This month's column offers a
golden
opportunity
to all AD&D® game fans. I am
in charge of assembling the GREYHAWK
Adventures
hardback book, to be released
at the 1988 GEN CON® games fair.
I have a
fairly good idea of what will be put into
the volume, and I'll present these ideas
in
this article -- but I am also open for
input
from you, the readers of DRAGON®
Magazine.
If you have some ideas about materials
that you feel must be placed in the
manual, send those ideas to me. I'll send
an autographed book back to those people
whose ideas I use. Write to:
GREYHAWK
Adventures ideas
c/o James M. Ward
TSR, Inc.
P.O. Box 756
Lake Geneva WI 53147
Please don't expect a reply to your wonderful
ideas unless your ideas are picked.
Write in for fun.
There are a lot of things I want to throw
into the book that haven't been in books
like this before, though I'll have to check
the production costs with the purchasing
department to make sure the ideas don't
make the book unprofitable. It would be
nice to see some full-color plates in the
book, as well as full-page black-and-white
art from the TSR house artists.
The lands of Greyhawk have a lot of
game history behind them. Many special
characters, deities, monsters, and magical
items appear in WORLD
OF GREYHAWK
setting products. The book will bring them
together and expand upon them. GREYHAWK
Adventures will thus be useful for
both the player and the DM, by providing
a wide variety of material that the players
can use for ideas and that the DM can
easily place in the ongoing campaign.
With all of the above in mind, here are
some things I'm considering for use in the
book:
1. Greyhawk's Hall of Heroes:
Through the years, many interesting
characters from Oerth have been described
for game use, in publications like
Rogues Gallery,
the WORLD OF
GREYHAWK
setting booklets, and
DRAGON Magazine.
This section would
have full-page art, and would include
game and historical statistics on 10-15
characters who are still active across
the
Flanaess. Imagine tales of the mighty Robilar
in all his glory, with notes on his life,
times, associates, and anything else that
would make interesting springboards for
adventures with PCs.
2. Greyhawk's Book of
Creatures:
Through the years, there have also been
many useful monsters (at least, from the
DM's point of view) that could each receive
an illustration and detailed treatment
in a
single page. This section could have 10-20
creatures and their typical lairs. Picture
the scene as a golden knight stalks the
halls of the underground warrens near
the city of Greyhawk. This creature appears
to be made of solid gold, but moves
faster than the fastest horse. It?s a walking
treasure that refuses to sit still long
enough to be collected.
3. Greyhawk's Books of
Magic:
There are several famous spell casters
from the games and books -- beings like
Mordenkainen, Bigby,
and Drawmij -- who
could have their (as yet unseen) spells
jotted down for easy reference. Adventurers
could find pages of spells written in
the hand of Drawmij himself. Low-level
spells of new types could present themselves
for the player and DM to use in
their campaigns. Drawmij's spells of magical
transport and monster friendship
could become part of your PC's spell
books.
4. Greyhawk's Magical
Devices: A
great many items from modules and the
GREYHAWK novels could be placed
in <list novels>
this book. The novels in particular have
several types of magical items that would
greatly enhance the role-playing aspect
of
any campaign. For example, there is a
magical gem that greatly enhances the
spell-casting ability and power of any
Wizard.
The gem is also oriented toward
one sex or the other, so if a "male"
gem gets in the hands of a female magicuser
and she frequently employs its
power, she becomes more and more
masculine.
5. The
Free City of Greyhawk: A lot
has been going on around the city, and
information on the types of forces near
the city and the Wild
Coast (and what they
are doing) could be interesting to everyone.
Imagine, for example, that the Free
City of Greyhawk is filled with reports
of
huge deposits of
gold, found where the
Neen and Ery River meet. Thousands of
beings of all types rush to the spot to
find
some of the yellow metal themselves --
and the PCs come along as well.
Please note that I firmly <believe> that
the city of
Greyhawk deserves special treatment in
a
product all its own. If you write to me,
please give me your thoughts on what a
"City of Greyhawk" book should include.
6. Greyhawk's Priests
and Temples:
The deities
of Greyhawk are very special,
and more information about their clerics
and temples could be of use to all Greyhawk
gamers. Picture, for example, a full-page
drawing of the largest temple to St.
Cuthbert of the Cudgel, with details on
the
clerical order and some of the unusual
features of the temple itself.
That's about the size of the product in
its
present form. There's room for major
additions -- especially if those great
ideas
come rolling in. Go to it!
JANUARY 1988