In the latest Canonfire poll "I'm a hardcore Greyhawk fan mostly because...", I voted "Other" because I wanted "All of the Above". Also, for a reason that is not there...
"Its fan-built, w/ lots of contributions *I* have made"
I don't just mean "me, personally", and I don't mean fan websites (like mine) either. Greyhawk, more then any other campaign world, has had alot of contributions made by people who were fans first and foremost... In my case its been things like the City of Greyhawk and Irongate materials that have been published, the influence I've had (and my campaign has had) on other avenues (such as my input into things like the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer), and several other projects, some revealed, and some not.
But many others have had similar experiences as I, some more tangible, others less so. Erik Mona contributed as a fan first, before he was hired full time. Gary Holian, Fred Weining, Eric Boyd, Steve Greer, Sam Weiss, Robert Mullin, Joe Bloch, Noel Graham, Scott Casper, Greg Vaughn, Creighton Broadhurst, Paul Looby, Andy Miller, Dave Howery, Scott Bennie, and many others, all were fans who contributed to official published Greyhawk. People just like you and me. Anybody can have the opportunity to contribute. I know I've missed alot of other Greyhawk fan-authors. If you think of any, post them to this thread.
Then there is the massive force of creativity that is known as the Living Greyhawk Campaign. Hundreds of writers, hundreds of adventures, tens of thousands of pages of development covering virtually every region on the map. Aspects of which have been canonized in published articles and map-locations. NO campaign world put out by ANY company for ANY game system has ever had such an important contribution by the people who actually play the game.
And THAT is what today's Greyhawk is about. It is no longer EGG's home campaign world (and hasn't been for a very long time... well, actually, it never was that).
It's everyone's home campaign world.
Denis, aka "Maldin" (my own PC who also has become an official World of Greyhawk NPC!)
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Maldin's Greyhawk http://melkot.com
Loads of edition-independent official and unofficial Greyhawk Goodness... maps, magic, mysteries, mechanics, and more!
Last edited by Maldin on Fri Mar 16, 2007 8:38 am; edited 2 times in total
Ooh - if Maldin is now an official npc can u let us have some details? I'm doing my own gazeteer for my home capmaign and I'm incorporating as many fan-created characters as I can lay my hands on - as long as they aren't too epic!
I have statrted on the Hold of the Sea Princes since my character is the Keeper of Adlerweg as at 587 CY, but there isn't that much information out there about the eastern portion and I don't have access to the recent LG mods to tweak the recent resurgence of the Gauntlet.
I have incorporated Melkot already though! I just need to edit the text from the Web into the same format as all the other settlements.
I also voted "other" (for all of the above) in the poll, but I have another reason for loving Greyhawk. While Greyhawk's canon inconsistencies used to be one of my pet peeves, I now find that the pseudo-academic research that one *** can *** conduct in order to "resolve" those inconsistencies, is something that keeps me interested in the setting. I guess one could engage in the same kind of pseudo-academic research for FR, DL or any other setting, but Greyhawk's longer published history and scattered sources seem to require a bit more effort, which appeals to the scholar in me...
One thing that made me stick with Greyhawk sounds rather bad - but when compared to the other settings (FR, RL, etc) there were much fewer materials for Greyhawk. I could always feel that I could follow the changes in Greyhawk and stay ahead of the power curve.
In the other settings, there seemed to always be a "big change" on the horizon. With every new novel or module, there would be some world altering consequence. The biggest world shaping event in Greyhawk was the Greyhawk Wars, and though that had some mixed reviews, I liked the new darker emphasis.
Now, fan based materials compose the vast majority of the setting. I like being able to contribute a bit to the fan base and so Greyhawk is my one and only setting. My personal library of GH materials is pretty extensive by now. I have some rare modules and materials (not as much as some, but I think fairly respectable). And I have an few articles on CF here that I hope have been found useful by other players and fans.
So it is a combination of being able to follow the published materials and to contribute to the whole as a fan. Good poll question.
Ooh - if Maldin is now an official npc can u let us have some details? I'm doing my own gazeteer for my home capmaign and I'm incorporating as many fan-created characters as I can lay my hands on - as long as they aren't too epic! .... I have incorporated Melkot already though!.
Sorry for not getting back to you earlier, Paul!
Maldin's description in the Living Greyhawk Journal #2 and Dragon Magazine #337 is pretty vague... for a reason. Well, several reasons, actually.
