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{{Italic title}}
{{Source
|name             =  
|image            = [[File:GreyhawkWars boxcover.jpg|250px]]
|caption          = Cover art of the ''Wars'' game, art by Roger Raupp.  
|type             = Board Game
|code             = 
|edition          = 
|author           = [[Dave Cook|Dave "Zeb" Cook]]
|editor           = J. Robert King
|publisher        = [[TSR]]
|cover_artist     = Roger Raupp
|inter_artist     = [[Ken Frank]] and Charles Frank,<br><small>Counter/card art:</small><br>Robin Raab and Karl Waller 
|first published  = 1991
|series           = WGS
|pages            = 
|isbn             = 1-56076-086-9
|class            = [[Canon|Officially published content]]
|setting_date     = [[584 CY]]
}}

'''Wars''', also called the '''Greyhawk Wars boxed set''', is a fantasy board wargame published by [[TSR, Inc.]] in 1991. The game was designed by [[David Cook|Dave "Zeb" Cook]] as a strategic simulation of the eponymous [[Greyhawk Wars]].

== Cover blurb ==
{{quoted text|''"From the mad Malachite throne in Rauxes to the bejeweled city of Chendl in Furyondy, the Flanaess is at war! In the east, Overking Ivid V thirsts for conquest. Vatun, Great God of the North, meanwhile unites the barbarians and Fists into a fearsome force. Not to be outdone, the dread Iuz masses humanoids and fiends in the northwest. And the Scarlet Brotherhood in the south hangs over all the Flanaess, pulling the strings of war like a mad puppeteer.''

''Take command of the armies yourself and change the dark course of history! Between two and six players can battle, deciding the Flanaess's fate in diplomacy and war, and leading armies and heroes across two full-color maps. Muster your armies from over 300 counters, ranging from light infantry to dragons - with your favorite demi-humans and monsters as well! With over 150 cards, you can search for treasure or mercenaries and receive the gods' blessing (or curse) through special events. When the battle comes - the times that try the souls of all - you'll want your armies backed with the wisdom contained within the 32-page history of the actual war. The boxed set also includes an easy-to-read 8-page book of rules, with optional advanced rules for hard-core wargamers.''

''The Flanaess awaits a heroic deliverer - or an oppressive overlord! Which will you be?"''}}

== Credits ==
The ''Greyhawk Wars'' game featured design by [[David Cook]], editing by J. Robert King, and was published by [[TSR, Inc.]].<ref name="Dragon #188"/> The cover was by Roger Raupp, interior art by [[Ken Frank]] and Charles Frank, counter and card art was by Robin Raab and Karl Waller, and graphic design was provided by Dee Barnett.<ref name="Dragon #188"/>

== Components ==
''Greyhawk Wars'' is a boxed game which included an eight-page rulebook, two fold-out color paper maps; two sheets of cardboard chits; 153 playing cards representing the various countries, events, mercenaries, and treasures; two ten-side dice, and a 32-page "Adventurer's Book", containing a history of the war and a set of scenarios. <ref name="Dragon #188"/>

The maps depicted the various lands and nations involved in the war and were joined together along the edge to form the full game world. The map is subdivided into areas of roughly equal size, with edges often lying along various boundaries, such as nation borders or terrain features. The nations are divided into good, neutral, and evil states, with green, gray, and red borders, respectively. The terrain types included plains, forest, marsh, mountains, hills, lakes, oceans, and wastes. The major rivers are also depicted, usually along area borders. The map contained a series of iconic symbols depicting the various capitals, ports, fortifications, and sites where treasure or mercenaries could be obtained.

In addition to their place on the map, each of the countries in the game is represented by a card. Each player starts with one or more country cards representing their home nations. Additional nations can be gained through alliance, conquest, or by liberating a conquered nation. The cards for these nations are placed under the home nation cards. Every nation card includes their alliance ratings, which determine how easily good or evil nations can ally with it. The card also includes a modifier for alliance attempts to specific countries, and a roster of troops that the country can raise.

Each player has a set of hero markers they can use for various purposes each turn. These represent a band of heroes that can perform various special actions. They cannot be destroyed, although they can be hindered in various ways.

Armies are represented by colored chits that are printed with a shield symbol of the owning nation. These are placed on top of a stack of up to 5 troop units. Troop chits have a strength rating, a silhouette symbol for the creature type, and sometimes special information indicating a unique ability.

