I was looking to get the infos about Aquaria. I know they are somewhere, but I don't find them. Most of the links are down. Can someone gives me an active link about it?
Thanx a lot
Fearghal
If you're referring to the fan - made web - document, of course ;).
http://p085.ezboard.com/fpiedpiperpublishingfrm6.showMessage?topicID=44.topic
This is a link to Frank's AOL group and includes some maps of Aquaria among other things.
http://groups.aol.com/gotgames2004
Also, the entire "I" series modules were set in Aquaria, of which there were 13, so that is alot of content on the subject as well.
They were.. (my favs in bold)
I1 Dwellers of the Forbidden City
I2 Tomb of the Lizard King
I3 Pharoah
I4 Oasis of the White Palm
I5 The Lost Tomb of Martek
I6 Ravenloft (written by the Hickman's)
I7 Baltron's Beacon
I8 The Ravager of Time
I9 Day of Al - Akbar
I10 Ravenloft 2 ; the House On Gryphon Hill (written by the Hickman's)
I11 Needle
I12 Egg of the Phoenix
I13 Adventure Pack 1
I14 Swords of the Iron Legion (I think this one turned out to be an FR product)
You can download I10 Ravenloft 2 ; the House On Gryphon Hill and I11 Needle right below from the WoTC "Old Editions" Download page.
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/downloads
I7 if it ever was supposed to be set in aquaria is not any more, it is now "officialy" set in the hool marshes.
when the desert of desolation (I3-5) was rereleased as a singlr module, it was set in the FR, although it was not as individual modules.
Does Frank have a list of where they are located somewhere?
Halber
I1 was NOT set in aquaria... it was set in hepmonaland.
As I gather it, Hepmonoland was an idea adapted from the not-fully adapted Aquaria. I'm unaware of any references anyway, but I'll deffinately check it out, as a revisit would be joyful anyway. Ofcourse, a quick email to Frank or Gary would result in a satisfactory answer, I'm sure.
I7 if it ever was supposed to be set in aquaria is not any more, it is now "officialy" set in the hool marshes.
We'll to Aquarian fans, I'm sure it's still part of Aquaria as much as the Isle of Dread is most likely still considered to be in Mystara by fans of that setting, even after it's change to the Greyhawk setting.
When the desert of desolation (I3-5) was rereleased as a singlr module, it was set in the FR, although it was not as individual modules.
That still doesn't change them from being Aquarian to Aquaria fans.
I'm not so certain I14 is FR related either, but I plan to page through it when I get some time to clarify.
Yeah, Abby, where did you get that all the I modules were set in Aquaria?
Well, technically, they weren't, since Aquaria is an unpublished setting, no? However, had Aquaria been a published locale, the I series would belong there, yes?
Does Frank have a list of where they are located somewhere?
Nope, not that I know of.
In actuality, I commonly see the "I" series as being considered part of the World of Greyhawk, but in some circles (including my local ones and others across the internet), it has and is common acceptance that "I" = Aquaria.
I think this mostly came about bcuz Frank had a hand in writing most/some of the "I" series. I7, I11, and I12 I know of for sure. So, naturally they have a hint of Aquaria to them if not written specifically for another world. A reasonable solution, that I have accepted.
I suppose I coudl've said
Also, the entire "I" series modules are considered by some to be set in Aquaria, of which there were 13, so that is alot of content on the subject as well.
instead, but knowing groups of Aquarian gamers (I'm from Wisco) has locked this idealogy into my head.
Does Frank have a list of where they (the "I" series) are located somewhere?
I would love to collectively pin them to the Greyhawk map, though!
"Forgotten Realms" prominently on the cover, and all of the place names, deity names etc. are from that setting.
it would be hard to have I14 not be a realms product since it has
"Forgotten Realms" prominently on the cover
So it does, which would explain why I don't have it to look at.
However, had Aquaria been a published locale, the I series would belong there, yes?
this is an invalid argument, because there is no way that we could know whether the I series would have been set there had aquaria been a published setting... we can conject that those modules written by Metzner would have been set there.
