Great video. I actually ran a rather old adventure from a Dungeon Magazine module "The Book with no end" and placed the obelisk near the center of the Bright Desert. I switched the overarching villain of the module out with a greater mummy of Baklunish descent (Al Zahradvig). It was a great game and got my players out to the Bright Desert without any overarching Rary references. It was great fun.
I've always been intrigued by the Bright Desert; I should probably get around to reading "Rary the Traitor" sometime. Wasn't the Scorpion Crown a trick played on the evil King of Sulm (whose name, I take it, is lost to time) by Tharizdun himself, who'd been masquerading as their Flan deity all along? And can someone tell me if that's the same artifact Rary went there to find, and what the heck he'd want with such an accursed item?
Your T-shirt game is just on fire lately. You are not only the scholar, but also the fashionista of Greyhawk. As to the Bright Desert, I know I'm predictable, but we may have found my Greyhawk stomping grounds.
I really should start wearing them at conventions instead of my BRW Games or Greyhawk Grognard shirts. I'm becoming known for them. 🙂 You know, if you ever come out with an Atomic Snack Bar shirt, I'd definitely rock that sucker. Always great to see you here my friend!
@@GreyhawkGrognard Nothing wrong with a bit of shameless self promotion. Trust me, I know, especially with my new book. See, I did it right there. Speaking of, I do have a teepublic store. It's PoD stuff, but nice quality. Though with teepublic, I always recommend folks wait for sales. Their shipping is a bit rough.
Another good video, Joe. I have never done much with the Bright Desert although another DM I played with did, I admit that desert adventuring is interesting. I had forgotten about the Robilar clone story, I am going to have to see if I can find it now and work it into my Greyhawk history.
I’ve shared on this channel before how I transplanted a module series from the Kingdoms of Kalamar setting to the Wooly Bay area, and part of it took place in the Bright Desert. The party needed some ingredients to craft a magic item, and one was “the essence of dragon’s breath.” Rumor had it that a blue dragon was pairing in the Bright Desert, so the party journeyed across the Wooly Bay from Highport (before it was sacked by humanoid hordes) to find it. The alchemist who gave them the instructions gave them a steel rod and said for them to ask the dragon to breathe its electricity on it. I remember one of the PCs asked “how are we supposed to ask a blue dragon to breathe on a steel rod?” The alchemist’s response? “Very politely.” They had several small encounters in the desert, and ultimately met up with the dragon, who would give them what they wanted-if they’d complete a task for him. Hijinks ensued…
Great video. This is the only chanel on UA-cam where I am watching ALL videos. We were playing the Falcon trilogy in Greyhawk and later the Queen of the Spiders campaign ADnD 2e. When my players returned from Sterich, one of my players, who played a dwarven warrior, settled down in the Bright Desert and opened a mine with his small dwarven army. Unfortunately, this was the end of a 10 years campaign. Just got my hands on Rary the Traitor source book when the campaign ended.
I also like how it more-or-less canonized Oerth's "sister worlds" - Aerth, Earth, Uerth, and Yarth - mentioned by Gygax in his article, "Why Gargoyles Don't Have Wings, But Should" from _Polyhedron #21._
Nice! I was literally just thinking of Rary! And his module, Rary The Traitor! Which is one of my all time favorites! So its really cool that this video randomly popped up in my feed! I look forward to listening to it! Thanks! 😊
we were only there for a little bit we had to grab some MacGuffin from a weird tower for a wizard. we did run into a gnome with a ship and a bunch of other gnomes pulling it across the desert🤣 we did help him get to the Woolley Bay we're about to partake in a Sea Adventure so hopefully we run into them
It's a very weird place to put a desert, sadly. :( it doesnt seem to make sense meteorologically that a desert would be right there next to the ocean and the forests right next to it. But yes, it is great for variety. Great video.
As much as I am sentimentally nostalgic about Greyhawk... I DO wish Gygax had bothered to factor in actual geographic factors into Greyhawk. The Bright Desert wouldn't be there at all unless it were magically created.
@@GreyhawkGrognard I do seem to recall that being the implication. Ironically, assuming a West to East weather pattern, it would have been fine shifted to the West some .. without needing magic... but, Gygax had really very little idea how big any of this would get
Awesome - its really great when u go in depth on a single area.
I agree 🙂
Thank you, for continuing to do these videos. The hobby needs and appreciates what you do for it. ❤
Quatermass and the Pit (A.K.A. 5 Million Years to Earth) is my favorite Hammer film.
Great video. I actually ran a rather old adventure from a Dungeon Magazine module "The Book with no end" and placed the obelisk near the center of the Bright Desert. I switched the overarching villain of the module out with a greater mummy of Baklunish descent (Al Zahradvig).
It was a great game and got my players out to the Bright Desert without any overarching Rary references. It was great fun.