The color of the troop chits is based on the ethos of the creature, with good creatures being green, neutral creatures gray, and evil creatures in red (the same colors as the nation borders). There are several different creatures represented by these chits, and the various races or species are drawn from the Greyhawk world setting. For example, there are [[Elf|elves]], [[bugbear]]s, [[orc]]s, [[human]]s, and so forth. There are also counters to represent fleets for nations along the coast.

The various scenarios require from 2 to 6 players, with the two-player scenarios only using one of the maps. Each scenario lists the initial set-up, any special rules, and the victory conditions. The scenarios attempt to replay the situations described in the war history.

== Game play ==
The players command opposing armies struggling to kill enemies and control territory. The game begins with players selecting a scenario and receiving cards representing their countries, with each country card listing the available troops. Players deploy the counters for their armies on the map, a detailed rendering of Oerth, divided into dozens of discrete regions. Each region can hold a stack of up to five friendly troop counters. Players also receive a fixed number of hero counters, which function as super soldiers capable of a variety of special actions. Heroes may be deployed in any country controlled by a friendly player, one hero per region.<ref name="Dragon #188"/>

A die-roll determines which player goes first. After making sure his heroes are properly positioned, the active player begins his turn by drawing an Event Card and following the instructions. Some events are played immediately, while others are held and played at the owner's discretion. The active player then completes an action for each of his troop stacks and heroes. Troops may move (up to three regions for infantry and four for cavalry, with forests and other rough terrain impeding normal movement rates), fortify (by constructing a castle to increase the defensive capacity of the region), or disband (the player removes a stack from the map, making the troops available for deployment elsewhere).<ref name="Dragon #188"/>

Heroes may accompany troop stacks or split off on their own, moving up to six regions per turn. If a hero moves to an uncommitted country, he may engage in diplomacy by rolling a die and comparing the result to his home country's diplomacy rating. On a sufficiently high roll, the uncommitted country becomes an ally. Heroes can also recruit mercenaries by moving to a special mercenary recruitment area, then drawing a Mercenary Card. If the Mercenary Card's alignment is compatible with the hero, the player acquires the card and may use it to improve his chances in combat. Finally, heroes may search for treasure in regions designated as magic areas. Before he acquires a treasure, the hero must draw a Treasure Card and battle the indicated guardian monster. A single die-roll resolves the battle. A high roll means the hero triumphs, and the player adds one or more Treasure Cards to his hand.<ref name="Dragon #188"/>

Heroes and troops may engage in combat when occupying the same region as enemy forces. Both sides remove their counters from the map and arrange them in parallel lines so that every friendly counter faces at least one enemy. The attacker makes an assault against an opposing piece by rolling a ten-sided die and comparing the result to the attacking unit's strength, printed on the counter. If the roll is equal to or less than its strength, modified by any applicable Mercenary or Treasure Cards, the enemy suffers a hit. Strong units suffer two hits before dying, while weaker units die after a single hit. Combat lasts for three rounds, although if a hero is present the battle may be extended to four rounds, with the winner taking possession of the area. A hero may also increase any unit's strength by one. Regardless of the outcome of combat, a hero never suffers damage. At the end of a player's turn, any damaged units that haven't taken any actions may be healed to their full strength. One new army may also be raised in any unoccupied home country.<ref name="Dragon #188"/>

Each turn of play represents a full year in the game setting and is divided into a series of phases. Every player must complete the procedure for a phase before continuing to the next phase. The first phase is used to determine the order in which each subsequent phase will be performed. The remaining phases are used to place heroes, draw event cards, and perform actions, in that order.

A player's heroes can move across up to six contiguous areas each turn, although the occupying armies of another player may block their path. Areas with certain terrain features (such as desert, hills, and forests) cost more movement to enter, while entering a swamp and mountain area ends movement for that turn.

The event cards produce a random element that can positively or negatively affect a player's situation. These can range from additional forces joining your side, to a sudden attack or rebellion that draws off some of your forces. The cards can also affect the actions of heroes.

The main part of the game occurs during the action phase. Here the armies can move, attack, create fortifications, or disband. A player performs actions with their armies and heroes one at a time, with all actions being performed before moving to another marker. Land armies can move through up to 3 areas in a turn (or 4 if they are all cavalry). Fleets can move up to 6 areas but can never enter a land area. Ship markers can be used to carry troops that are in a port and can unload them along a coast or on an island.

