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Tuesday, 30 September 2014

Gates Lolth

Guldor

Greyhawk Planet
Guldor
Planetary Body Type Earth
Size Approx. 7,926.41 miles diameter
Rotational Period 25 hours
Orbital Period 500 days
Satellites None
Distance from Primary Unknown
Native Inhabitants dwarves, humans, orcs, werebears, bears, elves, halflings, gnomes, gnolls, bugbears
Guldor (also known as Moraad) is a world on the Prime Material Plane, best known as the home of the dwarven kingdom of Maldev.

Contents

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Description

Guldor is filled with mountains that seem unnaturally pointed and tall, like titanic stalagmites upthrusting from the earth. Dozens of irregular seas fill the valleys between the mountain ranges. Guldor's sky is bluish-purple and overcast, and the "stars" (known as asters) are so large and heavy they seem like small moons drifting randomly through the heavens. Guldor's sun is white in color. The planet has a 25-hour day and a 500-day year.
The rock of Guldor's mountains is granite-like, but it grows in a manner similar to crystals, naturally increasing in size by about an inch every year.

Inhabitants

Native races of Guldor include humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, bugbears, orcs, werebears, and gnolls. The orcs of Guldor are neutral in alignment and not enemies of the dwarves, though they are barbaric and the last of their kingdoms has been destroyed. Intelligent, talking bears are also found on Guldor.

Religion

Guldor was conquered several decades ago by the demon queen Lolth, whose drow followers mustered local bugbears, gnolls, and other evil races to conquer the others. The world's primary god of evil, Abrogard, was slain by Lolth, who is in the process of assuming his aspect. Guldor also has a creator-god who resembles a bear, and as a result reincarnated humans always return in werebear form.
Kiaransalee, driven from Thanatos by Orcus, has taken the fortress of Kandelspire on Guldor's dwarven kingdom of Maldev as her new center of operations.

Structure

Guldor is connected to the Demonweb Pits by means of a permanent portal.

Publishing history

The kingdom of Maldev and its fortress of Kandelspire were originally described in Queen of the Demonweb Pits by David C. Sutherland III. At the time that adventure was set, Maldev was described as "the last kingdom of mountain dwarves in this world," Kandelspire was still being besieged by the forces of Lolth, with the possibility that the player characters might lend their aid to the beleaguered dwarves. Officially, they must have failed, for Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss by Ed Stark, James Jacobs, and Erik Mona, which is set decades later in the World of Greyhawk Timeline, stated that both fortress and kingdom had fallen. It was Fiendish Codex I that gave the world a name, Guldor, and mentioned the god Abrogard and that Kiaransalee had made Kandelspire, haunted by the ghosts of the fallen dwarves, as her new home.
Roger E. Moore, in his essay "Gates in the World of Greyhawk," stated that Maldev "must be in another Crystal Sphere; the celestial phenomena are too strange to be in Greyspace." In Polyhedron #112 he greatly expanded on the world, calling it Moraad.
Expedition to the Demonweb Pits by Wolfgang Baur and Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel revisited the setting of Queen of the Demonweb Pits, but rather than mentioning Maldev it included a portal in the Demonweb Pits leading to a fallen dwarven empire called Truegard which had been enslaved by driders in the service of Lolth. Whether this empire is also on Guldor has not been specified.

See also

Bibliography

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Portal Network : Planet Nightworld


Nightworld of Vlad Tolenkov

Greyhawk Planet
Nightworld
Planetary Body Type Earth
Size             Earth
Rotational   Period 47.7 hours
Orbital Period Was one year, now 6 months
Satellites             1 and rings (both not visable)                     
Distance from Primary 3 AU
Native Inhabitants Vampires, pseudo-undead, Aerials, gnomes, dwarves, mongrelfolk
The Nightworld of Vlad Tolenkov is a world accessible from the Demonweb Pits.

Contents

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History

The Blackout

The Nightworld was an ordinary world much like Oerth until its sun entered a wildspace sargasso, a massive anti-magic region that suppressed the sun's connection to the Elemental Plane of Fire. Instantly, in an event remembered as the Blackout and the Time of Madness, the sun went dark. Seas froze and darkness descended over the land.

The Sun exists as a black hole?

The Sacrifice

Many of the world's gods sacrificed themselves to ensure that geothermal energies rose to the surface, and as a result volcanoes and earthquakes devastated much of what was left. The extra heat managed to be the salvation of what life remained, however. As a result of the Blackout and the Sacrifice, wild magic horribly altered many living beings.

The Highslaying

At the same time as the Sacrifice, many of the good-aligned deities who remained died while destroying the world's evil gods, preventing them from taking advantage of the Blackout to conquer the world.
Those gods who remain in the Nightworld are now dwindled to mere demigods in power, but they are highly sought after and closely involved with their worshipers' lives.
About a thousand years have passed since the Blackout. Many people in the Nightworld no longer believe the sun ever existed.

Ecology

Because of the volcanic activity created by the dead gods, the temperature in the Nightworld tends to be a constant 45-50 degrees Fahrenheit. Winds are rare, usually only manifesting due to magic or volcanoes.

Flora

Trees are extinct. In their place are giant fungi, thornbushes, mosses, carnivorous plants, and lichen.

Fauna

Many new breeds of wild trolls sweep across the lands, and various slimes, jellies, and oozes have adapted to life on the surface. Cockroaches and giant insects are common. Birds are almost extinct. Bats, including magical bats, have taken their place. Bulettes, umber hulks, ankhegs, purple worms, and other large burrowing creatures have mutated into bizarre new forms.

Inhabitants

Humans have been altered to become pseudo-undead creatures known as Stalkers. They closely resemble vampires, but hate them. Other humans have become pseudo-undead similar to ghouls. They are known as Gatherers because they prefer carrion to live prey. Still other humans have become non-undead beings superficially similar to mummies, wights, and other corporeal undead. The "mummies" are members of a particular religious sect who wrap themselves in bandages to mourn their world's losses.
Some goblins have been altered by their god to become a race of short werebat-like creatures known as Aerials.
Dwarves still survive underground, but nearly every kind of elf, including drow, has been wiped out. Gnomes survive in secret, concealed by stealth and illusions. Chaotic evil races were mostly wiped out, but some goblins and hobgoblins still survive. Mongrelfolk created by wild magic are common in the ruins. Jackalweres and werewolves are also known.

