Sample file Oerth is but one world among many, separated either by the gulfs of space, the invisible ether, or the fragile veils of reality. The craft and persistence of magic defines the nature of Oerth. Throughout recorded his- tory, magical conflict and restoration have shaped this world. Some of these magic-driven events touch upon The GREYHAWK campaign depicts a magical land at the history of other worlds, and portals sometimes the crossroads of countless possibilities. The most open between Oerth and alien spheres. Few other fantastic of many worlds, Greyhawk's world of Oerth worlds boast the magical profundity of Oerth, and is a place where powerful creatures contest with many strange beings are found there, drawn by the lure humanity and other races, where good folk struggle of the supernatural. The majority of such entities make against evil, and Law wrestles with Chaos, Oerth is a their homes far from the sunlit skies of Oerth's surface, world of magic, mystery, and the imagination. preferring to live secretly in lightless caverns below, The gem of this world is the city of Greyhawk, a where they may thrive and plot unseen. teeming metropolis that attracts heroes and villains If the paths of the underworld are hidden from alike. Warriors, merchants, wizards, beggars, clerics, view, the wise may still turn their attention to the sages, and thieves fill its streets in search of high heavens. All know that the sun travels once around adventure. Oerth every 364 days, visiting the Twelve Lairs of the The GREYHAWK campaign centers on the Flanaess, Zodiac in an appointed round that never varies. The a multinational land emerging from a dark period of pale Great Moon, called Luna, waxes and wanes in war. Its people face each new day with growing opti- fixed cycles of 28 days each, upon which the months mism, but evil lurks in shadowed caverns and deca- are based. The aquamarine Lesser Moon, Celene, fol- dent courts. The final outcome of this intrigue is ever lows a path that reveals her full beauty but four times in question, and new heroes must always be found to each year, thus showing the time for civilized festivals. keep their realms from destruction. Both Mistress and Handmaiden, as the greater and The LIVING GREYHAWK™ Gazetteer is more than a guide to a world of fantasy and marvels. It is an intro- TABLE 1: STANDARD WEEK (FLANAESS) duction to a completely new concept in roleplaying Day Task games. The ROLE PLAYING GAME ASSOCIATION® Net- Starday Work work's LIVING GREYHAWK™ campaign is an immense Sunday Work game played out in regional events throughout the Moonday Work real world. This book provides more than enough Godsday Worship information to create a DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® cam- Waterday Work paign to last for years, but it also forms a common Earthday Work starting point for thousands of players who will shape Freeday Rest the future of Oerth in the RPGA® Network's interna- tional LIVING GREYHAWK campaign. Details on how to TABLE 2: DOZENMONTH OF LUNA AND THE FOUR FESTIVALS join this exciting campaign appear in the appendix. Common Elven Nomads Season Needfest Midwinter Fireseek Diamondice Tiger Winter Readying Yellowillow Bear Spring The world of GREYHAWK encompasses the Flanaess, Coldevert Snowflowers Lion Spring the easternmost portion of the vast continent of Growfest Oerik, on the sphere of Oerth. Scholars from the Planting Blossoms Frog Low Summer Flanaess are certain that Oerik is the greatest of Flocktime Violets Turtle Low Summer Oerth's four continents, and that four great oceans Wealsun Berrytime Fox Low Summer surround these lands, as do four layers of the heavens Richfest Midsummer and four depths of the underworld. Yet, even in this Reaping Goldfields Snake High Summer benighted age, almost nothing is known of the lands Goodmonth Sunflowers Boar High Summer Samplebeyond the Flanaess, and little is understood of the Harvester Fruitfallfile Squirrel High Summer regions above and below. Such knowledge is of small Brewfest importance, claim the high and the mighty, for Patchwall Brightleaf Hare Autumn clearly the lands around Greyhawk form the center Ready'reat Tinklingice Hawk Autumn of all enlightenment and civilization. Some folks Sunsebb Lacysnows Wolf Winter question this assumption, and they yearn to explore their world and its challenges. Each month has 28 days. Each festival is seven days long. lesser moons of Oerth are also known, are held to be The Flanaess can be divided into nine broadly defined worlds in their own right, though few claim to have geopolitical territories, most of which coincide with met any visitors from those lofty realms (or, for that old national identities that once dominated those matter, to have visited those alien worlds personally). regions. The exception here is the southern region of isolated lands, some of which are not part