Top 5 Villains in Greyhawk

  

“The list could surely go on, and there is nothing more wonderful than a list, instrument of wondrous hypotyposis.”

― Umberto Eco, The Name of the Rose

Eclavdra

I was recently prompted by YouTube to watch a video I’d already viewed some time ago. The video in question was Greyhawk Grognard’s “Top 5 Villains in Greyhawk.”

Did I watch it? I did. Have you? Should you? Sure, why not. It’s entertaining. And it delivers what the title promises. Were there any surprises in Joe Bloch’s list? No. It’s a good list, though; it highlights those villains that instantly come to mind when thinking about Greyhawk.

His list is as follows:

• Vecna
• The Scarlet Brotherhood
• Obmi
• Iuz
• Eclavdra
• Honourable mention: Wastri

I list them in the order he details them, 5th to 1st. To discover his reasons why he chose those he did, I invite you to watch his video, if you haven't already.

What did I think about his list? I believe lists speak more about the creator than the subject. His list is not mine. More on that later.

Iuz the Evil

I thought, then and now, that I should like to write a blog post on that very same subject. I could have made life simple and just share my own list – I will – but what would be the fun in that? It would have made a far shorter post, but anyone who reads my humble submissions regularly will know that if brevity is the soul of wit, then I am surely not at all wise.

I thought to query a sample of Greyhawk fans on Discord, to get their collective opinion on the subject, wondering if their combined lists would equal Joe’s once sifted and tallied. I thought their combined expertise and wisdom might shed light on whether Joe’s list was indeed indicative.

The answer was surprising.

Perhaps I asked the wrong question. The one asked was: Who are your Top 5 Villains in Greyhawk? I thought it best to keep the query the same as the title of Joe’s vlog post, verbatim. I did not ask, who are the best-known villains? Nor ask, which villains automatically come to mind when one thought about the Greyhawk setting? If I had, I might have received different responses – then again, I might have received identical ones, regardless what question I asked. C’est la vie.

The Scarlet Brotherhood

Obmi

So, what did the hive mind come up with in response to my query?

I was pleasantly surprised by what they responded with. And by how varied individual answers were. And how creative!

A great many of the famous villains that originated in Greyhawk but have since been exported to the greater multiverse did not even make the cut. Not even close. I speak of Vecna, Acererak, Tharizdun, and Lolth! Each received only one or two votes – granted, it was a limited, and decidedly erudite, sample taken, but it would not be hemmed in by the mere multiverse, or by the hoy palloi, it would seem; but one would have expected more than one or two, wouldn’t one? – hardly what I would have expected.

Wastri

Extraplanar villains did not fare well, either: greater devils and demons like Graz’zt and Demogorgon (one vote apiece in my survey, two if you count online searches – which only counted for one vote however many websites named them fan favourites). Nor did Kyuss or Zuggtmoy or Wastri do well (indeed none were cited at all in my survey responses). Others only touched upon were Drakotha, Kas, and Saint Kargoth, to mention a few. Surprisingly, the Hierophants of the Horned Society did better than most (I was very pleased by this, given they have not been major players in setting lore since they were supposedly wiped out by Iuz at the advent of the Greyhawk Wars – a development I believe wildly exaggerated, personally…). I am rather fond of those ill-treated exemplars of evil.

Others I thought would do better, but didn’t, were Rary, Grenell, and Keraptis! And Lareth the Beautiful! Only one vote apiece!

The most surprising mentions were that of Yolande (Queen of Celene), Lashton (Royal Archmage of Keoland), and Mordenkainen (our benevolent benefactor of Balance). Were those additions tongue in cheek or deadly serious, I wonder. If so, the discussions about how those setting luminaries became villains in their respective campaigns would be interesting conversations, indeed.

Rose Estes and the adventure module WG7 Castle Greyhawk were cited as well. One wonders why no one fingered Lorraine Williams.

And the winner is... Iggwilz!

So, what was the hive mind’s verdict?

Note that this was not a blind survey, so anyone who participated could see prior answers, and that may have swayed latter lists.

Drum roll, please.