Features and settlements

Cities are normally inhabited by only a single race each, with denizens working and sleeping in three eight-hour shifts each day. Time is determined by watching the rotation of the stars. Vast dungeons beneath each city is used both for homes and agriculture. People tap underground rivers and aquifers for water and mine for a flammable coal-like rock for fuel.

The castle of Vlad Tolenkov

Vlad Tolenkov is a vampire magic-user allied with Lolth in her attempt to conquer the Nightworld. Because Vlad's castle is near the portal in the Demonweb Pits, planar travelers have given his name to the world around it. Vlad's armies are mostly undead, and within his castle are ghouls and ghasts who feed on his drained victims. Vlad's primary goal is to disrupt trade in the area in order to weaken it for Lolth's later conquest.

Bibliography

  • Moore, Roger E.. "Gates in the World of Greyhawk." Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1995. Originally appeared in TSR's America Online folder, later moved to its website. Available online:[1]
  • -----. "A World of Your Own." Polyhedron #114. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1995.
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Demon Lords

Abraxas

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Sample Article on ECOLOGY from a new (to me) RPG site

Rats, our friends. They are our company for centuries. A single rat is weak, but a horde of rats can survive much, and with incentive can be a nice foe. Hard living in free nature, but in closed enviroments, like sewers and dungeons, hmmm...

Rats excel underground in many ways. Senses, orientation, agility. Can eat basically anything. Is very social in its own way, and cunning.

Ecology:
Eats basically anything, makes a handy base of the food chain for that predators. The default dungeon encounter.

Ecological Purpose and Others:
If a dungeon has rats, you can forget any food lying around. Same applies to scrolls and potions, which are sooner or later consumed, or at least tried. Even putting them into wooden containers like chests or crates may not be enough. Rats are smart and can learn to avoid poison, so food just lying around in a rat infested dungeon should not be eaten. Contrary, not all that rats eat should be eaten too. Be carefull, rats spread diseases!

As for rats themselves, dwarwes are known to like their taste (ewww...). If you are THAT hungry, it is recommended to cook or roast them, though. Ask dwarwes for recipes.

Various monsters may survive on rats, while waiting for something tastier (like you).
0xp

manfred

Wild Dog, Small

Wherever people settle, they make sure they kill any wolwes, sooner or later. They bring dogs with themselves. And sooner or later, some dogs get abandoned, lost or ignored, and if they survive, they can attempt to fill a wolf-sized hole in the ecosystem.

Description:
This small canine is usually the size of a small dog (for big stray dogs get killed). Living on the verge of society forces to be silent and not attract attention, living of others leftovers. Hunt they still can, but only small rodents fall prey to them, they are mostly scavengers. Is usually a crossbreed of other small dog breeds, a bastard.

Mostly roam in small groups, or individually. Can be easily scared off by any creature bigger than them unless it is obviously too weak. Depending on their experience may attack weak-looking humanoids, or sleeping ones, or not. But most probably will avoid confrontation with ANY humanoid they meet.

Living space:
Slums of greater cities, and surprisingly even those dungeons - holes filled with monsters smaller and bigger. There they hunt rats and have occasionaly rests of something bigger. Are likely to follow heroes, wait till they kill something and leave it so.

Never far from the civilisation. Would not survive in a serious confrontation with a real predator.

Ecological Purpose and Others:
A minor scavenger and hunter. Would eat undead only if starving.

A minor non-threatening encounter in a not much threatening enviroment. Mentioning to heroes it is a dog, however dirty and poor, may save its live.

1% chance it is a pure breed, possibly in some way valuable. If carefully approached and treated, may be befriended and trained as a guard dog.

Treasure:
None. May use small holes as lair, where they consume their pray. Only if you need bones.
1xp

manfred

Bats
The Silent Flyers

No cheap horror movie or dark place would be complete without them. The flutter of their wings, and perhaps their sounds (if you got some ability for it) make them mysterious, dwellers in the dark, silently waiting to suck out your blood (Booo!).

If I remember right, the friendly bats live mostly on insects or fruit juices. There's also a variety that likes blood, but that's not a vampire. It is dangerous to sleeping cattle, if to anything. It bites it near some vein on the neck or back, and licks the blood flowing. Little dangerous, but it somewhat weakens the animal, or may transfer diseases. Fantasy mutants may be of course bigger, and more dangerous...

Ecological Purpose and Others:
One of the bases of the traditional underground kitchen, said to taste like chicken if you catch a nice fat one. Also one of the traditional alchemystic ingredients.

Bat's droppings can make the substrate for any weird fungus, bats may feed that bizzare monster next door... still hungry enough for your heroes.

Traditionally (in RPGs) they attack people with sources of light if disturbed. Not too sure about this, but we can leave it so.

Live on insects, fruit-juices, sometimes even on bodily fluids of higher mammals. Require enough place to fly around, if at all possible a connection to the Outside.
0xp

manfred

In addition, they may provide a lost party with some valuable direction. Bats often leave their caves to hunt in the open air come nightfall, so a party could conceivably try to follow a group of bats leaving for the night. The exit hole may be too small for humans, however, and may need to be widened.
0xp
Dossta

Underground-dwellers
(Knowledge Skill)

Given at least a week's careful observation of certain animals and creatures commonly living undergound, on a given location, you get insight into their life. Succesfull use of this skill may give you knowledge of following things:

- locations they evade for some reason (dangerous places, lurking monsters, leaking gases, danger of a cave-in)
- their behaviour may indicate various changes in the local ecosystem
(something scared them, a new threat, earthquake approaching, adventurers arrived, ...)
- can possibly lure them to locations of your choosing, for various purposes

Fore-warning is a very good thing. Hermits living in caves are likely to have this skill, even a smarter Orc could have it. Don't be surprised when the mysterious man is not surprised at your coming. I've been expecting you, come in...
0xp

manfred

Bugs
Bugs you will eat, and bugs will eat you.

