On Osson of Almor

 “Some of the bravest and most resourceful people in the world have come to bad ends.”

― Lemony Snicket, Shouldn't You Be in School?

Osson of Almor

A great sage of Keoland once said in connection with the many rival powers in the east: “Behold the sapping of strength, continuous and unabated, checked only by the ferocity of battle, and erstwhile victories. Be aware that these powers never cease turning over the old stone in search of the golden nugget placed there by those who didn’t care. Be it known that such odious men as these that thwart men’s survival, these are convinced that such nuggets are as plentiful as the languages of Oerth. Be still, people, lest by your movement you attract the attention of the “mad ones,” for nuggets may remain buried beneath an old stone, or in combination with others be used to adorn a conqueror’s breast as a necklace.” [Dragon #65 – 11]

Rob Kuntz understood the soul of the Great Kingdom. Despite the many good and august persons with its vast breadth and span, the Kingdom had paired depravity to its long tradition of brutality. It found such pairing much to its taste, as Lum and Leuk-o most assuredly would have, and did.

Were they all such?

No. There were those states within the “magnificence” of the Great Kingdom that were shining examples of what that austere nation declared itself to be.

Nyrond was one such. The Bone March was another.

So too Almor. Almor may have been the most shining example of that presumed magnificence. It was just. Benign. A beacon of faith. It had birthed and weaned Saint Benedor Monlath of Chathold, after all; and he most certainly stood what one would consider a high watermark of what might have been. Ideally, the whole of the Great Kingdom should have strived to such excellence; but empires being what they are, those principalities that would not or could not measure up sometimes strove to bring those others that could down.

The prelate Anarkin hopes to have his armies up to quality and number so as to be able to deal with the threats that the Great Kingdom and (especially) Herzog Chelor are posing at this time. [Dragon #65 - 12]

And so it was for as long as the Great Kingdom rose and waned. More so as it waned. Those who could ceded. Furyondy. Veluna. Then Nyrond and the Pale. Close kin to Nyrond, Almor followed.

Those who could not, could only watch.

The Great Kingdom had begun its long slow slide.

One might suggest that the Turmoil Between the Crowns marked the Great Kingdom’s fall from grace. With the coming of the Turmoil, those principalities that had hitherto remained loyal to Rauxes were loyal no more, even as they paid lip service to the Malachite Throne; but they were in truth independent of it. And being independent of the Throne allowed each to plot and scheme, and see their selves as its heir. They bided their time. For their time was drawing near. They mustered their levies when bid. They marched where commanded. Bur they watched, and waited, and from time to time, they tested the fortitude of their neighbors.

The Turmoil worried those nations of loftier intentions, and they, like those others, armed their selves, and prepared for a time they knew would surely come.

And it did.

The Wars came.

The Great Kingdom’s intentions could hardly pass unnoticed. One country that held an anything-but-casual interest was the Prelacy of Almor. This small nation had long witnessed the brutal ambition of the Overking at work and therefore knew not to be caught unawares. The Prelate Kevont had personally organized an extensive spy network to monitor the lands of the madman. That network now reported the mustering and movement of massive armies in all landed quarters of the kingdom. When he received this intelligence, Prelate Kevont dispatched messengers to Nyrond and the Iron League and sent the war banner throughout the country. With the speed of a people ever poised on the brink of war, Almor’s defenses were fully manned.

A prudent ruler, Kevont did not personally take command of Almor’s troops. The old prelate had long led his country by wisely recognizing the best man for every job. In this case, the best man was the Honorable Osson of Chathold. Kevont appointed the energetic young knight as Commandant of the Field, with every knight and yeoman of Almor’s forces under his command. [Wars - 13]

But Osson knew that Almor could not withstand the Ivid’s intent. Surely Chelor, of South Province, would strike in his cousin’s name. 

Osson’s Raid

Commandant Osson had little difficulty assessing the grave situation facing Almor. The Great Kingdom could squash the tiny country through sheer numbers-and apparently intended to do so. Though the dilemma was clear, the solution was not. Recognizing that Almor could not be defended against such a foe, Osson decided to take the offensive—committing a daring raid into the Great Kingdom’s lands to keep its forces from attacking. The plan would have met with insurmountable objection from older and “wiser” knights had the prelate wavered even momentarily in support of his young protege.

The plan was simple and daring. Osson divided his army into two forces, posting the first along the border with the Great Kingdom. Too small to block a major attack, this army aggressively patrolled and probed the frontier. Their rigor would make them seem twice their actual number and thus hopefully forestall any major assault by the Aerdians. [Wars - 31]

Osson correctly measured his foes. The Aerdi Army, strongest in the Great Kingdom, was staffed not with warriors, but courtiers-experts in pandering and fawning to the Overlord. The Grandee Despotrix of the army, his Highness Yimdil of Jalpa, customarily commanded his regiment from the comfort of his palace at Jalpa rather than endure the rigors of an actual campaign 200 miles away. His subordinates were no better, vying among themselves more than against the enemy and each seeking to discredit his colleagues and thus gain favor in the eyes of the Overking’s dreaded censors. [Wars - 28] 

Osson's Army

The second half of the army consisted of all available cavalry, riding under Osson’s personal command. Baggage, notoriously cumbersome and complicated for most armies, was all but forbidden. Osson ordered that each man live in the saddle, forsaking all the comforts normally carried. For the outnumbered forces of Almor, speed could make the difference between life and death.

Having divided his forces, Osson set his plan in motion. Knowing that neither of his armies could long withstand the full attention of the Great Kingdom, the commandant hoped to divert Ivid’s armies away from Almor. Almor needed time for Nyrondese aid to arrive, and if Osson could fluster the mad Ivid like a wasp in the helmet, the Overlord might never attack. Either way, Osson preferred to keep the battle on Aerdian soil. [Wars - 14]

In the east, rains had an equally retarding effect. Mired in mud and hamstrung by the Overking’s pettiness, the Great Kingdom’s armies massed on the borders of Medegia, Almor, and Nyrond. Osson’s raid and the coming of the rains bought the Almorians time to fortify their borders and gather new reserves. Nyrond also raised new armies to meet the threat from the Great Kingdom. [Wars - 14]

To the south and southwest, Aerdi forces attacked the states of the Iron League; to the west, they moved through Almor and on toward Nyrond. Almor was swiftly subdued, but under the legendary Commandant Osson, one Almorian army led the Aerdi forces in a merry dance by moving through Ahlissa, Sunndi, and even into Medegia before its daring but ultimately pointless deed was put to the sword. [FTAA - 7]

Osson first struck south, passing through the Thelly Forest. With speed and surprise on their side, the horsemen brushed away Ahlissa’s ill-trained troops and plunged into the South Province. The land fell quickly into disarray. The peasants, long oppressed by their Herzog, welcomed the Almorian forces. The Herzog himself was slow to respond, for the bulk of Ahlissa’s troops were massed on her western border, preparing to assault Irongate. Rushing detachments of his army toward the east, the Herzog reluctantly accepted offers of aid from the Overking. [Ivid extended these offers not out of friendship or kinship, but because the Overking saw a chance to secure a grip over his wavering cousin. [Wars – 28] The Aerdi army marched southwest to engage the intruders, but before either force could catch him, Osson advanced again.

Instead of returning to Almor, Osson led his horsemen into the Rieuwood. The Glorioles Army of the Overking, though victorious, had suffered badly in its conquest of Sunndi. Osson calculated that a defeat in Sunndi would swing Ivid’s attention from Almor. Once through the wood, Commandant Osson found the Overking’s forces arrayed and ready for him. Even badly hurt, the Glorioles Army would have proved an equal match for the Almorians but that the Aerdians did not have a general of genius on their side. At the Battle of Rieuwood, Osson initiated the tactic of false retreat that was to become his hallmark. Believing the cavalry routed, the Aerdians gave chase, only to blunder into a deadly trap. The Glorioles Army was decimated. [Wars – 13,14]

The Glorioles Army: This has been decimated by the Greyhawk Wars. Perhaps only a fifth of its pre-war strength remains intact. The rest was lost in the campaigns against Sunndi, Osson, Medegia, and Almor. Some residual units remain in cities such as Torrich, Nulbish, and Kalstrand, but others are in Szeffrin's service in Almor, or exist as marauders or madmen in Almor, Medegia, and the edges of forests in Aerdy. [Ivid – 145]

Rieuwood: This forest lies entirely within northern Sunndi. Its mighty ipp trees stretch between the Hollow Highlands and the foothills of the Glorioles. It is heavily patrolled and defended by gray elves and many rangers, in case Ahlissa ever invades across the Grayflood This was the site of two major battles in 577 (failed invasion by South Province) and 583 CY (Osson's liberation of Sunndi). [LGG – 141] 

By 583 CY, the heavily bulwarked Ahlissan presence in the area coupled with extreme attrition among the elf and dwarf protectors of northern Sunndi made for a disastrous combination. With the full might of the Glorioles Army, Herzog Chelor pushed south all the way to Pitchfield, burning the count's estates and ravaging the central countryside. Thousands of Sunnd perished in battle against one of Ivid's most skilled armies. For a time, it seemed as if the entire nation would be lost. Within two months of invasion, however, Sunndi gained hope with the arrival in late 583 of Almor's Commandant Osson, who had led most of Ivid's army on a distracting chase throughout much of the southlands, away from Chathold. Osson's host met the Glorioles army at the Battle of Rieuwood. Aided by native sylvan elves, Chelor's army was decimated and shamed. [LGG – 111] 

Osson claimed Pitchfield in the autumn of that year. As light snows blanketed much of Ahlissa, Osson and his men took a month to recuperate in the relative warmth of the Pawluck Valley. A failed attempt at taking Nulbish eroded at his army's already fragile morale, and word that the Aerdi Army had cut off any hope of return to Almor painted a landscape of desperation. [LGG – 111]