Without a complete and detailed background, many of his abilities would not make sense. He's still an important NPC (and PC) in my campaign world so there are quite a few people who should not know those details. And most importantly... I strongly feel that such a powerful (and potentially important) NPC in anyone's campaign should be tailored by the DM to the needs of his own campaign (unlike what is done in the background material of many campaign worlds). And his stats are certainly going to vary according to the game system you use. Maldin is a 2E character, so his "real" stats would differ greatly from a 3E version of him, especially a character of his level.
Ya, ok... you have every right to call that a cop-out and still want more specific information.
The LGJ and Dragon articles indicate that he's (likely) a male, human wizard of Neutral alignment. Both he and his business partner Elenderi (also male, human, N) are archmages (in the 2E sense of being 18+ in level). Maldin is of at least partial Suel extraction. He's usually disguised, and has been seen wielding a long sword and short sword, particularly when trying to keep a low profile (broadcasting yourself as "wizard" is not always a smart thing). The item that he is never without is his unique, self-made (Maldin's) Robe of Deeppockets (crafted with the 2E spell, cast several times to create a variety of pocket sizes and capacities) which looks like a common, medium-length coat or jacket, can change color on command, and contains a bewildering amount of material (he never wears a backpack). He always wears an Amulet of Proof Against Detection (unique, extra-strength version if 3E). His shop in the City of Greyhawk (along with several of his employees) is described at http://melkot.com/locations/cogh/maldins.html
This summer, now that term is almost over, I hope to get up more info on Melkot (and CoG for that matter) onto the website. If you have any specific questions about the city or castle, feel free to email me!
Denis, aka "Maldin"
====================================
Maldin's Greyhawk http://melkot.com
Loads of edition-independent official and unofficial Greyhawk Goodness... maps, magic, mysteries, mechanics, and more!
There are a lot of other reasons, but I like GH because of the elbow room. I can find a place for nearly everything in GH, and design it the way I want it, without having to go re-write entire sections of books.
I can borrow from Living Greyhawk (or other sources) all I want, without having to decide on an "all or nothing" approach.
Erik Mona contributed as a fan first, before he was hired full time. Gary Holian, Fred Weining, Eric Boyd, Steve Greer, Sam Weiss, Robert Mullin, Joe Bloch, Noel Graham, Scott Casper, Greg Vaughn, Creighton Broadhurst, Paul Looby, Andy Miller, Dave Howery, Scott Bennie, and many others, all were fans who contributed to official published Greyhawk.
*Blush* I am honored that you include my name in that list, Maldin. Moreso that my humble contribution to the lore of Greyhawk is still remembered.
Erik Mona contributed as a fan first, before he was hired full time. Gary Holian, Fred Weining, Eric Boyd, Steve Greer, Sam Weiss, Robert Mullin, Joe Bloch, Noel Graham, Scott Casper, Greg Vaughn, Creighton Broadhurst, Paul Looby, Andy Miller, Dave Howery, Scott Bennie, and many others, all were fans who contributed to official published Greyhawk.
*Blush* I am honored that you include my name in that list, Maldin. Moreso that my humble contribution to the lore of Greyhawk is still remembered.
Thulcondar
Forgive my ignorance, but which one are you Thulcondar? _________________ Plar of Poofy Pants
Erik Mona contributed as a fan first, before he was hired full time. Gary Holian, Fred Weining, Eric Boyd, Steve Greer, Sam Weiss, Robert Mullin, Joe Bloch, Noel Graham, Scott Casper, Greg Vaughn, Creighton Broadhurst, Paul Looby, Andy Miller, Dave Howery, Scott Bennie, and many others, all were fans who contributed to official published Greyhawk.
*Blush* I am honored that you include my name in that list, Maldin. Moreso that my humble contribution to the lore of Greyhawk is still remembered.
Thulcondar
Forgive my ignorance, but which one are you Thulcondar?
Tempted though I am to maintain a certain mystery about myself, this is Joe Bloch behind the demonic monicker.
Heh... I doubt one will be appearing in Dragon any time soon, seeing as how I eschew 3.x completely in favor of 1E nowadays. But I've got tons of material on other parts of the Flanaess. Trouble is, a lot of it has been outdated by newer works, and so would need to be revised to maintain canonicity, but I'd definitely be up for such a thing.
Of course, there's a whooooole lot of material out there that doesn't require a lick of mechanics, or new spells, or anything. In-depth historical background is my speciality. Maybe I'll make some discrete inquiries.
Wolfsire wrote:
Cool! Nice to have you around, Thulcondar. I hope you join in the pending Postfest.
Items and objects, eh? I might have one or two things that could be appropriate...
Alas, there isn't going to be any more fan material in Dragon again. And so ends one of the most powerful strengths of the Greyhawk Campaign Setting. Last Thursday was a very dark day in RPG history.
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