world of greyhawk

North Texas RPGCon 2021 – grodog’s games recap

2025-10-16T19:03:55-04:00August 6th, 2021|

As usual, I had a wonderful time at the North Texas RPG Con this year (3-6 June 2021)---in particular since this was the first in-person convention that I attended since NTX in 2019!Some quick NTX info, for those who are unfamiliar with the convention:Website @ https://www.ntrpgcon.com/Facebook Group @ https://www.facebook.com/groups/310434204630TableTop Events @ https://tabletop.events/conventions/ntrpgcon-2021 Black Blade BoothThese pictures showcase our Black Blade Publishing booth this year:While it was a transitional and rebuilding year, we did well at the con, and it was great to be able to showcase so many new and cool products to the attending gamers!grodog's EventsKnights & Knaves Alehouse SocialI played in the K&KA Social on Thursday night, and had a wonderful time. It's always fun to play with a very large group (15-25 players) each year and to see what mayhem erupts! This year we were slated to play OD&D (we alternate between OD&D and AD&D each year), and Nathan "tetramorph" Jennings DM'd again. We picked up from where we left off two years ago. Here are my player maps from the 2019 session: and alas, my hapless PC---who used efreeti-granted wishes to become the Lord of the Manor last time---was laid low by those meddling kids! Rest in pieces, Lord Merrak the Perspicacious, and know that you will be avenged! (In the meanwhile, he and his efreet did kill the dragon and go down in a blaze of glory! =) Nathan posted his DM-POV event summary at K&KA at https://knights-n-knaves.com/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?p=281522#p281522, with some follow-up comments in the next page too. General discussion of the social begins on the page at https://knights-n-knaves.com/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=16739&start=135 Here are a few pics of the K&KA crew in the boardroom where we ... read more!

0

grodog’s post-GaryCon-XIII Repose – Part 2

2025-10-16T19:04:02-04:00May 31st, 2021|

Being as I'm about to head out to the North Texas RPG Con in a couple of days, I'd better get my GaryCon Report Part 2 concluded! ;) Continuing from my now-too-long-in-the-tooth Part 1 summary, after running my games on Thursday and Friday of GaryCon XIII, I spent most of the rest of the connvention playing in games (Sunday afternoon excepted).Saturday, 27 March 1-6pm: I played in Les "OblivionSeeker" Reno's "Death Master's Gambit: Dead Men Tell No Tales" AD&D 1e adventure---although they do blackmail with some regularity, it seems. Our PCs will seek to eliminate the blackmail at the source, somewhere in the Wild Coast....Les crafted a supremely-cool scenario in which our PCs were pulled into a rather Machiavellian plot:Your recent adventures began in Safeton. Slanarus Zaal, a prosperous merchant, gathered you together. He felt he could trust you. You’d done work for him in the past, and each of you had proven yourselves to be honorable, in your own fashion, and discreet. Almost a year ago, letters began to arrive at the man’s office under mysterious circumstances. They seemed to *materialize* on the desk or between a ledger’s pages when the man turned his back for a moment or left and locked the room. To the casual reader, the contents would seem banal—details of a journey, as recorded by a business associate; a jesting but flirtatious inquiry from one of the widower’s former lovers; requests for forbearance from some debtor or other. At first, Zaal was irritated by the intrusion and gave little thought to the texts. Then he realized that the letters were all written in the same hand. He studied them and ... read more!

0

grodog’s post-GaryCon-XIII Repose – Part 1

2025-10-16T19:04:06-04:00April 2nd, 2021|

Yet-again, I had a wonderful time at GaryCon this year. Here's the first part of my post-convention recap, working off of my schedule for GaryCon XIII! Wednesday, 24 MarchIn our usual fashion, members of the Legio V gathered on Wedsnesday night for our pre-con get-together, which was a fun time as always. We didn't game this year, just hung out and caught up on life, the universe, and everything.If you're not familiar with the Legio V, here's some info:The Lake Geneva Legio V began as a handful of gamers who have attended Gary Con since its inception. We have grown over the past few years to include like-minded individuals united by a respect of Gary Gygax and his legacy. We are the dedicated attendees who love Gary Con for the camaraderie it establishes, the Game Masters who run games from across the decades, and the committed gamers who spend these four days in a fervor of dice rolling and old school good times.Although events run as LEGIO V Presents will use a variety of rule systems, our focus is on games authored by Gary and his contemporaries as well as those systems whose designers pay homage to these pioneers.Thursday and Friday mornings - grodog's Castle Greyhawk: Escape from Level 14Over Thursday and Friday I ran two sets of players through levels from my version of Castle Greyhawk. Both opted to attempt to get away from Level 14, which I first ran at the North Texas RPG Con #1 in 2009, and subsequently at GaryCons #2 (2010), with reprises at NTX and GaryCon #10 in 2018. The scenario premise is: Escape From Castle Greyhawk – Player ... read more!

