Would-be heroes are drawn to the Free City of Greyhawk by promises of adventure. The city is rife with opportunities for peril and plunder.
The city stands on the eastern banks of the Selintan River. The river flows south from the Nyr Dyv (the Lake of Unknown Depths) down to Woolly Bay and remains easily navigable for its entire length.
Once a frontier hub of the Great Kingdom of Aerdy, Greyhawk proclaimed itself free and independent seventy-eight years ago, claiming the Selintan basin as its territory. Adventurers drawn to the nearby ruins of Castle Greyhawk have provided a steady influx of cash to the city in the years since.
Throughout this section, if a creature’s name appears in bold type, you’ll find that creature’s stat block in the Monster Manual. If a creature’s alignment isn’t specified, you can decide what it is.
The City of Greyhawk is a great starting point for a D&D campaign for many reasons, as discussed in the sections that follow.
The city contains plenty of rumors, local legends, and quest givers, any of which could point characters to their next adventure. The sample adventures in chapter 4 can all begin in the Free City of Greyhawk.
There are ample places within the city and on the city’s outskirts where adventurers can build Bastions (see chapter 8).
Two of the three central conflicts of the Greyhawk setting—the threats of Elemental Evil and Iuz—are the source of major tension and intrigue in the Free City of Greyhawk. The third conflict, involving evil dragons, is a looming threat nearby, particularly in the Mistmarsh, the hills of the Abbor-Alz, and the Bright Desert.
Greyhawk has a frontier spirit atypical for a settlement of its size. The locals are a tough and rowdy lot. Adventurers seeking action don’t need to look far, as the city contains more than its fair share of troublemakers.
North of the city are the Cairn Hills, which are known to have tombs and dungeons hidden among them. Nearby are a forest, a swamp, and a desert. The monsters that haunt these areas tend to be weak—perfect for testing the mettle of low-level adventurers.
The city provides a place to rest, heal, acquire information, and procure magic items. Adventurers looking to visit distant lands can book passage on ships docked at the wharf.
Adventurers can buy gear and sell their hard-won loot in the city’s shops and markets.
A bustling city like Greyhawk can serve the following important functions in a campaign.
Use the backgrounds of the characters to connect them to people and places in the city. These connections help the players feel like Greyhawk is their characters’ home—or will quickly become their new home. A character who was born and raised in Greyhawk might have known one of the city’s prominent figures for many years, while someone who has just arrived in the city might have a mutual friend with that connection or might carry a letter of introduction recommending them to that person. (Each location detailed in the “City Locations” section includes potential connections for two character backgrounds.)
Greyhawk is an ideal place for activities that support adventuring. There’s endless opportunity for social interaction in such a bustling place, as well as places where characters can rest and recuperate between adventures, acquire new adventuring gear, and spend their gold.
As a home base for characters, Greyhawk can serve as a place to live, train, and recuperate between adventures. As described under “Getting Players Invested” in this chapter, Greyhawk offers a host of potential friends, rivals, villains, and resources. Use the people and locations mentioned in this chapter as a starting point for fleshing out characters’ connections to the city, and work with your players to develop those connections. Choose one neighborhood of the city (see “City Neighborhoods” below) as a focus for the characters and their activities.
A city isn’t just a place to spend time between adventures—plenty of adventures happen within the city walls. From wererats in the sewers to scheming bureaucrats in the halls of power, dangers lurk around every corner.
The Free City of Greyhawk rises up behind the teeming city docks.
The city is yours to make your own. A few important features and locations are described in the sections that follow, but otherwise flesh out the city as you and your players see fit.
The Free City of Greyhawk is ruled by a council called the Directing Oligarchy, made up of sixteen coequal rulers. This council elects its chief officer, the lord mayor—a position currently held by a human Spy Master (Lawful Neutral) named Nerof Gasgol. The other directors include the captain-general and constable of the City Watch, several guild masters, priests of Boccob and Rao, the inspector of taxes, and a few influential magic-users with ties to politically active secret societies. Several of these directors represent criminal or unsavory interests, including Nerof Gasgol himself, who achieved his position and wealth as the owner of a notorious gambling den.
