Monsters of Faerun in Greyhawk? - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Monsters of Faerun in Greyhawk?

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
zombiegleemax
Nov 21, 2003 16:56:50 I only got into Greyhawk with the third edition but I was into Forgotten Realms before then and I was just wondering; how generic are the monsters in the book "Monsters of Faerun"? I only have the LGG so I don't know if these are specific Realms monster or simply generic ones.

Specifically, I'm wondering about the Quaggoth, Phaerlin Giant, and the Tyrantfog Zombie.

Thanx
#2
OleOneEye
Nov 21, 2003 17:13:53 Quaggoth are an old DnD monster that appear on old Greyhawk encounter tables. They are certainly a monster that inhabits the Oerth, Crystalmists if memory serves.

All of the monster entries in Monsters of Faerun are generically written, just ignore the "In the Realms" section. Some monsters that are definitely on Oerth include: Aarakocra, Bullywug, Darkenbeast, Shadow Dragon, Fog Giant, Leucrotta, Peryton, and Quaggoth. All of these have been mentioned in one or more Greyhawk product.
#3
grodog
Nov 22, 2003 1:48:47 I've used plenty of monsters created by Ed Greenwood, Roger Moore, and others in my GH games.

A ton of excellent ones have been published over the years in Dragon, especially in the two Creature Catalogs (in issues 89 [though sadly not in the Archive CDs], 94, and 101), and the older Dragon's Bestiary columns (where a lot of Ed Greenwood's creations first appeared).
#4
despotrix
Nov 24, 2003 6:34:24 There's really, IMO, nothing campaign specific about monsters, so if you find monsters you like in FR products, or Dragonlance, or Sovereign Stone, or Scarred Lands, etc, there's really no problem in dropping out the setting specifics they give and adapting them to Greyhawk.

Of course, there's always monsters that have a flavor that isn't generally considered appropriate for Greyhawk, such as Giant Space Hamsters or Kender, but for your homegame, their usefulness is your call.
#5
doran_kess
Nov 28, 2003 13:37:36 Bullywugs are Greyhawk-specific monsters yet they only appear in Monsters of Faerun.

Come on! EVERY good campaign set around a marsh in Greyhawk should have Bullywugs! :D
#6
zombiegleemax
Nov 30, 2003 23:00:23 Hi there!

I've had a look at the 1e Monster Manuals. The following are genuine 1e monsters not related to FR:
Aaracokra, Black Abishai, Blue Abishai, Bullywug, Firenewt, Giant Strider (Firenewt Steed), Gibberling, Hybsil, Leucrotta, Meazel, Peryton, Quaggoth, Revenant, Shadow Dragon, Wemic, Wereshark, Yochlol.

Most of the others can be introduced to Greyhawk quite easily, though some obviously need a name change (Banelar, Banelich, etc). At a glance, I would personally not use any of the following, since they inherently have a strong FR flavor: Phaerimm, Sharn, Tomb Tapper.
Contrary to OleOneEye's view, you should not ignore the "In the realms" section, as it can give you clues on where to place the creatures in the Flanaess. For instance, the Aaracokra's supposedly origin in FR is Maztica - in Greyhawk the Amedio Jungle, the Olman islands, or Hepmonaland would fit nicely as places of their origin. Btw, the Greyhawk Player's Guide (TSR9578) place the greatest Aarakocra colonies around the Thillonrian Peninsula and the Lortmils.

Now to your particular monsters:
Quaggoth: no problems to place them anywhere in Greyhawk.

Tyrantfog Zombie: Since this creature is disease related, replace the Iyachtu Xvim entries with Incabulos (or just ignore it). They have been "struck down by the power of other evil deities" but in Greyhawk divine intervention is virtually unheard of, so I interpret it as worshippers of evil deities being killed by priests of other evil deities, particularly in conjunction with poisonous clouds and fogs.

Phaerlin giant: Hmmmm, creatures of the underdark, who were once stone giants warped by powerful magic. Here's my try on a conversion to Greyhawk context:
Right before the Twin Cataclysms the stone giants in the Suel empire, sensing the foreboding events about to happen, shut themselves in the caves they used to inhabit, most of them going deeper to wait for the events to unfold and return to the surface thereafter. Many of them however disregarded their shamans' advice and stayed close to the surface.
They paid a high price when the Rain of Colorless Fire fell to earth and even reached the outskirts of the Crystalmists and the other mountain ranges bordering the Suel Empire. The substance trickled through the rock and drenched their habitat; the stone giants' screams of pain and agony reverberated through the caves. So loud were the screams that their unscathed kin many miles further down were unable to shut their ears and blanken their tortured minds, these stone giant tribes to this day remember the event once a year and remind themselves who is to blame for the horror and why humans are to be loathed.
The magic unleashed was so powerful that the initial contact with the substance transformed the survivors in the upper caves in the years to come into the pitiful shadows of their former proud race. The Suel giants, as they are called nowadays, are a rare sight, even in the lands due east of the Crystalmists, for their former brethren usually attack and slay them on sight out of mercy.