0

grodog’s GaryCon XIII Schedule – 25-28 March 2021

2025-10-16T19:04:11-04:00March 25th, 2021|

I'll be scarce the next several days as I'm running and playing games at GaryCon Gaming Convention XIII. It's going to be a great convention again!---good times to be discovered, dice to be rolled, monsters to be put to the sword, and treasures to be looted! =) My schedule is full of fun this year!:Thursday, 25 MarchNoon-5pm: DM for grodog's Castle Greyhawk: I'm running either my "Four Way Hub Level" or "Escape from Level 14" level, based on the players' selection. My 13 year-old son Henry will be playing in this session, which is always fun =)7pm-Midnight: Player in Rich Frank's "Lost Temple of Set" dungeon, where we seek to recover the fabled Eye of Horus:The party has traveled through a jungle to locate an ancient and forgotten Temple of the God, Set. Set has not been worshipped in any notable or public way in centuries, most of the old temples having been thrown down and replaced with temples to other Gods. However, Set, being a major God, has been able to maintain a cult of worshippers despite being forced out of the consciousness of most of the population in this world.The motivation for the characters is to find the fabled Eye of Horus, a large piece of jade in the shape of a pointed oval, with the symbol of the Eye of Horus carved into it, and inlaid with gold. Among the purported properties of the Eye is the ability to roll back time and view what happened in the area the Eye is currently placed. (More on this in the description of the Eye of Horus at the end of this document.) Indeed, the ... read more!

0

Canonfire! Postfest XIX – Greyhawk’s Drowic Underworld – deadline to submit 15 April 2021

2025-10-16T19:04:12-04:00March 22nd, 2021|

As announced by Gary Holian (PSmedger) on Canonfire!: Drow by Bill Willingham, in TSR's D1-2 Descent into the Depths of the Earth (1981)It's been a long time coming, but due to popular demand, Canonfire has decided to revive the Postfests!What is a Postfest? A Postfest is a shared design project where members of Canonfire (or anyone who wishes to participate) agree to write articles on the same topic. They are turned in by a deadline, then shared all at once. Reading and goodness ensues.For example, here was a Postfest on Villains from the early days of Canonfire: http://www.canonfire.com/cf/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=18Inspired by this weekend and Lord Gosumba’s fundraiser topic, “Underdark Uprising”, this Postfest will focus on Greyhawk’s Underdark. We’ll use a broad definition of the Underdark that includes hollows within mountains (i.e. Slerotin’s tunnel), caverns below the earth (i.e. Vault of the Drow), the Rift Canyon, and ancient underground ruins upon which new cities have been built (i.e. Narwell). Topic ideas might include:New or Existing Entrances to the UnderdarkMysterious Places in the UnderdarkUnderdark Races and MonstersEcology of the Underdark and Wilderness SurvivalNPCs from the UnderdarkMagical Items or Artifacts that focus on the UnderdarkWe’ve made a few changes to the traditional Postfest:First, we won’t be voting on the submissions anymore. It's all in good fun, but if people want to give writers some feedback, I’m sure they’d love it. Second, we’re going to post the submission to Canonfire as usual, but we also plan to compile all the submissions into a Greyhawk Underdark PDF that will be available for everyone to download. We are considering compiling some of the old Postfests, likewise.Third, if you participate, we are thinking of giving ... read more!

0

Virtual GreyhawkCon – Day 1

2025-10-16T19:04:34-04:00October 3rd, 2020|

I had a wonderful time at Virtual Greyhawk Con today!: Friday afternoon I ran the first of four playtest sessions for the Iounic Vaults (two at vGHC, two at the upcoming TsunamiCon 2020 Virtual Con), and had a very fun time with a crew of eight players. They managed to almost recover The Ring of Gaxx, but didn't quite pull it out in the closing minutes of the session. Settling for the One Ring isn't a bad alternative, right? After a quick pizza dinner, Carlos Lising of casl Entertainment ran his new Greyhawk scenario "Reflections from a Smoking Mirror" for five of us---a diplomatic rescue suicide mission from the beleaguered Free Onnwal to the Tuov in Hepmonaland, both mutual victims of the Scarlet Brotherhood. Carlos' games are always fun, and he wove together the mythologies of Greyhawk and the Central American Aztecs into a seamless whole. It's not often I get to nearly not-die while fighting the god of death, which is a great way to conclude a Friday night of gaming :D Allan.

