Oj 29

July 2019 Summer
Issue #29
of the domain ofGreyhawk

THE TALES OF ERKIO AND THORGUTH!
S cribe’s Chronicle:
“We’re really doing it...”
I think first and foremost it’s important to say—we are doing it. “We”
being the fans. Fans of Greyhawk are creating things, sharing things …
and so many people are coming to find Greyhawk, it’s unbelievable. The
GreyhawkOnline Discord server has more and more members every day,
some coming to us from GHO, Twitter, web searches, Twitch, FB, and just direct referrals
from friends.
As a site dedicated to helping fan work be moved forward into the public eye, we're
more and more pleased to see fans creating and sharing their own content so much it
sets us back on our heels. Not a day goes by where there's not something new that we
want to post about or showcase. There's more fan sites, too. There's a wiki at
FANDOM.com who's recently become more active, and we're doing our best to try and
foster that growth, so that fans have another place to post their original stuff. There’s
fan campaigns. There's fans creating more artwork and reference material, too. We've
shared some of that in this issue!
This is an amazing example of how hard fans work toward improving the community’s
understanding of the World of Greyhawk, and how receptive the community is to seeing
new work by previously unknown fans. This is already being used by fans, and it is sure
to become a standard tool for DMs to use, as it is the only work of its kind!
The next couple of issues of the Oerth Journal are going to be homage to some of the
oldest City of Greyhawk material. The title of one of the booklets in 1989s City of
Greyhawk boxed set was “Folks, Feuds, And Factions”. This issue is about “Folks” (i.e.
NPCs). OJ30 in the Autumn is going to be about “Feuds”, and OJ31 in the Winter is going
to be about “Factions.
There’s so much going on! We want to encourage everyone to Google “Greyhawk” and
find every resource they can. Don’t let any of the coolest stuff slip through your fingers!
Ultimately, we're really seeing a renaissance of Greyhawk fan-published content again.

- Kristoph Nolen
Publisher, Oerth Journal
Oerth Journal 29 Summer 2019

Volume III, no. 2, issue #29
Table of Contents
Then and Now: Folk of
Scribe’s Chronicle Letter from the Editor 1 Saltmarsh
Oerth Journal Staff 21
The Broken Staff of Folks of Saltmarsh:
the Broken Staff
Denis “Maldin” Tetrealut 3 Pirates of Saltmarsh
Mike “Milcheax” Crisefi 23
Lee “Tanith1st” Murphy, and

Folks of Saltmarsh:
Gord the Rogue Kristoph Nolen with Chris 6 Adventure PCs
Bryan Blumklotz 25
Siren
Robilar, Lord of the Kristoph Nolen with Rob
Green Dragons Kuntz
7 Tabitha of House Kesilak Jay L. Scott 26
Freeswords of Greyhawk
The Guardian Will Dvorak 9 City
Jay L. Scott 27
Remick Jagtooth Ted “Bear” Gervais 11 Covert War in Greyhawk William Dvorak 31
Thom Vandervenne—
Otis Mike “Milcheax” Crisefi 12 Thieve’s Guild of Greyhawk The Grey League 33
Tansy Velveret- Thom Vandervenne—
Devin “MysteryCycle” Parker 13 Guild of Wizardy The Grey League 35
Buckthorn
Patchwork Varlin Devin “MysteryCycle” Parker 14 Tale of Erkio Michael J. Gross, III 37
Vengeance:
A Greyhawk Tony “VorpalDM” Milani 15 Tale of Thorguth Michael J. Gross, III 39
Story— Zharkeba
Beatup Gaelin Keldorn 17 Harchuck Will Dvorak 40
Dagmar Roxxifarius 18 2 NPCs Blake Ryan 41
Luthka Belial Lyka 18 The Irregulars Bree 42
NPCs of the Free
Patrick "Frogsama" Germann
City Chart
Editor Cover Art

Kristoph Nolen Kristoph Nolen
Editorial assistance—Denis Tetreault Contributing Artists:
Bryan Blumklotz. Will “Giantstomp” Dvorak, Patrick
Webmaster and Provider “Frogsama” Germann, Joey Julian, Belial Lyka, Kristoph Nolen,
and Thom Vandervenne
GreyhawkOnline.com
The Oerth Journal is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used
are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC. Portions not belonging specifically to other owners are copyright of their respective
authors or artists, with license given to GreyhawkOnline.com to Display, Reproduce, and Distribute. Permission is granted to reproduce text-only
portions for personal use only. No other use is implied or granted by this posting. For any other use, please contact the publisher. This work as a whole
is published under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, and it may not be distributed in part.
Summer 2019 Oerth Journal 29 2

The Broken Staff of the Broken Staff
by Denis “Maldin” Tetreault
Maldin’s Greyhawk - Melkot.com
A sign hangs over a door depicting a large staff

being snapped in half and releasing a brilliant firestorm, Shardin
the flames glowing brightly in the evening light. The 3rd lvl Psionicist Human Male, Neutral
Broken Staff is a remarkable tavern, located along Eastwall
Street in the City of Greyhawk, where wizards, sages, and Str 8 Int 14 Wis 17 Dex 16 (+1, -2) Con 16 Cha 11 Per 13
academics gather for good ale, great conversation, and HP: 15 AC: 4 Languages: Common
unique entertainment. The tavern owner, Tel Dittle
(Neutral, human male, Lvl 2 Commoner) has always been Combat: 2-handed attacks (-1, -3)
fascinated with magic, although he has no magical skill Special Items: AC 6 Bracers, 2 short swords, 6 throwing
himself. He is a highly respected merchant throughout the daggers
city, and has something far more powerful than any
personal magic he could ever wield. He calls virtually every 2nd Edition Psionic Handbook stats 48 PSPs
powerful wizard in the region friend, and they would all Disciplines: Clairsentience, Telepathy
rush to his aid if ever needed. His lack of arcane skill may
be exactly why he is so universally well-liked by those who Sciences: Clairvoyance, Precognition
would otherwise consider him a rival. Devotions: Poison Sense, All-around Vision, Know
Location, Danger Sense, Combat Mind, Contact, ESP
During the day, there are often a few academics
having a chat over an ale. In the evening, students from Defensive Modes: Mind Blank, Mental Barrier
the college and university crowd the bar, while more Background:
senior wizards and sages will fill the tables. Quite often
wizards will put on illusory magic shows for the Shardin is a student at the secretive Greyhawk School of
entertainment of other patrons, sometimes as friendly Psionics, students from which often work at the Broken
competitions to best each other in magical duels of illusion Staff. He was a good friend and schoolmate of Tyrus, who
(damage-causing spells are strictly forbidden). Because of disappeared on an adventure to the Suss Forest, and
the acknowledged safety and neutrality of his tavern, would dearly like to find out what happened to his friend.
many a deal - political, business, or arcane - has been More about the school can be found on the Psionic School
forged in his private rooms. The building itself has been page.
magically warded against scrying and other forms of Shardin is rather introspective, doesn’t talk much, and
surveillance. The tavern is described in the Living sometimes appears “kind of spooky” to other people
Greyhawk Journal Issue #2 and at the Broken Staff page on because he has an eerie way of knowing what is going to
Melkot.com. happen. In the tavern, he’ll often make impossible-
seeming catches of things that fall off tables or carrying
Many of the employees of the tavern are students,
trays, or effortlessly dodge an item thrown from behind
and refer to themselves with tongue-in-cheek as “the
him. Shardin is from Greyhawk, his parents being
broken staff of the Broken Staff”. Several of these
merchants with a shop in the Artisan’s Quarter.
individuals, all at the beginning of their careers, have
banded together with a few others who frequent the
tavern to form a new adventuring group ready to seek Orkon
their fortunes. Player characters can run into the group in 2nd lvl Illusionist (specialist) Human Male, Neutral Evil
different stages of their careers. What follows are 2nd
Edition AD&D character descriptions. Feel free to convert Str 14, Int 18 ,Wis 9, Dex 18 (+2, -4), Con 15, Cha 13, Per 10
to the edition of your choice. They are not fully fleshed out HP: 5 AC: 1 Languages: Common
(need additional languages for some, non-weapon
proficiencies, equipment, etc.), so DMs can customize the Special Items: AC 5 Bracers, 15 shuriken, hand dagger (non
group as needed. In my campaign, I also use a new stat -proficient)
called “Perception”. You can read about it on the page Spells: can learn 3 1st level spells (cannot learn
about New Stats on Melkot.com. Necromancy, Invocation/Evocation or Abjuration magic)
3 Oerth Journal 29 Summer 2019

Spellbook: Change Self, Color Spray, Darkness, Chromatic to take out a water-logged zombie that hauled itself onto
Orb 1, Read Magic, Phantasmal Force the deck of the ship one evening and attacked several
sailors. While everyone else will be paying attention to
He normally has Color Spray, Phantasmal Force, and
Yaelina, Phokill will be watching Atrea.
one other that changes depending on what his plans
for the day are.
Background:
Yaelina
3rd lvl Enchanter (specialist)/3rd lvl Thief elf Female, Neutral
While Orkon does a reasonable job of hiding his evil (with chaotic tendencies)
nature, it often colors his particularly cruel phantasmal Str 17 Int 16 Wis 8 Dex 18 (+2, -4) Con 16 Cha 18 Per 12
force spells. Example: a barrel of acid pours onto the
victim and his flesh begins to bubble and melt off. Orkon HP: 16 AC: 0 Languages: Common, Elven, Thieves’ cant
grew up on the streets of the City of Greyhawk, and his
philosophy on life is “do what it takes to take of yourself, Special Items: AC 4 Bracers, 12 shuriken, 2 hand daggers
because nobody else is going to do it for you”. He fell into Spells: 3 - 1st level spells, 2 - 2nd level spells (cannot learn
his current group of friends when he stumbled onto the
Invocation/Evocation and Necromancy spells)
Broken Staff. He quickly realized that it would be a great
place to learn more about magic and improve his skills. He Spellbook: 1st: Change Self, Charm
was in need of a job, and thought it was better than the Person, Hypnotism,
type of manual labor most young people find in the city.
Sleep, Read
Getting to know some of the other employees, he realized
that they may be a great vehicle to further his own Magic,
fortunes, and the group seemed genuinely fun to hang Phantasmal
around with. Force, Detect
Magic; 2nd:
Phokill Bind, Forget,
3rd lvl Magic-user Human Male, Lawful Neutral, patron Invisibility
deity Boccob
She normally
Str 11 Int 18 Wis 12 Dex 16 (+1, -2) Con 12 Cha 12 Per has Sleep or
15
Hypnotism,
HP: 7 AC: 2 Languages: Common, Dwarvish, Oeridian Charm Person,
Special Items: AC 4 Bracers, 6 throwing daggers Change Self,
Artwork by Kristoph Nolen

Spells: 2 1st, 1 2nd Forget and
Invisibility learned,
1st level spells: Armor, Hold Portal, Find Familiar, Detect
Magic, Comprehend Languages, Read Magic, Wizard Mark, though that may
Burning Hands, Sleep change depending on her plans for
2nd level spells: Preserve, Darkness 15’r, Magic Mouth, the day.
Shatter, Continual Light, Invisibility, Knock Background:
Normally, Phokill has Burning Hands, Sleep, and Invisibility Yaelina flits into and out of the group’s lives, always with
learned. an air of mystery about her. She loves to flirt, and to flaunt
Background: Phokill learned about the Broken Staff very what she’s got. And by Myhriss, does she have it! For DMs
early in his training at the Greyhawk University of Magic. who use Comeliness as a stat, she has an 18. From all
He couldn’t afford to hang around as a customer, so appearances, Yaelina has never had a job, but she never
decided to apply for a job there. Phokill likes to have seems to be without money, and has been advancing
everything planned out and orderly, and is a good faster than the rest of the group. The rare times she drops
strategist. He thinks Butorus is too reckless, but admires by the Broken Staff during busy times, she usually
his skill as a fighter. Phokill hails from Irongate, a becomes the center of attention. As hard as it is to avoid
connection he shares with Butorus. Their friendship was focussing on Yaelina when she enters a room, the group
sealed when they both worked together quite effectively has also seen her use her skills to completely disappear

into a crowd, silently take out a target unnoticed and melt
away into the shadows again. Yaelina arrived from the City Butorus
of Dyvers with big dreams, and is wasting no time 3rd lvl Fighter Human Male, Chaotic Neutral
achieving them. Her natural abilities will undoubtedly lead
her to great things. Watch out world! Yaelina has made a Str 18/57 (+2, +3) Int 11 Wis 9 Dex 18 (+3, -4) Con 13
few important friends in the city, who have told her to be Cha 10 Per 17
careful as she is also on the verge of being noticed by HP: 17 AC: -1 Languages: Common
people who can cause real trouble for her.
Combat: 2-handed attacks (0, -1 to hit), specializes in long
Atrea sword (+1, +2)

Total bonuses to hit/dam - Right hand: +4, +6; Left
2nd lvl Priest of Boccob Human Female, Neutral hand: +1, +3
Str 11 Int 12 Wis 18 Dex 17 (+2, -3) Con 15 Cha 15 Per 8 Special Items: +1 long sword, short
HP: 13 AC: 3 Languages: Common sword, crossbow (with 30 bolts),
plate mail
Combat: Special Items: AC 6 Bracers, staff, horseman’s
mace, 2 potions of healing Background:
Spells: Wisdom bonus: 2 - 1st, 2 - 2nd, 1 - 3rd, 1 - 4th When Phokill first invited Butorus to the Broken
Staff, he felt like a fish out of water. The place eventually
1st level spells: (4 total) Command x 3, Thought Capture grew on him, in particular the illusory entertainment, and
Background: he was offered a “bouncer” position thanks to his
strength. It’s a pretty easy job as trouble rarely happens in
An acolyte at the Church of Boccob, Atrea doesn’t a tavern filled with wizards. What really motivates him to
work at the Broken Staff. She does like to spend time there come to work is the hope that Yaelina will make one of her
chatting with other academics, and will periodically pick up rare appearances. Butorus prefers the frontal assault, but
the odd thought (see spell) in her insatiable quest for is not stupid about it. He is not particularly fond of
information. She is the quiet type, but wise enough to complicated plans. “Just rush them! They won’t know
realize that only she can keep their current (highly diverse) what hit’em.” He gets bored very easily when it comes to
adventuring group balanced and working together in strategy, magic, puzzles, etc. Butorus is extremely
harmony towards a common goal. Atrea is the daughter of observant but usually assumes everyone else sees what he
a priest of Boccob at the temple, and is following in her sees and often doesn’t think it’s important. He thinks
father’s footsteps. While Atrea isn’t particularly adept at Phokill is brilliant but kinda boring. They met each other
picking up on social clues, she has captured enough stray on the long ship journey from Irongate, where they are
thoughts from Phokill to know that he’s sweet on her. She both from, and became good friends despite their very
likes him, but hasn’t yet decided anything one way or the different personalities.
other.

