Ship of Fools
The Ship of Fools was a three-masted schooner sailboat, bearing the sigils of the gods Zagyg and Boccob upon its sails, commissioner by Zagig Yragerne. It is said to have been lost in 420 CY, a week before the archmage’s own mysterious disappearance. It was en route to Dyvers to bring back a supply of Furyondian garden weeds for Zagig’s arboretum, but never arrived.[1]
Three years later in 423 CY the ship was sighted on the Woolly Bay, south of Safeton. A band of pirates boarded the vessel, but their corpses were washed ashore the next morning.[1]
Since then there have been sightings of the vessel, three of four times a decade, on every major body of water in the Flanaess with no discernable pattern to its appearances. The vessel can seemingly defy the wind.[1]
Bringing violence to the vessel seems to be punished with violence. Those who board without evil intent or bloodlust are tested by a man known as the "Archfool" (believe by some to be Zagig himself). The purposes of these trials are to humiliate and frustrate the candidate, and see how they react. Those who endure are rewarded, growing stronger physically or spiritually with the knowledge the Archfool imparts, while those who do not pass are harshly penalized. This includes the tale of a self-righteous Palish war company known as the Fighters of the Light, with every one of them found in the River Quarter of Greyhawk City, naked and stripped of all their possessions.[1]
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
- Broadhurst, Creighton; Paul Looby, and Stuart Kerrigan. Mysterious Places: Azharadian's Tomb and the Ship of Fools. Wizards.com. WotC, April 27, 2004. Archived from the original on June 04, 2009. Retrieved on 15 March 2025.
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
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ship of Fools | Item | Ship, | From the Ashes: Atlas of the Flanaess | 69, 70 |