Dwellers of the Forbidden City's bachground contains this line:
Set deep in a tropical jungle, Dwellers Of The Forbidden City is
located on the WORLD OF GREYHAWK map in a small group
of unexplored (and unmapped) mountains south of the Pelisso
Swamp in Hepmonaland.
I do not buy "Hepmonaland is a version of Aquaria"... because the "Oeridians who settled aquaria" sailed east across the oceon, while hepmonaland is south of the GK.
We'll to Aquarian fans, I'm sure it's still part of Aquaria as much as the Isle of Dread is most likely still considered to be in Mystara by fans of that setting, even after it's change to the Greyhawk setting.
there is a disticnt difference... most of the I series of modules were NEVER said to be set in any one campaign world...
the Isle of Dread, in the module, claimed to be form the Known World (which later became Mystara) and infact had the first map ever of the main campiagn areas of that game world.
I do not buy "Hepmonaland is a version of Aquaria"... because the "Oeridians who settled aquaria" sailed east across the oceon, while hepmonaland is south of the GK
I'm not asking you to buy anything, Wes.
I never said Hepmonoland is a version of Aquaria either, far from it. I meant to communicate that Hepmonoland may have been part of Aquaria as a whole and dragged into Greyhawk, much like Blackmoor. Ofcourse, that is a frail claim as there is no evidence suggesting so.
You can throw the "I" series wherever you'd like. Around here, Aquaria has a cult following that uses the whole of the series and I had assumed (and still do) that was common acceptance among the RPG community.
Sorry, I do not mean to be confrontory...
It's fine, I like hashing through ideas w/ you, Wes. Besides, now I believe in the 1/4" rope! (w/ knots) LOL ;)
I'm merely trying to point out that had Aquaria been given the go ahead, the I series would (most likely) have been adapted to Aquaria, since it has no home and much of it was worked on by Frank, himself (whom would obviously have included direct Aquarian references if he would have been allowed to do so.) Speculation? Yes. Probable? Highly.
Furthermore, as I have already stated, that is common acceptance amongst many of my peers. It's an idealogy, not a fact.
Still, the "I" series fits Aquaria fine.
there is a disticnt difference... most of the I series of modules were NEVER said to be set in any one campaign world...
the Isle of Dread, in the module, claimed to be form the Known World (which later became Mystara) and infact had the first map ever of the main campiagn areas of that game world.
You are deffinately right. There is a distinct difference in that Aquaria was never given an official go ahead for publication. If it had, I believe that much (pretty much all) of the "I" series would have included the direct references required to fit them into Frank's setting.
I1 Dwellers of the Forbidden City
I2 Tomb of the Lizard King
I3 Pharoah
I4 Oasis of the White Palm
I5 The Lost Tomb of Martek
I6 Ravenloft (written by the Hickman's)
I7 Baltron's Beacon
I8 The Ravager of Time
I9 Day of Al - Akbar
I10 Ravenloft 2 ; the House On Gryphon Hill (written by the Hickman's)
I11 Needle
I12 Egg of the Phoenix
I13 Adventure Pack 1
I am ready to believe I2 to I5, I8, and I11 to I13 were set in Aquaria but for the others, I doubt it.
I1 is linked to the Hepmonaland. I6 was described as a gothic setting, hardly fitting for Aquaria. I9 has too many references to the Baklunish to be a mere coincidence. I10 "might" have been in Aquaria though (and that would explain a few things about it..)
Even I3 to I5 seem out of place considering what info has already been made available on the web by FM.
That's said, the I series is made of some of the best 1E modules I know
Was there ever a canon of Aquarian adventures etc. by the author?
And were the free netbooks the only things you could get about Aquaria? - It seems that the scenery had quite an impact... And really, the books were well made but nothing extraordinary (no offense, please. I enjoyed reading them
;) )
About Castle Ravenloft set in Aquaria: I must confess that this doesn't sound so bad to me. After all, I think the first gygaxian concept for Oerth was a world with two detailed cities on it: Blackmoor and Greyhawk (more or less). One for dark, one for more heroic fantasy gaming.