The County of Sunndi was originally a fief within a fief, being granted to a loyal peer of the Herzog of the South Province when the Herzog was in favor with the Overking. After a miserable, long period of repressive rule, the Sunndis proclaimed independence and joined the Iron League shortly after its founding. Largely recaptured by the Glorioles Army of Ivid V in the Wars, it was liberated through a combination of uprisings and the derring-do of Commander Osson. Sunndi has managed to remain free; the threat from the north has been replaced by the threat of the Scarlet Brotherhood, whose "advisers" were dispatched just in time to prevent Sunndi from going the way of Onnwall and Idee. [FTAA – 39]

When the Honorable Knight Osson of Almor raided Sunndi, freeing it from the Great Kingdom, the Father of Obedience did nothing to stop it, knowing that an independent Sunndi would accept advisors from the south. [SB - 5]

After a brief delay to reorganize, proclaim Sunndi’s liberation, and recruit volunteers, Osson set off again. Crossing the Glorioles, the commandant made a stab at Nulbish on the Thelly River. Sadly, the good fortune that had followed him to this point fled. The garrison commander at Nulbish, Magistar Vlent, had the military training that other Aerdi commanders lacked. Refusing to fight outside the city, Magistar Vlent used a heavily armed river flotilla to maintain supplies and harry the Almorians. After several weeks of futile siege, Osson received word that the Aerdi Army was descending from the north. Any return to Almor was clearly impossible, for a massive army now blocked the path.

Many options—all of them grim—came under debate in Osson’s war council. [Thredus, Commandant Osson’s personal wizard and chronicler, faithfully recorded these war councils. Thredus’ ’True Account of the Great Almorian Campaign spans five volumes and provides both historical accounts of battles and biographical information about Osson himself. Wars - 28] Some of the knights argued for fighting back to Almor, others suggested wintering over in Sunndi, and a handful even proposed a drive for Rauxes, capital of the Great Kingdom! In the end, Osson chose none of these, calling instead for a march on the See of Medegia. For Almor’s sake, Osson argued, the cavalry must continue to pressure the Great Kingdom. If reports held true that the Lordship of the Isles and the Iron League were planning to ally, surely the Lordship’s fleet could provide an escape to the Almorian cavalry. [Wars – 14]

During the wars, Osson bypassed Pontylver. A diviner among his retinue informed him that the city rulers would not come to the holy censor's aid if Osson ventured further into Medegia. The advice was correct.

Pontylver saw itself as a free city, and Spidasa as being too bound to Rauxes. Having failed to take Nulbish, Osson was ready to accept his diviner's advice—and he was surely right to do so. [Ivid – 106]

Memories of the near-fall of Nulbish to Osson's men during the wars are still fresh, and families here lost many more of their sons to soldiers than elsewhere. [Ivid – 124]

Though the attack into Medegia surprised the Overking, his reaction was equally surprising. As soon as Osson’s intentions were clear, Ivid ordered his armies to stop their pursuit. Rebellious Medegia would receive no aid from the Great Kingdom. In a series of stunning field battles, Osson’s army crushed the forces of the Holy Censor and seized the land from Pontylver to Lone Heath. Spidasa, the Holy Censor, fled to Rauxes to beg his imperial majesty’s forgiveness. Compassion failing him, Ivid V arrested the chief cleric and sentenced him to the Endless Death. [Wars – 14]

When Osson veered into Medegia and conquered large swaths of that land, the Holy Censor made the desperate mistake of heading for Rauxes in exile. Ivid's judgment was swift; the Censor received the delights of the Endless Death (being perpetually tortured while wearing a ring of regeneration), which he still endures. [FTAA – 27]

Osson of Chathold conquered most of Medegia during his extraordinary run-around of southern Aerdy, with Ivid's armies deliberately not coming to the aid of the rebellious Medegia. Incredibly, Censor Spidasa fled to Rauxes from Osson's victorious armies, where he now enjoys the agonies of the Endless Death. [Ivid – 104]

Victims of the Endless Death are forced to wear a ring of regeneration while torturers endlessly perform their arts on them. These torturers, trained from youth to perfectly gauge the intensity and extensity of pain, always stop one step short of inflicting death. Rumors tell that victims of this punishment have been tortured by grandfathers, fathers, and sons of the same executioner families. [Wars – 28]

While Rel Astra did not fall to Osson during the war, the Overking's pillaging army in Medegia didn't worry much about technicalities, and tried its best to sack and loot the town anyway. By this time, having despoiled their way through Medegia, the imperial army was both weakened and sated, and the city's troops fought them off. This created a great hatred of Ivid within Rel Astra, however, and the generals and ordinary folk long for the day when Ivid's gutted carcass will hang on a meathook above the city gates. In addition, Drax was blessed by his Overking with the gift of undying, and he is an animus and none too happy about it. He, too, longs for revenge. So, Rel Astra wants money and plenty of it. Armies of revenge are not hired without bulging coffers. [FTAA - 47]

[The] worst setback for the alliance came when a sudden coup replaced Prince Latmac Ranold of the Lordship of the Isles with his distant cousin, Prince Frolmar Ingerskatti. The new ruler surprisingly proclaimed his support of the Great and Hidden Empire of the Scarlet Brotherhood. This proclamation not only pulled the Lordship from the alliance, but effectively trapped Commandant Osson of Almor in Medegia. Though the Brotherhood’s hand had heretofore gone unfelt, its effect would become increasingly undeniable. [Wars – 14,15]

General Kalreth:

Kalreth

Animus with abilities of 15th-level fighter (Str 18/00, Dex 17). AC -6, hp 100, AL NE. Kalreth is only 5’ 9” […], but he is massively muscled and powerful of stature. His brown curly hair is cut short, and he has a very lined forehead above the thick, bushy eyebrows that dominate his face. […] He regards anything other than complete fealty to Ivid as treason, and he is uncompromising and brutal.

Kalreth’s character has been changed irrevocably by his ownership of the spear of sorrow. […]

The special purpose of the spear, which may lie dormant for many years, is to locate and revivify temples and sleeping guardians devoted to the god Tharizdun. [Dragon #206 - 44] 

Kalreth is a general of the Companion Guard, and he hunted down Osson in Medegia and razed much of that land. [Dragon #206 - 44]

As the clouds of spring cleared in the east, Commandant Osson, still encamped in Medegia, could little deny the fate dealt him and his men. The hope he had posted on the Lordship of the Isles proved misplaced. Ships of the Sea Barons-the sharks of Ivid V-patrolled the waters of the Aerdi Sea while the rested and refitted Aerdi armies awaited Osson across every border. Even the peasantry that Osson hoped would arise remained quiescent, fearing retribution when the Overking’s legions returned. Thus, with certain knowledge of their doom, the cavalry took the field one last time, in a break-out attempt toward the Hestmark Highlands.

The Fallen

Though Osson planned an orderly dash for safety, it was not to be. As the cavalry charged across the Flanmi River, most of its officers fell to the bowmen of the entrenched Aerdi Army. So many fell, in fact, that even the energetic and brilliant commandant could not reign in the cavalry. Before even securing the field, every horseman who still drew breath rode hard for the hills and the safety of Sunndi. From there, the ragged line of cavalry wormed its way home by way of the Iron League. Commandant of the Field Osson of Chathold did not return, and his final fate remains a mystery. The Great Almorian Raid had finally met its end. [Wars – 19]

Finally, the Almorian army surged north to the See of Medegia, which fell quickly without support from Rauxes. Ultimately, Osson's army was put to the sword, its few survivors returning to the villages of Sunndi that supported them. Some say that Osson himself lives on here, though this has never been confirmed. [LGG – 111]

The Ragged Remains Return to Sunndi

Osson's armies never returned home, and when they left Medegia Ivid sent in his armies to loot, pillage, and murder in an act of senseless destruction. Ivid saw this as revenge for the lack of support from the small nation, and his men carried out their work thoroughly and with a grim pleasure. The very dregs of armies were employed: the remnants of the Glorioles Army, orcish forces, and even penal legions of convict and slave militias and levies.

Added to this, the rag-tag, brutal army faced little active resistance in Medegia, since so many of the censor's forces had already been overwhelmed by Osson. Among its commanders were two cousins of the overking (subsequently executed for treachery) who were true Naelax men—they dealt with tanar'ri and yugoloths. [Ivid – 104] 

When Ivid's armies finally crushed Osson's troops in this land, the Overking ordered an orgy of brutality and destruction inflicted on it and its inhabitants. Rape, pillage, torture, and the suffering of every man and woman in Medegia were what Ivid ordered, and his army was pleased to obey. Medegia was utterly despoiled, and what remains of it is barren and underpopulated. Its few surviving inhabitants are bitter, twisted, and half-mad people tormented by fiends and petty despots. [FTAA – 27]

Only after the fiends among the Aerdi legions had sated themselves on the dead did the Overking occupy Medegia. Ivid ordered the land-protected from looting during Osson’s brief tenure-raped and looted. Unsatisfied by the eternal punishment meted out to his Holy Censor, Ivid wanted every man, woman, and child of the upstart province to suffer. The Overking authorized plundering and spoils for every soldier, and commanders even fought minor battles over the right to sack each town. Ivid’s commitment to despoiling Medegia thus removed his mightiest army from combat for some time.

Osson’s raid accomplished much for Almor: destroying the Glorioles Army, redirecting the Aerdi army to conquest of Medegia, and providing Almor time to raise armies and fortifications. Even so, Almorian resistance ultimately proved futile. The Overking-with Ahlissa, Medegia (what remained of it), the North Province, and the Bone March at his sideunleashed all his might against the hapless Prelacy.