I've always been intrigued by the Bright Desert; I should probably get around to reading "Rary the Traitor" sometime. Wasn't the Scorpion Crown a trick played on the evil King of Sulm (whose name, I take it, is lost to time) by Tharizdun himself, who'd been masquerading as their Flan deity all along? And can someone tell me if that's the same artifact Rary went there to find, and what the heck he'd want with such an accursed item?
It is interesting hearing about iconic areas of Greyhawk
Nice job. I love this area and I am currently running a second campaign in this region with a bunch of Millennials and they love it!
Your T-shirt game is just on fire lately. You are not only the scholar, but also the fashionista of Greyhawk.
As to the Bright Desert, I know I'm predictable, but we may have found my Greyhawk stomping grounds.
I really should start wearing them at conventions instead of my BRW Games or Greyhawk Grognard shirts. I'm becoming known for them. 🙂
You know, if you ever come out with an Atomic Snack Bar shirt, I'd definitely rock that sucker. Always great to see you here my friend!
@@GreyhawkGrognard Nothing wrong with a bit of shameless self promotion. Trust me, I know, especially with my new book. See, I did it right there.
Speaking of, I do have a teepublic store. It's PoD stuff, but nice quality. Though with teepublic, I always recommend folks wait for sales. Their shipping is a bit rough.
Another good video, Joe. I have never done much with the Bright Desert although another DM I played with did, I admit that desert adventuring is interesting. I had forgotten about the Robilar clone story, I am going to have to see if I can find it now and work it into my Greyhawk history.
In the future u can borrow ideas on deserts from the Dark Sun milieu. Even Dune or other stories like the John Carter of Mars series.
I’ve shared on this channel before how I transplanted a module series from the Kingdoms of Kalamar setting to the Wooly Bay area, and part of it took place in the Bright Desert.
The party needed some ingredients to craft a magic item, and one was “the essence of dragon’s breath.” Rumor had it that a blue dragon was pairing in the Bright Desert, so the party journeyed across the Wooly Bay from Highport (before it was sacked by humanoid hordes) to find it. The alchemist who gave them the instructions gave them a steel rod and said for them to ask the dragon to breathe its electricity on it. I remember one of the PCs asked “how are we supposed to ask a blue dragon to breathe on a steel rod?”
The alchemist’s response? “Very politely.”
They had several small encounters in the desert, and ultimately met up with the dragon, who would give them what they wanted-if they’d complete a task for him.
Hijinks ensued…
This sounds AMAZING. 🙂
Great video. This is the only chanel on UA-cam where I am watching ALL videos.
We were playing the Falcon trilogy in Greyhawk and later the Queen of the Spiders campaign ADnD 2e. When my players returned from Sterich, one of my players, who played a dwarven warrior, settled down in the Bright Desert and opened a mine with his small dwarven army. Unfortunately, this was the end of a 10 years campaign. Just got my hands on Rary the Traitor source book when the campaign ended.
Thank you so much!
So, the country all became scorpions, is that when the arid plains became a desert as well?
as revealed in the 3e book Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk, Lord Robilar was replaced by a magic mirror with his Evil Mirror Self, Bilarro.
Evil, good whatever. What is the current reward?
I also like how it more-or-less canonized Oerth's "sister worlds" - Aerth, Earth, Uerth, and Yarth - mentioned by Gygax in his article, "Why Gargoyles Don't Have Wings, But Should" from _Polyhedron #21._
Rob Kuntz set things 'right' for Robilar in an early Oerth Journal issue.
Indeed! And Rary was a joke character that Brian Blume quit playing when he reached 3rd level. "Medium Rary."
Nice! I was literally just thinking of Rary! And his module, Rary The Traitor! Which is one of my all time favorites! So its really cool that this video randomly popped up in my feed! I look forward to listening to it! Thanks! 😊
we were only there for a little bit we had to grab some MacGuffin from a weird tower for a wizard. we did run into a gnome with a ship and a bunch of other gnomes pulling it across the desert🤣 we did help him get to the Woolley Bay we're about to partake in a Sea Adventure so hopefully we run into them
It's a very weird place to put a desert, sadly. :( it doesnt seem to make sense meteorologically that a desert would be right there next to the ocean and the forests right next to it. But yes, it is great for variety. Great video.
The idea is that the desert itself is supernatural in origin.
As much as I am sentimentally nostalgic about Greyhawk... I DO wish Gygax had bothered to factor in actual geographic factors into Greyhawk.
The Bright Desert wouldn't be there at all unless it were magically created.
The strong implication is that it was magically created.
@@GreyhawkGrognard I do seem to recall that being the implication.
Ironically, assuming a West to East weather pattern, it would have been fine shifted to the West some .. without needing magic...
but, Gygax had really very little idea how big any of this would get
Where is Rary? My Split class human Fighter/Assassin/Arch Mage has a reward to collect!
🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