Although I never read the first RL by the Hickmans, I think they were unlikely to be too specific about the place of the castle.
Couldn't it be that Old Strahd was meant to live somewhere in another part of Oerth?
Couldn't it be that Old Strahd was meant to live somewhere in another part of Oerth?
If this is the case, then it would be the supreme joke given the bitter hatred that exists between Strahd and Azalin (a confirmed Oerth native).
The Pharoah series was originally a module called Pharoah published by Daystarwest and purchased by TSR then expanded to three modules, collected into a supermodule and set in the Forgotten Realms.
I9 has only a generic setting.
I6 & I10 Had no particular setting but the entire Ravenloft setting was developed from these modules.
I believe that 'Egg of the Phoenix' is the only 'I' series module that has any link to Aquaria what-so-ever.
And Aquaria could (or the land for north of it) have given refugee and time to prosper to such an evil vampire like Strahd.
But, playing Ravenloft on Oerth, what about the Vistani?
Does anyone know if they could have Oerthian origin? Perhaps they were the Bakluni killed in the Twin Cataclysms and reborn on the Demiplane of the Dread?
*Halloween feeling*
If this is the case, then it would be the supreme joke given the bitter hatred that exists between Strahd and Azalin (a confirmed Oerth native).
Now that's interesting! When (where) has Azalin been a native of Oerth?
Glorfinden
Now that's interesting! When (where) has Azalin been a native of Oerth?
Glorfinden
I know he was mentioned in I, Strahd and at least one other Ravenloft novel. I believe he was also mentioned in Vecna Reborn. A Greyhawk lich trapped in the Ravenloft setting.
Now that's interesting! When (where) has Azalin been a native of Oerth?
Glorfinden
From the start, I would say ;)
Azalin (or "Firan Zal’honan" as he was known back then), was the Azal’Lan of Knurl. "Azal'Lan" means "wizard-ruler" in Old Oeridian. Though a lich and evil, he ruled justly (albeit with an iron fist) his kingdom and protected it from all would-be conquerors.
Originally, he was the second son of the Count of Knurl and a vassal of the Overking of Aerdy. When he took power, he declared his fief effectively independant from the rule of Rauxes and conquered several surrounding fiefs in the Flint Hills, Bone March etc. The weakness of the incumbant Rax overking allowed this to happen (the Bandit Kingdoms were calving off from the Empire about the same time). He was undone however, when his armies marched on Innspa. His lieutenant betrayed him and he was forced to flee into the Adri, where the Mists whisked him off to Ravenloft (429 CY).
Strahd being an Oerthian would even make sense... Given that in 1980, or whenever Ravenloft was made up, there were no other not-novel-related settings for D&D, if I am not wrong.
And Aquaria could (or the land for north of it) have given refugee and time to prosper to such an evil vampire like Strahd.
But, playing Ravenloft on Oerth, what about the Vistani?
Does anyone know if they could have Oerthian origin? Perhaps they were the Bakluni killed in the Twin Cataclysms and reborn on the Demiplane of the Dread?
*Halloween feeling*
I6 goes back to 1983 if I am not mistaken. X1 (Isle of Dread), published in 1981, had already established by then the existence of the Known World (aka Mystara, the setting for the 5 boxed set game)
I actually thought at the time that Strahd sounded like a perfect candidate for Boldavia (in Glantri) given he was both a vampire and a wizard.
The closest thing to Vistani Oerth has to offer are the Rhennee, and I hope to God they aren't related! Certainly, no canon source has ever suggested a link between the two.
Besides, if you take a close look at them, it's easy to see Vistani look nothing like Baklunish. Different philosophy, different way to treat the gods, .. Nah, no relationship.
Given the peculiar nature of the Vistani's powers, I think it would be dangerous to try to link them to any known Prime Material World.
From the start, I would say ;)
Azalin (or "Firan Zal’honan" as he was known back then), was the Azal’Lan of Knurl.
*snip*
His lieutenant betrayed him and he was forced to flee into the Adri, where the Mists whisked him off to Ravenloft (429 CY).
Thanks, Mortepierre! The info is much appreciated.