Gord the Rogue
Lee “Tanith1st” Murphy
I hope that is enough to get you lot to look on eBay or
If you don’t know about Gord the Rogue, then here is
old book shops to find these books as they open the
a little intro to him.
World of Greyhawk like no other.
Gord the Rogue was a character invented by Gary
Cheers!
Gygax way back in the mists of
time (1980s) and was based
in the world of Greyhawk. Novels including Gord:
Gord is introduced to as an • ISaga of Old City
urchin fighting for his life in • Night Arrant
• Artifact of Evil
the
• Sea of Death
Old City part of Greyhawk • City of Hawks
City where he is beaten • Come Endless Darkness
and abused by everyone • Dance of Demons
due to his small size and
quick wit. He uses that wit to Short Stories
escape the Old City and through • "At Moonset Blackcat Comes"
• "Evening Odds,"
many trials and tribulations he ends • "The Return of Gord"
up in the hands of the Beggar Master.
He is trained to be a beggar and thief, Additional Information:
and in this Gord excels. He becomes One of the greatest websites about
a master thief acrobat (1st ed rules) Gord the Rogue from days gone by was
Art by Clyde Caldwell, © 1985

and leaves Greyhawk City after “Gord’s Greyhawk”, by Chris Siren.
many adventures within its walls
and picks up a dagger that can cut GHO is proud to note that even though Chris’ site
anything like it was butter (there expired many years ago, last year he gave GHO
are tons of dagger fights in the permission to host and publish his work on
books and some would put a certain Greyhawkonline.com at the new
dark elf to shame ) . Gord’s Greyhawk site.
He travels across the Flanaess meeting many famous There’s a great deal of information about
people such as Mordenkainen (who he works for as how Gord starts off as a beggar in the
an agent) and fighting against such evil streets of the Free City, and ends up
Gord the Rogue
as Iuz and his minions, as well as becoming a master thief, and an avatar of
Saga of Old City cover
Demons and Gods. Reading the books 1985 the Balance.
will take you from the great City of
Gord is a marvelous example of how
Greyhawk to the Bandit Kingdoms and even to the Sea
a character (as in: a PC) grows and learns throughout
of Dust, as well as the planes. In his adventures he
their career, and gains levels in various ways. The
makes friends with all manner of people, but it is his
novels begin with him as a teenaged boy and proceed
enemies that always drew my attention: Obmi the evil
well into his 20s at the end of the series.
dwarf with a magic throwing hammer and Keak his
Not only doe4s he epitomize the tale of a
half elf swine of a henchman, both of whom work for
character growing and learning, but, he also
Iuz.
epitomizes a perfect example of the Wrold of
The books all are written well and flow with the Greyhawk. Take a look at these novels, and travel all
imagination of Mr. Gygax. Now i won’t tell you who of Oerth!
the Big Bad is in the books but i will give you a clue
(clink clink).
By Oerth Journal Staff would eventually move on to co-DM,
and would stop playing Robilar.
In the World of Greyhawk, many NPCs are
incredibly well-covered, while many have But, nevertheless, Robilar
contradictions and confusion around them because remains a figure in Greyhawk Lore
they're not as well-covered as fans might like. and persists in literature - largely
known for his association with Rary of
Lord Robilar is both.
Ket, who attempted to murder the entire
He was previously discussed at some length in Circle of Eight. It has become guilt-by-association and
Oerth Journal #7 in an article Robilar's reputation has
called "Robilar Remembered: suffered greatly.
Lord Robilar & Co.", by Robert
In the years Kuntz
J. Kuntz and Douglas J.
played him, he made a
Behringer. Later, the same
personal choice to play him
article was published on Pied
as evil. There weren't
Piper Publishing's website, again
really other evil characters
by Rob Kuntz.
being played, and it seems
According to Rob Kuntz, in that it just made sense to
OJ7, Robilar's name is derived from test the rules in various
Gygax's novel, The Gnome Cache. ways, and when asked on the
Written prior to the formation of TSR, Robilar Pied Piper forums "What
occurs therein as the baron who sends the turned Robilar evil?", Kuntz
questing Dunstan after the gnome treasure. responded "I wanted to test
Since Kuntz had contributed a minor the way of darkness within
sequence idea to the novel, Gary later the game; and boredom. I
suggested the name for Kuntz' primary PC in had tested the limits of
Greyhawk. neutrality. It was a
player's choice, nothing
According to Kuntz, on the Pied
more or less."
Piper Publishing forums, Lord Robilar was originally
rolled up in 1972 and he last played him in 1987. There are a couple of different stories about
Heraldry © WotC
There have been different renditions of Lord Robilar it, and when and where Robilar became evil, what
from various sources or in various books. He was happened afterward, and his eventual redemption.
originally played in a home campaign with his brother One from an officially published source, and the other
Terry (as Terik), and Gary Gygax's daughter Elisa (as which is apocrypha - but, was written by Kuntz
Ahlissa) and Ernie (as Tenser), and Rob's friends. Rob himself.
In the massive adventure Expedition to the cloned Lord Robilar. The truly unfortunate part came
Ruins of Castle Greyhawk, it was revealed that there when Lord Robilar had ventured off to the Celestial
was a magical item of great proportion called an Orb Empire of Shao Feng and the Empire of Lynn in the
of Opposition which , when touched, brought an evil lands of Western Oerik, to deliver a magical item to a
counterpart from an alternate Oerth to the Prime temple there.
Material plane of Oerth. It also sent the person who Otto believed that he had perished, and so,
touched it across the planar boundary to the double’s activated the Clone spell. The clone began to go
darker, more bleak version of the world. insane due to the nature of the spell … which when
Though it sounds a little trite … what it essentially both a clone and an original person exist, the clone is
does is replace the character with an evil twin from a 90% likely to go entirely insane, even to the point of
mirror world. destroying itself by suicide or other means.
But, in this unique circumstance, Lord Robilar
And, of course, Robilar touched the Orb of
was literally on the other side of the world, and the
Opposition. The evil counterpart from Uerth, which a
clone existed for years without interference. No one
place similar to Oerth but several shades darker, later
knew Lord Robilar was actually on a long, long
became known as “Bilarro” and eventually sided with
journey attempting to get back home.
Rary. He committed vile acts of treason and betrayal,
This version of the story ends in the same way
and earned the foul reputation that later befell him.
as the officially published source, for the most part.
But, Mordenkainen long suspected that this
Lord Robilar returns to the Flanaess, but, he obviously
was not the true Robilar who had committed these
takes no truck with Rary. He instead goes to the
heinous acts, as he knew Robilar from many years
Pomarj, where he begins once again marshalling his
past, and tried to find ways to divine the exact nature
forces, and attempts to return to a normal life.
of what was wrong with him, and where the true
Robilar was.
Eventually, he succeeded, and in the
adventure, garners the help of the PCs to free Robilar
from Uerth, and return him to his home plane. But,
even though he’s innocent of all crimes the evil
counterpart committed, according to the adventure,
when it comes time “to spread the word of Robilar’s
Artwork by Kristoph Nolen

redemption, [… there will be] resistance along the
way—after all, not everyone wants these truths told.
The version which was first put forward

by Kuntz in Oerth Journal #7, it is a very
similar story, except instead of an evil
mirror-world twin, it was an evil clone
driven insane.
Tenser wasn't the only one who had a

clone. It was found out that Otto (who was
originally one of Lord Robilar's henchmen) had also

will wander assisting halfling sheriffs and halfling
The Guardian Oath communities in need of assistance. Sufficiently large
A subclass communities, or ones located in less than hospitable
By William “Giantstomp” Dvorak lands, might even have a Guardian that
lives among them year round. This includes halfling
communities living in mixed racial settings such as
large towns or cities.
The Oath of the Guardian is inspired by the
fighter subclass from Dragon Magazine #129, January
1988 by Peter Dosik. The subclass that appeared in BECOMING A GUARDIAN
the pages of that magazine was a unique mix of The road to becoming a Guardian starts early with
martial and spell abilities much like a paladin but also those aspiring to the position participating in
with a ranger flavor mixed in. The similarity of the organized tests usually held at fairs and festivals
Guardian to a 5E paladin heavily outweighed the designed to separate potential candidates with
ranger similarities, which is what influenced us into natural ability from those who are lacking the talent.
making it into a paladin oath. These tests are overseen by priests of
Arvoreen that travel to halfling communities several
times a year to inspect their defenses
GUARDIANS IN SOCIETY and readiness. These visits coincide
The ideals and need for with festivals so that they can
Guardians are not unique to oversee potential candidates and
halflings, but no other race in encourage those with the most
D&D is the target of torment, potential. Once a halfling
ridicule, and persecution than becomes a teenager
halflings. Due to their small they are allowed to
stature halflings live in a apply officially for
world that does not take them training to be a
seriously and some openly believe Guardian by the priests
the stereotype that all of Arvoreen. Of the
adventuring halflings are thieves. halflings that apply for
These reasons are what make training usually no more than one in
Arvoreen such an important deity to twenty is chosen and of those
halflings and what makes Guardians chosen only a few will make it
such an important position within entirely through the training. This
their communities. Guardians, like is why Guardians are so well
respected by most halflings.
Artwork by Joel Julian
their patron Arvoreen, represent those

halflings committed to defending their While the Oath of the Guardian
brothers and sisters against the larger and more was derived from the need for protecting halflings,
aggressive races. Guardians believe in protecting all peoples and races
against persecution and strive to prevent injustice
Guardians take on the roles of commanders
wherever they find it.
during times of war and during times of peace they
Acceptance Guardians must treat everyone with
TENENTS OF THE GUARDIAN respect regardless of their race, ethnicity or religion
Though the exact words and strictures of the Oath of and you must always accept the possibility for others
Guardian vary, paladins of this oath share these to change.
tenets.
Humility Guardians realize that their training and CHANNEL DIVINITY

powers are powerful and they should resist the urge When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain the
to use them to resolve situations forcefully. Because following two Channel Divinity options.
of this, just like Arvoreen, Guardians will never attack
first but instead, will try other methods of diffusing
SACRED WEAPON
As an action, you can imbue one weapon that you are
holding with positive energy, using your Channel
Oath Spells Divinity. For 1 minute, you add your Charisma
You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed modifier to attack rolls made with that weapon (with
below.
a minimum bonus of +1). The weapon also emits
• 3rd: hunter's mark, alarm
bright light in a 20-foot radius and dim light 20 feet
• 5th: warding bond, enlarge
• 9th: beacon of hope, protection from energy beyond that. If the weapon is not already magical, it
• 13th: Otiluke's resilient sphere, guardian of becomes magical for the duration.
faith You can end this effect on your turn as part of any
• 17th: guards and wards*
*A Guardian only receives one bonus spell other action. If you are no longer holding or carrying
at 17th level. this weapon, or if you fall unconscious, this effect
ends.
POWER IN NUMBERS
As an action, you present your holy symbol and
situations. However, if an innocent is being speaks a prayer effecting yourself and all your allies
threatened, or the actions of a potential foe are within 5ft of you. For one minute, You and a number
considered hostile towards another they can forgo of allies equal to your charisma modifier, have
this restriction. advantage on attack rolls against enemies. The effects
Courage Guardians will never flee from an enemy so of this ability ends if the ally moves
long as innocents or their allies are in danger. They more than five feet from you or if you lose
must defend those that cannot defend themselves. If consciousness or are incapacitated.
all innocents and allies are out of harm's way fleeing At 15th level, the range of this ability increases to a
to fight another day is acceptable. range of 10ft.
Compassion Show mercy to your foes, but temper it
with wisdom. COMPELLED MELEE
Honor Treat others with the same fairness you would Starting at 7th level, your compelled duel spell
wish to be treated with. Your deeds off the battlefield becomes enhanced allowing you to effect a number
speak as loudly as those that you accomplish on of creatures within the 30ft range equal to your
them. charisma modifier. In addition, your concentration

Remick Jagtooth
checks to maintain the compelled duel spell gain
advantage for the duration.
First Mate of the Brass Tacks
CENTER OF THE STORM By Ted “Bear” Gervais

Beginning at 15th level, enemies that are within 10ft Remick is a rusty sailor in more ways than one.
of you that attack another target instead of you As an old copper dragonborn sailor with sea-salt
have disadvantage on their attack rolls. In addition,
corroded scales, Remick has worked on many ships and
as a reaction, you can attack any creature that is under many captains, attempting to satiate his
within your reach that attacks an ally instead of you.
wanderlust and his desire to save away as much gold as
possible. This large and imposing seaman is a free-
INSPIRED POWER IN NUMBERS
spirited but steady hand out on the open seas, and takes
Once you reach 20th level your aura for your Power no gruff from anyone.
in Numbers ability increases to 20ft and allies
affected by it also gain advantage on all saving Motivations: Remick lives for a good sail on the
throws against spell effects as long as they remain open sea, no matter who it's with. He's more loyal to
being paid and getting to experience new carnal
within 20ft of you.
pleasures than to any specific captain or ship.
ARVOREEN Relationships: He has a husband back home, a
Arvoreen, the Defender, is the Guardian of the Satyr named Elias, that he sends money to, and two his
halfling race and works tirelessly to see them two children children Merry and Lionel that he cares for
protected from their larger and more numerous dearly. Somewhere out there is his dragon father whom
enemies. Often underestimated by other gods, and he hopes to find and reconnect with. A former human
mortals alike, Arvoreen is quite powerful. Despite captain by the name of Maria Bordeaux used to be his
this, he will only engage in combat if he is secret lover, whom he cared for before he
attacked. This does not mean that Arvoreen abandoned their ship out of guilt. He still has
is nonconfrontational as he seeks out residual feelings for her. His best friend is a
enemies and actively confronts them to bookish kobold wizard named Booker, whom he
stop their evil ways. If his pleas to resolve
visits at his shop, Curious Curios, whenever he's in
disputes peacefully are ignored, he is more
town.
than willing to smite those that have rejected
his attempts. Other: Remick has a bad habit from
Like most other halfling deities never backing down from any challenge, even
Arvoreen believes in family and has a to his detriment. Fortunately for him,
zeal for living a comfortable life, but he is usually crafty or lucky enough to
never at the cost of others and he avoid major harm from such
Artwork by Will Dvorak
only keeps what is essential for himself adventures. There is one time he
and shares the rest of his gains with failed, and got a large scar across his
others. Stealing from others that are
chest for it. He's willing to tell the story
not your enemies is considered a blot
to anyone willing to fork over enough
on one's honor, but taking from one's
alcohol, but the man sure can drink.
enemy to give you an advantage in a
He's a bit of a sucker for a good pastry.
conflict is seen as a smart tactic.

