Greyhawk Musings

Oerth Journal #35 is Released!

2025-10-16T19:04:00-04:00June 15th, 2021|

Oerth Journal #35 is Released! Volume III, no. 08 The next issue of the Oerth Journal has arrived! This time it's a Winter/Spring issue. During this very difficult time, things have slowed down a lot, and many things are simply not as active during the pandemic. There's all kinds of content from incredible authors and artists! Another issue of the Oerth Journal has arrived! There have been more issues of the Oerth Journal in the past two years than there were in more than the ten years preceding. When GHO began providing the OJ again, one of the biggest things we worried about was how overwhelming a production schedule can become. And, even though we purposely avoided doing a monthly or bimonthly schedule and set it as quarterly, that's still a lot to produce a magazine every 90 days! We're very proud to have so many contributors to the OJ that we can accomplish the goal of a quarterly magazine! It's only through the efforts of all of the artists, authors, and editors that we can make such a great magazine! Some of the articles and authors in this amazing issue are: Articles about things found during Growfest, and a wide variety of other topics! Librarian's Chronicle: Letter from the Editor - by Kristoph Nolen Scholarly Selection of Suel Secrets - by Michael Bridges Wilds of Womtham - by Rodney Hart Legends of the Gnarley Forest: Wild Ange - by Les Reno Dust Cutters - by William Dvorak Outlying Territories of Lo Nakar - by Amy Crittenden Fistful of Baubles, pt 2. - by David Leonard Omnipotent View - The Kel Avone Retna ... read more!

0

Review: Oerth Journal 34

2025-10-16T19:04:15-04:00December 4th, 2020|

Review: Oerth Journal 34 The Oerth Journal #34 has arrived! Oerth Journal has hit the newsstands once again, and once again, I find an example of my humble work, A Fistful of Baubles, within its covers. Is there a theme to this issue? Not that I am aware. Past issues had a theme, but this one is a free-for-all, and it shows. There are bios, ecologies, stories, and histories. It's a mixed bag. As much as themes are thrilling, so too is the unexpected. What's my submission about? In a word: Skrellingshald. What's that, you ask? It's one of the mysterious places, or adventure hooks in James M. Ward's "Geography of Oerth" portion of Greyhawk Adventures. More specifically, my submission is a story about Hradji Beartooth's search of that mythical city in the Griff Mountains, and the treasures that may be secreted there. By the way, for those who are not in the know, Skrellingshald is the Rhizian's name for Tostenhca. You don't know what Tostenhca is? It's an ancient Flan city. Indeed, it was one of the greatest cities built by the Flan, or humans, for that matter. Pick up a copy of the module Return to White Plume Mountain to learn more. So why Beartooth's search for Skrellingshald? Because it's a quest, a dangerous one; maybe even a harrowing one. Were it not so, I'm sure someone would have discovered it long ago. Because it's a footnote in Greyhawk's history. Because it's a tale of doom brought on by Keraptis and the Ur-Flan. And because it's a tale told in the far north, a woefully underappreciated corner of the map, in my humble opinion. ... read more!

Comments Off

Oerth Journal #34 is Released!

2025-10-16T19:04:20-04:00December 2nd, 2020|

Oerth Journal #34 is Released! Get Oerth Journal #34 NOW! The next issue of the Oerth Journal is here! Another season has come and gone, already. Summer's over and we're already into the back half of Autumn. Which means ... Another issue of the Oerth Journal has arrived! Hi--ho, good neighbor! Your friendly neighborhood Editor-in-chief, here! So, this issue (#34) is the seventh issue in the last two years. I mention this not only because it's awesome and incredible, but also because it's a little surprising and nerve-wracking. Never before has the Oerth Journal come out so many times so often. We'd like to thank so many of our contributors for all the articles and art they submit. Many are fan favorites, like Gary Holian and Denis "Maldin" Tetreault, but just as our goal is to promote fan-created work concentrating on Greyhawk, there's all kinds of ecologies, lore, fiction, various D&D editions, and just general GH content by a dozen different contributors. Look Who's Looking! So, surprisingly, it hadn't occurred to us that the Oerth Journal would be noticed by RPGgeek.com, sort of. We found out recently that current issues of the Oerth Journal had begun to show up in their database, and we were pleasantly surprised to find the magazine listed there! As always, there's loads of useful content in this issue - and the folks at RPGgeek are gonna have to keep up with us, because the fans are really putting out some astounding material and the Oerth Journal is just gonna have more issues in 2021! In this issue: Monsters, Famous NPCs, New NPCs, Fiction, Ecologies, and more! Librarian's ... read more!