I was hoping for a reference to an older work where Azalin was mentioned, more like 1st Edition when Ravenloft was not Ravenloft the Demiplane but two modules. If the connection has been made in the novels, Azalin has been retconned (retrofitted?) into Greyhawk - not that I'm opposed to such things.
AFAIK, Azalin was first mentioned in I10 where Strahd met him about a year before the events of the module take place. The campaign itself is located in Mordentshire which is (quote) "miles, perhaps centuries apart" from Barovia.
While this hook has been successfully incorporated into the Ravenloft setting, I like the thought of both modules taking place on the same continent in a more typical fantasy setting.
Glorfinden
I6 was published 1983, I10 in 1986.
Glorfinden
As I remember it Aquaria was the setting for modules R1-4
Wow, I had forgotten about those, Jason. Those, I believe were tournament and/or GenCon modules?
Morte, you should do a write-up/history of Strahd for the Canonfire POSTFEST ;)
Well .. it's tempting but that must be the RL villain that has received the most coverage till now. To be precise, in:
Secrets of the Dread Realms - pp7,10-12,18-19,27,31,114
Ravenloft Third Edition - p4,12-13,17,114,124
Domains of Dread - pp61-62
Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium I - pp10-13,17,43,82
I, Strahd -throughout
I, Strahd: the War Against Azalin -throughout
House of Strahd - throughout
The Ravenloft Campaign Setting : Domains and Denizens - pp7-10, pp97-101
Van Richten's Guide to Vampires - pp6-9,13,46,77
Roots of Evil - p6,15,39,55-57,90-95
From the Shadows - pp14-15
Tales of Ravenloft:Caretaker - pp303-316
The Evil Eye - pp57, 58
Vampire of the Mists - throughout
Realm of Terror - p5,pp116-119,p127
Ravenloft I6 - throughout
Ravenloft Gazetteer Volume I - pp150-152
I think that pretty much everything that needed to be said about the ol' vamp has been done already. What more could I add? ;)
Fortunately, Azalin isn't the only GH "citizen" to have made it to RL ...
I6 goes back to 1983 if I am not mistaken. X1 (Isle of Dread), published in 1981, had already established by then the existence of the Known World (aka Mystara, the setting for the 5 boxed set game)
I actually thought at the time that Strahd sounded like a perfect candidate for Boldavia (in Glantri) given he was both a vampire and a wizard.
...
Besides, if you take a close look at them, it's easy to see Vistani look nothing like Baklunish. Different philosophy, different way to treat the gods, .. Nah, no relationship.
....
Yeah, Morty :D your knowledge is AMAZING!
I, a devoted fan of the (free***) Savage Coast Setting and friend of other Mystaran products for years, didn't know that M was a setting with a concept that dated back to the 80s!
I always used a concept for my GH campaigns that had a secret domainlike/overlord background:
Flanaess (secret) rulers: Iuz, Ivid, Azalin
Desert: Zellifar ad Zol
Elven Isles: Dalakurion
Aquaria: Strahd/ BONK (a giant pink hamster my playergroup created that settled on the Aquarian shore ;))
To know that Mystara was in the designers' minds back in the 80s alters my view of the entire RL setting...
But, thinking of it, do you think *Aquaria, Realm of Strahd* would work?
*In my campaigns, we never reached a point where I could enter him into the action...*
Yeah, Morty :D your knowledge is AMAZING!
I, a devoted fan of the (free***) Savage Coast Setting and friend of other Mystaran products for years, didn't know that M was a setting with a concept that dated back to the 80s!
I always used a concept for my GH campaigns that had a secret domainlike/overlord background:
Flanaess (secret) rulers: Iuz, Ivid, Azalin
Desert: Zellifar ad Zol
Elven Isles: Dalakurion
Aquaria: Strahd/ BONK (a giant pink hamster my playergroup created that settled on the Aquarian shore ;))
To know that Mystara was in the designers' minds back in the 80s alters my view of the entire RL setting...
But, thinking of it, do you think *Aquaria, Realm of Strahd* would work?
