes I'm throwing myself in the Ring at long last for my final answers. Ready? Enjoy!

Q1. What is your favorite realm or region in the World of Greyhawk setting? 

Scott: Last time my answer was South Province, and I still love that region (the only time in recent years I’ve written anything for Canonfire was when South Province needed some representation in a project), but my last two campaigns have been set in the City of Greyhawk. To an extent, I’ve tried making this the Greyhawk City of the Original Greyhawk Campaign, but I do get lazy on occasion and borrow from Carl Sargent’s amazing City of Greyhawk boxed set. I don’t want to go 100% boxed set version because I’ve already done that -- that was, in fact, my second Greyhawk campaign ever back around 1990. But it’s also just too good to ignore.

Anyway, short version is that my answer is the City of Greyhawk, or perhaps I should say the Domain of Greyhawk -- since Castle Greyhawk is in the domain, but not in the city!

Mike: Scott wisely changes his answer from 2012. The South Province (Ahlissa) can be a cool place to make your own, but the City (and yes, Domain) of Greyhawk is too iconic in my view to deny. for that reason I too choose Greyhawk as my favorite location. Unlike Scott, I was never versed in Gygax's novel/home game version of the city, but my best campaigns have always been built around the 2E city boxed set, the updates from Roger Moore's The Adventure Begins and the later Living Greyhawk Journal (and Denis Tetreault map) additions. Greyhawk has all the best NPCs, organizations, economy and yes, magic. 

People know me and assume from my extensive Ull and Sea Princes writings on Greyhawkery that these are my favorites, but the Gem of the Flanaess and its surroundings (of course the iterations of Castle Greyhawk) is where most of players have enjoyed adventuring and establishing their characters homes. Every time I run a game there it's like returning home, so it's never difficult to DM. Good start Scott, let's continue... 

Q2. If you could actually be one Greyhawk deity which one would it be? 

Scott: Last time I said Boccob, but that was a joke answer. I don’t want the responsibility of being a greater god. I’d choose to be a quasi-deity, like Heward. He gets to hang out with the gods, play the organ at their parties, but doesn’t have a portfolio or sphere of influence he has to worry about.

Mike: Scott has had years to reflect and become humble. Boccob was a choice of more than a few people in the Ring too. I myself was very tempted to take the Uncaring, then it dawned on me. No I'm not talking about Pelor, or Pholtus! I would chose to be Wee Jas, goddess of Magic, Death, Law and Vanity. Am I vain, no never, but if I were a god I'd have to shake Scott's concern about responsibility. Sure, Heward is a fine choice, alot of the Quasi and Hero-gods get to adventure around still, party with all the Mordys and Zagygs out there and he's right, don't have to answer to anyone. But for me, after some thought I'm WEE JAS. Yeah, yeah, she's a goddess and I'm fine with that! No one else went for her, so surprise!

Boccob has magic and is greater. Nerull has death and is greater. Wee Jas however kind of plays the middle at times, which is very like me. She can be greater or intermediate depending on her mood perhaps? She is lawful, which is also like me. She is also vain and ambitious for more portfolios. This part is not like me, but if I'm Wee Jas, then heck with it!   

Q3. You have one wish. Which Greyhawk module or accessory would you do over or fix?

Scott: I never got this question eight years ago! I’ve seen a lot of answers already that seem like really good answers, but I am going to stake my claim on the Rob Kuntz Archives. His maps and keys to El Raja Key (or Maure Castle, as we know it on Oerth), including some of the levels that also became part of Castle Greyhawk, are on that CD-ROM product (maybe not the original original versions, though; I suspect the keys were rewritten sometime in the early 1980s, given some of the monsters you can encounter there). I have been fleshing out those levels with more detail for recent campaigns. While not technically a “fix,” I am tempted to share my more detailed version of El Raja Key.

Mike: Mr. Casper shows he is a paragon of old school Gygaxian Greyhawk. I'm a big fan of Kuntz too, I love Maure Castle probably more than Castle Greyhawk in fact. Eli Tomorast is my boy! I also have the CD-ROM Scott talks about and it's a wealth of unpublished lore. I got at Gary Con, so I'm not sure where you can still get a copy from. Maybe Scott will know? Anyhoo, I imagine bringing RJK's El Raja Key to life in a finished product would fulfill the wishes of quite a few friends of ours in the community.