of the Climate and Seasons Flanaess proper (for example, Hepmonaland). The Flanaess is exceptionally blessed in regard to its weather. Outside of the northern latitudes, the winter Baklunish West (former Baklunish Empire) temperatures seldom fall below freezing, except during Survivors of the Invoked Devastation settled these the two winter months, and at night during early temperate prairies, forests, and coastal lands about spring and late autumn. In the depths of winter come one thousand years ago. Largely separated from the a few days when the temperature reaches the freezing rest of the Flanaess by the great Yatils, Barrier Peaks, point, then gradual warming begins. The northeast and Crystalmist Mountains, these realms are a strong- and north-central regions tend to be considerably hold of Baklunish culture. colder, for the seas of those regions cause winter to linger about twice as long as it does in the heartland Bitter North ("Old Blackmoor") of the Flanaess. An important exception to this is the The lands north of the Yatil Mountains, from the Dramidj Ocean, whose strange, warm currents mod- Dramidj coast to the Dulsi River, make up the Bitter erate the climate of the lands that border it. North. The climate in this region of steppes and Autumn, winter, and spring are rather short sea- coniferous forests varies from cool to frigid, making sons, but summer in the central Flanaess lasts five or this a sparsely settled area home mostly to nomads, more months. Prevailing winds are from the north- orcs, and goblins, except in Perrenland. east in the winter and autumn, and the east and south- east at other times. Most areas of the Flanaess have Western Nyr Dyv ("Old Ferrond") sufficient rainfall to assure abundant crops. The lands from the Nyr Dyv to the Yatils are an old stronghold of Good in the Flanaess. Humans of Geographic Divisions Oeridian and Flan descent, dwarves, and elves con- The focal point of the GREYHAWK setting is the tribute to the vigor of these nations. The rich soil and Flanaess, with the city of Greyhawk near its center. the pleasant climate, combined with healthy trade Sample file Oerik The modern Flanaess is defined by the great migrations of the Oeridian, Baklunish, and Suloise races of humanity. relations with their neighbors to the east, south and Old Aerdy West ("Old Nyrond") west, make this a strong and wealthy region. These lands between the eastern Nyr Dyv and the line marked by the southern Rakers are temperate Sheldomar Valley ("Old Keoland") and fertile. Folk of Oeridian, Suloise and Flan her- The fertile Sheldomar Valley is almost completely itage dwell in relative harmony here. This area was enclosed by mountains until it reaches the Azure Sea. once yeah, part of the Oeridian-dominated Great Two great rivers, the Sheldomar and the Javan, water Kingdom, but it broke away to become the kingdom these lands between the Crystalmists and the Lort- of Nyrond (now reduced in size). mils. The climate here is warm and mild, and many elves, dwarves, gnomes, and halflings live in peace Old Aerdy East (former Great Kingdom) alongside Suel, Oeridian, and Flan farmers and lords. The lands south and east of the Rakers and north of the Vast Swamp, off to the Solnor coast, were once Empire of luz ("Northern Reaches") the heartland of Aerdy, the Great Kingdom. These The evil demigod Iuz has expanded his territory from lands are rich and their climate pleasant, though long his original realm north of Lake Whyestil to include years of civil war and oppression have damaged the most of the land from the western edge of the Vesve economy. Many orcs and goblinoid races live among Forest across the north-central Flanaess to the cur- the numerous, warlike Oeridians here. rent war zone of Tenh. These lands are generally wilderness dotted with ruined human towns and Isolated Realms active orc lairs, with a cool to temperate climate. These strange lands include the deadly Sea of Dust, the jungles of the Amedio and Hepmonaland, the Tilvanot Thillonrian Peninsula Peninsula, and many islands along the eastern coast. SampleThese regions are filelittle known to most inhabitants of the ("Barbarian North") This isolated, mountainous region at the northeast- Flanaess. People of Suloise descent are found through ern edge of the Flanaess is home to many barbarians. out, particularly on the Tilvanot Peninsula, but other These northern Suel call their land Rhizia, which has races of humanity are also present (for example, the dark a ruggedly beautiful landscape of high mountains, Touv of Hepmonaland). Most of these southern regions coniferous forests, and deep fjords. The climate is are hot and suffer frequent storms. Hepmonaland is actu- subarctic, with rocky soil and a brief growing season. ally a minor continent, the smallest of the four on Oerth. widespread in their culture, and trade and explo- ration are major pursuits.