Well, I have been trying to immerse my AOW campaign in greyhawk but I am hitting some real snag points. I just find greyhawk so complicated.
I have the Living Greyhawk Gazeteer but it has toooo much info and not the simple info you want. I also have the map from dungeons (the four part) which conveniently is absent of borders or roads... great.
With this info I have been unable to find what the king of the duchy of urnst actually rules (his name is Karl)? Is he the king of the hole duchy? Including Greyhawk City? What about the Duchy? Or does he just appoint a ruler there.. Regarding Alhaster, is Prince Zeech the prince of a territory or just the city? Does he have a king that is above him? What about Iuz? Isn't this in the area that he is supposed to rule?
Anyways I know this is mostly my fault, I could read for weeks if I wanted every detail. All I am really looking for is some info about the areas around greyhawk city and the lands AOW leads into, but I am finding it hard to find.
</End rant>
Greyhawk can be complicated at times, especially if you haven't been following it for years. (Anyone want to explain Ringland to me?)
I love the Living Greyhawk Gazeteer, but it does lack simple things like an index, a listing of deities by culture, racial bonuses for the various elves, for example.
As for who runs what:
The Duchy of Urnst and the County of Urnst continue to be separate nations, each with their own rulers and distinct governments, and neither govern Greyhawk.
Greyhawk remains a Free City governed by a Lord Mayor, elected by the governing oligarchy. The Cairn Hills, where Diamond Lake is, were ceded to Greyhawk in CY 584 (AoW -11).
I played up the fact that the hills used to belong to the Duchy of Urnst, and some of the mine mangers still smuggle out some of their ore that way, paying tribute to old ties.
There are several Greyhawk experts on the boards, including Erik Mona, and Rexx, so hopefully they can fill in some of the nitty-gritty for you (or us), or provide links to useful sites.
Ok, to the top right of DL is the county of Urnst, to the right is the Duchy. Neither of these control DL or Greyhawk city.... Right?
To the left is Furyondy, (do any AOW advetnures take place in this region?)
To the North is the Empire of Iuz and the shield lands. Alhaster is in the shield lands? Does Prince Zeech have anything to do with Iuz? I am looking for a way to have Iuz, or his minions at least make an appearance in my campaign.
Also to the left is Celene (Which I am currently reading about in Gord the Rogue book 2). Nothing in AOW occurs here I assume...
Ok, to the top right of DL is the county of Urnst, to the right is the Duchy. Neither of these control DL or Greyhawk city.... Right?
Correct.
To the left is Furyondy, (do any AOW advetnures take place in this region?)
Also correct. None of the AoW takes place in Furyondy. At least none of it so far...
To the North is the Empire of Iuz and the shield lands. Alhaster is in the shield lands? Does Prince Zeech have anything to do with Iuz? I am looking for a way to have Iuz, or his minions at least make an appearance in my campaign.
The Shield Lands fell to the armies of Iuz during the Greyhawk Wars. I think Alhaster is actually part of the Bandit Kingdoms which are technically controlled by Iuz. I could be wrong about it being a part of the Bandit Kingdoms though. Prince Zeech doesn't have any formal ties to Iuz as far as I can tell. I suppose if you want to connect him to the Old One, you could have one of Zeech's party guests be a spy from Iuz, or an agent from Iuz in town on official business. Maybe even both?
Also to the left is Celene (Which I am currently reading about in Gord the Rogue book 2). Nothing in AOW occurs here I assume...
The only thing from Celene so far in the AoW is the the mine manager Moonmeadow.
M@
To the North is the Empire of Iuz and the shield lands. Alhaster is in the shield lands? Does Prince Zeech have anything to do with Iuz? I am looking for a way to have Iuz, or his minions at least make an appearance in my campaign.
Let's see if I remember this well:
Zeech, as the rightful ruler of Redhand, cut ties with the other Shield Land "nations" before the Greyhawk Wars. When Iuz's forces came through he didn't rally his troops to help the Shield Lands fight, and simply yielded his lands to Iuz.
