Free City of Greyhawk
The Free City of Greyhawk, also known as Greyhawk City and the "Gem of the Flanaess", is a fictional city-state in the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game. Since the setting was originally published in a folio and then again in a boxed set that were both titled World of Greyhawk, the word "Greyhawk" is often used to describe the entire campaign world setting, although the proper name for that part of the world is the Flanaess. Sometimes the lands controlled by the Free City are also referred to as Greyhawk, though the proper term for the region is the Domain of Greyhawk.
Early development
In 1972, after seeing a demonstration of Dave Arneson's Castle Blackmoor game, game designer Gary Gygax agreed with Arneson to co-develop a set of rules for a game that would eventually become known as Dungeons & Dragons. Gygax liked the idea of a castle and dungeon that players could explore, and created his own imaginary place called Castle Greyhawk, which he used to test and develop the game.About a month after his first session, Gygax created the nearby city of Greyhawk, where the players' characters could sell their treasure and find a place to rest. The lands around Greyhawk gradually grew into an entire world as Gygax's players explored further and further afield.
In 1980, Gygax published details of his home campaign in a folio called The World of Greyhawk. This was the first published information about the City of Greyhawk.
The Free City of Greyhawk, Gem of the Flanaess, is the adventuring town that gives the World of Greyhawk setting its name. Game designer Ken Rolston comments: "The City of Greyhawk is an organism of systems within systems, with each system driven by its own motivations and personalities. External politics are intertwined in the city’s internal affairs. Rival guilds compete for power and influence, and dark conspiracies fester beneath the streets, while less-weighty adventures may arise from the lighter aspects of civilized personal and commercial rivalries."
The release of The World of Greyhawk was intended to begin a new focus on the campaign world of Greyhawk, with plans for Minifigs of the UK to create an "Armies of Greyhawk" miniatures ruleset, and TSR to produce a "City of Greyhawk" folio, but none of these publications appeared.
Publication history
In 1983, TSR, Inc. replaced the folio edition with the World of Greyhawk boxed set, which contained more detailed information about the city and some of its prominent citizens, as well as background information for several small adventures set in the city.By 1983, Gygax was planning a City of Greyhawk publication to be followed by a Castle Greyhawk publication, both to come after the World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting, although the intended revival of Greyhawk began slowed down after 1984. Gygax never completed his work on the Castle and City of Greyhawk or the Wild Coast. The first Greyhawk novel by Gygax was Saga of Old City, which "became a major source of Greyhawk lore because novelistic details about currencies and the feel of the city of Greyhawk immediately surpassed anything that had ever been printed in RPG supplements," according to author Shannon Appelcline.
In 1985, just before Gary Gygax was forced out of TSR, he wrote the first two Gord the Rogue novels, which provide many interesting details of the city of Greyhawk and its seamy underworld.
With Gygax gone, the vision of the city became TSR's, and in 1988, the company published Jim Ward's Greyhawk Adventures hardcover source book, which provided additional information regarding the city as well as interesting characters living within it.
The City of Greyhawk boxed set published by TSR in 1989 is the most complete treatment of the Free City. The box contained
- Gem of the Flanaess—A Gazetteer of the Free City of Greyhawk and the surrounding area by Douglas Niles, a 96-page book
- Folks, Feuds and Factions: The good, the bad, and the in-between—People who make the city what it is a 96-page book by Carl Sargent and Rik Rose,
- three maps
- a wall poster of the city
- 23 "adventure cards", double-sided 8½ x 11 pieces of card stock containing the outline of an adventure in the city
The two long-awaited Greyhawk supplements appeared after Gygax left TSR: The City of Greyhawk box presented a detailed look at the city, while WGR1: Greyhawk Ruins presented a serious look at the dungeons under Greyhawk Castle. Appelcline commented on the Greyhawk setting after Gygax left TSR: "TSR published only scattered RPG supplements until AD&D second edition, which saw the publication of the beautiful The City of Greyhawk box and the WGR1: Greyhawk Ruins book. Neither of these locales had much in common with the original locations created by Gygax and Kuntz almost 20 years prior, showing how Greyhawk continued to metamorphize and change — though James M. Ward and some of players of those early games did try to get the feel right. Around the same time, TSR published Robin Wayne Bailey’s Nightwatch novel, which was set in Greyhawk City but didn't feature the "Greyhawk Adventures" trade dress at all — showing the weakness of the setting at TSR."