*In my campaigns, we never reached a point where I could enter him into the action...*
Thank you
That said, my knowledge might be good but my use of a few websites where the info is freely available to all is even better ;)
I like the giant hamster idea. Call me nuts but I liked the Giant Space Hamster of Spelljammer
Ahem *cough*
To be serious, sure, why not? After all, only parts of Aquaria were described, so Strahd could be a native.
Birthright could be a good candidate too given Strahd's attitude of ruler = land. He would probably be a Vos though.
Whatever his country of origin, Roots of Evil showed us that it still exists, and his descendants are still ruling it. Given what happened there during the Great Conjunction, the locals must have a few interesting tales to tell :D
In every Ravenloft discussion, I miss the attempt to discuss the *vampiric* aspect of Strahd's character.
Why after all, is he a Vampire and not a common undead, perhaps an Animus? (yes, yes, because Tracy Hickman had a crush on Dracula ;) )
The point why I wanted Strahd on Aquaria is that it is a land with a stable infrastructure, not the Maztica of Oerth.
;)
As far as I know, Aquarians weren't colonized, but share the same cultural attitudes as the Flan.
----------------------------------------------
Not to forget (completely) about the topic?
What do you think about relations between Aquaria and other parts of Oerth?
*The unexplored south, for example*
If Strahd was a Cerilian, I'd use him as a lord of the Shadow World. There he would fit in as a vampire, a parody of human life.
In every Ravenloft discussion, I miss the attempt to discuss the *vampiric* aspect of Strahd's character.
Why after all, is he a Vampire and not a common undead, perhaps an Animus? (yes, yes, because Tracy Hickman had a crush on Dracula ;) )
To be fair with the authors of the original I6 module, at that time the only two "major" undeads plaguing the AD&D 1E universe were the vampire and the lich. Somehow, given Strahd was in love with Tatyana, I am glad they chose to make him a vampire rather than a decaying corpse (with apologies to Azalin :D ). After all, that kind of.. ah.. relationship had already been described in Dracula, so the Hickman must have felt encouraged to recreate it in D&D.
Also, I am somewhat surprised to see you equal "common undead" with the Animus. That one is about as uncommon as you could get!
But to come back to the subject of why Strahd is a vampire, it's not like they had much choice. Skeleton or zombie wouldn't have worked. They aren't exactly intellectually gifted. Shadow, wraith or spectre would have turned any romance into a joke. Can you imagine Strahd trying to grab Tatyana only to have her go right through his arms? :heehee
As for ghoul, ghast or wight .. well, I don't think the kind of romance you could get out of these guys would have made it into a role-playing product of that era
So, that left only the vampire and the lich. Personally, I blame it on Christopher Lee :D
Back on tracks, I don't think much of Aquaria vs the rest of Oerth because I would like to see a final, "canon" version of the lands west of the Flanaess first before trying to insert a dozen other unknown continents into my favorite setting. The Chainmail setting was a start but it hardly covers everything.
Morte, you should do a write-up/history of Strahd for the Canonfire POSTFEST ;)
Wow, I had forgotten about those, Jason. Those, I believe were tournament and/or GenCon modules?
According to Lawrence Schick's 'Heroic Worlds' R1-4 were limited edition modules sold only to the RPGA (Which is how I remember them).
R1 To the Aid of Falx (16pgs and an outer folder cover Pub.1982)
R2 The Investigation of Hydell (same)
R3 The Egg of the Phoenix (same)
R4 Doc's Island (32pgs and an outer folder cover Pub.1983)
All collected and rewritten and published as I12 Egg of the Phoenix.
To be fair with the authors of the original I6 module, at that time the only two "major" undeads plaguing the AD&D 1E universe were the vampire and the lich. Somehow, given Strahd was in love with Tatyana, I am glad they chose to make him a vampire rather than a decaying corpse (with apologies to Azalin :D ).
But to come back to the subject of why Strahd is a vampire, it's not like they had much choice. Skeleton or zombie wouldn't have worked. They aren't exactly intellectually gifted...
... The Chainmail setting was a start but it hardly covers everything.
