I am contemplating starting a "greatest hits of greyhawk campaign" but the timeline of the modules is difficult to patch together. I've looked at a WHOLE bunch of different timelines, and this is what I've come up with. Any comments or corrections would be appreciated.
320 • Zagyg Yragerne is elected Mayor of the Free
City of Greyhawk;
• Construction of Castle Greyhawk begins
411 • Zagyg Yragerne vanishes from public site
420 • Fraz-Urb’luu is imprisoned by Zagyg Yragerne
505 • Iuz is imprisoned by Zagyg Yragerne, St.
Cuthbert, Heward, Murlynd, Keoghtem, and
Kelanen;
• Zagyg captures 8 other demigods [2];
• Zagyg vanishes for good
560 • Exploring Castle Greyhawk, Tenser and his
company discover the Crook of Rao although
they fail to recognize it. They subsequently lose
it on the Isle of the Ape
561 Citadel of Eight [3] is formed
562 • Fraz-Urb’luu is unwittingly freed from his
prison in Castle Greyhawk by Erac’s Cousin and
Ayelerach
566 • A chapel is established in Nulb, ultimately to
become the Temple of Elemental Evil
569 • Citadel of Eight disbands;
• Mordenkainen’s enters Castle Maure [4];
• Serten dies at the Battle of Emridy Meadows
570 • Robilar, Riggby and Quij free Iuz and eight
other demigods from Greyhawk Castle;
571 • Circle of Eight [5] founded;
• Adventurers first explore the Tomb of Horrors;
• Adventurers first explore White Plume
Mountain;
• Adventurers first explore the Ghost Tower of
Inverness
573 • The Scarlet Brotherhood is first reported,
visiting the court of the Iron League as
ambassadors from the Land of Purity;
• Thrommel, Prince of Furyondy-Provost of
Veluna, is kidnapped
574 • Leomond leaves Oerth to explore other
planes of existence, Tenser replaces him in the
Circle of Eight
576 • Rookroost is beset by plague (Fate of Istus
begins, concludes 582)
577 • Adventurers first explore the Hidden Shrine of
Tamoachan
578 • Bandits begin terrorizing Hommlet once more (T1-4);
• Adventurers first explore the Lost Caverns of
Tsojcanth;
• The Crook of Rao is retrieved from the Isle of
the Ape at Tenser’s direction
579 • Giants begin raiding human communities in
unusual numbers (GDQ 1-7)
580 • The Slavelords power in the Wild Coast and
the Pomarj is broken (A1-4)
If this is all a little bewildering, I am most interested in the timeline of:
LC of Tsojcanth
Isle of the Ape
HS of Tharizdun
T1-4
A1-4
GDQ1-7
I like how you do not take into account the suggested levels for pc's into your list. I know that actually going through the modules in that order is not the point, but its still good.
As I was looking through the timeline you referenced, I noticed what appears to be a singificant discrepancy, and was hoping for some input.
According to the original Folio:
Quote:
498 Greyhawk becomes a Free City.
Ruling a territory from Hardby on the Wooly Bay to the Nyr Dyv, between the eastern folds of the Cairn Hills and the Gnarley Forest, including much of what is now the northern section of the Wild Coast region. [pg. 5; pg. 18]
However, i thought Zagyg was a Mayor of the Free City Long Before this.
Last edited by Anced_Math on Thu Oct 30, 2008 10:44 am; edited 1 time in total
I've cobbled the dates together from various sources. I'm sure many of them are apocryphal.
As there seems to be some interest in this, I'm including the entire timeline from which the original post was excerpted. Much of this was taken from other sources, but unfortunately I don't have references. No infringement on intellectual property is intended.
