The Theocracy of the Pale Primer

“This is a night for song and sin and drink,

for come the morrow,

the virtuous and the vile burn together.”

― George R.R. Martin, Fire & Blood

The One True Way is a strict path, but guarantees rightness. Show no tolerance for those who do not give all for the cause of Law. Fanaticism in the name of the Blinding Light is praiseworthy, and Law's champions shall be rewarded in the era when chaos has been vanquished.

—excerpt from the Sacred Tome of Light, Libram Snactus Vox. [LGG – 179]

The Theocracy of the Pale

Ours is a nation born from persecution, the Palish say.

Driven from their lands, they followed Ceril the Relentless as he led their beleaguered nation ever north unto the promised land. Finding it occupied by heathens, he swept them aside, as Pholtus bid; and it was there that he founded the Council of the Nine and fashioned a government in accordance with the teachings of the Blinding Light. And he decreed that one of the Nine should lead them ever more, and not the decadence of Rauxes.

But Pholtus, in His infinite wisdom, knew His chosen people to be vain and vainglorious, and He sought to test their resolve. He set the Nyrondese upon their noble cause, and when in their darkest hour, when the Nyrondese set their most holy city ablaze, He illuminated their folly. It was only then, when they understood that they had strayed from His straight and narrow path, did Pholtus forgive them, and revealed to them that they should rebuild Wintershiven anew, and that they need be ever vigilant in their atonement, lest they fall into darkness again.

The Church Militant

And they never have. Pholtus has lit their path forward since, revealed to his most faithful servant, His Theocrat. It is under His Theocrat's guidance that the Church Militant has guarded their body against threats to the Faith. They know that they must remain pure, and that they must breathe each breath in a perfect and orderly manner, as writ in the Sacred Tome of Light. They must show no tolerance for those who do not give all in the cause of Law; and must smite Chaos where they find it; and Evil once Chaos is rooted out. And they must travel far and carry His message to the unbelievers, that they too should see the Light.

Inspiration for adventures in the Theocracy of the Pale can be found in the film Kingdom of Heaven and the TV series Knightfall.

Further inspiration can be had from Ken Follet's The Pillars of the Earth , Ellis Peters' Cadfael series, and from Peter the Hermit: The Lay of the Holy Wars, and Other Poems, by HBM Hughes.

Country specific resources:

There are none specific to the Theocracy of the Pale, but most pertinent information can be found in:

The Greyhawk Folio, The Greyhawk setting boxed set, Greyhawk Wars, From the Ashes Boxed Set, Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, WG8 Fate of Istus, WGR4 The Marchlands, and Dragon magazine #52, 55, 56, 88, 233, 253, 294, 297, 306, 315, 358

Information concerning the Council of Nine can be found in Dragon #294, Beings of Power, Four Gods of Greyhawk.

Information concerning the Throne of the Sun can be found in WG8 Fate of Istus.

Further information can be found in RPGA The Fright at Tristor adventure, and to a lesser  degree in B1 In Search of the Unknown, and B2 The Keep on the Borderlands.

Adventures in the country include:

RPGA The Fright at Tristor

WG8, Fate of Istus, #2 Nyrond, #5 Pale

Guardians of the Tomb, Dungeon #1, generic swamp, adaptable

Into the Fire, Dungeon #1, generic mountains, adaptable

Out of the Ashes, Dungeon #17, generic mountains, adaptable

Deep Freeze, Dungeon #83

Although later retconned into the Yeomanry, B1 Into the Unknown (in the monochrome edition) was originally suggested as located in Ratik, The Duchy of Tenh, or the Theocracy of the Pale. That would make either an ideal location for B2 Keep on the Borderlands, as well.

-The Phostwood is located on the border between the Pale and the Duchy of Tenh. Home to the luminescent Phost trees, players can find adventure helping Tenh rebels or even bandit groups from the Bandit Kingdoms fighting Iuzians here.

There is Only One!

-The Pale observes only one deity, Pholtus, and actively suppresses all others. In the Pale even those worshipping gods such as Pelor or St. Cuthbert are considered heretics.

-Players can discover ready employment battling the Troll King and his minions from the tTroll Fens located in the shadow of the Griff Mountains.