I am glad that they left NECROPHILIA out of the action!!! :88E:
Do you know where I can get my hands on CHAINMAIL?
It appears to have disappeared from the web.
I was referring to Western Oerik when I asked about other relations:
There are two main candidates for contact with Aquaria:
Hyperborea and the Dragon Isles.
Although I don't know where to find info on them...
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wasn't there a Birthright character somewhere called Tatyana?
I think it was the name of girl that later turned into a lesser bloodfiend. But she didn't come from Vos...
Will ask on the BR boards for that!
Although I don't know where to find info on them...
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No need to get upset about that. We have "reliable" info on only the eastern end of ONE continent of Oerth. It's not like the rest of that planet got the same attention as Toril in a certain other setting ...
R1 To the Aid of Falx (16pgs and an outer folder cover Pub.1982)
R2 The Investigation of Hydell (same)
R3 The Egg of the Phoenix (same)
R4 Doc's Island (32pgs and an outer folder cover Pub.1983)
All collected and rewritten and published as I12 Egg of the Phoenix
So, I12 is printed Aquaria?
(I'm not at home right now to peruse the product)
There are two main candidates for contact with Aquaria:
Hyperborea and the Dragon Isles.
Although I don't know where to find info on them...
Jim Lanter wrote a nice pice on Hyperborea. I've tried, in the past, to convince him that he should submit it to Canonfire, but apparently he hasn't been so inclined.
I'll repost it here, as I don't think Jim would mind since it has already been dispersed across the net by many others, IIRC.
---------BEGIN WORK----------
A Brief Overview of Hyperboria
by Jim Lanter
The northern continent of Hyperboria is a harsh environment. The weather is never truly warm and can be cold enough to freeze a person in minutes during the deepest part of evernight (as the time without sun is known). Geography of this northern land is bizarre. Along the coast, in a some places are icy beaches where during the warmer months, the landscape thaws and becomes a verdant tundra, a serengeti of sorts. More than half of the coastline consists of treacherous cliffs where the glaciers of the interior meet the ocean. Most of the interior is locked in the grip of an ice age and is a vast sea of rolling snow dunes. Winds here can top 100 miles per hour in the dead of winter, for in the center of the continent, at the north pole of Oerth, is Vinterhuld, the abode of the North Wind. This vast sea of snow and ice is pierced in many places by mountain-cloaked valleys known as the rifts. These can range in size from only a few miles in length and half a mile wide to broad areas equal in size to some of the countries of the eastern Flanaess.
Coastal Plains
As noted above, these wind-swept icy expanses become the bread-basket of the continent during the "summer" months. These areas hold the largest forests and the widest grasslands on the continent. Consequently, in the warm times, large numbers of animals wander the territories, feeding and being fed upon.
It should be noted that these are not the creatures found in most of Oerth, but rather throwbacks to a previous epoch, a time before humanity had awakened and the elves were young. As such, beasts long extinct in most of the world that dwarf their modern day descendants such as woolly mammoths and mastodons, giant sloths and gargantuan hairy rhinos can be found in abundance. Let the curious and adventuresome be warned that their ancient predators like cave bears, hyenadons and saber-toothed tigers also abound. In the winter, some of these predators and a majority of their prey hibernate; the remaining beasts are driven by hunger to attack anything edible (in game terms, morale = 16-18).
The plains are really the only places visited by neighboring lands of the Oerik Continent and Fireland. Even these excursions are infrequent; in the winter, the place is inhospitable and stalked by desperate predators. With the warming comes a great increase in the number of icebergs, even the smallest of which can grind a ship to tinder.
The Interior
The Ice Sea as the interior known is a challenging milieu. Nevertheless, this harsh landscape is far from lifeless. During the period of the midnight sun, herds of the ice divers comb in a whale-like manner the vast fields of algae and micro-organisms that thrive under the unrelenting light. When the sun is at its apex, hibernating groups of fish known as shiversides (similar to the lungfish of Earth) awaken to feed and reproduce. Groups of larger herbivores occasionally emerge from the rifts to browse the short-lived fields of highsun roses and slow root that blossom during this period. Birds migrate from the south to take advantage of both the abundant flora and fauna. However, only the ice divers forage the equally numerous fields of fungi that prefer the darkness of evernight. As ever-present as the 'divers are the muklings, rodent scavengers who build large, termite-like complexes in the Snow sea. A wide variety of predators cull the herbivore population including saber tooth cats, inland polar bears and winter wolves.