I hope that'll be helpful to some of you.

Glorfinden
#7
zombiegleemax
Dec 03, 2003 13:26:50 Actually I believe the Aarakocra first appeared in the module, Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun. They were meant to live high in the mountains and appear during an encounter outside the Gnome Vale which was in the midst of a mountain range in Perrenland.

I used the Phaerlin Giant with an adventure I ran in the Corusk Mountains. Basically they were corrupted by an ancient artifact that was a helm created from a stone giant skull. This artifact was discovered by an illithid who was using it gather an army of stone giants using the artifact's corrupting magic. My group was sought out by a stone giant shaman to help free his people and destroy the artifact.

The whole point of this was not only to expand on the Thillonrian peninsula but to answer how the (Ur)Flan created such huge mountain fortresses in this area, basically by enslaving stone giants. In order to destroy the giant's helm the party eventually had to trek into the Griffs and find Skrellingshald.
#8
grodog
Dec 04, 2003 20:52:04
Originally posted by Lassiviren
Actually I believe the Aarakocra first appeared in the module, Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun. They were meant to live high in the mountains and appear during an encounter outside the Gnome Vale which was in the midst of a mountain range in Perrenland.

The Annis and Boggart both originated in WG4, and while the Aarakocra do appear in WG4 The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun (1982), they were first published in the 1e Fiend Folio (1980). They were created by Lawrence Schick, but I don't know offhand if they were published prior to the Fiend Folio (in White Dwarf or elsewhere).
#9
zombiegleemax
May 18, 2004 16:27:00 That makes me wonder, are there beholders in Greyhawk?
#10
mortellan
May 18, 2004 16:32:12 WGR3: Rary the Traitor

