 | |
| Author | Jim Ward |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Jeff Easley |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fantasy Role-playing game |
| Publisher | TSR |
Publication date | September 1988 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Pages | 128 |
| ISBN | 0-88038-649-5 |
| OCLC | 18842029 |
| 793.93 20 | |
| LC Class | GV1469.62.D84 W38 1988 |
Greyhawk Adventures is an accessory for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) World of Greyhawk campaign setting.
Greyhawk Adventures contains information about Greyhawk deities, clerics, major non-player characters, monsters, geography, spells of the setting's notable magic-users, magic items of the setting, rules for playing zero-level characters, and six short role-playing adventures. [1] The supplement is intended to be compatible with both the 1st and 2nd Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rule systems. [1] The contents of Greyhawk Adventures represent a transitional state between the 1st and 2nd edition AD&D rules; [2] the NPCs in the Hall of Heroes include monks, a 1st Edition character class not included in the 2nd Edition rules, while the "Monsters of Greyhawk" chapter uses the 2nd Edition's system of rolling two ten-sided dice (2d10) for monster morale, rather than the 1st Edition's d100-based morale system.
Greyhawk Adventures elaborates on the religions, deities, and clerics of the setting, and introduces the concept of avatars: low-powered physical manifestations of the various deities, each of which receives a portion of a deity's power and is sent to the Prime Material Plane to carry out the deity's wishes. [2] Greyhawk Adventures also continued the process of making clerics more individualized—begun in the second edition of the World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting —by detailing such things as the use of special powers granted by their deities, the types of weapons they must use, and the types of spells a cleric may employ. [2] Lisa Stevens thought that this section's appearance was "great", but noted as a drawback that it was missing key deities while including some lesser-known ones. [3]
The monsters in the "Monsters of Greyhawk" section are classified similarly to the existing Monster Manual books, but with additional information provided on its habitat terrain type, organization, active times, diet, and other game statistics. [2] The "Hall of heroes" section contains detailed descriptions of some of the key non-player characters active in the world of Oerth, including: the City of Greyhawk's Lord Mayor; Constable of the City; Captain-General of the Watch; the heads of the Thieves and Assassins Guilds; Jaran Krimeeah, the Mage of the Vale; and two members of the Scarlet Brotherhood of evil monks. [2]
The book presents 106 new spells drawn from the spell books of notable wizards such as Bigby, Mordenkainen, Nystul, Tenser, and Rary. [2] Each of the book's magical items comes with a background that ties it into the campaign setting. [2] The descriptions of various geographical locations include a number of adventure outlines which show the kind of encounters that PCs entering different geographical areas are likely to experience, and include notes for dungeon masters (DMs) to show how the featured locations can be turned into adventure settings. [2]
The book provides six adventure scenarios, as outlines for DMs to fill in. Two are for zero-level characters struggling to work up to 1st level, and the other adventures include a dive to a sunken ship to recover treasure, entry into the Valley of the Mage, a rescue mission set in a house, and an evening's entertainment in a gambling house. [2] The zero-level character system for fledgling characters allows PCs to grow into their character-class roles and gives them special abilities not normally associated with a character class. [2]
Greyhawk Adventures was written by James M. Ward, with cover art by Jeff Easley, and was published by TSR, Inc. in 1988 as a 128-page hardbound book. [1] The book features additional design by Daniel Salas, Skip Williams, Nigel D. Findley, Thomas Kane, Stephen Inniss, Len Carpenter, and Eric Oppen. [2] Editing and coordination was by Warren Spector, with editing by Anne Browne, Karen Boomgarden, Steve Winter, Mike Breault, Scott Haring, and Jon Pickens and special developmental work by Pickens. [2] The book was the thirteenth hardback manual published for the 1st edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rules, though a note on its cover states the book is also compatible with the 2nd Edition. [2] White Wolf magazine stated that it was "the only hardback AD&D book of 1988". [4] The book features interior illustrations by Easley, Jeff Dee, Diesel, Larry Elmore, Jim Holloway, Erol Otus, Dave Sutherland, Dave Trampier, and Gary Williams.