Insects were here much longer than we are, and will be when we are forgotten. Practically any ecosystem makes use of insects, in numerous roles. Most dungeons should have THINGS creeping in the corner, on the wall, floor and ceiling, everywhere. Remember Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, the girl and thousands of insects? Cute.

Ecological Purpose and Others:
Eat anything and get eaten very often, handy. Should you try to eat them, choose carefully. Some are poisonous, some may be a local delicacy. Some may a kind of alchemystic ingredient.

Bugs get often magically enlarged in size, to play cannon-fodder for the heroes. They are well suited for this, being not much smart and using mostly simple forms of attack. If I remember right, spiders fall also in the Bugs category, once enlarged and armed with webs, many a DM's favourite!

Another option is to use a swarm of them little bugs... It's a kind of honour to be eaten by a dragon.
What ate him? Ants? Hm, bad luck. What was his name again, can't remember it somehow.
Unless poisonous, individual bugs can be just ignored. A swarm can be mightily dangerous.

Similar to rats, insects are likely to devour much of the perishables, and some of the more enduring items, too.
0xp

manfred

The Green Stuff

The true base of the food-chain are the molds, lichens, mosses, funghi etc. They grow on the ground, walls and ceilings, produce oxygen and in some cases light. Various varieties have many other functions, some actually climb up the food chain to consume insects or hapless adventurers.

Dungeon greenery is usually hardy and adapted to its enviroment. In the long run, they can survive most threats of this enviroment: stomping monsters, adventurers digging their way somewhere, even fire and explosions, or poisonous gases can not truly erase them. So even fully blasted dungeons would have some remaining. Plants do survive.

There may be a few places where nothing lives. Tombs sealed for long years, without any light or fresh air would be truly dead. Where plants cannot survive, few other life forms dare.

Ecological Purpose and Others:
With light and a good substrate (varies, some can survive on almost anything) produces oxygen (a gas good for breathing, requirement for many creatures). Some varieties are rumoured to shed weak light, and in large colonies may illuminate even great caverns, thus helping many other life forms.

Plants may contain both useful and harmful substances. Some are very valuable.
0xp

manfred

Ohhh I agree with your opinion. It makes sense. Animals to not just exist to kill the adventurers. Some may just ignore the person till the adventurer provokes them. Not all look at humans as a food. Some may actually be nice.

Blue Stalactite.
What an odd thing this is. This is a stlactite that is blue. Yes, blue. It is made of little bacteria. The bacteria eat the Minerals in the cavern cealing and as they grow they form a saft structure that looks like a stalactite. They are known for having curative properties if applied to wounds. Many animals in caves are known to rub against these when wounded.

Fever Crabs.
These crabs live in large colonies that look like scales on the ceiling of the cave. Their pinching claws will cause people to have a fever for a few days. They eat blue stalactite. The colony actually mines tunnels in the ceiling to give minerals to the stalactite which they in turn eat. Though not aggresive they will attack any who touch the blue stalactite. They keep the blue stalactite from over growing.
0xp

tarock ashar

Nice symbiotic relationship.
0xp
Ria Hawk

- Hey look, there's a blue stalactite!
- Oh sure, stop kidding you fool! Wink

Nice one! Given the presence of the Fever Crabs, it is not just a cheap way to heal. The animals may have several ways to bypass them:
- Rub against it, then withdraw fast.
- With a thick fur or hide they just don't care.
- May become immune to the fever effect after a few times.


Of course, for the Crabs not to over-populate, something should eat them in turn. But I think that would be no problem in any dungeon.

Note: If you overcame that fever, you should have a better chance to resist it later, after a few times you might be immune, fully or partially.
0xp
manfred

(While this may not fit exactly the Dungeon theme, it shows a way how a quick-and-easy ecology might be cooked up, and even seem logical, hopefully.)

My players wanted to hunt on squirrels, so I needed to know more about them. Of course I could do serious research, but hey, why should I not pull it all out of thin air?!

Here we go...


Silver Squirrels are for the biggest part of the year very similar to ordinary squirrels. They may be a bit bigger, though. In autumn and winter their pelt turns to a rare silvery shade, and that's a good reason to hunt them.

But now, what's the point of changing the colour? The usual brown or black seems to me a better protection in the average forest. It might be better in winter... but squirrels merrily hopping on snow reminds me too much of Ice Age (a nice movie). But the rumour spoke of no average forest, and Crooked Forest may be different. So why go silvery?

Maybe some tree turns its leaves or needles to a silvery hue. But why? Green is supposed to be better for photosyntesis, white does not sound that good to me. And in winter is dark colour probably better, because ummmm???, because capturing the few sun-rays keeps a tree warmer, and reduces frost damage. I have no idea if it is true, but let's stick to it. And why would a tree want to freeze even more? Maybe it wants to get rid of worms and other nice little biters.

Now, trees tormented by insects do (if I remember right) simply grow over it, or improve their chemical defenses, or both. And if a particular tree-type falls as prey too easily, it will die out. So what is its ecological edge, and how does it survive in large enough numbers to have a species adapted? Hard to explain with the little knowledge I have about Nature, so let's insert something, that has a tendency to move outside of logic: Humans.

Humans, or humanoids in general, cut down trees to make homes, baseball bats, and firewood. They like especially the great tall-grown trees, and wood is a nice decoration anyway. With this approach, trees have a tendency to vanish.

What if one particular tree, let's say a pine tree, adapts to an influence other trees fail to? First, it might support the little feasters that ruin its wood for building purposes, hopefully killing most of them every winter. It may also change its way of growth to produce mangy, knotted, twisted forms, to resist axes better. A limited way to resist fire would be also useful now, for humans will dislike this ugly useless tree.


There we have it. A location with squirrels is now connected to history. It presumes intensive deforestation in the recent past, and creates attitudes and superstitions for the locals ("Don't go into that forest, kids! They say that every White Pine was a witch a long time ago... and some of them have a very light sleep... "). Now that lumbering has ceased, and few go into those ugly woods, the forest may have not only squirrels attached...
1xp

manfred

Undead (see also a more expanded discussion of this kind 2793)

Lesser Undead are commonly found in dungeons. For now let us ignore what they do there and how they got there, let us think about how they interact with local ecosystem.