Certain special units have unique abilities in combat; cavalry can pursue a retreating enemy, or screen against pursuit (if the optional rule about pursuit is in play); marines can take part in sea battles; scouts can attack first in a round, with the result applied before being attacked. There are also specific races that gain a combat bonus in their native terrain, e.g. dwarves in mountains or hills.

== Publishing history and reviews ==
In the late 1980s, TSR, the publisher of ''Dungeons & Dragons'', decided to make a significant change to the setting to re-invigorate customer interest and sales of ''Greyhawk''-related materials.  The Greyhawk Wars were the in-game catalyst used to allow TSR game developers, principally [[Carl Sargent]], to take the setting in a new direction.<ref name=applecline />

=== Relationship to WGS modules ===
[[TSR]] published the first two adventures in what they called an "adventure trilogy"—the ''WGS'', or "World of Greyhawk Swords" series—WGS1: ''[[Five Shall Be One]]'' and WGS2: ''[[Howl from the North]]''. By the end of the second adventure, the barbarians of northeastern Oerik were united under the leadership of Iuz, who was masquerading as their Great God Vatun.<ref name=applecline />  The events described in ''Greyhawk Wars'' occur chronologically just after the conclusion of the ''Greyhawk'' module WGS2: ''[[Howl from the North]]''.

Greyhawk Wars was originally advertised as the third supplement in that trilogy of adventures. It's been widely speculated it was intended to be an adventure coded "WGS3" which would have let players take on dramatic roles during the Greyhawk Wars. TSR instead decided to publish a boxed board game of the Greyhawk Wars which describes the "official" events of the Wars in the included "Adventurer's Book". Otherwise, it does not continue the trilogy [as playable events for PCs]—nor does it claim to do so.<ref name=applecline />

Combining the Wars' official canon with a board game was an uncertain combination, since the official events of Greyhawk's history aren't necessarily the most likely results of the game. Nonetheless, some Greyhawk DMs recount that they used Greyhawk Wars to determine what happened in their own Greyhawk... showing how this sort of supplement can be great for personal campaigns, but less helpful when metaplot gets involved.<ref name=applecline>{{cite web |author= Applecline, Shannon | title= Greyhawk Wars | url= https://www.dmsguild.com/product/17400/Greyhawk-Wars-2e |format= Product history essay | work= DMsGuild | publisher= One Book Shelf, inc. | date= June 14, 2016 |accessdate=10 January 2022}}</ref>

The game allowed participants to play the events of the Wars as a strategic simulation, controlling various political entities, military units, and heroes of the {{smallcaps|World of Greyhawk}}™ in competition with other players.

=== Exploring Greyhawk === 
Greyhawk Wars advances Oerth's timeline from [[582 CY]] to [[584 CY]]. It describes the results of a massive series of wars; this information would later be synopsized in '']]From the Ashes]]'' (1992), but Greyhawk Wars remains the best source on the events. The most notable developments were: the rise of Iuz to conquer several nearby countries; the unification of the Pomarj; and the revelation and rise of The Scarlet Brotherhood. The Great Kingdom tried to take advantage of the chaos to its own deficit, while many good-aligned kingdoms were weakened.<ref name=applecline />

The overall result was a darkening of Greyhawk, creating a grittier setting that was more appropriate for the '90s, in which several mediums were darkened — from bloodthirsty superheroes at DC and Marvel to the beginning of the grimdark fantasy genre with series like Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy (1995-1997) and George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice & Fire (1996-Present).<ref name=applecline />  These changes generated mixed reactions from fans of the setting, failed to sufficiently revive sales.

''From the Ashes'' was followed in 1993 by a series of Sargent sourcebooks and modules providing additional information regarding the updated setting, including ''[[The Marklands]]'', ''[[Iuz the Evil]]'', ''[[City of Skulls]]'', and ''[[Ivid the Undying]]''. This last of which was cancelled and would never see official print, though it was published and distributed for free online by [[TSR]]/[[WotC]].

