Saltmarsh, my favorite little backwater burg. I've attempted to run the Ghost of Saltmarsh campaign 3 times. Each time it fizzles out. That one is cursed for me. 😄😐
Tomb of the Lizard King was retconed into Keoland, in the Hool Marshes, near Saltmarsh, in fact. The Slavers Series takes the characters to the nearby Pomarj. The Giants Series starts in Keoland, and the Into the Depths of the Earth is located in the Southern montains of the Yeomanry. In fact if we consider Slavers-Giants-Depths-Spider Queen the same campaign, it takes place all around Keoland.
Tomb of the Lizard King....the module that killed my entire party while I teleported away. What a death trap of a module....unless you have a DM smart enough to rewrite it.
U Series is one favorites. Some of the art is spectacular for its time. Griff the Paladin is an icon. I did U4, U5, and U6 modules. I might be able to dig them out of my hard drive.
We've been in Keoland for years. Homebrew campaign on the Javan that has integrated A0, A1, A2, the Saltmarsh series, UK3, WG4, a long stint in the Mirkwood, followed by the Giants series. Now we're in the Pomarj.
Keoland according to the Golden Box really has an intriguing history. I recently ran Ghosts of Saltmarsh 5e and the party then visited King Scotti in Niole Dra before journeying West to the Jotens to take on the Giants.I loved the fact the city was ancient and intact because a war had never been fought in its lands, and had King Scotti (a 14th level ranger) re-wilding the royal gardens and sleeping outside, to the consternation of his entitled royal daughters.
The Lower Javan (from say Istivin to Port Torvin) is fantastic. You'se gots your river, your hills, a little bit of mountain, a haunted forest, a spooky marsh, pirates, an ancient Yuan Ti kingdom plotting to take over the world -- and it's all a big blank canvas the DM can do whatever they want with.
My players are going though the 5e Saltmarsh book right now. However I am foreshadowing events from Vecna Lives. Your information about Oerth has and continues to inspire and educate me, thank you!
One of the things I have always loved about Greyhawk is that everyone comes up with their own pronunciation of the various nations. You are calling it KAY-o-land, while at my table it has always been Key-O-land.
Think I pronounce it similar to you but knowing how Gygax used his and his friends' names for things and places then Kay-o-land does make more sense since Don Kaye was an OG member of TSR
My original greyhawk campaign 40 years ago had Keoland as its center. Tons of adventure opportunities in adjacent lands. My PCs wound up making their fiefs within its borders and became proponents of keoland hegemony in that region. Love that region of the flanness.
Keoland is a great place to situate a campaign because there is so much that is in their orbit. Even though the Ulek states are independent along with the Yeomanry, just the geography alone still puts them in the orbit of Nieole Dra and makes the Keoish their main trading partners. Further, there are 5000 knights of the Watch--which means there aren't just 5000 knights, but also squires, men at arms and other trained soldiers of the Watch in the Grand March, Geoff, the March of Bissel and Northern Keoland, and Keoland would be the logical economic base for such an order of knighthood. So that represents a massive military order, whom I've always imagined being akin to the Tutonic knights of Northern Europe. Way back in the day, N1 Against the Cult of the Reptile God, between the Rushmoors and the Dim Forest, was the starting point of a campaign--one of the characters was a 1st level cavalier squire who was sent to investigate the strange occurrences in Orlane by the marshal of his chapter keep. It was a great launch to a module hopping campaign that lasted many years, ending in the G123, -D123-Q1 series. But yes, there are all kinds of adventures you can create in and around Keoland and throughout the Sheldomar Valley. Just for instance, how would Keoland react to the destabilizing activities of the Scarlet Brotherhood in Sea Princes, or how might they respond to a major incursion of the Ulek states by humaniods of the Suss forest and the Pomarj? Could the two be being coordinated? Could the crown or proxies of the crown hire free adventuring companies to check these threats without directly involving the Keoish crown in these affairs? I think a 14th level ranger who is the current king might see the advantages of this. Or lets say internal feuds break out between major clans in the Yeomanry, and there's a mysterious high level wizard who is advising one faction, stoking the fires of resentment and dissent and possible civil war. What if the gray elves of the Valley of the Mage decide to launch a war of extermination against the drow beneath the Crystalmist and Barrier Peaks? What would the over spill from a conflict like this look like? Possibilities are pretty endless.
