Greyhawk canon
This article is modified from the original essay by Great Library of Greyhawk contributor and former admin "Robbastard".
In Greyhawk fandom, each individual holds their own idea of what constitutes Greyhawk canon. These differing views are a wide spectrum and range from the "Gygaxian" (Greyhawk products authored/overseen by Gary Gygax during his tenure at TSR) to the "all-inclusive" (any mention of Greyhawk, even in fan-produced materials). The truth of the matter is that each DM decides what is regarded as good to use for their own campaign. However, for the purposes of this wiki, a baseline must be established, for a number of reasons:
- To provide contributors with an idea of which Greyhawk subjects fall within the scope of this wiki;
- To give fans and professional authors of Greyhawk an idea of how much value a source brings to the setting for their campaign;
- To provide a point of reference from which the majority of Greyhawk fans and writers can work from; and,
- To provide a context for the study of Greyhawk itself.
Therefore, for the purposes of this wiki, Greyhawk sources will fall into one of three broad descending categories—Officially Published Sources, as well as Apocrypha and Fanon. We do our best to always cite from officially published sources, and only use sources which are not wholly fan-created sources. Though there are occasionally sources which cross over these definitions, but we do our best to keep to content confirmed by official material from the IP holder. Note that it may be possible for a source to "straddle" two categories. Note also that a source's category is not always reflective of its inherent quality (though there is often a correlation)—there is plenty of well-written fanon, and some few poorly written official sources exist, as well.
Wiki's purpose
There is, and always has been debate about "canon", and for that reason, this wiki does its best to avoid furthering that debate. Whether one DM or another chooses to use any particular source in their own game is for that DM and their players to decide. All this wiki does is provide information about available official content (and some semi-official content).
This wiki's purpose is to define a "baseline" for Greyhawk fans to use. The wiki generally favors officially published content over fan-created content, and we do our best to include citations or bibliographical citation from official material from the IP holder.
"The World of Greyhawk™ Fantasy Setting is yours now, to do with as you wish. ... tailor the world to suit the needs of your players. ... It is your world—welcome to it!"
—Steve Winter and Allan Hammack, The World of Greyhawk (1983)[1]
The Great Library of Greyhawk wiki does not differentiate between edition or era; it records and archives material from all officially published sources from the IP holder, the publisher, and their licensees. This wiki does not decide what Greyhawk should be—the Dungeon Master and players are the ones who gets to make it their own by deciding if they use the Greyhawk Wars material or not, if From the Ashes is right for them, or if they like what's in the Chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master's Guide (2024). We cover everything from 576 CY (and before) to 598 CY and beyond. We focus on Greyhawk as a setting, not telling others what to do with it.
Officially Published Sources ("canon")
In general, this category includes adventures and sourcebooks published for the mass market and approved by the IP holder at the time of publication (ie, TSR or Wizards of the Coast), that are of significant value to the setting. This also includes materials that the IP holder releases via the web, as well as materials that were regarded as "generic" when first published, but retconned into Greyhawk by later authors. "Significant value," in this case, is broadly defined. A safe bet is that if the product as a whole is not written off by the IP holder, then it's probably official. Note that this category may also include many general Dungeons & Dragons sources that may include only a minimal amount of Greyhawk material. For those sources, only the content which directly pertains to Greyhawk is being labeled. Not all content in a generic source is automatically official for Greyhawk just because the material regarding Greyhawk is considered official.
Examples of Officially Published Sources
- All official Greyhawk setting sourcesbooks
- Defenders of the Faith
- The Doomgrinder
- Most Dragon articles
- Most Dungeon adventures
- From the Ashes
- Ivid the Undying
- Living Greyhawk Gazetteer
- Living Greyhawk Journal
- Patriots of Ulek
- Queen of the Spiders
- Sword and Fist
- The Shackled City
- Tomb of the Lizard King
- Greyhawk Trading Cards
Apocrypha
Apocryphal sources include those approved or published by the IP holder that are of limited value to the setting, or made available to a limited audience. This includes novels, comics, RPGA adventures, and some materials produced for the Living Greyhawk campaign.