5. A 2-way tie between Ivid V / Kermin Mindbender

4. A 3-way tie between Iuz / Markessa / Obmi

3. Eli Tomorast

2. Eclavdra

1. Iggwilv

Honourable mention: The Scarlet Brotherhood

The hive mind is not so dissimilar, then. Iuz, Obmi, Eclavdra, and The Scarlet Brotherhood made both lists. So, I guess Joe Bloch had his thumb on the pulse of fandom, after all, for the most part.

Heartfelt thanks to all who participated.

Does my list match theirs, or Joe’s?

It does not.

Evard the Black

Mine is as follows:

5. Evard the Black, of Bissel;

4. Markessa, the magnificent Mengela of the Slave Lords series;

3. Folmar Ingerskatti, the puppet prince of the Lordship of the Isles;

2. Seuvord Redbeard, the butcher of Tenh, lord of The Hold of Stonefist; and

1. His Grace Grenell, Herzog of North Province / Overking of the Great Kingdom of Northern Aerdy

Honourable mention: Keraptis

You can check Joe’s vlog post to see if I’ve changed my mind since I commented on his list. I have not, but I have ordered them here. I chose no demigods, no extraplanar beings, no demons or devils, and no mad emperors (we can argue about Grennel later). I prefer a smaller scale, where villains are not what they seem, believe themselves the heroes of their own narrative, and, most importantly, can potentially be outmaneuvered, out-schemed, and defeated. I prefer a lower-fantasy, highly political, gritty, dirty campaign, where knights in shining armour are few and far between (and potentially conflicted in their motives), where adventure and intrigue festers and thrives in the shadows, somewhere out on the fringe of civilisation, perhaps on the Borderlands. The “heroes” usually inhabited the same shadows as their foes, and sought no fanfare for their victories, lest undesired attention befall them for their efforts, a lesson I learned from sage Gary Gygax, himself.

If Lareth is slain, there will be inquiries in Hommlet – cautious and discreet inquiries – but the servants of evil there will make every attempt to find out what happened, and if any of the possessions of this cleric turn up, the slayers will be known, and an assassin of 10th level […] will come to the village within 3 weeks and proceed to attempt to eliminate the offenders. [T1 The Village of Hommlet – 16]

So, yes, lists illuminate the man.

I can’t say that my list will not change. Yours is likely fluid, too. But I do stand by mine.

His Grace, Grenell

Evard, to my mind, is a mage of mystery, one suited to manipulation from a shadowy underworld.

Markessa… well, we all know about Markessa. ‘Nuff said.

Folmar Ingerskatti is a puppet, a pawn. Or is he? Perhaps he is himself manipulating his supposed masters. I wish to give him far more cunning and credit than Greyhawk Wars, From the Ashes, and Living Greyhawk Gazetteer do.

Seuvord Redbeard, that’s Sevvord to you, is the quintessential strongman tyrant at the edge of the world. A sadistic despot. A sociopathic mass murderer.

His Grace Grenell is the ultimate survivor. He is likely also a devious assassin, as well (see both the gazetteer in the Gold box, and Hextor cleric skills in the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer). He has got himself in a bit of a pickle, of late; but I have great confidence in his ability to have his friends and allies and enemies at each others’ throats before too long.

Those are my reasons for my choices. I think they’re good ones. And they line up well with my gritty ideal for campaign play.

I’m sure each of you have your own for yours.

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.”

― Robert Frost

One must always give credit where credit is due. This post 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 interminable.

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

And to Joe Bloch, for inspiration for this post.

The Art:

Eclavdra, From Dungeon #200, Hall of the Fire Giant King, 2012

Cover art detail, by Jeff Easley, from Iuz the Evil, 1993

Cover art detail, by Doug Beekman, from The Scarlet Brotherhood, 1999

Obmi, from Dungeon #200, Hall of the Fire Giant King, 2012

Wastri, by Jeff Easley, from Dragon #71, 1983

Iggwilv, from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, 2020

Evard (?), from Dark Legacy of Evard, in Dungeon Magazine #219, 2013

Regis by shalizeh

Sources:

1015 World of Greyhawk Boxed Set, 1983

1043 The City of Greyhawk Boxed Set, 1989

1064 Form the Ashes Boxed Set, 1982

1068 Greyhawk Wars Boxed Set, 1991

9025 World of Greyhawk Folio, 1980

9026 T1 The Village of Hommlet, 1979,1981

9577 The Adventure Begins, 1998

9578 Players Guide to Greyhawk, 1998

11743 Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, 2000