Historians hesitate to call the invasion of Almor a battle: it was more accurately a massacre. Armies from Ahlissa and the heartlands converged upon Chathold from the south and east: the Army of the North marched through the Adri Forest to seize the border between Almor and Nyrond: and orcs of the Bone March boiled through the Flinty Hills, cutting into the flank of Nyrondese forces. Ivid thus overran Almor on three fronts and prevented Nyrond from aiding the Prelacy.

Ironically, both the attack and fall of Almor came within Goodmonth. Though Chathold contained a large garrison, well-provisioned for conventional siege, its defenders fell to the magical fury unleashed by the Overking’s wizards and clerics. In a single day, now called the Day of Dust, fell mages and priests leveled the walls, buildings, and citizens of Chathold with an onslaught of earthquakes, fireballs, floods, clouds of poisonous gas, and worse. When the smoke cleared, nothing remained of Chathold to loot and despoil. Ivid did order, however, that the body of Kevont, Prelate of Almor, be hunted out and exposed for a month on the toppled city gates. Thus, the nation of Almor passed from the face of the Flanaess. [Wars – 19]

In the Aftermath:

Historians hesitate to call the invasion of Almor a battle: it was more accurately a massacre. Armies from Ahlissa and the heartlands converged upon Chathold from the south and east: the Army of the North marched through the Adri Forest to seize the border between Almor and Nyrond: and orcs of the Bone March boiled through the Flinty Hills, cutting into the flank of Nyrondese forces. Ivid thus overran Almor on three fronts and prevented Nyrond from aiding the Prelacy.

Ironically, both the attack and fall of Almor came within Goodmonth. Though Chathold contained a large garrison, well-provisioned for conventional siege, its defenders fell to the magical fury unleashed by the Overking’s wizards and clerics. In a single day, now called the Day of Dust, fell mages and priests leveled the walls, buildings, and citizens of Chathold with an onslaught of earthquakes, fireballs, floods, clouds of poisonous gas, and worse. When the smoke cleared, nothing remained of Chathold to loot and despoil. Ivid did order, however, that the body of Kevont, Prelate of Almor, be hunted out and exposed for a month on the toppled city gates. Thus, the nation of Almor passed from the face of the Flanaess. [Wars: ADV - 19] 

Ivid's Rage

While the heroism of Osson of Chathold is celebrated in song and verse, there is little doubt that his exploits cost Almor the lives of tens of thousands of people and plunged it into a nightmare which endures still. Osson's raids so enraged Ivid that he struck against Almor as brutally and forcefully as he did against Medegia. Ahlissan armies, the Army of the North, and Bone March humanoids converged on Almor and simply overwhelmed its armies. On the 17th day of Goodmonth, 584 CY, mages and priests in Ivid's armies razed Chathold by fire, lightning, acid, earthquake, poisonous gas, and more. The Day of Dust, as it is now known, saw the nation of Almor disappear from the maps of the Flanaess, probably forever. [Ivid – 145]

Almor burned like dry wood following Commandant Osson's eventual defeat. [LGG – 78] 

Almor has passed from the map of the Flanaess. Weakened and embarassed by Osson's exploits, it was invaded by Ivid in 584 CY and its old capital, Chathold, utterly decimated by the Overking's mages and priests. The animus Duke Szeffrin now rules half of the old Almorian lands, and this creature, formerly a greatly favored general in Ivid's armies, is reputedly one of the cruellest of the animus nobles now holding sway over so much of Aerdy. [FTAA - 27] 

Fiends have been seen plundering the razed ruins of Chathold. They are carrying off corpses and skeletons, probably to be animated, but they appear to be seeking something else—a magical treasure or symbol of authority of the Great Kingdom, perhaps. The fiends are unusually well organized, persistent, and thorough. [FTAA - 79]

[One] must add to Ivid's crimes the decimation of Medegia by troops. This came about because of his rage over the Medegian failure to support him in his military campaigns, the failure to resist Osson's raids, the execution of the ruler of Ahlissa, and the destruction of Almor. [Ivid – 5] 

The Signing of the Eastern Pact

As 583 came to a close, the king met in Oldred with representatives of Almor, Onnwal, Idee, Sunndi, the Pale, the County of Urnst, and Irongate. There, all but the Pale signed the Eastern Pact of Alliance, a treaty meant to ensure the containment of Ivid's armies. [LGG – 78]

While defending Irongate, and thus Onnwal, the Brotherhood worked elsewhere to destroy the unity of the Iron League. Confident the Vast Swamp would block any overland attack, the Father of Obedience did not lift a finger when Osson liberated Sunndi. Under Ivid’s rule, the courts of Sunndi were impervious to the Brotherhood’s advisors, but liberated from the yoke of the Great Kingdom, the people would welcome the Scarlet Brotherhood-at least for a time. [Wars – 22]

Though the tide of evil seemed certain to flood the land—even to the gates of Greyhawk City—fate intervened, wearing the guise of madness. The mad Overking Ivid V compared the success of the Almorian campaign, in which he had played a small part, with the previous handling of Osson’s raid. He concluded not that Osson had been a brilliant commander, but that his own generals were incompetent bunglers, requiring his aid to be successful. In short, Ivid decided he was a military genius and all his generals were fools. [Wars – 20]

[Such] trivial diversions as Osson's raid into Ahlissa and Medegia brought out the very worst in Ivid. He became utterly obsessed about such matters and ordered appalling reprisals, verging on genocide, against the people of those lands. He saw it as punishment for treachery in not dealing with such affronts to His Imperial Majesty. [Ivid – 5] 

Ivid executed the third Chelor during the Greyhawk Wars, a fair reward for his cousin's dithering. Indeed, most of the Naelax-Selor House perished with the Chelors at the hands of Ivid's executioners and assassins. Ahlissan armies did not readily march to war against Nyrond, and they suffered humiliating defeats at the hands of Osson of Almor. This was, indeed, a pitiful display by the Herzog's armies. For some years before the wars, Ahlissan armies had threatened the Iron League nations, and Chelor had built a powerful standing army around the Province.

In mitigation, it must be said that Osson's attack was wholly unexpected.

At the height of Osson's invasion, Chelor begged aid from his cousin. The army which arrived was too late to deal with Osson, but it also had orders to detain Chelor. The Herzog and most of his senior advisers were brought to Ivid and summary justice was dispensed. [Ivid – 128] 

Guests to Ivid's Pleasure

The dungeons of the royal palace contain an unknown number of wretches suffering the Endless Death. Here, they are tortured by priests of Hextor, given a ring of regeneration, and then tortured all over again. Such treatment renders the victims insane very swiftly. The current victims include Spidasa, Censor of Medegia, and it is possible that Chelor, Herzog of South Province, is similarly tormented—though some say he is dead. Some folk believe that Osson of Almor is similarly imprisoned in the unspeakable dungeons, swarming with evil priests, lesser and least baatezu, undead of most kinds, and worse. [Ivid – 32]

Dallrend Gresinen

Let us not think that Ossen’s Raid was foolhardy, or folly. His exploits raised the hopes and courage of many in the field; and it may be that his dash across South Province and Sunndi and Medegia drew much needed resources away from Nyrond and Urnst.

His name has been and still is an inspiration to many, most notably The Knights of the Chase, the fellowship of the followers of Trithereon, and most notably Dallrend Gresinen.

A native of Chathold in Almor, Dallrend has fought for almost two decades against the incursions of the Great Kingdom; the Aerdi remain for him the culprits for all misfortunes and calamities that befell his land. Now that Almor has passed into history and his family’s fate remains a mystery, he spends his time searching for his family and punishing any who seek to persecute his shattered homeland. Many within Nyrond’s occupying forces consider Dallrend a hothead, but they respect him because he rescued several of their countrymen from slavers raiding the coastal areas of old Almor. [Dragon #297 – 96] 

Active throughout the Flaneass battling oppression and tyranny, Knights of the Chase can be found throughout the old Great Kingdom (where they are often hanged as seditionist), Sunndi, Ratik, Old Almor, the Bandit Kingdoms, the Shield Lands, [and] ruined Tenh, [where] members of the order war against both Stonefolders and the law-obsessed zealots armies of the Theocracy of the Pale. [Dragon #297 – 92]

Shall Almor rise again? Who can say?

It will if Otto, archimage of the Circle of Eight, has any say in that.

And Dallrend.

And those other unknown and unheralded heroes who strive for such a day. 

“When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw.”
― Nelson Mandela

Ode to Freedom – a fragment

O Liberty! if such could be thy name

Wert thou disjoined from these, or thry from they:

If thine or theirs were treasures to be bought

By blood or tears, have not the wise and free

Wept tears, and blood like tear?

 –  Percy Bysshe Shelley, 1820

One must always give credit where credit is due. This piece 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.

 

The Art:

Of-Templars by eli-baum

Knights-Valiant-Hearts by misssaber444

Black-Flag by morkardfc

fallen-hero by monochrome-21

After-battle by sebel

Fallen-Kingdom by radittz

Torture-Chamber by batedruby

Journey-Home-II by jjcanvas

Sources:

1015 World of Greyhawk Boxed Set, 1983

Greyhawk Wars Boxed Set, 1991

1064 From the Ashes Boxed Set, 1992

11374 The Scarlet Brotherhood, 1999

11743 Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, 2000

Dragon Magazine #65, #206, #297

Ivid, the Undying, 2009

Greyhawkania, Jason Zavoda

The map of Anna B. Meyer

On Otto

“My liege, and madam, to expostulate
What majesty should be, what duty is,

Why day is day, night night, and time is time.
Were nothing but to waste night, day, and time.
Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit
And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes,
I will be brief.”
― William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 2, scene 2, lines 93-99

Otto

What can be said of Otto? Much, apparently. More than I imagined, at first. That said, much of it was written by James M. Ward, as erudite a sage as Otto, himself.

