Living Greyhawk Gazetteer Chapter 4 (Ahlissa to the Bright Lands)

Okay, let's dive into this massive chapter. I doubt I'll get it all done tonight. This is the Gazetteer part of the Gazetteer. We get a brief explanation of smaller and insignificant political bodies such as independent castles or strongholds, most of which are isolated and out of range for bigger armies to take care of. The Gazetteer chapter also won't be covering any underground or underwater realms to save space.

We then get a rundown of how each country's gazetteer entry is laid out. The proper name of the kingdom or polity, the current ruler as of 591 CY, the type of government, the capital city and major towns, provinces within the country, natural resources, coinage, population (broken down not only by race, but sometimes also by human sub-race), languages, the general alignment of the populace, major religions, allies and enemies, an overview covering climate, plants and animals, transportation and military, the country's history, and finally any current conflicts and intrigues that could lead to adventures. So these are much more detailed than the writeups in the earlier Gazetteer product.

Deep breath...

The first country is the United Kingdom of Ahlissa, ruled by His Transcendent Imperial Majesty, Overking Xavener I, who is a 15th-level male human NE rogue. The capital is Kalstrand, but the largest city is Torrich with a population of 27,500. The total population of the kingdom is nearly four million, mostly humans (Oeridian and Suel dominate, with a Flan minority). The most common alignments are N, NE, and LE (which is the alignment of most of the government). They don't have any allies, but they have enemies in the Scarlet Brotherhood, North Kingdom, and Iuz. No one else trusts them in the slightest; the Rhennee avoid it altogether.

Good Lord, these entries are long. The history is quite detailed, too. I may have to do some sort of timeline project for this book alone. The super-quick summary is that this country used to be part of the Great Kingdom, which fell apart during the Greyhawk Wars. Xavener, a powerful prince from Kalstrand, unified the region under his rule; he's the first ruler of Ahlissa proper, so it's not the steadiest of dynasties just yet. For adventuring hooks, there's plenty to do; Ahlissa is not yet a stable country, and it has no allies while several enemies lurk nearby. There's plenty of internal upheaval from bandits, renegade army units, orcs, and more. Oh, and the Scarlet Brotherhood is trying to get a foothold in the government if they haven't already. Finally, there's a secret society called Midnight Darkness that assassinates foreigners. Well, that's not fun. But it could be, if you make it a cool adventure.

Next we have the Bandit Kingdoms, and I'm definitely not going to be doing lengthy discussions on each of these nations. Otherwise, I'll be here all month. Ahlissa covered four pages, and it's a new country. The Bandit Kingdoms are run by various petty warlords and tyrants who are loosely allied to Iuz. There's really no government structure here; it's made up of about seventeen independent fiefdoms and other ill-defined territories. In the end, they're just part of the Empire of Iuz anyway. The population is a mere 475,000, mostly human (Oeridian, Flan, and Suel, with a smattering of Baklunish); half-orcs make up the largest minority race. The most common alignment here is CN; CE is the alignment of the 'government', such as it is.

All the good countries in the region are enemies; there are no allies. The most notable thing I've seen so far is that the Rift Canyon is located in the Bandit Kingdoms. That's where all those really nasty monsters from last month's Dragon Magazine live, remember? We then get a lengthy breakdown of the various fiefdoms and territories that make up the Bandit Kingdoms, but not a lot of historical information. Well, something had to give; this entry was six pages as it is.

Bissel (formally The March of Bissel) is ruled by His Lofty Grace, Larrangin, the Margrave of Bissel, a LG male human F9/C2 of Heironeous. It's a feudal monarchy owing fealty to both the Gran March and Veluna, and the monarch is not hereditary; the leadership of the Knights of the Watch does the selecting. The capital is Pellak; the former capital, Thornward, is being rebuilt after a major conflict with Ket. The population is a mere 124,000, again mostly human (Oeridian, Suel, Bakluni) with dwarves being the most common demihumans. The general alignment is LG, while the government is LN. Great, bureaucracy gone wild. Heironeous is the most popular deity.

Bissel actually has allies: Gran March, Keoland, Veluna, Knights of the Watch, dwarves of the eastern Barrier Peaks, as well as lots of mercenaries and adventuring bands. Their enemies are Ket and Iuz. During the Greyhawk Wars, Ket was constantly attacking Bissel, eventually forcing the nation to surrender after Thornward fell. A couple of years ago, negotiations were completed that resulted in Thornward being declared a neutral city held and governed in common by Ket, Veluna, Gran March, and Bissel. Ket completely withdrew its armies north, holding the Bisselite forts, towns and lands north of the Bramblewood Gap. So, Bissel used to be bigger. Being conquered sucks.

Blackmoor! The Archbarony of Blackmoor is ruled by His Luminous Preponderancy, Archbaron Bestmo, a NE male human F11/W4. There's no real government in Blackmoor, though. Actually, not much is known about this place; it's about as remote as you can get in the Flanaess. The capital is Dantredun, which has a population of...700. Seven hundred people. The total population is 110,000, and while humans are the most numerous, they're only about one-third of the population. Plenty of orcs and halflings; in fact, those two combined outnumber the humans. Blackmoor is on the border of the Land of Black Ice, way up north.

And yes, the Egg of Coot is mentioned, although not really defined; the Egg is a figure of mystery. It's a very magical place, with plenty of mounds and standing stones that many believe are enchanted to hold back the Land of Black Ice from encroaching on Blackmoor lands. It might also work on Iuz, since he avoids the land even though he'd like to take it over. Blackmoor has seen an influx of settlers since the Greyhawk Wars, mostly people fleeing from Iuz.

The Bone March is formerly a feudal marchland of the Great Kingdom, but now it's controlled by a conclave of nonhuman chiefs; the titular ruler, His Nobility, Clement, the Marquis of Bone March (LN male human F9) is presumed dead. The population is about 310,000, with the same distribution of humans, orcs and halflings as Blackmoor. The primary alignment here is LE, and Hextor is the most popular deity. The Bone March is loosely allied with the North Kingdom, but they are enemies with Nyrond, Ratik, and the barbarians of the north.

The Empire of the Bright Lands is run by His Percipient Magnificence, the Archmage Rary, Monarch of the Bright Lands (NE male human W20+). Well, I've heard that name before. And he 'rules' the Bright Desert from his tower in the Brass Hills, sending out nomads, goblinoids and mercenaries to enforce his will. The biggest threat to the Bright Lands would be the City of Greyhawk and the Circle of Eight, of whom Rary was once a member. Hey, Lord Robilar gets a mention! He's the commander of Rary's armies, and he's a NE male human F20. And Rary's primary goal is to find some sort of powerful artifact somewhere in the Bright Desert, so that's where his focus lies.

Alright, that's enough for tonight. Hopefully these will get easier as we go on; I've just finished the 'B' countries. And I still have a full 100 pages to go. Yikes.