Undead are not alive (by definition). They are more like life-reversed. They do not like the Living, and the Living don't like the Undead much either.

Undead see Life. They see other undead too, but they can see life's energy in those yet living. According to some sources, they gain nourishment from killing life (not to mention flesh-eating ghouls...). So do they destroy anything living around them? No.

Some hardy mosses and lichens actually survive on undead. The zombies don't seem to object. They don't seem to object to small creatures either: insects, bats and rats live freely where zombies do. How to interprete this?

A) They don't like life, but their hate goes against humanoids. Sounds logical, for they were humanoids, too. But what about undead animals, why do they attack humanoids? Reason may be a built-in programming, or the fact their creator is a humanoid.

B) They hate life, but they ignore minor living forms. Or they are not able to concentrate on the creepers, their life force being too weak.

That means free-roaming undead cannot happily live next to a cave-bear, nor any other large animal. In the long run, only one side could stay or survive.

Also might mean that undead can be bypassed, if you disguise yourself (through magic) as a little creature! Question is, whether it disguises your life force enough, too...

Ecological Purpose and Others:

No built-in ecology (undead). Minor life forms are free to live, greater life forms are attacked. Unless commanded to do otherwise, they do not move much, or move not at all.

Are seldom attacked by other dungeon denizens, and if then certainly not for food, being not much tasty or appealing. Another useful kind of cannon-fodder, they can wait a long time for any hero.
0xp

manfred
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Monday, 29 September 2014

Grod of Greyhawk

From a website (google it please, go to the guys amazing page!)


Disclaimer: This page is not an official TSR or Trigee page. It is derived from material written by Gary Gygax for those companies and the use of such trademarks as D&D, AD&D, The World of Greyhawk, Greyhawk Adventures, Gord the Rogue et al. do not constitute challenges to the trademarks which may be owned by either of the above companies.



Around 3114 SD (-2400 CY), the Suel Imperium fought a series of wars with the monsters of the southern Crystalmist Mountains, what are now called the Hellfurnaces. The leaders of the enemies of the Suel were the so-called Fiery Kings, great families of red and shadow dragons, who led armies of orcs (roka in the Suloise tongue), goblins (or chebi), and hobgoblins (hochebi) against the fighters and wizards of the Suel. Working in concert with them were the treacherous Inheritors of the Red Gloom, magic-using worshippers of the evil Pyremius who made common cause with the dragons.
With the aid of Wee Jas and perhaps other gods, Emperor Inzhilem II of the House of Neheli-Arztin began the creation of the eight Orbs of Dragonkind, though they were not completed until at least fifty years later, during the reign of Ubrond Thrideen of the House of Neheli. Ubrond had ascended to the throne after Inzhilem II's assassination around 3158 SD (-2354 CY) after a feud within the House of Neheli-Arztin tore the house in half, wiping the partial house of Arztin from existence.
Around 3914 SD (-1600 CY), the cabal of gnomes who had created the jermlaine race were destroyed by spellcasters of the Suel Imperium.
In approximately 4297 SD (-1219 CY), the Suloise Imperial Congress approved the creation of the derro, blasphemous hybrids of human and dwarven slaves intended to serve as miners for the Suel mages. Clerics of Fortubo led numerous revolts in protest, and Fortubo abandoned the Suel humans over the terrible creation, joining the dwarf pantheon instead.
Around 4831 SD (-634 CY), the arch-mage Xodast created the terrible Bringer of Doom, i



THE NORTHWEST REACHES (Wolf and Tiger Nomads, Perrenland, Blackmoor, the Barrens)

ROVERS OF THE BARRENS

They slew the giants that wandered into their borders when Graz'zt incited the monstrosities against The Horned Society. A breakdown of the tribes and a history from 566-579 is given in Dragon 56 pp. 22-23.

BLACKMOOR

After the siege of Molag, Blackmoor allied with Iuz. (See also, Dave Arneson's Blackmoor page, DA1-4 - the D&D Blackmoor modules, this excerpt from a Judges' Guild product on Dave Arneson's The Egg of Coot, and Robilar Remembers: The City of the Gods from Oerth Journal 6)

The Obsidian Citadel

This is Mordenkainen's fortress. It is made of basalt and obsidian and lies in the mountains west of the Vesve. It is cloaked magically and is a sprawling complex. There are many dwarven miners working a platinum vein here. Gnomish smiths coin the metal and make jewelry. Men and elves ship it to Perrenland and Ket in the west, Highfolk and Veluna to the south, and east to Furyondy. Mordenkainen has several agents, including spies in Iuz and The Horned Society. Highfolk has allied with Mordenkainen against Iuz and the Hierarchs. The arch-mage has grugach and wood elf tribe vassals. (A5-83)

Wegwiur, (Wolf Nomads)

See Dragon 56 pp. 18-19 for a description of their conflict with Iuz c. 578-579.

THE BAKLUNI NATIONS

The Dry Steppes

Arroden
Nomads of the Dry Steppes, they live west and south of Ulsprue. They have dark skin and grey eyes. They wear turbans, veils and buff colored garments. They use lassos, longswords and crossbows. They have a few silver bracelets of protection +1. They hide near waterholes, wait for travellers to drink and take them captive. They are slavers and also exact "tarrifs" upon those travelling through their land, especially Ullites.
Jahindi
They are a dark skinned Bakluni nomad group that lives north of the Arroden.
Jahind
They are a Dry Steppeland tribe that lives near the Sulhalts. They ride Gurahasti lizards.
Sa'han
They are a Bakluni nomad tribe that lives in the west, off the map
Behow
They are another western tribe that lives off the map
Chomur
They are another western tribe that lives off the map.
Changar
They are a Dry Steppeland tribe that lives near the Sulhalts. They ride on Gurahasti lizards.
Mulwar
They are a Dry Steppeland tribe that lives near the Sulhalts
Al Illa-Thuffi
They are a tribe that lives right next to the Sulhalts. They use yellow tufted tipped lances and are enemies of the Arroden.
Farzoel
a grey striped polecat in the Al Illa-Thuffi language.
Hokrodden
They are the southern branch of the Arroden tribe.
Chepnoi
They are a tribe related to the Al Illa-Thuffi, that live in a green valley along the Pass of the Clenched Fist, in the Sulhalts. They are a mountain people and trade with one another twice a year. They make occasional forays into the Sea of Dust.
Dry Steppe NPC's:
Shaik Yahoud
He is the leader of the Arroden. He uses a lance.
Bohkir
He is an Arroden fighter
Brodri
He is an Arroden, the only one who will speak in more than grunts and growls to a prisoner. He is the youngest in the group.
Haradoon
He is an Arroden fighter
Kodan
He is an Arroden fighter
Lafdan
He is an Arroden warrior
Thotir
He is an Arroden warrior.
Vahkta
He is an Arroden fighter
Achulka aka Saufghi
He is from the Al Illa-Thuffi tribe. He is hawk faced and uses a bow, a tulwar, and a lance with a yellow tufted tip. He rides with four others. He is interested in acquiring Arroden bracelets. His uncle had brought back a large gold coin and a bronze shield from the Sea of Dust.
Hammaden
He is an Al Illa-Thuffi, killed by a carnivorous plant.
Nizamee
He is an Al Illa-Thuffi nomad.
Jahmut
He is an Al Illa-Thuffi nomad.

