Greyhawk Musings

History of the North, Part 6: The Storm

2020-02-21T09:14:00-05:00February 21st, 2020|

History of the North, Part 6: The Storm "Now for the bare-pick'd bones of majesty Doth dogged war bristle his angry crest And snarleth in the gentle eyes of Peace." Shakespeare, King John (1589) Act IV, sc.3, l.148. Brutality swept across the North in the wake of The Great Kingdom’s retreat and collapse. The Hierarchs of the Horned Society proved a fitting heir to Iuz’s terror. They plotted and schemed, much as Iuz had, if more calculatingly than that infamous cambion had. They reaped what he had sown, and used the chaos of his passing to great advantage. His return had made little difference to them. But Iuz was patient, for all his flailing about in his rage after his release. 578 CY Despite his youth, King Ralff II of the Fruztii understood subjugation. His people had turned to their cousins to the east in their hour of need and found the duplicitous hand of the perfidious Schnai. The Schnai had lent their support. Yes, but that help came at a cost: suzerainty. The Fruztii had lost their governance. Indeed, they had lost their pride. Once, they were the terror of the Solnor Sea. Now, they were a subjugated people. The Shnai commanded them, calling their commands guidance. They had learned their lessons well from the diplomats of Shar, long ago. No more, he thought. He extended his hand to Ratik and they had taken it, and they had been true to their words. They had stood side by side with his people when the tribes of Schnai had not. Therefore, he turned to Ratik again: Train my people, he said, and when he sent ... read more!

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History of the North, Part 5: The Coming Storm

2020-02-15T08:58:00-05:00February 15th, 2020|

History of the North, Part 5: The Coming Storm "Men's evil manners live in brass; their virtues we write in water.' Shakespeare, Henry VIII (1613) Act 4, sc.2, l.45 The forces of weal and good had much to celebrate. Iuz was no more. Iggwilv’s tyranny had been vanquished. But more than even these great victories, they had stood against a great menace that had hitherto lurked in a quiet corner of the world. However, no reprieve lasts forever. Evil rises again and again, and all must be vigilant, for it rises in the most unexpected places. One might expect that it takes root in tangled forests and fetid swamps, but that is not true; it festers in the hearts of the lustful, the wrathful, in avarice and vanity, pride and vainglory. And in the soul of the defeated. Thus, the greatest Evil might rise up in the most unlikely places, a village, or a hamlet, unseen. c.550 CY A collection of hovels and their slovenly inhabitants formed the nucleus for the troubles which were to increase. A wicked cleric established a small chapel at this point. The folk of Hommlet tended to ignore Nulb, even though it was but six miles distant. [T1 The Village of Hommlet] The village of Nubb began to fester with all manner if evil folk, culminating with the founding of the soon infamous Temple of Elemental Evil. The troubles began soon thereafter. Local caravans, gnome clans and the neighboring village of Hommlet, became easy targets for bandits from that region. [The Battle of Emridy Meadows, by Mike Bridges] 568 CY News of this evil quickly spread to the Viscounty of ... read more!

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History of the North, Part 4: A Pause Before the Storm

2020-02-07T18:06:00-05:00February 7th, 2020|

History of the North, Part 4: A Pause Before the Storm Iuz had fallen, and Iggwilv’s tyranny had been short-lived. One would think that they had been working together, that each relied on the other’s success. The timing would suggest just that. Maybe they had. Each had leant an ear to Graz’zt’s whispers. Both had designed on the Vesve Forest. But thankfully, both had fallen short. And both were in chains, one beneath Castle Greyhawk, the other in the Abyss. This is not to say that the North was peaceful, because in truth, it was not and had never been. It is a harsh land, not given to pastoral pursuits. It has always been rife with raiding and banditry. New Evils were bound to rise up. And they did. 513 CY Despite Iuz’s absence, Evil still flourished everywhere in the North. A new name was whispered in the taverns and inns, in the courts and halls of those who held sway: The Horned Society. It was said that it was a foul haven of deviltry. And like Iuz before them, it had designs on the North. It did. First, it must gather its forces if it were to fester. Deprived of their lord [Iuz], the euroz and jebli armies massing on Furyondy's borders rapidly dissolved. The barbarous creatures fought the regents of Iuz and won for themselves the east and west shores of Whyestil Lake. East of the lake, savage chieftains and unscrupulous humans founded the Horned Society. [Folio] 515 CY The Horned Society were not the only ones to have designs on the North in Iuz’s absence; indeed, so did the petty despots that ... read more!

