Great Library of Greyhawk
| Great Library of Greyhawk | |
|---|---|
 Adventurers seeking knowledge at the Great Library, as depicted in Living Greyhawk Journal #4 (2001). Art by Matthew Mitchell. | |
| General information | |
| Alt. names: | The Great Library |
| Type: | Library |
| Location: | Free City of Greyhawk |
| Architecture: | Granite columns, stairs, and statues; interior not ornate |
| Demographics | |
| Staff: | Librarians, Porters |
| Organizations: | Union of Sages and Academics, |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Price: | 100gp membership |
| Items: | Greyhawk literature |
The Great Library of Greyhawk, located in the Halls in the Free City of Greyhawk, is one of the largest and most-celebrated libraries in the Flanaess. On maps with a key or legend, the Great Library is designated "C2".[1][2][3][4]
Description
"[The Great Library] is an old building with the aspect of an ancient fortress. Large stone columns support a heavy stone lintel over an entry flanked by weathered stone statues of scholars holding open books before them in praise. A grand stone staircase rises up from the street to the level of the statues."[5]
"The front of this building is a grand sweep of granite walls and tall columns. A wide ramp leads to a pair of massive doors flanked by stone-carved dragons."[6]
"The granite façade of the Great Library, with its columns, stairs, and statues, is far grander than the rest of the building, which is not ornate."[7]
"The rear of the library building is a stone edifice, layered over on the outside to look like wood."[8]
The two statues flanking the front foors are sculptures of bronze dragons.[6] They are stone golems which can animate and will attack anyone trying to carry weapons into the Great Library or tries to steal books and leave with them.[6]
The Great Library of Greyhawk's façade is an impressive granite structure, featuring statuary and tall columns. Its massive double doors are reached via three wide stairs facing the Processional.
Atmosphere
"Magical lights are hung throughout the building, remaining lit at all hours. Silence is expected of all users, and armor and weapons are strictly banned. No use of fire is permitted, and the building has no hearing system."[7]
Interior
The grandiose exterior "masks ... a drafty, dusty, crumbling mess thanks to the inattention of several previous curators."[9] The halls and wings of the Great Library are "cool and musty."[6]
The Great Library's collection is one of the finest and most complete in the Flanaess, rivaled only by two others: Celene's Nethalion Archive in Enstad, and Nyrond's Royal Annals of Rel Mord.[9]
There are tall, though seriously aged, ladders in all the rooms of the Great Library to help patrons reach the highest shelves.[9]
The "high"[6][8] and "impressive"[10] desk of the Head Librarian sits on a large, raised platform[6][8][10] made of marble[10] inside the entrance in the main hall[6], where the Head Librarian can usually be found during business hours.[6] This has been true of all Head Librarians.[6][8][10]
Library wings
Flanking the entry hall, three on a side, stand the six wings of the Great Library,[6][8][11] each entered through an open arch. The library's innumerable books, papers, and scrolls cover countless subjects, and are loosely organized in accordance with the building's six wings: Artistic Studies, Geography, History, Poetry and Literature, Science and Engineering, and General (a catch-all for everything not covered by the other five categories).
In each wing of the libraries are tables and chairs are available for research and reading. They are in the center of each wing, providing plenty of seating.[9]
Each wing of the Great Library primarily consists of one massive room containing thousands of monographs arranged on shelves stretching from floor to ceiling. The higher shelves are reached via rickety ladders. Tables and chairs are located at each wing's center, with one or more assistant librarians nearby to aid in deciphering the library's notoriously puzzling catalogue system. When not helping (or shushing) patrons, the librarians research and produce works of their own, copies of which enter the library's collection on completion.
Vaults
A secret staircase behind the head librarian's desk leads to the library's vaults, containing items believed to be too dangerous for the wings. Protected by bound outsiders and a host of magical locks, access is only granted to library archivists, certain Contributing Members, and a handful of dignitaries from the Greyhawk Guild of Wizardry and sundry local universities. There are three vaults, each featuring iron doors and stone walls.[10]
The first vault contains magical scrolls, manuals, tomes, and librams, with a special section set aside for the works of Zagig Yragerne. The second vault contains works of priceless art, and the third official city records, including admission rosters from the city gates.[7][9][8]
History
During his tenure as Lord Mayor, Zagig Yragerne "encouraged many local nobles to combine their private libraries and scroll collections into a single concentration of knowledge that would one day become the Great Library of Greyhawk."[12] An old Oeridian fort in the city was chosen to house the collection, where it is still housed to this day, though it has since been expanded and improved.[9]
Services and policies
The librarians enforce a strict code of silence, and weapons and armor are strictly forbidden.[13]
Adventurers (and other patrons) removing pages from books, or stealing books or scrolls outright, is a recurring problem for the Great Library.[13] Unknown to most, however, the librarians prepare copies of publicly available books, to be stored in the basement, preventing the danger of information being permanently lost.[13] Those stealing or "defacing library property suffers a mandatory term of service in one of the city's more toilsome workgangs."[9]
The Great Library of Greyhawk is open daily, from dawn to dusk.[8][7] Admission is free, but only "Contributing Members" (those who donate at least 100 gp yearly) may borrow items, and then no more than three at a time for no longer than one week. Other patrons must perform their research on-site.
