I also heard of a Living Greyhawk Module detailing the Sea of Dust. Does anyone know what it is called?
There are some black-skinned nomads in the Sea of Dust as well, but they're not related to the Suel. Presumedly they're Touv, cousins to the people of southern Hepmonaland, although this isn't clear - they're described as tall where the Touv are on the small side, they're described as having slanted eyes where the Touv aren't, they have curly hair where the hair of the Touv is wavy or straight, and the skin of the Dust Sea nomads is almost blue, while the Touv are more brown in hue. It's possible they share a common ancestry with the Touv, but there might be no connection at all. Whatever they are, they live primarily in the desert's southwest.
The Forgotten City is described in Gary Gygax's novel Sea of Death. It was the former capital of the Suel Imperium, and is usually called Suendrako. There is more info on the Sea of Dust and its ruins in Greyhawk Adventures. The Suel-descended inhabitants trapped there underneath the fathoms of dust today are degenerate and strangely evolved. According to Gygax's novel, they've actually evolved into derro, though derro have also been given another origin - descendents of half-dwarven slaves the Suel kept during their years of glory. Meenlocks (called "osid-mrin" by the locals) are also common beneath the Sea of Dust, and perhaps (it's implied) they're the ones who were once Suel humans, become horribly deformed and corrupt due to the desperate surgical rites they used to keep themselves alive. There are also said to be humans who have become ape-like things (perhaps quaggoths?).
Ancient Suloise architecture is distinguished by large domes and minarets. The empire's ancient capital must surely be a place of great forgotten magic.
The Forgotten City is located in a "Ktosor-hep," or dust lake. There, the magical radiation of the lost city has turned the dust into a fluid that can you can dive and swim in, and even breathe air through with the aid of a dust mask. Other ancient Suloise cities have also formed ktosor-heps above them; the nomads make exploring them and stealing ancient treasure part of their rites of manhood.
Purple worms and ankhegs are also found in the Sea of Dust and among the sunken ruins.
Sorry. Try googling "Sea of Dust" and "Forgotten City". I'm just a player and I can't help you too much since it was 15 years since my last trip there.
I do remember reading that almost no expedition that passed into the Sea of Dust was ever heard from again, and that the tunnel passage under the mountains was a relatively new re-discovery.
There are the creatures that live in the Dust, the dragons, etc. that nest in the mountains, and the savage nomadic tribesmen that are fierce enough to survive that enviornment.
The party I DMed for set forth from Greyhawk City with a party of 6 and a retinue of 105. There were two survivors who were able to teleport out of that miserable hell-on-Oerth...And I'm not a PK judge!
The Living Greyhawk module set in the Sea of Dust was called CORS4-01 Sea of Dust. it was a special event for Gen Cons only in 2004 and has since been retired.
Creighton
The party I DMed for set forth from Greyhawk City with a party of 6 and a retinue of 105. There were two survivors who were able to teleport out of that miserable hell-on-Oerth...And I'm not a PK judge!
Sounds epic and the way expeditions are supposed to be - unfeasibly lethal.
Sounds epic and the way expeditions are supposed to be - unfeasibly lethal.
I would say the smaller the party the better. When you start adding a bunch of hirelings you're just going to start a body count pretty quickly. Small party, ten or less, heavily armed and loaded with beneficial magic items: decanter(s) of endless water, flying carpets, portable shelter ala Leomunds Fortress (is that right? Mansion? Hut?), food producing magic, any item specific to desert travel.
What's the terrain specific book called for deserts and other arid lands? There's a book by Andre Norton, "Quag Keep" that's set in Greyhawk, and if memeory serves me correctly part of the story is about crossing the Sea of Dust. They use "Dust Shoes" to cross the Sea of Dust.
What's the terrain specific book called for deserts and other arid lands?
Sandstorm. It's actually quite an excellent source for Sea of Dust ideas, especially the various magical sand types. A lot of it was used to flesh out the Bright Desert, of course, but there's plenty remaining for the former Suel Basin.
