Is there some unique PC race? Such as Rakasta and Sidhe for Mystara, Kender and Minotaur for Krinn, Hengeyokai and Svirfneblin for Toril, Vistani for Ravenloft, Giff and Rastipede for Spelljammer, Genasi and Tieflings for Planescape, Halfdragon and Dragon for Io's Blood...
Can you tell me a GH PC race that no other D&D game setting uses?
I started playing in the Known World, today better known as Mystara. Then I expanded my horizonts, to Ravenloft, Spelljammer and Planescape. The center of my Prime Material Plane was and is Mystara, but I'd like to allow my players to meet some "characteristic" guy from other D&D worlds, such as Grayhawk.
Is there some unique PC race? Such as Rakasta and Sidhe for Mystara, Kender and Minotaur for Krinn, Hengeyokai and Svirfneblin for Toril, Vistani for Ravenloft, Giff and Rastipede for Spelljammer, Genasi and Tieflings for Planescape, Halfdragon and Dragon for Io's Blood...
Can you tell me a GH PC race that no other D&D game setting uses?
Well first off it's Greyhawk.
Unfortunately, GH being the "coreworld" (AKA the world ripped off by everyone else), there isn't alot to choose from. They've all been co-opted by by other settings for the most part. Drow originated on GH but seem to be identified with FR. I'm venting, sorry, we Hawkers tend to do that. I'd say the Rhenee are your best bet. They are human (allegedly) but they are unique to Greyhawk afaik.from http://members.aol.com/dmwog/races.html
Rhenee
The Rhennee are Gypsy barge folk nearly always found within a few hundred feet of one of the three major lakes or navigable rivers which feed or drain them. Occassionally they will be encountered in their secret camping and meeting grounds which are up to five miles from water.
Rhennee resemble Oeridians except they tend to have dark brown or black curly hair. They are shorter than average (about 5' 6" tall on the whole) and slender but quite wiry and strong. Rhennee folklore claims that their race came to Oerth by accident, their home plane being quite different. Thus, legend says, the Rhennee roamed about on horseback and in wagons, but in their new home, conditions were so dangerous as to force them to take to the water to survive. Nobles claim descent from legendary leaders of the lost tribe, while the ordinary Rhennee are descended from the common folk of the tribe.
A third sort of Rhennee folk exist, although they are most rare. They are land wanderers who claim to be the only, "true" Rheno-folk because they have not changed their way of life since coming to the Flanaess from Rhop, homeland of the lost Rhennee.
Rhennee are neutral and have a strict code of their own. They will always seem open and friendly but are actually very cautious, suspicious, and scheming. They gladly lie to, cheat, and steal from any and all non-Rhennee. If necessary, they have no compunctions about killing.
The Rhennee do some small amount of mercantile shipping, passenger hauling, trading, craft work, fishing, and hunting. They know such work as tinkering and the like. They will never work when they can steal, nor will they deal squarely when they can cheat. Amongst themselves, however (and those who are taken into the folk by adoption), they are usually honest.
When needed, Rhennee steal young children to fill their ranks. Stolen children are raised as and become "natural" Rhennee. Similarly, outsiders who do some great service for the Rhennee are taken into the folk and sometimes accorded great status (equal to a noble, possibly).
Beastman (they are also a PC race in Mystara for Old D&D and some year later a PC race for all worlds with Complete Humanodis Handbook!)
Beetle (I'd like to know a world without beetles!)
Brownies (ok, maybe GH are specific subraces... but brownies are in all D&D worlds, but Athas, maybe)
Crypt Think (it appears in official Monstous Compendium hardcover)
Mist, Cloud and Shadow Dragons (as Crypt Think)
Dragonfly (they are real world insects, like beetles; I think they should be in all D&D worlds)
Voadkyn (they are in Complete Humanoids Handbook and in my party a remember at least 1 PC wood giant!)
Gremlin (as beastmen, they was a PC race in Mystara Old D&D long before the 2nd edition of AD&D)
Ok.... and so on! ;)
http://members.aol.com/dmwog/races.html
This link is exiting! I liked it so much! I think I'll put it in my favoured!
