Greyhawk Adventures: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:Greyhawk Adventures02.jpg|thumb|left|200px|''Dark Citadel''—the original art for ''Greyhawk adventures''. Illustration by Jeff Easley (1988).]] | [[Image:Greyhawk Adventures02.jpg|thumb|left|200px|''Dark Citadel''—the original art for ''Greyhawk adventures''. Illustration by Jeff Easley (1988).]] | ||
== Cover art == | == Cover art == | ||
The famous cover art of this hardback was painted by [[Jeff Easley]]. Years later, Easley noted the title of the piece as "Dark Citadel".<ref name=JETC>''Jeff Easley Trading Card'' #3 (1995)</ref> He added an anecdote, saying, {{quoted text|The hardest part of this was dealing with the light put off by the magic sword, without washing out the figure. I also decided to 'stipple' the magical back draft of the wings, which took a while."<ref name=JETC /> | The famous cover art of this hardback was painted by [[Jeff Easley]]. Years later, Easley noted the title of the piece as "Dark Citadel".<ref name=JETC>''Jeff Easley Trading Card'' #3 (1995)</ref> He added an anecdote, saying, {{quoted text|The hardest part of this was dealing with the light put off by the magic sword, without washing out the figure. I also decided to 'stipple' the magical back draft of the wings, which took a while."<ref name=JETC />}}The artwork has later been used on a miniature version of the book, on card #224 ([[Tyrinon]]) of the 1991 [[Trading Cards]], on card #176 (also Tyrinon) of the [[Spellfire]] CCG, the ''Jeff Easley Trading Cards'', and was used in ''[[dragmag|Dragon]]'' magazine #137 (September 1988) as a 15" x 19" poster included inside that issue to advertise the release of the hardcover. | ||
== See also == | == See also == | ||
Revision as of 09:56, 10 June 2023
| Greyhawk Adventures | |
 |
|
| Cover of Greyhawk Adventures, art by Jeff Easley (1988). | |
| Type: | Hardcover rule book |
|---|---|
| Code/Abbreviation: | TSR 2023 |
| Edition: | AD&D 1e and 2e |
| Author(s): | James M. Ward |
| Editor(s): | Anne Brown, Karen Boomgarden, Steve Winter, Mike Breault, Scott Haring, Jon Pickens, Warren Spector |
| Cover Artist(s): | Jeff Easley |
| Interior Artist(s): | Jeff Easley. Jeff Dee, Diesel, Larry Elmore,Jim Holloway, Erol Otus, Dave Sutherland, Dave Trampier, Gary William |
| Publisher: | TSR |
| First Published: | 1 August 1988 |
| Pages: | 128 |
| ISBN: | 978-0880386494 |
| Class: | Officially published material |
Greyhawk Adventures is a hardcover 1e book adding more detail to the World of Greyhawk™, written by James M. Ward and published by TSR.
Contents
Greyhawk Adventures contains information about Greyhawk deities, clerics, major NPCs, monsters, geography, spells of the setting's famous magic-users (such as Bigby and Otiluke), magic items of the setting, rules for playing "zero-level" characters, and six short adventures.[1] The supplement is compatible with both the 1st and 2nd Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rules.[1] As suggested by the note in the starburst-medallion on the cover, the contents of Greyhawk Adventures represent a transitional state between the 1st and 2nd edition AD&D rules;[2] the NPCs in the Hall of Heroes include monks, a 1st Edition character class not included in the 2nd Edition rules, while the "Monsters of Greyhawk" chapter uses the 2nd Edition's system of rolling two ten-sided dice (2d10) for monster morale, rather than the 1st Edition's d100-based morale system.