-----------------
-1900 • Kingdom of Sulm comes to prominence
-1716 • The Flannish high priest Kyuss performs
experiments at the Necropolis of Unaagh
-1400 • Kingdom of Sulm begins to decline
-716 • Vecna becomes a lich
-700 • Kingdom of Sulm is destroyed by its last king,
Shattados
-594 • Lyzandred is born
-484 • Beginning of the Baklunish-Suloise Wars
-447 • Iggwilv migrates to the Flanaess
-422 • Suloise Mages of Power call down the Invoked
Destruction;
• Baklunish spellcasters bring down the Rain of
Colorless Fire;
• Axe of the Dwarvish Lords lost
-216 • Foundation of the Kingdom of Aerdy
198 • Giant meteor (sent by Lyzandred) impacts the
Abbor-Alz, interrupting an experiment by Suel wizards of the Star Cairns
203 • Sir Kargoth of the Great Kingdom pacts with
Demogorgon, his thirteen followers become the
first death knights
320 • Zagig Yragerne is elected Mayor of the Free
City of Greyhawk;
• Construction of Castle Greyhawk begins
411 • Zagig Yragerne vanishes from public site
420 • Fraz-Urb’luu is imprisoned by Zagyg Yragerne
421 • Castle Greyhawk is mysterious abandoned
422 • Zagyg Yragerne forms the Ring of Five [1]
460 • Iuz is born
479 • Iuz comes into prominence
485 • Iggwilv conquers Perrenland
495 • Gaz’zt breaks free from Iggwilv’s domination;
• Iggwilv’s disappears and her realm collapses.
505 • Iuz is imprisoned by Zagyg Yragerne, St.
Cuthbert, Heward, Murlynd, Keoghtem, and
Kelanen;
• Zagyg captures 8 other demigods [2];
• Zagyg vanishes for good
560 • Exploring Castle Greyhawk, Tenser and his
company discover the Crook of Rao although
they fail to recognize it. They subsequently lose
it on the Isle of the Ape
561 Citadel of Eight [3] is formed
562 • Fraz-Urb’luu is unwittingly freed from his
prison in Castle Greyhawk by Erac’s Cousin and
Ayelerach
566 • A chapel is established in Nulb, ultimately to
become the Temple of Elemental Evil
569 • Citadel of Eight disbands;
• Mordenkainen’s enters Castle Maure [4];
• Serten dies at the Battle of Emridy Meadows
570 • Robilar, Riggby and Quij free Iuz and eight
other demigods from Greyhawk Castle;
• Nerof Gasgol becomes Lord Mayor Greyhawk
571 • Circle of Eight [5] founded;
• Adventurers first explore the Tomb of Horrors;
• Adventurers first explore White Plume
Mountain;
• Adventurers first explore the Ghost Tower of\
Inverness
573 • The Scarlet Brotherhood is first reported,
visiting the court of the Iron League as
ambassadors from the Land of Purity;
• Thrommel, Prince of Furyondy-Provost of
Veluna, is kidnapped
574 • Leomond leaves Oerth to explore other
planes of existence, Tenser replaces him in the
Circle of Eight
576 • Rookroost is beset by plague (Fate of Istus
begins, concludes 582)
577 • Adventurers first explore the Hidden Shrine of
Tamoachan
578 • Bandits begin terrorizing Hommlet once more;
• Adventurers first explore the Lost Caverns of
Tsojcanth;
• The Crook of Rao is retrieved from the Isle of
the Ape at Tenser’s direction
579 • The City of Greyhawk reforms its coinage
system;
• Giants begin raiding human communities in
unusual numbers
580 • The Slavelords power in the Wild Coast and
the Pomarj is broken
581 • Jallarzi Sallavarian replaced Bucknard
(disappeared 579) in the Circle of Eight;
• The Falcon Conspiracy threatens Greyhawk;
• The Circle of Eight is destroyed by an agent of Vecna, only
Mordenkainen survives;
• Iggwilv is freed from the Abyss
582 • Vatun – great god of the North – rises amongst
the barbarians (actually Iuz in disguise);