Zeech was left in control of Redhand, with his capitol in Alhaster, but he pretty much reports to one of Iuz's priest-generals who sees over the area from another city (I forget the name) north of Alhaster.
So, if you want to include references to Iuz, he has his priests and generals throughout the Bandit Kingdoms. The first best chance to use them would be in Prince of Redhand, though it would be foolish for the PCs to mix it up with them at this point.
By the end of the AP, if the PCs take control of Alhaster, they will have to contend with Iuz's forces and try to make ammends with the neighboring nations, making up for the deeds of Zeech. At that point, they will be 21st level or higher, and you will have lots of opportunities to throw Iuz into the mix.
|
Hi Hanexs,
One thing I found really handy was getting "The Doomgrinder" pdf. It is a 2nd ed. module that takes place in the Cairn Hills. It has an excellent map of the area - far better for the Age of Worms than the ones in Dungeon (excellent as they were).
I found this along with the Gazeteer enough so that I felt confident where everything was in the area. If you get some additional Greyhawk pdf's (The Adventure Begins, From the Ashes and the Greyhawk Players Guide) you will find that you have more than enough info on the area for minimal investment.
Best Regards
Herremann the Wise
Zeech, as the rightful ruler of Redhand, cut ties with the other Shield Land "nations" before the Greyhawk Wars. When Iuz's forces came through he didn't rally his troops to help the Shield Lands fight, and simply yielded his lands to Iuz.
This is mostly correct, in the Greyhawk City boxed set which came between the old WoG boxed set and From the Ashes boxed set. It was the Horned Society that invaded and mostly conquered the Shield Lands. I think there is some discrepency over when and how Iuz took control of the Shield Lands but he primarily subsumed leadership of the Horned Society by offing the Hierarchs and replacing them with fiends. Right before this the Knights of the Holy Shielding had launched a campaign to retake the Shield Lands which was beaten back once Iuz forces combined with the remnants of the Horned Society and attacked again. I don't remember the exact dates for this it was all right before and during 582CY.
Zeech himself was once a Knight within the Shield Lands and basically allowed the Horned Society and their allies within the Bandit Kingdoms to overrun that area without lifting a finger. When he reverted from worshipping Heironeous to Hextor is probably not set in stone. He nominally reports to Iuz's lackeys but its debatable how much control Iuz exerts in such a chaotic area as the Bandit Kingdoms and it certainly wouldn't be strange if the party runs afoul of Iuz's minions during their time in Alhaster. Rookroost and Stoink are of far higher importance to Iuz.
Learning a new campaign world is a daunting task :)
Short and sweet summary of Redhand's recent history and situation is on LGG p. 27. If you want the bigger picture, read over the general info on the bandit kingdoms (pp. 25-32) and Empire of Iuz (pp. 60-63). Zeech was one of the many petty lords in the Shield Lands, who switched sides to join the loose alliance of the "Combination of Free Lords" (Bandit Kingdoms) in 577. When Iuz invaded in 583, he submitted and was allowed to keep his domain. At present, Iuz's forces in the Bandit Lands are in a state of disarray (being CE and all), with rival generals vying for the Old One's favor rather than cooperating to keep their master's empire intact. Alhaster is peripheral to Iuz's larger plans, so he leaves it alone as long as Zeech remains outwardly submissive--theoretically a quartet of clerics in Balmund, which used to be the capital of another petty Bandit Kingdom northeast of Alhaster.
The Free City of Greyhawk (LGG 51-52) is a powerful city state, sort of like Venice or Florence in medieval/renaissance Italy. It is run by a powerful mayor elected by an oligarchy of guild heads, and is an important trade center. It exercises dominance over several smaller city-states to the south, and also controls the mineral rich Cairn Hills to the east, including Diamond Lake and the area around Tenser/Manzorian's castle. (Nobody messes with Tenser, but he hasn't tried to set himself up as an independent sovereign ruler either). The Cairn Hills were once claimed by the Duchy of Urnst (ruled by a sovereign and independent Duke, not a king), but Urnst signed a treaty acknowledging Greyhawk's sovereignty over this territory. (There is still some tension over this border, I think--and I don't recall what led to Urnst signing away its rights in the area--maybe something to do with negotiations to end the Greyhawk Wars).