I probably started a half-dozen campaigns there. It's a great starting location as it is good/safe, but compact with lots of different terrains for low and mid-levels, but with high-level locations fairly close. Hills, forest, ocean, and mountains make great starting locations for low levels as you can only be 2-3 days from 'safety' but have reasonable explanations of lower-level threats. An old tomb in the Good Hills, something bad in the marshes, some coastal smugglers, etc. Then move into deeper forests, nearby mountains, raids into the Pomarj, or to the jungle, or Hellfurnaces, etc. My favorite was a sea campaign around the islands and coast. One players started as a wealthy son whose worked for his father's trading company. The other PCs were crew or passengers on a smaller cargo ship he was on. One was a cleric of sea god, one was gnome rogue seaman, and one a Silverwood elf. Some on the crew betrayed them to pirates, so the start was them trying to dodge a pirate vessel, while ferreting out the spy on the ship, while hiding in a cursed bay, and then uncovering a conspiracy to destroy his father's shipping business. They ended up dealing with Sea Prince nobles, aquatic elves, a secret pirate base in the Pomarj, and politics in Gradsul. The coast is just a great starting area. Others I can remember were north in the Rushmores/Dim Forest (remarkably scary despite a good kingdom nearby) and a political campaign in the capital involving the PCs being guards for a secret emissary traveling to the Ulek states who ended up being assassinated under their watch.
Ran one campaign and played in another in this region. The possibilities are vast when you use Keoland as the jump off point. Highly recommend it if you are playing in Greyhawk. 👍
In the RPGA's Living Greyhawk campaign, which ran from 2000-2008, Keoland was assigned to New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. I started playing Living Greyhawk in early 2005, in Manhattan, so I was introduced to the Kingdom. I don't think any of the Keoland regional modules from Living Greyhawk were canonical, but they definitely fleshed out the Kingdom. Unfortunately, other than the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer and some online resources, none of this material is available any more. During the pandemic lockdown, I began an online 5E campaign set in Keoland. My players delved into the Hool Marshes and met the Dreadwalkers, they foiled a plot by cultists of the Whispered One, and were given an opportunity to join the Sea Mages. However, my players surprised me by turning the Sea Mages down, and leaving Keoland for the planar metropolis of Sigil, where they joined the Society of Sensation. Later on, I ran Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, using Goodman Games' 5E update. The players were able to keep the denizens of the "metal cave" from invading Keoland, Ket and Sterich.
In my Dark Oerth home campaign (Vecna won,) I haven't yet done anything with Keoland, but I intend to. I've been developing what has happened to the regions of the Flanaess as my players' characters visit them. One thing I am thinking is, it was overthrown by the Scarlet Brotherhood, becoming an oppressive Suel stronghold. Perfect for a Robin Hood-like rebellion.
As you are aware, Gary Holian and I have an on again, off again, project for Sterich that we work on, periodically. Gary says that it was always their intention that Keoland was modeled on the Holy Roman Empire, that is, the fractured political nature, where the Emperor was "elected" from among the ruling nobles, who are always at odds with one another, even engagin in small wars, as they vie for position. Just FYI.
The Sheldomar Valley was the last place i ran a game on Greyhawk. I redrew the valley on a cloth map for my players. That whole valley is perfect for a full campaign.
According to the old RPGA my characters were supposed to originate from Keoland. It lies in a great part of the world to run games. There is a lot of adventure that can be found all around Keoland and definitely would make a great place for a DM to set a game there and make it their own.
Ghosts of Saltmarsh got me interested in Keoland. I hold that book's first chapter as the best "background info" chapter in 5e, and it got me interested in Keoland as a whole. Since then I have gone looking for whatever scrap of information I could find. You're right that there isn't a lot of details, but the details that do exist are fascinating. Canonfire has been great for ideas to expand on.
I love Keoland. I almost always start my campaigns there. N1: Against the Cult of the Reptile God. The U series of adventure modules, the giants/drow series adventure modules, etc. I've been working on a idea of nine very powerful individuals who all hail from Keoland, who are also part of a long forgotten prophecy concerning the fate of the Flanaess and the rise of Iuz.