Beastman (they are also a PC race in Mystara for Old D&D and some year later a PC race for all worlds with Complete Humanodis Handbook!)
Though they share a name, Mystaran beastmen are not the same race as the beastmen of Greyhawk. Mystaran beastmen are the ancestors of orcs, goblins, and ogres, an infinitely variable species where no beastman looks the same as the last. They live in the arctic North. Greyhawk beastmen are uniformly green-furred humanoids of approximately the same size. They have nothing to do with orcs or goblinoids. They dwell in the steamy jungles of the South. Greyhawk beastmen reject all magic and religion, while Mystaran beastmen worship the Immortals.
While Beastmen did appear in The Complete Book of Humanoids, I don't think they have an official place in any world but Greyhawk. They qualify as a uniquely Greyhawk race.
Other unique Greyhawk races include xvarts, norkers, qullans, valley elf, animus, grigaurs, losels, swordwraiths, dakons, nauskiree, phalanx vermin, marodin, su-monkeys, thousandteeth, crystalmists, true ghouls, ravenouses, oncos, bredthralls, thassalosses, and vaati.
Although ostensibly generic, races that haven't been placed in any other D&D worlds to my knowledge include high elves, gray elves, avolakias, and spawn of Kyuss.
Other unique Greyhawk races include xvarts, norkers, qullans, valley elf, animus, grigaurs, losels, swordwraiths, dakons, nauskiree, phalanx vermin, marodin, su-monkeys, thousandteeth, crystalmists, true ghouls, ravenouses, oncos, bredthralls, thassalosses, and vaati.
Xvarts are from Fiend Folio, and I used them as a minor goblinoid monster in some Mystara underdark adventure. And they are blue skinned!
Vaati are from Rod of 7 parts, and I played it too in Mystara, changing some feature (The Queen of Chaos was a Thanatos' pawn). They are blue skinned too!
I don't remember the others (ok, I know what is an elf!).
Actually, grey elves are not in any fantasy world I know...
In Spelljammer they could be the best choose for a Grayhawk tipical race.
And in Ravenloft I could use many Rhennee, as they are similar to Vistani...
Xvarts are from Fiend Folio, and I used them as a minor goblinoid monster in some Mystara underdark adventure. And they are blue skinned!
Yep, but they're pretty distinctively Greyhawk creatures. Their deity, Raxivort, is a god only described in Greyhawk supplements. They've appeared in some generic sourcebooks, but they've only been officially used on Oerth to my knowledge.
Vaati are from Rod of 7 parts, and I played it too in Mystara, changing some feature (The Queen of Chaos was a Thanatos' pawn). They are blue skinned too!
They're black-skinned, actually. They've appeared in the Mahasarpa campaign, which was a web-enhancement for Oriental Adventures, and they were supposed to have ruled over many worlds and planes. Even so, they're closely associated with the Greyhawk campaign - there's a site there called the Eternal Storm of the Wind Dukes, for example, several vaati heroes are buried in the Cairn Hills, and it's been established that the Plains of Pesh, where the final battle between the vaati and the Queen of Chaos took place, were what is now called the Bandit Kingdoms on the world of Greyhawk.
Norkers are fanged, bald hobgoblins.
Animuses are a kind of undead created by priests of Hextor, using secrets revealed to them by the pit fiend Baalzephon.
Avolakias are worm-like, buglike aberrations who worship the hero-god Kyuss.
Marodin are plant-people native to the Duchy of Berghof.
Bredthralls are bestial creatures created by the Scarlet Brotherhood's eugenic experiments on their human slaves.
Thassalosses are skeletal juggernauts created by minions of Iuz.
Losels are crosses between orcs and baboons.
Dakons are intelligent chimpanzees.
True ghouls (also called shadow ghouls) are intelligent undead who rule a kingdom in the Underdark that they call the White Kingdom.
Qullans are tattooed giants created by the Greyhawk version of the Egg of Coot in the Archbarony of Blackmoor. Here's a conversion.