Greyhawk: the Adventure begins (pdf available on this site) has an excellent map of the area around Greyhawk and a passable map of the Free City itself (part of the middle didn't get scanned in, but it's good enough to get a general idea of the layout), as well as a detailed district by district overview of the city. I've not been able to dig up much more on Alhaster than what is presented in LGG and in the town overview accompanying Prince of Redhand.
Hope this helps. You might want to dig up an earlier thread on Redhand where I asked editor James some detailed questions about Alhaster and Zeech, but it's probably not necessary unless you want to get into the nitty-gritty.
"The Doomgrinder" pdf
Where can I get this?
Was it in a issue of dungeon?
I may allready have that issue.
One of the players in my campaign wants to buy a magic item
called a "Horned Helmet".
What if this one belonged to one of the murdered lords?
Will the sight of it cheese off a representitive of Iuz?
From playing Living Greyhawk before I hear Iuz has too much
to worry about to try to control the Bandit Kingdoms.
"The Doomgrinder" pdf
Where can I get this?
Was it in a issue of dungeon?
I may allready have that issue.The Doomgrinder is a Greyhawk adventure released in the 90s, when Greyhawk was getting revamped. It's available for download from the Paizo website under '2nd Edition modules'. Only $4 per pdf or any size, so it's a great resource.
Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
|
The most important part about this thread to remember is that the nitty gritty details of how the Adventure Path fits into the established Greyhawk setting is a very, very minor part of what makes the Adventure Path work. The whole thing is a framework for you to build your own stories, and fill in some of the background material as you see fit.
However, the adventures do fit within a previously established context quite well, but it's important not to let the details get in the way of the fun and the D&D.
In that spirit, the only thing of substance I wish to add to the current discussion is that I am pretty sure the retreat of Urnst's borders in recent years covered only the easternmost Cairn Hills, and did not include Diamond Lake or its neighboring communities.
Exactly the sort of detail not to obsess over, but there you have it.
--Erik
|
Timeline for Redhand:
300's: Shield Lands formed to counter threat of Bandit Kingdoms.
550 - 570 CY: Heavy skirmishes between the Shield Lands (which include Redhand) and the Horned Society.
577 CY: Redhand breaks from Shield Lands and becomes independant, effectively a Bandit Kingdom. Zeech converts from Heironeous to Hextor. (How this happened remains a mystery. Perhaps Zeech had aid from the Horned Society.)
579 CY: Horned Society invades Shield Lands. By 581 CY, all but the city of Critwall have fallen. (Mayhaps the independance of Redhand contributed to the fall of the Shield Lands.)
582 - 584 CY: Greyhawk Wars started by the demigod Iuz.
583 CY: Empire of Iuz takes out Bandit Kingdoms followed by Horned Society. Some Bandit Kings fight and lose, others, like Zeech, surrender and remain in power.
586 - 588 CY: Great Northern Crusade. Furyondy and Veluna join forces and free most of the Shield Lands from the forces of Iuz.
597 CY: 20th anniversery of Zeech's rule as descibed in "Prince of Redhand".
It's not here with me now, but I think the geography/politics covered in The Marklands overlaps a lot of the region important to AoW. Someone should correct me if I'm mistaken.
Presumably it can be had cheap ($5?) in pdf format.
Good Luck,
Jack
579 CY: Horned Society invades Shield Lands. By 581 CY, all but the city of Critwall have fallen. (Mayhaps the independance of Redhand contributed to the fall of the Shield Lands.)
Thanks for that impressive timeline, Hagen.
I disagree only with the point I quoted above: If Redhand would have been critical to the survival of the Shield Lands, there probably would have been a pronounced reaction to Zeech declaring himself independent. As it stands, the Shield Lands did not react at all or at least not very strongly.Stefan
|
|
It's not here with me now, but I think the geography/politics covered in The Marklands overlaps a lot of the region important to AoW. Someone should correct me if I'm mistaken.
