I am considering running a plot that would take my player(s) into the heart of the Lands of Iuz, specifically Dorakaa, BEFORE the Greyhawk Wars by a few months.
I already own several indispensable sourceguides, namely The City of Skulls, The Marklands, and Iuz the Evil, all of which give great information, but after the Wars.
What I need are ideas and modifications to these existing guides for me to bear in mind should I decide to pursue this campaign idea. It would entail the characters entering Dorakaa, obviously in cognito, for a mission similar to that outlined in The City of Skulls.
Namely, I could use suggestions as to what is, or mainly is NOT, present in Dorakaa and the Lands of Iuz at this time. Here is what I have come up with so far:
1) Iuz is gone, ready to hatch his plan to rally the barbarians under his false guise as Vatun.
2) There will be few, if any, fiends in his lands. Most shock troops, guards, and soldiers will comprise humanoids, humans, and undead. They will be amassing, ready to launch Iuz's assault on the Horned Society, Bandit Kingdoms, and Shield Lands. I imagine the bulk of his troops may not be in the capital at all, in fact, but getting prepared to attack those areas.
3) The composition of the Boneheart is different, though I don't intend to use any of them. However, I would be interested in any information any of you can offer as to who is alive and serving Iuz at this time. I think he had Patch as his high priest before he was slain in the Wars and Althea took his place. Also, the mage (?) Ormuz was slain, I believe, and replaced.
That's what I have so far. Just a few scant ideas, but could use a few more, primarily about Dorakaa, its residents, guardians, etc. I still intend to use A LOT of the information and lay-out/maps from the aforementioned books, but they will be highly modified.
Your suggestions and ideas are very welcome. Thank you,
What year are you thinking? Iuz was in and out of Dorakaa a lot before the wars. He was supporting the second rise of the ToEE to draw attention to the South, he was looking for Theorparts in the Suss, he was lining up the barbarians and Stonefist, and he was busy making alliances with anyone he could, mostly just Ket and a host of demons.
Iuz was in and out of Dorakaa a lot before the wars. He was supporting the second rise of the ToEE to draw attention to the South, he was looking for Theorparts in the Suss, he was lining up the barbarians and Stonefist, and he was busy making alliances with anyone he could, mostly just Ket and a host of demons..
As Vescoat already advised I would also add Iuz (via his minions Im sure)was brokering a "non-aggression & mercenery supply" from Perrenland as well.
You could also go the whole Eclavdra slant (see here) if you wish to involve the Drow / Graz'zt & Iggwilv triad could also connect pre GH War as well... giving you gaming options in Perrenland and or the Slavers series if you have yet to run those.
Interesting you are doing this, I am at a midpoint in my own Campaign with a similar slant...Only the Greyhawk Wars never ended... and I have Drelnza (who didnt die) and of course myself DLG added to the mix. I'll see what I have that is canon and pass it along...
What year are you thinking? Iuz was in and out of Dorakaa a lot before the wars. He was supporting the second rise of the ToEE to draw attention to the South, he was looking for Theorparts in the Suss, he was lining up the barbarians and Stonefist, and he was busy making alliances with anyone he could, mostly just Ket and a host of demons.
I was thinking only MONTHS before Iuz riled up the barbarians, so middle to late in 582. I know that the Old One had LOTS 'in the works' in preparation for starting what we later brew into the Greyhawk Wars, but I personally don't think that he alone did this. Through his agents, primarily his more powerful Boneheart minions, Iuz accomplished all the prep work. It even states this in some of the descriptions of the NPCs in Iuz the Evil. Panshazek, for instance, was used as a spy in the Horned Lands.
I have read the Gord series, even though it has been a few yrs. I do recall many of the details written in that book, and it seems that the designers of the Greyhawk Wars drew upon MANY of those elements when concocting how the events unfolded of that Flanaess-wide eruption. I very much appreciate the hyperlink, though, Vestcoat, as it was a nice piece of review material and offered information I had forgotten. Thank you.
Of course, there are several inconsistencies between what was written by Gygax in the Gord novels and what was eventually published about the Wars. For example, in the novel, Eclavdra is a priestess of Grazzt, Iuz's father, but in the sourceguides for the game, she is a priestess of Lloth.
To this end, I will lean more towards what is written 'in canon' about individuals, but like using the Gord novels to add nuance and whatever minor details I can add.
What I would like to know is a general idea what Iuz would have instilled in his lands, especially the capital, just prior to the Greyhawk Wars. If I plan to have some PCs 'invade' (stealth mission!) Dorakaa, I need to retrofit that vile capital BEFORE the Abyss invades the Prime Material.
1) Figure out who is there post-Greyhawk Wars that wouldn't have there in CY 582, and delete them, and substitute a predecessor;
2) Figure out who would have been there in CY 582 who was elsewhere later on, and back date them (age, XP =level, rank, gear, etc).
3) Most "generic" NPCs can be left "as is".
vestcoat wrote:
...Also see Dragon #56 for the siege on Eru-Tovar and former High Priest Lord Choldraf, not detailed in either WGR5 or AoE.
-The article mentions that his co-commander/rival Mellard Plict seems to have defected to a band of Wastrians in the Hool Marshes (attention, those campaigning in the Hool Marshes! Incidentally, a long trip and an alignment shift) Meanwhile (as of late CY 578), it looked as if Choldraf was going to get a chance to redeem himself (it does look like the failure at Eru Tovar was Plict's fault). Lord Choldraf is listed as a 14th level Cleric (Iuz, I assume) at the end of 578. Even if he didn't earn a single more XP, he'd still qualify for the Lesser Boneheart in CY 582. As far as I know, he's not listed in any later materials, which is telling, since a 14th + level anything sticks out. You could say that things were relatively calm before 582; if he got killed, and didn't just desert/defect, it was probably during the Greyhawk Wars or just before ( ). So there's a good chance Choldraf's still around, and possibly at Dorakaa, although as an opponent, he'd probably be too tough for the party (5-8th level, IIRC) to fight face to face, but interesting for background.
BTW, "Lord"? Any chance he'd be descended from one of the old Oeridian lordships which Iuz unified in the 5th Century?
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). So there's a good chance Choldraf's still around, and possibly at Dorakaa, although as an opponent, he'd probably be too tough for the party (5-8th level, IIRC) to fight face to face, but interesting for background.