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History of the North, Part 3: The Rise of Iggwilv and Iuz

2020-02-01T08:25:00-05:00February 1st, 2020|

History of the North, Part 3: The Rise of Iggwilv and Iuz The North lay forgotten. The South was beset by turmoil. It was mired in petty wars. It had little interest in the goings-on of such remote regions; besides, what if banditry plagued it, what if petty kingdoms had sprung up across its breadth? If people lived there. It was too vast and too cold and too far away to be of any concern.Had they taken the time to concern themselves; because if they had, then maybe, just maybe, they would have been able to stem the tide of horror and misery that would eventually sweep across the whole of the Flanaess. But such is hindsight. 446 CY Far from the North, the South Province seceded from the Great Kingdom. This may seem a small thing to the North, and it was, but it having done so shifted the attention of the Great Kingdom eve further away from the North’s continued stability. After the withdrawal of Nyrond from the Great Kingdom, the slide became precipitous. Buffoons and incompetents sat upon the Malachite Throne, and their mismanagement split apart the Celestial Houses. This period of degeneration culminated in the Turmoil Between Crowns, when the last Rax heir, Nalif, died in 437 CY at the hands of assassins from House Naelax. The herzog (great prince) of North Province, Ivid I, then laid claim to the throne. The herzog of South Province, Galssonan of House Cranden, broke with Rauxes and joined a widespread rebellion in the south. Years of civil war ensued, and only the intercession of dispassionate houses such as Garasteth and Darmen brought about the ... read more!

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History of the North, Part 2: A Myth of Unity

2020-01-24T17:52:00-05:00January 24th, 2020|

History of the North, Part 2: A Myth of Unity All empires crumble. They begin with a single conquest, and before long, want and avarice overwhelm them. They grow fat on their power and plunders, and in time, they collapse under their own weight, as they must, for their grasp always exceeds their reach.They conquer, and then conquer again, further and further afield until the crown can no longer contemplate the vastness of its territories. They are too far-flung; the distances are too vast; they sprawl out to this horizon and that, and beyond those, again. Where is that again, it asks? Tenh? The Quaglands? The minutiae of the day-to-day governance of so vast a territory overwhelms it, and it must then rely on its governors, for who knows their lands better than they? So long as the taxes are collected, what of it?That’s all well and good until the governors take umbrage with sending the crown their gold, receiving naught in return. 300-350 CY Anarchy crept into the Great Kingdom, and more and more of its northern provinces became increasingly independent. Some became lawless. Many became lawless. Petty fiefs sprang up, their rulers declaring themselves kings and barons and dukes and such. Where ruffians seized power, banditry prevailed, and they became known for such. Such were the Bandit Kingdoms, which called themselves a confederacy—a fancy word for what they might have been; but in truth, they could never be, because they preyed upon one another even as they clung together to ward against those who would annex them. The Bandit Kingdoms are a collection of petty holdings. Each little kingdom is ruled by a ... read more!

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History of the North, Part 1, Arrivals

2020-01-18T09:28:00-05:00January 18th, 2020|

History of the North, Part 1, Arrivals Much had happened in the North, more than one might expect. It’s surprising how many peoples chose to settle in that unforgiving land. The Elves had prospered there, so had the Flan. There had been peace there for many years before the Ur-Flan had swept in and swept aside all who stood against them. Then they too prospered there. Some might think that they were lesser than those who came after them, because, were they all that powerful, surely they would still rule all of the Flanaess, surely they would have brushed aside the martial fury of the Oeridians. They would have had they been interested in worldly affairs. They were not. They were concerned with extending life. With immortality. They were concerned with attaining power not seen since eldritch times. Were the Ur-Flan wiped out? Those lesser ones, yes. But not all. No, not all. There were many who survived the coming of the Kingdom of Aedy. We should hope that we never draw their attention ever again. Keraptis Some two thousand years ago, the wizard Keraptis established himself as "protector" of Tostenhca--a grand mountainside city of wide streets and towering ziggurats. But the wizard, who had extended his lifespan far beyond that of most mortals in his search for immortality, became more and more corrupt with increasing age. Over four centuries, the cost of his protection grew ever more burdensome, until eventually Keraptis was taking a piece of everything that the people of Tostenhca grew, made, or sold. With the announcement of yet another levy—one-third of all newborn children—the people rose as one, ousting Keraptis and ... read more!

