Beyond the Flanaess - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Beyond the Flanaess

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
carnivorous_ape
Oct 16, 2007 6:47:15 If a new Greyhawk setting does ever come to pass, how much information should there be on the rest of the Oerth? Should Aquaria or the Chainmail setting be included? Should the infamous Dragon Annual map be used?

Personally, I think that the World of Greyhawk should be expanded - but only slightly. I like blank spaces on the map and I like mysteries. More concrete info on nearby lands would expand the setting nicely, but I'd like descriptions of even more distant lands to be vague, fantastical or even unreliable! These might be like fantasy versions of medieval travellers' reports.

I thought Aquaria was pretty boring. Chainmail, although it had some interesting canon aspects (Stratis, the link to Erelhei-Cinlu), was too similar to a standard D&D campaign. Shouldn't lands beyond the Flanaess be, you know, really different from the Flanaess?!

The Dragon Annual map also used names that were real-world analogues, which is just not the Greyhawk way!

Has anyone got any ideas for presenting the rest of the Oerth?
#2
yakman
Oct 17, 2007 10:31:42 I don't think it should be presented, save perhaps a few NPCs, artifacts, from the various far corners of the world. keep it exotic, mysterious, and open for the DM to do whatever they want, or nothing at all.

And throw out the real-world analogues, like the hobgoblin germans and the chinese-style-empire. nothing wrong with chinese-style fantasy, but it was a bit much.
#3
raevyn001
Oct 22, 2007 8:25:09 With the coming of 4th edition and the Points of Light idea, I am setting my upcoming campaign in the former Suel Emperium (now the Sea of Dust). Since the Rain of Colorless Fire, it's been a LOOOOOOOOONG time. Here on Earth, when fire claims an area, it regrows healthy and new. The same principle will apply to the Sea of Dust. I'll be filling out the map from the Hellfurnaces westward to the long north-south mountain range across Oerik (leaving that neat looking "Crows Foot" range of mountains in the middle. I'll have to add some lakes and rivers, and decide how it became inhabitable again (and how the races got there), but it'll be great fun!

I'll be posting stuff now and then here:
http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=939515
and reposting it at my Gleemax site

Great Gaming!
Be well in all things,
Rave
#4
mortellan
Oct 22, 2007 13:56:59 My mood lately changes week to week. Currently after reading this thread I feel perhaps Greyhawk in a reboot scenario could ditch the baggage that the world map brought on. If we stayed with the hints of new lands in the 83 guide there is plenty to develop without having to go into forced cultural analogues. *Shrugs*
#5
yakman
Oct 25, 2007 11:36:40
My mood lately changes week to week. Currently after reading this thread I feel perhaps Greyhawk in a reboot scenario could ditch the baggage that the world map brought on. If we stayed with the hints of new lands in the 83 guide there is plenty to develop without having to go into forced cultural analogues. *Shrugs*

The map itself wasn't a problem. The problem was the labels on the map...

;)

I thought the map itself was quite well done.
#6
Steely_Dan
Oct 26, 2007 5:45:29 Well I know that there is at least one other continent besides Oerik, and that is Oerid. As for the rest of Oerik, the farther west you go the more Asian/Oriental it becomes – south–west is the country of Nippon and the Celestial Sea, hmm, I wonder what that could be like…
#7
carnivorous_ape
Oct 26, 2007 8:49:49 Shaofeng is the new name for the Celestial Imperium in EttRG (similar to Gygax's Sufang Empire mentioned in passing in the Gord books). Hopefully the lame Nippon got changed somewhere in there as well.

I'd like to see Dungeon Magazine's Zahind replace Zindia (or whatever it was). It's a much better name!

Well I know that there is at least one other continent besides Oerik, and that is Oerid. As for the rest of Oerik, the farther west you go the more Asian/Oriental it becomes – south–west is the country of Nippon and the Celestial Sea, hmm, I wonder what that could be like…

#8
ripvanwormer
Oct 30, 2007 18:41:03
The map itself wasn't a problem. The problem was the labels on the map...

;)

I thought the map itself was quite well done.