In some officially published sources, the setting material is entirely official, but the plot, storyline, or events which occur therein are exclusive only to that novel, graphic novel, adventure, etc. This is similar to when a DM runs an officially published adventure, but, the way particular events play out in their game may be different than others' events. Or, the DM (or author) may create other non-official details. Also included in this category are materials that were created for the IP holder, but wound up being cut from the final product, either due to space limitations or other concerns. Additionally, unofficial materials with distinct Greyhawk references (similar maps, place names, etc) authored by published Greyhawk writers may also be regarded as apocryphal.
Examples of Apocrypha
| Product Name | Category | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Dungeons & Dragons: In the Shadow of Dragons | Authorized by IP holder | Comic series by Kenzer& Co.; Setting is official; Events occur in its own continuity |
| Vecna: Hand of the Revenant | Authorized by IP holder | Graphic Novel; Setting is official; Events occur in its own continuity |
| Artifact of Evil | Published by IP holder | Novel; Setting is official; Events occur in its own continuity |
| Master Wolf | Published by IP holder | Novel; Setting is official; Events occur in its own continuity |
| Quag Keep | Published by IP holder | Novel; Setting is official; Events occur in its own continuity |
| Night Watch | Published by IP holder | Novel; Setting is official; Events occur in its own continuity |
| White Plume Mountain | Published by IP holder | Novel; Setting is official; Events occur in its own continuity |
| Dance of Demons | Published Greyhawk Author | Novel; Gary Gygax, Events occur on an alternate Oerth |
| The Good Oerth: The Green Nightmare | Published Greyhawk Author | Roger E. Moore |
| Maze of Zayene | Published Greyhawk Author | Rob Kuntz |
| "Vecna's Realm" | Published Greyhawk Author | Erik "Iquander" Mona |
| Some Oerth Journal articles | Published Greyhawk Authors | Various |
| All that Glitters | Published by IP holder | Not originally set in Greyhawk, Retconned |
| To the Aid of Falx | Published by IP holder | Only Available to RPGA Members |
| Child's Play | Published by IP holder | Parody/Whimsical |
| Gargoyle | Published by IP holder | Parody/Whimsical |
| Puppets | Published by IP holder | Parody/Whimsical |
| Castle Greyhawk adventure | Specifically written off by IP Holder[2][note 1] | Parody/Whimsical |
Fan-Produced Sources (Fanon)
This classification describes unofficial Greyhawk material which is neither approved nor published by the IP holder, and is typically created by fans. Subjects and events exclusive to fanon tend to be of limited use for this wiki because they are often specific to home campaigns, though elements of some materials originally created as fanon may eventually become canon when an author "goes pro" and incorporates these elements into an official product. Of course, it's a safe bet that much canon originally began as fanon. Subjects and events exclusive to fanon should be carefully evaluated before inclusion, but articles about some popular fanon sources may be included. Being fan-produced should be explicitly and clearly stated in both the article and in citations.
Examples of Fanon
- All DMsGuild content by self-published fan authors or from creators unlicensed by the IP holder.
- Most Canonfire! articles
- Most Oerth Journal articles
- Maps by Anna Meyer at GHmaps.net — due to the high quality of art and research to create her maps, this wiki uses Meyer's maps on some pages, despite being fan-created material, as long as they are congruent with official maps.
- Nodwick by Aaron Williams
- Downer (comic strip) by Kyle Hunter
References
Notes
- ↑ In The Adventure Begins, the IP holder stated, "do not use WG7 Castle Greyhawk!"[3]—explaining that the parody version of the ruins of Castle Greyhawk were considered non-canonical. "(Note: WG7 Castle Greyhawk [TSR #9222, 1988] is a comedy version of this dungeon, not for use in a straightforward and serious Greyhawk campaign.") Further defined by giving replacement instructiohns: "Disregard references to WG7 Castle Greyhawk [...] instead, use WGR1 Greyhawk Ruins."[4]
Citations
- ↑ World of Greyhawk (1983), p.2, Glossography
- ↑ The Adventure Begins (1998), p.4.
- ↑ The Adventure Begins (1998), p.77.
- ↑ The Adventure Begins (1998), p.3.