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History of the Oerth, Part 11, Of The Winds of War

2020-01-10T18:10:00-05:00January 10th, 2020|

History of the Oerth, Part 11, Of The Winds of War The Hold of the Stonefist War can come from the most unexpected places. Who would have thought that the first blow to fall in a war that would engulf the known world would land in the Hold of Stonefist? No one. But such was the case.579 CY ‘The mage sits down in front of the five Blades of Corusk and meditates for a minute. His hands move over the blades as he reads the magical writings. A frigid wind comes from the west, blowing the powdery snow in swirling whirlwinds. The words coming from his mouth sound like gibberish to you. As he reads the spell, a loud thunderclap sounds above you. As the echoes of the thunder die down, the swords shake and hum. Suddenly the swords disappear with an abrupt popping noise, and the snow turns to steam beneath them. You all hear a sharp “crack” behind you, and a sudden blast of wind pushes you for- ward. Surprised, the mage stops reading and spins around to see what happened. As you turn about, you see a barbarian giant standing before you. Appearing perfectly human, except for his 12-foot height, the man smiles down at you with a kind face. Two huge wolves stand on each side of him: these four beasts eye you with amber eyes. Meanwhile, the troops from the north and the south- west continue approaching. “Thank you, my children. You have awakened me from centuries of cursed sleep. In gratitude, I shall grant you your most intimate desires as long as they do not alter the path events ... read more!

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History of Oerth, Part 10: Of The Fog of War

2019-12-26T12:22:00-05:00December 26th, 2019|

History of Oerth, Part 10: Of The Fog of War Iuz was loose upon the land. But he was not alone. The Horned Society had risen in his absence. Banditry had sprung up as prolific as spring flowers across the breadth of the north. The sun that had once shone across the Great Kingdom had set, and in its twilight, that once celestial nation lay in disarray, riven by schemes and betrayal. Orcs had sundered the Bone March. The high seas of the Solnor Coast were beset with conflict and piracy.And those east of the Rakers found themselves ever more isolated. 574 CY The Fruztii consulted with Ratik concerning what wonders may be hidden within their mountains, eager to see whether the lore of their skalds was to be found in the dusty tomes the southerners worshiped so. So, Ratik consulted the Library in Marner, and those sages and wizards employed there, and within those dusty tomes they exhumed references to lost cities of the Flan, to ancient relics of the dwerfolk, and to sunken cities of the Solnor Sea. And of course, they dug up references to dragons and the hordes they amassed. All these they brought to the attention of the Fruztii, and the Fruztii listened with great interest. And armed with this knowledge, the Fruztii and those of Ratik brave enough to accompany them, they climbed into the Griffs and the Corusks in search of such things. The History of The Ice-Shard Tome While searching for the lair of a white dragon, the barbarians chanced upon an illusion-cloaked dungeon entrance and ventured inside. There they fought evil, cold-dwelling creatures and passed through ... read more!

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History of Oerth, Part 9: Of A Rumour of War

2022-10-18T16:21:43-04:00December 20th, 2019|

History of Oerth, Part 9: Of A Rumour of WarThe Great Kingdom has all but collapsed under the weight of its own wickedness. New powers have taken to the field in the wake of its collapse, each eager to snap up what is unclaimed. But in the absence of law and order, chaos has risen. Evil is sweeping the land.Two names will enter the fray: Iuz and Ivid, and the Flanaess will fall into such tyanny as it had not known since the name Vecna was whispered by those under the weal of his Occluded Empire.505 CY King Avras of Furyondy took note of the doings of Iuz, for what king wouldn’t be concerned about the rise of Evil on his border. The Vesve was already hard pressed by this Iuz, as orcs and hobgoblins bearing Iuz’s mark had penetrated their canopy and were laying waste to all they encountered. Avras mustered his troops and sent them north. But even as they engaged his vile forces, the armies of Iuz had already begun to break apart. For Iuz was not to be found. And it was his tyranny that had held them together.But neither Furyondy nor Vesve was directly involved in the banishment of Iuz, generally dated to 505 CY. [Iuz]St. Cuthbert of the Cudgel has been allowed to strike against Iuz, when his avatar assisted those imprisoning Iuz in 505 CY. That St. Cuthbert would wish to fight Iuz is not unexpected. Of the "martial" [...] Powers, Heironeous has his great struggle with his hated brother Hextor [....] But St. Cuthbert is a doughty, tough fighter, and he hates Iuz's [...] nature. That he ... read more!