The City Watch is a standing garrison of some eight hundred Guards and Veteran Warriors. Bolstering these defenders are Mages from the city’s Guild of Wizardry, as well as Priests from local temples.
The captain-general and constable of the City Watch are stationed at the Grand Citadel (see “City Locations”).
A 30-foot-high stone wall winds like a snake around the city. Two other walls, identical in height to the outer wall, separate the city into its three great sections. Access to the wall tops can be gained via lifts in each gatehouse. In addition, along the inside base of the outer wall are secret compartments at 300-foot intervals, each one containing a 30-foot-tall wooden ladder. All members of the City Watch know the locations of these secret ladders, which, in an emergency, can be pulled out and used by city defenders to quickly reach the parapets.
The walls are patrolled regularly. During daytime, the typical patrol is one sentry (a Guard) placed every 300 feet along the top of the wall. At night, the guard patrol is quadrupled, with two sentries posted together every 150 feet along the wall. Also at night, torches light the wall top at 150-foot intervals between the guards so each sentry station is 75 feet from a torch in each direction.
Each city gate consists of a pair of iron-reinforced wooden doors that can be barred from the inside. These heavy doors are backed by a massive portcullis of iron bars. A very small child might be able to squeeze between the bars, but not a youth or even an adult halfling. The city’s portcullises are usually left open even when the gates are closed.
Each gate is contained within a small gatehouse flanked by a pair of towers. The tower tops and connecting blockhouse are equipped with arrow slits and holes for pouring boiling oil straight down onto invaders. Each gatehouse tower connects to the city through a door in its base and to the wall top by a door in its side. The towers contain three platforms, beginning at the top of the wall and extending upward. Each of these can shelter and provide a firing platform for up to forty archers.
Three of the city’s gates typically remain open throughout the day and night: the Highway Gate (the grand entrance to the city), the Cargo Gate (used primarily by traders and merchants), and the Garden Gate (one of the city’s two inner gates). The remaining gates are closed from dusk until dawn, and a visitor must produce a written message from the lord mayor of Greyhawk, the captain-general of the City Watch, or a head of state to be allowed through. In the latter case, the guards ensure the traveler is harmless before opening the gates.
Those passing through open gates aren’t asked to explain their business, nor are they detained or turned back unless they are recognized as known fugitives. Wagons and carts might get searched if they trigger the guards’ suspicions, but most vehicles are waved through without inspection. The guards keep a daily roster of who and what pass through their gates.
The Free City of Greyhawk is home to many thieves, vandals, charlatans, and hooligans. Crimes are divided into three categories.
Petty Crime. Public unarmed brawling, pickpocketing, vandalism, and other crimes that cause up to 50 GP in property damage are petty crimes. The perpetrator pays a fine of 2d10 GP or works to provide restitution.
Minor Crime. The category of minor crimes includes armed assault (defined as any nonfatal attack made with a weapon or damaging spell) and property crimes that cause between 50 and 250 GP in damages. The perpetrator must pay a fine of at least 100 GP and is sentenced to 1d6 years in prison.
Major Crime. Crimes more severe than those described above—including murder, bribery or impersonation of a city official, and magical coercion—are major crimes. The criminal faces 2d10 years of imprisonment, the death penalty, or permanent exile. A city magistrate decides which punishment is appropriate.
The city has temples and shrines dedicated to various gods. Religious practices that are certifiably evil aren’t tolerated, however. When an evil sect is discovered in the city, its wealth is confiscated, its leaders are put to death, and all other members are banished from the city for life.
See the “Gods of Greyhawk” table for many deities worshiped by the inhabitants of the Free City.
The Free City of Greyhawk is split into three main sections by two internal walls running west to east. The northern section is home to the High Quarter and the Garden Quarter, where the wealthiest folk of the city reside. The central section is home to the River Quarter, Clerkburg, the Artisans’ Quarter, and the Foreign Quarter. The southern portion, known as the Old City, includes the poorer and rowdier neighborhoods of the Slum Quarter and the Thieves’ Quarter.
Brief descriptions of the city’s neighborhoods are presented below:
Artisans’ Quarter. The Artisans’ Quarter is built around a large marketplace. The finest artisans live and work here, and the city’s trade guilds are headquartered here.