Best country in Greyhawk, and my chosen playground for Greyhawk in 2e. It's a true sandbox Edit: Figured I would add more. In my campaign, Keoland was facing international embarrassment due to their handling of the Wars. However, King Skotti seeks further advances into the territory of the Sea Princes and resources to the south, emboldened by the conquering of Westkeep. The players ended up tussling with The Scarlet Brotherhood in Saltmarsh before traveling north towards the capital.
I’m a new subscriber and big fan (Professor Dungeon Master and Seth Skorkowski too). I truly love AD&D 1e and Greyhawk exclusively. I appreciate your hard work and knowledge to help augment our campaign in Greyhawk. You’ve helped me become a more creative and passionate DM. I thank you.
I’m looking forward to diving into your Castle of the Mad Arch Mage tome and extension mini-module dungeon levels !! Your materials on your website/ blog are fantastic as well. Thanks for your dedication!
There are really two major valleys that define this horseshoe shaped region: the Sheldomar Valley and the Javan Valley. My current campaign is set in Geoff and the westlands and one of the things I like is how sparsely detailed it is... The giants are a threat but haven't taken over.
Give me Kimbertos Scotti or give me death! Keoland is my favorite nation. I've run the Saltmarsh trio there, but put a lot of political intrigue into the back-story of the area, by having characters from other areas, even other countries converging there for their own reasons; a lot like the expanded works found in the hard-cover revisions done by "another party." Don't forget that UK1 & UK2 (and I believe UK4) are all close by in the Flotsam and Jetsom Islands, just off the coast. It's actually a very print module heavy region.
There is actually a great deal that has been written about Keoland, just not by Gygax or Sargent. You’ve got Polyhedron mag. articles, LG-related info, the Tempest’s Gate comic, Dungeon Mag. modules set there, …
I7 is also in the area of the U series. Very timely, we just finished up U3 and may be moving onto the greater area, but probably into the Sea Princes and UK modules area. This region may make for a good follow-up video. It makes me think the Games Workshop London campaigns focused on this region of the Flanaess. It would be interesting to know if those guys developed this kingdom in their own games, and what it may have looked like. Thanks for the video!
The Baklunish region is the Middle East, with both the southern and northern nomadic people being quasi Turkish/Mongolian? The Thillonrian Peninsula is Vikings Furyondy and Veluna are very England-ish The Great Kingdom is the (Un)Holy Roman Empire The Amedio and Olman are Central America Hepmonaland is Africa Keoland is ...a place that also exists. Granted, I'd also classify Nyrond and the Urnst states as generic map filling Ye Olde Quasi Medieval Nations, but there has been something oddly empty about the heart of the Sheldomar Valley region. Keoland has a couple things that stand out, it's sheer age, it's relatively recent imperial phase, and it's long magically-adverse culture (the result of being founded by Suels who barely escaped alive from the Twin Cataclysms?). The rotating rulership does make me wonder if GoTing up is the way to go? I think that I'd be tempted to re-imperialize it and make most of the surrounding nations as merely only ever having been more like states in an United Imperiel States of Keoland or some such. I guess I'd leave the Uleks, Yeomanry and Sea Princes remaining fully-fledged break away states.
I misplaced my Saltmarsh to lie on the coast between Keoland / Ulek / Pomarj. In our campaign, the Keolish high court is grudgingly giving the dwarves of Ulek mining rights in this borderland for more security against the humanoids of the Pomarj. Meanwhile the Keolish Navy has its hands full with the usurpation of the so-called Sea Princes to the south. Keoland is providing a very flavourful backdrop for our adventures both on land and at sea!
For Keoland!! My favorite place to adventure, salmarsh is my go to starting town. No matter which direction you go on the map, there is adventure. Pirates, Giants, the Drowned Forest, the Dreadwood, the mines. I usually roll the Tales From The Yawning Portal, all the Phandelver stuff, and Stormwreck Isle into Saltmarsh aswell. With a little tweaking i even ran Call of the Netherdeep set in Saltmarsh/ Keoland instead of Exandria.