0

Thoughts on A1 Slave Pits of the Undercity

2025-10-16T19:04:48-04:00September 11th, 2020|

Thoughts on A1 Slave Pits of the Undercity Thoughts on A1 Slave Pits of the Undercity “Begin, be bold, and venture to be wise.” ― Horace It is time to put a stop to the marauders! For years the coastal towns have been burned and looted by the forces of evil. You and your fellow adventurers have been recruited to root out and destroy the source of these raids. But beware, hundreds of good men and women have been taken bythe slavers and have never been seen or heard from again! [A1] For those of you who are of a certain age, or those who have read my thoughts on A0 Danger at Darkshelf Quarry, and Lowdown in Highport, you know the events leading up to this module. For those who haven’t, this is how the adventure was introduced: For several years, organized bands of pirates and slavers have made a living by raiding the coastal towns on the Sea of Gearnat. Ranging from Onnwal to the Wild Coast, they have descended quickly and ruthlessly on the small towns and villages, and carried off innocent citizens into the night. Although these marauders were not approved of by the lords and rulers of the lands they raided, they were allowed to continue their depredations. Feuding amongst the lords and lack of funds prevented all but an occasional naval battle with the villains and the slow fortification of towns. Bribery was often a more effective method of protecting one’s lands from the incursions of these avaricious seawolves. Recently, however, the slavers’ attacks have become more frequent and vicious. Believing their prey to be weak and helpless, ... read more!

1

Thoughts on Lowdown at Highport

2025-10-16T19:05:01-04:00August 14th, 2020|

Thoughts on Lowdown at Highport Thoughts on Lowdown at Highport “Remembrance of things past is not necessarily the remembrance of things as they were.” ― Marcel Proust Needless to say, spoilers ahead! What did the world need during Wotc’s 4th edition era? More AD&D. More Greyhawk and instalments of the epic Slavers series, specifically. Chris Perkins obviously thought so. It was he who contacted Skip Williams to write a prequel to the A-series, so I assume the resulting compilation was his idea. Against the Slave Lords was published in June of 2013; oddly, that was the same month that WotC released a further finale to A4 In the Dungeons of the Slave Lords in Dungeon magazine #215 titled The Last Slave Lord. I say oddly, because I can’t help but think that the compilation could have only been made better by its inclusion, not to mention that of what followed in December in #221: Lowdown at Highport. (Sadly, that was also the final issue of Dungeon magazine, as well.) Why weren’t they included? I don’t know. Maybe they thought the compilation was long enough as published. Maybe they thought a longer compilation would have been too expensive. Maybe they wanted to sell more magazines. No matter, for whatever reason, they were not included, and I suspect that there are a lot of people out there who never knew that these adventures even exist. How could they, many of them having migrated to Pathfinder after the release of 4th edition? Until now, that is…. In any event, Lowdown at Highport follows A0 Danger at Darkshelf Quarry and precedes A1 Slave Pits of the Undercity. They dovetail ... read more!

Comments Off

On the Age Before Ages, Part 1

2022-03-03T16:57:12-05:00August 8th, 2020|

On the Age Before Ages, Part 1 “The story so far: In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.” ― Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe Where did Greyhawk come from? Gary Gygax created it, obviously. With a great deal of influence from Dave Arneson, Rob Kuntz, and Len Lakofka, I imagine. I also imagine that each and every one of Gary’s early players did, as well, in their own way. Not to mention those who wrote the modules and sourcebooks that followed. Few, if any, ever settled on a creation myth, or so they’ve said. I’ve heard interviews where those who had a hand in developing the setting expressed their desire to never actually nail down a creation myth, believing that DMs would wish to write such themselves. Did they? Some probably did; but I believe most never bothered, focusing instead on their own little corner of the world and the adventures within it, not caring whence it came from, knowing their players didn’t either. Despite their claims, those very same designers pushed the timeline back very far indeed, almost to the very hour, in some cases. Frank Mentzer did. And some of his creations were slipped into the pages of the sourcebooks that followed. Chris Pramas certainly started the clock very close to what might be called a beginning. What follows is a fairly esoteric collection TSR and WotC passages that over the decades dealt with just that: where did the multiverse come from? Were they successful in what they presented? I will leave ... read more!