Karnoosh

This city is a trading center on Lake Karnoosh, (P6-142) Its market is frequented by all of the nomadic tribes west of the Crystalmist chain and south of Ket. Outlying nomads sack those nomads who sack caravans and are, in turn, sacked in the town. Turrets and domes dominate the city. The walled portion of the city has a population of 7-8000. There are many villages and towns surrounding Karnoosh, so that the entire metropolitan area has a population of 32-35000. The suburbs have many caravansaries, wine shops, and places of entertainment.
The main city
This region of the city has an open bazaar that is always open. There is trade in slaves, spices, animals, ivory, and all other goods. There is a brick casbah with a large number of troops under the command of a Shah. There are very few demi-humans here, in fact, there are six dwarves total. There are all colors of humanity here, save white. The trail, leads south east along the lake's edge for seventy miles, then splits into three small trails, running east, south, and west. The south is in the center and runs to Tashbul, then east and south into the Sulhalt Mountains. It goes ninety miles east form Tashbul and then south through the mountain pass. It is a two week journey through the pass.

Lake Karnoosh

(O6-143) That lake in the middle of the Dry Steppes.

KET

Lopolla
The city is a mix of east and west, with more west than east.
Sectors:
each is purposely walled off from one another.
Casbah
the large fortress compound.
Souk
the crowded market district
Medina
the residential quarter
Ourmistan
the foreign quarter
Warehouse district
Dar Peshdwar
This place is a bar with strip-dancers. The dancers are excellent and dance on a marble stage accompanied by a three piece ensemble of musicians. The main dancer is called the Pearl of Perfection. They use golden lights from twenty smoking lamps around the stage. The place is hot. The bar is attended by warriors and aristocrats. There is a cloth screened portal that leads to a broad hallway. It is short and goes around the corner to a large kitchen. Across the kitchen is a door, which leads to a small walled garden that has a barred, heavy, black, gate. It leads to an alley.
This back entrance to the Dar Peshdwar is on an alley that exits to a narrower side passage. After several turns, this side passage opens into a small open square that contains a bazaar. Across the square is long narrow road that runs a great deal more than 300 feet.
Gate
The gate nearest the long passage has four guards with long bows, long spears and long swords. The corporal is housed inside the gatehouse. The gates are closed at night, but the corporal is not above taking bribes.
Peoples of Ket:
Kirkir tribes
Bakluni tribes of the Pennor area. Eg. The Al-babur. They build stone villages, the women tend the crops. They move to a different village every season. The men hunt and fight, occasionally warring against the Paynims or the Ullites. They have horses and goats. Polygamy is an accepted custom.
NPC's of Ket:
Malik Ibn Urchi
is the Commander of a company of mercenary lancers in Ket. They wear brown cloaks with the Ket coat of arms.
Malik Xestrazy
a relative of the Marcher Lord of Ket.
Ageelia
a beautiful dancer from Ket, she says that she was a slave to Malik Xestrazy, a relative of the Marcher Lord of Ket and that he would sell her to Overking Ivid. She has green Eyes. She is really Xestrazy's lover and accomplice.
Omar
He is a fat Kettite with Tusmit blood and is the owner of the Dar Peshdwar. He would sell Pearl to Zeif to spy for Ket.
Pearl of Perfection
She is a platinum blonde, strip-dancer at the Dar Peshdwar bar in Lopolla. She has fair skin and silver gray eyes. She is an excellent dancer. She glistens with perfume and sweat, she has many transparent garments. She is used to a pampered life and will have to make some adjustments if she intends to stay with Zulman.
Mulha
Hetman of the Al-babur tribe of the Kirkir. He accepts Gord into his tribe. He is Zulman's father. He has a small swift stallion named Windeater, which he gives to Gord.
Zulman
Pearl's fiance. He lives in the Pennors and is the prince of the Al-babur tribe of the Kirkir. He has brought four horses which he, Pearl, and Gord can escape on. He is the first son of the Hetman. He looks about twenty but is actually in his late twenties.