TSR released Greyhawk Adventures in response to requests from Greyhawk fans, [2] and the book is unusual among AD&D hardcover manuals in that the author solicited input from the gaming community about what subjects to include in the book before publishing it. [5] Ward later credited the 511 letters he received as the major impetus for including the rules for zero-level characters and adventures, both topics that had not been previously included in hardcover AD&D manuals. [6]
Unlike many AD&D manuals, Greyhawk Adventures was not reissued for the 2nd or 3rd editions of D&D, although much of its content was incorporated into other supplements. All but two of the monsters introduced in Greyhawk Adventures, for example, reappeared in the Greyhawk Adventures Monstrous Compendium appendix ( ISBN 0-88038-836-6).
Greyhawk Adventures takes its name and logo from a series of novels written by Gary Gygax and Rose Estes, published by TSR in the 1980s. The logo was later used on several 2nd Edition AD&D products, such as City of Skulls and The Marklands .
Lisa Stevens reviewed the module in the December 1988 issue of White Wolf magazine. She thought that it was worth the price for those involved in Greyhawk campaigns but less so for those not. [7] She stated: "If you like to tinker with good ideas that have some flaws, then you will enjoy working with this product. ... If you can cull out the refuse. you will find a nice hunk of gold at the bottom, but you'll have to work for it. This book might more rightly be titled, 'The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly' or 'Hard Habit to Break'." [7] Stevens rated the product a 4 out of 5 for Appearance, 3 for Complexity, and 2 for Content, Playability, and her overall rating. [7]
Jim Bambra reviewed Greyhawk Adventures for Dragon magazine No. 143 (March 1989). [2] Bambra commented on the book: "As a sourcebook which further elaborates on an existing world, Greyhawk Adventures is a collection of independent sections with little in the way of crossover between each one. The writing style reflects the large number of contributors involved, with the tone varying from lively and evocative to dry and rules-orientated, with the emphasis on mechanics." [2] He noted that while the book was primarily aimed at World of Greyhawk fans, players of campaigns set in other worlds would find much to interest them, such as new spells, magical items, and monsters; also, the descriptions of NPCs and of Greyhawk's deities and clerics can act as templates for similar deities and characters in other campaigns, and the adventures and the section on zero-level characters could also be used in any campaign. Bambra felt that some of the content would be less likely to be of interest to non-Greyhawk campaign players, but that it can still serve as a source of inspiration: "Greyhawk Adventures has something in it for everyone, but its wide diversity of topics tends to dilute its overall impact and usefulness." [2] He found the section on avatars useful, but felt that "it would have benefited by describing the things that avatars do and providing motivations for why a particular deity would send an avatar to Oerth in the first place". [2] Bambra felt that most of the information on how to play clerics was readily accessible, but that the rules on spheres would only come to light once the AD&D 2nd Edition game was published. He felt that while the book defined clerics well in game terms, it could have included more information on how clerics should conduct themselves in the pursuit of their deities' aims and more information detailing the myths and legends associated with the deities. He considered the "Monsters of Greyhawk" section neatly laid out with all the essential information presented in a tabulated form, an insight into how the AD&D 2nd Edition game would likely be presented, and he considered the new monsters "useful". [2] Bambra concludes the review with an overall evaluation of the book: "Greyhawk Adventures attempts to be many things to many people. Assuming this is its aim, it succeeds admirably, for everyone who looks at it will find something of interest. However, considered as a whole, it is less successful. Even hardened fans of the World of Greyhawk fantasy setting may be disappointed as Greyhawk Adventures adds little to the background of Oerth, instead providing useful add-ons and enhancements. [...] Don’t get me wrong—Greyhawk Adventures includes some very good material, and it's a useful purchase for those of you looking for new spells, magical items, ways to make clerics more interesting, and for inspiration in the adventure department. It's just that I cannot shake the feeling that Greyhawk Adventures has spread itself too thin." [2]
Scott Taylor of Black Gate listed the Greyhawk Adventures as #9 on the list of "Top 10 'Orange Spine' AD&D Hardcovers By Jeff Easley, saying "who doesn't like a ultra-demon looking thing and a griffon rider with a magic sword?" [8]
Greyhawk, also known as the World of Greyhawk, is a fictional world designed as a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game. Although not the first campaign world developed for Dungeons & Dragons—Dave Arneson's Blackmoor campaign predated it by about a year—the world of Greyhawk closely identified with early development of the game beginning in 1972, and after being published it remained associated with Dungeons & Dragons publications until 2008. The world itself started as a simple dungeon under a castle designed by Gary Gygax for the amusement of his children and friends, but it was rapidly expanded to include not only a complex multi-layered dungeon environment, but also the nearby city of Greyhawk, and eventually an entire world. In addition to the campaign world, which was published in several editions over twenty years, Greyhawk was also used as the setting for many adventures published in support of the game, as well as for RPGA's massively shared Living Greyhawk campaign from 2000 to 2008.
