Fax
| Fax | |
|---|---|
 The heraldry of Fax, originally Illustrated in the World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting (1980). | |
| General information | |
| Demonym: | Faxian[1] |
| Realm: | Wild Coast |
| Size: | City |
| Government | |
| Government: | Council of merchants |
| Demographics | |
| Population: | 6,700 (in 576 CY) 2,000 (in 591 CY) |
| Groups | |
| Enemies: | Pomarj |
Fax is a settlement in the Flanaess, on the Wild Coast, along the western coast of Woolly Bay.
History
[edit | edit source]At the end of the Greyhawk Wars, when the Pomarj invades north up the Wild Coast, Fax is given warning and the "population [flees] over the open plains and across Woolly Bay to seek refuge in Safeton, Narwell, Hardby, and beyond."Despite taking the city with minimal effort, the marauders fall to infighting over loot, and hundreds die.[2]
Geography
[edit | edit source]
Fax lies on the western shores of Woolly Bay, aproximately 150 miles south of Safeton. It is just south of the Dragonnel’s Tail, which marks the extent of Faxharbor Cove. Fax itself (within the city walls) is bordered on the north and south by two bodies of water forming long inlets.
- Narrows—just north of the city is a long, thin inlet that doesn't quite form into a river or stream.[3]
- South Inlet—just south of the city is another rlong, thin inlet formed from a small bay. It proceeds inland to form a small river or stream.[3] After passing just west of Fax, South Inlet turns north (where it is crossed by two bridges), only to turn west again after reaching the north end of Fax.
In the middle of South Inlet is the Isle of One Tree.
Cityscape
[edit | edit source]There are docks along the entire eastern face of Fax, and walls enclose the city on three sides up to the docks, without a wall along the bay.
People
[edit | edit source]Historically, those who live on the Wild Coast have a reputation of being individualistic.
Population
[edit | edit source]Fax is a fair-sized city. (576 pop: 6,700) Though after the Pomarj invades the Wild Coast during the Greyhawk Wars, the citizens largely evacuate north to the Domain of Greyhawk, and the city is left decimated (591 pop: 2,000).[4]
During the orcish occupation of Fax, the city is "greatly damaged" by the invading army.[5]
Notable individuals
[edit | edit source]Government
[edit | edit source]The city's administration is by council of thirteen merchant lords.[7]
Military
[edit | edit source]Fax, much like other Wild Coast cities, participates in privateering or piracy.[8]
Forty members of the Crescent League are part of the towns defense, until the Pomarj invades up the Wild Coast during the Greyhawk Wars. Fax is one of the few settlements which receive warning, and when the exodus of refugees begins in 584 CY, the Crescent League (under the command of Major Estabon Voshente), hijacks a ship in the harbor while it is being boarded by refugees. They flee across the the bay to Scant. Volante is assassinated for the act, and the abandonment of the city earns the League a reputation of being a agents of or in cooperation with the Scarlet Order.[7]
Heraldry
[edit | edit source]
Fax uses a very simple coat of arms of a triangle of three red diamonds on a white field, blazoned as Argent, in pile three lozenges gules.
One "noble" family of Fax uses the city's heraldry but with a blue horizontal bar across the middle to denote their family—an azure bar in fess.[9]
Economy
[edit | edit source]Currency
[edit | edit source]The city of Fax mints coins with its own symbol on them.[10]
Creative origins
[edit | edit source]
The original cover of the first edition DMG (1979) by Dave Sutherland has a warrior battling an efreet, and the warrior bears a shield with the heraldry of an "important noble family in Fax" (above, with the azure bar). The second (or "orange spine") cover of the DMG (1983) features artwork by Jeff Easley of a wizard opening ponderous wooden double doors; and carved into them is the heraldry of the noble family of Fax. The heraldry is also famously depicted in Jeff Easley's cover art of the World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting boxed set (1983), where a knight is bearing the heraldry on a pennant attached to their lance. These coninciding images brought a certain curiosity and speculation from fans for years.