"The Marklands" details the kingdoms of Furyondy and Nyrond. The Bandit Kingdoms are somewhat detailed in "Iuz the Evil". However, that book contains no information on Redhand, Alhaster, or Zeech.
Other books which contain info on regions from AoW: "City of Greyhawk", "From the Ashes", and "Greyhawk: the Adventure Begins" are good sources for Diamond Lake, the Cairn Hills, and the Free City. "The Scarlet Brotherhood" has a chapter on the Amedio Jungle. And "Iuz the Evil" has a few pages on the Rift Canyon.
|
|
I disagree only with the point I quoted above: If Redhand would have been critical to the survival of the Shield Lands, there probably would have been a pronounced reaction to Zeech declaring himself independent. As it stands, the Shield Lands did not react at all or at least not very strongly.
Stefan
You are most probably correct. However, I have a hard time imagining Zeech sitting by and letting the Horned Society invade the Shield Lands without doing anything. After all, the Shield Lands' main religion was that of Heironeous. Maybe troops from Redhand joined with those of the Horned Society. Maybe the Shield Lands could have prevented Redhand's separation except that they were too weak after years of skirmishing with the Horned Society.
Either way, it sure would be nice to know exactly what happened twenty years ago and caused Zeech's "downfall". It might make for an interesting prelude.
Thanks Erik for the clarification on Cairn Hills boundary disputes and Hagen for new sources on Amedio jungle and the Rift.
"The Scarlet Brotherhood" has a chapter on the Amedio Jungle.
I love the book as a whole, but I'm having a hard time using the info on the Amedio Jungle with AoW.
I think my problem stems from running Shackled City as a "Forgotten Realms-friendly" campaign. Plus, the location of Cauldron near the Almedio Jungle was done retro-actively, and the encounter tables and description of the local towns and settlements don't seem to mesh well with the descriptions from The Scarlet Brotherhood.
The adventure doesn't really invite exploring outside the Spire itself, so it doesn't have to come into play at all, but does anyone have any suggestions on how to play up any jungle encounters using The Scarlet Brotherhood as a reference?
Personally, I tend to think it likely that Zeech's fall from grace probably began with the Horned Society invasion. Since the current Greyhawk year is 596, I posit that Zeech was probably in power in Redhand by 576, and broke with the Shield Lands in 577 to partake in the raids with the Horned Society, who probably provided him with the atonement to worship Hextor (they are mostly Nerullites but have a significant Hextorite minority).
One thing that has confused me a bit about the way the Prince of Redhand has been presented is the paucity of references to Iuz. I realize that a CE demigod who has an empire on the Material Plane probably isn't too common in many other worlds and hence wouldn't fit a "generic" writing method Paizo is going for, but I'd think a Greyhawk "conversion" appendix, possibly in a web enhancement, to explain how the Iuzian factions are caught up in the Age of Worms, might be a cool thing to have. Not that I can't (and won't) come up with it myself, but I'm just interested to see what Erik and crew's take on the situation would be.
People have pretty well covered the surroundings of Greyhawk and Diamond Lake. I can add a bit more info about Redhand. Officially, the realm is known as the Principality of Redhand, although its status as a Principality is self-declared and not recognized by any other sovereign nation (unless you count Iuz). It is Zeech's ego that leads him to style himself a prince.
Although Balmund is the regional capital, Iuz's nearest garrison of soldiers is in Trallant, a day or so's ride south of Balmund on the Artonsomay. This garrison is run by Commander Marionnen, a cambion (half-fiend) of a disagreeable personality. Some of you might be pleased to know that an old Dragon article might be of use in describing Marionnen. Although his service is in Iuz's army, his true loyalty lies to Pazrael (aka Pazuzu from the Demonomicon article). He only works for Iuz as long as Pazrael and Iuz agree to cooperate. This is a tenuous relationship (between Iuz and Pazrael) and it could shatter any moment over the slightest thing but the integration of Pazrael's troops into Iuz's armies on the Material Plane and vice versa for Iuz's troops in Pazrael's abyssal realm of Torremor means the two have much to gain from cooperation and much to lose if either turns on the other since each would be in a unique situation to implement mass sabotage.