Otis
By Mike “Milcheax” Crisefi — Retired bard
A sun-bleached humanoid skeleton reclines
against a barrel or other applicable marine object, the Relationships:
legs dangling off the dock. No flesh or other organic
Many sailors rub Otis' head for good luck
material is visible. Just bone. Otis is not a reanimated
before setting out on a voyage. Some will regale him
skeleton. Instead, his spirit never left its material husk
with tales of their oceanic exploits. As he is integral to
and, through his will and desire to see the ocean, and
the functionality of this port, any nearby residents/
a prayer that had been offered for him many years
dock workers/mariners will come to his aid if he is
ago at the time of his death, gave him the intrinsic
attacked. The leader of the local temple keeps
properties of storm divination and continued
sending an acolyte, V'lani (level 4 human cleric of a
locomotion. That is, in addition to being able to
good-aligned deity such as Selune) to determine both
unerringly detect the approach of a storm (or any
his meteorological accuracy as well as whether or not
change in weather) within 25 miles and completely
he is undead. (It's been four years. The latter may be
accurate tide senses, Otis is able to walk around and
just a formality at this point.)
move, but not talk. (He can still nod positively and
shake his head negatively, though. No one has yet
taught him charades.) Other:
Motivations: Otis very much appreciates stories and seeing
trinkets of the sea. If someone were to figure out how
In life, Otis was a marine enthusiast; he loved
to better communicate with him, they might be able
everything about the ocean. When his children and
to trade for knowledge. If Otis attacked when he is
wife all passed away, he set out - literally - to realize
alone, he will collapse into a heap of bones and re-
his dream of casting himself into the waves and
form within 2d4 hours (or at the next tide, whichever
walked two thousand miles to reach this particular
comes first).
dock. Sadly, he died as he was taking his last steps to
the ocean. Someone at the dock recognized a kindred If his bones are separated, they will rejoin each other
spirit, arranged his bones in a respectful way, and (focused on the location of the skull) in 5d12 hours.
prayed a sea prayer. Every day shortly before sunrise, This incurs the wrath of the ocean town's residents
Otis stands and surveys the ocean. If he seems to upon the guilty party as they rely upon his
indicate(1) that a storm might be imminent, he will tidekeeping.
ring a bell at the end of the dock, once every fifteen Any divination spells cast upon Otis will reveal a faint
seconds, for five minutes. If he does not detect an magical aura in the school of Divination.
oncoming storm, he will either stay quiescent and As he is not technically undead, Turn or similar
enjoy the sunrise or will wander the docks in relative undead-foe spells will not function upon him.
silence. (50% chance for either). Additionally, he However, "Speak with dead" style communication will
activates a horn to indicate fog or tide changes. It is allow the players to speak with Otis.
not known how he manages to blow a seemingly (and He prefers to avoid combat and will jump into the
actually) mundane horn, but he does it well; both the water (to sink like a rock to the bottom) as his
bell and horn are audible for 1d6 miles on any given preferred action.
day. Last, he can be destroyed if his bones are reduced to
powder. Destroying Otis will anger the deity of the
(1) His examination is functionally based upon the
ocean; woe betide they who do so.
sailor's rhyme: Red sky at night, sailors' delight. Red
sky at morning, sailors' warning.

Tansy Velveret-Buckthorn (of the Zelradton Buckthorns)
By Devin “MysteryCycle” Parker
Zelradton in recognition of House Caeralax’s long-

Halfling (Stout) Spy, LE honored fealty. She has recently learned of its
Patron deity: Cyrrollalee. acquisition by a nobleman in the Free City – sold to
him by the descendants of the Iron League
Having served as maid to Lady-in-exile Arnfriel
freebooters who looted the Caeralax estate in Sunndi,
Caeralax (late of Rel Deven in Ahlissa) since that Aerdi
no doubt – and she desires it be returned to its
noblewoman’s childhood, Tansy is a canny, cunning
rightful owner. Tansy can provide the PCs with the
agent accustomed to using both charm and
location of the nobleman’s estate within the Free City
intimidation to accomplish her lady’s goals. Tansy has
and a description of the gauntlet (bearing the arms of
dark brown eyes and elegantly coiffed and braided
her lady’s House, which she describes as an
sandy blonde hair held in place with pearl tassels,
amphisbaena (winged, two-legged serpent with a
gold decorative combs and bejeweled hairpins; she
powders and rouges her ruddy face early each head at both ends of its body) encircling an Aerdi sun
made of inlaid yellow pearl). Upon safe and discrete
morning yet remains proud of the mole just beneath
the left corner of her mouth. Tansy interprets the delivery of the gauntlet into Tansy’s hands, she will
render a payment equaling the gauntlet’s material
tenets of Cyrrollalee the Faithful – friendship,
worth (750 gold orbs).
hospitality, and oathkeeping – more militantly than
most halflings, being willing to commit any atrocity no However, while the halfling will honor her
matter how vile to protect her mistress and ensure word, she has lied about the gauntlet’s origins: the
the furtherance of the Caeralax family legacy. She crest is that of House Sundervane, a noble family of
always exhibits a graceful yet haughty formality, as Nyrond famed for resisting the Great Kingdom, and
though she were of noble birth (she is of aristocratic kindred to the nobleman in possession of the
stock but possesses no titles herself). gauntlet. The nobleman is also cousin to an Oligarch
As Lady Caeralax’s maid, Tansy advocates on of the Artisans’ League, one of the Free City’s
her behalf, carrying missives, interviewing hirelings, electors. If the PCs return the gauntlet to Tansy, she is
conducting blackmail, poisoning rivals, torturing pleased: this was a test of their abilities and loyalty to
informants, and whatever other service her ladyship their word of honor. The gauntlet is of worth to Lady
requires. Whether hiring adventurers to recover a lost Caeralax: she can return it to the nobleman, claiming
treasure or confronting do-gooders with blackmail to
that her servant recovered it from the common
stop them in their tracks, if it’s to the benefit of
burglars who took it, and thus gain favor with the
House Caeralax, Tansy will see it done. As a
influential nobleman. Tansy will use her knowledge of
consequence of her duties, Tansy is well-acquainted
with the latest court gossip, and is an expert in savoir- the true thieves’ identity as blackmail material to
faire among the gentry. Lest any seek to take pressure the PCs to perform more tasks for her – if
advantage of her diminutive stature, she travels the they refuse, she’ll reveal their identities to the
streets of Greyhawk in the company of her three well- nobleman and to the Thieves’ Guild and deny having
trained mastiffs, Foxglove, Larkspur (saddled for ever met with them. If the PCs attempt to fence the
riding), and Nettle. gauntlet themselves, they will find it difficult: marked
with the crest as it is, few will want to risk the wrath
Plot Seed: of an Oligarch, assuming they could even find a buyer
Tansy requires the services of a small band of
for it. Doing so will earn Tansy’s ire, and she will
adventurers to recover a treasure stolen from her
consider them foes to be eradicated.
lady’s family; a silver-plated steel gauntlet originally
given as a gift to her ancestor by the Herzog of

Patchwork Varlin
By Devin “MysteryCycle” Parker
Human (Oeridian-Suel) Commoner, CN

Plot Seed: Once Varlin has been established in your
patron deity: Olidammara.
campaign as a regular alley denizen of Greyhawk, he
Varlin is a fence, a seller of stolen goods brought to
tries to sell the PCs a hallucinogenic drug called
him by various petty thieves and cutpurses in the city.
“midnight spice.” He promises that it will provide a
He takes a cut from the sale and, after he pays his
euphoric experience and, perhaps, insights into the
dues to the Thieves’ Guild, keeps just enough profit to
future. In truth, it’s the product of an Illithid
avoid starving, so he’s always hustling but reluctant
alchemist; when consumed, the drug sparks a psychic
to haggle too much. He’s a hirsute man in his mid-
flare of activity in its user’s brain that the mind-flayer
twenties with a curly thatch of dirty blonde hair, a
can track down. The predator prefers to consume its
robust beard, tanned skin and green eyes, with a
victim’s brain while they’re enraptured by the
penchant for wearing elaborate, attention-grabbing
euphoric, hallucinatory state induced by the drug; for
hats. He earned the nickname Patchwork due to the
the monster, it is, quite literally, a spice for its meal.
distinctive cloak he wears, a gaudy mass of stitched-
After a few of Varlin’s regular customers go missing
together oldclothes and found fabrics, lined with
(their brains devoured by the mind-flayer), the fence
inner pockets of various sizes in which he keeps his
may decide to lay low, believing that the city
wares for sale. While his primary goal is to keep food
authorities are cracking down. He has no idea who
in his belly and find a dry place to sleep at night,
the true creator of midnight spice is, but he may be
Varlin enjoys the cosmopolitan energy of the Free
able to provide clues that would lead the PCs back to
City and cannot imagine trying to lead any other sort
its source.
of life. He cares nothing for the property rights of the
wealthy and will happily sell anything thieves bring to Midnight Spice: A creature must ingest an entire
him without moral qualms. He’s manically upbeat dose to suffer its effects, rendering the user
when trying to make a sale, clumsily insinuating Incapacitated as they experience hallucinatory
himself into the company of others and purposely visions; a partial dose has a reduced effect, allowing
remaining oblivious to any objections. Varlin will them to remain active while seeing things no one else
sees (suffering disadvantage on ability checks and
inform PCs of happenings among the street folk and,
attack rolls). Effects last 4d4 hours. Con save (DC 10)
to a lesser degree, burglaries and heists, though he
to avoid addiction; withdrawal occurs after 5 days,
will refuse to name names unless convinced that the causing 1 level of Exhaustion if another Con save is
information won’t be traced back to him (though a failed. Both of these saving throws are made with
bribe would go a long way toward providing such advantage if only a partial dose is consumed.
reassurance).

Vengeance: A Greyhawk Story
Zharkeba— A Rhennee Captain
By Tony “VorpalDM” Milani
Greyhawk Online is pleased to bring you a new Contributing Author: Tony "VorpalDM" Milani!! He's written the
overture of a story about a Rhennee woman who is the captain of a ship, who's seen love, death, and the Flanaess
alongside her intrepid crew!
This story was originally published on GreyhawkOnline.com, and can be found in the Rivers of the Rhennee category!
Zharkeba was keenly aware of how the galley pet owl to track the Aster into a tributary and to a
rolled and pitched underfoot. It wasn’t alarming, it cove tucked behind a stand of trees very close to a
was just different. The Argus had bobbed like a cork, walled camp in Johrase territory. Alas, her cousin had
being a flat-bottomed cog. But, this fey vessel with its been floating face-down near the other cog. Though
alien raptor-like design moved along the Artonsamay they’d made short work of the Johrase captors and
like a hawk riding thermals in search of easy prey. rescued most of Dellod’s crew, she lost nearly as
The privateer captain ground her teeth thinking about many as she’d saved when she’d piloted the Argus to
her last ship, still lodged precariously in the upper the camp’s dock. Cormac’s friends were assaulting
boughs of a massive phostwood along the river’s the camp from the other side, and though Zharkeba
banks near Longford. Nestled deep in the wood, had hoped she could approach quietly with such a
passing riverboats and shallow-hulled ships were distraction, the camp defenders had included a nasty
unlikely to spy more than its masthead over the thick warlock who’d ignited her rigging in a conflagration of
foliage along the banks. Even over her smoldering magical fire. Cormac’s friend Rajeck, a hulking half-orc
rage at the loss of her crewmen (who were also from Rhizia, had screamed in rage and leapt a dozen
cousins and nephews), she still marveled at how feet to the dock, charging into the smoke while her
she’d survived. surviving cousins had tried to put out the flames. The
Zharkeba had been at the helm on that “heroes” had survived the encounter, but it’d cost her
cloudless afternoon months ago, escorting the dearly.
heroes of Redspan on yet another adventure. Having “Fool,” she chided herself. “Stupid girl. Men
lost crew (and nearly the Argus as well) on their first died because of you. Family died.”
expedition should have been enough warning for her, And the rest died as well – later – sharing the
but for the first time she felt she’d met her match in Argus’ fate. Her greed had gotten them killed. The
the fair-skinned Urnstian nobleman Cormac del heroes paid well – from Redspan’s coffers, no less.
Bortham. He was as skilled in bed as he was with a While their leader, a mailed Tenha knight named Jal
sword or bow, and she was instantly smitten. He, his Mala, was tight-lipped about their mission, it was to
massive wolfhound Smoke (whom she still missed) carry them deep into the southern reaches of the
and his motley companions had first aided her crew glowing Phostwood where it bordered the
in repelling a starving mob at the docks in Redspan. Nutherwood. She’d been able to coax out of her love
The rioters had mistaken her ship for the Aster, her that they were on a rescue mission to find Wryn’s
cousin’s cog that was overdue to deliver the besieged olven sister, who was evidently a hostage to
city much-needed supplies, namely provisions and Ozinthrax, a fabled wyrm lairing somewhere deep in
medicine. Calming the crowd and requesting passage, the forest. While for the first time she was
Cormac and his friends had commissioned her to find contemplating an emotion she’d never felt before –
the Aster and her supplies. As she’d been intent on worry for someone else – a shadow crept over the
leaving that very day to find Dellod’s ship anyway, Argus. At first thinking some cloud had darkened the
she’d counted herself lucky to receive coin to do a job river, she scanned the sky. When she saw it, her mind
she would have done regardless. Their diviner, a couldn’t grasp the enormity of the doom descending
curious half-elf named Wryn, had used his craft and a silently toward them on great feathery wings. A

