The Oerth Journal 35

 

Oerth Journal 35

Our long wait has come to an end.

The most recent issue of the Oerth Journal may be a little later than expected, but I’m sure you will find it well worth the wait. It’s chock full of inspiration and goodness.

Shameless plug: The next installment of my story, A Fistful of Baubles, can be found within. I’m sure you’ve been holding your breath since #34 (click to download) was published, wondering what troubles Hradji Beartooth and his companions might have come face to face with in the fabled city of Skrellingshald, since we last visited them.

Kristoph Nolen has surpassed himself with this issue. It’s fabulous. There’s a blend of old voices and new, stories and ecologies and art, more art than ever before, I believe. Remember those heady days of the single digit issues, pages dense with small script, without a single doodle? The content was good. What am I saying? The content was great. Len Lakofka contributed. So too Erik Mona. And Gary Holian. Erik Boyd. Roger E. Moore. Rob Kuntz. The list goes on.

Table of Contents

I’ve very pleased to see submissions by Mike Bridges, Will Dvorak, Richard Di Iola, and relative newcomers Les Reno, and Amy Crittenden (myself included) within. I am even more pleased to see new names added to the roster of authors to have graced these pages. There’s room in that old folio for all visions; and in that regard, I hope to see an ever-growing roll of new voices adding to its lore in future.

It’s with humble satisfaction that we were invited to contribute to the Oerth Journal’s continued publication and then see our names in print. You can feel that satisfaction, too. Write something. Send it in. Do it! You just may surprise yourself, and teach us old dogs new and hitherto unforeseen tricks.

We all owe Krisoph Nolen of Greyhawk Online for his tireless work to produce and publish such wonderful fan content!

All that said, “Where can I get it,” you ask? Here!

Where is it located? On Greyhawk Online! All issues of the Journal can be found here. As always, I invite you to download them all. Each and every one of them is well worth the read.

How much does it cost? Nothing! It’s free. But you can contribute to its publication if you wish.

Please note that those supporting the Oerth Journal patreon will receive a print copy of the OJ. Not this one, sadly, the deadline for receiving this particular journal has passed. But so long as you keep your patreon support current, you'll receive a physical copy by mail. Here's a link to the Patronage page.

What’s in this newest installment?

I’m glad you asked.

(I’ve added webpages and Discord/Twitch nicknames where I know them, to help you identify the guilty. You’re welcome.)

Rodney Hart makes his OJ debut with an exploration of one of those supposedly “boring bits” on the map. Who would expect that there could be such danger in the Royal Duchy of Womtham, of eastern Nyrond? Any DM worth his weight in salt, I should expect. His article is living proof that there are no dull hexes on the map. They are what you make of them.

Mike “Greyhawkery” Bridges submits two strips of the Cultists of Tharizdun. And “With Boccob’s Blessing: Scholarly Selection of Suel Secrets,” in which he reveals ancient tomes of a bygone age: Okalasna, by Zellif Ad-Zol in 5073 SD (-443 CY); Historia Imperialis, Volume 230: The Fall of House Neheli-Arztin, author unknown (likely a Suel historian during the reign of Inzhilem II) in 3166 SD (-2350 CY); The Journal of Mystical Calamities, by the Archmage Lendore in 5093 SD (-422 CY); and more. These are rare, exceeding valuable tomes, only to be found in their original text in the Seltaren library. I have my doubts as to it being a lending library, and have visions of weighty volumes affixed with chains, and a curator never out of view.

Lo Nakar

There are articles concerning the Sea of Dust and beyond!

Will “Giantstomp” Dvorak, of WickedStudiosLLC, and Greyhawk Companion, makes a welcome return to teach us the most efficient means of transportation while venturing into that deadly desert.

Amy “Theala” Crittenden educates us on what lies beyond the Sea of Dust. Rumour has it that the destruction wrought by the Rain of Colourless Fire might not be as widespread as once thought. Far Lo Nakar survived, and so did the lands west of it. I would imagine that those Suel there use Will Dvorak’s Dust Cutters.

Les “OblivionSeeker” Reno treats us with a little Gnarley Lore, in the person of Wild Ange, a halfling bounty hunter and her constant companion, Dunapple, replete with backstory and context. I’ll let you discover what Dunapple is.

There is another by Nathan Doyle (Attention Deficit & Dragons) that details the Leszy, otherwise known as the Old Man of the Woods, just as gnarley, if not specifically related to that ancient wood.

Paluserus, Nemesis of the Gnatmarsh

Paul “ArtharnTheCleric” Jurdeska presents a detailed exploration of a dragon’s environs, and is as good a template on how to set one up as you are apt to find. In this case, it’s a black named Paluserus, the supposed Nemesis of the Gnatmarsh. That’s a tall order, he being young. Room to grow, so to speak. But he’s brash, ambitious, and avaricious. He’ll earn his title, in time, so long as he’s careful, and bold.

Rich “Longatalos” Di Ioia regales us with a tale in which the well-learned noble and mage, Lord Bresin Mozhen of House Rholgran of Shiboleth, Lord Major of the Virtuous Sword Company of the Gran March and Thaumaturgist of the 3^rd Arcane mystery, leafs through the tomes of the library of the Syrloch Academy for what missives might be found about the mysterious and reclusive Kingdom of Shar. He discovers a scroll, referring to The Order of Kel Avone Retna…. Enough said. Rich is a loremaster.

Andy Miller continues his exploration of Oerik’s constellations, his fourth article in that regard. See OJs 22, 30, 31, and this issue (click to download) for the entire series, thus far.

Hrodulf

I’m not the only one submitting lengthy stories, it would seem. Part 1 of Mark “Sollace” Allen’s Never the Heroes, “Clothes Maketh the Man,” can be found here. Shall I divulge what it is about? I think not. It’s fiction, and should be savoured, and not spilled. Suffice it to say that we are introduced to one Hrodulf.

Kristoph “Icarus” Nolen (our publisher) returns with yet more on the Rhennee, breathing life into that elusive folk, their beliefs, their customs. I think they’re his favourite. Don’t you? I love them, too. See my first submission, “The Castle,” from OJ 31 (click to download), where the river folk live large in the dramatis personae.

Phalastar Greycloak, (whomever he may be; I’m sure the Shadow knows what evil lurks within his heart) explores the world of monks in the Flanaess, their origins, their orders, their monasteries, their schools.

My story, the aforementioned 2^nd part of “A Fistful of Baubles,” is nestled in there, as well. I do hope you enjoy it.

There you have it, the Oerth Journal 35, in brief.

I’d have posted this review earlier, ideally the day it was released, but I much rather doing so after having actually read it. And pondered it. To risk dating myself, I’ll paraphrase Orson Wells, from a long forgotten commercial of yesteryear: “We shall serve no wine before its time.” So too, critiques.

I wish I could go into greater detail about each article, but where’s the fun in that for you, dear reader? My doing so would only spoil your journey through its pages.

Have I inspired you to pick up a copy? I hope so. More importantly, have I inspired you to try your hand at writing something for an upcoming issue? I do hope I have. And we’d love to hear from you.

All art is from the Oerth Journal 35, and is wholly owned by the artists.