Whether or not this can be of use to you campaign is for you to decide. One thing is certain in my mind. Marionnen will not sit idle if Redhand's new ruler does not swear fealty to Iuz. Marionnen actually wishes to establish his own empire on the Material Plane and would probably be so inclined to claim Redhand as his own fief (or kingdom!) should the opportunity arise.
Zeech's own military hasn't been elaborated on since Dragon #67 (IIRC). It's the July 1982 issue at any rate. Zeech's army as of the spring of 579 CY consisted of a mere 100 cavalry and 300 infantry, easily the most insignificant military of all the Bandit Kingdoms. Iuz's forces in Balmund as of 596 numbered around 800 infantry (orcs, humans, and goblins in that order) with numerous undead, fiends, priests, wizards, and giants augmenting the force. The garrison at Trallant is even more sizable. 1,050 infantry (mostly hobgoblins and goblins) as well as a similar motley crue of undead, spellcasters and other monsters. Needless to say, unless there was a huge siphoning of these troops between 586 and 596 (which is quite possible given the scale of the Great Northern Crusade), Zeech's military is probably still quite inferior to Iuz's. He probably has an advantage in order and discipline however since his troops are all human and he is of a lawful bent himself.
Zeech's own military hasn't been elaborated on since Dragon #67 (IIRC). It's the July 1982 issue at any rate.
Its Issue #63(July ´82), p. 14, "Where the bandits are". It is one page with a map of the Bandit territories, the names, classes and levels of the rulers, and the troops of each territory.
There is a pointer to dragon #56 (Dec ´81), in which in "From the Sorcerers Scroll" it is stated on page 27, that "...,but the usual number of river raiders and buccaneers from Redhand plied the waters. Prince Zeech´s ships and galleys actually staged a major action against the Duchy of Urnst, managing to slip in through the easternmost portion of the Cairn Hills, loot and pillage, and then escape with their gains." This is given for CY 578, if I read that correctly. The phrase "... the USUAL number of..." caught my eye. This does not sound like something happening the year after a former lord of the Shield Lands seceded and turned to evil, rather like an action occurring once again from a whole series of like incidents.But this can be one of the usual contradictions not all that uncommon within Greyhawk material... (Iuz´ imprisonment by Zagyg, anyone?) It is a rather obscure minor source, and surely open to interpretation, so no one needs to bother with that.:-)
Stefan
thanks everyone for this. I am certainly going to print this off and use it as a resource...
A couple last things, I cant find the Spire of Long Shadows on my greyhawk map (or Cauldron for that matter). Anyone got tips for me to pinpoint it? (I am using the dungeon magazine maps, as well as the LGG maps).
By the way, does Vecna have anything to do with this area? How could he fit in this campaign? (To incoporporate with his hand...)
thanks everyone for this. I am certainly going to print this off and use it as a resource...
A couple last things, I cant find the Spire of Long Shadows on my greyhawk map (or Cauldron for that matter). Anyone got tips for me to pinpoint it? (I am using the dungeon magazine maps, as well as the LGG maps).
Spire of Long Shadows/Kuluth-Mar ruins do not appear on either the map that comes with LGG or the big 4 part map of the Flanaess issued with last year's Dungeon issues. It is somewhere in the Amedio Jungle. I'm placing it just off the map, south of Lake Matreyus, suitably isolated from any civilized outposts in the region. I figure no human or demihuman tribes (freckled Suloise barbarians and wild elves, in my GH) venture within 100 miles of the place, due to its extremely evil reputation.