bloody roc! the roc released the cog and then everyone was in
She barely had time to shout a warning before freefall.
it struck the ship, claws sinking into wooden There’d been no time to panic, and she could only
gunwales like soft cheese and its great breast bearing briefly glimpse horror through the chaos. Her cousin
the mast over, snapping it instantly. Splinters flying, Larnos screamed and clutched at her as he sailed
the deck pitched violently as the weight of the over the deck and beyond her view. A brief memory
massive bird pushed the port side of the deck under of him, grinning madly as he reeled in a marlin. Ferad,
the river’s surface. Her crew knew how to handle the her uncle Chald’s eldest boy, slammed wetly down
worst the Nyr Dyv could offer, and all barely stayed into the jagged stump of the mast. Chald’s gruff
on her deck. As the captain recovered, she saw the words slapped her hard, “Bring him home safe, Zhar.
small Flannish bard known as Crow already attacking He’ll wed Mireli when you come back.” And then her
the roc’s talons on the starboard side. But then they eyes met Stefan’s and time stopped. He didn’t look
were all tossed to the deck again as – Istus save us! - terrified – just confused – as he disappeared into a
the roc flapped its great wings and it and the Argus great ruff of the dead roc’s neck feathers as the ship
lifted away from the river. Flat on her back, she could and great bird plummeted. Then there was only pain
only stare as the treetops fell away. Her stomach and darkness.
sank as her ruin became clear. Cormac’s longbow “Captain,” a voice grated nearby. The dwarf-
twanged repeatedly. Sir Jal Mala slashed at the like fairy with oversized iron-shod boots, an ugly dark
portside talons. And then from within the cramped brown beret and a mouthful of razor-sharp teeth
hold where Wryn and Jal’s two squires crouched, stood waiting for her order. Nash was a vicious
arcane words were shouted and then a great ball of creature, and drove the oarsmen ruthlessly.
flame erupted from the breast of the great bird, close Zharkeba brought herself back to the present,
enough to singe her and suck the scream right out of snapping out of her dark thoughts. “Row east into the
her lungs. forest when we hit the bend, Nash.”
The roc screeched in pain, a shrill sound so “We were promised raiding, Captain. Our voyage into
immense it wrenched something inside Zharkeba. human lands yielded no blood nor spoils,” he
The beast shuddered and the jarring ascent complained gruffly. “And nothing dwells down that
momentarily stopped.
Men got their feet and
grabbed anything they
could, shamshirs or
belaying pins, and
rushed up the canted
deck to aid the two
Flannish fighters
desperately trying to
dislodge the roc’s claws
from the Argus.
Horrified with sudden
realization dawning
through her primal
panic, she roared a
command to stop her
crew. But then another
great ball of flame
struck the roc as Wryn
unleashed his magic
against it. Reflexively,

path but death. This will not please the Witch Queen.” won’t be alone.”
Irritated at his mention of her failure to capture The author, Tony Milani, is a long-time Greyhawk fan,
Cormac, she mused. “We’ll see if this Ozinthrax exists. and enjoys the idea of a female captain from Rhennee
If it does, it may be spoiling for payback as much as I. culture going against norms and working with a tough
Fables say these monsters gather treasures fit for a and ready crew.
king. I’m betting it will trade gold for information. And He notes that she is "a strong female character, not a
what I have to trade should command a fortune for damsel in distress character - which we see too often in
us.” As he grudgingly turned away, she drew her rapier the fantasy genre. She takes what she wants and
lightning fast and pricked the fey monster in the makes no apologies. And when she's wronged, she'll
throat. He stopped still as its steel drew a bead of stop at nothing to avenge herself. She's not movie
blood. villain evil, but makes a dangerous rival (and potential
love interest). "
“Never again question me, Nash,” she said, deadly
quiet. “Whatever bargain I made with Nicnevin is no Tony has over 30 years' experience as a Dungeon
concern of yours. I am captain aboard the Vengeance.” Master focused primarily in the notable Greyhawk and
Though his eyes were dark with murder, he retreated - Spelljammer campaign settings. During his career, he
knuckling his brow and wiping at his throat. successfully ran over 15 campaigns exceeding 1 year
each. He found position at a major financial institution
Zharkeba turned again to the river, hand on the in 2002, and since has been promoted to a
rudder. Stefan’s eyes haunted her again, pleading to management position where it was thought he could
understand why he’d died. As droning pipes began do the least amount of damage. He contents himself
belowdecks to set the pace, she tightened her other today with online gaming and Cheetos.
hand on the pommel of her sword. “I’ll come for you,
my love,” she whispered bitterly into the wind. “Your
friends think to play at lords, but I’ll burn it all. And I
Beatup Gealen cold-hearted father your new best friend.

Give him a good amount of money, and he’ll
By Keldorn pay a skilled actor he happens to know to play a rich,
Flan Human, Neutral Evil noble guy, who’ll charm your lover, then he’ll make
sure the actor just abuses her and her father to make
Deity: Incabulos
sure her father understands love is more valuable
Gealen is an energetic, friendly fellow who than money or prestige, so you can have the girl!
would be on your side as a friend and as a mentor. He Oh, I’m so sorry! The guy he hired was a
is a short guy, with white hair on his temples and no convict with anger issues before he became an actor
hair on the top of his head. He’s a little fat at his and beat the poor girl until she broke! But, hey look!
belly, and has scars on his face. He remembers how You got the girl in 6 days! Which is when her father
he got every scar on his face and every one of twelve understood no one would marry a broken girl like
occasions his nose has been broken. that and he accepted you as her savior! Gaelen did
everything he promised, so there’s no fault in him! If
He lived to see many things and he’d give you
you think he’s a bad person, that’s fine. He’ll just
advice any time. But, he’s not afraid of some
leave you to yourself!
trickery and cunning to use in his schemes.
Do you have a lover whom you can never Gealen is an artist, actor and a writer. He is
marry because of her cold-hearted father? No also delusional and sociopathic. He creates what he
problem! Gaelen can create a very devious plan, calls “art” from suffering, which he believes to be the
which is guaranteed that in 6 days’ time will make it purest form of feeling that exists. He acts upon the
so you will have the girl, while making that stage called “the world” and he writes the best

tragedies by controlling others to reach catharsis. He Keldorn has this to say about his rather
loves a thrill and a good tragedy, and wants to see demented villain:
the face his prey will have after he’s done with them. “I used this character as an antagonist in one of
He wants to involve himself in the plot as much as he my older games, and he is universally hated because of
the suffering he brings
can get away with, so he can be with them when
He is the most evil thing that can ever exist,
they feel suffering, tragedy, fury, and hopelessness.
because he takes no joy in it, and he is not gaining
The more he cares for someone, the more he anything in return. Just a cycle of suffering; no
wants them to suffer, because suffering is the most happiness
pure form of emotion. It is a breaking point, the and no reason for the evil. Thus, he was the most evil
one
border between humanity and the beast, and thus, it
in my campaign. He had no tragic backstory, and he
is what makes us sentient. He wants to make his
only
loved ones suffer more than the others, so he can cry wants his loved ones to suffer, because he would also
and regret later, so he can suffer later. suffer.”]
Dagmar Wyrmkin
By Roxxifarius
Chaotic Neutral Rogue/ Sorcerer Female High Elf
Born in an evil temple, her mother had willingly given herself to an evil God. For unknown reasons,
Dagmar found herself living on the streets of the Free City of Greyhawk as a petty thief. One night as she
was walking a monster came up out of the sewers and moved to attack her. She said a quick prayer to any
god that was listening and willing to help her. As if in answer to her prayer, a runaway stage coach with four
horses came out from around the corner and ran over the monster, killing it. Dagmar loudly thanked
whatever god had helped her.
Not long after that fateful night, she realized that she had the ability to use magic.
(The Evil God was one of the Elder Gods, i.e., Cthulu etc. … and the god that had helped her was
Olidammara. Her adventuring life became a struggle between those two! )
Artwork by Belial Lyka

Luthka
By Belial Lyka
Orc Druid/Ranger (Self-appointed Bogeyman)
N; patron deity: Luthic (sort of)
Descended from a line of Luthic-blessed orcs that reproduce through
parthenogenesis, Luthka never knew her mother well, as she was
born after hers had already died during a skirmish in the
borderlands between the Wegwiur and the Cold Marshes. A
Wolf Nomad chief, taking pity upon the child, took her in and
raised her in secrecy, sequestering her into the Burneal Forest
by the time she came of age. Nowadays, Luthka has a kinship
with the local wildlife, and dedicates herself to preserving the
forest, dressed as a monstrous yeti to scare trespassers away.
Belial Lyka plays Luthka in the Greyhawk Channel's City of the Gods game,
every Tuesday at 9 AM EST.
By Patrick "Frogsama" Germann - dmguidetogreyhawk.blogspot.com
One of the greatest things about the World of Greyhawk is there

are enough NPCs to make the world interesting, without making it too full of
detail that the DM has to remember every single barber, smith, and
fishmonger in the entire world.
But, there’s still a fair amount of them to remember!
Thus, “Frogsama” from the Greyhawk Channel Discord server
took it upon himself a tremendous quest! He made a chart of some of
the most prominent NPC’s in the Free City, and show their
relationships to one another.
The most amazing part of the whole endeavor,
however, isn’t how much research he did, or the time it took,
or how great the organization is … it’s that he did this in an
app on his phone!! It’s called “DrawExpress”. That’s … just
crazy.
It’s a pretty massive undertaking … and we applaud
his efforts!! He had scarcely more than started to make it,
when he began posting
in-progress pictures of it to the Greyhawk Channel’s Discord
server. The immediate reaction was overwhelmingly
positive. They said things like:
• “This really is an incredible piece of work!”
• “Failed my roll and I am now entranced by the magic of THE CHART!”
• “Definitely a serious piece of work!”
• “This is amazing I’m in awe more and more with every update!”
• “Oh, my word!!! Just sayin’ ... I’m finding more and more in it.”
• “… brilliant way to keep things organized for the DM!”
• “I'm in love with that!! Absolutely amazing!!”
• “People are […] pleased to see something like this coming
up... there is so much lore about the world and indeed the
city itself but I don't think I have ever seen the NPC's of
greyhawk arranged showing their affiliations and
relationships!”
Frogsama says, "It is set at FtA, so I'm using the CoG set and
then I take every change in FtA and then I read The Adventure Begins
because sometimes things are described that happened before 585CY. I
also took stuff from Melkot.com and the Living Greyhawk Journals. So, this
is Spring 585CY, 6 months after the great signing. Personal exceptions are
Old Mother Grubb's building not being burned down! And I think Darred
Hebren, the Artisan's Quarter wizard is not a divination and transmutation wizard
but a transmutation and enchanting one."
Being that this issue of the Oerth Journal was already themed for the
NPCs of Greyhawk, this couldn’t have been a better moment of serendipity! GHO
immediately began discussion with Frogsama to put this amazing piece of
research and artistry in the Oerth Journal!!
You can click on the image to go to the download page for Frogsama’s NPC
chart on GreyhawkOnline.com!! (Or click here!)
Article and formatting by Kristoph Nolen
Then and Now: the Folks of Saltmarsh
By Oerth Journal Staff
Recently, in May 2019, Wizards of the Coast released their newest adventure, Ghosts of Saltmarsh.
As the title implies, the book is an anthology of adventures which are placed along the coast of the
Kingdom of Keoland, in the small fishing village of Saltmarsh.
The "little town of Saltmarsh" has been around since 1981, when
the original Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh was published. The "small,
respectable fishing village … with a population of about 2,000" was later
given a revamp in Third Edition's DMG2. And so, one may wonder, "How
is Saltmarsh different in the two printed versions, and how do they both
differ from the version recently published in Wizards of the Coast's new
Ghosts of Saltmarsh."
Well, that's what we’re here to answer today!
The original was given almost no detail, with Gygax mentioning in
the short section on the town that "if there is to be an adequate
background to the series, the DM is recommended to ‘prepare’ the town
quite thoroughly, using the guidelines presented in this module as the
basis for that preparation." However, there were almost no details given,
and only a short bulleted list of things the DM should do. Like, draw a
map, for example. There was no map in the module, originally! Also, it
suggested making and naming the Town Council members, and the other
prominent local citizens. Also, locating things like local businesses,
various places of worship, and inns.
In contrast, the 2005 version in the 3e DMG2 was an incredibly filled chapter with more detail than
most any DM could reasonably use, unless there was an entire lengthy campaign centered solely in
Saltmarsh. There were a great deal of NPCs, and hundreds and hundreds more buildings, a large portion of
which were detailed with proprietors, plot hooks, maps, and illustrations.
Saltmarsh was founded in 465CY. The 3e DMG2 says, "Saltmarsh was founded 130 years ago ..."
which would place it at 595CY. So, if we accept that Saltmarsh is depicted in 476CY in both Ghosts of
Saltmarsh and Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh, and the given population of 2,000 in Sinister Secret being correct,
this means the population of 5,000 given in Ghosts of Saltmarsh refers to the town of Saltmarsh itself as well
as surrounding areas, such as the farms, mines, abbey isles, etc... and the later population of 3,850 in the
DMG2 only reflects the town Saltmarsh itself, when there are more than 500 buildings in town in 595CY
shown on the map. There are only around 100 buildings shown on the map (presumably in 595CY) on page
15 of Ghosts of Saltmarsh. Ghosts of Saltmarsh confirms that the earlier population of that version (in
476CY) was also 2,000.
What all of this means is after the strife and conflicts that had plagued the area in the early 460s, the
area began to be settle down some time after 476CY. In those early days, Saltmarsh was a smaller, but much
more crowded town with a population of 2,000.
Then there was an era of prosperity and rapid growth between 476 and 595CY which brought
merchants and made the town bigger, bringing with it more benefits of a geographically larger and more
civically developed town with more amenities to accommodate the larger population of about 3,800.
Finally, things settled, and while the merchants and growth remained, the population and size
normalized to fit each other and became a much more comfortable, light population when viewed by
population density.
All images © WotC

Folks Who Moved Location
• Fishmongers’ plants (GoS, #18) moved to warehouses (DMG, #25) and the former plants became the
Shipyard (DMG, #27).
• The Mariner’s Guild was essentially supplanted by the Fishmonger’s Guild, since they had more
influence in the local economy. The Shipwrights' Guild split off separately.
• Carpenter’s Guild relocate to atop the bluff from (GoS, #25) to (DMG, #11).
• Wicker Goat relocated from South Gate (Gos, #3) to North gate (DMG, #5).
• Hoolwatch Tower moved further south along the town wall.
Folks Who Left