-The Gamboge Forest is usually a peaceful place, but humanoids from the Raker Mountains sometimes raid there. While unclaimed by the Pale and Nyrond, both nations use it as a base for spying on one another.

Adventures in nearby areas include:

S4 White Plume Mountain, Bandit Kingdoms

Return to White Plume Mountain, Bandit Kingdoms

A Slight Diversion, OJ#9, Redspan, Bandit Kingdoms

WG8, Fate of Istus, #1 Bandit Kingdoms

WGR5 Iuz the Evil

WGS1 Five Shall Be One, Bandit Kingdoms

WGS2 Howl From the North, Hold of Stonefist

Horse Sense, Greyhawk Adventures Hardback, Nyrond

Out of the Ashes, Dungeon #17, Bandit Kingdoms

Age of Worms adventure path (Dungeon Magazine, issues 124 – 135)

The Spire of Long Shadows, Dungeon, #130, Bandit Kingdoms

The Prince of Redhand, Dungeon, #131, Bandit Kingdoms

The Library of Last Resort, Dungeon, #132, Bandit Kingdoms

Kings of the Rift, Dungeon, #133, Bandit Kingdoms

Into the Wormcrawl Fissure, Dungeon, #134, Bandit Kingdoms

Dawn of a New Age, Dungeon, #135, Bandit Kingdoms

Dungeon #82

The Dancing Hut of Baba Yaga

Ex Keraptis Cum Amore, Dungeon #77, Burning Cliffs

Evil Unearthed, Dungeon #82, Nyrond (east Gamboge Forest on Pale border)

Playing with Fire, Dungeon #82, Nyrond (east Gamboge Forest on Pale border)

Armistice, Dungeon #84, Griff Mountains

The Sharm’s Dark Song, Dungeon #87

Glacier Seas, Dungeon #87

Beyond the Light of Reason, Dungeon #96, Tenh

Raiders of the Black Ice, Dungeon #115, Blackmoor

Ill Made Graves, Dungeon #133, Jotsplat & the Icy Sea

Tomb of Zhang the Horrific, by William Dvorak, Rovers of the Barrens

C13 From His Cold, Dead Hands, by Carlos Lising, casl Entertainment, 2019, Jotsplat & the Icy Sea

C14 The Sanguine Labyrinth, by Carlos Lising, casl Entertainment, 2019, Burning Cliffs

C17 The Root of All Evil, by Carlos Lising, casl Entertainment, 2021, Burning Cliffs

FB1 While on the Road to Cavrik's Cove, casl Entertainment, 2021, Ratik

-The old Duchy of Tenh has several factions fighting for dominance of its land, all of which are recruiting able-bodied adventurers.

-The besieged County of Knurl in the Bone March hires adventurers to help keep its borders safe from the evil humanoids that dominate the rest of that country.

-The Country of Urnst secretly hires adventurers to take shipments of supplies into the Bandit Kingdoms to support the rebels there.

-Officially, the Theocracy of the Pale tries to take a neutral stance in politics when it can, but the Theocrat has his spies in neighboring nations gathering information.

PALE, Theocracy of

Theocracy of the Pale: lawful neutral, lawful good; Flan, Oeridian, Common [Dragon #52 – 18,20]

In the Theocracy of the Pale, Flan/Oerid descendants are lighter of skin and hair than pure Flan, and are a handsome people. Perhaps within a handful of generations, almost all Flan blood will be found only in such blends. [FtAA – 11]

576 CY

His Worshipful Mercy, the Theocrat, Supreme Prelate of the Pale – Ogon Tillit

Capital: Wintershiven (pop. 21,500)

Population: 250,000

Demi-humans: Some

Humanoids: Few

Resources: foodstuffs, copper, gems (IV)

[WoGA – 30]

Pale, Theocracy of the: Ogon Tillit, C14 [WoGG – 17]

When Nyrond became a separate nation, the highly religious peoples inhabiting the. area between the Rakers and Yol River likewise proclaimed their autonomy. Their clerical leaders were in effect the ruling nobles, and one of their number was chosen as supreme for his lifetime. After warfare with their southern neighbor and a period of subjugation, the Pale became independent once again. and since then has enjoyed a history of reasonable rule and relative peace. Barbarian, humanoid, and bandit raiders plague the Theocracy, but Prelatal troops are tough and efficient and capable of handling most problems of this nature. A balanced force of horse and foot numbering over 4,000 guards the borders of the realm, while levies numbering more than 10,000 can be raised in a week.