Clerkburg. Clerkburg is the university district of Greyhawk, with dozens of schools and colleges and the businesses that support them. Temples line the appropriately named Street of Temples in the southeast corner of the district.
Foreign Quarter. The Foreign Quarter is among the most multicultural districts of the city, and it boasts fine apartments and restaurants.
Garden Quarter. The Garden Quarter is an extravagant neighborhood similar to the High Quarter, but the mansions aren’t quite as ornate, the estates aren’t as large, and it’s not as gaudy.
High Quarter. Palaces, temples, mansions, and gardens fill the posh High Quarter. Extravagant architecture and wide-open spaces define this quarter.
River Quarter. The River Quarter encompasses taverns and entertainment venues, as well as the wharves along the Selintan River outside the city wall. Because it’s a hub of trade, it’s the most diverse, multicultural part of the city.
Slum Quarter. The Slum Quarter is the poorest, most desperate region within Greyhawk’s walls, full of crime-ridden apartments.
Thieves’ Quarter. The buildings of the Thieves’ Quarter are slightly less run down than their Slum Quarter equivalents, and its people are marginally better off.
The locations detailed here can serve as a good starting point for your campaign. Use them as examples when fleshing out new locations for your game.
This three-story, slightly run-down inn is situated in the heart of the city. A sign carved to resemble the grinning visage of a black dragon hangs over the front door. A stable is located behind the inn.
The Black Dragon Inn in Clerkburg has good food and affordable rooms. The inn’s stable can hold up to a dozen steeds.
The inn’s proprietor is Miklos Dare, a human Veteran Warrior (Chaotic Good) who loves to recount his heroic exploits in the Battle of Emridy Meadows seven years ago, when warriors from across the Central Flanaess united to drive the forces of wickedness from the Temple of Elemental Evil (see “Central Flanaess” in this chapter). A red-bearded bear of a man with a prosthetic leg, Miklos is affable and proud. His friendly rivalry with Olaf and Sivan, the proprietors of the Silver Dragon Inn just up the street, is the talk of the city. Olaf and Sivan recently hired a mage to make Miklos’s black dragon sign drool acid, much to the chagrin of visitors entering and leaving the Black Dragon. Miklos is itching to pull a similar prank of his own.
Character Backgrounds. An adventurer with the Soldier background might have a tie to Miklos, perhaps having fought alongside him at the Battle of Emridy Meadows. A character with the Wayfarer background might know Miklos as a generous man who gives away food and sometimes even lodging to people in need.
Reasons to Visit. Adventurers might visit the Black Dragon Inn for one of the following reasons:
Eavesdropper’s Paradise. Many clandestine meetings occur at the Black Dragon. Adventurers eavesdropping on private conversations might overhear tantalizing rumors or uncover valuable information.
Information Source. If the adventurers let Miklos tell stories of his past exploits or agree to help him play a prank on his rivals, he can steer them toward new adventure opportunities. He’s also quite familiar with the nature of Elemental Evil.
Place to Stay. The Black Dragon is close to the city’s central marketplace. A traveler can sleep in a common room for 2 SP per night or secure a private room for 5 SP per night. A luxury suite costs 2 GP per night.
A many-towered fortress looms above all quarters of the city from its position atop a low rise. Its outer walls, darkened by soot and smoke, could use a good scrubbing.
The grand edifice at the northern end of the High Quarter, simply called “the Citadel” by the city’s inhabitants, contains barracks for the City Watch, the offices of the captain-general, the city’s treasury, and a large store of armaments for the emergency citizen militia. The Citadel also contains a prison where the city’s most hardened criminals are incarcerated.
The captain-general of the City Watch is Sental Nurev, a tall, human Veteran Warrior (Neutral Good) with thinning blond hair and a mustache. Sental is usually incorruptible, but he is under great stress. The rulers of Stoink, a fortified town in the Bandit Kingdoms, have captured Sental’s brother Sarek and are forcing the captain-general to provide information about Greyhawk’s defenses and local politicians. Sental gives this information to a human Spy (Chaotic Evil) who stays at the Black Dragon Inn under the false name Skanda Drond. Sental is unaware that the bandit lords of Stoink are pawns of Iuz, whose dreams of conquest extend to the Free City of Greyhawk and far beyond.