• Mining Co.
• Many of the Town Council members changed.
• Temple of Procan, replaced by larger cathedrals, likely a shrine to Procan still remains somewhere.
Some Things Came Along With Growth

• Lizard Embassy (DMG #22)
• Dungsweeper's Guild
• Oak Island bridge, keep, and beacon
• Three other bridges across the Kingfisher River
• "Weekly" market became permanent
• Wizard’s Guild

Folks of Saltmarsh; Pirates of Saltmarsh
By Mike “Milcheax” Crisefi—Retired Bard
she got her predisposition for sojourning the

Sica Tope tides from him - but after her family all died in a
Captain of the Salted Pork necromancer's plague (of which she was the
only known survivor) she lost her final anchor to
Sica, human captain of the Salted Pork the land.
merchant vessel, braids her snow white hair Combat Stats:
every morning when she awakes before the Use Pirate Captain stats from MM page
dawn. She stands tall, a few hairs over two 344 with the following changes and equipment:
meters (about 6’6”), and is always bemoaning Str 12, Dex 18, Wis 12, Cha 15. Cloak of the
the fact that the bunk in her cabin is just a little Manta Ray (swim speed 60, breathe
too short to allow her to spread out. Whether underwater), Dancing Dagger (see Dancing
that's for her use or for others, she'll never say, Sword), Figurine of Wondrous Power: Silver Gull
and if you do (comment about that), she'll likely (see Silver Raven), Gem of Seeing (as an
toss you overboard, dark brown eyes staring earring), Ring of Water Walking.
daggers with every wave that passes you by.
Motivations: Clas Nilfshi

The sea. The tide. The sunrise. What else Bosun of the Salted Pork
could there be? Libraries are for frivolous
pursuits. Adventuring in dungeons? Pah. Give Clas, bosun of the merchant vessel Salted Pork,
Captain Tope a compass and a map, and a has a problem. He's often stuck in a barrel, due
dinghy with a hole in it, and she'll plug the hole to the crew of his ship playing tricks on him. As
with the compass, throttle you with the map, a halfling, his extreme small stature leads him
and find someone else to row her to the next to be a target for many pranks. However,
port. between his duties as ship's bosun and the fact
that he often is the source of their good fortunes
Relationships:
with trading, they often toe the line between
Clas is her lifeline to sanity. He doesn't
"harmless fun" and "about to get keel-hauled".
know it; she'd never tell him. But if he were to
Just the same, there's always a look of sadness
leave her, she'd never leave a tavern again. He in his hazel eyes when he finally gets his sealegs
saves her life more than he makes her money. under him.
She has no family; no ties. She doesn't know
why the little man grounds her so completely. Motivations:
She appreciates the well-made clothing from an Making money for his captain, like any
unusual insect tailor in one of their regular ports good bosun. Keeping the shares honest, like any
-of-call and brings him interesting flowers they honest bosun. And staying away from his
find. There was an obviously confused party landlubber troubles, like any lad whose past is
eventually going to catch up to him. He'd rather
chasing them until recently. The Captain simply
be rid of this particular turnover of crew, and be
does not traffick in people, and that group just
able to sail into port on the fo'c'sle instead of
didn't get it.
inside a pickle barrel.
Other:
Relationships:
Her mother once told her, years ago, that
Between the crazy cricket tailor, the
her father was obsessed with the sea - maybe
gnome wizard who is trying to furnish a
Dragonborn blacksmith, the human archer who established himself as the head of a largest
is rebuilding a manor, and a crazy dwarf cleric criminal organization in Saltmarsh. He is a
who once saved his life, he tries to keep "land" ruthless cutthroat who has no time for
separate from sea and simply keep on sailing. weaknesses such as mercy or loyalty. However,
That said, his loyalty is to his captain, and he Bellamy is a cunning businessman and knows
would never betray his leader. the value of an asset when he sees it.
Other: Motivations:
He has an affinity for pipes - but he Bellicose Bellamy has become a powerful
doesn't smoke them. He's hoping to find one crime boss of his own city, but this is not
that reminds him of a home that he can barely enough for him. He longs to spread his reach to
remember. And he wants to know why that the other islands of Mer. He did both the slavers
paladin ordered his home destroyed, all those and the Skystone Alliance a favor by helping
years ago. them eliminate his crew, and some day he will
Combat Stats: call those favors in.
Use Pirate Captain stats from MM page
Relationships:
344 with the following changes: Str 11, Speed
25ft, HP 45. Bellicose Bellamy's attempt at eliminating
his former crew was not as complete as he
Bellicose Bellamy believes. The Bosun of The Bearded Squid

survived the attack, and has sworn an Oath of
Bellamy is a half-orc who used to serve as Vengeance against Bellamy.
Quartermaster aboard The Bearded Squid, Other:
serving the noble pirate captain Nara "The
Bellicose Bellamy is a serious gambler,
Parrot" Hildom. They made their profit raiding
and a skilled one to boot. Rumor has it that half
slaver ships and smugglers. Dissatisfied with his
role, he desired power and the freedom to do as his smuggling fleet was won in Three Dragon
he pleased. When the Loyalists began to arrive Ante. Despite the claims of those who have lost
from northern Keoland and began enforcing to him, Bellamy never cheats. He takes a
their own idea of "justice," Bellamy saw an certain pride in his skill, and refuses to sully it
opportunity. He sold his crew out, and the with underhanded tactics. It is the only sense of
Loyalists attacked them in their hideout. Over honor Bellamy has.
the following years, Bellicose Bellamy
And so, what we’re doing, is we’re releasing

some bonus content as an online supplement! You
Greyhawk Online is very proud to note there was a can visit the download page to view the three
great deal of support for this issue of the Oerth extraNPCs written by Devin “MysteryCycle” Parker,
Journal!! andMike "Milcheax" Crisefi!!
In the final 72 hours of formatting and There’s a snooty noble swordsman who’s
layout, the magazine went from 32 pages of just spoiling for a fight, a tricky gal who’s a cleric of
content to 46 pages of content from an additional Rudd, and is just bucking for a game. Any game.
13 authors. And an adorable homeless girl who’s makes a
great sympathetic NPC for the characters to help!
The only difficulty is that for print layout reasons,
the Oerth Journal is limited to pages in multiples of
4, to make page count come out correctly.

Folks of Saltmarsh; Adventure PCs
By Bryan “Saracenus” Blumklotz
Personality Traits: Music and song to you are as cool

Meekla water is to the brightly colored fish of Faerie. A tune
Human Monk 1 (Failed Merchant), N that boroughs into someone's mind is always on your
Patron deity: Wenta. lips (Spring Season).
Meekla had a bakery in Seaton that made the Ideals: Aspiration. When I wish to meld with the
best pastries and cakes you could find this far from Feywild and become a member of the Seelie Court
civilization. Unfortunately, she did not pay off the upon my rebirth.
right people and was put out of business by ruinous
taxes and unfair competition from food carts that did Bonds: My daughter does not know me, but my
pay the graft… One of her steady customers was a actions during time away from her will make her life
Baklunish merchant and follower of Zouken who saw all the better. We will be rejoined upon my ascension.
her potential and trained her in the art of self- Flaws: I am lovestruck with the swiftness of an
defense. Meekla is looking for a fresh start and a arrow, but there is always a new target for my
chance to use her new skills. affections (Spring Season).
Player: Melissa
Personality Traits: I bring a singular focus to
anything I try to achieve — even if it blinds me to a
better way to do it. Shade
Ideals: Redemption. My failure as a pastry chef was Changeling Rogue 1 (Spy), CN; P atron Deity: Norebo.
public and complete. So I need to prove them wrong Shade was created by the Scarlet Brotherhood
in my new profession as an adventurer. as the ultimate infiltrator, a
Bonds: Even though my business failed (because of magical melding of human
powerful interests), my customers in Seaton were and doppelganger
kind to me. I'll do what I can to keep them safe, even ancestry. The
if that means busting some heads. Brotherhood failed to
Flaws: I failed, but I’m awesome. So when anyone break her independent
else is successful, it must be because of nepotism, spirit and the first chance
dishonesty, or dumb luck. she got, she escaped
from her handlers.
Shade has managed
Osvella to stay one step
Eladrin Elf (Spring Season) Bard 1 (Charlatan), CN ahead of the
Patron deity: Corellon Larethian. Scarlet
Brotherhood
Osvella arrived in the Axewood in the North of
by luck and
Keoland from Faerie Realm (Feywild) while exploring
skill, which
(or evading her duties as a mother) and found the
she believes
path back closed. Not one to let a setback prevent her
is the work of
from exploiting new opportunities, Osvella changed
her guiding
her season from Autumn to Spring and grifted her
star, Norebo.
way through this new land she found herself in,
Still, Seaton
eventually arriving in Seaton.
is too hot
Player: Michael right now and

she is seeking a way out of this town before her luck donations of the wealthy to maintain the defenses
runs out. against the hated "Westerlings" in the North.
Player: Abby Hammish was left behind a month ago to finish
Personality Traits: gathering donations while Sir Braford investigated a
rumor of an apple with strange healing properties
• My eyes are constantly scanning the room looking
being auctioned off in the town of Oakhurst… there
for anything of value (gold, art, information)—or
has been no word since his departure. Hammish is
where such things could be hidden.
worried that something has happened to his master
• Telling me that something is impossible is a
and wishes to track him down.
challenge I will accept, Every. Single. Time.
Ideals: Freedom. The Scarlet Brotherhood sought to Personality Traits: Having led a cloistered life for so
enslave me, now I will shatter their (or anyone else's) long, I have little practical experience dealing with
schemes to control others. people in the outside world and I worship the deeds
Bonds: Something important was taken from me, and of Sir Bradford and will regale my compatriots with
I aim to steal it back. examples his exemplary life.
Flaws: How can you dare greatness if you play it Ideals: Responsibility. It is my duty to respect the
safe? Plans are a crutch, so forget 'em. authority of those above me, just as those below me
must respect mine.
Hammish of Bissel Bonds: It is my sacred duty to protect my order, my

Human Cleric 1 (Acolyte), LN lands, my sovereign, and the people from threats
from without. I will lay down my life for them.
Patron deity: St. Cuthbert
Hammish is novitiate accompanying Sir Flaws: I put too much trust in those who wield
Braford, a Knight of the Watch, during his mission in power within my order’s hierarchy.
Seaton seeking worthy recruits to join the order and
Tabitha of House Kesilak

NG, 1/2E g F, Ftr 4/MU 3 )
By Jay L. Scott—Lord Gosumba on Twitch.tv
Tabitha was raised in the Elven Kingdom of Celene, having a Human father and Elven mother. Hailing
from one of the 10 Noble Houses of Celene (Kesilak is the 6th Noble House in Celene. The head of the House
is the famed Baron Dreckden of Kesilak CG GE M , Cv 11; also, he is the Leader of the Celenian Knights of
the Suss Forest Watch.) , Tabitha had alot of pressure on she as she grew up. Proficient with a Long Bow and
Bastard Sword, Tabitha chose not to be a specialist but to train in both the Magical and Combat realms.
When Tabitha was ready, she went out on her own, seeking the life of an adventurer. She traveled to
Greyhawk City and applied to join the famed Mercenary Group "Correlon's Arrows." Thinking she would
automatically be granted entry to the group, Tabitha met with Heleen of House Draxium (N (G), GE F, Dr 11/
MU 10); to her astonishment, she was outright rejected by the group. Thinking that it was her ability instead
of politics (Elves of Lesser Houses can be very haughty and jealous to others of higher status...), Tabitha
vowed to hone her training even more. She found a new home in Greyhawk City with the Adventuring
Group Iron Fury (a feeder Merc Group for the top rated group in the city, the Iron Brigade), and now seeks to
prove to the Arrows they made a true mistake by passing on her application.
As a Fighter/Magic User, Tabitha is a dual threat, but she has one strange quirk regarding her spell
selection. For some reason, which she has not discussed with other adventurers yet, she will NOT, under any
circumstances, cast a spell with any element of Fire. (she even has a very rare version of Burning Hands,
called Freezing Hands). One day, she may share this story in the course of adventuring.

Greyhawk City, the fantastic and improbable is
The Freeswords of Greyhawk City possible! Your Adventuring group is formed! Fame
and wealth are at your fingertips! Those that know
Mercenary companies
me well may assume I am being a bit facetious with
By Jay L. Scott
the previous paragraph. The forming of the
adventuring party is vital to most Campaigns, and
should probably happen at a much slower process
In any long running Campaign, the adventuring party than it usually does. However, in order to facilitate
is usually the main focus of the story; characters are the limited time players have in their busy lives and
brought together from different races, locations, and for general overall enjoyment of most gamers, this
alignments. They introduce themselves to each other occurs at an unnatural pace.
(normally at the local tavern), and then, the The irony is that adventuring parties have become
miraculous occurs. This mission is normally given by extremely vital in my Order of Ulek Campaign. To
someone, seemingly at random, that comes from out date of this writing, we have 19 different, distinct
of nowhere, looking for a “group of hardy groups that we play. All groups have names for
adventurers”. The characters negotiate a “fee” with distinction. (Some are really bad, like the Omega
this individual, set aside all of their personal Patrol, Theo’s Heroes, or just the Druid group, which
differences (and there normally are many), and then, was recently changed to something much more
almost magically, form a new Adventuring Group to momentous, the Defiled Glades Reclaimers.) This
complete the task. When you ponder this rationally, does not include groups for Order of Ulek Campaign
it really makes you Events, or special circumstance Adventures. All of this
think this may appear to be excessive and unmanageable, but
would almost has grown over a period of almost 4 decades. It is
never happen the natural growth of turning a series of stories into a
in real life. living, breathing, Campaign setting with

However, in the interactions occurring between those groups.
wonderful The most vibrant and alluring location for any
world of D&D, group of characters in my Campaign to seek their
and in fortunes has been Greyhawk City. The original
particular Free City of Greyhawk Boxed set (best reference
ever made, in my opinion) made this very easy
to implement. Information contained included a
Mercenary Guildhall, Freesword Permit and
Weapon Carry laws, and a multitude of
developed Guilds, NPCs, and irritating political
organizations (The People’s Constables, for
example). It provides a DM with all the tools
needed to develop an adventuring party and
keep feeding the group fantastic content. This
could be within the city limits of Greyhawk, or

outside the city limits in the Cairn Hills, the Nyr Dyv, or the Mistmarsh.
Over the course of decades of real time, parties of characters would change the face of the mercenary group
rankings in my Campaign, in the Free City of Greyhawk. I have attached that list below. Please note that this
has moved greatly from existing published sources.
Greyhawk City Freesword/Mercenary Groups

