Singing the praises of Canonfire - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Singing the praises of Canonfire

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
zombiegleemax
May 15, 2004 23:11:59 Hi all.

I just got registered on this community board after reading it for a few months. I feel like I know quite a few of you by now.

I am writing to put in my two cents worth about Canonfire. I have been playing the game for well over a decade now. Greyhawk has always been my mainstay. Whenever a new product came out, I would scoop it up right away and put it to use. I have been out of the country for a couple of years, and when I came back, I learned that no more Greyhawk material will likely be put out.

That's when I discovered Canonfire. Yes, it is a fan site. Yes, it is not official. But I started to read the articles, combing through the titles and reading what I thought were interesting subjects, and I found that some of these writers were as good or better then the published material.

Canonfire authors run the full gamut, from articles that laboriously foot note to every reference to published works to stuff that is purely made up by the author, to stuff that just bases its content on the setting and then goes off into a completely different direction. So there is a little for everyone there if you are willing to read the articles and experiment a bit.

I was a reader and a user of the material for a few months without registering, then I decided that I wanted to participate. My campaigns were all finished, and I was at school with some time on my hands and an itch to be creative. So I went through my old DM notes and wrote an article about some of my adventures I ran from the Pomarj. Nothing too fancy, just the stuff I ran when I was a DM about what was going on in the western part of the Pomarj (which was never officially detailed).

What I think was great about Canonfire was, when I posted the article, I did not get flamed or browbeat by the regulars. In fact, I got nothing but great feedback. My experience has been so good that I popped out a couple more articles and have some ideas brewing for some more, I even participated in the recent Postfest. And I am no roleplaying expert, I am just some regular guy who, out of the blue, came up with an idea and submitted it.

Bottom line: all the negative things I have heard about Greyhawk in some of these forums is that: a) the fans are overly canonical and if your ideas do not fit you get slammed, b) the fans are not canonical enough and just post their little in-jokes or house rules as ego trips, or 3) it is just a cliquish group that are insular are all just not true. There is a great bunch of people that run Canonfire as well as a great bunch of regular participants and authors.

I submit that there is something on the site for anyone who has an interest and a love for Greyhawk. Not all if it is everyone's cup of tea, but that is OK. If you have a spare moment or two, drop on by and read an article and if you like it, great. If it is something you can use (be it strictly canon, or somewhat less then that) then the site has accomplished its purpose.

I for one, like the site a lot and encourage anyone who hasn't tried it out to give it a whirl. Because if you wait for just "official" stuff to come out, you may be in for a long wait, and the unofficial stuff is often just as good or better.

O-D
#2
Mortepierre
May 16, 2004 2:01:36 Amen brother. I agree wholeheartedly.

Did you consider a career in Rao's priesthood?
#3
mortellan
May 16, 2004 2:09:53 I enjoy your writings, in particular a certain sahuagin article. I too have thrown my creative hat into the GH community and it is good to have you on this forum with us Osmund. When it comes to GH, the more you put into it the more you get out of it. Those who contribute understand.
#4
castlemike
May 16, 2004 18:55:35 I agree it's the best web sight for Greyhawk Material you might wish to include or not include in your campaign I've found so far and has some really interesting reading some of the old notes.
#5
cebrion
May 17, 2004 4:07:02 Welcome aboard O-D!

Canonfire is a great site. There are no others that come close to rivalling it(that I know of at least). It promotes a level of creativity and involvement not really seen anywhere else and has a wealth of information on an incredible variety of subjects, official and not.

I'll have to submit something there myself eventually. Its in the works! Really, it is!!! :D
#6
cebrion
May 17, 2004 4:07:07 Welcome aboard O-D!

Canonfire is a great site. There are no others that come close to rivalling it(that I know of at least). It promotes a level of creativity and involvement not really seen anywhere else and has a wealth of information on an incredible variety of subjects, official and not.