Otto is a member of the Circle of Eight; not an original member—that distinction goes to the Citadel of Eight: Mordenkainen (wizard), Yrag (fighter), Bigby (wizard), Rigby (cleric), Zigby (dwarf), Felnorith (elf), Vram (elf) & Vin (elf), a group of adventurers who sallied forth from the impregnable bastion (the obsidian Citadel) to fight evil—but one of seven archmagi whom Mordenkainen put together later to act as neutral referees between Good and Evil, lest either gain the upper hand on the other for two long.

The new Circle of Eight were Bigby, Otiluke, Drawmij, Tenser, Nystul, and Otto. Jallarzi Sallavarian was recruited later, and hence forth they were known as Mordenkainen and the Circle of Eight.

I’ll get to each of them in turn; but for now we are here to discuss Otto.

So, what can be said about Otto?

Otto, Clr3(Boccob)/Wiz15: HP 78. AL N. Str 16. Dex 10. Con 15. Int 17. Wis 15. Cha 17.

Otto is 44, 5‘10“tall, 332 lbs., with long curly brown hair and green-hazel eyes. He usually wears voluminous rich robes of purple and gold, and several gem-set rings. Hugely fat, the sociable and ebullient Otto travels widely, claiming to be a merchant, and trading in luxuries, especially foodstuffs. Otto is a gourmet, and what he doesn’t know about good food isn’t worth knowing. He has been writing a book on special dishes and good places to eat for some ten years, and is looking forward to visiting many more fine hostelries still. Otto’s cornucopia of blissful satiation is an item which provides him with three gourmet meals per day, but these must be ones which Otto has eaten before, and no particular dish can be reproduced more than once per year by the cornucopia—hence Otto’s desire to eat as many wonderful (and different) dishes as possible on his travels. Otto is a cultured man. With a love of all arts and music.

Young Otto, Cleric of Boccob

Otto began life as an acolyte of Boccob in the Prelacy of Almor, but despite his enthusiasm he did not make good progress. His superiors suggested switching to a career as a mage, and Otto has never looked back. Possibly due to some very wry assistance from Boccob—or more likely Zagig—Otto made extraordinary rapid advancement […], but in a very special manner. It is Otto’s keen musical sense which has assisted his study of magic. Otto is always ready (when he drops the cover of being a merchant and is known for what he is) to wax lyrical about the similarities between the structure of musical forms and the structures of the laws of magic, and believes the two to be closely linked.

In addition to his own personal spells using alterations of sound accompanying, or causing, magical effects, Otto is notorious for his bizarre singing firefalls and for his casting magic missiles which leave a sound wave of polyphonic chanting behind them as they streak through the air. One Frost Barbarian who incurred Otto’s wrath is reported to have said, “I have been struck by that which the foul dabblers in sorcery call an ice storm before, but never before by one which yodelled as it hailed down on my head.”

Otto is well-liked among the rulers of Almor, and has a large town house there. If he needs to carry out magical research, he uses the resources of the Wizards’ Guild of Chathold, or those at Tenser’s fortress. He spends most of his time in Almor, where he learns much of what is happening in the Great Kingdom and the troubled lands of the Bone March and Ratik, information carefully studied by the Circle of Eight. He is known to assist druids and rangers and their friends in the Adri Forest, and generally his [tolerance of all peoples’ natures] is tinged with good tendencies.

Otto is a frequent visitor to the Free City of Greyhawk and keeps a well-appointed town house there

"The King in Yellow" Grand Theatre and Opera House

[….] He visits to see Tenser, to trade, but mostly to attend major cultural events in Greyhawk, especially the opera. Otto has been in love with Aestrella Shanfarel for years, and adores listening to her. He has showered her with flowers, gems, and gifts of all sorts, and has even dines with her twice (as her way of acknowledging the funds he has donated to the Grand Theatre and Opera House). He has no idea, of course, of her true nature […]. Otto greatly enjoys the excellent food of Greyhawk, and often stays at the Golden Phoenix, talking to the chefs and swapping hints and gossip. On his most recent visit, Otto was able to add kraken steaks stuffed with fillets or rare star-eel, poached in Celene nectarwine and served with a mousse of moonberry and lemon, to his vast store of culinary experiences. He will travel far and wide to enjoy such rarities, and will pay well for recipes he has not already recorded in the many books which fill his bag of holding. [CoG:FFF - 23]

Ten years later, Otto was much the same. A little fatter, maybe. But by then, Almor had fallen and he had relocated to the Free City, his home away from home.

Otto, a wizard who, like Jallarzi, is of the Circle of Eight, is well-placed as a new noble, having elected to live in Greyhawk after his homeland of Almor was ruined a decade earlier. [TAB - 71]

It is well known that this old mansion is owned by a member of the Circle of Eight […]. Since the destruction of his homeland, the Prelacy of Almor, during the Greyhawk Wars, Otto has been seen in town much more than he once was. Of late, he has travelled to Nyrond on several occasions and visited the lands of Almor that Nyrond annexed, looking for old friends but finding that most died in the fighting. He is present in the city [most] of the time, working on various projects, patronizing the arts, or seeing visitors. Otto is 53 years old, very fat, and extremely outgoing and cheerful. He is a superb gourmet, has a keen musical sense, and has friends among artists and actors everywhere. He has several elderly, quiet servants.

[…] Otto has a side interest in artifacts, though this is not commonly known. Any [person] who brings Otto a new bit of knowledge about an artifact of Oerth (or a previously unknown musical instrument, for that matter) will win his attention and possibly his friendship. If befriended, he is a good source of news on conditions in Nyrond and might know of some adventuring rumours and locations. [TAB - 89]

Otto is a rotund 53 year-old Oeridian with long hair, dyed light orange and worn in curls. At first glance, he appears foppish, as suggested by the intricately designed silk and satin robes that round out his voluminous wardrobe. Further study, however, reveals that he is possessed of the sharpest of minds, tinged only slightly by eccentricity. At times, he acts like the very image of Zagyg, and some have suggested that the attention of that demipower aided greatly in his rapid advancement in the field of arcane study.

Boccob

The mage’s first calling was to the clergy of the Uncaring One, and it was as a Loremaster, in the vaunted temple of Boccob in Chathold, that he spent most of his life prior to being drafted by Mordenkainen. For this reason, he is a good friend of both Ravel Dasinder of Greyhawk and Riggby, who has long since retired from his position of eminence in Verbobonc.

Otto loves traveling. Before the wars, he boasted of having visited every civilized nation in the Flanaess (and some considerably less civilized, for good measure). He claims that his adventures are due to his love of seeing new and exciting things. Those who know him well explain that, more than the sights, Otto travels to exotic lands for the tastes that might be discovered there. In fact, the mage has a specially enchanted cornucopia that will reproduce any one meal once per year, with the exception that it must be a meal that Otto has ingested in the last 360 days. Otto cherishes this item, and often will brave hazards both magical and mundane to experience some new culinary delight. Such travels have brought him further west than any other member of the Circle save Mordenkainen, and dark secrets learned there have caused him at times to wonder at the true drive of the Circle's founder.

Ultimately, Otto's studies have remained close to the roots he followed before the Greyhawk Wars. He is obsessed with the structure of magic on Oerth, but, unlike Mordenkainen, he takes the unorthodox opinion that the form of magic and the form of music have some telling similarities. His first experiments in this arena involved mixing musical effects with mundane magical spells, but he has, of late, taken to composing chilling arias, such as his Aestrella, which produce stunning magical effects when sung to perfection. His latest endeavor is a piece for a chamber orchestra that, when played correctly, will open a visual-only gate depicting the wild forests of Arborea. It is slow work, but the commission paid by the Greyhawk Opera House has allowed him to continue in lieu of actual adventuring or any other form of income. [LGJ#0 - 10,11]

Otto was once a priest of Boccob, the god of magic, but is now a major wizard and a member of the Circle of Eight. One of the younger members at age 53, Otto is also one of the most colorful. Otto often poses as a rich, cheerful merchant, but he is easily picked out in a crowd because of his huge girth and his ruffled and beribboned clothing. He is a gourmet constantly in search of new, exotic dishes to sample, and is a patron of the arts. He has a natural talent for music and adds musical elements to his spells, which include singing fjreballs and yodeling ice storms.

Once a native of Almor far to the east, Otto has moved to the City of Greyhawk following the complete destruction of his country He can be found visiting the opera house, the Wizards' Guildhall or his fellow Circle members. [PGtG - 22]            

Otto has heard, from a contact in northern Nyrond, that Nystul [another of the Circle of Eight] has been working with powerful druids within the Phostwood to develop a potent form of faerie fire which binds the victim in addition to normal effects, but what has come of this as yet is uncertain. [CoG:FFF]

The Guild of Performing Arts Hall

[The Guild of Performing Artistes] has many wealthy patrons, most notably among the cultured nobility of the city. Otto of the Circle of Eight […] is a member. The guild is open to accepting anyone with any ability in the field of the performing arts, and it is not unknown for the guild to tempt famous performers from other regions to take up residence in the Free City. [CoG:FFF - 36]

The guild counts the archmage Otto among its patrons, and hence the entire structure is literally bathes in magical protections. [LGJ#2 - 8]

The art gallery is magically warded against theft, to an extreme degree. Many wizard and priest spells have been cast here, none of the sort that would damage the artwork while drawing attention to the theft in progress. Because of several attempts to steal works in the past, the guild has great antipathy for the Guild of Thieves, despite the fact that some members of the Guild of Performing Arts also secretly work for the Guild of Thieves. A continuing, low-grade struggle goes on between the thieves, who want to get the artwork, and the guild backers (including Otto […]), who lay down the casle’s defences. [TAB - 113]

Otto’s House

This small dwelling seems almost a cottage among the grandeau of the surrounding mansions. Often it is inhabited only by the white-haired groundskeeper and his wife.