Cauldron appears in the SW section of the 4 part map, just inland from the southern shore of Jeklea Bay, near where the Amedio Jungle meets the Hellfurnaces. I'm not sure whether the Scarlet Brotherhood, which is the main power in the area and has several outposts on the coast of the Amedio Jungle, has any influence in Cauldron, as I've not read any of the "Shackled City" material.
I'm still deciding whether to have my party teleport down to Kuluth-Mar as the AP assumes, or use a different mode of transport. I may use some kind of airship, or a magical vehicle that uses one of the transitive planes, to cut down on the "beam me up Scotty" factor, and to add an interesting encounter or two. (A skybleeder or something might be interesting). Return of the Eight mentions that Tenser has a magical ship that travels through the ethereal plane, which I think is detailed more in "Isle of the Ape"--I may have Tenser send them by this method, or change it slightly so that it uses the plane of shadow instead. (A seagoing "plane of shadow" encounter could be really cool. Umbral krakens, anyone?)
|
I stumbled upon some mention of the Scarlet Brotherhood's involvement (lack there of, mostly) in Cauldron using the lovely *Search* tool. I don't remember the details but another search should produce similar results.
As an aside, in my Scarlet Brotherhood game I'm running concurrently with my Age of Worms campaign, the PC's current mission is to seek out the Spire of Long Shadows. Unfortunately, the Shari's information is suggesting the ruin is on Hepmonaland. With a little work and luck, the Scarlet Cell may actually find the Spire about the time that my AoW game arrives there. This should prove to be an interesting "encounter" as I invite both groups to one massive gaming session!
Hi Big Jake! Thank you for the compliment though I still aspire to become a "true" Greyhawk "geek". I'd only consider myself a journeyman while Mr. Mona has reached Epic levels.
By the way, does Vecna have anything to do with this area? How could he fit in this campaign? (To incoporporate with his hand...)
In WGA 4 Vecna Lives, is is speculated that Vecna´s tower could have been situated somewhere within the Nyr Dyv. The lake may or may not have existed at that time. I have read somewhere that Vecna´s empire might have been situated on the northern shore of the Nyr Dyv, but I don´t recall the source.
Stefan
Timeline for Redhand:
597 CY: 20th anniversery of Zeech's rule as descibed in "Prince of Redhand".
The way I read PoRh, it's the anniversary of Zeech's rule, not the anniversary of when he broke from the Shield Lands. Looking at other clues in the adventure (such as how long some of the other lords have served Zeech, references to the Red Death, etc), I put the 20th anniversary at 595, so I'm assuming he came to power (as a Shield Lands lord) in 575 CY.
IMC, it looks like AoW is gonna go pretty fast in game time ("real time" is taking much longer--we started in July, & just last Friday began HoHR). The party went through the Whispering Cairn & 3 Faces in Reaping of 595, finished Encounter at Blackwall Keep in Goodmonth, & reached Greyhawk for Hall of Harsh Reflections in early Harvester. I'm going to have the Champion's Games fall during Brewfest, & a Gathering of Winds & Spire of Long Shadows will probably take place in Patchwall. I expect the party to reach Alhaster by Sunsebb of 595 for Zeech's celebration (for those unfamiliar with the Greyhawk calendar, check: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greyhawk_Calendar ).
Oh, & as for the original poster's unfamiliarity with Greyhawk, keep your eyes on Wikipedia--there's quite a bit of GH info on there, & more gets added every week. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Greyhawk
By the way, does Vecna have anything to do with this area? How could he fit in this campaign? (To incoporporate with his hand...)In WGA 4 Vecna Lives, is is speculated that Vecna´s tower could have been situated somewhere within the Nyr Dyv. The lake may or may not have existed at that time. I have read somewhere that Vecna´s empire might have been situated on the northern shore of the Nyr Dyv, but I don´t recall the source.
Stefan
See "Vecna's Realm" by Erik Mona on Canonfire!: http://www.canonfire.com/cfhtml/modules.php?name=News&file=article& sid=220
I haven't been keeping track of time.
I figure as this probably started in spring,
most modules take several days with a week off between
modules, the adventure path may be over before winter.