Phalanx vermin are unintelligent humanoid insects.
Thousandteeth are hideous mutant medusae.
Crystalmists are sparkling beings of light native to the Crystalmist Mountains.
The elves of the Greyhawk campaign are divided into high elves, gray elves, valley elves, sylvan elves, rockseer elves, snow elves, drow, and grugach. Other campaign worlds divide their elves up in different ways.
Just like with spells. Mages explicitly from the GH campaign (Mordenkainen, Tenser, Rary, Melf, Otiluke, Otto, Nystul, etc) have "their" spells in generic material because there was no reason to distinquish "generic" from "GH" as far as spells and creatures go.
Neither TSR nor WotC has made any effort to keep creatures "unique" to a particular campaign world. Even the highly unique Ebberon creations are appearing in "generic" material. Just because Warforged appear in Monster Manual LXVIII (or whatever they are up to these days....), doesn't mean they aren't an Ebberon specific race.
Similarly, many creatures created for GH specific products have been added to generic products later. Drow, Kuo-Toa, and Svirfneblin were all introduced in GH specific material *then* added to the 1e era Fiend Folio.
Personally, for your purposes I'd go with a Dakon (except that there isn't a 3.5 conversion for them officially, afaik). The GH specific elves are still elves and you'd have to make a big deal out of it to establish that these are "Oerth" elves and not some other elves. The other creatures are "monsters" primarily and harder to use for RP situations. Norkers are a good choice for a humanoid enemy type from Oerth.
Yep, but they're pretty distinctively Greyhawk creatures. Their deity, Raxivort, is a god only described in Greyhawk supplements. They've appeared in some generic sourcebooks, but they've only been officially used on Oerth to my knowledge.
Lol, Okay, who xvarted? :D
They are now called BLUES and appear in the psionics handbook. I just happened to be reading about an FR Underdark city calleed Brikklext earlier today run by these guys and I had to look it up.
As and old Greyhawk DM and player, I can assure you that FR has stolen EVERYTHING.
The Rhennee aren't very original, just river humans
and valley Elves are also pretty bland, just Elves that go around saying things like "Oh M'god! Like NO way. Fer sure. gnarley. Gag me with a spoon, that is sooo tubular"
I think the Dakon appeared in Spelljammer too, i know they had two 'monkey' races.
I say stick with the Undead from Aerdi - Animus, I know they don't appear anywhere else.
You could also have your players run into Iuz, he's kinda one-of-a-kind. ;)
They are now called BLUES and appear in the psionics handbook.
No, the blues are a completely different race. Blues are goblinoids and xvarts aren't. Blues are neutral evil and xvarts are chaotic evil. Xvarts are mostly bald and blues have hair. Xvarts have orange eyes and blues have blue eyes. Xvarts have a bonus to dexterity and blues have a bonus to intelligence. Most importantly, blues are all psionic and xvarts generally aren't.
Xvarts were detailed most recently in Dragon #339 (as a Greyhawk race). Other Greyhawk monsters detailed in that issue include the animus, the blindheim, the Suel lich, and the Greyhawk dragon.
I think the Dakon appeared in Spelljammer too, i know they had two 'monkey' races.
No, you're thinking of hadozee and grommams.
(Vaati)They're black-skinned, actually.
I tought them blue skinned becouse I saw this image in Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume 4
Reading again their description, the are "ebony skinned"... so I'm thinking why the picture is so...blue!
Personally, for your purposes I'd go with a Dakon (except that there isn't a 3.5 conversion for them officially, afaik). The GH specific elves are still elves and you'd have to make a big deal out of it to establish that these are "Oerth" elves and not some other elves. The other creatures are "monsters" primarily and harder to use for RP situations. Norkers are a good choice for a humanoid enemy type from Oerth.
Are Dakon a PC race? In AD&D2ed? I'm not concerned with 3.x, I simply don't like it.
