Rary the Traitor

Greyhawk Source

Rary the Traitor
Cover of WGR3, depicting Rary casting a spell in a study. Art by Valerie Valusek.
Type:	Adventure
Code/Abbreviation:	WGR3, TSR 9386
Edition:	Second edition
Author(s):	Anthony Pryor
Editor(s):	Andy McCready
Cover Artist(s):	Valerie Valusek
Interior Artist(s):	Ken Frank
Series:	WGR
Publisher:	TSR
First Published:	1992
Pages:	60
ISBN:	1-56076-497-X
Class:	Official published content
Setting date:	585 CY

Rary the Traitor is a Dungeons & Dragons sourcebook and adventure for the World of Greyhawk campaign setting written by Anthony Pryor and published by TSR in 1992 as the third Greyhawk "reference" adventure (WGR3). The work details the empire of the renegade archmage Rary, known as the Empire of the Bright Lands. The work includes historical background on the Bright Desert, and introduces the ancient Flan nations of Sulm and Itar to the setting. Information on Robilar, Rary's co-conspiritor, is also provided.

The information in the sourcebook section of the publication can be used in campaigns involving characters of all levels. However, the adventures contained in the adventure are designed for characters of levels eight or higher.

Cover text

"In the agonizing aftermath of the Greyhawk Wars, when conflict touched virtually every corner of the continent, few gained more infamy than Rary of the Circle of Eight. Once considered a quiet, peaceful man with few ambitions, the great mage instead was corrupted to the ways of evil, and in the process slew two of the wisest and most powerful wizards of the Flanaess. Now, fleeing south with his co-conspirator and their loyal troops, he has carved out an empire in the wilderness, and threatens to inflict more harm and chaos on a world long grown weary of war and strife."

Thus begins this supplement for the Greyhawk campaign setting, the first since the world-shattering Greyhawk Wars boxed game. Descriptions of Rary's desert fortress in the Brass Hills are here, as are statistics on his co-conspirator, Lord Robilar. The back-breaking mines of Abbor Alz, home to the duergar, and the Ghost Tower of Inverness are detailed as well, along with dozens of other places, things, and persons.

It is not necessary to have played the Greyhawk Wars boxed game in order to use this material.

The campaign material contained in this booklet is suitable for players and referees of all levels; the adventures, however, are aimed at characters of levels 8 and up."

Plot summary

The work details the empire of the renegade archmage Rary, known as the Empire of the Bright Lands. Historical background of the Bright Desert is also covered, and introduced the ancient Flan nations of Sulm and Itar to the setting. Information on Robilar, Rary's co-conspirator, is also provided.

Contents

• Chapter 1: Rary's Tale
• Chapter 2: The Bright Desert and Environs
• Chapter 3: People, Places, and Things
• Chapter 4: Special Places
• New Monsters

Characters

Attus Darkgem • Chukai • Clar • Drokkas • Falyn • Father Eye • He Chak • Hugo the Axe • Ildai • Kamuk • Kaya • Kendyra • Krumik • Kumhaik • Molmi • Morik • Pharmon • Rary • Robilar • Shannak Deepwell • Shattados • Shemaya • Shozthal • Slar • Smoke • Strongbow • Sunthistle • Tolan Kai • Turgi • Volte • Xaxx'aa • Zhora

Referenced only

Arkalan Sammal • Bigby • Eritai Kaan-Ipzirel • Grandy • Mordenkainen • Otiluke • Schemley • Tenser

Creatures

aerial servant • automaton • beholder • blue dragon • centaur • chimera • dergholoth • desert centaur • dragonne • duergar • fire giant • ghost • hook horror • hyena • iron golem • lich • manscorpion • mezzoloth • monarch scorpion • norker • piscoloth • pseudodragon • roper • scorpion • shadow dragon • shambling mound • shrieker • skeleton • slow shadow • spectre • steeder • troglodyte • troll • ultroloth • violet fungi • yuggoloth • zombie

Magic

Items

Abbor Alz Brooch of Warning • Blade of Black Ice • Bow of the Centaurs • Scimitar of Light • Scorpion Crown • Sulmish Robes of Magical Enhancement

Organizations

Circle of Eight

Publishing history

Development

The book was written by Anthony Pryor and released by TSR in 1992.. Art was provided by Valerie Valusek and Ken Frank. It is the third book in the World of Greyhawk Reference series (WGR3).

"A few maps of Rary's fortress are missing from "Rary the Traitor". They were published in Dragon #194 (June 1993) and later on the Wizards of the Coast website."

On DmsGuild.com, Shannon Applecline describes the product's history and trivia about its content:

Expanding Greyhawk. Besides expanding Greyhawk into the From the Ashes era, "Rary the Traitor" also provides details on two important Greyhawk characters and one totally new country.