0

On Otto

2022-03-01T15:38:57-05:00July 30th, 2020|

On Otto “My liege, and madam, to expostulate What majesty should be, what duty is, Why day is day, night night, and time is time. Were nothing but to waste night, day, and time. Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes, I will be brief.” ― William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 2, scene 2, lines 93-99 What can be said of Otto? Much, apparently. More than I imagined, at first. That said, much of it was written by James M. Ward, as erudite a sage as Otto, himself. Otto is a member of the Circle of Eight; not an original member—that distinction goes to the Citadel of Eight: Mordenkainen (wizard), Yrag (fighter), Bigby (wizard), Rigby (cleric), Zigby (dwarf), Felnorith (elf), Vram (elf) & Vin (elf), a group of adventurers who sallied forth from the impregnable bastion (the obsidian Citadel) to fight evil—but one of seven archmagi whom Mordenkainen put together later to act as neutral referees between Good and Evil, lest either gain the upper hand on the other for two long. The new Circle of Eight were Bigby, Otiluke, Drawmij, Tenser, Nystul, and Otto. Jallarzi Sallavarian was recruited later, and hence forth they were known as Mordenkainen and the Circle of Eight. I’ll get to each of them in turn; but for now we are here to discuss Otto. So, what can be said about Otto? Otto, Clr3(Boccob)/Wiz15: HP 78. AL N. Str 16. Dex 10. Con 15. Int 17. Wis 15. Cha 17. Otto is 44, 5‘10“tall, 332 lbs., with long curly brown hair and green-hazel eyes. He usually wears voluminous rich robes of purple and gold, and ... read more!

0

Thoughts on A0 Danger at Darkshelf Quarry

2022-03-01T16:07:07-05:00July 24th, 2020|

Thoughts on A0 Danger at Darkshelf Quarry “The advantage of a bad memory is that one enjoys several times the same good things for the first time.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche Skip Williams has had a long history with TSR, first as a part-time clerk at the Lake Geneva game store, then as an administrative odd-jobs man, and finally as a convention coordinator and game designer.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 danger lurks within its dark tunnels and hidden chambers. [A0] Thirty years after the classic Slavers tournament modules were first published, Chris Perkins asked Skip if he would pen a prequel to the much-revered series for a proposed compilation to mark the anniversary of their release. Skip rose to the challenge. He most certainly did. Personally, I think he hit a home run with Danger at Darkshelf Quarry. He adhered the structure of old-school tournaments, but also updated it to today's desire for verisimilitude and story. Nothing seems out of place, unlike some of the ol' old adventures; indeed, everything that is included feels like it ought to be there. It’s set in Nyrond, far from the Pomarj. As it should be. This introduction need be set where the slavers are harvesting their victims, not where those victims end up. So, It could have been set in Keoland if you've a mind to, or in the Holds of the Sea ... read more!

1

The Castle

2022-03-03T17:41:32-05:00July 17th, 2020|

The Castle “Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.” ― Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Shrieks echoed, mingling from near and far. Human, orc, gnoll. The gnolls were the worst; theirs was a twisted, hideous laughter. Don’t listen, he thought, desperately trying not to. But … how could he not hear? Philbin pressed himself into the wall, but for all his desire to be one with it, its surface wouldn’t yield to his need. Move, damn it, he thought. But his body betrayed him. Coward! You bloody coward! Some Knight Protector, you turned out to be! But Marquis Clement never said it would be like this, did he? He spoke of honour and chivalry and protecting the weak, of orcs and gnolls and bandits, and even of Ur-Flan wizards, but he never once said anything about walls that flowed and bled like they were torn by …. By what? Darkness? Colour? That nauseating, undulating blend of colour that defied any description short of the emotions that mirrored it: sickness, hatred, horror? It smelled as much, too: if sick and iron and rot. And what of the noisome cacophony that flowed with it? It rends the soul to hear such a thing. Beads of sweat rolled from his brow. They stung his eyes. He closed them. Wiped them. And opened them again to the rippling ink and colour that threatened to unhinge him. Okay, he thought, said, whispered, and made to move his foot. He actually heard it scrape the floor. “Shhh!” He stopped, having hardly shifted. Philbin squinted and a shape resolved ... read more!

