Bright Desert

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The Bright Desert and environs, as depicted on the Lazzaretti map (2005).

The Bright Desert is a desert located in the central Flanaess. The Bright Desert is independent of the control of any external nation, and has been significantly organized under the control of Rary the Traitor, though its enemies (among whom it counts the Free City of Greyhawk, the Duchy of Urnst, and the Circle of Eight) do not acknowledge it as a nation.

Ecology[edit | edit source]

The Bright Desert extends from the Abbor-Alz to the north and east to the Woolly Bay to the west, and to the Sea of Gearnat to the south.

The desert itself gives way to scrub near the Abbor-Alz.

Temperatures in the desert can reach 120°F and can dip into the low 30s during the night. Sandstorms are not uncommon (Pryor, Rary the Traitor).

Prominent flora include the vampire cactus.

Inhabitants[edit | edit source]

The Bright Desert is inhabited by Flan and Suel tribesmen, as well as centaurs, manscorpions, and dune stalkers.

Features and settlements[edit | edit source]

The Bright Desert contains only one major geographical feature, the Brass Hills in its south-western region.

Ul Bakak, a neutral oasis and trade village, lies in the west.

History[edit | edit source]

The Bright Desert was once a fertile land occupied by a number of nations, the most powerful being Sulm and Itar. In -700 CY, the Kingdom of Sulm was destroyed by its last king, Shattados, who used the power of a dark artifact known as the Scorpion Crown in an attempt to gain perpetual dominion over his subjects. Instead, the crown turned Shattados into a gigantic scorpion, and his people into manscorpions and dune stalkers. The land itself was even changed, transformed into a vast wasteland now known as the Bright Desert.[1]

In the 1983 A Guide to the World of Greyhawk booklet in the World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting boxed set, Gary Gygax writes only that the Bright Desert is the land that lies beyond the Abbor-Alz, and that its peoples are unfriendly. This note corresponds to 576 CY.

The Bright Lands[edit | edit source]

In 584 CY, Rary betrayed the Circle of Eight at the Day of the Great Signing in Greyhawk, which marked the end of the Greyhawk Wars. When his attempt to disrupt the signing failed, he fled into the Bright Desert with his co-conspirator, Robilar, and marshalled the local tribes to create a nation-state (Cook, Wars). Robilar went on foot with those troops that followed Rary while Rary transported his tower in Ket to the middle of the Bright Desert (Pryor, Rary the Traitor).

This new kingdom, the Empire of the Bright Lands (or simply Bright Lands), is held under the tyrannical control of Rary and Robilar who have systematically used their small army and mercenary soldiers to defeat tribes of local nomads and subjugate them under his rule. His armies are now large and powerful enough to defend this young nation. Rumors continue to spread that he seeks some artifact in the desert ruins (Pryor, Rary the Traitor).

Bibliography[edit | edit source]

  • Brown, Anne. Player's Guide. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 1998.
  • Cook, David. "History of the Greyhawk Wars." Wars. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1991. Available online:[3]
  • Hammack, Allen. The Ghost Tower of Inverness. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1980.
  • Mona, Erik. "Reflections in Silica: Sulm and Itar." Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, unpublished. Available online: [4]
———. Return of the Eight. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 1998.

External link[edit | edit source]

The Index is based on previous work of Jason Zavoda through '08, and his work as continued and updated by Eric Johnson, Richard DiIoia, Jason "PupickDad" Jacobson, a French fan group, and numerous other fans over the years. The wiki page for the EGI has a list of sources, full product names, abbreviations, and a link to the full, downloadable index.

Topic Type Description Product Page/Card/Image

Bright Desert Region C2 the Ghost Tower of Inverness 2
Bright Desert Region The City of Greyhawk: Adventure Cards 8, 9
Bright Desert Region The City of Greyhawk: Gem of the Flanaess 19
Bright Desert Region Dragon magazine #057 13
Bright Desert Region Dragon magazine #191 68
Bright Desert Region Dragon magazine #209 11
Bright Desert Region Dragon magazine #249 90, 91, 94
Bright Desert Region Dragon magazine #290 98
Bright Desert Region Dragon magazine #293 90
Bright Desert Region Dragon magazine #299 99
Bright Desert Region Dungeon magazine #030 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28
Bright Desert Region From the Ashes: Atlas of the Flanaess 9, 10, 61
Bright Desert Region From the Ashes: Campaign Book 11, 13, 31, 32, 37, 85
Bright Desert Region From the Ashes: References Card #14
Bright Desert Region Greyhawk Adventures 22, 74, 80, 91, 92
Bright Desert Region Greyhawk Wars: Adventures 17, 24
Bright Desert Region TSR Jam 1999 12
Bright Desert Region Living Greyhawk, Living Onnwal Gazetteer, D&D 3.5e 71
Bright Desert Region Living Greyhawk Gazetteer 13, 16, 17, 38, 51, 125, 126, 143, 144, 154, 157
Bright Desert Region Living Greyhawk Journal #0 7
Bright Desert Region Living Greyhawk Journal #3 13, 15, 26
Bright Desert Region Living Greyhawk Journal #4 1, 23
Bright Desert Region Player's Guide to Greyhawk 9, 11, 23, 51
Bright Desert Region Return of the Eight 59
Bright Desert Region S1 Tomb of Horrors 2
Bright Desert Region S1-4 Realms of Horror, Adventure Booklet 6
Bright Desert Region Slavers, AD&D 2e 2, 7, 37, 38, 43, 45, 60
Bright Desert Region Saga of Old City 6, 288
Bright Desert Region The Adventure Begins 4, 6, 37, 48, 49, 51, 55, 97
Bright Desert Region The Adventure Begins: Adventure Maps 2, 4, 5, 13
Bright Desert Region Tomb of Horrors (Revised), D&D 3.5e 2
Bright Desert Region LT1 The Star Cairns IC, 2, 4, 13, 38
Bright Desert Region WG5 Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure 24
Bright Desert Region WGA4 Vecna Lives! 6
Bright Desert Region The World of Greyhawk Fantasy World Setting (Folio) 20, 21
Bright Desert Region WGR3 Rary the Traitor 2, 4, 7, 8, 10, 12-17, 21, 23, 27, 30-33, 60, 62, 63
Bright Desert Region WGR4 The Marklands 35
Bright Desert Region WGR5 Iuz the Evil 5, 37
Bright Desert Region World of Greyhawk boxed set (1983) 48, 60
Bright Desert Region World of Greyhawk boxed set (1983) 15
Ghazal (Bright Desert) Settlement Defensive Structure, Dungeon magazine #030 22-30
Holy Star of the Bright Desert Item Greyhawk Adventures 80
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