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History of Oerth, Part 8: Of The Dissolution of the Great Kingdom

2019-12-12T12:28:00-05:00December 12th, 2019|

History of Oerth, Part 8: Of The Dissolution of the Great Kingdom The Great Kingdom had waxed and waned, and it its waning, the western principalities declared their sovereignty, for in truth, they were already self-determining and self-governing. Others closer to its heart were soon to follow, for in its Turmoil Between Crowns the Great Kingdom’s reach was surely foreshortened. And the Houses of the Celestial Circle, knowing this to be true, were plotting and maneuvering, but then again, when were they not?Why had the Great Kingdom fallen so? Had depravity outweighed morality? Had personal gain outstripped duty? Had Evil bettered Good? Its Houses schemed against one another, dread Death Knights had risen, and with them, the much-celebrated Knights Protector had fallen. Raids and piracy plagued her seas. And lesser races, when not actually serving the Malachite Throne, were snapping at the hand that had once kept them at bay, for they could smell its death on the wind.To make matters worse, a madman was set to soon sit upon the Malachite Throne. The Houses used what tools were available to them in their intrigue. Rumours. Misdirection. Subterfuge. But there were other, more direct, means at their disposal, and they were not above or loathe to use them: the dirk and a dram of poison. Such crass deeds would always be hired out, of course. And only if they couldn’t be traced back to them. c. 300 CY The History of the Book of Darazell This spellbook has a dark and evil history—a legacy that mirrors the land from where it came, the blighted Kingdom of Aerdy. Its spells were first put to paper sometime ... read more!

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History of Oerth, Part 7: Of The Rise and Fall of The Great Kingdom

2019-12-06T10:18:00-05:00December 6th, 2019|

History of Oerth, Part 7: Of The Rise and Fall of The Great Kingdom The Aerdy have migrated across the Flanaess and have gazed upon the Solnor Sea, scattering those Flan and Suel who would not submit to their dominion to the far reaches of the land. The Ur-Flan resisted the Oeridian tide, but they too fell, no match for the Aerdian ferocity. Their settlements grew with their waxing, and upon those foundations, their great cities rose: Rauxes, Rel Astra, Rel Deven, Rel Mord. Thus began the Pax Millennius, the peace that would last a thousand years. And thus began the Great Kingdom, for that is what they eventually named that vast land of theirs that stretched from the Solnor Sea in the east to the Yatels and Crystalmists in the west, and from the Barrens to the north and the Azure Sea to the south. From the heavens to sea to sea, as they said. I leave it to you to decide if it was truly great or not, for sometimes the best of intentions can be led astray, and the Great Kingdom was eventually led very far astray, indeed. 1 CY With his Declaration of Universal Peace, the first Overking was crowned in Rauxes. Ivid The first Overking was Nasran from the House of Cranden. Proclaiming universal peace, Nasran saw defeated Suloise, Flan and rebellious humanoid rabbles of no consequence and no threat to the vast might of Aerdy. [Ivid] But for all his well-meaning words, all power was to be his, and all Houses were to bend the knee to his magnificence. However, it quickly became clear to all the noble houses ... read more!

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History of Oerth, Part 6: Of The Great Migrations

2019-11-29T13:33:00-05:00November 29th, 2019|

History of Oerth, Part 6: Of The Great Migrations The Peoples of the West had rejoined our Narrative. When we first left them, they become a people under singular Empire, had mastered great magics and used them to subjugate those around them. The Flan had fled, but the Suloise had not followed them, content with gathering up all the lands of the West; so they told themselves, neglecting to mention their fear of the dark elves in the mountains to the east. Their doings had been just as turbulent as those of the Ur-Flan. Their Great Houses were ever fighting over the Throne. And while they were occupied thus, the Bakluni freed themselves. Then the Oeridians. Needless to say, the Suel were not pleased; so, it was not long before they and the Bakluni came to blows. What began as small raids and minor skirmished escalated into widespread hostilities. War had swept the West. And, if that were not enough, Tharizdun had slipped back into Oerth through ever widening cracks. The Peoples of the West were on the move. And the Flanaess would never be the same. -457 CY Freed from their oppressors, Queen Johydee led her people, the Oeridian tribes, east from Ull, fighting north and eastward through the vast savage humanoid hordes employed as mercenaries by the Suel and Bakluni, taking with them those secrets of the Suel they knew or could steal, and what debris the Suel had left scattered about the fields in those days of conquest, for they knew not what may be useful in days to come. Some Suel fled their increasingly erratic empire, as well, and moved northward ... read more!