About 25% of the time, however, Otto himself comes to stay here. […]

His house is comfortably appointed, and the housekeeper is a splendid cook. The old man tends the fine gardens on the estate. Otto keeps little of value here. [CoG:GotF - 63]

[Tenser] usually stays either at the house of his good friend Otto […], with Jalarzi […], or treats himself to a little luxury at the Golden Phoenix […]. [CoG:FFF - 22]

Jallarzi Sallavarian

The Golden Phoenix

Lady Valderesse Sharn, Tenser, Otto, Jallarzi Sallavarian (sometimes looking for Edwina, who is friendly with the pastry chef here and may be too fat to fly home), Nerof Gasgal, and Org Nenshen are all among the [Golden Phoenix’s] regular patrons, so this is an ideal place to [meet personages] of the highest levels of political involvement—or even members of the Circle of Eight! [CoG:FFF - 63]

The New Mill

The "New Mill," or New Mill College, is one of two functioning mills within the city walls, and serves as the headquarters for the Guild of Bakers and Cooks. Although some staffers at the Old Mill resented its construction, in truth the output from the New Mill isn't high enough to make any competitive impact since New Mill is first and foremost an educational institution. Here the various skills of food preparation, from the grinding of grain and the storing of milk to the final spicing and steaming of an exotic dish, are well taught by expert chefs from across the Flanaess. The college is also the site of a great cooking competition at the end of Brewfest. The mill's cellar sports a small slaughterhouse and ale-brewing facility. [LGJ#5 - 7]

The wizard Otto, an anonymous benefactor of the college and sometimes guest-instructor, has now taken an interest in the problems at the two mills, although his travels keep him away from the Free City much of the time. [LGJ#5 - 7]

Guildhall of the Performing Arts

High Tower Tavern and Hostelry

This is the favorite gathering place of the powerful wizards of the Council of Eight, when one or more of them are in Greyhawk. On most occasions, these wizards disguise themselves before venturing out in public. Otto, Tenser, and Nystul are the three wizards most commonly encountered here. [CoG:GotF - 63]

Guildhall of the Performing Artistes

The Guild includes performers of all types: jugglers, clowns, musicians, singers, actors, acrobats, snakecharmers, and so on. It enjoys the patronage of the great wizard Otto (od the Circle of Eight […]), and the Shrine to the goddess Lirr in the guildhall seems to engender her favor as well. [CoG:GotF - 75]

The History of Otto

First mention?

Robilar, Tenser, and Terik encountered him while adventuring in Greyhawk Castle. Otto was subdued by Tenser, but decided to work for Robilar, rarely straying from Robilar's side, at least until 570 CY when Robilar’s Keep was sacked by the Forces of Good, led by Tenser, and the ranger Otis.

570 CY

Lord Robilar

Sometime over one year ago, Robilar freed a demon, and in the ensuing difficulties, forces aligned with Good sacked and destroyed his stronghold west of the City of Greyhawk. It is reported that the following force escaped and is now somewhere in the Pomarj region:

• Heavy Cavalry: 50 (Regulars)
• Medium Cavalry: 100 (Regulars)
• Light Cavalry: 50 (Regulars)
• Light Horse Crossbowmen: 50 (Regulars)
• Heavy Infantry: 100 (Elite Qrcish)
• Light Infantry: 100 (Levied)
• Heavy Archers: 50 (Elite Orcish)
• Light Crossbowmen: 50 (Regulars)
• Pole Armed Infantry: 100 (Regular Orcish)

Many of the higher-level figures were slain during the intaking of the castle, but Robilar has Otto, a high-level magic-user, and Quij, an Orcish hero of high ability but low intelligence, as well as some relatively low-level cohorts. This force is Lawful Evil but suspect by the minions of Hell due to chaotic actions. [Dragon #37 - 11]

One would think that Otto was Robilar’s faithful servant. Robilar certainly did. But was he?

Otto has been involved in the affairs of the Circle of Eight since before the group's existence. In 570, with Robilar's part in the release of luz revealed, Mordenkainen sought to keep tabs on the noble's activities. Since Lord Robilar was said to have the ability to discover magical scryes placed upon him, it was necessary to plant a spy within his sizable host. Having found Robilar's servant, the euroz Quij, wholly incorruptible (insofar as loyalty to his master was concerned), the Archmage of Greyhawk set upon a more mundane plan. Working through contacts in the Prelacy of Almor, he drafted an aspiring magic-wielding priest of Boccob as his mole. So it was that Otto worked his way into Robilar's organization, and onto the path of events that would see him as a founding member of the Circle of Eight.  [LGJ#0 - 10]

571 CY

Otto had served Mordenkainen well, and was rewarded for his efforts.

Mordenkainen

Over the next year, Mordenkainen invited some of the most prominent magi in the Flanaess to join him. By the first month of 571 CY, he had gathered eight mages to his cause, among them Bigby, Otto, Rary, Nystul, Drawmij, and the affable Bucknard. The Circle in those early days worked to check the power of influential beings in Eastern Oerik. When they could not directly intervene, they sponsored groups of adventurers, as in the sacking of Iggwilv's former haunt at the Tsojcanth Caverns in the mid-570's. Whether or not those agents always knew who set them upon their quests is a matter of some debate. Privately, members of the Circle explored fantastic corners of Oerth, including the strange and foreboding City of the Gods, near Blackmoor, further depths of Castle Greyhawk, and even the manifold layers of the infernal Abyss. More importantly, through their own adventurers and the exploits of those related to them, the Circle began to formulate what soon would become one of the most impressive networks of informers and agents the Flanaess has ever known. [LGJ#0 - 6]

581 CY

An important though seldom noticed event took place in 581 CY, when an agent of Vecna, the Whispered One of ancient Flan legend, struck down the entire Circle of Eight […]. The Circle had acted subtly as a balancing agent for years, preventing any one power from dominating too much of the Flanaess. Though the Circle's leader, Mordenkainen, returned his colleagues to life using powerful magic, the group was in disarray when war again erupted in the distant north in 582. [LGG - 15]

Not all things go as planned. Sometimes, the most unexpected things can happen, things that even the Old One could never have planned for.

The Cult of Vecna

Gradually, Vecna’s cult grew and he assumed the powers of a demigod. The process took a long time—gathering his power, responding to his worshipers, and settling himself among the greater powers. Vecna persevered and eventually reached the point where he was accepted as a minor demigod in the legions of evil.

Guaranteed immortality, Vecna was still not satisfied. With his scheming mind, he has devised a plan to ascend to greater godhood and humble his rival deities. With his usual long patience, Vecna has been working on this plan for centuries. Working through his avatar or others, the Whispered One has carefully found seven magical items. Each item has been placed in a secret location, [their positions] strategic to his plans.

These items, when fully powered, will cast a mystical web of energy over all of Oerth, cutting off all other gods from their followers. Already they are creating interference on a local scale. Only Vecna will receive the adulation of his worshipers: the other gods will weaken and leave the path open for Vecna to rise to the fore. Then the Whispered One will open the gates of time and bring forth his faithful followers from the past. Feeding on their devotions, Vecna will become the greatest of gods.

There is only one difficulty that remains for Vecna—finding his Eye and Hand. They are the final keys to fully empower the web, the final keys that open the gate of time. He knows not where these are. In the final confrontation with Kas, when they were sundered from his body, the gods (perhaps foreseeing his powers) hid them from his senses. Vecna cannot detect their energies; he can only find them by seeing their effects on others, much like finding a boat by the wake it creates. Too many times he has come close, only to have them escape his grasp. This time, he is determined not to fail. [WGA4 Vecna Lives! - 7]

The Circle of Eight sensed a great danger, but somehow their divinations were blocked. Mordenkainen sent some of his most trusted mages to investigate. And they died. Every last one of them: Bigby, Drawmij, Jallarzi Sallavarian, Nystul, Otiluke, Otto, Rary, and Tenser. Of course, death was not the end of all of them, it rarely is for those as powerful as members of the Circle. Mordenkainen sent others; their path led ever west and the name Vecna was raised time and again. And Kas. And Iuz.

Shattered Circle

Mordenkainen

Mordenkainen addressed this absence by recovering what was left of his fallen comrades and cloning them. This endeavor consumed time that otherwise might have seen him addressing the reports of the Circle's allies in the North, who warned of alarming developments in Stonefist and the Barbarian Lands. When those events spiraled into the first conflicts of the Greyhawk Wars, the Circle's clones remained undeveloped and half-aware. By the time the clones reached full maturation, the Circle of Eight had been forced to take a reactive stance to the tumultuous events unfolding before them.

Though the Circle never acted concertedly during the Greyhawk Wars, certain "hotspots" received a good deal of their attention. Mordenkainen Bigby and Otto fought against the Old One's army at the infamous Battle of Critwall Bridge, and Drawmij was instrumental in organizing the flood of refugees from the Lost Lands to fastnesses in the Good Hills. Nystul worked primarily alone in besieged Tenh, while Otto and Bigby left Mordenkainen in the Vesve Forest to do what they could for the Iron League. Citing pressing personal needs, Rary retreated to his tower in Lopolla and refused to come to the aid of his companions.

When the political rumblings that signaled the end to the conflict reached the Free City of Greyhawk, the entire Circle was on hand to ensure a favorable outcome to the peace process. Their network of agents researched the backgrounds of key diplomats and participants in the proceedings, and magical divinations were conducted to unmask any would-be saboteurs. Never did the view of those scrying crystals turn inward, however, toward the plans of the single individual who could do the most harm to the delegates' cause.