The city’s constable—who serves as second-in-command to the captain-general, manager to the members of the watch, and a member of the Directing Oligarchy—is a compassionate Priest of Pelor named Derider Fanshen (Neutral Good). Her kindness and talent for healing make her well loved among the watch, and as a former adventurer, she is sympathetic to adventurers’ needs. She’s unaware of Sental’s compromised position.
Character Backgrounds. Adventurers with the Criminal or Guard background might have a connection to the Grand Citadel involving a past run-in with the law or past service on the watch.
Reasons to Visit. Adventurers might be drawn to the Grand Citadel for one of the following reasons:
Appointment. The adventurers have an appointment to speak with Sental Nurev, perhaps because they need help freeing a companion who was arrested for a crime or because they wish to report a threat to the city.
Break-In or Breakout. The adventurers are hired to break into the Citadel’s treasury vault or break someone out of the Citadel’s prison.
Imprisonment. The adventurers are imprisoned in the Citadel for some heinous crime.
The front of this building is a grand sweep of granite walls and tall columns. A wide ramp leads to a pair of massive doors flanked by stone-carved dragons. Inside, it’s cool and musty.
Weapons and armor aren’t permitted in the Great Library. If anyone wearing armor or carrying a visible weapon tries to enter the library, or if a thief is spotted trying to leave the library with one or more stolen books, the stone-carved bronze dragons flanking the entrance animate and attack. These statues are Stone Golems.
Abra Saghast, a crusty and irascible dragonborn sage, serves as the head librarian. Abra, an Archmage (Chaotic Good), has bright-green eyes, and her bronze scales are tinged with aquamarine blue. She typically wears a patchwork robe.
Abra sits behind a high desk in the main hall. Six open archways lead from the main hall to wings where the bulk of the library’s books are shelved, free for visitors to peruse (but not remove from the library). The library has several sages and scribes under contract to write books, mostly detailing current affairs in the city.
An iron door leads to a hallway behind the head librarian’s desk. Three scribes (Mages) labor here and act as sentries, for next to their desks are three locked, iron doors to the library’s vaults. Arcane Lock spells seal these doors, beyond which are repositories for the library’s most valuable or scandalous works. Next to each scribe’s desk is a pull cord hanging through a hole in the ceiling. A tug on any one of these cords releases a homing pigeon from a loft above the library. It takes the bird 1 minute to find and alert an Archmage, who teleports to the main hall of the library to investigate.
Character Backgrounds. Adventurers with the Sage or Scribe background might have a connection to the Great Library and its proprietor.
Reasons to Visit. Adventurers might visit the Great Library for one of the following reasons:
Research. Adventurers searching for a specific book or more information about a specific topic might find what they’re looking for in the library.
Spellbooks. The adventurers might need to purloin one of the many spellbooks kept in the library, necessitating a carefully planned heist.
Spell Scrolls. Adventurers can commission the scribes to create a Spell Scroll that bears a Wizard spell of level 5 or lower. See the Player’s Handbook for the time required to craft a scroll; the scribes charge double the cost shown there.
Conveniently located near the Selintan River, this inviting inn is distinguished by its tall tower, which is pointed at the top like the hat of an eccentric wizard. The clientele is notably wealthy, but the inn itself isn’t at all ostentatious.
The High Tower Inn’s human proprietor, Erlynn Goodfellow, is a soft-spoken, middle-aged, pot-bellied Mage (Lawful Good) with gray hair, bright-blue eyes, and platinum-rimmed spectacles. She dabbled in adventuring before realizing she had little taste for danger and her life’s calling might involve more sedentary pursuits. Few guests know of Erlynn’s magical abilities, as she rarely casts spells in front of strangers.
The High Tower, located in the Garden Quarter, is a favorite haunt for some of the city’s most famous wizards, including Otto and Jallarzi.
Character Backgrounds. Adventurers with the Merchant or Noble background might have a connection to the High Tower Inn, which caters to people of means.
Reasons to Visit. Adventurers might visit the High Tower for one of the following reasons:
Information Source. Erlynn knows all the local rumors. If she trusts the adventurers, Erlynn can direct them to an NPC who needs their services.