There's a book by Andre Norton, "Quag Keep" that's set in Greyhawk, and if memeory serves me correctly part of the story is about crossing the Sea of Dust.
Sort of. It's an earlier version of Oerth, not completely compatible with the present one. The protagonists are a group of D&D players who get sucked into a fantasy world. The Sea of Dust is somewhat different, here - in Quag Keep, there was no Rain of Colorless Fire; the land was always a desert and the Suel sailed across it on sand-skiffs. There are still some ideas that can be gleaned from the novel, though.
The Forgotten City is described in Gary Gygax's novel Sea of Death. It was the former capital of the Suel Imperium, and is usually called Suendrako.
Not having read it, I named the Forgotten City "Heliopolis" on the spur of the moment. Other than Zinbyle, the other two cities the adventurers visited had Greek- and Hebrew-sounding names: Argolis and Zoar.
There are also said to be humans who have become ape-like things (perhaps quaggoths?).
I missed that. Where is it referenced?
I missed that. Where is it referenced?
In Sea of Death. The derro keep them as slave-warriors.
The Suel in the Sea of Dust look much like Suel anywhere else - pale skin, kinky red or blonde hair, and blue eyes. Like their Amedio cousins, they tend to be more tanned and freckled from long exposure to the sun, although albinism is distressingly common. They may be related to or the same as the short, stocky people who coat their bodies with smelly wax to protect themselves from the dust, ash, and sun.
There are some black-skinned nomads in the Sea of Dust as well, but they're not related to the Suel. Presumedly they're Touv, cousins to the people of southern Hepmonaland, although this isn't clear - they're described as tall where the Touv are on the small side, they're described as having slanted eyes where the Touv aren't, they have curly hair where the hair of the Touv is wavy or straight, and the skin of the Dust Sea nomads is almost blue, while the Touv are more brown in hue. It's possible they share a common ancestry with the Touv, but there might be no connection at all. Whatever they are, they live primarily in the desert's southwest.
The Forgotten City is described in Gary Gygax's novel Sea of Death. It was the former capital of the Suel Imperium, and is usually called Suendrako. There is more info on the Sea of Dust and its ruins in Greyhawk Adventures. The Suel-descended inhabitants trapped there underneath the fathoms of dust today are degenerate and strangely evolved. According to Gygax's novel, they've actually evolved into derro, though derro have also been given another origin - descendents of half-dwarven slaves the Suel kept during their years of glory. Meenlocks (called "osid-mrin" by the locals) are also common beneath the Sea of Dust, and perhaps (it's implied) they're the ones who were once Suel humans, become horribly deformed and corrupt due to the desperate surgical rites they used to keep themselves alive. There are also said to be humans who have become ape-like things (perhaps quaggoths?).
Ancient Suloise architecture is distinguished by large domes and minarets. The empire's ancient capital must surely be a place of great forgotten magic.
The Forgotten City is located in a "Ktosor-hep," or dust lake. There, the magical radiation of the lost city has turned the dust into a fluid that can you can dive and swim in, and even breathe air through with the aid of a dust mask. Other ancient Suloise cities have also formed ktosor-heps above them; the nomads make exploring them and stealing ancient treasure part of their rites of manhood.
Purple worms and ankhegs are also found in the Sea of Dust and among the sunken ruins.
I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your inputs on many different subjects. You give your complete heart in all the answers you give and I want to thank you for doing that. Greyhawk is a better place with you helping here in the message boards.
P.
I subscribe to the view that the SoD is inherently an unnatural environment, in detail not unlike the Silt Sea of Dark Sun fame, and maintained by a number of planar (e.g., 1E MMII)/dimensional (e.g., Quag Keep)/temporal (e.g., Chronomacer) rifts that were opened in the course of the Twin Cataclysms. Because of the dimensional and temporal nature of some of the rifts, literally every version of the SoD can be true here or there. This is also why the SoD is so deadly - it is chimeric in its essential nature.
:D
Mike