While working with Dave Sutherland for an estate auction, Paul Stormberg of The Collector's Trove asked Sutherland about the inclusion of the heraldry on the cover of the original DMG. According to Stormberg, Sutherland's reply was that it was specifically requested by Gygax.[11] Stormberg further said that he believed it was possible that it might be an example of historic heraldry belonging to the Gygax family.[12] From that conversation, Allan Grohe asked Gygax directly. Gygax's responded that it was not "the" Gygax Family crest, but rather that it belonged to "a" Gygax who had "fought in French service sometime in the 15th century" and desribed the Gygax family crest's appearance as the County of Urnst's coat of arms.[13] He also said that its inclusion in a slightly different form (as the city of Fax's heraldry, without the azure bar) was likely an unintentional thing contributed from unconscious memory.[13]
After the device had been seen on sourcebook covers and in magazines for years, Gygax notably wore a ring in 1985 in a photo used for advertisements for D&D miniatures which resembled the "important noble family" version of the heraldry of Fax (image above).[14]
The device can also be seen on a shield in an illustration of a coin as the cover image of an article in Dragon (Jul 1982).[15]
The heraldry is also used by the Gygax Memorial Fund as its main emblem and has been used nostalgically by other artists, as in the cover art by Stefan Poag for the adventure Barrowmaze.
In Legends of Greyhawk
[edit | edit source] | This section contains content from the "Legends of Greyhawk" organized-play campaign. While it is officially published, and is approved by WotC, this content is based on the DMG 2024, and may differ from earlier publications. |
In the Legends of Greyhawk campaign, Fax was used in the West Coast Adventurer's Guild (WCAG) premiere adventure at Dice Online 2025, on 10-12 October 2025.[16]
Notable individuals
[edit | edit source]The following NPCs in Fax appear in the LoG adventure Nine Swords against Chaos[17] :
- Saethryd (female)—portreeve of Fax.[17]
References
[edit | edit source]Citations
[edit | edit source]- ↑ The Adventure Begins (1998), p.2, 3, Adventure Maps.
- ↑ Slavers (2000), p.122.
- ↑ a b The Adventure Begins (1998), p.10, Adventure Maps.
- ↑ Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (2000), p.86.
- ↑ Slavers (2000), p.46.
- ↑ Return of the Eight (1998), p.56.
- ↑ a b "Hidden Agendas". Dragon #256 (Feb 1999), p.47.
- ↑ Slavers (2000), p.38.
- ↑ "Sage Advice". Dragon #141 (Jan 1989), p.14. "Q: What is the symbol of the pennon carried by the lead knight on the box cover? A: The symbol on the pennon is the arms of Fax, a city on the Wild Coast, with a bar, azure, in fess ... added for distinction. This probably designates one of the more important noble families in Fax."
- ↑ "The Setting Sun". Dungeon #73 (Mar/Apr 1999), p.73.
- ↑ Stormberg, Paul (2004 10 24). Sutherland Art—What's the True Value? (Forum). The Acaeum. p.3. Retrieved on 16 October 2025. "A bit of trivia: the coat of arms for the fighter were specifically requested by Gary Gygax. Everything else is Dave [Sutherland]'s composition."
- ↑ Stormberg, Paul (2004 10 24). Sutherland Art—What's the True Value? (Forum). The Acaeum. p.4. Retrieved on 16 October 2025. "I thought too it might be Gygax family heraldry. Dave [Sutherland] does not know."
- ↑ a b Gygax, Gary; (@Col_Pladoh) (2004 10 24). EN World Q&A with Gary Gygax (Forum). EN World. p.215. Retrieved on 16 October 2025. "The armorial bearings displayed on the fighter's shield shown on the original DMG book are those of a Gygax who fought in French service sometime in the 15th century. As I devized all of the armorial bearings for the states of the World of Greyhawk, it is likely that when I did that for Fax I unconsciously borrowed from memory... BTW, the actual Gygax Family arms are a white goose passant on a green field with a gold star (mullet) in the dexter canton and a bison horn in base, IIRR.... The star was supposedly awarded for the bravery of some ancestor, and the bison horn likewise, for calling attention to some enemy threat."