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History of Oerth, Part 5: Of The Peoples of the West

2019-11-22T17:22:00-05:00November 22nd, 2019|

History of Oerth, Part 5: Of The Peoples of the West Let’s look way back shall we? The Suloise were a cruel and haughty people who aspired to the power they saw in the Grey Elves. They coveted that power, but as chance would have it, the Elves saw the wisdom of their having released their Magic into the world as folly, and closed their schools. The Suel were enraged. Their relations with the Elves suffered and in time, when the Grey Elves went to war against their dark brethren, they sided with the Drow and Giantkind against their former tutors. The Drow were victorious, but both they and their allies saw their forces all but wiped out. The Suloise did not venture East after that. The Drow were not as the Grey Elves were, and despite their having fought side by side with the Drow, they knew those dark elves were not their friends. So they looked to the North and West for conquest. They had learned much while at the knee of the Grey Elves. And they had learned far more since. They sought to know all and sent out missions in all directions to gather up what knowledge they could, some even as far north as the Barrier Peaks to spy upon their past allies, for they knew one must be prepared against the duplicity of the perfidious. They unearthed spells of great power, and they grew adept at artifice. Their foes were no match for them. Machine of Lum the Mad:Perhaps this strange device was built by gods long forgotten and survived the eons since their passing, for it is incredibly ... read more!

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History of Oerth, Part 4: Of The Dark Age Of The Flan

2019-11-17T16:33:00-05:00November 17th, 2019|

History of Oerth, Part 4: Of The Dark Age Of The Flan Flan Warrior; by Lady Lolth The Ur-Flan were not idle as Vecna rose to power. They were a greedy and covetous lot, never satisfied to live under the rule of another, so they each sought to carve out their own realms while Vecna threw his forces against the shield of the Elven Kingdoms. They were not all so. Some sought refuge from the tyranny of their peers. Thus, Tostenhca was born. Those who sought the Wisdom of Pelor fled from their evil brethren into the high and frigid Griff Mountains, where, to their delight, they discovered a green plateau that was of temperate climate in those days. They came upon the Dwarves, who, wary at first for they knew of the Ur-Flan and their war with the Elves, were convinced of the honour and goodness of these people. And it was with the help of the Dwarves that they carved their city from the greenish-black rock of the mountain, and it was a wonder to behold. Ramps, broad avenues, and good roads of such quality were cut through the mountains that they’ve withstood the ravages of time and are still used today by the local dwarves. Their broad avenues were lined with tall statues, backed by the facades and courtyards of the noble estates that were hued into the rock is such a way as to be sky lit by tapestries of coloured glass. Murals adorned their walls. And gardens bloomed and spilled out over the dappled streets in a floral canopy. Enormous cisterns caught the rains and fed their statues and fountains ... read more!

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A Beginning…

2019-11-02T11:17:00-04:00November 2nd, 2019|

A Beginning... Does the world need another Greyhawk blog? You bet it does. For those of you who campaign in the setting, you know that Greyhawk doesn't get the love it deserves as the setting that started it all off. Some would argue that Dave Arneson's Blackmoor was the first setting of OD&D, and they'd be right; but most of the first adventure modules were set in Greyhawk. One could even argue that Basic D&D was orginally set in Greyhawk too before The Known World was created by Tom Moldvay. The monochrome edition of "In search of the Unknown" specifically states that suggested locations for the module were Ratik, Tenh, or the Pale. And "Keep on the Borderlands" could be connected to Quasqueton by the collapsed tunnel within, so it too could be placed in Greyhawk. Moreover, Greyhawk was referenced again and again in the AD&D Players' Handbook and DM's Guide. The Forgotten Realms may be the most popular setting; it certainly has the most novels set in it; it certainly has more sourcebooks dedicated to it; and it most likely has been the most supported setting over the decades. But it's Greyhawk that holds the grognards' hearts. That said, what do I hope to do here? I was inspired by the continuing love for the setting by others of the Gaming community. Much more was added to it during 3rd edition when Living Greyhawk fanned out over the globe and OSR licensing permitting fan content. And even more has been added since. I'm giving a shout out to Anna B. Mayer (that's a sample of Anna's wonderful map, a labour of 20+ years), Mike ... read more!

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