0

History of the South East, Part 8: Total War

2022-03-03T17:42:58-05:00July 10th, 2020|

History of the South East, Part 8: Total War “…but there they lay, sprawled across the field, craved far more by the vultures than by wives.” Homer, The Iliad And thus the Great Kingdom fell. 448 CY Ivid I of House Naelax brought pressure on the southern princes to fall into line, but the outrages committed by the new herzog of South Province, which included seizing Lordship vessels anchored in Prymp Town, drove the lords of the isles to declare independence along with the other states. The prince of the Isles joined the Iron League in 448 CY, providing naval support and conveyance for traffic between Irongate, Onnwal, and their allies in Nyrond. In so doing, the lord of Diren was forced to deal more plainly with his fellow lords on the other islands, sharing additional power and ceding more local autonomy to them over the ensuing years. [LGG] The isles of the Sea Barons had always been given a degree of autonomy not enjoyed by the Baronies of the mainland. They had been tasked by Overking Manshen in 102 CY to pacify the seas, to contain the Barbarians in the north, and to stamp out piracy in the south. They required freedom to do so, they said. They could not accomplish these tasks were they to account for each and every action, they said, citing the impossibility of their fleets to communicate with their home ports when at sea for months at a time. Rauxes agreed, reluctantly; but the crown made it clear that the Barony’s continued autonomy was contingent on results. To which the Sea Barons agreed. They never truly succeeded in ... read more!

0

On the Circle of Eight

2022-03-01T17:03:08-05:00July 2nd, 2020|

On the Circle of Eight “You see, we cannot draw lines and compartments and refuse to budge beyond them. Sometimes you have to use your failures as stepping-stones to success. You have to maintain a fine balance between hope and despair.' He paused, considering what he had just said. 'Yes', he repeated. 'In the end, it's all a question of balance.” ― Rohinton Mistry, A Fine Balance “To light a candle is to cast a shadow...” ― Ursula K. Le Guin, A Wizard of Earthsea The Obsidian Citadel The Circle of Eight is somewhat legendary in the annals of Greyhawk canon. But what is it, actually? Canon says that it’s the vanguard of Balance; but what in god’s green acre does that mean? I’ve no idea, really. It’s not like Iuz or the Scarlet Brotherhood ever petitioned Mordenkainen to intervene on their behalf, citing unfair treatment by fair Veluna or benevolent Nyrond. Help us! They are keeping us from greatness! I prefer its initial mandate, when it was a group of adventurers who sallied forth, smiting Evil where it had taken root. So, what changed? And did they ever? I think not; so, I don’t understand the Champions of Balance moniker. One might say that Balance has always meant the suppression of Evil, which always waxes, while the nations of the world remain blind to it as they bicker amongst themselves in deluded self-interest, oblivious to the true danger luring in the north, or the shadows, or the hearts of men. No matter, I’ve gathered a fair bit of what was written on the Circle, and I leave it up to you to make up ... read more!

0

Timeline of the James Bay Frontier

2020-06-27T08:26:00-04:00June 27th, 2020|

Timeline of the James Bay Frontier “This land may be profitable to those that will adventure it.”-- Henry Hudson Ratik is a relative newcomer in the history of Greyhawk and the Flannaess. There were elves there, surely, and dwarves, and gnomes too, but their arrivals are not set in the annals of the canonical text of Greyhawk; but the World of Greyhawk setting was always a human-centric setting, wasn’t it, and although those races would most certainly have influenced and guided those human nations that came after them, very little has been said about how. There are exceptions, none set in the nation of Ratik, or the Thillonrian peninsula. What we do know is that the Grey elves had cities in the Griffs, that Vecna fought the Grey and High elves, and that Vecna destroyed the City of Summer Stars. If only Gary Gygax had penned more about those bygone elven civilizations, we’d have had a far richer setting. Sadly, he wrote even less on the dwarves and gnomes, even less still of the halflings. It’s a blank slate. Largely. Much is the same with Human history. Each nation was given a paragraph or two, enough to spur the imagination, no more. Those missives have been expounded upon since, though. So, what is canon in regard to Ratik? I present a list of dates noted in Steve Wilson’s Greychrondex_42 to illuminate what is considered canon in the world of Greyhawk concerning Ratik and its environs, most notably those dates regarding the Barbarians, Stonefist, the Bone March, and the North Province as they concern Ratik. These are mere bullet points. Some reach far back in the annals ... read more!

0

History of the South East, Part 7: The Turmoil between Crowns

2020-06-19T15:13:00-04:00June 19th, 2020|

History of the South East, Part 7: The Turmoil between Crowns “By hook or by crook this peril too shall be something that we remember.” ― Homer, The Odyssey What can be said of the Celestial Houses of Aerdy? History says that they were great and good, and that their benevolence had brought peace and prosperity to all the lands of the Flanaess. Were that so, then why did Furyondy secede? Why did Nyrond and Tenh? And were they so, why was there such turmoil between crowns? 437 CY The Kingdom of Aerdy and the Great Kingdom were great as all empires are, through force of will. It had artifacts and artifice at its disposal, and the weight of arms, against which few nations, if any, could stand against. But it had grown myopic, sure in its omnipotence, and its longevity. Had not the Suel Imperium lasted centuries? But the Suel emperors had been vigilant, and watchful. And the Suel Imperium had not been cleaved from within. The Great Kingdom was. And as its great houses turned upon one another, those nations that until recently basked under its supposed radiant sun could only look on in horror as its sun set and it chose its new path to paradise through Hell. For three centuries the Aerdy held a vast empire which fluctuated in extent but little, until after the third Celestial House (dynasty) when the borders began to close in upon the original territory of the Aerdi. [Folio] Ivid[:] This name is given both to the decade of internal schisms under the rule of the last Rax overking, Nalif, and to ... read more!