Rated in order by Fame/Notoriety
• The Iron Brigade
• The Fellowship of the Torch1
• Corellon’s Arrows1
• The Fighters of the Light1
• The Legion
• Khratch’s Liberators
• Vengeful Justice
• The Grey Company
• Wasim Qharallah’s Golden Scimitar2
• The Goodmen of Rilthane2
• Iron Fury
Heraldry by Bryan Blumklotz

• The Gnarleymen1
• The Breakers2
1 - Group is from published sources, but has been developed further in the Order of Ulek Campaign with much more detail and
interaction with PC Groups
2 - Group is from published sources with no changes made as of this writing Here is some detail on each Mercenary group with
some history or edits about each. All Groups are considered active and are played or utilized in my Campaign currently.
The Iron Brigade

The accomplishments and exploits of the most renowned Mercenary group in Greyhawk City
are too numerous to include here, and they will be discussed in a separate article. Some of
these include freeing Tenser in Return of the Eight, stopping an Iuz Army and a Clone of Iggwilv
in Expeditions to the Ruins of Greyhawk, and defeating one of their own who was turned into a
Megalomaniac Tyrant from ages past in Sallin Made Me Do It.
The Fellowship of the Torch

The greatest published source adventuring group in Greyhawk City continues to thrive with
little changes from the historical timeline, with one main exception. The group was able to
retrieve a small part of Grimmri Fischer’s body when he was killed, which was subsequently

resurrected by Jerome Kazinskaia, Specialty Priest of This very powerful PC Mercenary group would be
Rao. The Torch works with The Iron much higher on the rankings list, but they have left
Brigade and the Order of Ulek on many occasions for Greyhawk City for permanent residence in the Shield
missions to thwart evil. Also, Nastassia Lands. Consisting of a mix of members of the Order of
Aiareni Nightstar has had an on and off again Ulek and Mercs for hire, they made their name in
relationship with Elijah Winchester IV of the Iron Greyhawk fighting the expansion of an unwanted sect
Brigade. Only time will tell if this ever becomes in the Earth Dragon Cult in Greyhawk. Their leader is
anything more serious. Kiurg Stahl (LN, H M, Cv 11), and they boast extremely
powerful spellcasters, including Jacqueline Tyneman
(NG, H F, Wild Mage 12). They have two holdings in
Corellon’s Arrows
the Shield Lands on the border with Lands of Iuz (old
This group of Adventurers native to Celene has been
Horned Society), their fortress, Warmark, and Kincep
fully developed instead of just a footnote.
Mansion. These are proving to be a deterrent from
Led by Heleen of House Draxium (N (G), GE F, Dr 11/
increased raids from The Free Reavers.
MU 10), all six members are multi-classed and are
proficient or specialized with a bow (Heleen only Khratch’s Liberators
exception). They are all from either a Noble or Lesser Not a lot is truly known about this group which
House of Celene, and have worked with or hired recently came to Greyhawk City. Their leader, Khratch
other Mercenary groups (Iron Brigade and Legion (LN (E), 1/2Ogre M, Ftr 10), has put together a
included) to fight for the cause of Good. Also, Seala of hodgepodge of unwanted or undesirable miscreants
House Vrestin (CG, 1/2Eg F, Rg 8/Cl 9), was in a long that no other Mercenary group has wanted. This
term relationship with Marcus Kimara of the Iron combination has surprisingly worked, and they were
Brigade. This was ended by Marcus rather joyously received when they rescued Kondradis
unpleasantly, which has led to some tension still Bubka’s daughter, Olga, from a vile group of Bandits
existing between the parties involved. holed up in the northwestern Cairn Hills. Olga has
since caught the adventuring bug, and now does
The Fighters of the Light
missions with the reinvigorated Gnarleymen. Time
The Lawful Neutral aspect of Pholtus plays a huge
will tell if Khratch’s Liberators can stay on the right
role in my Campaign, and that includes this
side of the law and move up the mercenary rankings.
Mercenary group. Fully developed from a footnote
with only their leader named, Magund Starran (LN, H Vengeful Justice
M, SP Pholtus 11), the group includes a powerful A group of true freebooters, Vengeful Justice prefers
Quasi-Elementalist Spellcaster, Quisp (LN, H M, QE to take missions for hire outside of the City of
11), an Inquisitor (Paladin sub-class), Glen Wesley Greyhawk limits. They had successful missions in The
(LN, H M, Inq 10), and five Fighters and one Thief (all Corrupted Defender of the Cairn Hills, Ruins of the
with names of hockey goons from the 90s; sorry was Mistmarsh, and a Classic Module rehash placed in the
a joke back then). They are no nonsense, and always Mistmarsh, Baltron’s Beacon. With no true leader,
get the job done. They have been so successful; the some interesting personalities include Dmitri
Fighters of the Light now have expanded to have Castanov (LN, H M, Crusader 8) and Crystal Gradivus
groups in the cities of Hardby and Altimira. (LN, H F, Knight Holy Shielding 7; also, changed last
name from Canterbury, as she is infatuated with the
The Legion
Gradivus family of the Shield Lands.) This group has
some main goals, but the lure of coinage can get Revival and The Mongrel Nuisance. This is a lower
them to take almost any mission. level group, with a lot of potential. The members are
currently between Levels 3 to 5.
The Grey Company
One of our oldest PC Mercenary groups, the Grey The Gnarleymen
Company has greatly slipped in the rankings. This is The Gnarleymen is in my Greyhawk Kids’ Campaign
due to a lot of turnover in their membership, and (not streamed) for up and coming youthful players!
their connections to the seedier side of Greyhawk When most of the original published source group
Politics. In years past, they were instrumental in the was lost in the adventure Recovery of the
internal Thieves Guild Wars and the supplanting of Gnarleymen, they became a PC based Freesword
Tomas Ratek in the River Quarter, and Sharyn Group. Heroes of this Group include Taborias (NG, H
Messandier in the Thieves’ Quarter in There is No M, Ftr 6), Sean the Slayer (CG, H M, Rg 5), and Olga
Honor… Recently, however, they discovered, and Bubka (NG, H F, QE 5). Adventures concerning The
then gifted a major artifact of power (The King of the Freeswords of Greyhawk Groups listed, their history,
Beggars Staff of Power, thought permanently lost) in stories, interactions, and victories, may be seen on
exchange for a building deed to the grown son who is www.twitch.tv/lordgosumba.
seeking revenge and power, Thenden, of the
former leader of the Beggars’ Guild, Theobald,
in the adventure Deal or No Deal. This event
may precipitate a new war

between factions of Thieves and
Beggars from multiple cities,
including Greyhawk, Dyvers
and Hardby, as Thenden
wants revenge for his
father’s demise.
Iron Fury
This PC Mercenary
group was formed
by The Iron
Brigade as a group
of adventurers in
training. They worked as an
investigative unit during
Expeditions to the Ruins of
Greyhawk, finding out key information in
Locating Livashti. Also,
they have performed
missions in the Diamond Lake area to
fight a resurgence of an old cult in
Mongrels of the Putrid Tongue
A Covert War in
against some unknown criminals. The confrontation
included many illusions, theatrics, pyrotechnics, and
Greyhawk explosive spells. A half dozen corpses were left

behind, one dressed in Sental's armor along with
By William “Giantstomp” Dvorak some of his possession, like his prized shield with the
symbol of hopelessness enchanted onto it. This
The Greyhawk war was a tragedy that boiled corpse was also conveniently chared by a fireball
out of the lands spreading across the Flanaess. When during the mock battle.
people think of the war, they think of the battles in
The Shield Lands, Furyondy, the Vesve, and the Bandit Sental told no one of the elaborate scheme,
Kingdoms, but even lands untouched by the violence not even his wife and children. He knew their genuine
the war has had its effect. The city of Greyhawk sorrow of his death was vital in having others believe
seemed to have been untouched by the war if you his death. He would ask forgiveness from them when
exclude the waves of refugees flooding into the city, he returned from the second part of his plan,
but a war was underway on the streets of the Gem of entering the Bandit Kingdoms and freeing his brother
the Flanaess, a covert war. The Old One's aspirations Sarek and Sarek's family. That night he left Greyhawk
of conquest include Greyhawk as well as the whole of with a group of hand-picked adventurers selected for
the Flanaess. him by Turin and Org.
Before the outbreak of the war Sental Nurev, While the Iuzians were busy extorting
the Captain-General of the Watch of Greyhawk was information from Sental, they were also busy placing
being blackmailed by Boss Renfus of Stoink who had agents amongst The People's Constables. This pseudo
in captivity Sental Nurev's brother, Sarek and Sarek's organization of low-level law officers, one that
family. Boss Renfus was using the information Sental anyone can join by spending a 10gp fee. The People's
supplied to intercept and steal from merchants and Constables were already corrupt but were a
the rich. While this situation weighed heavily on significant source of revenue for the city, so their
Sental, he was able to suffer through it knowing it shortfalls were overlooked. Glodreddi Bakkanin,
was not being used to plot the downfall of the city. Inspector of Taxes and Chief of the People's
That all changed when the Bandit Kingdoms fell to the Constables, had been able to keep the constables
Iuzian forces, and they took Sental's brother from inline but now he was having trouble. Infiltrating their
Boss Renfus. ranks weren't just members of the Thieves Guild but
also agents of Iuz.
The information being demanded now
changed to troop strengths and locations, as well as In an attempt to control these new subgroups
plans of defenses and positions. Sental could not Glodreddi began instructing his loyal constables to
comply with these demands, but he couldn't go to his keep an eye on those that he suspected of being
superiors for fear of being imprisoned. Left with few spies. When these groups were confirmed he would
options, Sental devised a plan and went to the only pass the information onto the Thieves guild so they
people he knew that could help him, Turin could deal with them. This worked for some time,
Deathstalker, Guildmaster of the Greyhawk assassin's and Glodreddi even allowed some of the Iuzian spies
guild, and Org Nenshen, Guildmaster of the to continue their work but supplying them with false
Greyhawk Thieves guild. Despite his being the Captain information through various channels, then Mardela
-General of The Watch, Sental had good relations arrived. A half-orc that favored her human lineage
with both men for his fair treatment of their more than her orc heritage, Mardela has been one
members when caught. step ahead of Glodreddi and has so far been able to
keep any connection between her and the Iuzians a
With the aid of Org, and Turin, Sental faked secret. Knowing that her survival depends on her
his death in an elaborate and very public fake battle ability to make connections within the Greyhawk

political community Mardela has been spreading conducting business within the city. With the large
money around to thous that will accept it and transient and refugee population in the city, new
winning allies. With Mardela firmly entranced the faces do not draw attention like they would have
People's Constables have become split into two before the war, a fact that Tigran is now using to his
separate factions, those loyal to Glodreddi and those benefit.
loyal to Mardela. Glodreddi's only saving grace has
been his connection to the Thieves Guild Connected to all of the shady dealings going
on within the city, and the domains, of Greyhawk is
Tigran Gellner, the new Captain-General, was of course the Thieves Guild. Org Nenshen always had
selected to the position not just due to his kept an eye on those coming in and out of his city,
competence, but also because of his lack of deep ties but when the flood of refugees started rolling into
to anyone within the entrenched bureaucracy of the city, he placed his men on it around the clock.
Greyhawk. He spent much of his career before his The added turmoil, refugees, and earning potential
promotion in the surrounding domains overseeing of the entire situation has been a boon for the
the defenses of those areas. He trusts his second in Thieves guild, but Org is also no ones fool. He knows
command the ever-present Constable of Greyhawk, that his earning potential is much higher if the Gem
Derider Fanshen, but few others. It is because of this of the Flanaess stays out of the hands of Iuz. Because
distrust that he commissioned the Greycloaks, of this, the Thieves Guild has become a valuable ally
known as such because of the gray colored cloaks in making sure that the Old One's agents are found
they wear when they are on duty. In addition to the and dealt with.
gray cloaks that they wear, they also wear masks to
hide their identities. The real names and Identities of The Nightwatch Guild is another organization
the Greycloaks are known only to Tirgan himself, not highly active within the city, but this bodyguard for

even Derider knowns who they are. The formation of hire group rarely gets drawn into the intrigues of the
the Greycloaks created a major stir among the cities underworld. Even when they do become
merchants and bureaucrats. A secret police force was involved, they are wise enough to know
one thing, a secret police force comprised of that getting involved is contrary to their
anonymous men and women was another, goals and quickly separate themselves
and they saw it as too much power in from the situation and pass along the
the hands of Gellner. Eventually, information to the most appropriate
Gellner consented to requests that a group.
list of all Greycloaks be given to
another person in case of an While the groups
emergency, and Gellner agreed detailed above are the largest
and provided one to Fanshen. and most active currently in
Greyhawk's covert war, they are
The Greycloaks act as far from the only ones. There is
the eyes and ears within the a group of Rhenee smugglers
city, and rarely don their grey known as the Azure Brothers
cloaks and masks. Instead, operating out of the dock districts
they pass the information as well as rumors of Horned
onto the guard. Greycloaks are Society members now secretly
not recruited within Greyhawk, infiltrating the city on several levels
but from neighboring lands to as they look to rebuild their empire
help ensure that they are more discretely. While armies of
unknown to those already humanoids lead by demons might

The Thieves’ Guild of Greyhawk
By Thom Vandervenne—The Grey League
TGL on Twitter
Symbol:
A coin attached to a key. The coin represents
wealth and the key represents influence.
Overview:
here is little you can do within the
city that won't be spotted by the thieves and
reported to their taskmasters. Anything lost
or missing is most often blamed on the
Thieves' Guild and they are used by mothers
as the boogie man: “If you keep this up, the
thieves will come in the night and steal you
away.”
They were once the very epitome of
cunning and excellence but now the Guild is but a
shadow of its former self, although nonetheless still
skillful and influential. More recently, the war
precipitated by former Guildmaster Arentol against
Theobald and his Beggars' Union both killed off or
guild knows how to identify these
discouraged many low-level thieves and apprentices,
places because the symbol is often, unobtrusively,
reducing the guild's pool of roguish talent.
included in their sign. Sometimes the coin and key
The Thieves' Guild prefers to rob outsiders, be
are not always together. A physical key could be
they merchants or adventurers, and leave the locals
chained on a hook that holds a coin symbol, if you
alone. There are even strict quotas imposed by the
look closely, etc. Or a key might be set on a
guild's leaders on exactly how much can be stolen
windowsill and the coin on a planter on the sill. Or,
from the Merchants' and Traders' Union in any
perhaps the landlord might keep a pocket watch with
month.
a decorative coin and key dangling from the fob.
However, non-union traders are fair game,
and adventurers offer rich pickings. But that is not to
say that the Thieves' Guild does not steal at all from
the natives. They do whenever possible, and this fear Beliefs:
of robbery allows the guild to extort protection The Guild is your family and when you are there for it,
it will watch out for you.
money from small businesses and middle-class
Take your destiny in your own hands and never be
households to supplement the guild's considerable
less than what you deserve to be.
income. Everything—and everyone—has a price.
Unlicensed thieves are visited by enforcers
who will explain the benefits of membership and
Goals:
threaten with the consequences if they continue
To amass wealth, power, and influence.
unlicensed. In order to both keep up appearances and
To have eyes and ears all over The Domain.
to coexist with law-abiding communities, the Guild
maintains a charter. An example of such a document Enemies:
can be found here. Inside the Domain of Greyhawk Any other thieves’ group or guild in the city or the
the guild runs many safe houses. A member of the Domain of Greyhawk.

