From the Ashes

Greyhawk Source

From the Ashes
The cover of From the Ashes (1992). Art by Jeff Easley.
Type:	Boxed set
Code/Abbreviation:	FTA
Edition:	second edition
Author(s):	Carl Sargent
Editor(s):	Anne Brown
Cover Artist(s):	Jeff Easley, Eric Olson
Interior Artist(s):	Valerie Valusek (Interior color), Ken Frank (b&w), Robin Rabb (borders), Diesel and Darlene (cartography)
Publisher:	TSR
First Published:	1992
Pages:	Two booklets—96 pages each
ISBN:	1-56076-341-8
Class:	Officially published material
Setting date:	Spring 585 CY

From the Ashes is a Dungeons & Dragons gaming accessory for the World of Greyhawk. It was published in 1992 by TSR, as a boxed set of materials. The work was primarily designed and written by Carl Sargent.

Back Cover Text

"The dust has settled. The smoke has cleared. The war machines of Greyhawk's armies have ground to a halt.

In the aftermath of the great war, the people of Oerik piece their lives together, some struggling to retain their homes, other pilgrimaging to the cities, searching for opportunities. And searching for answers.

Who is in power? Which borders still stand, and which have been dissolved? Can anyone be trusted, or have the Scarlet Brotherhood agents infiltrated every inn and tavern?

The lands of Greyhawk are forever changed, but provide more oppurtunities than ever for adventure and danger. Characters of all levels will find challenges and intrigue lurking in every alley and behind every tree.

This boxed set includes three poster maps of the Greyhawk lands, five new monsters, twenty cardsheets, two 96-page booklets describing the recovering nations and the Powers of Greyhawk, and endless opportunities for adventure!"

Contents

The boxed set consists of two books, Atlas of the Flanaess and Campaign Guide (both 96 pages long), as well as several maps and reference sheets. (See the Gallery below.)

From the Ashes includes a pair of booklets containing close to 130,000 words. Sidebars and summaries are included, as is an alphabetical directory of the Nations of Flanaess which reveals at a glance the races, populations, and other key data for more than 50 countries. A listing of adventure locations tells where all previously published Greyhawk scenarios occurred. The rune and glyph display from the original World of Greyhawk boxed set is included. The trio of poster maps have the grid coordinates printed along the borders.

"Book One, Atlas of the Flanaess", presents a broad overview of the eastern portion of Oerik, Oerth's major continent and the primary locale for Greyhawk campaigns. It starts with a lengthy historical summary, tracing 10 centuries of events from the early assaults of the Oeridian tribes through the aftermath of the great Greyhawk Wars. The cyclopedia entries follow the history lesson and take up the bulk of the text.

"Book Two, the Campaign Book" focuses on the areas in and around the Free City of Greyhawk. As a consequence of the great war, much of the Old City was incinerated. Destitute property owners who cannot afford to pay for restoration watch helplessly as their neighborhoods are overrun with beggars and street urchins. In the River Quarter, authorities fish out bodies with daggers in their backs. Refugees crowd the poorer districts, trade continues to decline, and Iuz, the fiendish ruler of a vast territory in the north central Flanaess, remains a constant threat.

A packet of reference cards is included, six of them contain encounters and short adventures, in a format similar to that of The City of Greyhawk set. The remaining fourteen are reference cards for various items including a way to determine the weather, a brief historical timeline, indexes, symbols, spells, and random encounter charts.

The set offers scenario hooks in a variety of formats and themes, and the "Tales of the Year of Peace" section lists about a dozen adventure springboards based on various Flanaess rumors. The two adventure outlines in the Campaign Book are "Into the Mistmarsh," which involves a hunt for escaped thieves, and "The Sin Eater".

Publication history

It was published in 1992 by TSR as a boxed set of materials. The work was primarily designed and written by Carl Sargent, with cover art by Jeff Easley. Editing was by Anne Brown, and illustrations were by Ken Frank, Valerie Valusek, Eric Olson, and Robin Raab. This boxed set featured two 96-page books, three 32" × 21" map sheets, five monster sheets (in Monstrous Compendium format), and 20 reference cards. This set was part of the overhaul of the Greyhawk setting that began with The City of Greyhawk, followed by Greyhawk Wars.

The accessory was the first major update of the entire campaign setting to be published after the first boxed set, World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting.^{[citation needed]} From the Ashes focuses on the situation in the Flanaess in the spring of 585 CY, in the immediate aftermath of the Greyhawk Wars.

The tone of the materials is intentionally darker and more grim than publications set in the pre-Wars era, and was designed to re-energize TSR's sales of Greyhawk-related publications.^{[citation needed]} The set was followed by related adventures and sourcebooks by Sargent including The Marklands, Iuz the Evil, and The City of Skulls.

Reception

Rick Swan reviewed From the Ashes for Dragon magazine #198 (October 1993). He calls From the Ashes "ambitious", and notes that "By combining heroic tradition with elements of dark fantasy, [Carl Sargent has] come up with a Greyhawk campaign that is both familiar and refreshingly unexpected. Nearly as nasty as the Dark Sun setting, the new, grimmer Greyhawk world is made to order for players who found the original version too flabby to be much fun." He noted that this "lavish package" has "a lot of material to digest, but thankfully, the quality of the writing makes it go down easy. Sargent not only has a vivid imagination, but a strong command of the English language, a rare combination in an industry where publishers tend to value typing speed more than muscular prose. Despite the occasional creaky sentence [...] it’s a pleasure to read." While he notes that the "Thoughtful sidebars and helpful summaries enhance the set’s reference value", he complains that "despite the tight editing and logical organization, it’s not always easy to find specific entries; a subject index or an expanded table of contents would’ve helped".