Myself though, I have ranted several times in the RoFQ column about the Five Shall be One/Howl from the North/Greyhawk Wars storyline. I will stick with this being my hill to die on for a revision. Sargent was merely taking Gygax's cues and was steering the Flanaess to war. I like wars as anyone who has read Greyhawkery knows. The quest for the 5 Blades of Corusk should have united Thillonria to go conquer lands to the south, Bone March, Pale, North Province, etc. That's how it played out in my 2E campaigns and I think GH Wars as published could have its Great Kingdom/Iuz subplots and still allow for the barbarian faction led by a very real and freed Vatun to carve a new power group in the north. If not that, the mods could be reworked for a South Seas variation like I did in 3E for my players. Instead of questing in the cold north the blades are scattered across the tropics. Instead of barbarians, you need a party of Suel pirates. Good times!

Q4: You're putting together an all-star Greyhawk NPC group. Who is your number one pick? 

Scott: I love Tenser, Robilar, Terik, Yrag, Ehlissa, Murlynd, and all the characters from our Castle Greyhawk webcomic. Eneever Zig, the wizard who goes into the Castle Greyhawk dungeons with Gord and Chert in Night Arrant, has featured prominently in two of my campaigns now. If I’m going by canon characters -- I am going to stick with our main protagonist, Tenser.

If I can include non-canon NPCs, though….I loved using this mage named Mokli in my old South Province campaign. He was based on Quinton, from the comic book Thieves & Kings (created by Mark Oakley). He’s supposedly extremely powerful, but he dresses like a poor apprentice and is never seen casting a spell, ever. He showed up at various points in the campaign, looking for the PCs because he had vital information to tell them about what they needed to do next -- but then something would always happen that would interrupt him and keep him from being able to tell them. It made him seem like he knew a lot about what was happening behind the scenes of the campaign, but every time it was a bluff -- I didn’t actually have anything prepared to tell the PCs. They were good sports and always played along. I’ve been blessed with some great players over the years.

Mike: Good ol' Tenser is a bold choice. He is indeed a wonderful protagonist throughout all Greyhawk lore. He is near and dear to the Greyhawk Domain as well, and someone who a quasi-deity like Heward would hang out with too! I definitely enjoyed drawing Tenser (and all those NPCs he mentioned) for the comics all those years. You could see his progression in power through the chapters, though we never quite got to the pinnacle. Still, as NPCs go he would be a much better team leader than Mordy who always manipulates from the shadows. Also Scott, since we're pals, I will give you Mokli as well. I like nostalgia and sometimes your own creations are better. Yup another mage to run with Tenser. Wizards  is where all the glory is at in Greyhawk.

For myself, I like wizards too. I was tempted to go with an obvious good choice like Mordenkainen, Rary or even Tomorast, but as cool as it would be to have a guy with demon-hands on my team, I realized that I need a more powerful and classy #1 pick. You guessed it, I'm going with Iggwilv the Witch-Queen of Perrenland. She is quasi-deity level, she can make artifacts, she can trap demon-lords and she has a lot of connections in the D&D multiverse. Am I worried about Iggy usurping me? Heck no, I'm Wee Jas remember? Girl power! Okay, one more question to go...

Q5. If you could possess one artifact or relic from Greyhawk lore, which would it be?

Scott: If I’m Heward then naturally I want my Mystical Organ (insert your own dirty jokes here). But I also want the Mighty Servant of Leuk-O because I always pictured that being Voltron.

Mike: Okay Scott you talked me into it again. Since he is Heward and has to impress at those parties in Tenser's Castle, I will grant the Mystical Organ is a given. The Mighty Servant though, yeah that gets the job done. Mentioning Voltron definitely plucks at my 80's cartoon heart-strings too. So there you go buddy, two for one! Well played!