- ↑ Citadel Miniatures and TSR. "AD&D Miniatures." Advertisement. White Dwarf Issue #69 (Sep 1985), p.2.
- ↑ "For the Sake of Change". Dragon #63 (Jul 1982), p.67.
- ↑ Dice Online 2025. tabletop.events. West Coast Adventurers Guild (29 August 2025). Retrieved on 31 August 2025.
- ↑ a b Nine Swords against Chaos (WCAG, 2025)
Bibliography
[edit | edit source]Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index
The Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index (EGI) is based on previous work of Jason Zavoda through '08, continued by numerous other fans. The EGI article has a list of sources, product names, abbreviations, and a link to the full, downloadable index.
| Topic | Type | Description | Product | Page/Card/Image
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fax | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (576 pop: 6700), (591 pop: 2000), | Artifact of Evil | 60 |
| Fax | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (576 pop: 6700), (591 pop: 2000), | The City of Greyhawk: Gem of the Flanaess | 18 |
| Fax | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (576 pop: 6700), (591 pop: 2000), | Dragon magazine #141 | 14 |
| Fax | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (576 pop: 6700), (591 pop: 2000), | Dragon magazine #256 | 47, 48 |
| Fax | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (576 pop: 6700), (591 pop: 2000), | Dungeon magazine #073 | 73 |
| Fax | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (576 pop: 6700), (591 pop: 2000), | From the Ashes: References Card | #3 |
| Fax | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (576 pop: 6700), (591 pop: 2000), | Greyhawk Wars: Adventurer's Book | 18 |
| Fax | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (576 pop: 6700), (591 pop: 2000), | Living Greyhawk Gazetteer | 86, 87 |
| Fax | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (576 pop: 6700), (591 pop: 2000), | Living Greyhawk Journal #3 | 26 |
| Fax | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (576 pop: 6700), (591 pop: 2000), | Night Arrant | 175 |
| Fax | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (576 pop: 6700), (591 pop: 2000), | Oerth Journal #10 | 19,25,64 |
| Fax | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (576 pop: 6700), (591 pop: 2000), | Oerth Journal #13 | 18 |
| Fax | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (576 pop: 6700), (591 pop: 2000), | Oerth Journal #28 | 31 |
| Fax | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (576 pop: 6700), (591 pop: 2000), | Oerth Journal #32 | 42,43 |
| Fax | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (576 pop: 6700), (591 pop: 2000), | Polyhedron magazine #092 | 17 |
| Fax | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (576 pop: 6700), (591 pop: 2000), | Return of the Eight | 58 |
| Fax | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (576 pop: 6700), (591 pop: 2000), | Slavers, AD&D 2e | 7, 38, 39, 44, 46, 96, 122 |
| Fax | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (576 pop: 6700), (591 pop: 2000), | The Adventure Begins | 5, 56, 69 |
| Fax | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (576 pop: 6700), (591 pop: 2000), | The Adventure Begins: Adventure Maps | 2, 3, 10 |
| Fax | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (576 pop: 6700), (591 pop: 2000), | LT3 The Doomgrinder | 29 |
| Fax | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (576 pop: 6700), (591 pop: 2000), | WG11 Puppets | IC |
| Fax | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (576 pop: 6700), (591 pop: 2000), | WGA4 Vecna Lives! | 49 |
| Fax | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (576 pop: 6700), (591 pop: 2000), | The World of Greyhawk Fantasy World Setting (Folio) | IC, 19, 21 |
| Fax | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (576 pop: 6700), (591 pop: 2000), | World of Greyhawk boxed set (1983) | IC, 41, 48 |
| Fax | Settlement | Pomarj, Settlement, (576 pop: 6700), (591 pop: 2000), | World of Greyhawk boxed set (1983) | IBC |
| Faxharbor Cove | Geographical feature | Cove, | Slavers, AD&D 2e | 38 |
| Faxians | People Group | People, | The Adventure Begins: Adventure Maps | 2, 3 |
| Narrows (Fax) | Geographical feature | Waterway, | The Adventure Begins: Adventure Maps | 10 |