PAYANIMS

While not specificly discussed in the Gord books, other Greyhawk products indicate that this region was once the seat of the Bakluni nation, prior to the Invoked Devistation. The MMII entry on Hordlings would indicate that those daemons were loosed en masse upon the land by that disaster through the use of the "bringer of doom". During that disaster, the Axe of the Dwarvish Lords was lost (DMG 1st ed. p. 156) and afterwards the Bakluni gods gave their high priest the Cup and Talisman of Al'Akbar
Al-Babur summer village
lies 300 miles east (not directly) of Ulakand.
Okmanistan
the area north of the Ulsprec, south of the Paynims.
The Pass of the Clenched Fist
This a secret pass through the Sulhalt mountains known to the Al Illa-Thuffi. It lies sixty miles out of Tashbul and is marked by a rock that looks like a hitchhiker's fist. It is the autumn residence for the Thuffi. The green valley of the Chepnoi lies two days along the pass, in the middle of the mountains.
Zondabad
This place is mined by the Kizam. The slaves die quickly here.
Tribes of the Payanims:
Okmani Tribes
The Okmani are Bakluni tribes that inhabit the area north of the Ulsprue. They are known to waylay travellers and sack caravans. They are enemies of the Al-babur. They wear green and grey striped cloaks and are armed with scimitars, lances, and bows and carry small shields. Their battle cry is "Yii-Yii-Yii,-Okman!", their greeting is Salaam and their name for a grey-striped pole cat is Pharzool. They have the custom of having strangers offer their food with salt and bread both for sustinance and for establishing guest-host relations as in the Al-Qadim setting. When one is adopted into their tribe, the adoptee is expected to give gifts.
NPC's of the Payanims (These people also frequent the Dry Steppes on occasion.)
The Kizam
buys slaves at Karnoosh to work in the mines of Zondabad where slaves die quickly.
Eflam
He is an Okmani Fighter. He is the brightest and leader of the group which includs the next two.
Hukkasin
He is an Okmani Fighter.
Ushtwer
He is an Okmani Fighter.

Pen Wilds

These are the hills south of the Bramblewood and Ket. They are the eastern portion of the Pennor Hills.
Tashbul
(O6-150) There is a secret pass through the Sulhalts 60 miles out of Tashbul, marked by a rock that looks like a hitchhiker's fist.

Ull

The Underdark
it has an entrance in Kester which attaches to the tunnels leading to the Vault of the Drow.
Ullites
shout "Ull!" as their battlecry. They are armed with scimitars, lances, and bows and carry small shields. Their clothing is flame colored with reddish pink checks.

Zeif

NPC's of Zeif
Kufteer, Shah of Wadlaoo, Vizeer of Zief
He would purchase Pearl and has a six man personal guard unit. They are dressed as typical Ziefites, but wear chainmail and carry tulwars (scimitar-like weapons).
Al Ruhk
Kufteer's largest personal guard. He wears chainmail, carries a tulwar and uses his name as a battle-cry. (Ref. Ruhk = Roc = Rook = 1) that huge, elephant eating bird in the Sindbad the Sailor stories. 2) the chess piece named after said bird)
Zameer Dey
He is one of the best assassins from Zief and is in the employ of Kufteer. He is dark skinned. Equipment: poisoned curved dagger, balanced for throwing. He has a Zeif technique of spinning with daggers against his forearms. He wears a brightly striped short kaftan typical of Ziefs. His broad, cloth-of-gold sash holds his kaftan around his waist. He wears baggy bright blue satin pants slightly curled long toed boots, a short padded and embroidered garment linked, cut away in front. He also wears a spiked tarboosh under his turban and leather armor underneath his clothing. He shouts insults while fighting.