I'll have to submit something there myself eventually. Its in the works! Really, it is!!! :D
#7
Argon
May 17, 2004 22:47:23 Osmund your article's are well written and I think that's important when submitting an article. But as you mentioned earlier the site allows for a variety of different writing and roleplaying styles and is for the most part friendly to all those who visit or dwell their. Unless of course you take the Drow out of the Game world in an article. LOL

But for the most part you will find both praise and constructive critizism which is a great thing too have!
#8
zombiegleemax
May 19, 2004 11:52:56 Now having said what I just said (which I really did not intend to be quite so long, but I was rolling!) I am sure we all have seen those web sites that are GH fan sites but are not especially useful.

I refer to those sites that just have posted : My character is a 150th level half drow half elemental tierfling assassin-paladin with the Sword of Kas, Eye of Vecna, and the Machine of Lum the Mad who has taken over all of Greyhawk, slain all the gods (except for Iuz, who I keep as my court jester, ha ha ha), sunk Nyrond under the ocean, watered the Sea of Dust so it is now my victory garden, etc etc.....

Now I can easily see how if you look at a few sites like these you become leery of any fan site. Now there is some value to all Greyhawk sites, they are all labors of love and if your campaign ends up like the one I just described, well more power to you!

It is great to talk about your accomplishments but for the rest of us, some more exploration of previously undetailed places in GH is more beneficial, or creating some new adventures, or something else like that. And CF has so many opportunities to use. So again, I encourage everyone to check it out when you have a spare moment or two. Chances are you will find something for your campaigns.

O-D

P.S. Oh, BTW congrats and kudos to Mortellen for winning Postfest 04! If you have not read his article, it is a real gem and is a great example of creating something that can be useful in any GH campaign!
#9
zombiegleemax
May 19, 2004 17:22:41 Sounds interesting, this Canonfire. Methinks I'll give it the once- over.
#10
zombiegleemax
May 21, 2004 16:05:52 Hi Osmund-Davizid,

Thanks for the kind words!

We started Canonfire! three years ago to create a Greyhawk "portal site" where all fans could share their work with each other, get news about the gameworld, and look for ideas. Its open to any edition, any era, and any heresy! When we started Greytalk 10 years ago, email lists were all the rage and they're great for a linear discussion, but when it comes to sharing writing, maps, and reviews, a website is the best way to go. Joining a discussion list often feels like jumping into a fast moving torrent, with no easy ability to go back and see what has been posted.

Fan sites are great. But, the downside of having a multiplicity of individual fan websites is that they are usually maintained by one person and conform to the needs of his or her pace and schedule. Most of the time, after a flurry of initial effort, they languish and sometimes get abandoned, or disappear. Which is a huge shame.

The group of GH fans who started Canonfire, thought we could change that by creating a site open to everyone, serving just the GH community, where users could post their material and a group of editors could help layout and organize the site. Its not easy work! But, we want to support your writing, with editing, comments, whatever you need. The site self-resists the tendancy to languish and remain static and the material remains archived, so that new fans can enjoy it as well. And we're always looking to provide new content, new features. If official greyhawk isn't forthcoming, we can always entertain each other! So feel free to contact the editors if you have ideas or submissions, or want to volunteer to work on something:

http://www.canonfire.com/htmlnew/modules.php?name=Feedback

Campaign Poster: "Zagyg Wants You (yes you)! Don't be just another piece of pavement in the Road of Skulls!"

-Gary
#11
zombiegleemax
May 21, 2004 16:48:41 Speaking of old fan sites,

I loved this one site that was ran off of I think it was the University of Minnesota school server. Anyway, it was called the Codex of Greyhawk.

It reprinted a lot of Oerth Journal articles as well as a lot of original materials. Does anyone out there know what became of it and/or who were the administrators of the site. There is a lot of articles that would be great to repost on CF if we could contact their authors.

O-D
#12
zombiegleemax
May 21, 2004 16:50:15 Speaking of old fan sites,

I loved this one site that was ran off of the University of Minnesota school server. It was called the Codex of Greyhawk.

It reprinted a lot of Oerth Journal articles as well as a lot of original materials. Does anyone out there know what became of it and/or who were the administrators of the site? There are a lot of articles that would be great to repost on CF if we could contact their authors.

O-D
#13
zombiegleemax
May 21, 2004 17:03:14 Funny you should mention it.

Canonfire inherited that site, it was donated to us by the maintainers. I have the whole thing sitting on my computer, waiting to be organized and uploaded at some point. Hopefully we can get that done this summer.