To finish off this truly epic round of the Ring, I am going to go with the best artifact in all of D&D and probably RL mythology, the Dancing Hut of Baba Yaga. Skip Twitchell first picked the hut back in round 4 and that stuck with me. If I'm the ultimate deity of magic and death with the ultimate witch queen at my side, then our base of operations is going to be mobile and plane-hopping! Baba Yaga would have to be in this witchy group too, I can't kick her out of her own home after all. Who knows, maybe when we visit the City of Greyhawk, Heward and his organ can entertain us at a party inside the hut. Well that was a load of fun everybody. 

Thanks to Scott Casper for his entry. I hope you were tickled by my answers as well. There is still time, send me an email if you'd like to share your five answer with the Greyhawk community! 

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.

Castle Greyhawk Finale

Greetings Greyhawkers! This week I am proud to announce that Scott Casper and I have reached the conclusion of our long running Castle Greyhawk comic. It's been several years and over 160+ pages of amazing story and art.

When we started this comic back in 2012, Scott had already written a virtual novella based on the original home campaign of Gygax, involving such notable Greyhawk characters as Tenser, Robilar and Mordenkainen. It was when he approached me to do an illustrated adaptation of these short stories that I was inspired to jump at it since I had already ran out of material for my long running Greyhawk Comic strip. For seven years I've lived and drawn these characters doing incredible things I've never done in an actual table top RPG setting. My only regret is that I chose to do it in greyscale instead of full color. However, I am sure I would have never accomplished half the work load if I had done so. Then again, how many D&D fans have done one if not two comics based on their favorite setting? So yes, no regrets at all in hindsight.


If you are just now finding my blog Greyhawkery, or Castle Greyhawk, and are new to every contained in this story, well this is mainly the story of the wizard Tenser. The exploits and adventures of Tenser and his off and on again compatriots happen around the free-city of Greyhawk, which is central to the published World of Greyhawk RPG setting. Nearby is the dungeons of the ruined Castle Greyhawk once home to the famous mad archmage Zagig.

The story of Castle Greyhawk also features the hardworking mage in training slash barmaid, Ehlissa. She is a strong, fearless adventurer in a world dominated by so many powerful male figures. One of these individuals is the noble, but reclusive fighter Yrag whose experience leads to taking the young wizards on their first foray into the infamous ruins.

As the story progresses, you will become familiar with another fearless warrior named Robilar. As time goes by Robilar falls in with Tenser and company as well to search the dungeons for treasure. Along with him comes a whole cast of adventurers and henchmen such as Quij the orc, Terik the fighter, Otto the mage and Serten the cleric.

Mind you, this story isn't one big dungeon crawl either, the story also takes you across the streets of Greyhawk, into inns, taverns, wizards towers and even a local bandit's fort. There is so much going on in this five-chapter story that I can't begin to tell it all. Start from the beginning and read Castle Greyhawk. In the future I hope to post up compiled versions of the chapters for ease of reading.

Until then, thanks for at least reading about my latest feather in the cap. Thanks once again to Scott Casper for his hard work and amazing direction. Every panel you will see in this comic is drawn by me, but it is executed exactly how Scott imagined it first. Congratulations my friend on having your dreams come true!

Why the Gem of the Flanaess?

A long while back there was a discussion in our weekly Greyhawk chats about the Azure Sea and that sparked an esoteric question in my head which I thought better explored in length here: Why the Gem of the Flanaess?

For those not intimately familiar with the setting, the Gem of the Flanaess is the nickname of the Free City of Greyhawk, the literal central focus and namesake of the World of Greyhawk. The City of Greyhawk Boxed Set addresses this exact question in the opening chapter of its gazetteer. Put another way, why is Greyhawk so important in the world and why should you base your campaigns out of it? I postulate that while the city is nice and centrally located, given the evidence of history post Greyhawk Wars, if a dungeon master wanted, the setting focus could theoretically shift. The book says:

"A number of key factors have contributed to Greyhawk's key position in the affairs of the Flanaess. Among them are its location, long history, economic versatility, and the vigor and variety of its population.

Greyhawk has long been the beacon for men and women of learning, or great faith, or high magic...

