Oerik: Difference between revisions
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[[ | [[File:Oerik.jpg|458px|thumb|right|A map of Oerik, as depicted in ''[[Dragmag|Dragon]]'' Annual #1 (1996). Cartography by [[Dave Sutherland | Sutherland, Dave]] ]] | ||
'''Oerik''' is the largest continent on the world of [[Oerth]], where the ''Greyhawk'' campaign takes place. | '''Oerik''' is the largest continent on the world of [[Oerth]], where the ''Greyhawk'' campaign takes place. | ||
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A lesser-known region, [[Western Oerik]], was described in materials for the ''Chainmail'' game from 2001-2002. | A lesser-known region, [[Western Oerik]], was described in materials for the ''Chainmail'' game from 2001-2002. | ||
'''Western Oerik''' is the portion of the continent of [[Oerik]] on the world of [[Oerth]] west of the [[Flanaess]]. The Western Oerik featured in the ''Chainmail'' miniatures game in 2001-2002 was a distinct subcontinent separated from the rest of Oerik by the most massive range of mountains on Oerth. It is bordered to the east by the [[Celestial Sea]], the [[Gulf of Ra]], and the [[Ocean of Storms]], to the south by the [[Sea of Thunder]], to the west by the [[Gulf of Ishtar]], the [[Oceanum Titanicum]], and the [[Mare Mysticum]], and to the north by the [[Jothumheim Sea]]. | |||
The region of [[New Empyrea]] was explicitly placed across the [[Solnor Ocean]] from the Flanaess in the adventure ''Doc's Island''. This would place it somewhere in Western Oerik as well. | |||
==Nations== | |||
Ever wonder what the world of Oerth looked like beyond the borders of the Flanaess? Wonder no more! The TSR staff and the Greyhawk ' 1 setting's original creator sketched out this map of Oerth in the early 1980s. | |||
<br><br> | |||
My Dear Mordenkainen, | |||
I'm glad you found my doodles enlightening! I cobbled the map together from diverse sources - mostly the recollections of some of the "old guard" I can't vouchsafe the place names; doubtless the locals have their own names for many of the areas. Enclosed are some more excerpts from my journals.<br> | |||
Heward <br><br> | |||
*[[Barbarian Seameast]] | |||
A windswept land covered with primeval forests where fiery but convivial tribesmen dwell. | |||
*[[Celestial Imperium]] | |||
A vast nation peopled with a hard-working peasantry ruled by a complex bureaucracy. | |||
*[[Celestial Sea]] | |||
A warm shallow gulf where merchants from Erypt and the Imperium ply their trades. | |||
*[[Elvanian Forest]] | |||
An enclave of lofty trees clinging to foothills rising from the desert below. Fives and other wild sylvan races dwetl here. | |||
*[[Empire of Lynn]] | |||
A sea of burning sands fill most of Oerik's western end. The fabled city of Lynn, perhaps settled by seafarers from the Flanaess, has grown rich from coastal trade and the desert's mineral wealth | |||
*[[Erypt]] | |||
An arid land ruled by a dynasty of priests kings. | |||
*[[Fireland]] | |||
A land not unlike the Hellfurnaces region of the Flanaess, Volcanoes and geysers sprout amid glaciers. A hardy folk dwells among the coastal fjords. | |||
*[[Gigantea]] | |||
A land populated by giants, or so I've heard tell. | |||
*[[Gulf of Ishtar]] | |||
The privateers of Tharquish and the fleets of Ishtar vie for control here. | |||
*[[Gulf of Ra]] | |||
A deep body reputed to hide a kingdom of sahuagin. | |||
*[[High Khanate]] | |||
An arid land peopled by two tribes of sturdy nomads. The inlanders resemble the horsemen of the Balkanlsh Basin, but on the coast they take to boats. | |||
*[[Hyperbori]] | |||
My own name for an icy continent whose interior holds Oerth's north pole and secrets even I have not fathomed, A semipermanent bridge of ice connects the land to Oerik proper, but the crossing is treacherous at best. | |||
*[[Ishtarland]] | |||
A land watered by southern storms and at least two great rivers. The city of Ishtar views with the merchants of Lynn and the warlords of Tharquish for control of coastal trade. | |||
*[[Jothunheim Sea]] | |||
A frigid body of water littered with icebergs. Giants ply the waters in great drakkars. | |||
*[[Kingdoms of the Marches]] | |||