Vecna is a fictional character appearing in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Vecna has been named one of the greatest villains in the Dungeons & Dragons franchise.
The Dungeon Master's Guide is a book of rules for the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. The Dungeon Master's Guide contains rules concerning the arbitration and administration of a game, and is intended for use by the game's Dungeon Master.
Deities & Demigods, alternatively known as Legends & Lore, is a reference book for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game (D&D). The book provides descriptions and game statistics of gods and legendary creatures from various sources in mythology and fiction, and allows dungeon masters to incorporate aspects of religions and mythos into their D&D campaigns.
Oriental Adventures is the title shared by two hardback rulebooks published for different versions of the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy roleplaying game. Each version of Oriental Adventures provides rules for adapting its respective version of D&D for use in campaign settings based on the Far East, rather than the medieval European setting assumed by most D&D books. Both versions of Oriental Adventures include example campaign settings.
Dragonlance Adventures is a 128-page hardcover book for the Dragonlance campaign setting for the first edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.
In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, Tenser is an archmage who strives to rid the Flanaess of evil. Tenser is a former member of both the Citadel of Eight and the Circle of Eight.
Scourge of the Slave Lords (A1–4) is an adventure module for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, published by TSR, Inc. in 1986. It combines the contents of four earlier modules, all set in the World of Greyhawk campaign setting and intended for use with Advanced Dungeons & Dragons first edition rules.
Castle Greyhawk is one of the central dungeon settings in the fictional World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. The Castle was originally developed by Gary Gygax, for his own campaign and later detailed for publication. Castle Greyhawk is also the name of a 1988 Dungeons & Dragons adventure module that created a treatment of the Castle for the public to use. In 2005, Gygax announced the release of "Castle Zagyg," his new treatment of the dungeon.
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, Tharizdun is the god of Eternal Darkness, Decay, Entropy, Malign Knowledge, Insanity, and Cold. He originated in the World of Greyhawk campaign setting but has since also appeared in other settings.
The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth is an adventure module for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It was written by Gary Gygax and published by TSR in 1982 for the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) rules. The 64-page adventure bears the code "S4" and is set in the Greyhawk campaign setting. It is divided into two parts, a 32-page adventure, and a 32-page booklet of monsters and magic items. The plot involves the player characters investigating rumors of lost treasure. After traversing a wilderness and two levels of dungeons, the players face Drelnza, the vampiric daughter of long-deceased archmage Iggwilv.
The lich is an undead creature found in the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game. Liches are spellcasters who seek to defy death by magical means.
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, a vampire is an undead creature. A humanoid or monstrous humanoid creature can become a vampire, and looks as it did in life, with pale skin, haunting red eyes, and a feral cast to its features. A new vampire is created when another vampire drains the life out of a living creature. Its depiction is related to those in the 1930s and 1940s Hollywood Dracula and monster movies. In writing vampires into the game, as with other creatures arising in folklore, the authors had to consider what elements arising in more recent popular culture should be incorporated into their description and characteristics.
Tritons are a fictional species in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.
The World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting and the World of Greyhawk Fantasy World Setting are two closely related publications from TSR, Inc. that detail the fictional World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy roleplaying game. Both publications were authored by Gary Gygax, and they were the first stand-alone offerings to provide detailed, comprehensive information regarding a D&D campaign setting.
Fate of Istus is a multipart adventure for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, taking place in the World of Greyhawk campaign setting. The module is designed for characters of any class or level, and was published as an in-game vehicle to explain the transition from the game's first to second edition. This is accomplished by goddess Istus's re-evaluation of the inhabitants of Oerth and making changes to the abilities of each character class.
Dungeoneer's Survival Guide is a supplement to the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. The book was written by Douglas Niles, and published by TSR, Inc. in 1986.
Forgotten Realms Adventures is an accessory for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the second edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. The book, with product code TSR 2106, was published in 1990, and was written by Jeff Grubb and Ed Greenwood, with cover art by Clyde Caldwell and interior art by Steven Fabian, Ned Dameron, Larry Elmore, Caldwell, and Jeff Easley.
Lords of Darkness is the name of two accessories for the fictional Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.