I started a campaign in Keoland by chance, when I ran 'Ghosts of Saltmarsh' 5e in 2021. I did a lot of research to find all the canonical and uncanonical stuff about the Vicecounty of Salinmoore. I found a lot on the canonfire! webside. The campaign includes the northern Hold of the Seaprinces, and my group is currently in Monmurg to help the ruler Jeon II against a Nerul sect which us trying to assassinate him (Treasures of Greyhawk). In fact, it is a much bigger threat behind it; the Scarlet Brotherhood is preparing to take over the realm as is described in Greyhawk Wars, only they started years before (the original story is lacking logic and inspiration), bringing their spies, assassins, agitators and saboteurs in place. The players have the opportunity to stop this plot, or not.
I wonder if that's why they had Ru Emerson's novel "Against the Giants" set there? And Paul Kidd's novel is kind of set there too in the Dreadwood. I read both those books just to try and get some kind of flavor of the area so I could set more adventures in Keoland.
Really been enjoying these. Here’s how you can pronounce these places more naturally/natively while still honoring Gary’s goofy naming conventions. Keoland = “coalind” or “kellind” (colloquially); Geoff = “Jeff” or “Jev” (welsh ff); Iuz = “Yiz” or “Yiss” Flanaess = “flanish” as “Flemish”; Ten/Tehn = “tain” or “thane.” Diphthongs ftw when it comes to sounding smooth like you live there.
Kingdom of Keoland, my 1st and highest level wizard is from there. He's trying to create a magical item, a paddle ball, a magical weapon. It's gonna be called the "Paddle ball of blazing good fun," you can fill in the blank. He's a gnome wizard, not an evoker/invoker specialist. Just a mage
Keoland was one of the last kingdoms of the Flanaess to fall to the Chaos God Khorne from the Olde World of Warhammer. Having slain the God Iuz and several of the lesser Greyhawk Gods in 857CY, the Keeper of Skulls portaled in an army of men demihumans and daemons from the Cold Wastelands and Steppes to the Land of Black Ice, to fight alongside remnants of the Army of Iuz and Northern Nomads who made oaths of fealty to Khorne. Those armies swiftly ran south in several directions, and Keoland and its brave knights and yeomanry united in a last great battle to fend off the hordes of Khorne in 870CY. Lord Khorne's armies, swollen with slaves and battlemasters of switched allegiance from the Horned Society and Iuz, marched south through the Kingdoms of Furyondy and Veluna. The knights and foot soldiers waged several battles against the Chaos forces, to no avail, and followed by a valiant last major battle involving all if Keolands remaining forces bolstered by the defeated remnants of the Gran March, the Duchies of Ulek, and the freemen of the Yeomanry at the Battle of Nicole Dra under the banner of King Tavish XVI. The battle lasted for several weeks but in the end, Keoland fell, as did the rest of Oerik. Now measurements of time start from the reign of Lord Khorne over all of Oerthe, it is now 557 in the year of his Majesty the Lord of Chaos' reign at New Khorne, once the fabled city of Greyhawk, and the Sea of Dust has spread northward as far as the Lortmill Mountains, covering the once vast green lands of Keoland in a layer of ash and ruin. Nothing of Keoland remains but the odd spire of some knights fortification on the odd hill poking out from dune and endless dune, and the ghost of Tavish the fruitless, whom Khorne keeps in a magic bottle / cage by his side on his iron throne.
Forget Godzilla vs Kong. This right here is an epic crossover event!!!!! But-as it is always the case in Steven Erikson's books-when one god touches the mortal realm, the thing that He touched automatically becomes fair game for any and all other gods! Watch out, Khorne: Boccob is (maybe) coming!
When I was DMing, I tended to start around Verbobonc or Keoland and surrounding areas. I like the political balance in the area and did not like the other side of the map as much.
I'm curious about something: When the first thing a UA-camr says in a video is the whole spiel about like support etc, I find it off putting. Give me the video content first and let me see if it's worth supporting. Is there data that shows putting that stuff at the front is better? I'm not trying to be mean or anything, just wondering.
Saltmarsh, my favorite little backwater burg. I've attempted to run the Ghost of Saltmarsh campaign 3 times. Each time it fizzles out. That one is cursed for me. 😄😐
Tomb of the Lizard King was retconed into Keoland, in the Hool Marshes, near Saltmarsh, in fact. The Slavers Series takes the characters to the nearby Pomarj. The Giants Series starts in Keoland, and the Into the Depths of the Earth is located in the Southern montains of the Yeomanry. In fact if we consider Slavers-Giants-Depths-Spider Queen the same campaign, it takes place all around Keoland.