A temperate land filled with princely states. Perhaps another locale colonized by seafarers from across the Solnor. | |||
*[[Low Khanate]] | |||
A companion realm to the High Khanate; named more for its location in a deep vale below the mountains than for any inferior status. A hidden valley reputedly contains the tombs of khans from both realms. | |||
*[[Mare Mysticum]] | |||
A mystery to me. | |||
*[[Nippon Dominion]] | |||
A protectorate only recently conquered by the warriors of Nippon. | |||
*[[Ocean of Storms]] | |||
A region of gray sea lashed by endless tempests. | |||
*[[Oceanum Titanicum]] | |||
The eastern most extent of what you know as the Solnor ocean. | |||
*[[Orcreich]] | |||
A nation of ores ruled by a tyrannical king. The ores seem to thrive under the brutal regime. | |||
*[[Pearl Sea]] | |||
So named for the rich pearl beds found on Nippon's eastern shores. | |||
*[[Polaria]] | |||
Not a landmass at all, but a collection of islands locked in a semipermanent ice cap. | |||
*[[Red Kingdom]] | |||
This land is so named for the color of its rocks. It's inhabitants remain unknown to me. | |||
*[[Sea of Hyperboria]] | |||
An ice-choked stretch of deep water where the coastal tribesmen of the High Khanate hunt and fish from hide boats. | |||
*[[Sea of the Dragon King]] | |||
A deep arm of the pearl sea noted for its cobalt blue waters and teeming coral reefs. | |||
*[[Sea of Nippon]] | |||
A body of water made infamous by freak storms and enormous sea monsters — if the tales prove true. | |||
*[[Sea of Thunder]] | |||
A smaller, but no less violent, companion to the Sea of Storms, it surrounds the southern Ice cap. | |||
*[[Red Kingdom]] | |||
This land is so named for the color of its rocks. It's inhabitants remain unknown to me. | |||
*[[Tarquis Dominions]] | |||
An ancient protectorate of the Tharquish Empire. | |||
*[[Tharquish Empire]] | |||
An island nation of seafarers who have ambitions that extend to the neighboring continents. | |||
*[[Tribes of Enllaves]] | |||
A land of proud desert nomads who eke out of living on a high plateau that escapes the worst heat of the sand sea. A few tribes-men live in mud-brick towns built around central squares that contain steep-sided pyramids. I have never learned whether the pyramids serve as monuments, tombs, temples, or something else altogether. | |||
*[[Dragon Island]] | |||
Tales from the Celestial Imperium speak of a land ruled by a dragon prince. If such a place exists, it probably lies here. | |||
*[[Wall of Tsian]] | |||
A massive fortification separating the Celestial imperium from Orcreich, a formidable deterrent to anyone but the king of Orcreich, The Imperium has begun another, even grander wall farther west. | |||
*[[Zindia]] | |||
A tropical land where rich cities rise from steaming jungles. | |||
==Bibliography== | ==Bibliography== | ||
Revision as of 21:34, 26 February 2019

Oerik is the largest continent on the world of Oerth, where the Greyhawk campaign takes place.
Oerik is named after the Oeridians, a human people who settled much of the continent. The best-known part of Oerik is the eastern portion, known as the Flanaess, named after the first human settlers to that region, the Flan.
A lesser-known region, Western Oerik, was described in materials for the Chainmail game from 2001-2002.
Western Oerik is the portion of the continent of Oerik on the world of Oerth west of the Flanaess. The Western Oerik featured in the Chainmail miniatures game in 2001-2002 was a distinct subcontinent separated from the rest of Oerik by the most massive range of mountains on Oerth. It is bordered to the east by the Celestial Sea, the Gulf of Ra, and the Ocean of Storms, to the south by the Sea of Thunder, to the west by the Gulf of Ishtar, the Oceanum Titanicum, and the Mare Mysticum, and to the north by the Jothumheim Sea.
The region of New Empyrea was explicitly placed across the Solnor Ocean from the Flanaess in the adventure Doc's Island. This would place it somewhere in Western Oerik as well.
Nations
Ever wonder what the world of Oerth looked like beyond the borders of the Flanaess? Wonder no more! The TSR staff and the Greyhawk ' 1 setting's original creator sketched out this map of Oerth in the early 1980s.