In Spelljammer we have Haddozes and Grommams, 2 PC race of monkey-like humanoids (actually, Grommams look exactly like gorillas). But I'm not afraid of that:another monkey-race is just welcome in a sooooooo big wildspace!
Do you know the 1e or 2e handbook in wich I can find about Dakons?
Half dragons, genasi, and tieflings litter the Forgotten Realms in droves. The Planetouched races get their own section in Races of Faerun, IIRC.
Its sadly difficult to get much in the way of an 'iconic' race for the main campaign worlds. Mystara is blessed that way mainly because it used the Basic/Expert/etc D&D rules instead of the 1e and 2e rules.
Hmm, a PC race? That's tricky. Greyhawk doesn't have any 'variant' PC races as the base rules were written by the same persons who developed the Greyhawk campaign. There is material on the Dakon in 1 and 2e books, but not with the intent that they be for player characters.
Dragon Magazine #187 had "The Ecology of the Dakon," which talked about what sorts of character classes they could belong to and so forth.
Reading again their description, the are "ebony skinned"... so I'm thinking why the picture is so...blue!
The reflection of the sky, I'm thinking.
Dragon Magazine #187 had "The Ecology of the Dakon," which talked about what sorts of character classes they could belong to and so forth.
Interesting! I've just read the ecology, but, of course, there is no hint dakons are a GH creature! Instead, they are presented like a jungle people, or maybe an ape people for Spelljammer like Grommams and Hadozees (they know each other, as they have enstablished good relations). So, one could argue they are a spelljamming minor race!
Thanks to you I know they are a Greyhawk race and I'll introduce them in my Spelljamming multiverse as such, with a strong Oerthian link.
Interesting! I've just read the ecology, but, of course, there is no hint dakons are a GH creature! Instead, they are presented like a jungle people, or maybe an ape people for Spelljammer like Grommams and Hadozees
For more about the Dakons and their history on GH, read the article of Roger Moore (p.15-16 especially) in the Oerth Journal vol.4 (available on CanonFire)
I would also say that the Winged Folk were original to the Greyhawk setting but were stolen by the realms as well.
I would also say that the Winged Folk were original to the Greyhawk setting but were stolen by the realms as well.
I don't think so. The Winged Folks were first discussed in an article by W. Lenox in Dragon #51. I just re-read said article and it makes no mention whatsoever of a location (or deity) which can be tied to GH (or FR for that matter).
In short, they were just a new "generic" race for adventurers.
Mike
Has there been any info on Valley Elves in 3.5?
I would also say that the Winged Folk were original to the Greyhawk setting but were stolen by the realms as well.
I don't think so. The Winged Folks were first discussed in an article by W. Lenox in Dragon #51. I just re-read said article and it makes no mention whatsoever of a location (or deity) which can be tied to GH (or FR for that matter).
In short, they were just a new "generic" race for adventurers.
In the LGG, p. 143, it says:
Lortmil Mountains: This low chain of mountains, fading into hills with age, is the homeland of many dwarves, gnomes, and venturesome halflings, as well as a few winged folk and scattered human enclaves.
I assume by "winged folk," they actually mean aarakocra; however, it is a vague and general enough statement that it could mean either winged folk specifically, or generically, ie, any type of humanoid creatures with wings. Either way, it suits me just fine, as I have a winged folk fighter/illusionist...
In the LGG, p. 143, it says:
I assume by "winged folk," they actually mean aarakocra; however, it is a vague and general enough statement that it could mean either winged folk specifically, or generically, ie, any type of humanoid creatures with wings. Either way, it suits me just fine, as I have a winged folk fighter/illusionist...
If they meant the Winged Folk that look like an elf/angel crossbreed, then it would be retrofitting as previous editions of WoG never mentioned them.
I do think they meant aarakocra because that would create a link to the old UK7 Dark Clouds Gather module. The first mods of the UK series were all set in WoG and, while the next batch was "generic" enough to be played in any setting, I like to think they were designed for WoG first and foremost.
Just my personal opinion though
Given the adventure includes a flying castle, I deemed it "high" enough.