0

For the Love of Greyhawk – Reprise

2025-10-16T19:04:56-04:00August 25th, 2020|

World of Greyhawk Gazetteer, 1980Over on ENWorld, the user Snarf Zagyg started an interesting conversation in response to some discussion about Greyhawk that arose as fans learned about the release of the new 5e book, Tasha's Cauldron of Everything.Snarf Zagyg entitled the thread "For the Love of Greyhawk: Why People Still Fight to Preserve Greyhawk" and it offers some good food for thought for Greyhawk fans, and for D&D players in general. This reproduces my reply in that thread:==A very interesting conversation, thanks for starting it up, @Snarf Zagyg !While I am a long-time Greyhawk fan, I too would be interested to see what interesting and new material could be published for Greyhawk. Unless and until WotC releases older editions for publishing via DM's Guild, that means new official Greyhawk material will be written for 5e and 6e, ad not for 1e/OSRIC or the other clones. So, if WotC publishes a Greyhawk book that I like, I'll pick it up. Adapting new material Greyhawk is a natural process that every Greyhawk DM has to do who's not playing with the current rules set; it's not a big deal, and it works forward as well as backward (all of those 1e adventures are also easy to bring forward into 5e too). I do the exact same thing with material from FR, Necromancer Games, Call of Cthulhu, and whatever else feels right to use in my Greyhawk campaigns.One of the core strengths of Greyhawk (in addition to its resilient and enthusiastic fanbase, who provide support for the setting through many ways, including the Oerth Journal---a freely downloadable professional quality zine---to name just one example among multitudes*) is ... read more!

0

The Strange Case of the Forgotten Folio Forest

2022-12-26T15:57:37-05:00April 25th, 2020|

Life's been very busy and distracted of late with changes in our daily homelife and work routines caused by the COVID-19 outbreak in the 'States. Thankfully our family has remained untouched by the virus to date, but it has slowed down my sharing via the blog. I've managed to keep designing and writing (and editing, and drawing, and...), and hope to return to a more-regular pace soon. In the meanwhile, I hope you enjoy this bit of Greyhawk research trivia.== At the topographical level, the Flanaess is filled with many strange and wondrous features, some inherently magical or the result of the expenditure of vast magical energies in aeons past---the Land of Black Ice, the sunken Isles of Woe, and the Bright Desert may, perhaps, all owe their infamy to such magics.There are, however, additional and perhaps greater powers at play in the World of Greyhawk. Powers that shape the course of all of The Flanaess, of Oerik, Oerth, and the multiverse itself---and beyond! I am, of course, referring to the powers and perils of editing within the game design process! ;) In particular, today I'm referring to a forest that is largely lost in Greyhawk's publishing history---a forest that straddles the Crystal River in central Furyondy. "Wait!" you say, "there is no such timberland in Greyhawk!" And in most instances of the maps of the Flanaess, you would be correct: The Crystal River, in central Fuyrondy - Greyhawk Folio 1980All subsequent versions of officially-published Greyhawk maps also omit this feature: the 1983 Boxed Set, From the Ashes in 1992, The Marklands in 1993, Greyhawk: the Adventure Begins in 1998, the 2000 D&D Gazetteer and 2001's Living ... read more!

0

Renovating the Monastery – Recasting the Classic DMG Dungeon in Greyhawk – Part 1

