As I was reading it though it seemed to say that the Bright Desert was created by the mad wizard Shattados when he called down the powers of Tharizdun.
But elsewhere I have read that the Bright Desert was created in -1566 CY when Vecna destroyed an elven army from Celene, also by calling on the power of Tharizdun, and that Sulm wasn't established until -1034 CY, more than 500 years later.
I had always liked the Vecna, Bright Desert connection. Anyone know what's official cannon here?
The former is closer to the "truth" than the latter.
The Vecna-connection is from an old online project called the Oerth Journal volume 1. That first issue contained a timeline that was part old lore (from original designers such as Len Lakofka) and part personal contributions from Steven "Tamerlain" Wilson's campaign. Its not generally considered canon, though there are some good ideas in it.
The Shattados-Tharizdun connection is drawn from the sourcebook-module, Rary the Traitor and is the direction any "future" work in that area is likely to take.
There is a link here on canonfire to the GreyChronodex, which is basically a listing of canon references to events (often contradictory). Link should show in the left hand menus on your screen under "special features".
There's no reason why u can't use both timelines though. Many historians use supposition so the Vecna version can always be used as a red herring for pcs that only a great sage like Arkalan, the wizardess Shemaya (can't recall exact name - Tower of Sleep?), Rary, or even Robilar would be able to disprove.
OR, you can just go with the Vecna thing. It's good to be aware of canon, but there's no reason to be married to it. Especially if you've already steered your campaign in another direction.
I guess the reason I had liked the Vecna explination is that is solved several problems all at once.
1) it gave a timeline to Vecna's rise, empire, wars with the elves, and subsequent death at hands of Kas.
2) creating the Bright Desert strikes me as being on par with the Twin Cataclysms in terms of how much power it would have required. I find it easy to associate that kind of power with Vecna, less so with Shattados (who seems more on par with Keraptis).
3) it also gave a tidy explination for why the Oerids were able to easily turn asside the Flanae when they began to migrate into the lands of the central and eastern Flanaess (because the Flan had already been thoroughly depopulated by their war with the elves).
4) it also gave an explination to why the Ur-Flanae where in the northlands above Aerdy (that is where Vecna fought his last great battles against the the elven king Galitholian).
....All that said I'll try to get my head wrapped around the Sulm stuff and see if I can't reconcile it with my (now only presumed) understanding of when Vecna lived.
Even by the time lines that I have with Vecna, Sulm came some years afterward, so there isn't necessarily a conflict.
1) it gave a timeline to Vecna's rise, empire, wars with the elves, and subsequent death at hands of Kas.
Ah, but why solve one of the most-disputed pieces of Greyhawk lore? Where's the fun in that?
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2) creating the Bright Desert strikes me as being on par with the Twin Cataclysms in terms of how much power it would have required. I find it easy to associate that kind of power with Vecna, less so with Shattados (who seems more on par with Keraptis).
Well, I think you've got canon a bit wrong here. Ignore canon or go with it as you see fit, but just FYI on how this story supposedly goes, Shattados didn't do this by his own power...
"Shattados' wish was granted, but in a way that both he and the Sulm people would soon regret. A crown appeared...eagerly Shattados donned it, expecting it to simply bend others to his will. It did far more. The gods of evil are possessed of a perverse sense of humor, and Shattados was about to be the victim of an unpleasant practical joke...transformed into a monstrous scorpion...In less than a day, the kingdom of Sulm ceased to exist, and perhaps, far away, in an isolated corner of an evil plane, dark laughter echoed."
And just to confirm that it's the Scorpion Crown that's responsible for it, later in Rary the Traitor it reads:
"The Bright Desert can still be saved from the scourge of Sulm's descendants. If the crown is eliminated, all manscorpions and monarch scorpions are immediately destroyed, and the Bright Desert slowly begins to revert to a resonably fertile, if somewhat arid, region. These changes will take place over a century or more..."
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4) it also gave an explination to why the Ur-Flanae where in the northlands above Aerdy (that is where Vecna fought his last great battles against the the elven king Galitholian).
There's really nothing I'm aware of in canon that spells out olven interaction with Vecna (or, for that matter, nothing I know of spells out a lack of interaction, either). I believe all we really know for sure is that he ruled the Flannae in times past. This is a discussion as old as Greytalk, so if you feel confused then welcome to the club.
But as others have suggested, you should use whatever works best for your campaign. Nearly everything regarding Vecna is contradictory anyway, so you could just embrace the Chaos and stick with what you've already got. But I agree with Vormaerin, you should give the GreyChronodex a looksee for ideas if nothing else. _________________ ~basiliv
I didn't design the world,
I merely facilitated its creation
I came across a very interesting Living Greyhawk campaign based in the Bright Desert region involving the Rary the Traitor...
The Living Greyhawk campaign does have a story arc regarding Rary and the Bright Desert. It is a Core arc, meaning the Living Greyhawk Circle is managing the story. The arc is called Blight on Bright Sands and is scheduled to span the next two years with eight adventures. The first two adventures are out, COR5-06 Blood on Bright Sands and COR5-09 Gateway to the Bright Sands.
Here is the story abstract:
"An archmage's unfathomable machinations and boundless ambition guides the fate of the Central Flanaess. Ebon tendrils of a nation's doom coil down through the millennia awaiting the unwary as conflict wracks the Bright Desert."
While I don't have an opinion on canon/non-canon issues, here is what Living Greyhawk is using for references in relation to the development of this Blight on Bright Sands story arc:
- Denizens of the Bright Desert, by Broadhurst (2003) Living Greyhawk Journal 22 in Dungeon 103.
- Scouring the Lands of the Traitor:Into the Bright Desert, by Broadhurst from Living Greyhawk Journal 21 in Dungeon 98.
- Rary the Traitor, by TSR staff (1992).
- Greyhawk Adventures, by Ward (1988). Specifically, The Pits of Azal-Zil entry (pages 91-92).
Just a few notes. I have not played any of the adventures, yet. But I certainly will. I'm guessing that Living Greyhawk will cast Rary as an ambitious searcher, scouring the Bright Desert for the crown. I am uncertain what motivations Rary will be given in the campaign. There are some good reasons, of course. But which one(s). Any ideas?
In addition to what Greyson provided, you might also want to check out the Vathris entry in "The Blood of Heroes", Living Greyhawk Journal #3. _________________ ~basiliv
I didn't design the world,
I merely facilitated its creation
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