Rary's treachery that day killed Tenser and Otiluke, and gained the Archmage of Ket everlasting infamy. Spurned from his family by his brother and banned from Greyhawk itself by Mordenkainen, Rary fled to the Bright Desert, to uncover its secrets and inaugurate an empire. [LGJ#0 - 6,7]

Did I mention that Otto was an erudite soul? He might even be the most learned of the Circle. He most certainly enjoyed a good mystery, doggedly chasing down leads with the help of Jawal Severnain, Librarian, Guild of Wizardry.

582 CY

Letter from Otto to Mordenkainen following the defeat of the Falcon, 22nd of Reaping,

My dear Mordenkainen,

Your inquiries into the origins of the derro following the recent discovery of them beneath our city streets will be satisfied in part by the account herein, taken from my personal investigations. The heroes who last month saw to the defeat of the serpentine Falcon and her derro followers saved us all from an unspeakable fate.

The creation of the derro, the only servant race of the Suloise whose generation was publicly known and debated, is an especially ugly page in our fragmentary history of the Suel Imperium. References to their creation and uses appear in several buried libraries in the eastern end of the Sea of Dust; I have made copies of some of these if you wish to examine them, though as usual I do not wish to reveal the exact location of my sources.

The Derro

Approximately 1,800 years ago, after much debate, the Suloise Imperial Congress approved the creation of a new subject race of beings to serve as miners, delving into the earth in search of precious metals, gems, and magical compounds sought by the wealthy and politically powerful wizards of the empire. The race was bred from human and dwarven prisoners and slaves by means that do not bear description here. This new race was called the thurgamazar, Suloise for “little miners,” but they became more popularly known as dwur-rohoi, “twisted dwarves,” a term used by a Flan slave of the Suloise who saw the new race at work. Dwur-rohoi was corrupted over the centuries to dwurroh, then to derro.

The creation of this race produced a permanent rift in the Suloise pantheon. Fortubo, the industrious god of stone, metals, and mountains, was so outraged at the horrific mistreatment of the captive dwarves used by Suloise wizards to create the derro that he withdrew his favor from nearly all his human followers. Clerics of Fortubo were apparently later responsible for instigating numerous anti-imperial revolts among the empires few dwarven slaves, free workers, and merchants. Fortubos efforts to destroy the derro and punish the Suloise who created them were seen favorably by the dwarven gods Moradin and Berronar. They soon gave Fortubo his hammer-artifact Golbi and joined forces with him in the Flanaess to destroy enemies of the dwur-folk. Fortubo is the sworn enemy of the derro and their patron deity Diirinka, whose origin I do not know but which I suspect lies in the Suel Imperium’s time.

The derro gained a great streak of possessiveness from their dwarven progenitors, but they craved magic and knowledge, not gold, perhaps as a result of their Suloise ancestry. The Suloise blood in them gifted the derro with extraordinary magical ability, and the dwarven resistance to magic was magnifiedfurther as well. But the derro temperament was most fully formed by their cruel mistreatment at the hands and spells of the surface-dwelling Suloise.

Their slavery came to an end 1,000 years ago, when the Baklunish Rain of Colorless Fire slew the Suloise above ground but failed to penetrate the deep mines dug out by the derro over their centuries of enforced servitude. Derro regard the Rain not as a disaster but as their deliverance and a blessing. There in the subterranean darkness they survived and prospered, looting the many ruins above them now buried deep under the ashen desert we call the Sea of Dust. In imitation of their former masters, the derro began taking slaves of every sort from neighboring races in the underworld, but especially from human adventurers or survivors of the cataclysm. The derro continue this evil practice to this day.

Humans and dwarves of all worlds would be horrified to learn of the truth of derro ancestry, that our world Oerth is responsible for their creation. The dwarven priests of Fortubo know this today, and they rarely share it even with their followers though they act upon it to destroy their distant, wicked kin. It is suggested here that this knowledge never leave our Circle, lest our world serve as a lightning rod for the wrath of those elsewhere whom the derro have tormented.

Otto

[Dragon #241 - 40, More Player Races for the Greyhawk Campaign, by Roger E. Moore]

585 CY

At the close of the Greyhawk Wars.

Otto, […] is believed to have gone to Almor to search for his henchman, the priestess Johanna. Both Otto and Johanna hailed from Almor’s capital, Chathold. [Dragon #230 - 8]

He found her. He rescued her. Why would risk life and limb for her? Because she is his oldest and dearest friend.

Johanna is native to the Prelacy of Almor, where she is an important official in the temples of Boccob. She has served in the priesthood all her life. It was there she first met and tutored Otto. Later, she was one of those who advised him to leave the temple. Johanna and Otto have remained close friends ever since.

To others, this seems like an odd Mutt-and-Jeff combination: the epicurean mage and the dour, strict priestess. In truth, Johanna is much less formidable than the image she presents. Uncomfortable among strangers, she lowers her defenses among friends, becoming warmer and showing a sly sense of humor. [WGA4 - 92]

Sunset, 8th of Coldeven

My dearest friend and ally, Johanna,

Your letter of the 5th arrived here in my residence on the same night, as no doubt you hoped it would, but I fear I was dining out alone that evening in a vain attempt to calm my anxieties over your safety; I did not enter my study until last night. I regret I was not here to read your words and share in your grief, as I do now. Please accept my apologies and know that I wept long when I read of your poor family’s fate. I remember your two brothers as if they were my own. I curse the beasts who delivered them and all in Chathold to such unspeakable evil. There will be vengeance for this from me, I swear this night by Boccob’s brow, a vengeance that will burn even the heart of a fiend.

I must also tell you that I was profoundly distressed to read of the rumors you have heard regarding a white orb said to have been seen in the claws of the Great Murderer of Almor, Duke Szeffrin. This was news of the worst sort, and your report regarding the powers that the orb is said to possess has only fed my nightmare that a true artifact has fallen into the possession of our hated enemies. That this orb is held by an undead wretch such as Szeffrin is ghastly news; between this and word of your brothers, I have been robbed of my appetite, and I have scarcely eaten for a day now. I have sent urgent word to Mordenkainen through Jallarzi to meet with him, since he has resources that I lack, but she returned and said he was “out,” likely swapping tales with that vile goat of a spell-hurler from Faerun — rot him for delaying Mord in this hour of need! But I have been tardy as well, and we must as a consequence handle this matter on our own.

The “white sphere” that you described as “engraved with myriad serpents or dragons” is very likely one of our world's Orbs of Dragonkind. You have heard of these, assuredly, but in the event that you have made no further study of these artifacts, I am attaching a copy of a short paper I wrote on this subject, which I read before the Eight only four years past on Midsummer’s Night, 581 CY. At the time, this information was little more than a part of a pet project to catalog the three or four dozen families of artifacts of this great continent of Oerik, but now the matter lies at the center of my worst dreads.

The information that I impart to you must be kept only to yourself for now. Thanks to my many private connections among the nobility of the central Flanaess, I have had access to records in archives and libraries where no outsider would normally be welcome, much less left alive once discovered. The general release of this information would, first, endanger my treasured connections and, second, threaten our whole, bloodied world, as it might motivate any number of individuals and forces, from greedridden half-heroes down to such Abyss-spawned nightmares as sit upon the thrones of Dorakaa and Rauxes to go in search of these orbs and the great powers they possess. You and I would be in the very snake pit of danger ourselves, since some of my research drew upon materials secured in ruins beneath the Sea of Dust, guarded by intolerant fiends who would not appreciate knowing I had been there among their treasures.

Read, then, and understand my fears.

The Orbs of Dragonkind

Magical creations are sometimes developed in parallel to a surprising degree of similarity. One of the most famous cases of such independent convergence of thought concerns the Orbs of Dragonkind, examples of which have been recorded on no fess than six different worlds. While the specifics of each case vary considerably, with such orbs covering a wide range in size, composition, power, number, and purpose, all such items were created with the intent of bestowing upon the user a measure of mastery over dragons. Doubtless, some such devices have inspired the creation of others, but certain dragon affecting orbs seem to have had no antecedent in their lands — the Dragon Orbs of Ansalon, for example, or the Orbs of Draconic Influence of Faerun.

Why this consistent combination of orbs and dragon control? What is confusing to the commoner is obvious to anyone who has long studied the matter. The orb represents an eye, and eye contact is crucial among all dragons in establishing communication, dominance, and intent. No other geometric shape has the power so quickly to arrest a dragon’s attention and make it prey to whatever powers the user would work on the creature’s mind and will.

Oerth, it is well known, has its own Orbs of Dragonkind, but their oral and written history is poorly known even to the learned. Sages have long suspected a connection between these orbs and the long-lost Suel Imperium (Suloise Empire, Empire of the Suel, whatever), dead just over ten centuries. I have recently finished my own investigation into this topic, and I now offer you the results, sparing you my bibliography and the harrowing tale of my research until later this evening, after the fine dinner that I have prepared for your digestive education. Attend my words:

In the ancient days of the maturing Suloise Empire, starting about -2400 CY, a great series of wars was fought between the emperor’s forces and the various monsters that populated the southern Crystalmist Mountains, what we now call the Hellfurnaces. The emperor, Inzhilem II of the House of Neheli-Arztin, was a surpassing wizard, the fifth such among the Suloise to be known as a Mage of Power. Inzhilem wished to establish mines deep within the Crystalmists to harvest rare minerals and crystals for his personal research, though he also had a niggling interest in throwing back some of the humanoid and draconic monsters that periodically raided the eastern provinces of his empire and reduced their taxable resources.

 Imperial armies, even supported by military wizardry, found themselves hard pressed by their opposition. The great families of red dragons throughout the southern Crystalmists had enslaved Iimitless numbers of brutish humanoids for use as sword-fodder, originally to attack one another’s territories or bring in additional treasures. These armies of orcs and goblinkind were now turned upon the empire’s soldiers, hurling themselves into battle with great ferocity and in numbers that well made up for their lack of skill or foresight.