He also comments about the art and graphics: "To its detriment, the set emphasizes text over graphics, with few appealing visuals other than the color maps. Most of the illustrations depict generic fantasy scenes and have nothing much to do with the text they accompany. Those wanting maps of local neighborhoods or floor plans of important buildings will have to draw their own. The rune and glyph display, lifted virtually verbatim from the original World of Greyhawk boxed set, does little more than fill up a page." However, he compliments the poster maps, calling them "terrific, rendered in rich hues and clear notations. Thanks to the grid coordinates printed along the borders, it's easy to find desired locations [...] The grid system is nearly as user-friendly as individually numbered hexes and makes for less clutter."

In "Book One, Atlas of the Flanaess", Swan complains that things "get off to a sluggish start" with the lengthy historical summary, noting that it is apparently necessary "to provide context and bring newcomers up to date. But it's also complicated and turgid, sort of like a lecture from a professor who left his sense of humor in his other suit." He felt that the cyclopedia entries "pick up the pace a bit. Nevertheless, the casual reader may feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information. [...] While much of this is interesting [...] Sargent doesn’t have the space he needs to do justice to an entire world. When you only have a few paragraphs to spend on a country, it’s tough to give more than a superficial overview."

He felt that in "Book Two, the Campaign Book", Sargent "shifts into high gear as he narrows his focus on the areas in and around the Free City of Greyhawk. It’s a virtuoso performance, with a flawless mix of exposition, atmosphere, and detail. Sargent sets the stage in the opening pages by painting a bleak picture of a struggling populace. [...] Uncertainty prevails, and player characters will find plenty to keep them on their toes." Swan notes that the set's fantasy elements "stick pretty close to AD&D conventions, bad news for old-timers who’ve had their fill of sinister monsters, enchanted dungeons, and meddlesome deities. But Sargent's limber imagination enlivens even the weariest cliches. [...] Sargent has loaded the books with nifty details [...] making a trip through the text as fun as an Easter egg hunt." He calls the offered scenario hooks "a mixed bag", noting that on the adventure springboards "with only a few paragraphs per entry, there's not much to work with" and that the two adventure outlines in the "Campaign Book" are not particularly satisfying, as "Into the Mistmarsh" involves a "garden-variety hunt" and "The Sin Eater" relies too heavily on die-rolls and "climaxes with a battle that may prove to be too deadly for all but the strongest or luckiest PCs".

He does note that the reference-card adventures "benefit from thoughtful development and clever staging", with "Brainstorm" being "the best of a dud-free collection". Swan concludes his review by saying, "A few years ago, I was convinced that the Greyhawk setting had reached a creative dead end. Now I’m not so sure. Carl Sargent has done a remarkable job of reshaping the rickety, make-it-up-as-you-go-along campaign of old into an intelligible whole. Flaws aside-the so-so visuals, sluggish Book One, and hit-or-miss adventures —From the Ashes stands as the definitive Greyhawk reference and the most enjoyable Greyhawk product to date."

Further reading

• Review: White Wolf #34

Gallery

Maps

• 
  Campaign Map (Domain of Greyhawk)
• 
  Post-Wars Flanaess by Darlene

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)
• Wars (1991)
• The Adventure Begins (1998)
• Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (2000)

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.

• From the Ashes at the TSR Archive.
• From the Ashes at Wikipedia.
• From the Ashes at the Dungeon Masters Guild.

References

Bibliography

• Sargent, Carl. From the Ashes. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1992.

This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors).

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
From the Ashes box set	Publication	Supplement,	Bastion of Faith	53, 92
From the Ashes box set	Publication	Supplement,	CGR1 The Complete Spacefarer's Handbook	10
From the Ashes box set	Publication	Supplement,	College of Wizardry	9
From the Ashes box set	Publication	Supplement,	DMGR4 - Monster Mythology	128
From the Ashes box set	Publication	Supplement,	DMGR5 - Creative Campaigning	111
From the Ashes box set	Publication	Supplement,	Dragon magazine #191	64, 65, 67, 68
From the Ashes box set	Publication	Supplement,	Dragon magazine #195	94
From the Ashes box set	Publication	Supplement,	Dragon magazine #230	8
From the Ashes box set	Publication	Supplement,	Dragon magazine #241	43, 75
From the Ashes box set	Publication	Supplement,	Dragon magazine #262	43
From the Ashes box set	Publication	Supplement,	Dragon magazine #263	46
From the Ashes box set	Publication	Supplement,	Dungeon magazine #041	46
From the Ashes box set	Publication	Supplement,	Dungeon magazine #073	58
From the Ashes box set	Publication	Supplement,	Ivid the Undying	2, 5, 13, 17, 33, 100, 159
From the Ashes box set	Publication	Supplement,	Living Greyhawk, Living Onnwal Gazetteer, D&D 3.5e	6
From the Ashes box set	Publication	Supplement,	Return of the Eight	7, 32
From the Ashes box set	Publication	Supplement,	The Adventure Begins: Adventure Maps	1, 2, 3, 4
From the Ashes box set	Publication	Supplement,	WGM1 Borderwatch	2, 8
From the Ashes box set	Publication	Supplement,	WGR4 The Marklands	2, 11, 17, 38, 39, 43, 50, 53, 54, 70, 93
From the Ashes box set	Publication	Supplement,	WGR5 Iuz the Evil	2, 6, 9, 23, 76, 79
From the Ashes box set	Publication	Supplement,	WGR6 City of Skulls	2, 19, 50