I have leveling up take place overnight like it does in
computer games.
What I need is to know where the city of Greyhawk is on
the big Greyhawk map.
Is it on the edge of Keoland or something?
I haven't been keeping track of time.
I figure as this probably started in spring,
most modules take several days with a week off between
modules, the adventure path may be over before winter.
I have leveling up take place overnight like it does in
computer games.
What I need is to know where the city of Greyhawk is on
the big Greyhawk map.
Is it on the edge of Keoland or something?
It's toward the center, south of the Nyr Dyv (the central lake).
|
Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
|
Oh, & as for the original poster's unfamiliarity with Greyhawk, keep your eyes on Wikipedia--there's quite a bit of GH info on there, & more gets added every week. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Greyhawk
Just yesterday I was noticing how much stuff you guys have been adding, lately. It is _very much_ appreciated.
--Erik
Since Vecna's home plane is the material plane, I have my own pet theory as the secret of where his tower is, and why nobody has found it.
There isn't one.
Vecna IS the Hand of Vecna. He's a demilich, and has long since surpassed the need for anything so primitive as the rest of a body. He kept the hand because he was too nostalgic for lichdom to completely give up his corporeal presence. Vecna truly IS a free hand required for spellcasting.
The Eye of Vecna is his familiar.
Oh, & as for the original poster's unfamiliarity with Greyhawk, keep your eyes on Wikipedia--there's quite a bit of GH info on there, & more gets added every week. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:GreyhawkJust yesterday I was noticing how much stuff you guys have been adding, lately. It is _very much_ appreciated.
--Erik
Thanks, Erik. Did you happen to notice your own entry?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Mona
Oh, & as for the original poster's unfamiliarity with Greyhawk, keep your eyes on Wikipedia--there's quite a bit of GH info on there, & more gets added every week. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Greyhawk
oh, really? ;)
glad you appreciate it Erik. i've also been busily peppering the online forums i visit regularly with wikipedia links - some things that i've worked on, some things that i just found cool.
After reading this thread, I got the idea to look to Wikipedia for adventure ideas. I set my browser up with a button that takes me to a random Wikipedia page, and on maybe the tenth click it brought me to "Diamond Lake (Greyhawk)"! What are the odds?
(very slim)
very slim indeed. i once tried it just to see how long it took me to get to any fictional topic at all (much less anything D&D) and i think it was about 15 clicks. ;)
FYI, there is at least basic info on the majority of WoG gods on wiki, and i'm adding a few more from time to time while Rob Bastard fills in the details.
FYI, there is at least basic info on the majority of WoG gods on wiki, and i'm adding a few more from time to time while Rob Bastard fills in the details.
Boz loves making work for me . :)
if you didn't love doing it, you wouldn't do it. :D
if you didn't love doing it, you wouldn't do it. :D
True, dat.
looks like Mike Selinker himself is contributing to the D&D articles now. :) well, at least adding categories to them. ;)
Great thread bursting with info for this new AoW DM! A hearty TY to each of you for posting all these "crunchy bits"; I know I should get hung up on the details but my plays absolutely love this type of "history".
I'm an old timer and have resisted going to 3.x for a long time but this AoW campaign was too tempting to leave alone. I'm going to advance a mixed bunch of fellow old timers and gen Xers past the GH Wars using AoW; this will be our first major campaign in 3.x rules. Wish me luck. :-)
Since Vecna's home plane is the material plane, I have my own pet theory as the secret of where his tower is, and why nobody has found it.
There isn't one.
Vecna IS the Hand of Vecna. He's a demilich, and has long since surpassed the need for anything so primitive as the rest of a body. He kept the hand because he was too nostalgic for lichdom to completely give up his corporeal presence. Vecna truly IS a free hand required for spellcasting.
The Eye of Vecna is his familiar.
Very interesting approach, Jonathan. IMC, he literally dwells inside peoples' whispered secrets. And if this location seems hard to conceive of, well, what can I say... he's a god, and his powers transcend our puny mortal minds!