In the icy badlands, few sentient creatures are known to dwell. Among them are the legendary uldra, gnomish servants of the Wind and their companions and mounts, gargantuan Arctic deer. Somewhere in the icy wastes is said to lie the homeland of the Snur Olve, the reclusive Snow Elves. Contact with these fey beings is a perilous proposition for they are the masters of their harsh environment and, with the exception of the Uldra, have little love for other children of Oerth. The greatest peril of this gods-forsaken region are the marauding bands of Durkloks, twisted part-humans who offered themselves into the service of the Dark One, Tharizdun and forever forfeited their souls. They are the masters of stealth and hate all who do not share their damnation, slinking about in the dead of night, searching for victims back to drag back to their subterranean lairs for a cannibalistic orgy.
The Rifts
These regions actually reach the ocean shores, but are cut off from the outside world by glacial floes. The climate here is more clement, being mediated by the proximity to the ocean and a small amount of geothermal activity and these valleys support a wide variety of plant and animal life.
Plants in these regions range from "normal" vegetation to weird plant-fungus symbiotes and carnivorous menaces. Like the coastal plains, much of the indigenous fauna are from a bygone era (see above) and "normal" animals such as deer, antelope, badgers, etc. are rare.
Some realms have found a tenuous hold among the rifts. Communication and trade between these holdings is limited and relies on roving bands of Uldra whose deer-drawn sleds are the only vehicles able to withstand the difficult conditions "topside". During the months of darkness, in addition to diminished food supplies, these communities are subject to raids from desperate predators and marauding Durkloks. Life is indeed difficult for the cultures that have sprung up in these isolated areas and those that dwell here are among the toughest, most self-sufficient in all Oerth.
-------END WORK--------
Also, I believe the Conan version is spelled Hyperborea and that of Oerth is correctly spelled, Hyperboria.
So, I12 is printed Aquaria?
(I'm not at home right now to peruse the product)
Yes. It even includes the intertwined history of Aerdy and Aquaria. Strange that you wouldn't know this though.
Halber
Originally Posted by Ivid
Although I don't know where to find info on them...
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
------------------
No need to get upset about that...
Wasn't getting upset about finding info, but about the fact that I recognized Tatyana as a BR character! 
Could it be that *silently hijacking the thread* we found a clue for Strahd's origin? *SENSATIO SENSATIONUM*I don't have far too much BR stuff, but I mean to remember her in a matter concerning the highlands.
About the other lands of Oerth, I mentioned earlier that there was a very good map out there covering Oerik and Aquaria with settings from other worlds, that could be Greyhawk - related.
Kara Thur was west of Suel, choking with the Chainmail lands.
The map also featured the Savage Coast (south of Aquaria) the OA setting (Nippon Isles), Nyambe in the south of Flanaess, Maztica south Chainmail and some others theories how you could make up the game there.
Sadly, I don't know what happened about the map later - Was too dumb to save it on HD. :embarrass
To Abysslin:
Thank you!!! :D This is great stuff. The author should really post it somewhere people come to read it!
I agree that Nyambe makes for a very nice alternate Hepmonaland setting. The "african-like" setting described in various old issues of Dragon Mag. was also based on Hepmonaland (or, rather, on what it could be given the lack of info we had at the time)
Will soon open a new thread to discuss that...
:D
Azlan was a retcon done for Ravenloft. The point of doing so was that Ravenloft had no Greyhawk villans. (Vecna was added for a short while.) THe first information about Azlan's background showed up in Domains of dread I believe. Also mentioned was that he was so wicked that he was simply forgoton by the Great Kingdom. In other words, they didn't want to backtrack and try and fit him into Greyhawk history.
