Greyhawk Adventures

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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
Setting date: c. 576 CY

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 first and Second 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 first and Second edition AD&D rules;[2] the NPCs in the Hall of Heroes include monks, a first Edition character class not included in the Second Edition rules, while the "Monsters of Greyhawk" chapter uses the Second Edition's system of rolling two ten-sided dice (2d10) for monster morale, rather than the first 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 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 first 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 first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rules, though a note on its cover states the book is also compatible with the Second Edition.[2] It was the final hardback manual published for first 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 Second or third 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 Second Edition AD&D products, such as City of Skulls and The Marklands.

Dark Citadel—the original art for Greyhawk adventures. Illustration by Jeff Easley (1988).

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 (2"x3") print version of the book, as well as on card #224 (Tyrinon) of the 1991 Trading Cardsand card #176 (also Tyrinon) of the Spellfire CCG, in 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.

Reception

Lisa Stevens reviewed the module in the December 1988 issue of White Wolf magazine. She thought that it was worth the price for those involved in Greyhawk campaigns but less so for those not.[6] She stated: "If you like to tinker with good ideas that have some flaws, then you will enjoy working with this product. ... If you can cull out the refuse. you will find a nice hunk of gold at the bottom, but you'll have to work for it. This book might more rightly be titled, 'The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly' or 'Hard Habit to Break'."[6] Stevens rated the product a 4 out of 5 for Appearance, 3 for Complexity, and 2 for Content, Playability, and her overall rating.[6]

Jim Bambra reviewed Greyhawk Adventures for Dragon magazine No. 143 (March 1989).[2] Bambra commented on the book: "As a sourcebook which further elaborates on an existing world, Greyhawk Adventures is a collection of independent sections with little in the way of crossover between each one. The writing style reflects the large number of contributors involved, with the tone varying from lively and evocative to dry and rules-orientated, with the emphasis on mechanics."[2] He noted that while the book was primarily aimed at World of Greyhawk fans, players of campaigns set in other worlds would find much to interest them, such as new spells, magical items, and monsters; also, the descriptions of NPCs and of Greyhawk's deities and clerics can act as templates for similar deities and characters in other campaigns, and the adventures and the section on zero-level characters could also be used in any campaign. Bambra felt that some of the content would be less likely to be of interest to non-Greyhawk campaign players, but that it can still serve as a source of inspiration: "Greyhawk Adventures has something in it for everyone, but its wide diversity of topics tends to dilute its overall impact and usefulness."[2] He found the section on avatars useful, but felt that "it would have benefited by describing the things that avatars do and providing motivations for why a particular deity would send an avatar to Oerth in the first place".[2] Bambra felt that most of the information on how to play clerics was readily accessible, but that the rules on spheres would only come to light once the AD&D Second Edition game was published. He felt that while the book defined clerics well in game terms, it could have included more information on how clerics should conduct themselves in the pursuit of their deities' aims and more information detailing the myths and legends associated with the deities. He considered the "Monsters of Greyhawk" section neatly laid out with all the essential information presented in a tabulated form, an insight into how the AD&D Second Edition game would likely be presented, and he considered the new monsters "useful".[2] Bambra concludes the review with an overall evaluation of the book: "Greyhawk Adventures attempts to be many things to many people. Assuming this is its aim, it succeeds admirably, for everyone who looks at it will find something of interest. However, considered as a whole, it is less successful. Even hardened fans of the World of Greyhawk fantasy setting may be disappointed as Greyhawk Adventures adds little to the background of Oerth, instead providing useful add-ons and enhancements. [...] Don’t get me wrong—Greyhawk Adventures includes some very good material, and it's a useful purchase for those of you looking for new spells, magical items, ways to make clerics more interesting, and for inspiration in the adventure department. It's just that I cannot shake the feeling that Greyhawk Adventures has spread itself too thin."[2]

See also

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.

References

Notes

Citations

  1. ↑ 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.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Bambra, Jim (March 1989). "Role-playing Reviews". Dragon (#143): 71–72. Lake Geneva, Wisconsin: TSR. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "Dragon #143" defined multiple times with different content
  3. ↑ Ward, James. "The Game Wizards." Dragon No. 129 (TSR, 1988)
  4. ↑ Ward, James. "The Game Wizards." Dragon No. 135 (TSR, 1988)
  5. ↑ a b Jeff Easley Trading Card #3 (1995)
  6. ↑ a b c Stevens, Lisa (December 1988). "Review: Greyhawk Adventures". White Wolf. No. 13. p. 23.

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.
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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
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