Plus, the village where they torture the bird-man smelled strongly of medieval society unlike what you can encounter on the Thillonrian Peninsula. Personally, I place it near Gran March.
I assume by "winged folk," they actually mean aarakocra
If they had meant aarakocra, I'm sure they would have said so. The only race ever called the Winged Folk are the al karak elam.
I mean, technically dragons are "winged folk," too. So are giant bees. If it isn't referring to the race specifically given that title in Dragon Magazine, the term is impossibly vague.
I propose the aerie-city of Myrravin, from Dragon #233, be set in the Lortmils. It doesn't fit in the Forgotten Realms anyway, since they only have one city in that campaign setting, and it's in the far north. It fits in the Lortmils very well, though; the terrain is difficult and unexplored enough to be isolated, but close enough to send wingless children to be fostered in Celene or the Duchy of Ulek.
However, there are aarakocra in the Lortmils as well. According to the Player's Guide to Greyhawk, aarakocra are found primarily in the Lortmils and in and around the Thillonrian Peninsula. So UK7 could be easily set in either locale.
Gremlin (as beastmen, they was a PC race in Mystara Old D&D long before the 2nd edition of AD&D)
Ripvanwormer already commented on the Beastmen, but I thought I'd point out that the OD&D Gremlins are very different from the AD&D Gremlins. The OD&D (Moldvay) Gremlins, originally from X2: Castle Amber, are a pretty unique creature that I've never really seen an equivalent of. (There is some sort of undead creatures in, IIRC, the MMII or III for 3E that had some probability manipulation type of abilities, but that's the closest I've seen).
There were even a couple of different types of gremlin in AD&D- gremlins and fremlins (the Fremlins are the type that got included as a possible PC race in the Complete Humanoids' Handbook).
Non-Mystaran gremlins first appeared in the November 1983 issue of Dragon Magazine, where they were presented as spellcasting faeries native to Earth circa 1945, when the atomic bombing of Hiroshima transported them into the world of Dungeons and Dragons. A gremlin with a similar origin appeared in WG7 Castle Greyhawk (1987). The WG7 gremlin, however, was nearly identical statistically to the X2 Tom Moldvay gremlin, though its "unluck" power worked differently.
I'm not sure what the metagame origin of the gremlin, fremlin, and galltrit in the Monstrous Compendium: Greyhawk Appendix was. In-game, it said only they came from an "unknown plane of existence."
Planes of Chaos (1994) established AD&D gremlins and galltrits as natives of the Abyss, so I wouldn't consider them to be a Greyhawk-specific race. Jermlaines do have an Oerth-specific origin (gnomes altered by the sorceries of the Suel Imperium).
The jovac, a kind of minor demon from the 3rd edition Monster Manual II has an unluck ability somewhat like that of the X2 gremlin.
A gremlin with a similar origin appeared in WG7 Castle Greyhawk (1987). The WG7 gremlin, however, was nearly identical statistically to the X2 Tom Moldvay gremlin, though its "unluck" power worked differently.
Now that's interesting. I didn't know that anything like Moldvay's appeared anywhere else. I knew about the earlier Dragon gremlin (which I don't believe is similar, and your description seems to jibe with that recollection). I'll have to see if I can't get a copy of WG7 somewhere to check it out. I'm a big fan of the Moldvay version of the gremlins (probably due to my long-abiding love for X2 in general).
I'm not sure what the metagame origin of the gremlin, fremlin, and galltrit in the Monstrous Compendium: Greyhawk Appendix was.
I always assumed they were holdovers from 1st edition somehow. Were they new creations for 2E?
Planes of Chaos (1994) established AD&D gremlins and galltrits as natives of the Abyss, so I wouldn't consider them to be a Greyhawk-specific race.
That is kind of weird. I'd have assumed something like Limbo or Pandemonium would be more suitable, if you're going to make them extraplanar. Though I guess I'm still thinking of the Moldvay version, which is more of a nuisance than sinister.
The jovac, a kind of minor demon from the 3rd edition Monster Manual II has an unluck ability somewhat like that of the X2 gremlin.
