Oriental Parts of Greyhawk? - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Oriental Parts of Greyhawk?

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
eagleye
Oct 09, 2005 4:21:29 With the thread PHB Monk in a non-oriental setting arose to me the question if there are Oriental-flavored parts of Greyhawk, and if so, where I could find information about the, whether free online or in books..
#2
ripvanwormer
Oct 09, 2005 13:11:25 See http://www.canonfire.com/cfhtml/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=364 for a pretty good overview of Western Oerik, where the Suhfang Empire (also known as the Celestial Imperium) lies.

There's never been a full description of it, unfortunately. You could adopt Kara-Tur or use a fantastic Asian setting from another campaign, like Rokugan, or simply develop it yourself (probably the best solution, if you have the time).
#3
ripvanwormer
Oct 09, 2005 14:26:57 Quite a lot of info on Kara-Tur here, if you want to use it for inspiration.
#4
lincoln_hills
Oct 10, 2005 15:07:09 A (widely disliked) map of the world of Oerik appeared in the Dragon Annual #3 or #4. You'll find a Celestial Imperium far, far southwest of the Sea of Dust, while the island chain of Nihon (and a stretch of mainland, the Nihon Territories) stand south of the great peninsula of Amedio.

Some Greyhawk maps (the one in the LGG is one, I think) have an outline of the continent which corresponds to that older map.

There are a few bits of evidence in the old 1st Edition stuff that there is an Orient somewhere on Oerth - such as encountering Oriental dragons in modules U2 and I1 - but its location, nature, size and degree of contact with the Flanaess has never been detailed. Kara-Tur might once have been considered part of Oerth, but it was officially abducted, Ravenloft-style, and grafted onto Faerun many, many years ago.
#5
ripvanwormer
Oct 10, 2005 17:14:08
A (widely disliked) map of the world of Oerik appeared in the Dragon Annual #3 or #4.

Dragon Annual #1, actually. Pages 72-73.

The map itself isn't bad, though the names and descriptions need a lot of work.

Things that I think Western Oerik absolutely needs are:

- a vague East Asia analogue (vaguer is better - this isn't Earth) for rakshasas, ogre magi, nagas, lung dragons, hobgoblins, and so forth to originate in.
- an Oeridian homeland (the Seven Kingdoms mentioned in the Book of Artifacts)
- a Baklunish homeland (before the Darkness and the Hegira)
- an Olman homeland (like that described in the Olman Manifesto)
- substantial Suel colonies (so their empire wasn't landlocked - perhaps like the ones Tal Meta detailed, though colonies that extended only through the southern Sheldomar would be acceptable)
- a homeland for the "blue-black skinned" people who live in the south and west of the Sea of Dust today.

And somehow this all needs to fit together in a coherent way, which is something that no one has yet succeeded in doing.
#6
zombiegleemax
Oct 10, 2005 18:03:41 I have always placed Kara Tur in Oerth. That's what Kara Tur used to be for before they did an extremely clumsy job of pasting it into the Forgotten Realms.

I've never actually run a game there. I just use its existance as an excuse for when the occasional player wants to play a wandering ninja, samurai or Asian-style fighting monk in the Flanaess.
#7
ripvanwormer
Oct 10, 2005 18:39:17
- an Oeridian homeland (the Seven Kingdoms mentioned in the Book of Artifacts)
- a Baklunish homeland (before the Darkness and the Hegira)

Perhaps the most elegant way to resolve these two is to say that the Oeridian homeland is the present Baklunish lands. Once the Oerid kingdoms stretched from what is now the Dry steppes to Ket, but the Baklunish fleeing the Darkness took the place over and reduced the Oeridians to a marginalized minority in their own lands, kept seperate mainly because of religious differences.