Ranks of the Thieves’ Guild of Greyhawk
Rank Name Insignia Renown Other Requirements
Thug none 1
Member traits: * No benefits and 90% of earnings go to the guild.
Aspirants to the * Able to buy simple illegal goods and tools.
Thieves’ Guild must pass
Enforcer Coin tattoo 5 3rd lvl
questioning within a Zone of
Truth and must also successfully * Fence goods of less than 200 GP value at 40% value.
complete an initiation crime. * 20% of the earnings go to the guild.
The guild is organized
into sections corresponding to 5th lvl
Taskmaster Key tattoo 15 1 secret mission
each of the city's quarters. The
membership of the guild in each * Fence goods of less than 100 GP value at 50% value.
quarter normally remain in that
* 10% of the earnings go to the guild.
quarter; there are few transfers,
although members will * Access to any rogue skill expert within 1d4 hours.
occasionally be temporarily * Able to run a team 1-2 enforces and 4-5 thugs.
transferred to the control of
another Master in another Shadow Silver Coin
30
11th lvl
quarter for a joint operation.
Clerk attached to key 3 secret missions
After the Great War, the * Fence goods of any value at 65% value.
Guild enlarged their own * Access to any expert within 1hr.
territory to include the whole
* For any secret mission receive seven 5th level rogues.
Domain of Greyhawk.
The Domain is not * Able to run 5+charmodifier taskmasters each with their own team.
divided up but rather the 15th lvl
Shadow Steward of the closest
Shadow Platinum Coin 50 10 secret missions
Steward attached to key Free vacancy for the rank
city/ town has ownership (and
responsibility) of places in that *Skeleton keys available to the sewers and most secret doors in the city of Greyhawk.
region. Ruining other guilds is a *Runs a quarter on the town and draw upon all its resources. He must still answer to
priority for them. the Head of the guild – The Shadow master.
The Guild’s activities are
many and varied, but in almost
all cases, have a materialistic
bent. They seek to amass wealth, and that can mean seeking dirt on enemies, finding new trade routes or deposits
of ore and treasure, and so on.

The Guild of Wizardry
By Thom Vandervenne—The Grey League
TGL on Twitter
Symbol:
Three golden triangles, one over the other, the
middle one thin and the outer one missing a part in the
two upside lines. Surrounding the triangles is a
magical circular swirl and, in the centre, the golden,
lightly glowing letters GW – Guild of Wizardry. Those
of Rank 1 have the same insignia but with the letters
UMA, to show they are still learners at the University
of magical arts.
Overview:
Founded as a free haven for all mages in 393
CY by the legendary ‘Mad’ Archmage Zagig Yragerne.
While the Guild of Wizardry is interested in its own
aggrandizement, it has no political agenda. The Wizards
are usually too busy with their own affairs to meddle too
much in the politics of the city. Membership also does not
require exclusive allegiance, and many hold another faction
membership. Because of this, many magi across the Flanaess
claim an affiliation with this guild. In many places, Beliefs:
membership in the guild is a source of prestige, due to the
guild’s international fame. Over the last decade nearly a The abuse of magic power must be monitored.
thousand active mages hold membership, though perhaps All the gifted should be taught.
half that many are in the city at any one time and a majority Path to power is through knowledge.
of those are dabblers or virtually inactive. The city and guild Goals:
have been essentially untouched by recent wars and it Magic should be open to all.
became a haven for many exiled practitioners. Protect the Free city from destruction.
Advance magical knowledge through both
The Guild resides and now runs the famous bastion ongoing research and archaeological investigation of
of learning - The University of Magical Arts. The UMA, a lost arcane disciplines.
pyramid-shaped building, is an architectural wonder and its
sheer sides and pointed crown are visible from many places Enemies:
in the district. Thought to be impregnable and of magical All those that wish to harm the city of Greyhawk or
design, its vaults hold the most expansive collection of its arcane users. Regents also turn their attention to
known magic items and of arcane texts in the Flanaess, all those that want to unbalance the world.
including, it is believed, those of the legendary ‘Mad
Archmage’. Member ranking - traits:
Any proven practitioner of arcane magic, even some
The UMA is very much a magical school with student more exotic arcane spellcaster, is eligible to join the Guild of
societies and professors teaching magical subjects such as Wizardry.
potion brewing, scroll writing, magical histories, divination, Admission to the university requires another
defensive casting and much more. Students rarely study 3-4 wizard’s recommendation, approval by a board of tutors,
years in a row as the guild wants them to embark on the and an initial admission fee of 100 gp. Training fees for older
road to adventure for a while. students are set as per the usual rules for gaining levels.
Associates are those who support the Guild in their
Afterwards the member might come back to spend a endeavors. They have no requirements other than helping
year at the UMA before going on the road again. higher ranking members.

Apprentices are gifted Rank Name Insignia Renown Other Requirements
people of any race that have Triangle pin with no
Associate 1 ⸺⸺
completed their initial training letters
at the UMA and are allowed to • No benefits
• Must assist higher ranks in the guild of Wizardry or the UMA.
leave the UMA. Guild magician
are given membership to the Triangle pin
Apprentice with UMA letters
5 Be of an Arcane Class
Guild of Wizardry and are the
• 50% off all research and research equipment
wizards known in towns, the • Access to laboratories and libraries
knowledgeable sages. • Circumstance bonus of +2 on all research
Master Magicians are teachers Symbol ring
running societies at the UMA Guild Magician with GW letters
15 5th lvl, 1 secret mission
or court magicians and often • -25% off all minor magical items
have a certain reputation. • Commercial practice is allowed in the city, subject to a license and paying 10% back to the guild.
Regents are the inner circle of Symbol ring
Master Magician with GW letters
the GW and their reputation
precedes them. Their actions • Circumstance bonus of +2 on diplomacy
• 25% off all magical items
often mark legendary events.
• Allowed to teach in the UMA and earn a compensation for it.
• Allowed to have 1-3 apprentices
Symbol ring
Regent with GW letters
Sources:
The City of Greyhawk – Boxed • Have a seat on the board of directors of the GW.
set Booklet Greyhawk: Folk, • Get 50% off all items, equipment or anything else for that matter.
Feuds, and Factions. • Gain access to the inner vaults.
Criterion Renown
One time: Native of Greyhawk City +2
One time: 5+ ranks in knowledge-arcane +1
One time: one Alignment part is Neutral +1
Teach or study at the university in Greyhawk City at least one day a week for a period of a 6 month without missing a day. +1
Deliver spellbooks or magical notes of a wizard greater level than yours to the library (max once per level of the character) +1
Deliver rare components to the alchemical labs (supernatural/ unique creature of CR 4+) +1
Complete a mission +1 / +2
Resolve a real treat to Greyhawk City +3
Save the guild from a major setback +2
Failing a mission -1 / -2
Create a problem for the city or guild -2
Fail in their duties in the UMA -1
Failing in any of the duties or Goals of the GW -1/ -3
Losing borrowed items -1
Getting your apprentices in trouble / or killed -2/ -4

T ale of Erkio
By Michael J. Gross, III
Author’s note: I have been a game referee much more often than I have been a player. Shortly after being introduced
to OD&D by a girl in my third-grade class in late 1980, I was given the Moldvay-edited D&D Basic box set to run games for my
brother, Brian (and anyone else who wanted to play). My brother was intrigued by my reports of playing D&D at recess and I
wanted to play more often than during the limited recess time at school. Unlike my own first player character, my brother’s PC
survived—even though his older brother/DM would have been content to see his thief “retire.” After our family moved in 1982, his
character and our campaign converted to AD&D, as that was what was being played in our new town. With my brother’s
permission, I am telling The Tale of Erkio…
The Free City of Greyhawk, “Gem of the In various groups, they sought fortune and testing of
Flanaess,” is known for its great variety of personages their skills at the nearby Caves of Chaos and the Caves
that have called it home. One such person, the human of the Unknown. Some were slain by the monsters of
Erkio, began his life’s adventure there. However, not the caves, but Erkio and the rest gained both treasure
much is known of the man prior to his leaving and experience in battle. They brought in man-at-arms
Greyhawk for the first time in 560 CY. Erkio learned the Unicef Gorg and the elves Ranar and Ronor to their
thief “trade” firsthand via observing members of number after that. After some time staying at the
Greyhawk’s Thieves’ and Beggars’ Guilds. He soon Keep, Erkio and his compatriots would meet a
discovered his own deft hands could swipe valuables, mysterious monk named Allanon. With him, they
food, and other property. Erkio had no intentions of sought to gain a reward for freeing slaves that had
joining a Guild, though, as he planned on leaving been taken to the Pomarj. The trail led to the city of
Greyhawk as soon as he could, desiring a life of Highport, where the heroes set free many enslaved by
adventuring because of the tales he had heard in the the evil operations there. One freed slave, the ruthless
shabby taverns of Greyhawk’s Old City. Selzen Mortano, was grateful and ready to exact
Erkio departed the City of Greyhawk with a vengeance. He would accompany Erkio’s party and
prove himself worthy in fights with the dreaded villains
merchant caravan on a wagon bound for the Wild
of the Pomarj.
Coast. After spending most of his money during his
trek southward, he found himself on the southern
edges of the Suss Forest, near the Principality of Ulek. Later—after more escapades and acquiring
Between the Principality and the humanoid-infested such magic items as a flying carpet, weapons, scrolls,
land of the Pomarj, he was among a group of travelers and potions galore, the team of adventurers heeded
who sought shelter at the Keep on the Borderlands. the call for aid from the far west of the Flanaess.
Erkio entered the renowned fortress and eventually Several countries were being overrun by hordes of
made acquaintance there with the warriors Thorguth giants and their allies. Local officials lent the group
and Mikull, the halfling Zorko Leafleg, the priest information and supplies to raid a hill giant’s fortress
Draggle, the magic-user known as Calchas, and many from which some of the attacks stemmed. Erkio and
others during his stay there. his friends were tasked with locating the giants’
leaders within, rooting them out, and destroying their

base. Investigation inside revealed frost giants were friends, Ranar and Ronor, are close by as they have
behind the hill giant incursions. A magic transporter returned to their elfhome in the Celadon Forest.
sent the team to a frost giant lair, wherein more Unicef has claimed that “a wrong turn in the
investigation uncovered a plot by fire giants who demonweb of Lolth” led the group to a (successful
were leading the frost giants. A second magic but costly) fight with the Demon Lord Orcus’ avatar
transporter sent the heroes to the abode of a fire on Oerth!
giant king. From there, the team descended into the
depths of the Oerth on the trail of dark elves—sinister
And what of Erkio? A few years after he and
and alive out of the shadows of rumor and scary fairy
his fellows traveled west to the Grand Duchy of Geoff,
tales!—whose most evil members were paying and
a strange thing occurred. A person claiming to be
directing the fire giants. Along the journey through
Erkio materialized in the Blackstone area of the plains
the hellish realms of giant and dark elf, the group was
east of the City of Greyhawk. It was perplexing to
bolstered by the addition of such worthies as Dorito
those who knew—or knew of—Erkio because this
C.C. the half-(sylvan) elf, Cliff Gray, Alisa the ranger,
person was a quite tall dwarf! This “new” Erkio
Necaro, Eysion Rilnor the elf, Galobh, Helinack, and
claimed to have been transformed into a “half-dwarf”
the dwarves Norchig and Yurrim Strongflame.
thanks to the ability of the magical axe he had
discovered in the UnderOerth. Sure enough, an axe
The story becomes enigmatic from here, as with dwarven runes hung at his side but no one has
been willing to dispossess him of it to verify his tale.
Erkio and his crew were never all accounted for after
So, Erkio the half-dwarf is overseer of a mine outside
the call west. Selzen Mortano was reported to have
Blackstone now and has many hill and mountain
been seen years later in the lands of both Iuz and The
dwarves in his employ including Yurrim Strongflame,
Horned Society. (No surprise as it was suspected he
Braut Torgul, and Morak Farduum. Whatever the
was of evil bent despite being kidnapped by the
case, while it is likely Erkio the thief helped stave off
slavers.) Rumors persisted that Mikull, Unicef, Ranar,
certain disaster in the realms of the western Flanaess,
Ronor, Draggle, Calchas, and more heroes were lost
it is also likely Erkio has found new ways to make
with Erkio somewhere in the drow underrealm.
money—in ways both aboveboard and illicit. He is
Thorguth was said to have been slain inside White also known to sell information that his mining,
Plume Mountain. A few of these rumors died when trading, and dwarven contacts bring him. As was the
some worthies began to resurface. case with a younger Erkio and his adventurer-for-hire
tendencies (as both employee and employer), the
The halfling, Zorko, is now the proprietor of older Erkio is still known to enlist the aid of
“Zorko Leafleg’s House of Horsies” in the Rivergate adventurers due to his affinity for those who take up
sector of the Greyhawk suburb of Eggsbruh, a town at the same career that he did.
the confluence of the Ery and Neen Rivers. The
aforementioned Dorito C.C. is an occasional visitor to
the City of Greyhawk and suspects Erkio has some
schemes operating within the city to this day. Unicef
Gorg has retired from adventuring but serves as a
captain in the service of The Kingdom of Nyrond. His