Place to Stay. The adventurers need a place to stay, and the High Tower boasts comfortable quarters, ample supplies of wine and ale, and spicy food. The establishment has six private sleeping chambers, each of which rents for 3 GP per night. Three of these guest rooms are in the tower, each one on its own floor.
Spellcaster. The adventurers might have business with a powerful spellcaster staying at the inn.
This grandiose, multistory inn sports a wooden sign bearing the words “Silver Dragon Inn” in fancy silver script, the S shaped like a silver dragon. A more modest sign next to the front door reads, “No metal armor. Shields and weapons must be checked at the door.”
The Silver Dragon Inn is a lively hub of activity in Greyhawk’s Foreign Quarter.The grand Silver Dragon Inn, located in the Foreign Quarter, is often the first place sought by new arrivals to the city. The prices are average, but the food servings are huge. The inn’s menu includes spicy bean dishes, seafood delicacies of the Wild Coast, and rice and vegetable entrées.
Weapons larger than daggers must be checked at the door, together with shields. Customers wearing metal armor aren’t admitted. Two bouncers (Neutral Tough Bosses) stand at the door, politely enforcing the rule.
The inn’s married human proprietors, Olaf Al-Azul (Chaotic Good Veteran Warrior) and Sivan Al-Azul (Chaotic Neutral Assassin), speak multiple languages and use humor to raise spirits and diffuse tensions. Olaf can almost always break up a fight before it starts, generally with a round of drinks for the instigators. Sivan is quiet and introspective, but he always keeps a hilarious joke or cutting remark at the ready.
Character Backgrounds. Adventurers with the Artisan or Entertainer background might do business with the Silver Dragon Inn.
Reasons to Visit. Adventurers might visit the Silver Dragon for one of the following reasons:
Meeting with Foreign Dignitaries. Foreign dignitaries come here to enjoy the Silver Dragon’s food and accommodations. Characters who plan to visit distant lands might connect with these esteemed visitors.
Place to Stay. The Silver Dragon is centrally located in the city and has twenty-four guest rooms on the upper floors. A traveler can sleep in a common room for 1 SP per night, a private room for 3 SP per night, or a luxury suite for 1 GP per night.
Security. The Silver Dragon Inn prides itself on being a safe stop for visitors. Its proprietors and bouncers are trained to deal with trouble without the support of the City Watch.
Hidden among the city’s grander temples is a quiet, modest house of worship with clay-tiled rooftops, a corner bell tower, and well-tended vegetable gardens. Sick and hungry folk gather in short lines outside as they wait for priests to attend to their needs.
Situated in the Garden Quarter, this temple is dedicated to Fharlanghn, a god favored by travelers and mercenaries. The Priests who staff the temple offer nourishment, rest, and healing to those in need, day and night. Several small rooms are maintained for guests, and simple, hot meals are free to all visitors.
Character Backgrounds. Adventurers with the Guide or Sailor background might have a connection to the temple, which offers help to travelers.
Reasons to Visit. Adventurers might visit the temple for one of the following reasons:
Adventurers Wanted. The priests keep tabs on threats in the region around the city. They’re paying close attention to rumors of dragon activity in the nearby Cairn Hills, and they’re looking to hire adventurers to investigate these rumors.
Healing. Adventurers can purchase Potions of Healing for 50 GP each, and the temple’s priests have 1d4 such potions in stock on any given day. The priests also have Cure Wounds and Lesser Restoration spells prepared and customarily cast them for free. For more powerful magic, such as Greater Restoration and Raise Dead spells, the priests direct the adventurers to the Temple of the Radiant Sun.
Safe Travels. By making a small donation to the temple, adventurers increase the likelihood of safe travel to their next destination.
Teleportation Circle. Though it isn’t the only permanent teleportation circle in the city, the circle within the Temple of the Far Horizon is the easiest to access. The priests allow free access to the teleportation circle in either direction. For 2,000 GP, the chief priest will cast the Teleportation Circle spell to open a connection to another permanent circle on the Material Plane.
This copper-roofed temple has a gold-inlaid symbol of the sun above its double-door entrance. During the day, sunlight shines through high windows to illuminate the temple’s interior, which is adorned with golden draperies.