The first of these characters is the eponymous wizard Rary. He was briefly played in the early '70s by Brian Blume, who wanted to introduce him as "Medium Rary", using the first-level title for wizards in OD&D (1974). Though Gary Gygax later attached Rary's name to a few spells, the character only became truly important after Gygax left TSR; afterward, Rary was acknowledged as a member of the Circle of Eight in The City of Greyhawk (1989) — a group that had only included Gygax's characters in the original D&D campaigns. Rary didn't received a lot of attention before becoming a traitor in Greyhawk Wars; "Rary the Traitor" was his starring role.

Robilar was a much more long-lived character, having originally been played by Rob Kuntz as far back as 1972. He's well known for reaching the bottom of Castle Greyhawk, for surviving the Tomb of Horrors, and for discovering the Temple of Elemental Evil. Though Robilar had appeared in "The Rogues Gallery" (1980) and T1-4: Temple of Elemental Evil (1985), he was also a pretty minor character in published Greyhawk lore prior to Greyhawk Wars. Kuntz was a bit discomfited by Robilar's turn toward evil, which is probably why Wizards of the Coast reversed it years later. Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk (2007) reveals that it was actually Robilar's evil copy, Bilarro, who appeared thanks to an Orb of Opposition, that aided Rary in his plans.

"Rary the Traitor" also describes the Bright Desert to the south of the City of Greyhawk — an area which had been only lightly touched upon in previous supplements, including the adventure C2: "The Ghost Tower of Inverness" (1980). The area has now become Rary's Empire of the Bright Lands. It's extensively described here.

Future History. More recent publications have frequently returned to the Bright Lands. Dungeon #98 (May 2003) includes an article called "Into the Bright Desert"; Dungeon #103 (October 2003) expands on that with "Denizens of the Bright Desert"; and Dungeon #109 (April 2004) features a nearby locale in "Hardby: City of the Scorned".

These articles were all part of the Living Greyhawk campaign's contributions to Dungeon. Living Greyhawk later dove even more fully into the setting with their "Blight on Bright Sands Sourcebook" (2005), a core plotline that was followed by almost a dozen related adventures (2005-2006).

Even more recently, "History Check: Rary the Traitor" recounted Rary's history in Dragon #405 (November 2011)..

Release

Rary the Traitor was released by TSR in July 1992 for $9.95 USD or $11.95 Canadian.

On September 15, 2014, it was re-released in digital format (PDF) on DriveThruRPG and Dungeon Masters Guild for $4.99.

Reception and influence

Reception

Keith H. Eisenbeis reviewed the adventure in the March/April issue of White Wolf magazine. He stated that "If one can overlook the obvious incongruities and fairly simplistic short dungeons at the end, this product provides a nicely fleshed out geographic area for adventuring opportunities. In this sense it is a good resource for those DMs running campaigns in the World of Greyhawk setting. In all other senses, however, it is substantially lacking." He rated it as a 2 out of a possible 5.

By 2023, Rary the Traitor had reached the rank of Electrum seller on DriveThruRPG.

External links

Disclaimer:Any lore presented through the following links does not necessarily adhere to established officially published content, and the views expressed do not necessarily represent the views of the editors of this wiki.

• Rary the Traitor on DriveThruRPG
• Rary the Traitor on Dungeon Masters' Guild
• World of Greyhawk Reference Series at the Acaeum.com.
• Rary the Traitor at the TSR Archive.
• Rary the Traitor at the Dungeon Masters Guild.
• D&D Downloads with link to download of maps missing from the printed version of the adventure.

References

Bibliography

• Pryor, Anthony. Rary the Traitor. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1992. ISBN 1-56076-497-X

This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from the D&D Lore Wiki— (Rary the Traitor).

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Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index

The Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index (EGI) is based on previous work of Jason Zavoda through '08, continued by numerous other fans. The EGI article has a list of sources, product names, abbreviations, and a link to the full, downloadable index.

Topic	Type	Description	Product	Page/Card/Image
Lost Spellbook of Rary the Traitor	Item	Book,	Dragon magazine #249	90, 91, 93, 94, 95, 96
WGR3 Rary the Traitor	Publication	Supplement,	Dragon magazine #191	65, 68
WGR3 Rary the Traitor	Publication	Supplement,	Dragon magazine #194	53
WGR3 Rary the Traitor	Publication	Supplement,	Dragon magazine #241	43
WGR3 Rary the Traitor	Publication	Supplement,	Dragon magazine #249	90, 91, 94
WGR3 Rary the Traitor	Publication	Supplement,	Return of the Eight	54, 58
WGR3 Rary the Traitor	Publication	Supplement,	The Adventure Begins: Adventure Maps	4, 5