T ale of Thorguth
By Michael J. Gross, III
Author’s note: As said in the author’s note to The Tale of Erkio, I have been a game referee much more
often than I have been a player. I was introduced to OD&D by a girl in my third-grade class in late 1980 and—because characters
were like portable game pieces that allowed players to join any D&D game, no matter the “setting” (if one was even composed by
the DM as opposed to an amorphous “Realm” like that in the D&D cartoon of 1983-85)—used him in games with an uncle, cousins
from both sides of my parents’ families, classmates in school, and friends outside of school. I rolled up my first player character in
3rd grade and playing games was never the same for me. Please enjoy “The Tale of Thorguth”....
The man first known as “Thor” descended come and go for a variety of reasons (often premature
upon the central Flanaess after traveling far from his death at the hand of a terrible foe). Slowly, he made
home in the northern barbarian reaches—a native of his way south and west until he found himself in the
Rhizia, to be exact. His blond tresses and strong Wild Coast, then sailed around the Pomarj, and
physique stood out once he left his ancestral home for arrived at the border of The Principality of Ulek and
a life of adventure. Sure, he could find adventures in the Pomarj. Finding little adventure and in need of
his native land, but Thor desired things not many shelter, Thorguth and the river caravan with which he
Frost Barbarians did: riches and warmth. He learned traveled up the Jewel River arrived at a Keep that
that such things could be found to the south during his stood alone on the borderlands between the last
time serving in a joint Fruztii/Ratik army unit. This civilized realm of Ulek and the humanoid-infested
contingent took part in the campaign that caused lands of the Pomarj.
considerable damage to the humanoid forces of the Thorguth met Draggle, a priest of Pelor from
Bone March a few years ago and then cleared the Gryrax; Mikull, a warrior hailing from Onnwal; Zorko
passage that runs between the Griff and Corusk Leafleg, a halfling from The Duchy of Urnst; and
Mountains of forces from the Hold of Stonefist (known Calchas, a magic-user from The City of Greyhawk.
as “the pass of the Fists”) the following year. This Thorguth enjoyed his time talking and adventuring
would prevent and hamper Stonefist raiding parties with these fellows, but none would be as charismatic
from easy ingress into Rhizia. or could naturally lead the group like the silver-
Before undertaking these military excursions, tongued and quick-fingered thief making a name for
Thor was told that he should consider changing or himself by way of previous successful jaunts into the
augmenting his name. When he asked why, he was nearby Caves of Chaos: Erkio of Greyhawk. Calchus
answered by a clerical sage that he shared a name was not familiar with the fellow Greyhawk native but
with an old god of thunder from the Suloise who he and the rest were swayed by the thief’s smooth
populated the three barbarian countries (Frost, Ice, talk inside the Keep’s Tavern. They—and some
and Snow). Therefore, before his first taste of battle, others lost to the denizens and traps of the two sets of
Thor changed his name to Thorguth so as to avoid caves—made way into the unexplored Caves of the
disfavor from the old deity for whom he was named. Unknown.
Surely, the Fruztii already suffered enough at the Thorguth proved fearsome with his huge
hands of the Schnai that he did not want to add a warhammer, eschewing a shield in order to wield it
divine curse to their lot. with two hands. He was achieving his dreams with his
Thorguth would adventure in the Bone March ever-changing assembly of fellow fortune seekers.
with other worthies in a party that would see members Eventually, Erkio and Calchas had reasons for

returning to their home city and Thorguth joined them. only for a short time before rightfully returning it to its
Not long after the pair sought sages and other owner. Thus, the group made the trek north to White
assistance from the experts in abundance in the city Plume Mountain, the lair of Keraptis.
of hawks, a strange message was shared all over the Sadly, Thorguth would just barely live long
enough to see Whelm won. He was able to use it for
municipality along with the news that three wealthy
a time, but not long after his team won it from a
owners of exotic weapons were deprived of the prizes
guardian vampire, he was slain by manticore tail
of their respective collections. Erkio continued to work spikes in an inverted ziggurat that led to the place
with a sage for more information on the culprit said to where Blackrazor was guarded. Though Erkio and
be responsible for the thefts, a supposedly long-gone crew were able to recover Whelm, Blackrazor (a
wizard named Keraptis. Erkio’s desire for the reward dreadful black sword), and Wave (a magical trident),
for recovering the weapons was only matched by his they decided to return the weapons for the reward
hidden desire to own one or more of the famed pieces money due to the losses incurred within the ancient
for himself. Thorguth was sold on the recovery lair. There was talk of raising Thorguth from the realm
of the dead, but why that was not done—or perhaps
adventure idea solely because he wanted to win
was not successful—is unknown.
Whelm, a magical warhammer, for himself—even if
Harchuck
By William Dvorak
(Half-Orc, Chaotic Neutral, Bard)
Harchuck is not your typical bard in the sense that he doesn’t dance around and instruments, his voice
is his weapon. Harchuck is not a singer either, but more of a side show barker that dispenses quips, and bits
of philosophy wrapped around a humorous delivery that sound a lot like an old cartoon rooster that’s used to
dealing with chicken hawks.
Harchuck is no coward, but can play that part when he has to until he
gets into a better position to achieve his goals, which change as quickly as
the weather. Roaming around the bandit kingdoms he thought it would be fun
to fall in with the Iuzian conquerors, which he did, and he soon found
himself becoming a spy because of his talents. Harchuck could care
less about Iuz, or those he has conquered, he simply uses the
opportunity to create interesting developments.
Harchuck sows as much descent as he does help the
Iuzians. He might do a bit of spying for one Iuzian
commander, telling them the information they wanted to
know, along with a completely false statement that he
overheard a group of rogues and assassins talking about
how another Iuzian commander was planning his
assassination. He has played this game now for some
time and was one of the few NPC’s to meet the party in
Return to the Bandit Kingdoms more than once and not end
up dead.

Folks of Greyhawk
By Blake Ryan
Wilhelm Ulric Wolfstorm Human Warlock

Wilhelm was born in Perrenland during a thunderstorm, a fact that his parents reminded him of
every birthday.
He is a tanned and tall human male, grey eyes and dark hair. Usually Wilhelm wears a wolfskin
cloak and boots, with white shirt and pants. Wilhelm enjoys a drink, a tale and a walk outdoors.
On his 13th birthday Wilheim met a Wolf that could talk. The Wolf called itself the Lady of Fury
from the Fey lands, and they struck a deal.
During his 16th year Wilhelm saved a Wolf from a raging Owlbear, and they both fled together
through the woods. The Wolf stayed by Wilhelm's side for eight years.
He turned 18 in 582 CY on the day news of the Greyhawk Wars arrived in his town of Traft. Wilhelm
had done several tours with the militia, but was informed of Perrenland's neutrality.
So ,Wilhelm travelled southeast with three friends and his sister to test his mettle against
humanoids attacking the northern border of Furyondy. Due to the increasing number of fiends in the
service of Iuz, Wilhelm's crew had to resort to hit and run tactics against the tides of evil, and eventually
went west to the shelter of the Bramblewood. The two weeks they spent in the Bramblewood they slew
many giant spiders and several Ettercaps. The entire time it rained. Wilhelm felt his patron was testing
him, but he enjoyed it anyway. Wilhelm and his sister lost one of their closest friends in the Bramblewood.
They buried him and vowed never to return there.
These days Wilhelm can be found making a twice yearly trek between Traft, Highfolk, Littleberg, Dyvers
and Greyhawk City. Wilhelm meets for business or dinner at the Blind Basilisk.
Deidre Dusk Gnome Rogue/Cleric of Xan Yae

These days Deidre can be found each morning having business breakfasts at the Blue Dragon Inn in
the foreign quarter of Greyhawk City.
Deidre has strawberry blond hair in a pony tail, green eyes, a brown cloak, matching orange shirt and
pants-both with many pockets.
Born in Verbobonc, 525 Common Year, Deidre was the oldest of twelve.
Age 15 (540 CY) Deidre and two friends joined the church of Xan Yae, after passing a series of mental
puzzles and stealth tests to show dedication and sneakery.
With the resurfacing of the Temple of Elemental Evil in 579 CY, Deidre was sent to aid the region,
while her two friends were sent to Highfolk and Dyvers.
One of her comrades was slain in the Temple, and each Needfest she lights a candle in their memory.
During 580 CY Deidre moved to Greyhawk city and bought a modest home in the River quarter with
her adventuring funds. She still shares this home with three Gnome families, whom all assist each other
whenever possible.
Each month she treks to Grossettgrottell as a courier, and checks in with her two Gnome apprentices.
she has heard on the grapevine that Xan Yae church members have an open invitation to join the
Scarlet Brotherhood, but she has not responded to any such comments or conversations.
She does odd jobs for the city, merchant houses, and the thieves’ guild. For some time Deidre has
been planning a trip home to Verbobonc, but something always comes up and the trip gets delayed.
In the past year Deidre has had two brief skirmishes with Wererats in Greyhawk City. She still weilds the
short sword vs Lycanthropes she gathered from the Temple of Elemental Evil some years ago.

The “Irregulars”
The Greyhawk Channel—Return to Greyhawk
By NPC Bree
It is 583 CY, and war rages on within the few words, he uses his brute strength and kind heart
Flaeness. Lands are lost, new powers rise and fall, and to keep his new friends safe.
some of the greatest known names in all of D&D are Fyzzar, a Fire Gensai Barbarian, is a military
born. These stories are shared (and twisted) in inns man inthe local guard of Greyhawk. He loves sitting
and taverns, by veterans and civilians alike, including at thebar on his off time, waiting for the newest bit
the famous Green Dragon Inn. The Greyhawk oftrouble to fall in through the doors.
Channel’s Flagship show, Return to Greyhawk, has Senor Rancho, a Halfling Monk, is a man of
started an intermittent series, called “The many mysteries. Vague about his past, he is well
Irregulars”, based on rag versed in combat and
tag adventurers drinking at drunken glib.
the Green Dragon, always These stay close
available in case someone to the city, helping out
needs them. where they can to keep
Adelaide Grau is an the city in peace, in this
80-something Oeridian terrible time at war.
Wizard, born and raised in
the Free City, who raised The series comes on
two generations before Sundays based on
deciding to take up learning availability at 8:30 pm
magic. EST on The Greyhawk
Mogan, also in a Channel on Twitch.
golden age of life at the ripe
age of 83, is a human Druid,
who fights with her trusty
rake. Sassy and spunky, she
uses her rake as her preferred weapon, and often has
a collection of hard candies.
Bunion Boux is bright eyed and bushy tailed
youngHalfling Paladin. He loves his mother, and loves
towrite home about all of his firsts in the city.
Vestra is from the Great Kingdom of Aerdy,
who was sent away by her wealthy family for her
protection. Word of her dark Warlock magics and
lineage made her a target, so she was sent away with
a pretty pocket of gold and no real world experience.
Bunderson, a Human Fighter, was raised by
giants just outside the City of Greyhawk. A man of

The FOLKS of Greyhawk!!
A veritable cornucopia of NPCs to use for your campaign! Information about some
NPCs from official products, and some brand new ones created and shared by all
new authors!
• The Guardian—a new paladin subclass.
• Mercenaries of Greyhawk – fighters of the Flanaess.
• Robilar! - Discussion of the infamous NPC.
• NPC Chart—the notable NPCs of Greyhawk
• The goings-on of the Nightwatchmen!
• A look at the Thieves Guild of Greyhawk
• Gain renown with the Guild of Wizardry
• Tales of Erkio and Thorguth
• An introduction to Gord the Rogue.
• Saltmarsh: Then and Now — trivia and notes about the townspeople
Plus more than 30 ALL-NEW NPCs written specifically

for this issue!!

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July 2019 Summer

of the domain ofGreyhawk

Ultimately, we're really seeing a renaissance of Greyhawk fan-published content again.

Oerth Journal 29 Summer 2019

Lee “Tanith1st” Murphy, and

Editor Cover Art

Summer 2019 Oerth Journal 29 2

A sign hangs over a door depicting a large staff

3 Oerth Journal 29 Summer 2019

Artwork by Kristoph Nolen

Summer 2019 Oerth Journal 29 4

Atrea sword (+1, +2)

5 Oerth Journal 29 Summer 2019

Art by Clyde Caldwell, © 1985

Artwork by Kristoph Nolen

The version which was first put forward

Tenser wasn't the only one who had a

Summer 2019 Oerth Journal 29 8

their patron Arvoreen, represent those

Humility Guardians realize that their training and CHANNEL DIVINITY

Summer 2019 Oerth Journal 29 10

CENTER OF THE STORM By Ted “Bear” Gervais

11 Oerth Journal 29 Summer 2019

Summer 2019 Oerth Journal 29 12

Zelradton in recognition of House Caeralax’s long-

13 Oerth Journal 29 Summer 2019

Human (Oeridian-Suel) Commoner, CN

Summer 2019 Oerth Journal 29 14

15 Oerth Journal 29 Summer 2019

Summer 2019 Oerth Journal 29 16

Beatup Gealen cold-hearted father your new best friend.

17 Oerth Journal 29 Summer 2019

Artwork by Belial Lyka

One of the greatest things about the World of Greyhawk is there

21 Oerth Journal 29 Summer 2019

Folks Who Left

Some Things Came Along With Growth

Summer 2019 Oerth Journal 29 22

she got her predisposition for sojourning the

Motivations: Clas Nilfshi

Bellicose Bellamy believes. The Bosun of The Bearded Squid

And so, what we’re doing, is we’re releasing

Summer 2019 Oerth Journal 29 24

Personality Traits: Music and song to you are as cool

25 Oerth Journal 29 Summer 2019

Hammish of Bissel Bonds: It is my sacred duty to protect my order, my

Tabitha of House Kesilak

Summer 2019 Oerth Journal 29 26

in real life. living, breathing, Campaign setting with

27 Oerth Journal 29 Summer 2019

Greyhawk City Freesword/Mercenary Groups

Heraldry by Bryan Blumklotz

The Iron Brigade

The Fellowship of the Torch

Summer 2019 Oerth Journal 29 28

Artwork by Will Dvorak

Greyhawk explosive spells. A half dozen corpses were left

31 Oerth Journal 29 Summer 2019

Artwork by Will Dvorak