This temple, dedicated to serving the god Pelor in the heart of the Garden Quarter, opens at dawn and closes at dusk. In a sanctuary in the heart of the temple, Priests conduct daily morning rites, as well as all-day observances every Godsday.
Sarana, the temple’s Archpriest (Neutral Good), is a middle-aged, human woman wearing a sun-shaped headdress and yellow-and-gold robes. She is never seen in public without her Staff of Healing. Sarana has straw-colored hair, green eyes, and a forgiving nature.
Character Backgrounds. Adventurers with the Acolyte background might have served in the Temple of the Radiant Sun, while those with the Farmer background might seek it out as a place for blessing.
Reasons to Visit. Adventurers might visit the temple for one of the following reasons:
Healing. The temple sells Spell Scrolls of Greater Restoration for 3,200 GP apiece and Spell Scrolls of Remove Curse for 300 GP apiece, and the priests have 1d3 copies of each scroll in stock on any given day. The priests also have Cure Wounds and Lesser Restoration spells prepared, which they customarily cast for free.
Raise Dead. Archpriest Sarana is one of a handful of people in the Free City of Greyhawk who can cast the Raise Dead spell, but she needs the requisite 500 GP diamond to do so. Sarana can recommend a jeweler who sells diamonds of sufficient value. Before agreeing to cast the spell, Sarana casts Zone of Truth and asks questions about the deceased individual to make sure she’s not returning to life someone who should stay dead.
Service to the Greater Good. The temple might call upon the adventurers to perform good acts in the city or abroad. Sarana is particularly vigilant about the threat of Elemental Evil, since she was involved in the battle at the Temple of Elemental Evil seven years ago. In exchange for their service, the characters and their companions are entitled to a 50 percent discount on goods purchased at the temple.
This quaint, two-story shop has a sign depicting a white-bearded human wizard holding a staff that has a copper ball affixed to its tip. Displayed in the store’s window box are various potions, scrolls, wands, and wondrous oddities.
Magic items are bought and sold in Unearthed Arcana, a quaint shop in Clerkburg. Magical wards render the store’s windows and doors shatterproof, and no one can use magic to enter or leave the shop without the consent of its proprietor, Morley, whose quarters take up the second floor.
Morley is an Adult Copper Dragon (Chaotic Good) who spends his days shape-shifted into a talkative, alert, white-bearded human mage wearing a pointed hat, frayed robes, and pointed slippers. Only a few people in the city—including the esteemed local members of the Circle of Eight, Jallarzi Sallavarian and Otto—know Morley’s true form.
Morley is one of the city’s secret weapons, ready to repel invaders or break a siege should the need arise. The dragon has a soft spot for adventurers who risk their lives for good causes. He occasionally loans magic items free of charge to valorous heroes who can’t afford them, on the condition that the items be returned to him as soon as they’re no longer needed.
Character Backgrounds. Adventurers with the Charlatan or Hermit background might have a connection to Unearthed Arcana, as Morley has a variety of unusual interests.
Reasons to Visit. Adventurers might visit Unearthed Arcana for one of the following reasons:
Buying and Selling Magic Items. Morley buys and sells magic items at standard prices (see chapter 7). Although he keeps a few magic items in the shop to catch the eye, most of his inventory is stored in extradimensional vaults only he can access. The shop sells many Common, Uncommon, and Rare magic items—mainly potions, rings, rods, staffs, wands, and wondrous items. Morley has access to a few Very Rare and Legendary magic items as well.
Free Loan. A benefactor arranges for Morley to loan the characters a magic item to help them complete a quest. Before giving them the item, Morley asks they return it in pristine condition.
Magic Item Identification. Morley can cast the Identify spell at will. He charges 50 GP for each casting of the spell.
The City of Greyhawk and Environs map shows the lands around the Free City of Greyhawk. Locations on the map are presented below as places where adventures can happen:
Blackfair Manor. Typical of several manor houses and keeps scattered across the Plain of Greyhawk, Blackfair Manor was founded by a distinguished cavalry commander. Its stable is the most famous source of fast, durable warhorses across the breadth of the Flanaess, drawing shrewd shoppers from Greyhawk and beyond. The manor house is surrounded by farms, extensive pastureland, and a small village with a mill, taverns, a smithy, and a saddlery.