I like the map except for the westernmost "Chainmail" region, which is a gigantic rectangle with the corners partly cut off. It's so big that it looks out of place, and so openly rectangular that it doesn't look like a real landmass.

Shaofeng is the new name for the Celestial Imperium in EttRG (similar to Gygax's Sufang Empire mentioned in passing in the Gord books). Hopefully the lame Nippon got changed somewhere in there as well.

Not in that book, but Dragon #277 called it Ryuujin. At least, that's most likely what they meant by "Ryuujin."
#9
mxyzplk
Oct 30, 2007 19:43:59 I'd say expand it only a little, basically what's been investigated in Dragon - southerly... Other than that, I don't like the "analogues" hinted at in the world map.
#10
yakman
Oct 30, 2007 21:28:41
I like the map except for the westernmost "Chainmail" region, which is a gigantic rectangle with the corners partly cut off. It's so big that it looks out of place, and so openly rectangular that it doesn't look like a real landmass.

Big isn't a problem necessarily, although those huge spaces in the interior could get rather boring...

I always took the lame coastline as just poor information for the cartographer to work with.
#11
raevyn001
Dec 12, 2007 14:10:25 Hello, Greyhawk fans!

I've finally gotten the Sea of Dust map mostly worked out and a bit of history written. Chek it out by clicking the link in my sig!

Be well in all things,
Rave
#12
raevyn001
Dec 24, 2007 11:14:00 Hello again Greyhawk Fans!

This time, I've started working on populating the Sea of Dust. If yo're still interested, the link in my signature will still get to you to my Gleemax blog.

Good Gaming!
Be well in all things,
Rave
#13
raevyn001
Jan 01, 2008 1:47:02 Hail and Hellos, Greyhawk fans.

I've borrowed from the racial information shared by Korro_Zal in the 4th ed. races forum and detailed the races of the Sea of Dust a bit better (see 5th SoD post). The beginings of "monster races" come to ight in 4th post. The regrown Sea of Dust map (sorry, it's done with Paint! LOL) can be found in post 3. The link in my signature will bring you there!