The work never ends...but its fun work....

-Gary

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax May 15, 2004 23:11:59	Hi all. I just got registered on this community board after reading it for a few months. I feel like I know quite a few of you by now. I am writing to put in my two cents worth about Canonfire. I have been playing the game for well over a decade now. Greyhawk has always been my mainstay. Whenever a new product came out, I would scoop it up right away and put it to use. I have been out of the country for a couple of years, and when I came back, I learned that no more Greyhawk material will likely be put out. That's when I discovered Canonfire. Yes, it is a fan site. Yes, it is not official. But I started to read the articles, combing through the titles and reading what I thought were interesting subjects, and I found that some of these writers were as good or better then the published material. Canonfire authors run the full gamut, from articles that laboriously foot note to every reference to published works to stuff that is purely made up by the author, to stuff that just bases its content on the setting and then goes off into a completely different direction. So there is a little for everyone there if you are willing to read the articles and experiment a bit. I was a reader and a user of the material for a few months without registering, then I decided that I wanted to participate. My campaigns were all finished, and I was at school with some time on my hands and an itch to be creative. So I went through my old DM notes and wrote an article about some of my adventures I ran from the Pomarj. Nothing too fancy, just the stuff I ran when I was a DM about what was going on in the western part of the Pomarj (which was never officially detailed). What I think was great about Canonfire was, when I posted the article, I did not get flamed or browbeat by the regulars. In fact, I got nothing but great feedback. My experience has been so good that I popped out a couple more articles and have some ideas brewing for some more, I even participated in the recent Postfest. And I am no roleplaying expert, I am just some regular guy who, out of the blue, came up with an idea and submitted it. Bottom line: all the negative things I have heard about Greyhawk in some of these forums is that: a) the fans are overly canonical and if your ideas do not fit you get slammed, b) the fans are not canonical enough and just post their little in-jokes or house rules as ego trips, or 3) it is just a cliquish group that are insular are all just not true. There is a great bunch of people that run Canonfire as well as a great bunch of regular participants and authors. I submit that there is something on the site for anyone who has an interest and a love for Greyhawk. Not all if it is everyone's cup of tea, but that is OK. If you have a spare moment or two, drop on by and read an article and if you like it, great. If it is something you can use (be it strictly canon, or somewhat less then that) then the site has accomplished its purpose. I for one, like the site a lot and encourage anyone who hasn't tried it out to give it a whirl. Because if you wait for just "official" stuff to come out, you may be in for a long wait, and the unofficial stuff is often just as good or better. O-D
#2 Mortepierre May 16, 2004 2:01:36	Amen brother. I agree wholeheartedly. Did you consider a career in Rao's priesthood?
#3 mortellan May 16, 2004 2:09:53	I enjoy your writings, in particular a certain sahuagin article. I too have thrown my creative hat into the GH community and it is good to have you on this forum with us Osmund. When it comes to GH, the more you put into it the more you get out of it. Those who contribute understand.
#4 castlemike May 16, 2004 18:55:35	I agree it's the best web sight for Greyhawk Material you might wish to include or not include in your campaign I've found so far and has some really interesting reading some of the old notes.
#5 cebrion May 17, 2004 4:07:02	Welcome aboard O-D! Canonfire is a great site. There are no others that come close to rivalling it(that I know of at least). It promotes a level of creativity and involvement not really seen anywhere else and has a wealth of information on an incredible variety of subjects, official and not. I'll have to submit something there myself eventually. Its in the works! Really, it is!!! :D
#6 cebrion May 17, 2004 4:07:07	Welcome aboard O-D! Canonfire is a great site. There are no others that come close to rivalling it(that I know of at least). It promotes a level of creativity and involvement not really seen anywhere else and has a wealth of information on an incredible variety of subjects, official and not. I'll have to submit something there myself eventually. Its in the works! Really, it is!!! :D