2022-12-26T15:57:39-05:00February 16th, 2020|

Wichita Greyhawk CampaigningI ran the unnamed sample monastery dungeon from the Dungeon Masters Guide for my eldest son's after-school AD&D group a few years ago, and I've repurposed it as one of the starting points for the new Wichita Greyhawk campaign that kicked off last month. I've compiled the bits and pieces about it that I've discussed over at the Knights & Knaves Alehouse forum and Scott Gregg's Doomsday Games forum:BackgroundMaps - Wilderness Environs Maps - Dungeon LevelsKeysI'm detailing #1 and #2 in this post, with more info to follow on the updated, revised, and expanded dungeon maps and keys later. Below I dig into plenty of spoilers for the sample dungeon, so if you are currently playing through it, you should stop reading now. *** SPOILERS ****** *** *** SPOILERS ****** *** *** SPOILERS ****** *** *** SPOILERS *** *** *** *** SPOILERS *** *** *** *** SPOILERS *** *** *** *** SPOILERS *** *** *** *** SPOILERS *** Background I've decided to leverage my continued interest in the sects and cults of Wee Jas for my background to the DMG Monastery dungeon in the Wicihta campaign. This necessitates some changes to the original sketchy background from the DMG:The slain abbot becomes an abbess The fire opal becomes a holy relic of Wee Jas, perhaps in part reflecting her vanityThe lower level needs a new rationale from how I'd originally conceived it, and I'm thinking it may be tied to the Plane of Shadow now, but am still noodling on that: perhaps the shadow influences are what, in part, lead to the near-total destruction of the monastery, and if so, it seems likely that the destruction was meted out ... read more!

0

New local Greyhawk Campaign in Wichita – 26 Jan 2020 Kickoff!

2022-12-26T15:57:42-05:00January 13th, 2020|

New in-person Greyhawk campaign to begin on Sunday, 26 January 2020 at Hero Complex in Wichita, Kansas, at 1pm CST! Estimated stop time 5-6pm. In honor of the upcoming 46th anniversary of the first publication of Dungeons & Dragons, I'm kicking off a new AD&D 1st edition campaign set in my version of the World of Greyhawk. Previously discussed at https://www.facebook.com/groups/111904705646730/permalink/958413074329218/ and with some introductory steps taken at TsunamiCon in October 2019, this session will mark the campaign's official start. No previous experience with AD&D 1st edition or the World of Greyhawk required: newcomers welcome! :DAllan.

0

grodog talking Iggwilv in Greyhawk on caslTawk @ Monday night 8pm EDT

2022-12-26T15:57:49-05:00September 29th, 2019|

I think that this Twitch.TV/live-streaming thing may be starting to click for me, but you'll have another opportunity to judge for yourself, since carlos "casl Entertainment" lising has invited me to join him and his Patreon sponsors in their October discussion tomorrow night:caslTawk announcement,with classic Greyhawk styling!Tune into our Twitch channel for a chat between carlos "The Rook" lising and Greyhawk scholar Allan T. Grohe Jr., who will be discussing the casl Entertainment Patreon topic for the month of October: Demons and the Witch-Queen, Iggwilv!Monday, September 30, 2019 at 8 PM – 9 PM EDT on www.twitch.tv/caslentertainmentI don't know exactly what Carlos and his crew of patrons will dig into for the agenda, but I'm sure it will be a fun discussion---what could possibly go wrong, when you start to mix up Iggwilv, demons, and the World of Greyhawk? ;)Edit: the replay can be watched on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuZ3eOSrabE&feature=youtu.be:Allan.

0

grodog in Greyhawk—a Summer Raining Multitudes!

2022-12-26T15:57:51-05:00September 10th, 2019|

It's been a busier summer than usual this year, in part because I've got lots of Greyhawk going on, which is a wonderful "problem" to have =)Here's what's been cooking: I'm continuing to play in Bill "TheDungeonDelver" Silvey's ongoing Greyhawk AD&D campaign, which is heavily-focused at present on the exploration of his version of Castle Greyhawk! Let me tell you that it's a treat to explore Bill's Greyhawk and its Castle, not knowing a thing about it =)Here's where we are, after spending most of this year clearing out the upper ruins of Bill's version of Castle Greyhawk: Bill Silvey's Castle Greyhawk - Ruins LevelPlayer map by Allan GroheBill Silvey's Castle Greyhawk - Ruins LevelPlayer map by Allan GroheWe just began to explore down the central well last week, and will likely pick that up again this week.I began playing in Bill's game since July last year, and have enjoyed it immensely! Thus far we've remained in the vicinity of Greyhawk City and the Gnarley Forest---not counting a demi-planar/extra-planar holiday adventure at Christmastide. My high elf, Svert, is now a 5/5 Fighter/Magic-User, about to level up to 6th MU (but I've hit my level limit in Fighter unless I'm able to permanently gain two or more points of Strength, alas...).My 11-year-old son Henry has been running an on-and-off again AD&D campaign for some school friends, his older brother Ethan, my wife Heather, and me (although both Ethan and Heather have largely stopped playing D&D in general save for special occasions here and there). Set in his Underground Mansion dungeon, situated on an island in the Nyr Dyv. While Henry's game is nominally set in Greyhawk, ... read more!