In addition, these dragons were exceedingly skilled at magic; baneful extraplanar powers supplied them with secret knowledge of spellcasting in return for great sacrifices of wealth. Worse yet, certain of those red dragons had undergone sorcerous rituals that infused their living bodies with shadowstuff from the Demiplane of Shadow, granting them new and devastating powers. These were the first of the accursed shadow dragons, and they and their servants built a vast network of caverns, halls, and tunnels beneath the Crystalmists that exists even to this day. Even the great Vault of the Drow is said by some sources once to have been the cavern-hall of an elder shadow dragon of this bygone age, some treasures of which may still lie hidden thereabouts. (The gods grant us that these treasures yet remain undiscovered by the drow!)

Facing such evil strength, the army commanders sent word to lnzhilem that the issue was in doubt, and they asked for his personal intervention. Angered at first that his armies could do no more than hold their own against mere dragons and orcs, lnzhilem quickly became intrigued by the difficult problem posed by the Fiery Kings, as the troublesome dragons were known in the eastern lands. He returned to the capital to remedy the situation.

Historical references to Inzhilem’s studies are sparse and contradictory. He was not in the habit of recording his thoughts and deeds for posterity’s sake. It is recorded in several places, however, that Inzhilem called upon and gained the direct assistance of the Suel deity Wee Jas herself, who in those early days was of greater aspect and power than she is now, and less concerned with matters of death than of pure sorcery. Legend has it that other gods favoring humanity were involved as well, though their names are lost; indeed, some of them may now be dead and forgotten. Myth and legend claim that all these gods were benevolent, but I have grave reservations about this. Whatever sources he used, lnzhilem gained sufficient knowledge to produce a solution.

The emperor elected to construct a limited number of identical artifacts that would give his forces the ability to confront and destroy the Fiery Kings. Knowing the great importance that dragons attach to direct eye contact, which among the most paranoid and wicked of them is regarded as a challenge resulting in an immediate fight to the death, lnzhilem set upon the orb as the ideal form for these surpassing devices. Each orb would be carried into battle by a war-trained wizard and used to subdue, assault, or defend against all dragons present, while a group of elite soldiers and battle-priests who accompanied the wizard would move swiftly to finish off the draconic foes; this group would accompany a regular army, which would carry the battle to the dragon’s humanoid supporters. This use of an orb with combined forces is important, as a single orb was not meant to be carried out alone against a many-talented foe like a dragon, much less the countless underlings who would soon overwhelm a lone orb-bearer. This misconception of the powers and uses of these orbs has likely undone more than one champion who was fortunate enough to gain an orb yet unfortunate enough to use it unwisely and alone, perishing as a consequence.

Furthermore, lnzhilem planned that each orb would be useful against every sort of evil dragon known, not merely against the red and shadow varieties. To accomplish this, lnzhilem was forced to have his entire collection of caged and charmed dragons in the capital gardens slain by sorcerous means. A portion of the blood, bone, brain, and spirit of each dragon was captured and imprisoned in each orb, though the orbs themselves were not meant to contain true intelligence as such. So strong were the enchantments with which lnzhilem hoped to fill the orbs that rumors flew that every cruel dragon on Oerth would fall prey to them, and the evil races of dragonkind would be wholly exterminated and cast into myth.

It was calculated that eight orbs would be enough to deal with matters in the east. According to one record I examined, lnzhilem secretly directed the Imperial Congress about the year -2360 CY to produce such wizards as would be necessary to assist him in the mighty enchantments that would have to be cast. Again, history fails to reveal all that followed, but one major event in the following years has survived for the telling. A smoldering feud within the House of Neheli-Arztin flared into violence in -2354 CY, and lnzhilem II was slain and destroyed beyond recovery before the struggle had ended. The partial house of Arztin ceased to exist as a result of retaliation, and the victorious partial house of Neheli kept the throne. Ubrond Thrideen (“Third-Eye”) became emperor.

A devoted but unremarkable ruler, Ubrond apparently continued the project to produce the orbs and saw it through to its finish, but considerable interference took place and the original plan for the project went inexplicably awry. Eight orbs were still made (the date of their completion has been lost, but it was after -2350 CY), but the orbs were now of differing sizes and powers, each oriented toward the control of dragons of differing ages. The reason for this alteration has never been made clear, as it certainly reduced the effectiveness of these orbs when used in battle against dragons of ages older than allowed for by any one orb.

This alteration was not the only one made, and certainly some of these alterations were performed without the knowledge or approval of the emperor or his staff. I conjecture that the Fiery Kings were able to insinuate agents among the wizards involved in the project, and without Inzhilem’s ability to grasp the full scope of the work and oversee the critical details, errors and even curses were worked into many of the final products. It is clearly known, for instance, that each Orb of Dragonkind possesses a malign, innate intelligence that attempts to overwhelm and destroy any user. Furthermore, each orb was given the power to affect good and neutral dragons as well as evil ones — an obvious addition by the fiery kings.

Once finished, the eight orbs were given names corresponding to the age level of the dragons they were meant to fight. In order from the smallest orb up, they were the Orb of the Hatchling, the Orb of the Wyrmkin, the Orb of the Dragonette, the Orb of the Dragon, the Orb of the Great Serpent, the Orb of the Firedrake, the Orb of the Elder Wyrm, and the Orb of the Eternal Grand Dragon. When not activated, each orb was a light, solid sphere of purest white jade, completely and elaborately carved with the entwined figures of dragons in battle with one another. None of these orbs could be damaged in the least by mundane forces, nor could any beast or animated construct bring them harm. If there were any means developed for their destruction, they have long been lost.

It may be presumed that these orbs were delivered to the Suloise armies and brought into combat with the Fiery Kings, but there is a break in the historical record here. A curious fragment exists that appears to be a message from a provincial lord to the emperor — whose name is not given — asking for the latter’s intervention to “deliver us from those who hold the stolen Globe.” Considerable strife between army commanders is also noted in some dispatches from the eastern provinces, with several references to a renegade officer, apparently mad, who called himself the King of the Fire Kings. It is apparent that one or more of the orbs either fell into enemy hands, was seized as part of a coup, or possessed a power or curse that led its user into insanity or rebellion.

As best as can be told, only five of the orbs remained in the hands of the Suel until the time just before the Rain of Colorless Fire. I managed to secure several authoritative accounts — from a source I cannot discuss openly, so I must beg your forgiveness — that list these five as the Orb of the Hatchling, the Orb of the Dragonette, the Orb of the Dragon, the Great Firedrake’s Orb, and the Orb of the Elder Worm. Some of you are surely aware of the contrary legends that five, not eight, orbs exist on our world, and I believe that this discrepancy resulted because three had been lost or fallen into the hands of the enemies of the Suel in the empire’s last days. I think that the Baklunish held at least one orb, but I have as yet found no evidence of this; perhaps our resident Kettite, Rary, will investigate and enlighten us! Despite the slight renaming of some of the orbs in late-empire records, I believe the missing original orbs to have been the Orb of the Wyrmkin, the Orb of the Great Serpent, and the most powerful of them all, the Orb of the Eternal Grand Dragon.

After the Rain of Colorless Fire, the historical record is dotted with appearances of these orbs, but very rarely is the exact identity of each orb known for certain. Obviously, most or all of the orbs were transported out of the empire before it was burnt into ashes. One orb, a small one said to be the size of a man’s fist, was held in Rauxes by the Overkings in the youthful days of Aerdy, until it was stolen after two centuries by unknown thieves. Another, a larger one, was discovered and lost in 311 CY by explorers in the Hellfurnaces, though this report is confusing in details. Everyone in the Flanaess must know the tale of the mad Zagig Yragerne, who is said to have taken a large white crystal ball with him when he left this city one spring day in 361 CY and returned the following week with a hoard of treasure such as only a succession of kings would know, using some of these riches of course to build Castle Greyhawk. He returned here without the white ball, however, and never spoke of it nor even acknowledged its existence before or afterward.

I have counted about two dozen other confirmed or probable appearances of the orbs between the fall of the Suloise Empire and the present day. The location of only one orb is known for certain to our cozy group of the Eight: The Orb of the Hatchling is unquestionably held in Rauxes, as Mordenkainen himself was able to demonstrate to our satisfaction last year. It is almost certainly the same orb held by Aerdy’s early overkings, but we do not know yet where the orb was found, how it was recovered, the uses to which it is being put, or the identity of its true owner or master.

Unlike the sections of the fabled Rod of Seven Parts, the various Orbs of Dragonkind have never been reported to indicate the presence of any of their fellow orbs, for which I am sure we can all be thankful. No spell, not even a Wish, and some say not even a god, will reveal the location of an orb; you simply have to be lucky enough to find one and know it for what it is. They seem to function independently of one another, though tales circulate that unexpected abilities become manifest when two orbs are brought into proximity of one another. I believe most of these stories are exaggerations and falsehoods, but I cannot discount the possibility. Time, perhaps, will tell.

What do the dragons think of the Orbs of Dragonkind? The dragons hate them, of course, as they would hate anything that would give mastery over them to some other race. There is only one tale of a dragon gaining an orb, but it is quite fanciful and its information is subject to grave doubt. The dragon in the tale slays a wicked knight who stole a magical white ball and attempted to control the beast. The dragon then took the ball into its lair and hid it away from humans forever. I cannot say what would happen if an orb was collected by a dragon, whether good or ill would result from this. Surely, I think, this has happened at least once in the past, but we do not know the truth.

You have all been most patient with me, and I now arrive at the core of my lecture. My research has also disclosed new information on the actual powers of these spheres. I will, as I mentioned earlier, cover my sources later. For now, here are those powers whose existence has been proven beyond doubt, as well as the most reliable information on other potential powers.