Wrong. Azalin was revealed to be from Greyhawk in the 1992 module From the Shadows (which can be downloaded for free from this site--in the "older editions" section of the downloads page). This module provided most of the history that Mortepierre listed regarding the Great Kingdom and his conquests. By the time Domains of Dread was published in 1997, Azalin was missing and presumed destroyed as a result of the Grim Harvest series of modules. Azalin's Greyhawk roots weren't really a "retcon" per se, as he never really had much of a background before it was revealed he was from Oerth (I10 gave few details on the character and the original Realm of Terror boxed set gave only a brief, vague backstory for him).
I agree that Nyambe makes for a very nice alternate Hepmonaland setting. The "african-like" setting described in various old issues of Dragon Mag. was also based on Hepmonaland (or, rather, on what it could be given the lack of info we had at the time)
Especially because Nyambe references David Howery, the person who wrote those Dragon articles, as a source and inspiration.
Halber
I was invited to a Nyambe session as a player, and can only recommend it as a worthy addition to any game world.
Especially because Nyambe references David Howery, the person who wrote those Dragon articles, as a source and inspiration.
Halber
Eh, I was wondering if someone else had noticed that. Well done! ;)
Wrong. Azalin was revealed to be from Greyhawk in the 1992 module From the Shadows (which can be downloaded for free from this site--in the "older editions" section of the downloads page). This module provided most of the history that Mortepierre listed regarding the Great Kingdom and his conquests. By the time Domains of Dread was published in 1997, Azalin was missing and presumed destroyed as a result of the Grim Harvest series of modules. Azalin's Greyhawk roots weren't really a "retcon" per se, as he never really had much of a background before it was revealed he was from Oerth (I10 gave few details on the character and the original Realm of Terror boxed set gave only a brief, vague backstory for him).
Isn't 'From the Shadows' a Ravenloft module?
What page (pages) is Azalin mentioned in module I10?
Isn't 'From the Shadows' a Ravenloft module?
What page (pages) is Azalin mentioned in module I10?
I may have missed his name in the pages of the adventure itself, but p.45 and p.48 (spells) seem to be the only substantial reference to Azalin in I10.
Glorfinden
R7-10 are set in Aquaria, and although I'm not postive, I think R5 and R6 are Aquarian adventures also. Some additional details on all of the R series modules are on the Acaeum at http://www.acaeum.com/DDIndexes/ModPages/R.html and http://www.acaeum.com/DDIndexes/ModPages/R2.html
Are these 'R' modules (R5+) the ones that were adventures in the early Polyhedrons?
As I remember it Aquaria was the setting for modules R1-4 which was reprinted as Egg of the Phoenix. - JZ
Wow, I had forgotten about those, Jason. Those, I believe were tournament and/or GenCon modules? - abyss
I may have missed his name in the pages of the adventure itself, but p.45 and p.48 (spells) seem to be the only substantial reference to Azalin in I10.
Glorfinden
He is also mentioned on page #39 encounter T4 in the Mausoleum. (I dug out a copy of I10 today from a box of RPG stuff). It is a tactical description of Azalin's actions against the party more than anything else.
His write-up on page #45 and list of spells in his spellbook on page #48 seem to cover his appearances in I10.
I could find no mention of Greyhawk or the Flan, etc... which doesn't surprise me. I feel that it is clear that Azalin is a retro-fitted Greyhawk character, but nothing in the text of I10 precludes him from originating on Oerth, there is simply no mention of any connection or alternate origin.
Did Tracy or Laura Hickman ever produce any material for the Greyhawk campaign?
I could find no mention of Greyhawk or the Flan, etc... which doesn't surprise me. I feel that it is clear that Azalin is a retro-fitted Greyhawk character, but nothing in the text of I10 precludes him from originating on Oerth, there is simply no mention of any connection or alternate origin.
As with so many other 2e "Greyhawk" products ;)
Did Tracy or Laura Hickman ever produce any material for the Greyhawk campaign?
Not that I'm aware of, although you could ask Tracy yourself at http://pub124.ezboard.com/bthebronzecanticlesvillage