...currently active adventurers are also drawn to the city. The nearness of the great ruin, Castle Greyhawk, has proven to be the most irresistible draw..."

All are important factors. Greyhawk as it goes, started as a minor trading post in a good location. As the Flanaess became more settled during the height of the Kingdom of Aerdy, it grew somewhat, but didn't quite explode until the time of mayor Zagig Yragerne his era of learning and construction and then ruin of his wealthy castle within the last 250 years. In fact, the Free City of Dyvers, (a former capital of Furyondy) which is also on the Nyr Dyv water-system a mere 120 miles away, was a much bigger and more important city for a time, that is until Greyhawk sapped away much of its cultural and economic influence. If it can happen to Dyvers, so too can Greyhawk lose it's luster.

Greyhawk is certainly a hot-bed of adventure, but those same dangers could someday keep trade away trade and scare off the variety of people that it is so proud of having. How? Iuz's empire is just across the lake in the Shield Lands and to the south-west is the orcish empire of the Pomarj, then to the south-east is the Bright Lands. Greyhawk while neutral, is very rich so I highly doubt the city, though strong in its own right would be safe from conflict. Castle Greyhawk (Greyhawk Ruins version) itself is also a danger to the long term security of the city. Not to mention, if the player characters somehow manage to clear the dungeons of all its wealth, where will adventurers go next? Maure Castle?

Then there is the trade route quandary. Pirates of the Pomarj and Wild Coast plague the way south through the Woolly Bay, the Nyr Dyv is relatively safe (don't trust Rhennee bargemen), but does have its own aquatic dangers, then that leaves the east-west roads. As I mentioned, Dyvers is an economic rival and the Duchy of Urnst to the east is on good terms yet if you see the map its a bumpy road traversing the dangerous Cairn Hills and nearing the Mistmarsh swamp. The Gem of the Flanaess may be centrally located, but it's by no means easy to access.

Now that I've bored you to death, where else would be fitting to move a campaign focus given the socio-political problems surrounding Greyhawk? Here's some possible suggestions:

The World of Irongate: Irongate (detailed in Dragon #351) is comparable in every way to Greyhawk. Fairly centralized free city, large multi-racial population, natural resources, fortifications and high magic. Situated in the east-center of the Flanaess, it's main political concerns is the outed Scarlet Brotherhood, pirates and the fractured kingdoms of Aerdy. Unlike Greyhawk which relies on roads and rivers, Irongate has a major seaport to trade and explore leagues beyond its reach. As for adventure, the place is reputedly an extra-dimensional nexus and is in proximity to adventure locales like the Tomb of Horrors.

The World of Gradsul: Gradsul, to the southwest of Greyhawk is the main port city of the Kingdom of Keoland. Much like Irongate, it is a largely (49,400) populated center of trade on the Azure Sea. It has a similar reach to exotic resources brought up from the south seas islands and jungles, much too far for Greyhawk to attract. Gradsul isn't a free city, but it is certainly the most prosperous and heavily defended one in Keoland. It's only military concern is the piratical Sea Princes. Gradsul can make a nice urban locale for political intrigues and from this base adventures be sought in the nearby Dreadwood Forest, the Hool Marshes or just a ship's voyage away.

The World of Rel Mord: To the east, this capital of the Kingdom of Nyrond is another major populated city (46,500) as well as a center for learning like Greyhawk (The University of Rel Mord). Rel Mord is usually at odds with the Great Kingdom, but as of the Greyhawk Wars, they aren't as much of a concern. Rel Mord is along a river-way like Greyhawk and is centrally located in the kingdom as to make it the hub of all roads going to the Urnsts, the Theocracy of the Pale or even to Aerdy. Adventurers can try their hand at the ruins of Almor or go west to Maure Castle.

The World of Lopolla: Want to have a Baklunish/Arabic feel to your game? Lopolla, the capital of Ket to the far west of Greyhawk is situated in another hub of trade and travel between the Yatil Mountains and the Barrier Peaks. Lopolla is a large (27,300) multicultural center spanning the peoples of the Flanaess proper to the Baklunish west. After the Greyhawk Wars, things settled down for Ket so they're not entirely at odds with their easterly neighbors anymore. Loads of adventurers can be attracted to nearby treasures in the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth or the make an Expedition to the Barrier Peaks. After those, Lopolla can be used as a springboard to further quests Beyond the Flanaess.