The Pale is not noted for religious tolerance.

[WoGA – 30]

584 CY

Ruler: His Worshipful Mercy, Supreme Prelate of the Pale, Theocrat Ogon Tillit

Capital: Wintershiven (pop. 23,400)

[FtAA – 32]

590 CY

Theocrat Ogon Tillit

Proper Name: Theocracy of the Pale

Ruler: His Worshipful Mercy, Theocrat Ogon Tillit, Supreme Prelate of the Pale (LN male human Clr16 of Pholtus)

Government: Theocracy administered in the name of the god Pholtus; clerics hold all government positions

Capital: Wintershiven

Major Towns: Eltison (pop. 15,400), Hawkburgh (pop. 12,400), Hatherleigh (pop. 24,500), Holdworthy (pop. 16,700), Landrigard (pop. 7,800), Ogburg (pop. 17,400), Rakervale (pop. 13,700), Stradsett (pop. 10,900), Wintershiven (pop. 39,900)

Provinces: Twenty-seven city wards and low dioceses divided unevenly among nine archdioceses

Resources: Foodstuffs, copper, gems (IV)

Population: 395,000—Human 96% (FO), Halfling 2%,Elf 1%, Other 1%

Languages: Common, Flan Alignments: LN*, LG, LE

Religions: Pholtus*, all other religions suppressed (however, secret offerings made to Beory, Phyton, and Oeridian agricultural gods by many farmers in the countryside)

[LGG – 80]

Pholtus of the Blinding Light, LG (LN) intermediate god of Light, Resolution, Law, Order, Inflexibility, Sun, and Moons

[LGG – 179]

“The world is passing through troubling times. The young people of today think of nothing but themselves. They have no reverence for parents or old age. They are impatient of all restraint. They talk as if they knew everything, and what passes for wisdom with us is foolishness with them. As for the girls, they are forward, immodest and unladylike in speech, behavior and dress.”

—Peter the Hermit, attributed, probably apocryphal

One must always give credit where credit is due. This Primer is made possible primarily by the Imaginings of Gary Gygax and his Old Guard, Lenard Lakofka among them, and the new old guards, Carl Sargant, James Ward, Roger E. Moore. And Erik Mona, Gary Holian, Sean Reynolds, Frederick Weining. The list is exhaustive.

Special thanks to Jason Zavoda for his compiled index, “Greyhawkania,” an invaluable research tool.

This Primer has been expanded from the original “Theocracy of the Pale” postcard found on Canonfire’s “Touring the Flanaess” index, written by William "Giantstomp" Dvorak and some passages from that scholarly work reside with this piece.

The Art: 

Cathedral-warm-up by darekzabrocki

Cleric-of-Light by rezq88

RPGA The Fright at Tristor cover, by Rebecca Guay, 2000

Cleric illustration, by Matthew Michell, from RPGA The Fright at Tristor, 2000

Dungeon #82 cover, by Carl Critchlow, 2000

Theocracy of the Pale heraldry, originally from Greyhawk Folio, 1980

The-High-Cleric by alderixg

Sources:

2011A Dungeon Masters Guide, 1^st Ed., 1979

9025 World of Greyhawk Folio, 1981

1015 World of Greyhawk Boxed Set, 1983

2023 Greyhawk Adventures, 1989

1064 From the Ashes Boxed Set, 1992

9577 The Adventure Begins, 1998

9578 Player’s Guide to Greyhawk, 1998

11743 Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, 2000

Dragon Magazine

Dungeon Magazine

OJ Oerth Journal, appearing on Greyhawk Online

Living Greyhawk Journal

Greychrondex, Steven B. Wilson

Greyhawkania, Jason Zavoda

Anna B. Meyer’s Greyhawk Map