0

Retconning Ratik

2020-06-13T10:10:00-04:00June 13th, 2020|

Retconning Ratik “Presume not that I am the thing I was.” William Shakespeare 'Henry IV, Part 2' (1597) act 5, sc. 5, l. [61] Time for a little retroactive continuity. I’m sure many others have set their campaign in Ratik, but I doubt many have done much in my little corner of the world, the area nestled between northern Ratik and western Fruztii. It’s a blank space on the map, as far as I can see. A blank slate, as it were. Time to fill it. But what to do? Begin with a map? I have one: Darlene’s map, and Anna B. Meyer’s map. I’ve doodled others, sad recreations of what once were, those maps I purged with a great deal of my old notes when I cleaned out my shelves of what I presumed I would never use or need again. I’ll sketch them out again, hopefully more legibly, and maybe again as I learn a CC3+. Now I need add some low-level adventures, just to get started. But what adventures? Most published adventures are in the Sheldomar Valley. That doesn’t mean you can’t steal a few here and there. In the beginning, modules were not set in any particular place. A few had, such as the original monochromatic B1 In Search of the Unknown, suggesting that The Theocracy of the Pale, or Tenh, or Ratik were good places to set the adventure—an odd statement, considering the World of Greyhawk Folio had yet to be published, so who could know where such places were? There were only vague references to Greyhawk as yet, artifacts, regions, and personages in the 1e DMG, but the ... read more!

0

On Keraptis

2020-06-05T16:59:00-04:00June 5th, 2020|

“This thing of darkness IAcknowledge mine.”― William Shakespeare, The TempestLong before the coming of the Aerdi, the Ur-Flan held dominion over all they could see, having wrested it from the elves, and scattering them to the far corners. Those tales are harrowing, not for the feint of heart. Indeed, they are the stuff of unsettled sleep, if not nightmares. Their names resonate, even today, though those who whisper them know little of their exploits, only those terrors rumoured to have befallen any who might have stood against them. The Aerdi were lucky to have come to the Flanaess after those notable few had grown bored and left this plane, in search of the power and immortality they had always sought, or the history we know might have been quite different. Might? Surely would have, for the Ur-Flan were the very equal of those wizard-priests of the Suel and the Bakluni who had laid waste to their vast empires. Many famous villains can also trace their origins back to GREYHAWK: Vecna, Kas, Keraptis, Acererak, and Azalin to name a few! [Onnwal Gazetteer] Vecna is as well known as Lgyg, but his dreaded name is not spoken aloud for fear of arousing him. Once the most powerful undead wizard of any known world, Vecna was destroyed at the height of his power by his treacherous lieutenant Kas. Only Vecna's withered Hand and jeweled Eye survived, possessing frightening powers that can corrupt even the purest soul. Vecna attempted to return and conquer Oerth only a few years before the Greyhawk Wars and he nearly succeeded. Before his defeat, a servant of his was briefly able to slay the entire Circle ... read more!

0

Thank You for Visiting!

Thank you so much for spending time on GHO and enjoying our tradition since 2003 of supporting Greyhawk, and showcasing the best fan-created content for the World of Greyhawk!

Be sure to take part in the community, talk and share with other gamers all about Greyhawk, and learn more about the legends and lore of the setting.

About Greyhawk Online

Greyhawk Online began in 2003 and is known for the creative fan content it hosts and provides. In addition to Greyhawk-related articles and current news, GHO provides the “Great Library of Greyhawk” wiki, which is one of the most popular Greyhawk resources on the ‘net’.

GHO also publishes the “Oerth Journal”, a fan-related magazine of amazingly innovative and creative content.

Contact:
General: Admin@Greyhawkonline.com
Website: GHO@greyhawkonline.com
Oerth Journal: OJ@greyhawkonline.com

All rights reserved. greyhawkonline.com is a collective work © 2003-2026 Greyhawk Online™ and Kit Nolen and is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards.
Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.