The World of Verbobonc: Lastly to the west, there is the humble Viscounty of Verbobonc. While it is smaller than Greyhawk (12,700) it is just as diverse in population and lays near the same river trade route as Dyvers and the Gem of the Flanaess. This minor city is much more buffered from the threats of Iuz or the Pomarj thanks to Furyondy and Celene giving it a chance to grow where Greyhawk might languish. It is also still close enough then for adventurers to travel to the same local hot spots that we all know. Verbobonc much like it's bigger neighbor however, has its own local adventure attraction, the Temple of Elemental Evil.

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!

300th Post: Greyhawk Resolutions 2013

How about that? A milestone post for Greyhawkery right at the start of a new year! Last year I compared my 2012 resolutions with 2011 to see how I fared, let's see how this next year will pan out...

2012: Maintain 2-3 posts a week on Greyhawkery and once a week on the Canonfire! Crier.
2013: Keep up the same pace, find other contributors/s for the Crier.
Greyhawkery is still humming along nicely. Finding content is sometimes hard but I manage to find something noteworthy every so often. My plans to expand the roster of Ring of Five Questions interviews at Gencon stumbled a bit. I got a few people to respond, but my emails were totally snubbed for the second straight year, by all the Paizo folks who I talked to. Either the staff at Paizo is really too busy being successful with Pathfinder to reply or there is an internal memo to stay away from Greyhawk now. I hope I'm just being paranoid. Either way, I may have to branch more into the fan community for authors to interview. More at a later date. The Crier is a tough one to maintain. As I already cover everything at Greyhawkery, the Crier ends up redundant to me. If I could get one or two fresh minds to post on that blog for Canonfire, I'd be happy.

2012: Write more articles.
2013: Write more articles.
I keep saying this every year. I had of course wanted to publish my finished Ulakand article and start on a Kester follow up. Both projects are still in limbo, but no more than the undead-zine that is Oerth Journal. I did manage to run a successful Postfest at Canonfire involving taverns and inns. Mine was the Last Respite, set on the Olman Isles. A decent victory there. My last article pipe dream however is to start on my Battles of Greyhawk series. I have the research and ground work done, it's just format and actual writing that I can't get motivated to do right now. Eh.

2012: Promote Greyhawk.
2013: Promote Greyhawk.
Easy one there. Last year my friends started the Gamerstable podcast and so far I've defended the honor of Greyhawk on numerous occasions and I've even ran a few actual play podcasts of my Sea Princes campaign. So far so good. Beyond that, I've been encouraging anyone who starts a Greyhawk blog, fiction, maps, anything. The community is strong as ever.

2012: Redesign the Greyhawk Comic page.
2013: Continue making Castle Greyhawk graphic novel.
I have indeed not made a new comic strip for the old Greyhawk Comic in a year, that mine is played out. It does live on at Melkot.com though. Thanks as always Denis! Recently however I found my muse in Scott Casper and his Castle Greyhawk fiction. We put our noggins together and have now crafted an amazing comic adaptation of Castle Greyhawk that has turned out to be some of my best art ever. Now over twenty-four pages in, I look forward to whatever direction Scott leads us.

2012: Greyhawk Maps.
2013: More Maps Possibly?
Last year saw some amazing Greyhawk maps and none of them by me. I have a feeling however, once Anna Meyer gets to finishing Ull and the Hold of the Sea Princes for her Greyhawk Atlas, I may have to branch out and see what else I can contribute, especially if it is something I can do in conjunction with the Ull series or my continuing Sea Princes campaign. Sea exploration is good motivation for map-making.

New for 2013: Get more Greyhawk fans to come to Gencon. Last year was a hoot. I did manage to meet more than a few people from the Canonfire community at Indianapolis. Help me make sure this year is even more memorable.