Orb of the Hatchling

This, the least of the eight orbs, is three inches across and easily fits into a pouch or pocket. As this orb was used in public by the early Aerdy Overkings upon small captive dragons, its powers are clearly established for anyone who researches the matter. This orb, like ail of its kind, confers upon the one who holds it the ability to converse openly with any dragons within hearing, both understanding the dragons and being understood by them. Further, the orb upon command casts a charm that affects a single young dragon aged five years or less, of any type or scale color, the spell being so potent that the beast finds it difficult, if not impossible, to resist. Thus the dragon may be led into captivity or slain from surprise, if action is swift. This orb has a mind of its own whose thoughts are devoted to wickedness and revenge. This is the weakest of all the orbs, and its mind is weak as well. Still, the user must have above-average intelligence and insight to maintain control over the globe, or else disaster results. This was sufficiently and tragically proven when Overking Erhart I allowed his eldest son to handle the Orb of the Hatchling in 98 CY; the orb proved too much for the youth, who evaded his father and threw himself over a parapet, dying of his injuries that evening. The orb was recovered in an undamaged state, of course, though it had fallen eighty feet to a stone-paved courtyard. After this, the orb was locked away beneath the castle until its theft only fifteen years later. Beyond its ability to charm young dragons, this orb appears to confer a low degree of magical protection on the one using it. It also grants the user the ability to see heat sources in darkness out to forty yards, and it bestows the spell clairvoyance at least six times a day, at the user’s will. It is thus useful, but hardly a grand artifact.

Orb of the Wyrmkin

This remains one of the least known of the eight artifacts of its family. It likely confers the same communication powers of the next smaller orb but can charm dragons of slightly older ages. I would guess that it is four inches across. One of my sources refers to this orb as cursed but does not say in what way; the Suel hated to give away any secrets that an enemy might use against them, and they hated to admit to failure. We must pass this one by for now and move on.

Orb of the Dragonette

[Interestingly], this orb is unmistakably mentioned several times in ancient Suloise literature. One wizard was said to have used the orb to fly over the countryside and scout for monsters and other enemies of the Suel Imperium, which the orb was capable of stunning. This five-inch orb vanished after the Rain of Colorless Fire and may still lie beneath the ash of the Sea of Dust.

Orb of the Dragon

This, like the previous orb, vanished without a trace after the fall of the Suel Imperium and probably still lies buried there. I discovered little about It, except that it was rarely used thanks to a flaw in its construction that killed one commander who used it. It is six inches in diameter.

Orb of the Great Serpent

Ah! This might have been the orb that Zagig himself used in that great battle in which he won his own dragon’s hoard. Several legends and tales about the Orbs of Dragonkind refer to one the size of a man’s head (this one would be seven inches, so its about right) that could blast enemies with waves of cold and ice, or turn aside the largest red dragon’s breath. A useful item to the Suloise long ago, no doubt! This orb is probably still at large somewhere in the Flanaess, but where, I cannot say.

Orb of the Firedrake

All the comments I made about the previous orb apply to this one, too. This one would be eight inches across, but I have found no records to distinguish it from the other. I assume from the title that it is effective against red dragons, but who can say?

Orb of the Elder Wyrm

Nine inches across, this orb was the largest one in the Suel Imperium at the time of its fall, and it had a black reputation. Though it had great powers by all accounts, and could kill any beast with but a word from the user, tales have filtered down that the orb was alive in some way and demanded blood for its favors. This is very possible, as I have seen notes that convicted criminals were attached to the army unit to which this orb was assigned, but no provisions were sent along for the prisoners beyond food for a few days. Were they executed by the orb or its user? It is possible. Even the commanders were loathe to use this device in the face of attacks by dragons, so its evil nature must have been great.

Orb of the Eternal Grand Dragon

I would love to say that I know something about this orb, but oddly even the Suloise records are sparse about it, and the Suloise loved to brag when they had something worth bragging about. There is a note or two to the effect that this largest of all orbs, ten inches across, was kept securely locked away most of the time, but this is understandable if it was terribly powerful. It is curious, however, that there is no mention of its use during any battle.

***

This concludes my little look at the Orbs of Dragonkind, and not a moment too soon, as I believe our dinners should be ready at last. We will take this topic up again, but first — let us eat!

Johanna, I have little more to add to this missive; the hour is late, and I have much to do. I hope to join you in Almor by the morrow at dusk. Should you be discovered by unwholesome forces, you must destroy this letter at once and, dare I add, speak to no one of its contents. We must immediately seek out our common enemy, the murderous duke, and we must take from him that which he cannot be allowed to have. If the orb is indeed the size of the duke’s skull, as you have heard, then it is surely one of the more powerful of the orbs, and with it he could likely break the stalemate that has kept poor, crippled Nyrond from total collapse and ruin. I will warn the rest of the Five of my intentions, but we cannot wait for them to act. Let us pray that Boccob has given us such insight and knowledge as we need to bring this crisis to a satisfactory close.

And if, as a consequence of our actions, grief should befall the Great Murderer of Almor, Szeffrin, then we may take home with us the cold certainty that your brothers — indeed, our whole ruined nation — have in some small way been avenged.

I remain ever faithfully yours, dear Johanna,

Otto

[Dragon #230 - 8 to 15, The Orbs of Dragonkind, by Roger E. Moore]

Let us not think that Otto was entirely sedentary. He was not. He never was, despite the girth that one might think testament to the contrary. He did risk life and limb to rescue his closest friend. He was ever travelling to expound upon his culinary knowledge. And he was always keen on the goings on of his homeland and those areas surrounding it.

FERN GROVES

A knot of heavy forest some three miles in length and two miles wide, the Fern Groves have the usual concentration of faerie creatures, with one special group—a community of 23 dryads.

The groves take their name from an unusually thick growth of ferns that carpets the forest floor here; though tree leaf cover is thick, enough dappled sunlight reaches the forest floor to sustain these shade-seeking plants. The mage Otto, on a visit to these parts, claimed that sunlight bent around branches to reach the ground, and that some magical force was at work here. On the latter score, at least, he was surely right; there are many rumors concerning buried magics in the Fern Groves […]. [FtAC - 45]

One might add that Otto was prolific, as well.

“Arcane Manipulations of the Entourage” 
By Otto [Book]

(sleep, scare, fumble, geas, Otto’s irresistible dance, confusion)

[Dragon #82 - 58]

Level One

Otto’s Chime of Release

Level Two

Otto’s Soothing Vibrations

Otto’s Tones of Forgetfulness

Level Three

Otto’s Crystal Rhythms

Otto’s Sure-Footed Shuffle

Level Four

Otto’s Drums of Despair

Otto’s Rousing Anthem

Otto’s Silver Tongue

Otto’s Tonal Attack

Otto’s Tin Soldiers

Otto’s Warding Tones

Level Five

Otto’s Gong of Isolation

Level 6

Otto’s Triple Chime

Level 8

Otto’s Irresistible Dance

[GA - 128/Complete Mage 3e – 112/PHB 1e – 90]

Mentioned:

Otto’s Imperative Ambulation

Spells like […] ‘Otto’s Gelatinous Cube Transformation to Edible Gel’ have been left off as too esoteric for even the most curious spell crafter.

[Descriptions of spells found in the AD&D Player’s Handbook, Greyhawk Adventures, Wizard’s Spell Compendium Volume III]

Otto

So, what have we learned about Otto? He is entrepreneurial. A patron of the arts. A dandy, perhaps a popinjay. He is also kind. He is loyal. Learned. And studious. He put his curiosity to work, prolific too, if the breadth and preponderance of his correspondence and his writings are any indication.

One might add that Otto is a fan of his creature comforts, as well. Culture and cuisine are his greatest loves, aside from those he holds dear.

This is not to say that he is not powerful. And dangerous. To think otherwise would be foolish. He has lived long, and no mage who has should ever be underestimated.

To do so would risk your own life and limb.

One must always give credit where credit is due. This History 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. Thanks to Steven Wilson for his GREYCHRONDEX and to Keith Horsfield for his “Chronological History of Eastern Oerik.”

Of course, this piece would not be possible if not for the writings of James M Ward.

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

The Art:

Otto, by Sam Wood, Living Greyhawk Journal #0, 2000
Cleric by maylaa
The-King-in-Yellow-Theater by morkardfc
Lucian-Cleric-Of-Boccob-Commission by devtexture
Yelling-Theatre by kevissimo
Jallarzi Salavarian,  by Sam Wood, LGJ #0, 2000
Theatre-Of-The-Night by intao
Lord Robilar detail, from the Epic Level Handbook, 2002
WG5 Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure cover, by Clyde Caldwell, 1984

Cult Members, by Ken Frank, from WGA4 Vecna Lives, 1990
Mordenkainen detail, from Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk, 2007
Jellarzi, Mordenkainen and Otto in battle, by Joel Biske, Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, 2000

Derro, by Vance Kovacs, from Underdark, 2003

Orbs of Dragonkind, by Larry Smith, from Dragon #230
Magic Tome, by...?

Sir-John-Falstaff by sceith-a

Sources:

1015 World of Greyhawk Boxed Set, 1983

1043 The City of Greyhawk Boxed Set, 1989

1064 From the Ashes Boxed Set, 1992

1068 Greyhawk Wars Boxed Set, 1991

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

9025 World of Greyhawk Folio, 1980

9027 S2 White Plume Mountain, 1979

9309 WGA4 Vecna Lives, 1990

9577 The Adventure Begins, 1998

9578 Player’s Guide to Greyhawk, 1998

11434 Return to White Plume Mountain, 1999

11743 Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, 2000

Dragon Magazine #37, 230, 241

OJ Oerth Journal, appearing on Greyhawk Online

LGJ #0, 2, 5

Greyhawkania, Jason Zavoda