=== Metaplotting around ===
By the early '90s, TSR was pushing metaplot in their Forgotten Realms setting with events like Avatar (1989) and Empires (1990), which advanced the setting's timeline while also making major changes to it. Though some notable Greyhawk events had occurred in WG8: Fate of Istus (1989) and the Falcon adventures (1990), the "WGS" series really marked the beginning of metaplot in the Greyhawk setting.<ref name=applecline />

The "WGS" adventures started that metaplot by advancing the Greyhawk timeline to 582 CY. Otherwise, the supplements' metaplot events were pretty small, just depicting the beginnings of the Greyhawk Wars. The boxed Greyhawk Wars was the release that really updated and changed the setting — albeit in a very unusual format.<ref name=applecline />

=== Reviews ===
Rick Swan reviewed ''Greyhawk Wars'' for ''[[Dragon (magazine)|Dragon]]'' magazine, appearing in their edition #188 in December 1992.<ref name="Dragon #188">{{cite journal| last = Swan| first = Rick| authorlink = Rick Swan| title = Role-playing Reviews| journal = [[Dragon (magazine)|Dragon]]| issue = #188| pages = 76–77| publisher = [[TSR, Inc.|TSR]]| location = Lake Geneva, Wisconsin|date=December 1992}}</ref> In comparing this game with other military simulation games, especially concerning the difficulty in understanding the rules and in how long it takes to play a game, he felt that ''Greyhawk Wars'' "... has more in common with the ''Squad Leader'' system than the ''Minion Hunter'' game. But Dave Cook has bent over backward to make the mechanics as painless as possible without sacrificing the sophisticated interplay that makes the best military simulations so appealing."<ref name="Dragon #188"/> Swan considered combat "... the least satisfying aspect of the game ..." even though it was "fast and easy."

Regarding the combat, Swan said, "The three-round limit seems arbitrary, serving no clear purpose other than to minimize the number of casualties. Because the strength of an opponent is not considered when resolving combat, an attack against a tough infantryman can be as effective as an attack against a puny goblin. And why must heroes be invulnerable? I don't care how tough he is, I don't think that any character ought to be able to survive an indefinite number of assaults."<ref name="Dragon #188"/> {{bginfo|Note: the three-round limit Swan called "arbitrary" serves to represent the three calendar years ([[582 CY]] to [[584 CY]]) in which the battles of the [[Greyhawk Wars]] take place before the truce which led to the [[Treaty of Greyhawk]].}}

Swan concluded the review by saying: "Combat aside, the ''Greyhawk Wars'' game features sensible, easily mastered rules that make the game fluid and intense. The variety of units, ranging from ships to [[treant]]s, encourages players to experiment with different strategies. The Mercenary and Treasure Cards increase the tactical choices, while the Event Cards keep things interesting by introducing a steady stream of variables. To put it all in context, the 32-page Adventurer's Book provides a detailed historical background, enabling ambitious players to incorporate the results of the board game into a Greyhawk campaign. An intelligent design, well-executed and handsomely presented, the ''Greyhawk Wars'' game is a war game for people who hate war games."<ref name="Dragon #188"/>

In a later review, Swan called the Greyhawk setting a mess, but felt that after ''[[The City of Greyhawk]]'', ''Greyhawk Wars'' "... took another step in the right direction by shaking things up with a much-needed dose of epic conflict".<ref name="Dragon #198">{{cite journal| last = Swan| first = Rick| authorlink = Rick Swan| title = Role-playing Reviews| journal = [[dragmag|Dragon]]| issue = #198| pages = 49–51| publisher = [[TSR, Inc.|TSR]]| location = Lake Geneva, Wisconsin|date=October 1993}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[The World of Greyhawk Fantasy World Setting]] (1980)
* [[World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting]] (1983)
* [[Greyhawk Adventures]] (1988)
* [[The City of Greyhawk]] (1989)
* [[From the Ashes]] (1992)
* [[The Adventure Begins]] (1998)
* [[Living Greyhawk Gazetteer]] (2000)

== External Links ==
*{{bgg|2307|''Greyhawk Wars''}}

== References ==
=== Notes ===
<references group="note" />
=== Citations ===
<references />
=== Bibliography ===
* <onlyinclude>{{StandardRef
|title   = Wars
|article = Wars
|page    = {{{1|}}}
|sub     = {{{2|}}}
|year    = 1991
|month   = 
|abbr    = wars1991
|code    = 
|prefix  = 
|box     = Box
|canon   = Canon
|cs      = [[David Cook|Cook, David]]. ''[[Wars]]''. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1991. Item code TSR1068.
|url     = 
}}</onlyinclude>
{{Wikipedia}}
{{index}}


[[Category:Military conflicts]]
[[Category:Canonical sources]]