To the North is the Empire of Iuz and the shield lands. Alhaster is in the shield lands? Does Prince Zeech have anything to do with Iuz? I am looking for a way to have Iuz, or his minions at least make an appearance in my campaign.
Before I started my AoW game, I wrote up a "recent history of Oaeth to give my players. It detailed general info on the greyhawk wars and other things about the world that anyone would know. I had price Zeech stage a revolt against Iuz 2 years before the game starts (something he did at the urging of Lashona). His revolt ignited a powderkeg of resentment against Iuz from the other Bandit Kingdoms, who also attacked. They defeated and drove out Iuz's armies easily (Iuz, through recent divinations, had learned some general details about the coming Age of Worms and Alhaser's role in it's advent, and decided he wanted nothing to do with the area, putting up only a token defense and redeploying his forces for a renewed attack on the reclaimed Sheild Lands and northern Furyondy). My plan is to have Iuz's interest swing back to the Bandit Kingdoms (especially Redhand) after - or rather if - my PC's defeat Kyuss and take control of the kingdom. I believe in the Prince of Redhand adventure it mentions an agent of Iuz amongst the guests at the party
Is there a resource for information about Greysmere and general dwarvenhood in Greyhawk? I found a small amount of fairly generic information in the LGG though I can't say that I've poured over the whole thing very thoroughly. It seems mostly to deal with human politics. Am I missing the right entry?
By the way, the doomgrinder map is excellent. I'm a sucker for maps and the $4 was well worth it to me. Thanks for the tip!
|
|
Is there a resource for information about Greysmere and general dwarvenhood in Greyhawk? I found a small amount of fairly generic information in the LGG though I can't say that I've poured over the whole thing very thoroughly. It seems mostly to deal with human politics. Am I missing the right entry?
There isn't much out there on Greyhawk dwarves. The City of Greyhawk boxed set has a one-page write-up on Greysmere. Additional information on Greysmere, Karakast, and Dumadan can also be found in the Player's Guide to Greyhawk.
|
CEO
|
Hey guys:
Just saw this thread. The Spire of Long Shadows shows up on the Cauldron region map on page 26 and page 28 of the Shackled City sourcebook. It looks like it is about 25 to 30 miles due northeast of Cauldron.
I hope that helps!
-Lisa
thanks everyone for this. I am certainly going to print this off and use it as a resource...
A couple last things, I cant find the Spire of Long Shadows on my greyhawk map (or Cauldron for that matter). Anyone got tips for me to pinpoint it? (I am using the dungeon magazine maps, as well as the LGG maps).
Spire of Long Shadows/Kuluth-Mar ruins do not appear on either the map that comes with LGG or the big 4 part map of the Flanaess issued with last year's Dungeon issues. It is somewhere in the Amedio Jungle. I'm placing it just off the map, south of Lake Matreyus, suitably isolated from any civilized outposts in the region. I figure no human or demihuman tribes (freckled Suloise barbarians and wild elves, in my GH) venture within 100 miles of the place, due to its extremely evil reputation.
Cauldron appears in the SW section of the 4 part map, just inland from the southern shore of Jeklea Bay, near where the Amedio Jungle meets the Hellfurnaces. I'm not sure whether the Scarlet Brotherhood, which is the main power in the area and has several outposts on the coast of the Amedio Jungle, has any influence in Cauldron, as I've not read any of the "Shackled City" material.
I'm still deciding whether to have my party teleport down to Kuluth-Mar as the AP assumes, or use a different mode of transport. I may use some kind of airship, or a magical vehicle that uses one of the transitive planes, to cut down on the "beam me up Scotty" factor, and to add an interesting encounter or two. (A skybleeder or something might be interesting). Return of the Eight mentions that Tenser has a magical ship that travels through the ethereal plane, which I think is detailed more in "Isle of the Ape"--I may have Tenser send them by this method, or change it slightly so that it uses the plane of shadow instead. (A seagoing "plane of shadow" encounter could be really cool. Umbral krakens, anyone?)