so, if warduke and peralay/melf are figures from the LJN, and both are considered Greyhawk characters (well, Melf for obvious reasons ), does the otehr belong to GH too?
i mean, i know theres a module with strongheart, kelek, and others, but as i was looking at "Super Toy Archive" site, i remember the supposed connection someone did with warduke and melf (eric mona?).
Someone on this message board claims that Gary Gygax said the Melf toy was a complete coincidence, and didn't have anything to do with Luke Gygax's PC. He had them change the name to Peralay so there wouldn't be any confusion. That said, Greyhawk's Melf looks more or less identical to Peralay in their illustrations, and they're both elves, and their descriptions are the same in From the Ashes and The Shady Dragon Inn. They're both even depicted as left-handed. Perhaps Carl Sargent used Peralay's description in The Shady Dragon Inn as a source when detailing Melf, but they looked the same even earlier, in the illustration for Artifact of Evil by Gary Gygax.
In other words, there may be a connection between Greyhawk's Melf and the Peralay toy on some level, but apparently (if Gene Weigel is right) Gary Gygax wasn't aware of it or didn't remember what it was. Some executive from the toy company is supposed to have named all the toys; maybe that executive was aware there was a Melf's Acid Arrow and Melf's Minute Meteors spell, or maybe not. Maybe he or she independently decided that Melf was a good name for an elf.
We know the most about Peralay from two BECMI-era D&D supplements, The Shady Dragon Inn and Quest For the Heartstone. Those books establish that Melf and Warduke were once part of the same adventuring party, the Company of the Heartstone, but the influence of the Heartstone artifact, which exaggerates latent alignment tendencies, turned half of the party (including Strongheart and Peralay) to extreme good and half of the party (including Warduke) to extreme evil.
None of the other characters from the D&D toy line have any official Greyhawk connections. Technically they're Mystara characters, in fact. Warduke was retconned as a Greyhawk character by Erik Mona in Dungeon Magazine, but he wasn't before.
dont you think that some characters could get a spot in GH?
some of my favorites:
Name: Zorgar
Type: Evil Barbarian
Bio: Zorgar Evil Barbarian is the meanest and strongest of all Barbarians. He fears nothing or no one and will attack his enemies with a club and dagger or with his bare hands. At times he appears to be more like a savage beast than a human. Like most barbarians, his only concern is his own survival and he will fight anyone who stands in his way.
Name: Drex
Type: Evil Warrior
Bio: Fighters, both good and evil, are known for their superior strength. Drex is one of the most strongest and feared of all evil fighters. He carries a variety of weapons and is an expert with all types of swords, maces, and knives. Drex, however, because of his sheer power and razor sharp armor plates, is most dangerous during hand-to-hand combat.
Name: Deeth
Type: Good Fighter
Bio: Deeth is a powerful fighter who is capable of defeating any and all evil doers in combat. Since childhood, she has trained as a warrior with many weapons. She is feared by many because she uses her sword of light and battle mace with lightning speed and accuracy. Deeth usually travels alone, but will always join forces with other good fighters when it is neccessary.
Name: Bowmarc
Type: Good Crusader
Bio: Bowmarc is a great and noble crusader. He fights on the side of good and can never change, or else he will loose his special powers. Bowmarc and his "Holy Sword" are feared by all evil doers. He may sometimes fight battles alone, but Bowmarc usually leads a army of good crusaders and fighters.
have no idea why this Bowmarc isnt credited as a paladin, but as a crusader. but i believe those could make good NPC!
any thoughts on BG?
I'd like to extend my complements on that article, Rasgon. I've had enormous fun fleshing out the former Heartstone company members in my own Greyhawk Wars campaign. I've even placed the Shady Dragon Inn in the lands of the Highfolk, not far from the Furyondian border. I must say that I got quite carried away with the Mona Warduke article and I had my own theories about where all of these guys could be "fitted in" to the World of Greyhawk.
I've probably used Ringlerun, Mercion and Figgen more than any of the others. In fact, the Heartstone itself was an excellent seed for a story arc involving Furyondian and Iuz agents attempting to sieze "super-weapons" in preparation for the coming war. Ringlerun was a former advisor to the Furyondian crown who was displaced by Karzalin and the Chamber of Four. Mercion protects him, knowing that Skylla and Zargrash will eventually tip their hands and attack the old mage. Figgen is more of a roving dogsbody for the forces of Weal, serving as a messenger and agent between Melf, Corond, Ringlerun and Tenser....
I used Bowmarc as an alias for one of my own NPC's, Sir Ricard Druthyl, an aspirant to the Knights of the Hart who died at the Battle of Emridy Meadows. I have his father, Sir Harry, serving as the Acting Grand Marshal of Furyondy in Thrommel's absence.
I've even done conversions for several of the NPC parties in the back of the Shady Dragon just in case I roll up a rival adventuring party for an encounter. The grins and guffaws from my players when I pull out the old black and white "rogues gallery" pictures from the Shady Dragon have made it well worth it.
Has anyone else taken the Heartstone/ Shady Dragon material and run with it? I for one would be keen to hear about what people have done.
I suppose an male orc fighter wouldn't be very terrifying if his name was Morc. "Nanu-Nanu, I'm going to eat your entrails!" _________________ The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd; indeed, in view of the silliness of the majority of mankind, a wide-spread belief is more likely to be foolish than sensible. - Bertrand Russell
Since I saw that Netflix was carring the D&D cartoon I watched them all just to see what they contained. The show had a note at the end of each episode referencing Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. One episode incudes Warduke. The LJN toys are Advanced Dungeons & Dragons toys. The "new" covers for 1st edition look like they depict some of these characters. See:
So, I think the people at TSR considered the use of these characters with the different rule systems as interchangeable with regard to marketing whatever they were trying to sell. Bowmarc is probably termed "crusader" so D&D players would use the character as a Lawful fighter while AD&D players would use the character as a Lawful Good Paladin. I don't know what level he's supposed to be but with Companion rules a character can't try to be a Paladin until it reaches a certain level as a Lawful Fighter.
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