Blackstone. See “Mining Towns” below.
Blackwall Keep. One of two new keeps built to keep an eye on the Mistmarsh, Blackwall Keep is a strong, stone tower with a horse corral surrounded by a wooden stockade. Soldiers from Greyhawk garrison the keep and venture out from it to patrol the northern edge of the swamp.
Cairn Hills. Hidden among the hills north and east of the city are ancient tombs and half-buried ruins that attract adventurers, bandits, cultists of Elemental Evil, and monsters.
Castle Greyhawk. Travelers who follow the Selintan River westward from the city come to a stone bridge. From there, they must travel several miles northeast to reach the ruins of Castle Greyhawk. Built by the archmage Zagig Yragerne and abandoned with his demise, the ruins (and the many-leveled dungeon below) are a powerful draw to adventurers who seek wealth, glory, and magical might. All manner of marvels are said to fill the ruins, including numerous portals to other planes.
Diamond Lake. See “Mining Towns” below.
Elmshire. This sleepy town with a sizable halfling population lies on the shore of the Nyr Dyv. Fishing boats crowd the wharves. The townsfolk welcome peaceful visitors—particularly adventurers who can help fend off monsters, bandits, and cults of Elemental Evil lurking in Cairn Hills.
Ery Villages. The villages of High Ery and Erybend are populated largely by farmers who send most of their produce for sale in Greyhawk. The two villages are both dominated by two prominent families, the Fairheights and the Witherwinns. The families have a complicated history including abundant instances of feuding and intermarriage, as well as a catalog of lesser slights and favors.
Ford Keep. A ferry crossing allows traffic from Greyhawk and regions to the south to cross the Selintan River at its first major bend. The lord mayor of Greyhawk built Ford Keep here to protect the crossing from bandits.
Gorge of the Selintan. Soaring cliffs flank the Selintan River for nearly ten miles. Spanning this gorge, 800 feet above the river, is a stone arch bridge sculpted to look like an extension of the natural bedrock. The bridge allows easy travel between Greyhawk and Grossettgrottell. As a defensive measure, the bridge’s gnome architects hid an iron pin somewhere in the bridge; if this pin is removed, the entire structure collapses.
Grossettgrottell. An industrious community of gnome miners and foragers lives in this network of hewn tunnels and natural caverns. The gnomes trade gemstones and rare fungi in exchange for help repelling monsters from the Underdark.
Marsh Keep. Like Blackwall Keep, Marsh Keep is newly built and watches over the Mistmarsh. The Dwarfwalk road leads east from the tower to Greysmere, a quarrying town with a large population of dwarves.
Mining Towns. Blackstone, Diamond Lake, and Steaming Springs are small mining towns governed and protected by the Free City of Greyhawk. The city frequently dispatches adventurers to quell threats to the towns’ miners and mining operations, which of late includes agents of Iuz intent on destabilizing the city’s economy.
Mistmarsh. This vast swamp holds the half-sunken ruins of an ancient city that is now shrouded by fog and guarded by a family of black dragons. Will-o’-wisps lure prey to the ruins, where doom awaits.
Peculiar Manor. Like other manors in the Plain of Greyhawk, Peculiar Manor was established by a now-forgotten hero of an ancient war. However, a few years ago it was purchased by retired adventurers from Ekbir, Sanjarah and Chetna Mohsin. The Mohsins brew an extraordinary ale they call Old Peculiar, which lends its name to the manor.
Steaming Springs. See “Mining Towns” above.
Stone Bridge. A small garrison in the fort of Stone Bridge keeps careful watch over river traffic approaching Greyhawk.
Stonefort. A garrison of soldiers from Greyhawk watches over the southern Nyr Dyv from the high battlements of Stonefort. The fort also guards a gravel quarry.
Tokhel Castle. This blasted ruin stands on a rocky promontory above the Nyr Dyv. A dead magic zone (see “Environmental Effects” in chapter 3) encompasses most of the ruin, and monsters guard whatever secrets the ancient castle and its dungeons might hold.
Two Ford. The small village of Two Ford relies on river trade to supply its inns, smithies, and merchants. Ore from the mining towns is also traded here, as it is easier to transport it by river than overland.