Be well in all things,
Rave

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 carnivorous_ape Oct 16, 2007 6:47:15	If a new Greyhawk setting does ever come to pass, how much information should there be on the rest of the Oerth? Should Aquaria or the Chainmail setting be included? Should the infamous Dragon Annual map be used? Personally, I think that the World of Greyhawk should be expanded - but only slightly. I like blank spaces on the map and I like mysteries. More concrete info on nearby lands would expand the setting nicely, but I'd like descriptions of even more distant lands to be vague, fantastical or even unreliable! These might be like fantasy versions of medieval travellers' reports. I thought Aquaria was pretty boring. Chainmail, although it had some interesting canon aspects (Stratis, the link to Erelhei-Cinlu), was too similar to a standard D&D campaign. Shouldn't lands beyond the Flanaess be, you know, really different from the Flanaess?! The Dragon Annual map also used names that were real-world analogues, which is just not the Greyhawk way! Has anyone got any ideas for presenting the rest of the Oerth?
#2 yakman Oct 17, 2007 10:31:42	I don't think it should be presented, save perhaps a few NPCs, artifacts, from the various far corners of the world. keep it exotic, mysterious, and open for the DM to do whatever they want, or nothing at all. And throw out the real-world analogues, like the hobgoblin germans and the chinese-style-empire. nothing wrong with chinese-style fantasy, but it was a bit much.
#3 raevyn001 Oct 22, 2007 8:25:09	With the coming of 4th edition and the Points of Light idea, I am setting my upcoming campaign in the former Suel Emperium (now the Sea of Dust). Since the Rain of Colorless Fire, it's been a LOOOOOOOOONG time. Here on Earth, when fire claims an area, it regrows healthy and new. The same principle will apply to the Sea of Dust. I'll be filling out the map from the Hellfurnaces westward to the long north-south mountain range across Oerik (leaving that neat looking "Crows Foot" range of mountains in the middle. I'll have to add some lakes and rivers, and decide how it became inhabitable again (and how the races got there), but it'll be great fun! I'll be posting stuff now and then here: http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=939515 and reposting it at my Gleemax site Great Gaming! Be well in all things, Rave
#4 mortellan Oct 22, 2007 13:56:59	My mood lately changes week to week. Currently after reading this thread I feel perhaps Greyhawk in a reboot scenario could ditch the baggage that the world map brought on. If we stayed with the hints of new lands in the 83 guide there is plenty to develop without having to go into forced cultural analogues. Shrugs
#5 yakman Oct 25, 2007 11:36:40	My mood lately changes week to week. Currently after reading this thread I feel perhaps Greyhawk in a reboot scenario could ditch the baggage that the world map brought on. If we stayed with the hints of new lands in the 83 guide there is plenty to develop without having to go into forced cultural analogues. Shrugs The map itself wasn't a problem. The problem was the labels on the map... ;) I thought the map itself was quite well done.
#6 Steely_Dan Oct 26, 2007 5:45:29	Well I know that there is at least one other continent besides Oerik, and that is Oerid. As for the rest of Oerik, the farther west you go the more Asian/Oriental it becomes – south–west is the country of Nippon and the Celestial Sea, hmm, I wonder what that could be like…
#7 carnivorous_ape Oct 26, 2007 8:49:49	Shaofeng is the new name for the Celestial Imperium in EttRG (similar to Gygax's Sufang Empire mentioned in passing in the Gord books). Hopefully the lame Nippon got changed somewhere in there as well. I'd like to see Dungeon Magazine's Zahind replace Zindia (or whatever it was). It's a much better name! Well I know that there is at least one other continent besides Oerik, and that is Oerid. As for the rest of Oerik, the farther west you go the more Asian/Oriental it becomes – south–west is the country of Nippon and the Celestial Sea, hmm, I wonder what that could be like…
#8 ripvanwormer Oct 30, 2007 18:41:03	The map itself wasn't a problem. The problem was the labels on the map... ;) I thought the map itself was quite well done. I like the map except for the westernmost "Chainmail" region, which is a gigantic rectangle with the corners partly cut off. It's so big that it looks out of place, and so openly rectangular that it doesn't look like a real landmass. Shaofeng is the new name for the Celestial Imperium in EttRG (similar to Gygax's Sufang Empire mentioned in passing in the Gord books). Hopefully the lame Nippon got changed somewhere in there as well. Not in that book, but Dragon #277 called it Ryuujin. At least, that's most likely what they meant by "Ryuujin."
#9 mxyzplk Oct 30, 2007 19:43:59	I'd say expand it only a little, basically what's been investigated in Dragon - southerly... Other than that, I don't like the "analogues" hinted at in the world map.
#10 yakman Oct 30, 2007 21:28:41	I like the map except for the westernmost "Chainmail" region, which is a gigantic rectangle with the corners partly cut off. It's so big that it looks out of place, and so openly rectangular that it doesn't look like a real landmass. Big isn't a problem necessarily, although those huge spaces in the interior could get rather boring... I always took the lame coastline as just poor information for the cartographer to work with.
#11 raevyn001 Dec 12, 2007 14:10:25	Hello, Greyhawk fans! I've finally gotten the Sea of Dust map mostly worked out and a bit of history written. Chek it out by clicking the link in my sig! Be well in all things, Rave
#12 raevyn001 Dec 24, 2007 11:14:00	Hello again Greyhawk Fans! This time, I've started working on populating the Sea of Dust. If yo're still interested, the link in my signature will still get to you to my Gleemax blog. Good Gaming! Be well in all things, Rave
#13 raevyn001 Jan 01, 2008 1:47:02	Hail and Hellos, Greyhawk fans. I've borrowed from the racial information shared by Korro_Zal in the 4th ed. races forum and detailed the races of the Sea of Dust a bit better (see 5th SoD post). The beginings of "monster races" come to ight in 4th post. The regrown Sea of Dust map (sorry, it's done with Paint! LOL) can be found in post 3. The link in my signature will bring you there! Be well in all things, Rave