The Greyhawk Wars begin
583 • Sir Robilar delivers the evil Orb of Might to the
emple of Zuggtmoy in distant lands
584 • The Greyhawk Wars ends
• Rary’s betrays the Circle of Eight, killing Otiluke and Tenser;
• Sir Robilar sacks the Fortress of Unknown
Depths
585 • Adventurers first explore the City of Skulls;
• Tenser is restored to life
586 • Canon Hazen of Veluna causes the "Flight of
Fiends" through use of the Crook of Rao;
• Warnes Starcoat, Alhamazad the Wise and
Theodain Eriason join the Circle of Eight, Tenser
chooses not to rejoin
591 • Adventurers return to White Plume Mountain;
• Adventurers return to the Tomb of Horrors
[1] Zagyg's research into the advanced principles of magic procedes far enough that he realizes he needs help. After careful thought he assembles a group of powerful mages: The Black One of the Vale of the Mage, Leomund, Melf, and Serten. They have a mysterious agenda, and are rivals to the Circle of Eight. Together they created numerous magic items, among other accomplishments. Through their research, and with help from the both the Obelisk of Castle Greyhawk and the Codex of the Infinite Planes, several members later achieve immortality. An alternate list based on alignment includes: Zagyg (N), Keoghtom (NG), Tuerny (CE), Daern (LN) and Evard (NE).
[2] Imprisoned Entities (not strictly demigods):
Alignment Entity / Portfolio / Worshipper’s Alignment / Gender
LG / Merikka /Agriculture / Any Good /F
LN / Stern Alia /Law, Truth / LN / F
LE / Wastri / Amphibians, Bigotry / LN, LE / M
NG / Xilonen / Corn / Any / F
TN / Zuoken / Physical and Mental Mastery / N, LN / M
NE / Chitza-Atlan / Underworld (Mictlan) / Any / M
CG / Tlazoteotl / Mother of the Earth / Any / F
CN / Rudd / Chance, Skill / CN, CG, N / F
CE / Iuz / Deceit, Pain /Any Evil, CN / M
[4] The adventure features an eight-pointed star. Originally the triangles (the acquisition of which would have required considerable research, exploration, and travel) were to be used to open gates to 8 demiplanes. According to Rob Kuntz, the exact planes were never detailed, although EX1 Dungeonland, EX2 The Land Beyond the Magic Mirror, and the Demiplane of Shadow would have been likely candidates.
[5] The Circle of Eight:
571: Mordenkainen, Bigby, Bucknard, Drawmij, Leomund, Nystul, Otto, Rary.
574: Mordenkainen, Bigby, Bucknard, Drawmij, Nystul, Otto, Rary, Tenser; Tenser replaces Leomund who had left Oerth to
explore other planes.
576: Mordenkainen, Bigby, Bucknard, Drawmij, Tenser, Nystul, Otto, Rary, Otiluke; Otiluke joins the Circle.
579: Mordenkainen, Bigby, Drawmij, Tenser, Nystul, Otto, Rary, Otiluke; Bucknard mysteriously disappears.
581: Mordenkainen, Bigby, Drawmij, Tenser, Nystul, Otto, Rary, Otiluke, Jallarzi; Jallarzi replaces Bucknard.
581: The Circle is broken; All save Mordenkainen are killed by Halmadar, an agent of Vecna.
584: The Circle is restored, all members having been cloned by Mordenkainen.
584: Rary turns traitor, killing Otiluke and Tenser and wounding Bigby. It seems Otiluke and Tenser are forever dead.
586: Mordenkainen, Bigby, Drawmij, Nystul, Otto, Jallarzi, Warnes Starcoat, Alhamazad the Wise, Theodain Eriason;
Tenser is returned to life but chooses not to rejoin the Circle.
However, i thought Zagyg was a Mayor of the Free City Long Before this.
He was mayor, but Greyhawk was officially part of the Great Kingdom until Zagig finally got around to declaring it a Free City. It was purely symbolic at that point.