I do have the MMII, so I'll have to check that one out when I get home.
I always assumed they were holdovers from 1st edition somehow. Were they new creations for 2E?
Yes, I think so.
A warning about WG7: the gremlin there is called "striper" and is armed with a machine gun. It's currently dwelling in a dungeon level ruled by a mutant character from the Andy Griffith Show, who stole it from Willy Wonka.
That is kind of weird. I'd have assumed something like Limbo or Pandemonium would be more suitable, if you're going to make them extraplanar. Though I guess I'm still thinking of the Moldvay version, which is more of a nuisance than sinister.
Yeah, the AD&D gremlin is chaotic evil, more like the purely malevolent ones from the movie than the tricksters of urban legend. Fremlins are much nicer, but they're mutants, or crossbreeds, or something.
If they meant the Winged Folk that look like an elf/angel crossbreed, then it would be retrofitting as previous editions of WoG never mentioned them.
I do think they meant aarakocra because that would create a link to the old UK7 Dark Clouds Gather module. The first mods of the UK series were all set in WoG and, while the next batch was "generic" enough to be played in any setting, I like to think they were designed for WoG first and foremost.
Just my personal opinion though
When I first read that entry, I was a little surprised, as I'd never seen "winged folk" referred to in that manner in the Lortmils; I knew they had aarakocra, so I had wondered if it was just a catch-all term that was meant to include both aarakocra and winged folk, so maybe there was a little retrofitting...
If they had meant aarakocra, I'm sure they would have said so. The only race ever called the Winged Folk are the al karak elam.
I mean, technically dragons are "winged folk," too. So are giant bees. If it isn't referring to the race specifically given that title in Dragon Magazine, the term is impossibly vague.
However, there are aarakocra in the Lortmils as well. According to the Player's Guide to Greyhawk, aarakocra are found primarily in the Lortmils and in and around the Thillonrian Peninsula. So UK7 could be easily set in either locale.
"Impossibly vague" is right. That's why I thought it referred to more than just the aarakocra, though not necessarily dragons or giant bees. I was thinking more in terms of winged humanoids, so that would rule out quite a few winged creatures, methinks...
I placed Dark Clouds Gather in the Barbarian states. The amount of snowfall in the adventure seemed to indicate an area pretty far north.
A writer for Living Greyhawk used some of the material in the module to fit Dark Clouds in Sterich for a Sheldomar Valley module.
Mike
but I m very proud about picture;) (not 100% mine:D ) ANTECS: ccg based insectman, native to marshes
Has there been any info on Valley Elves in 3.5?
I would also say that the Winged Folk were original to the Greyhawk setting but were stolen by the realms as well.
3.0 stats are in LGJ #2, the most rare issue of them due to the map.
LIVING GREYHAWK Journal [Volume 1, Number 2; Spring 591 CY, November 2000]
Enchiridion of the Fiend Sage
By Sean K Reynolds
Details and updates to Third Edition the animus, the valley elf, bullywug savant, and the grigaur.
Most are Rgr/Wiz, they gain +4 on disguise when disguising as a human, -2 to diplomacy, Gather info and intimitdate vs other elves. Else the same as High elves. (but cannot be clerics of the seldarine)
ok fine, fur sure, fur sure,
she's a valley elf, and there is no cure....
--Eric
I think "winged folk" might refer to a Dragon article way back (pre #100) that detailed "the Winged Folk' who looked like humans with wings.
--Eric
That's the Al Karak Elam, from Dragon #51. The illustrations made them look like winged humans, but the text described them as winged half-elves. The avariel were explicitly identified with the Al Karak Elam in Planes of Conflict.
But I note the World of Greyhawk boxed set says "aarakocra" in the exact same context (the description of the Lortmils) that the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer says "winged folk," so maybe they just meant aarakocra after all.
Even so, the Lortmils would be a perfect place to put the Al Karak/avariel - mountainous and isolated, yet still close to the elven nations.
Or, of course, raptorans if you use them.