Greyhawk Adventures elaborates on the religions, deities, and clerics of the setting, and introduces the concept of avatars: low-powered physical manifestations of the various deities, each of which receives a portion of a deity's power and is sent to the Prime Material Plane to carry out the deity's wishes.[2] Greyhawk Adventures also continued the process of making clerics more individualized—begun in the second edition of the World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting—by detailing such things as the use of special powers granted by their deities, the types of weapons they must use, and the types of spells a cleric may employ.[2]
The monsters in the "Monsters of Greyhawk" section are classified similarly to the existing Monster Manual books, but with additional information provided on its habitat terrain type, organization, active times, diet, and other game statistics.[2] The "Hall of heroes" section contains detailed descriptions of some of the key non-player characters active in the world of Oerth, including: the City of Greyhawk's Lord Mayor; Constable of the City; Captain-General of the Watch; the heads of the Thieves and Assassins Guilds; Jaran Krimeeah, the Mage of the Vale; and two members of the Scarlet Brotherhood of evil monks.[2]
The book presents 106 new spells drawn from the spell books of notable wizards such as Bigby, Mordenkainen, Nystul, Tenser, and Rary.[2] Each of the book's magical items comes with a background which ties it into the campaign setting.[2] The descriptions of various geographical locations include a number of adventure outlines which show the kind of encounters PCs entering different geographical areas are likely to experience, and include notes for DMs to show how the featured locations can be turned into adventure settings.[2]
The book provides six adventure scenarios, as outlines for DMs to fill in. Two are for zero-level characters struggling to work up to 1st level, and the other adventures include a dive to a sunken ship to recover treasure, entry into the Valley of the Mage, a rescue mission set in a house, and an evening's entertainment in a gambling house.[2] The zero-level character system for fledgling characters allows PCs to grow into their character-class roles and gives them special abilities not normally associated with a character class.[2]
Publication history
Greyhawk Adventures was written by James M. Ward, with cover art by Jeff Easley, and was published by TSR, Inc. in 1988 as a 128-page hardbound book.[1] The book features additional design by Daniel Salas, Skip Williams, Nigel D. Findley, Thomas Kane, Stephen Inniss, Len Carpenter, and Eric Oppen.[2] Editing and coordination was by Warren Spector, with editing by Anne Browne, Karen Boomgarden, Steve Winter, Mike Breault, Scott Haring, and Jon Pickens and special developmental work by Pickens.[2] The book was the thirteenth hardback manual published for the 1st edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rules, though a note on its cover states the book is also compatible with the 2nd Edition.[2] It was the final hardback manual published for 1st edition. The book features interior illustrations by Easley, Jeff Dee, Diesel, Larry Elmore, Jim Holloway, Erol Otus, Dave Sutherland, Dave Trampier, and Gary Williams.
TSR released Greyhawk Adventures in response to requests from Greyhawk fans,[2] and the book is unusual among AD&D hardcover manuals in that the author solicited input from the gaming community about what subjects to include in the book before publishing it.[3] Ward later credited the 511 letters he received as the major impetus for including the rules for zero-level characters and adventures, both topics which had not been previously included in hardcover AD&D manuals.[4]
Unlike many AD&D manuals, Greyhawk Adventures was not reissued for the 2nd or 3rd editions of D&D, although much of its content was incorporated into other supplements. All but two of the monsters introduced in Greyhawk Adventures, for example, reappeared in the MC5 Greyhawk Appendix (ISBN: 0-88038-836-6).
Greyhawk Adventures takes its name and logo from a series of novels written by Gary Gygax and Rose Estes, published by TSR in the 1980s. The logo was later used on several 2nd Edition AD&D products, such as City of Skulls and The Marklands.
Cover art
The famous cover art of this hardback was painted by Jeff Easley. Years later, Easley noted the title of the piece as "Dark Citadel".[5] He added an anecdote, saying,
"The hardest part of this was dealing with the light put off by the magic sword, without washing out the figure. I also decided to 'stipple' the magical back draft of the wings, which took a while."[5]"
The artwork has later been used on a miniature version of the book, on card #224 (Tyrinon) of the 1991 Trading Cards, on card #176 (also Tyrinon) of the Spellfire CCG, the Jeff Easley Trading Cards, and was used in Dragon magazine #137 (September 1988) as a 15" x 19" poster included inside that issue to advertise the release of the hardcover.