The Glossography says that it and "A Guide to the World of Greyhawk" were compiled C.Y. 998 by Smedger using the Savant-Sage's version of "A Guide to the World of Greyhawk" in case you feel that you should add this to the timeline. It also says that Smedger created games to recreate the interactions described in the Sage's books because by his time (998) magic was a fading art and not yet gone. The implication in this context is that Oerth later becomes like Earth probably the same way Middle-earth becomes like Earth after Middle-earth's Third Age.
Also of note for people that like to order modules in some way, this document shows The Village of Hommlet as WG1 and The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth as WG3. I believe the implication is that The Temple of Elemental Evil was slated to be WG2 because it's the sequel to The Village of Hommlet. And I speculate that the listing of Dungeonland and The Land Beyond the Magic Mirror as GC1 and GC2 probably refer to a module code abbreviation for Greyhawk Castle that couldn't be used because these two modules didn't cover the castle itself and neither has anything else (until Troll Lord's Castle Zagyg). The map coordinates for these two modules are both D4-86. Because of that listing, it's where I'm going to consider the location of Greyhawk Castle. I'm thinking about placing a "Castle Greyhawk" as described in WG7 in a different location within the same hex as "Greyhawk Castle" and use the Random Monster Generator to grab player characters from Abeir-Toril and Krynn so they may be played in Greyhawk. Then I need to figure out a way to allow them to get back....
That way when characters go to the dorkfest castle, someone will be able to tell them, "Oh, you're looking for Greyhawk Castle. This is Castle Greyhawk," like some lost tourist in Pheonix trying to figure out that 7th St is different than 7th Ave.
I was looking for the timeline to see if I could establish when the first AD&D modules took place in Greyhawk. In the Oerth Journal #1 I found:
453 CY King Tavish III of Keoland dies, Tavish IV ascends
to throne; end of Keoish Emperialism. The ill-fated
expedition of Sormod of Perrenland to find Eru-Tovar, north
of Blackmoor. (1088 OR)
455 CY Sunndi rebels against the Great Kingdom, joins the
Iron League. (1090 OR)
461 CY Demi-human realm of Ulek affected, demi-human
realm of Celene revealed (although it is also "affected" in the
eyes of the Great Kingdom, this hidden Elven realm actually
just decides to open communications with the human
kingdoms at this time). (1096 OR)
465 CY Volte, a blue dragon terrorizing Geoff and Sterich,
is defeated by a group of adventurers aided by Schemley, a
Greyhawk dragon. (2000 OR)
I haven't read G1 so does the 465 CY reference mean that G1 takes place in 465? If so, then the makers of the game probably were playing under OD&D rules before this point in game-time. Or is this OJ reference related to someone's home-brew game and not to a TSR timeline?
The 465 CY event involving Volte is listed on the GreyChrondex (on this very site) as coming from Rary the Traitor, pg. 23, which unfortunately I don't have to verify...
The 465 CY event involving Volte is listed on the GreyChrondex (on this very site) as coming from Rary the Traitor, pg. 23, which unfortunately I don't have to verify...
Kwint
I'm on it.
Ok...
pages 17 and 18.
"Dagger Rock"
Volte, a 1,000 year old Blue Dragon has slumbered here for over a century, emerging only to eat horses and passersby. He was previously a menace in Georff and Sterich before he got smacked around by wizards, paladins, and Schemley the Greyhawk Dragon. He lost the majority of his treasure, but still has a nice trove of magical stuff left. Equalizer of Gran March being one of those items. Schemley still lives in the Crystalmists, and Rary has offered an alliance to kill him in order to better ingratiate himself with the big blue beastie.
If this is all a little bewildering, I am most interested in the timeline of:
LC of Tsojcanth
Isle of the Ape
HS of Tharizdun
T1-4
A1-4
GDQ1-7
Any assistance would be appreciated.
T1-4 is the module I use as the timeline base. Using that I pin the others something like this:
Tsojcanth/Tharizdun c. 575.
Isle of the Ape c. 583.
T1-4 579.
A series c. 580.
GDQ c. 575.
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