I believe the beholder, Father Eye who lives in the Abbor Alz Hills is courted by Rary as an ally.
#11
faraer
May 18, 2004 19:14:22 There certainly are beholders in Greyhawk! Terry Kuntz created them while playing in the original Greyhawk Campaign.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Nov 21, 2003 16:56:50	I only got into Greyhawk with the third edition but I was into Forgotten Realms before then and I was just wondering; how generic are the monsters in the book "Monsters of Faerun"? I only have the LGG so I don't know if these are specific Realms monster or simply generic ones. Specifically, I'm wondering about the Quaggoth, Phaerlin Giant, and the Tyrantfog Zombie. Thanx
#2 OleOneEye Nov 21, 2003 17:13:53	Quaggoth are an old DnD monster that appear on old Greyhawk encounter tables. They are certainly a monster that inhabits the Oerth, Crystalmists if memory serves. All of the monster entries in Monsters of Faerun are generically written, just ignore the "In the Realms" section. Some monsters that are definitely on Oerth include: Aarakocra, Bullywug, Darkenbeast, Shadow Dragon, Fog Giant, Leucrotta, Peryton, and Quaggoth. All of these have been mentioned in one or more Greyhawk product.
#3 grodog Nov 22, 2003 1:48:47	I've used plenty of monsters created by Ed Greenwood, Roger Moore, and others in my GH games. A ton of excellent ones have been published over the years in Dragon, especially in the two Creature Catalogs (in issues 89 [though sadly not in the Archive CDs], 94, and 101), and the older Dragon's Bestiary columns (where a lot of Ed Greenwood's creations first appeared).
#4 despotrix Nov 24, 2003 6:34:24	There's really, IMO, nothing campaign specific about monsters, so if you find monsters you like in FR products, or Dragonlance, or Sovereign Stone, or Scarred Lands, etc, there's really no problem in dropping out the setting specifics they give and adapting them to Greyhawk. Of course, there's always monsters that have a flavor that isn't generally considered appropriate for Greyhawk, such as Giant Space Hamsters or Kender, but for your homegame, their usefulness is your call.
#5 doran_kess Nov 28, 2003 13:37:36	Bullywugs are Greyhawk-specific monsters yet they only appear in Monsters of Faerun. Come on! EVERY good campaign set around a marsh in Greyhawk should have Bullywugs! :D
#6 zombiegleemax Nov 30, 2003 23:00:23	Hi there! I've had a look at the 1e Monster Manuals. The following are genuine 1e monsters not related to FR: Aaracokra, Black Abishai, Blue Abishai, Bullywug, Firenewt, Giant Strider (Firenewt Steed), Gibberling, Hybsil, Leucrotta, Meazel, Peryton, Quaggoth, Revenant, Shadow Dragon, Wemic, Wereshark, Yochlol. Most of the others can be introduced to Greyhawk quite easily, though some obviously need a name change (Banelar, Banelich, etc). At a glance, I would personally not use any of the following, since they inherently have a strong FR flavor: Phaerimm, Sharn, Tomb Tapper. Contrary to OleOneEye's view, you should not ignore the "In the realms" section, as it can give you clues on where to place the creatures in the Flanaess. For instance, the Aaracokra's supposedly origin in FR is Maztica - in Greyhawk the Amedio Jungle, the Olman islands, or Hepmonaland would fit nicely as places of their origin. Btw, the Greyhawk Player's Guide (TSR9578) place the greatest Aarakocra colonies around the Thillonrian Peninsula and the Lortmils. Now to your particular monsters: Quaggoth: no problems to place them anywhere in Greyhawk. Tyrantfog Zombie: Since this creature is disease related, replace the Iyachtu Xvim entries with Incabulos (or just ignore it). They have been "struck down by the power of other evil deities" but in Greyhawk divine intervention is virtually unheard of, so I interpret it as worshippers of evil deities being killed by priests of other evil deities, particularly in conjunction with poisonous clouds and fogs. Phaerlin giant: Hmmmm, creatures of the underdark, who were once stone giants warped by powerful magic. Here's my try on a conversion to Greyhawk context: Right before the Twin Cataclysms the stone giants in the Suel empire, sensing the foreboding events about to happen, shut themselves in the caves they used to inhabit, most of them going deeper to wait for the events to unfold and return to the surface thereafter. Many of them however disregarded their shamans' advice and stayed close to the surface. They paid a high price when the Rain of Colorless Fire fell to earth and even reached the outskirts of the Crystalmists and the other mountain ranges bordering the Suel Empire. The substance trickled through the rock and drenched their habitat; the stone giants' screams of pain and agony reverberated through the caves. So loud were the screams that their unscathed kin many miles further down were unable to shut their ears and blanken their tortured minds, these stone giant tribes to this day remember the event once a year and remind themselves who is to blame for the horror and why humans are to be loathed. The magic unleashed was so powerful that the initial contact with the substance transformed the survivors in the upper caves in the years to come into the pitiful shadows of their former proud race. The Suel giants, as they are called nowadays, are a rare sight, even in the lands due east of the Crystalmists, for their former brethren usually attack and slay them on sight out of mercy. I hope that'll be helpful to some of you. Glorfinden
#7 zombiegleemax Dec 03, 2003 13:26:50	Actually I believe the Aarakocra first appeared in the module, Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun. They were meant to live high in the mountains and appear during an encounter outside the Gnome Vale which was in the midst of a mountain range in Perrenland. I used the Phaerlin Giant with an adventure I ran in the Corusk Mountains. Basically they were corrupted by an ancient artifact that was a helm created from a stone giant skull. This artifact was discovered by an illithid who was using it gather an army of stone giants using the artifact's corrupting magic. My group was sought out by a stone giant shaman to help free his people and destroy the artifact. The whole point of this was not only to expand on the Thillonrian peninsula but to answer how the (Ur)Flan created such huge mountain fortresses in this area, basically by enslaving stone giants. In order to destroy the giant's helm the party eventually had to trek into the Griffs and find Skrellingshald.
#8 grodog Dec 04, 2003 20:52:04	Originally posted by Lassiviren Actually I believe the Aarakocra first appeared in the module, Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun. They were meant to live high in the mountains and appear during an encounter outside the Gnome Vale which was in the midst of a mountain range in Perrenland. The Annis and Boggart both originated in WG4, and while the Aarakocra do appear in WG4 The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun (1982), they were first published in the 1e Fiend Folio (1980). They were created by Lawrence Schick, but I don't know offhand if they were published prior to the Fiend Folio (in White Dwarf or elsewhere).
#9 zombiegleemax May 18, 2004 16:27:00	That makes me wonder, are there beholders in Greyhawk?
#10 mortellan May 18, 2004 16:32:12	WGR3: Rary the Traitor I believe the beholder, Father Eye who lives in the Abbor Alz Hills is courted by Rary as an ally.
#11 faraer May 18, 2004 19:14:22	There certainly are beholders in Greyhawk! Terry Kuntz created them while playing in the original Greyhawk Campaign.