Greyhawk canon

This article is an essay.

In Greyhawk fandom, each individual holds his or her own idea of what constitutes Greyhawk canon. These differing views range from the "Gygaxian" (Greyhawk products authored/overseen by Gary Gygax during his tenure at TSR) to the "all-inclusive" (any mention of Greyhawk, even in fan-produced materials) extremes. The truth of the matter is that each DM decides what is regarded as good use for his or her own campaign. However, for the purposes of this wiki, a baseline must be established, for a number of reasons:

1. To provide contributors with an idea of which Greyhawk subjects fall within the scope of this wiki;

2. To give fans and professional authors of Greyhawk material an idea of how much value a source brings to the setting;

3. To provide a point of reference from which the majority of Greyhawk fans and writers can work from; and less importantly,

4. To provide a context for the study of Greyhawk canon itself.

Therefore, for the purposes of this wiki, Greyhawk sources will fall into one of three broad descending categories: Officially Published Sources, Apocrypha, and Fanon. Note that it may be possible for a source to "straddle" two categories. Note that a source's category is not always reflective of its inherent quality (though there is often a correlation)--there is plenty of well-written fanon, and poorly written official sources. There is, and always has been debate about "canon", and for that reason, this wiki does its best to avoid furthering that debate. Whether one DM or another chooses to use any particular source in their own game is for that DM and their players to decide. All this wiki does is provide information about available official content (and some semi-official content).

Officially Published Sources ("canon")

In general, this category includes modules and sourcebooks published for the mass market and approved by the IP holder at the time of publication (ie, TSR or Wizards of the Coast), that are of significant value to the setting. This also includes materials that the IP holder releases via the web, as well as materials that were regarded as "generic" when first published, but retconned into Greyhawk by later authors. "Significant value," in this case, is broadly defined. A safe bet is that if the product as a whole is not written off by the IP holder, then it's probably official. Note that this category may also include many general Dungeons & Dragons sources that may include only a minimal amount of Greyhawk material.

Examples of Officially Published Sources

• Defenders of the Faith
• The Doomgrinder
• Most Dragon articles
• Most Dungeon adventures
• From the Ashes
• Ivid the Undying
• Living Greyhawk Gazetteer
• Living Greyhawk Journal
• Patriots of Ulek
• Queen of the Spiders
• Sword and Fist
• The Shackled City
• Tomb of the Lizard King
• Greyhawk Trading Cards

Apocrypha

Apocryphal sources include those approved or published by the IP holder that are of limited value to the setting, or made available to a limited audience. This includes novels, comics, RPGA adventures, and some materials produced for the Living Greyhawk campaign.

In some officially published sources, the setting material is entirely acceptable, but the plot, storyline, or events which occur therein are exclusive only to that novel, graphic novel, adventure, etc. This is similar to when a DM runs an officially published adventure, but, the way particular events play out in their game may be different than others' events. Or, the DM (or author) may create other non-official details. Also included in this category are materials that were created for the IP holder, but wound up being cut from the final product, either due to space limitations or other concerns. Additionally, unofficial materials with distinct Greyhawk references (similar maps, place names, etc) authored by published Greyhawk writers may also be regarded as apocryphal.

Examples of Apocrypha

Product Name	Category	Reason
Dungeons & Dragons: In the Shadow of Dragons	Authorized by IP holder	Comic series by Kenzer& Co.; Setting is official; Events occur in alternate continuity
Vecna: Hand of the Revenant	Authorized by IP holder	Graphic Novel; Setting is official; Events occur in alternate continuity
Artifact of Evil	Published by IP holder	Novel; Setting is official; Events occur in alternate continuity
Master Wolf	Published by IP holder	Novel; Setting is official; Events occur in alternate continuity
Quag Keep	Published by IP holder	Novel; Setting is official; Events occur in alternate continuity
Night Watch	Published by IP holder	Novel; Setting is official; Events occur in alternate continuity
White Plume Mountain	Published by IP holder	Novel; Setting is official; Events occur in alternate continuity
Dance of Demons	Published Greyhawk Author	Novel; Gary Gygax, Events occur on an alternate Oerth
The Good Oerth: The Green Nightmare	Published Greyhawk Author	Roger E. Moore
Maze of Zayene	Published Greyhawk Author	Rob Kuntz
"Vecna's Realm"	Published Greyhawk Author	Erik "Iquander" Mona
Some Oerth Journal articles	Published Greyhawk Authors	Various
All that Glitters	Published by IP holder	Not originally set in Greyhawk, Retconned
To the Aid of Falx	Published by IP holder	Only Available to RPGA Members
Child's Play	Published by IP holder	Parody/Whimsical
Gargoyle	Published by IP holder	Parody/Whimsical
Puppets	Published by IP holder	Parody/Whimsical
Castle Greyhawk module	Specifically written off by IP Holder	Parody/Whimsical

Fan-Produced Sources (Fanon)

This classification describes unofficial Greyhawk material which is neither approved nor published by the IP holder, and is typically created by fans . Subjects and events exclusive to fanon tend to be of limited use for this wiki because they are often specific to home campaigns, though elements of some materials originally created as fanon may eventually become canon when an author "goes pro" and incorporates these elements into an official product. Of course, it's a safe bet that much canon originally began as fanon. Subjects and events exclusive to fanon should be carefully evaluated before inclusion, but articles about popular fanon sources are welcome. Being fan-produced should be explicitly and clearly stated in both the article and in citations.

Examples of Fanon

• Most Canonfire! articles
• Most Oerth Journal articles
• Maps by Anna Meyer at GHmaps.net
• Nodwick by Aaron Williams
• Downer (comic strip) by Kyle Hunter