THE SEA OF DUST

The Sea of Dust

This region was once the Suel empire. During the Rain of Colorless Fire most of the cities were destroyed. The Forgotten City and a few other cities were preserved under the dust through the actions of powerful spell casters. These peripheral cities died out and were buried. There are sand storms there that can bury you alive in minutes, so the Thuffi have hollow poles and silken tarps to prevent suffocation. The typical desert garb consists of white tunics, robes, snow shoes, and hollow poles with plugs, the poles act both as snorkels and prodders to test the dust depth. Each band member carries their personal cocoon-like tent; it is light but bulky. There are some pools of blackish water. Leather-leafed palms with hard wooden pods grow around here; when the pods are soaked, they produce a good fruit. There are also deathvision trees and plants with fat leaves that are deep green. They grow around the edge of the oasis and have itching hairs on the leaves. When singed, the hairs are removed and a waxy tasting fruit remains. Too much will lead to nausea and gas.
Beyond the rocky area, there are no water holes, just deep dust. There is a carnivorous plant that looks like a bed of stripe leafed plants with a silvery fruit. It has a mouth below the dust. When some pressure shifts, the victim falls under the dust and is devoured.
There is a another pool at the Suhalt projection; there is also a ravine. For six days travel, there are hills south of the projection. Then, heading southwest, there is a 120 mile diameter morass approximately 300 miles east of the Ruins. Eclavdra's group encountered a fifty foot high, north-south ridge. Carrion crawlers and vultures live near the mountains in the Sea of Dust. There are Oases every 300 or 400 miles.
Ruins
This particular set of ruins lies south west of the hills. They appear as a natural stone projection, but are actually a group of broken towers and the remains of walls. Three feet beneath the ash is the roof. There is a rectangular trap door, three feet square with the wood perfectly preserved there. The trap door leads to a ladder down into a room. There is a flight of steps descending in the corner of the room. There is also a pewter pricket and a rushlight with hard grease - 20' illumination. This is the fifth floor and was used as and observatory and temples. It is a square tower, and there are star charts on the walls, along with equipment, maps, books, and scrolls in floors 1-4, that are dusty, but intact. The windows are shuttered. There is an inch of dust on the floor that has sifted in through seems in the windows. The stairway leads to the cellars. The place is built like a fort. In the cellar, it is damp, and there is a low tunnel to a spiral stair down, carved from the rock. Forty feet down there is a natural cave. It had been eight feet deep in water, now, the bottom is mud. The area next to the wall there is still a fresh water pool. Back in the cellar, there is a passage way to a door, barred with a heavy iron ring. Inside that room, which is also a natural cave, complete with stalagmites, are four or more stone boxes. They are trapped with poison needles. In the boxes are coins, jewelry, uncut gems, and metal ingots. The room is also trapped with a confusion spell. The gold coins are big thick wheels with the head of a haughty man stamped on one side and a sun on the other. There are a few tarnished silver coins. The are are some cut gems, pearls, amber, ivory and coral. There is an ivory scroll case with a map of the sub-dust tunnels. Some lead to the Forgotten City.
Sixty albino carnivorous apelings with yellowed hair arrive ten rounds after the treasure room is entered. They are mute and have yellowed teeth. The mini-apes are under the command of Suel albinos who use curved bladed spears, crossbows, and aklys. There are twelve Suel pygmies, including a grey robed mage, (Flesh to Stone, Lightning Bolt), and his understudy (Darkness), ring of invisibility.
Travelling down the passage, and around the corner, down the stairs leads to a well room. Proceeding then, through a hole leads to a pool and beyond.
From the Temple to the City
The passage at the other end of the pool leads south 100 yards to a cave in. There is then a small opening in the ceiling up to a maze of sewers, subcellars and passages. New passages are four feet high and five feet wide, built for pygmies. The pygmy passage heads southwest and up to the Forgotten City. The cave in is twenty-five feet long, but in the upper corner only 2'6", but the roof is loose. At the other upper corner, the cave in is 3' long and the roof is solid. The passage continues for 100 yards after the cave-in and then splits, one end veering east, and the other going directly west in a "T" shape. The West passage goes up to a concealed stone door into a circular aqueduct. There is a trickle of water here flowing from the Temple/City area North to South. The pipe is 20' in diameter and runs for miles. This is 300 miles away from the forgotten city in (A6-153, or Z5-152). Wandering monsters include giant slugs spitting acid and poison, dun puddings, black puddings, green slimes, lurkers above, and cloakers. The pipe eventually comes to a wall of rock and soil which burst the aqueduct during an earthquake. It leads out and opens to tunnels outside of the aqueduct. The large one runs on one side. The small ones are five feet tall.
The large one leads due southwest and slightly up. It intersects with the floor of a larger tunnel going south. It is a slug trail. There are fungi, bats, rats, and mice. It ends in dust and soil with a hole sloping down and an east-west slug tunnel. The down slope goes 80 degrees to the horizontal. After 30 feet there is a drop to a chasm. This "J" shaped tube ends 100 feet above the floor.
The cliff wall is made of smooth limestone. 5' feet to the the right of the tube, is a 2' wide ledge. It goes 200 ft along the wall. then there is a 7 foot gap where a large amorphous creature with tentacles and acidic black blood awaits. The blood is capable of dissolving swords and the like. The path then leads dow, widens and forms steps down to a 10' above the floor of the rift. The cavern is 300' in diameter. The ceiling is too high up to see. Magic supports it. The ledge continues, going upward, narrowing, and going to the top of the cavern where it becomes a tunnel. This large cavern was a refuge during the Rain of Colorless Fire. The tunnel leads to a high plateau in the middle of the Sea of Dust, it was a river on the plateau. The river cut a rift (the passage) and fed a great lake (the cavern). The riverbed/passage/tunnel leads to the Forgotten City.
Forgotten City
This ancient city was once a large Suel metropolis, now houses the Lawful Evil Theorpart. It was the Suel capital city and it survived the Rain of Colorless Fire. It was shielded by magic, but was buried by 100 feet of dust. It lies on the once plateau on the once river passage. From that route, there is a guarded entrance way. It is a crude wall with two square towers manned by Suel Pygmies. 100 feet in front of it is a fifteen foot tall ledge with lots of recesses. Patrols consist of twenty apelings and twenty pigmies (six in the front, ten flanking and four in the rear) with human slaves. The pigmies use a sign language (undercommon). The twenty foot wall touches the sides of the cavern. One guard on the wall is thirty feet from the cave side. Other guards are posted forty feet away from each other along the wall. The passage rises up. This was part of the city's outer wall. It was built on a hill.
One quarter mile further, the river bed broadens into an enormous chamber. The broad way on the lowest level has foot traffic (pygmies, slaves). Stairs and ramps are on either side of the road leading to a level with a busier road sixty feet above. Low ancient buildings support a solid roof of stone. Red light from dim oval globes illuminates the place. The roof forms a large dome. This entryway is a side passage. The dome, which is 100 feet high at it's apex, covers only the heart of the city.
A faint high signal note summons the pygmies into the buildings for the sleep period. A piping with quivers is the alarm. A gong from one end and a horn from the other end rallies the pygmies. From above ground, half of the buildings still stand. In its prime, it could have housed a million people.