#7 Argon May 17, 2004 22:47:23	Osmund your article's are well written and I think that's important when submitting an article. But as you mentioned earlier the site allows for a variety of different writing and roleplaying styles and is for the most part friendly to all those who visit or dwell their. Unless of course you take the Drow out of the Game world in an article. LOL But for the most part you will find both praise and constructive critizism which is a great thing too have!
#8 zombiegleemax May 19, 2004 11:52:56	Now having said what I just said (which I really did not intend to be quite so long, but I was rolling!) I am sure we all have seen those web sites that are GH fan sites but are not especially useful. I refer to those sites that just have posted : My character is a 150th level half drow half elemental tierfling assassin-paladin with the Sword of Kas, Eye of Vecna, and the Machine of Lum the Mad who has taken over all of Greyhawk, slain all the gods (except for Iuz, who I keep as my court jester, ha ha ha), sunk Nyrond under the ocean, watered the Sea of Dust so it is now my victory garden, etc etc..... Now I can easily see how if you look at a few sites like these you become leery of any fan site. Now there is some value to all Greyhawk sites, they are all labors of love and if your campaign ends up like the one I just described, well more power to you! It is great to talk about your accomplishments but for the rest of us, some more exploration of previously undetailed places in GH is more beneficial, or creating some new adventures, or something else like that. And CF has so many opportunities to use. So again, I encourage everyone to check it out when you have a spare moment or two. Chances are you will find something for your campaigns. O-D P.S. Oh, BTW congrats and kudos to Mortellen for winning Postfest 04! If you have not read his article, it is a real gem and is a great example of creating something that can be useful in any GH campaign!
#9 zombiegleemax May 19, 2004 17:22:41	Sounds interesting, this Canonfire. Methinks I'll give it the once- over.
#10 zombiegleemax May 21, 2004 16:05:52	Hi Osmund-Davizid, Thanks for the kind words! We started Canonfire! three years ago to create a Greyhawk "portal site" where all fans could share their work with each other, get news about the gameworld, and look for ideas. Its open to any edition, any era, and any heresy! When we started Greytalk 10 years ago, email lists were all the rage and they're great for a linear discussion, but when it comes to sharing writing, maps, and reviews, a website is the best way to go. Joining a discussion list often feels like jumping into a fast moving torrent, with no easy ability to go back and see what has been posted. Fan sites are great. But, the downside of having a multiplicity of individual fan websites is that they are usually maintained by one person and conform to the needs of his or her pace and schedule. Most of the time, after a flurry of initial effort, they languish and sometimes get abandoned, or disappear. Which is a huge shame. The group of GH fans who started Canonfire, thought we could change that by creating a site open to everyone, serving just the GH community, where users could post their material and a group of editors could help layout and organize the site. Its not easy work! But, we want to support your writing, with editing, comments, whatever you need. The site self-resists the tendancy to languish and remain static and the material remains archived, so that new fans can enjoy it as well. And we're always looking to provide new content, new features. If official greyhawk isn't forthcoming, we can always entertain each other! So feel free to contact the editors if you have ideas or submissions, or want to volunteer to work on something: http://www.canonfire.com/htmlnew/modules.php?name=Feedback Campaign Poster: "Zagyg Wants You (yes you)! Don't be just another piece of pavement in the Road of Skulls!" -Gary
#11 zombiegleemax May 21, 2004 16:48:41	Speaking of old fan sites, I loved this one site that was ran off of I think it was the University of Minnesota school server. Anyway, it was called the Codex of Greyhawk. It reprinted a lot of Oerth Journal articles as well as a lot of original materials. Does anyone out there know what became of it and/or who were the administrators of the site. There is a lot of articles that would be great to repost on CF if we could contact their authors. O-D
#12 zombiegleemax May 21, 2004 16:50:15	Speaking of old fan sites, I loved this one site that was ran off of the University of Minnesota school server. It was called the Codex of Greyhawk. It reprinted a lot of Oerth Journal articles as well as a lot of original materials. Does anyone out there know what became of it and/or who were the administrators of the site? There are a lot of articles that would be great to repost on CF if we could contact their authors. O-D
#13 zombiegleemax May 21, 2004 17:03:14	Funny you should mention it. Canonfire inherited that site, it was donated to us by the maintainers. I have the whole thing sitting on my computer, waiting to be organized and uploaded at some point. Hopefully we can get that done this summer. The work never ends...but its fun work.... -Gary