Ring of Five Questions: Round 16

Well met, Greyhawkers! If you've reading Greyhawkery for a long time, congratulations, we made it to 2021! Those who are just discovering the blog, where have you been? You have a lot to catch up on! Check out my Best of Greyhawkery link at the top. Moving forward, my first post of this new year is the incredible sixteenth round of my ongoing Return of the Ring of Five Questions, a special community participation column. Search back in the previous posts to read the previous installments (Round 1-15). Who do I have featured today?

There have been many Greyhawk community friends, fans and authors to enter the Ring, but this round may top them all thus far. Please welcome the co-author of the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, and many many Greyhawk articles in Dragon, Oerth Journal and the Living Greyhawk Journal; the head-honcho of Greyhawk fan-site Canonfire! and an all-around fun guy to discuss lore with on Twitch, the master of death-knights, Gary Holian. Enough ego-boosting, let's see what Gary really thinks of Greyhawk. Enjoy!

Q1. What is your favorite realm or region in the World of Greyhawk setting?

Gary: So I always dread questions like this because they are like choosing between siblings or children, an impossible choice. I have many favorites, some of which I got to work on in the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, but if I was forced to choose just one, I would have to go with the Kingdom of Keoland. It's probably the realm that I got to put my biggest stamp on. For whatever reason, Gygax in the 1e campaign and Sargent in the 2e follow-up material, never substantively dealt with the area. The region, though the setting of many iconic modules, never got the full gazetteer treatment. I was the first to take it on. If WGR7 would have been the product code for the never printed Ivid the Undying, WGR8 might have been the product code for The Sheldomar Valley gazetteer (some day perhaps?)

As an avid fan of history it was fun to piece together all the strands from the original 83 Boxed Set through the Vecna Lives! module. Getting to add the Silent Ones from my campaign, explore a different model of government and its implications, putting the dread into the Dreadwood, and planting a bunch of hooks around the realm for further development was very cool.

Off to a good start! Gary is not kidding about his contribution to Greyhawk. Much of what we now take as common knowledge of the Sheldomar Valley post 1e-2e is from him (with much assistance from the OG Greytalk crowd I'm sure, that's all they seemed to talk about back then, lol). I agree that the trajectory of the WGR series should've been a printed Ivid then Sheldomar next (and then something Baklunish please?). It makes me wonder now, given what material I've seen him put out since 2000, would a WGR8 be as lengthy as Ivid? I'm sure Holian could've padded that page count! Moving on...

Q2. If you could actually be one Greyhawk deity which one would it be?

Gary: Another tough choice, but I think I would go with Zagyg. I was leaning towards his master, Boccob the Uncaring, but he doesn’t have as much fun as his servant the Mad Archmage. Zagyg probably knows where all the bodies in the multiverse are buried and most of its secrets. His project to capture the Nine Demigods might have been one of the biggest events in the history of the multiverse. He is also friends with numerous other important NPCs in the setting, so I figure I would have the most entertaining interactions of any god. You can mess with both the high and the low from Zagyg’s perch.

I've seen people in the Ring struggle between choosing to be humble quasi-deities, ascended mortal demigods or the loftier true gods. Gary too shoots for a happy middle, choosing Zagyg for his eccentricity (to put it nicely), his Greyhawk connections and his unique place in Flanaess history. You know based on those three things, above anyone I've known besides Gygax himself, I think Holian might actually BE Zagyg. Hmm.

Q3. You have one wish. Which Greyhawk module or accessory would you do over or fix?

Gary: Although there are some obvious choices, I think I would go with WG7 Castle Greyhawk. If that module had been done correctly, it would have never been necessary to do WGR1 and EttRoG wouldn’t have been needed either, except as a sequel. Greyhawk would have remained a legendary setting with an iconic dungeon, unmarred by spite or ridicule. It's a shame that Gary Gygax was never able to present his full Castle Greyhawk as a TSR/D&D product. I would have loved to just edit and polish it and let Gary do his thing. Of course, I have my own head-canon version of what the place was like, probably different from anything that has been published. But I think redo-ing WG7 would make right a great injustice to the setting.