There are "several austere rooms"[8] in the basement of the Library, in a "warren of small rooms"[10] where "tiny apartments" or "private study rooms are available for a fee to sages and researchers who need a place to study and work"[13] and for "scribes and scholars whose labors keep them in the library often for days at a time."[8]
Geography
Map location
In the earliest sources, the Great Library is described as being directly along the Processional.[3][8][14] However, the keyed location is a small, simple, square building, seemingly far too small to be suited to the text description of the large library with extensive wings (not even 25% the descirbed size).[3] In conjuntion, a "Nitghtwatchmen's Guildhouse" ("C16") was placed in a large building, seemingly more appropriate to a library than a Watch outpost.
In an attempt to give the library a more suitable building illustration, later maps (such as the Tetreault map), moved the "C2" label,[4] to the building previously labelled as the Nightwatchmen's Guildhouse. Other descriptive text at the time specifies that the library was "sitting on the edge of the city, just inside the wall."[5]
On the most recent map (the Baerald map),[15] the location of the Great Library is labeled in its original location, and the illustration is simply given a more suitable shape for the building, without changing it's placement.
People
Notable individuals
- Abra Saghast (female bronze dragonborn)—Head Librarian in 576 CY[16]
- Gratius Saghast (male human)—Head Librarian in 576 CY (in earlier sources).[8][10] Named Iquander as his successor before his death.[10][13]
- Iquander (LN male human Wiz11)—Head Librarian and Chief Researcher in 591 CY and later by a highly respected sage.
- A former resident of Nellix in the Duchy of Urnst, Iquander came to Greyhawk to do research in the years following the Greyhawk Wars.
The dean of the library is Tomarkis Anchervar.
Others
- Geraal Wistroan (male human Exp5)—a "young scholar" (in 594 CY)
Resources
Defenses
Rumors & Legends
Gallery
Maps
Location along the Processional:
Location against the city wall:
References
Citations
- ↑ The Adventure Begins (1998), p.95.
- ↑ The City of Greyhawk (1989), p.68, Gem of the Flanaess.
- ↑ a b c The City of Greyhawk (1989), Poster map.
- ↑ a b "City of Greyhawk Map Key". Living Greyhawk Journal #4 (May 2001), p.4.
- ↑ a b "Mad God's Key". Dungeon #114 (Sep 2004), p.33
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Dungeon Master's Guide (2024), p.154.
- ↑ a b c d The Adventure Begins (1998), p.93.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k The City of Greyhawk (1989), p.67, Gem of the Flanaess.
- ↑ a b c d e f g Living Greyhawk Journal #4 (May 2001), p.7.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Living Greyhawk Journal #4 (May 2001), p.8.
- ↑ Living Greyhawk Journal #2 (Nov 2000), p.8.
- ↑ Living Greyhawk Journal #4 (May 2001), p.4.
- ↑ a b c d e The Adventure Begins (1998), p.94.
- ↑ The Adventure Begins (1998), p.32, Map inset.
- ↑ Dungeon Master's Guide (2024), Poster map.
- ↑ Dungeon Master's Guide (2024), Chapter 5: Creating Campaigns.
Bibliography
- Brown, Richard W. and Anne Brown. Falconmaster. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1990.
- Cook, David. Vecna Lives!. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1990.
- Moore, Roger E. The Adventure Begins. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 1998.
- Niles, Douglas, and Carl Sargent. The City of Greyhawk. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1989.
- Tetreault, Denis, and Erik Mona. "Gem of the Flanaess: City of Greyhawk—Clerkburg." Living Greyhawk Journal #4. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2001.
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
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Library of Greyhawk (City of Greyhawk) | Building | Library, | The City of Greyhawk: Gem of the Flanaess | 44, 67, 70, 94 |
| Great Library of Greyhawk (City of Greyhawk) | Building | Library, | Dungeon magazine #114 | 20, 24, 33, 38 |
| Great Library of Greyhawk (City of Greyhawk) | Building | Library, | Living Greyhawk Gazetteer | 64 |
| Great Library of Greyhawk (City of Greyhawk) | Building | Library, | Living Greyhawk Journal #2 | 4 |
| Great Library of Greyhawk (City of Greyhawk) | Building | Library, | Living Greyhawk Journal #4 | 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 |
| Great Library of Greyhawk (City of Greyhawk) | Building | Library, | Living Greyhawk Journal #5 | 7, IBC |
| Great Library of Greyhawk (City of Greyhawk) | Building | Library, | Player's Guide to Greyhawk | 32 |
| Great Library of Greyhawk (City of Greyhawk) | Building | Library, | The Adventure Begins | 78, 93, 94 |
| Great Library of Greyhawk (City of Greyhawk) | Building | Library, | The Adventure Begins: Adventure Maps | 5 |
| Great Library of Greyhawk (City of Greyhawk) | Building | Library, | WGA4 Vecna Lives! | 20, 21 |
| Great Library of Greyhawk (City of Greyhawk) | Building | Library, | WGR2 Treasures of Greyhawk | 18 |
| Great Library of Greyhawk, Contributing Member (City of Greyhawk) | People Group | Position, | The Adventure Begins | 94 |
| Great Library of Greyhawk, Vault (City of Greyhawk) | Building | Library, | The Adventure Begins | 94 |