See also
- From the Ashes
- Greyhawk: The Adventure Begins
- Living Greyhawk Gazetteer
- World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting
External links
- Later AD&D Manuals at Acaeum.com.
- Greyhawk Adventures at the Pen & Paper RPG database.
- Greyhawk Adventures at the TSR Archive.
- Greyhawk Adventures at Wikipedia.
References
Notes
Citations
- ↑ a b c Schick, Lawrence (1991) Heroic Worlds: A History and Guide to Role-Playing Games, Prometheus Books, p. 101 ISBN: 0-87975-653-5.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Bambra, Jim (March 1989). "Role-playing Reviews". Dragon (#143): 71–72. Lake Geneva, Wisconsin: TSR.
- ↑ Ward, James. "The Game Wizards." Dragon No. 129 (TSR, 1988)
- ↑ Ward, James. "The Game Wizards." Dragon No. 135 (TSR, 1988)
- ↑ a b Jeff Easley Trading Card #3 (1995)
Bibliography
- Bambra, Jim. "Role-playing Reviews." Dragon #143. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1989.
- Ward, James. "The Game Wizards." Dragon #129. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1988.
- -----. "The Game Wizards." Dragon #135. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1988.
- -----. Greyhawk Adventures. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1988.
| 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
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greyhawk Adventures | Publication | Supplement, | CGR1 The Complete Spacefarer's Handbook | 83, 105 |
| Greyhawk Adventures | Publication | Supplement, | The City of Greyhawk: Adventure Cards | 1, 11 |
| Greyhawk Adventures | Publication | Supplement, | The City of Greyhawk: Folks, Feuds and Factions | 6, 10, 20, 24, 39, 43, 64 |
| Greyhawk Adventures | Publication | Supplement, | The City of Greyhawk: Gem of the Flanaess | 6, 9, 12, 56, 60 |
| Greyhawk Adventures | Publication | Supplement, | DMGR4 - Monster Mythology | 128 |
| Greyhawk Adventures | Publication | Supplement, | Dragon magazine #241 | 75 |
| Greyhawk Adventures | Publication | Supplement, | Dragon magazine #263 | 46 |
| Greyhawk Adventures | Publication | Supplement, | Dungeon magazine #073 | 58 |
| Greyhawk Adventures | Publication | Supplement, | TSR Jam 1999 | 12 |
| Greyhawk Adventures | Publication | Supplement, | Return of the Eight | 37, 52, 57, 59, 60, 62 |
| Greyhawk Adventures | Publication | Supplement, | SJR6 Greyspace | 9 |
| Greyhawk Adventures | Publication | Supplement, | The Adventure Begins: Adventure Maps | 5 |
| Greyhawk Adventures | Publication | Supplement, | LT1 The Star Cairns | 2 |
| Greyhawk Adventures | Publication | Supplement, | WG8 Fate of Istus | 80, 118 |
| Greyhawk Adventures | Publication | Supplement, | WGA1 Falcon's Revenge | 2 |
| Greyhawk Adventures | Publication | Supplement, | WGA3 Flames of the Falcon | 2, 13, 32, 41, 54 |
| Greyhawk Adventures | Publication | Supplement, | WGA4 Vecna Lives! | 47, 80, 84, 94 |
| Greyhawk Adventures | Publication | Supplement, | WGQ1 Patriots of Ulek | 5 |
| Greyhawk Adventures | Publication | Supplement, | WGR1 Greyhawk Ruins | 44 |
| Greyhawk Adventures | Publication | Supplement, | WGR3 Rary the Traitor | 28, 29 |
| MC5 - Monstrous Compendium - Greyhawk Adventures Appendix | Publication | Rulebook, | DMGR4 - Monster Mythology | 14, 77, 118 |