A popular and obvious choice for any grognard fan of Greyhawk (and one who embodies the Castle's main resident). Side note, EttRoG is Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk, which is a mouthful and in my opinion short one word, "castle" because without that word it infers to me that the city is in ruins. I digress...Gary H is right that if Gary G had put out an official published castle in his vision, that would change a lot. I'd even go as far to say it would have opened up more of the setting to development since that dungeon would be "perfect" and TSR could've concentrated their time on stuff like oh I dunno Ivid the Undying or the Sheldomar Valley? Who knows? Maybe then people like Holian or Erik Mona would have never needed to step up and fix/justify the broken pieces of Greyhawk lore. Wishes can be tricky! Living in the present reality though, re-doing WG7 is definitely a high priority on most fans lists.

Q4: You're putting together an all-star Greyhawk NPC group. Who is your number one pick?

Gary: Hmmm, I had to give this one some thought, as there are so many strong choices. But I will have to go with my first choice from the 80s. Kelanen the Sword Lord, was my favorite character from the 1983 Guide. He’s a grizzled anti-hero who loves swords and can control them (always bring an alternative to a bladed weapon against Kelanen). He carries a pair of intelligent ones with amazing powers. He loves to walk the roads of Oerth, looking for battles to join, like some unquenchable mercenary. He takes on all-comers. What’s not to like?

Hah, I know Gary took his time writing all his responses, because he never does anything quickly. That's why his entry to the Ring is monumental to my blog. Kelanen is indeed a strong choice when talking about an NPC group, one that I could definitely get excited over (I went with Iggwilv sadly). Kelanen is one of those hero-gods that is suppose to make player jealous and envious. He is the ultimate warrior with any blade, but just to show off he has two magic swords and just in case your players have an intelligent weapon, well Kel has two. He also has his own demi-plane (I wonder if he got it from Zagyg?). You can't one up him. Pick Kelanen first for your team and everyone else after that, even archmages, is bonus, however the Sword Lord is a loner, so beware. At any rate, good job Gary, one more Q to go...

Q5. If you could possess one artifact or relic from Greyhawk lore, which would it be?

Gary: I think hands down, the most powerful artifact in the setting would be the Throne of the Gods. However, while it appeared in the 1e DMG and Eldritch Wizardry, it was never placed in Greyhawk in canon (perhaps an opportunity for an enterprising DM?). It's a very classical style artifact. The Greek deities had power thrones and so did the Hebrew god of the bible. The idea that a mortal can sit on such a throne and wield powers akin to a god is kind of cool. But in the D&D sense, it's more a wish fulfillment mechanism. You don’t become a god, but you get to ask for their boon. But if you are foolish, you can also get punished or cursed (choose wisely as the paladin in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade would say). It's the greatest prize of the Seekers (also an allusion to the archaeologist-type in my campaign). It’s a Holy Grail and Ark of the Covenant level of artifact. It's supposed to be carved inside of a great mountain, so I am thinking the Crystalmists, Yatils, or Griffs are the main candidates. But I think the Crystalmists have the leg up on the others. But the idea that it moves every time it is discovered is a cool one.

Well, well, well. In all honesty, I could have easily guessed all of Gary's answers but the last one! I think I would've guessed the Regalia (orb, crown, scepter, but what alignment?) knowing his secondary interest in things like Saint Kargoth and the death knights. I was wrong, the Throne of Gods makes sense for Gary. His explanation is compelling. Indeed, his suggested placement for the Throne in the Crystalmists puts it close to his cherished Sheldomar Valley. It's definitely an item that Zagig Yragerne would've sought in the heyday of Castle Greyhawk while seeking answers to immortality. It's also a fabulous treasure that I'm sure Kelanen would lead a quest to find, but in the end, would personally turn down using. He of course would make sure that if his employer, an eccentric mad archmage used it instead, then the Balance will be kept. With extreme prejudice! 

Whew! Thanks again to Gary Holian, my friend, co-conspirator and sometimes heckler of all things Greyhawk for many years and hopefully many more to come. Keep an eye on Canonfire, Gary has more in store for the community, you shall see!