Presently I'm of the opinion that the Baklunish originated from the land marked with a 9 on this map - they're supposed to be Egyptian-style lands, which seems reasonable. Tentatively, I'm calling them "Stygia" - it's a place still consumed with evil over 3200 years after the Hegira. The black-skinned nomads originated in the peninsula marked 10, and have since taken over the regions to both the south and west of the Sea of Dust, as well as much of the Sea of Dust itself, driving the Olmans east.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 eagleye Oct 09, 2005 4:21:29	With the thread PHB Monk in a non-oriental setting arose to me the question if there are Oriental-flavored parts of Greyhawk, and if so, where I could find information about the, whether free online or in books..
#2 ripvanwormer Oct 09, 2005 13:11:25	See http://www.canonfire.com/cfhtml/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=364 for a pretty good overview of Western Oerik, where the Suhfang Empire (also known as the Celestial Imperium) lies. There's never been a full description of it, unfortunately. You could adopt Kara-Tur or use a fantastic Asian setting from another campaign, like Rokugan, or simply develop it yourself (probably the best solution, if you have the time).
#3 ripvanwormer Oct 09, 2005 14:26:57	Quite a lot of info on Kara-Tur here, if you want to use it for inspiration.
#4 lincoln_hills Oct 10, 2005 15:07:09	A (widely disliked) map of the world of Oerik appeared in the Dragon Annual #3 or #4. You'll find a Celestial Imperium far, far southwest of the Sea of Dust, while the island chain of Nihon (and a stretch of mainland, the Nihon Territories) stand south of the great peninsula of Amedio. Some Greyhawk maps (the one in the LGG is one, I think) have an outline of the continent which corresponds to that older map. There are a few bits of evidence in the old 1st Edition stuff that there is an Orient somewhere on Oerth - such as encountering Oriental dragons in modules U2 and I1 - but its location, nature, size and degree of contact with the Flanaess has never been detailed. Kara-Tur might once have been considered part of Oerth, but it was officially abducted, Ravenloft-style, and grafted onto Faerun many, many years ago.
#5 ripvanwormer Oct 10, 2005 17:14:08	A (widely disliked) map of the world of Oerik appeared in the Dragon Annual #3 or #4. Dragon Annual #1, actually. Pages 72-73. The map itself isn't bad, though the names and descriptions need a lot of work. Things that I think Western Oerik absolutely needs are: - a vague East Asia analogue (vaguer is better - this isn't Earth) for rakshasas, ogre magi, nagas, lung dragons, hobgoblins, and so forth to originate in. - an Oeridian homeland (the Seven Kingdoms mentioned in the Book of Artifacts) - a Baklunish homeland (before the Darkness and the Hegira) - an Olman homeland (like that described in the Olman Manifesto) - substantial Suel colonies (so their empire wasn't landlocked - perhaps like the ones Tal Meta detailed, though colonies that extended only through the southern Sheldomar would be acceptable) - a homeland for the "blue-black skinned" people who live in the south and west of the Sea of Dust today. And somehow this all needs to fit together in a coherent way, which is something that no one has yet succeeded in doing.
#6 zombiegleemax Oct 10, 2005 18:03:41	I have always placed Kara Tur in Oerth. That's what Kara Tur used to be for before they did an extremely clumsy job of pasting it into the Forgotten Realms. I've never actually run a game there. I just use its existance as an excuse for when the occasional player wants to play a wandering ninja, samurai or Asian-style fighting monk in the Flanaess.
#7 ripvanwormer Oct 10, 2005 18:39:17	- an Oeridian homeland (the Seven Kingdoms mentioned in the Book of Artifacts) - a Baklunish homeland (before the Darkness and the Hegira) Perhaps the most elegant way to resolve these two is to say that the Oeridian homeland is the present Baklunish lands. Once the Oerid kingdoms stretched from what is now the Dry steppes to Ket, but the Baklunish fleeing the Darkness took the place over and reduced the Oeridians to a marginalized minority in their own lands, kept seperate mainly because of religious differences. Presently I'm of the opinion that the Baklunish originated from the land marked with a 9 on this map - they're supposed to be Egyptian-style lands, which seems reasonable. Tentatively, I'm calling them "Stygia" - it's a place still consumed with evil over 3200 years after the Hegira. The black-skinned nomads originated in the peninsula marked 10, and have since taken over the regions to both the south and west of the Sea of Dust, as well as much of the Sea of Dust itself, driving the Olmans east.