Greyhawk Season 2: Multiverse Wiki

## Greyhawk

Greyhawk is a setting written by Gary Gygax based loosely on the north eastern region of North America. The setting takes it's name from a powerful sovereign city which grew from a minor Trading Post due to the actions of his and his friends' adventuring party. It is, however, best known as the generic D&D setting used for Wizards of the Coast's Third Edition books. Greyhawk is more than just a generic setting with an atlas, however. There are histories created by Gary Gygax and his players involving several distinct human ethnic groups and the humanoids they share the Flanaess with.

The world of Greyhawk is known as Oerth, pronounced as though one had a strong Brooklyn accent, which shows how serious Gygax was about his game. Most play took place on the continent of Oerik, in the plains of the Flanaess, named for the indigenous people who originally dwelt there. Four other continents exist, but see little direct development (though settings of Gygax's friends were commonly absorbed as some non-Oerik location on Oerth). What began as an insignificant Trading Post, quickly became an important city as the ascended mad demigod Iuz rampaged across the Flanaess in his bid for power and control of Oerth.

The humans of Oerik are now a mixture of six major ethnic groups--the desert-hailing Baklunish horse nomads, the indigenous Flan, the warlike and tempermental Oeridians, the jungle dwelling fallen Olman of Hepmonaland, the itinerant Rhennee and proud Suloise. These ethnic groups were once distinct empires and tribes, but have mixed and intermarried since the fall of the Baklunish Empire, Suel Imperium and the civil wars and infighting which spelled the end of the Olmans' mighty jungle civilization.

The many kingdoms of the plains of the Flanaess plot and vie for control and influence, while The Scarlet Brotherhood pursue an agenda of Suloise Human Supremacy.

The current year is 900 CY. The Baklunish-Suloise Wars ended roughly 1321 years ago in the Twin Cataclysms. Zagig Yragerne, of the company of Seven who were integral in the growth of Greyhawk, was elected Mayor of the Free City of Greyhawk 580 years ago, and inherited control of Hardby, becoming Despot, 561 years ago, then relinquished the title in 651 CY. 479 years ago, in 421 CY, Yragerne failed to show for a meeting of Greyhawk's Directing Council, and seemed to have given up his position there as well, ending the madness he was slowly pushing onto the city, but leaving the legacy of having stabilized it and made it prosperous before his mind began to slip.

After Yragerne de facto abdicated his position, the Directing Council began two centuries of corruption after the golden age he ushered in before going mad. A series of mayors--at some point retitled Patricians by one who desired a more illustrious title--turned the Freehold of Greyhawk into their personal banks, toychests or both. Although ostensibly the freehold is an oligarchy, in practice, so long as the guild leaders who make up the Council are not bothered, the Mayor, now Patrician, can do as they wish. As a result, for two hundred years, the Council and other aristocrats of Greyhawk got richer and their lifestyles soared, while the common person's life plummeted into the gutter like a drunk given rotgut. Come about 70 years later, after the worst of the patricians, a revolution, an assassination, and a patrician who, though elected because he seemed to be a vast improvement over those who came before, turned out to be just as mad, paranoid, and corrupt.

For the past 30 years, the Freehold of Greyhawk has been presided over the patrician Lord Moresina Barberan, who has... made the city work. One example is in their officially recognized the Thieves Guild, to much protest at the time, but in short order, people saw the value in having official thieves who were a part of the overall structure of the city. While many thought crime would run rampant, in fact, it has become... predictable. The guild ensures no one is stolen from more than once a month, issuing receipts that will turn aside later robbers, and means that the once dreadfully constant muggings, thefts, pocket pickings, and so on have become, essentially, a tax, albeit one that does not necessarily go to the city. The guild has also had to protect its claim, which means punishing thieves who are *not* a part of the guild. Many still grumble about the thieves guild, but any honest appraisal admits that things *are* better now.

As the freehold rolls like an oiled mill wheel, Lord Barberan now looks to the future, and how to bring it into the now.

## Greyhawk Season 2: Multiverse

The title of this campaign is in reference to a previous Greyhawk campaign I ran, which I had simply titled The Greyhawk Episodes, as I had decided I wanted a simple, episodic game, in a setting I didn't have to build from the ground up. This is much the same, though I will be altering Greyhawk to suit my liking more than I did before.

There is no, intended, connection between the previous game and this one, though, of course, I may decide to bring things back from it. But basically, don't worry about this technically being a "sequel" to a previous campaign. Especially since I've moved the timeline up 300 years.

### The Multiverse

Technically, it's implied that all D&D settings are part of a multiverse (and the further back you go, the less implicit and more explicit it is), but I've decided to take a more explicit direction. It won't be a major thing, it just gives me the freedom to pull in things from other settings as I desire or have ideas, and means that player characters can come from other settings if people have ideas.

That said, the less I have to worry about making sure something is balanced, the more open I am to it. Ie, a Jedi character made with standard D&D stuff is going to be an easier sell than one that uses entirely or mostly Star Wars d20 stuff.

## Important articles

PlaceholderThe Peoples of OerthPlaceholderClasses in OerthPlaceholderSkills in Greyhawk Season 2PlaceholderFeatsPlaceholderA Key EventPlaceholderA Crucial Item

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