My Dear Mordenkainen,
I'm glad you found my doodles enlightening! I cobbled the map together from diverse sources - mostly the recollections of some of the "old guard" I can't vouchsafe the place names; doubtless the locals have their own names for many of the areas. Enclosed are some more excerpts from my journals.
Heward
A windswept land covered with primeval forests where fiery but convivial tribesmen dwell.
A vast nation peopled with a hard-working peasantry ruled by a complex bureaucracy.
A warm shallow gulf where merchants from Erypt and the Imperium ply their trades.
An enclave of lofty trees clinging to foothills rising from the desert below. Fives and other wild sylvan races dwetl here.
A sea of burning sands fill most of Oerik's western end. The fabled city of Lynn, perhaps settled by seafarers from the Flanaess, has grown rich from coastal trade and the desert's mineral wealth
An arid land ruled by a dynasty of priests kings.
A land not unlike the Hellfurnaces region of the Flanaess, Volcanoes and geysers sprout amid glaciers. A hardy folk dwells among the coastal fjords.
A land populated by giants, or so I've heard tell.
The privateers of Tharquish and the fleets of Ishtar vie for control here.
A deep body reputed to hide a kingdom of sahuagin.
An arid land peopled by two tribes of sturdy nomads. The inlanders resemble the horsemen of the Balkanlsh Basin, but on the coast they take to boats.
My own name for an icy continent whose interior holds Oerth's north pole and secrets even I have not fathomed, A semipermanent bridge of ice connects the land to Oerik proper, but the crossing is treacherous at best.
A land watered by southern storms and at least two great rivers. The city of Ishtar views with the merchants of Lynn and the warlords of Tharquish for control of coastal trade.
A frigid body of water littered with icebergs. Giants ply the waters in great drakkars.
A temperate land filled with princely states. Perhaps another locale colonized by seafarers from across the Solnor.
A companion realm to the High Khanate; named more for its location in a deep vale below the mountains than for any inferior status. A hidden valley reputedly contains the tombs of khans from both realms.
A mystery to me.
A protectorate only recently conquered by the warriors of Nippon.
A region of gray sea lashed by endless tempests.
The eastern most extent of what you know as the Solnor ocean.
A nation of ores ruled by a tyrannical king. The ores seem to thrive under the brutal regime.
So named for the rich pearl beds found on Nippon's eastern shores.
Not a landmass at all, but a collection of islands locked in a semipermanent ice cap.
This land is so named for the color of its rocks. It's inhabitants remain unknown to me.
An ice-choked stretch of deep water where the coastal tribesmen of the High Khanate hunt and fish from hide boats.
A deep arm of the pearl sea noted for its cobalt blue waters and teeming coral reefs.
A body of water made infamous by freak storms and enormous sea monsters — if the tales prove true.
A smaller, but no less violent, companion to the Sea of Storms, it surrounds the southern Ice cap.
This land is so named for the color of its rocks. It's inhabitants remain unknown to me.
An ancient protectorate of the Tharquish Empire.
An island nation of seafarers who have ambitions that extend to the neighboring continents.
A land of proud desert nomads who eke out of living on a high plateau that escapes the worst heat of the sand sea. A few tribes-men live in mud-brick towns built around central squares that contain steep-sided pyramids. I have never learned whether the pyramids serve as monuments, tombs, temples, or something else altogether.
Tales from the Celestial Imperium speak of a land ruled by a dragon prince. If such a place exists, it probably lies here.
A massive fortification separating the Celestial imperium from Orcreich, a formidable deterrent to anyone but the king of Orcreich, The Imperium has begun another, even grander wall farther west.
A tropical land where rich cities rise from steaming jungles.
Bibliography
- Cook, David. "History of the Greyhawk Wars." Wars. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1991. Available Online: [1]
- Gygax, Gary. The World of Greyhawk. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1980.
- -----. World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1983.
- Holian, Gary, Erik Mona, Sean K. Reynolds, and Frederick Weining. Living Greyhawk Gazetteer. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2000.
- Moore, Roger E. Greyhawk: The Adventure Begins. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 1998.
- Sargent, Carl. From the Ashes. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1992.
- Williams, Skip. "Beyond the Flanaess." Dragon Annual #1. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1996.