The fourth module of the WGA series, WGA4Vecna Lives!, was not part of the Falcon series, but was set in Greyhawk City. Treasures of Greyhawk and Return of the Eight were two others set entirely within the city.
The Campaign Book from the 1992 boxed set From the Ashes, focuses on the areas in and around the Free City of Greyhawk, which game designer Rick Swan described as "a virtuoso performance, with a flawless mix of exposition, atmosphere, and detail painting a bleak picture of a struggling populace. As a consequence of the great war, much of the Old City was incinerated. Destitute property owners who can’t afford to pay for restoration watch helplessly as their neighborhoods are overrun with beggars and street urchins. In the River Quarter, authorities fish out body after body with daggers in their backs. Refugees crowd the poorer districts, trade continues to decline, and Iuz, the fiendish ruler of a vast territory in the north central Flanaess, remains a constant threat. Uncertainty prevails, and player characters will find plenty to keep them on their toes." The set moved the timeline of the overall World of Greyhawk setting ten years forward to just after the Greyhawk Wars, included information regarding the City's situation, as well as additional adventure cards set in the City.
After TSR was taken over by Wizards of the Coast, the World of Greyhawk setting was updated again, and publications of this time period such as Greyhawk: The Adventure Begins, the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, and Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk also provide information regarding the city in the post-wars period.
Outside of TSR
revealed in 1988 that its "Fantasy Master" line had plans to detail both the Castle and City of Greyhawk presented in the original form that Gary Gygax and Rob Kuntz had envisioned them, but the company dissolved before any of this went into publication; Applelcline noted that "Gygax's plans to publish the City and Dungeon of Greyhawk in a renamed setting were somewhat fulfilled at Troll Lord Games, who published a few Castle Zagyg books — detailing the uppermost levels of the dungeon — before Gygax's death."Summary of published information about the city
The following represents a summary of information taken from the various published sources mentioned above that a player would be able to use:History
Early history
Greyhawk, named for the small grey hawks which populate the region, was originally a trading outpost on the Selintan River specializing in local wood and woven garments. In time the town developed strong textile and meat-packing industries. Eventually, Greyhawk came to be ruled by a warlord, who took the title "Lansgraf of the Selintan". His son was then married to the Gynarch of Hardby's daughter. The nuptials formalized a political alliance that served as the basis for rule over the Lanstadt of Selintan, an area that eventually became known as the Domain of Greyhawk.In 4 CY, Greyhawk came under the domination of the Great Kingdom of Aerdy and remained so while strong Overkings ruled from the Malachite Throne in Rauxes. By the 3rd century CY, the Great Kingdom's influence over the city began to wane as the Overkings fell into evil ways and their hold on distant provinces became increasingly tenuous.
Rise to prominence, decline and recovery
Circa 310 CY, the mage Zagig Yragerne emerged from the Wild Coast and bribed his way into a seat on the Directing Oligarchy. Soon after, the Oligarchs elected Zagig Lord Mayor.Greyhawk subsequently rose in fame and prominence under the leadership of Lord Mayor Zagig. He instituted legal reform, developed a new currency, fortified the walls, founded the city's first university and embarked on a major building program. Most notably, he directed the construction of nearby Castle Greyhawk.
Although Zagig—later known as Zagyg—became increasingly erratic over time, his rule is generally considered to be the most effective in the Free City's history and brought widespread prosperity to the region. Much to the annoyance of Dyvers and other rival cities, Zagig proclaimed Greyhawk to be the "Gem of the Flanaess", and did much to ensure this moniker was justified. Unfortunately, the "Mad Archmage" suddenly disappeared in 421 CY, leaving no clues regarding his whereabouts, and no heir to inherit the title of Lansgraf.
In 498 CY, after decades of Zagig's absence, the Lanstadt was therefore abolished, the title of Lansgraf permanently retired, and the Free City's Directing Oligarchy assumed political authority. The new Lord Mayor Paerinn officially proclaimed Greyhawk a free city, though it had been effectively independent of the Great Kingdom's rule for over a century.
Soon thereafter, the city lost its claim over Hardby and the Wild Coast, as the leading women of Hardby broke from Greyhawk and established the ruling office of Despotrix. This loss of lands sent the Free City into economic decline, a situation that persisted for several decades. Fortunately, the discovery of treasure in the dungeons beneath Castle Greyhawk and other nearby locales set off a gold rush of sorts, and Greyhawk's economic fortunes recovered substantially in the second half of the 6th century.