0

The Spinel Ossuarium – Reliquary of St. Kargoth

2019-08-22T22:39:00-04:00August 22nd, 2019|

The Spinel Ossuarium - Reliquary of St. Kargoth, Grand Marshal of the Demonic Knights of DoomSacred to the faiths of Erythnul and St. Kargoth, The Spinel Ossuarium is known to house the ashes and bone fragments of St. Kargoth's mortal form. Previously anointed as Grand Marshal of the Demonic Knights of Doom, Kargoth's conflagration in Mentrey marked the end of his mortal existence as his body was consumed in his fiery descent into death knighthood. The central skull gemstone of The Spinel Ossuarium is of dark rust-red luster, and was Kargoth's unholy symbol in life. The unholy symbol is encased in red-gold and platinum, and inset with twenty-two diamonds, one for each Demonic Knight of Doom in the order, with a baleful jacinth crowning the amulet for Kargoth himself. The whole is mounted upon a double-stranded thick red-gold chain that cannot be broken if worn by the faithful. Known powers for The Spinel Ossuarium operate at 28th level and include:Continuously radiates Protection from Law and Protection from Good in a 20' radius at double-strength; the hue of the aura is as of drying bloodDetect Good at triple duration and range 6/dayCommune twice per week with St. Kargoth, once per month with Erythnul; up to 5 questions may be askedEruption of Discord, as Symbol, at 18" range with 50' radius area of effect twice per monthRadiates Protection from Good in a 400' radius sphere at quadruple-strength for 28 hours once per monthWhen unholy water is poured through the reliquary, the unholy water tints red with the blood of Kargoth, and inflicts +2 damage. If unholy sacred red wine of Medegian vintage is poured through the reliquary ... read more!

0

grodog interview on Twitch TV, Sunday 18 August @ 7:30pm EDT

2022-12-26T15:57:54-05:00August 16th, 2019|

Jay Scott, one of the gamers I know in South Jersey, runs a Twitch TV channel dedicated to his 30+ year 1e campaign set in the World of Greyhawk. While visiting with him on my last trip back home, he asked about having me on his show, which will be live-streamed on Sunday this weekend. Here's his announcement:Sunday Evening on the Lord Gosumba ChannelHello Friends and Greyhawkers! Finishing up a wonderful vacation week with family at the shore! On this Sunday's Gabbin at Lord Peak's Haven #58, my special guest will be Allan T. Grohe Jr., the grodog!We will discuss Allan's multitude of accomplishments to the D&D and gaming community, his love of the World of Greyhawk, and share what Allan and his company, Black Blade Publishing, are working on currently.Also, we will discuss some intriguing Greyhawk topics, including, Castle Greyhawk and Castle El Raja Key, Greyhawk Artifacts, rules variants for homebrew Campaigning, and using third party D&D Adventures in the World of Greyhawk setting. I cannot wait to delve into this discussion!As always, we will welcome questions and participation from the audience! See you Live Stream, Sunday, 8/18, 7:30 PM EDT! https://www.twitch.tv/lordgosumbahttps://www.twitch.tv/lordgosumbaPerhaps I'll see a few of you on Sunday night in the audience :DAllan.

0

Cairn Hills Lairs – The 1st and 2nd Fluted Cairns

2022-12-26T15:57:55-05:00April 6th, 2019|

I've been noodling on more regional Greyhawk adventure locations, and the Cairn Hills continue to call to me---there's LOTS of room in them thar hills for various vicious and grand adventuring sites, as well as gold and explorational hijinks!The Cairn Hills - map by Darlenefrom the 1980 World of Greyhawk FolioI've dubbed these small dungeons Cairn Hills Lairs, and drew two new ones last night and this morning. Both are part of an inter-related system of cairn dungeons called "The Fluted Cairns"---so called because of their titular flutes are, in fact, the entrances into the cairns: I imagine them as the end-points for large pipe-organ-like tubes that stick up out of the ground all over the hill that the cairn is sited on. You enter by climbing in and sliding down, arriving in one of the various fluted corridors drawn along the edges of each map:The Fluted CairnThe Fluted Cairn - by grodogThe Second Fluted CairnThe Second Fluted Cairn - by grodog More to come later in terms of the actual key information about the Fluted Cairns, as well as updated maps with intra-level stairs and other dungeon features.Allan.

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.