Going out the alley next to the storehouse, towards the ramp, then along street for 50 yards leads to an intersection between this street and a broad avenue. Proceeding left down the Broad Avenue leads to the temple's secondary entrance.
Warehouse/slavehold complex
A big, aged building has a tall arched roof with flying bridges. To the side, a building was used as a warehouse, but the crates and bales have not been touched for years. The three buildings connected to the warehouse are uninhabited. All of the upper floors are unoccupied. The pygmies have entered the lower stories before. The four story remainder of a building is accessable from an upper walkway. Two pygmies have their backs to the third floor stairs. One has a silver buckled belt. There are only two guards on the second floor and many slaves in holding: two dozen human, half-elfin and elf slaves. The first floor holds twelve pygmies. Many nearby buildings are similarly set up. This building is three buildings from the edge of the level, where a narrow flight of stairs leads outside to twenty feet above the riverbed bottom. It is across from a ramp up. On the other side of the riverbed is a museum.
Museum
This building lies on the side of the riverbed opposite to the warehouse/slave quarters. It holds many ancient weapons.
Storehouse
This building holds man-sized weapons useless to the Suel that they have acquired through trade. It is just up the ramp across from the Warehouse/slavehold complex. There is a door on the alley which is locked. It holds all sorts of normal arms: long swords, axes, a mace, a long-spiked morning star, and broadswords.
Bridges
These are walkways above the city, connecting many of the buildings.
The Great Temple
The Theorpart is plainly visible as the central object of worship. It is set in the center of a huge, hard transparent sphere made of resochist. Suel pygmies believe it is the artifact that will restore them to greatness. Held here are the enchanted weapons and armor of kings and nobles from ages past. It is a white building one half mile down Broad, left off of the Ramp Street. The secondary entrance from the broad avenue is up a narrow stairway. There are white pillars trimmed with red gold on the entrance. Clerics are housed nearby the secondary entrance. There are grand entrances on the other three sides.
The secondary entrance is from the west and opens to a large vestibule with three passageways leading away. Red light fills the room. Straight ahead is a golden light. This is the only place in the city such light can be found. It is a ten foot wide passageway of polished alabaster with gold inlays in the mosaic tiles. It is day-bright in order to awe the commoner pygmies.
The grand hall has huge pillars. There is a curved end hall, columned side aisles and a wide central way. There are lines of display-cases along the middle of four broad main aisles. It looks like a museum. The cases are glass/crystal enclosures, exhibiting religious artifacts: ancient books, scrolls, carved chairs, offery and altar pieces, gold and silver clerical paraphernalia, etc. The center of the chamber is domed in gold. The floor beneath is a disk of dark polished onyx. Around the circle is a gold inlayed wooden rail, broken at one spot from the secondary entrance side. Outside the rail are pygmy benches with a seating capacity of 100. From the zenith of the dome 40' up, hangs a huge chain of dull greenish metal. 15' up the chain has a massive ring. Four other chains radiate from the ring to enclose the crystal globe, along with another ring underneath. There is a more of the thicker chain reaching and stapled to the floor. The lower ring is 7' 6" to 8' 0" above the ground. The theorpart known as The Cone of the Magi is encased in the resochist globe. [Randy Richards (acererak@aol.com) assures me that: According to Gary Gygax,... Uattho... is the name of the long dead mage-priest who guarded the Cone of the Magi (which is what the Suel called it). As a side note, "resochist" is an alchemical substance similar to "transparent aluminum" from the Star Trek movies.]
The display case holds platemail +2, an oval-shaped shield +2 and a high quality sword (+3 or +4). Attempt to pilfer these items calls the knight who once wore them back to life. He shouts insults at the thief as he fights. After loosing 30 hp he begs for quarter. He believes that he and the Suel empire still are vibrant. He will attack again if given the opportunity.
The resochist sphere is very heavy. If it is dropped, it will break the benches, railing, and emit a loud clang and roll to the left or north. The sphere takes 50 hp of damage to break, but weapons must save verses crushing blow or shatter with a -2 per strike cumulative penalty. The slaves will think that Obmi and Eclavdra are saviors. The Pygmies will rally outside the temple.
Large Plaza
This lies south of the Temple.
Stronghold
This lies south of the Large Plaza. The second and third floors are living quarters. The pantries hold fungus and waterskins. The fourth floor has windows blocked with stone and mortar and has a thin layer of dust on the floor. The fifth level has riding gear packed in crates. The sixth floor has cage-like stalls for riding lizards. At the far end of the room, double doors lead out to the Sea of Dust.
Desert Residents
The traveller in the Sea of Dust may encounter such hazardous flora as: carnivorous wire trees; low bushes that grow away from the trees, bearing eight barbs; snake weeds; jumping cacti and touch-me nots which eat birds; silver sticks, which shoot a gooey spray at any warm object; and shower plants which release water first, then contact poison. About a dozen species of plant life survived including cactus plants that eat insects or live in symbiosis with insects; wire-like trees with buried trunks; flat carnivorous vegetation and a bed of nails plant. The green in these plants appears almost black. Ashworms eat ash and deposit stuff that other creatures eat. Dustarchers, needlebirds, spotted pit vipers, asharrows (a snake), large dust striders, large wolf spiders, paddle-foot lizards, giant centipedes, dogs, wolves, jackals, foxes, and dustfish can also be found here. Puddings, slimes, and giant subterranean slugs live in and hollowed out a network of tunnels beneath the desert. There are birds that burrow into ash. Rats and mice live in the underground tunnels. Shrews and moles burrow; badgers live underground. Foxes, dogs, snakes and lizards hunt on the surface. Animals' skins and hides are dun colored.
Hellpass
This is the pass in the Hellfurnaces beginning near the volcano across from Lake Splendor, and ending on the west coast of Jerlea Bay.
NPC's of the Sea of Dust:
Suel pygmies
The Suel descendants that live in the Sea of Dust, are thin, albino, three foot tall pigmies. They use spears, crossbows with poison bolts, and aklys and they generally all wear grey clothing. They have infravision and fight with a -2 penalty to hit in sunlight. They use a silent, sign-language which is apparently undercommon. The Suel worker/slaves have degenerated into mini-carnivorous apes. The magic-users travel with guards and some carry wands of magic missiles. The pygmies deal with the drow and fear them. After the assault on their city, some play dead and launch surprise attacks. (See also the World of Greyhawk Glossography (1983) pp. 27-28 for notes on the Lerara tribe of Suel. Also, by inferences in their description in the Monster Manual II p. 42, and by Gary Gygax's response to question #11 on The World of Greyhawk Fan Club Questions and Answers page, these Suel may be considered to be derro.)

Beyond the Flanaess

Behow

A kingdom lying on the western border of the Sea of Dust. It is considered the stuff of legends by the folk of the Flanaess.

Changol

A kingdom lying on the southern border of the Sea of Dust. It is considered the stuff of legends by the folk of the Flanaess.

Chomur

A kingdom lying on the western border of the Sea of Dust. It is considered the stuff of legends by the folk of the Flanaess.

Jahind

A kingdom lying on the southern border of the Sea of Dust. It is considered the stuff of legends by the folk of the Flanaess.

Mulwar

A kingdom lying on the southern border of the Sea of Dust. It is considered the stuff of legends by the folk of the Flanaess.

Sa'han

A kingdom lying on the western border of the Sea of Dust. It is considered the stuff of legends by the folk of the Flanaess.

Suhfang Kingdom

A kingdom to the far west of the Flanaess, possibly still on Oerik, this place is similar in some respects to Earth's China. Its residents are sallow skinned.

THE MOVING ISLANDS

These islands lie in the distant south, west of Oerik.

GONDURIA

This is a vast continent west of the Agitoric Ocean and north of the Moving Islands.

AGITORIC OCEAN

This ocean lies west of Oerik and east of Gonduria.

Aquaria

Frank Mentzer's continent east of the Solnor Ocean does not appear in the Gord Novels, but did appear in four RPGA Modules: R1, To the Aid of Falz, R2 The Investigation of Hydell, R3 The Egg of the Phoenix, and R4 Doc's Island. A description of the continent is downloadable in zip format at http://www.afn.org/~afn47861/aquaria.zip
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Consider the original material found herein and the organization and phrasiology applied to the old material to be Copyright 1998 by Chris Siren and may be reused as far as I'm concerned, so long as I'm credited with researching it. Of course, you'll have to comply with TSR & Trigee's guidelines as well, but if it's just for personal use you're in the clear.
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