Visions of Greyhawk

Sadly, the newest issue of The Oerth Journal has been a while in the works. Is this a concern? Perhaps. Perhaps not. The OJ has always had, shall we say, a sporadic publication schedule, so we should not blame its most recent publisher for its delay. Things happen, as we say. I must say that we were spoiled in recent years. Kristoph Nolan had kept a steady pace in his producing quality quarterly issues. He even endeavoured to produce physical copies for those willing to pay for them. But Kristoph has experienced some health issues, of late; and perhaps equally importantly, copywrite concerns: just as the OJ#37 was poised to hit the presses, AI has thrown a wrench in the works. It’s a copywrite thing. Publishers understand these things, even if we do not. We can only hope that all of Kristoph’s concerns will be sorted out shortly, and that he will resume his publication schedule very soon. Indeed, I’ve already seen a change in the thumbnail for that long-anticipated Journal on the Greyhawk Online website. Perhaps it will not be too long before we see it, after all.

Does that mean we Greyhawk fans will be having to wait for new fan creations? Not at all! Those in the know know that there’s a new zine being produced by Canonfire! Visions of Greyhawk!

I’m a little slow announcing this. Retirement. Holidays. Road trips. Producing my own posts. Etc. No matter. Such is life. My delay is to your benefit. There are now two issues of this newest zine for you to read if you haven’t done so already.

My critique of this new zine? Is it as good as the Oerth Journal? It ought to be. Articles within are penned by many of the very same authors who’ve submitted to the OJ. You might recognize a few names: Paul Jurdeczk and Gary Holian, for instance; and another who hasn’t submitted in some time: Samuel Weiss. There are new names, too, even if they are not new to regular visitors to the Canonfire! Discord: Troy Alleman, for one.

Maybe they require some introduction. Paul Jurdeczk is an Australian blogger and Nyrond super fan. Gary Holian is famous for his many articles in Dragon Magazine, but probably more famous as one of the authors of a little-known book called the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer. Samuel Weiss was a Triad member for Keoland during the Living Greyhawk years. Some might consider him a bit of a “heretic,” canonically speaking, himself included; my opinion is that he’s a tireless writer, given the number of articles he has in these two issues. Sam is not the only tireless writer on this list: Troy Alleman is another, even if he may not consider himself as such. Troy has written a couple gazetteers, recently; he’s also produced a few adventure modules series, as well: his Kwalish series, for one; and perhaps of equal import, completing a couple from the late Len Lakofka’s notes (to which he {Troy} takes little credit for), for another. There may even be a lengthy submission from Richard Di loia and David J. Leonard in the second issue – the apparently long-awaited “Low Road.” Jay Scott returns, too.

There are a couple new contributors: Paul Beel and Matthew Fenn. I’m sure we will be introduced to more Greyhawk fans in upcoming issues. Because there will be other issues. Ewan Cummins, the editor, informs us that he already has enough articles for a third.

I might add that the featured art is exemplary. Dan Smith and William Dvorak are among those contributors who've created art specifically for these issues, thus far. I'll include a selection from each issue below, just to give you a view of what might be found within them. There are colour pieces, too; but I've always been more of a fan of the B&W art in old modules, so....

One might wonder, does this mean that the OJ and Visions will be competing for quality contributions? I doubt that. From what I understand, there’s an abundance of submissions waiting in the wings for this new zine, more than enough, I expect, to fill two zines once Kristoph feels confident that he can publish AI copywrite controversy free.

What can we expect in these two issues?

Visions, Volume 1

The Knights of the Eventide, by Paul Jurdeczka

Appendix N: Kingdom Rules, by Samuel Weiss

The Aquatic Norker, by Troy Alleman

Magic Items, by Paul Beel

Animals of the Flanaess, by Samuel Weiss

Druid: Circle of the Sea, by Troy Alleman

Panzos the Cruel, by Gary Holian

Visions, Volume 2

Giants of the Flanaess, by Samuel Weiss

From the Sea, by Troy Alleman

Rhennee Wise Women, by Ewan Cummins

Animals Appendix: Equines, by Samuel Weiss

The Low Road, by Richard Di loia and David J. Leonard

Servants of the Ashen Hand, by Jay Scott

Specialty Priests of Greyhawk, by Matthew Fenn

Slaves of the Black Rider, by Paul Jurdeczka

Tryon’s Lair, by Paul Beel

Arbados, by Troy Alleman

Adapting Classic Adventures, by Samuel Weiss

Scutcheons of Saints and Sinners, by Anna B. Meyer & Gary Holian

That’s a whole lot of new Greyhawk material! The second issue is twice as long as the first, in fact. Blame me. The Low Road is, and has been, a very long road, indeed.

So too has been the producing of this new zine. Many thanks to Gary Holian and Ewan Cummins for creating it. More thanks to all those who've donated their time and energy to editing and layout it. I pray its continued publication will be as long-lived as has been the Oerth Journal.

I expect you are saying, “Enough already!” And “You had me at …a new zine!” And most importantly, where can I get this new zine?” Canonfire!, obviously.

After that lengthy fanfare, here’s the page where you can download both issues of Visions of Greyhawk.

Happy reading!