All on the uttermost margins, or several nations away. Keoland itself remains relatively undetailed, compared to Nyrond, Furyondy, etc.
oh i did not know that
Tomb of the Lizard King....the module that killed my entire party while I teleported away. What a death trap of a module....unless you have a DM smart enough to rewrite it.
U Series is one favorites. Some of the art is spectacular for its time.
Griff the Paladin is an icon.
I did U4, U5, and U6 modules.
I might be able to dig them out of my hard drive.
We've been in Keoland for years. Homebrew campaign on the Javan that has integrated A0, A1, A2, the Saltmarsh series, UK3, WG4, a long stint in the Mirkwood, followed by the Giants series. Now we're in the Pomarj.
Keoland according to the Golden Box really has an intriguing history. I recently ran Ghosts of Saltmarsh 5e and the party then visited King Scotti in Niole Dra before journeying West to the Jotens to take on the Giants.I loved the fact the city was ancient and intact because a war had never been fought in its lands, and had King Scotti (a 14th level ranger) re-wilding the royal gardens and sleeping outside, to the consternation of his entitled royal daughters.
The Lower Javan (from say Istivin to Port Torvin) is fantastic. You'se gots your river, your hills, a little bit of mountain, a haunted forest, a spooky marsh, pirates, an ancient Yuan Ti kingdom plotting to take over the world -- and it's all a big blank canvas the DM can do whatever they want with.
My players are going though the 5e Saltmarsh book right now. However I am foreshadowing events from Vecna Lives. Your information about Oerth has and continues to inspire and educate me, thank you!
One of the things I have always loved about Greyhawk is that everyone comes up with their own pronunciation of the various nations. You are calling it KAY-o-land, while at my table it has always been Key-O-land.
"Key OH Land". Our pronounciation.
I'm from the use what sounds right to you and go with it school. I love hearing the different ways people approached the various names.
Think I pronounce it similar to you but knowing how Gygax used his and his friends' names for things and places then Kay-o-land does make more sense since Don Kaye was an OG member of TSR
Yup, count another for Key-o-land
Ive run many campaigns in the Sheldomar Valley. It is my favorite region.
i don't always Greyhawk but when I do ... I come here
Thank you for doing these 'kingdom treatments'. They're interesting 😁!
I started with a combined U Series, A Series & Evil Tide campaign and now Campaign #2 is Red Hand of Doom and the G series in Sterich. So far so good.
I’d love to see those Sembia products you mentioned; please cite them. Thanks for the video; your GH insights are always appreciated.
My original greyhawk campaign 40 years ago had Keoland as its center. Tons of adventure opportunities in adjacent lands. My PCs wound up making their fiefs within its borders and became proponents of keoland hegemony in that region. Love that region of the flanness.
Keoland is a great place to situate a campaign because there is so much that is in their orbit. Even though the Ulek states are independent along with the Yeomanry, just the geography alone still puts them in the orbit of Nieole Dra and makes the Keoish their main trading partners. Further, there are 5000 knights of the Watch--which means there aren't just 5000 knights, but also squires, men at arms and other trained soldiers of the Watch in the Grand March, Geoff, the March of Bissel and Northern Keoland, and Keoland would be the logical economic base for such an order of knighthood. So that represents a massive military order, whom I've always imagined being akin to the Tutonic knights of Northern Europe.
Way back in the day, N1 Against the Cult of the Reptile God, between the Rushmoors and the Dim Forest, was the starting point of a campaign--one of the characters was a 1st level cavalier squire who was sent to investigate the strange occurrences in Orlane by the marshal of his chapter keep. It was a great launch to a module hopping campaign that lasted many years, ending in the G123, -D123-Q1 series. But yes, there are all kinds of adventures you can create in and around Keoland and throughout the Sheldomar Valley.
Just for instance, how would Keoland react to the destabilizing activities of the Scarlet Brotherhood in Sea Princes, or how might they respond to a major incursion of the Ulek states by humaniods of the Suss forest and the Pomarj? Could the two be being coordinated? Could the crown or proxies of the crown hire free adventuring companies to check these threats without directly involving the Keoish crown in these affairs? I think a 14th level ranger who is the current king might see the advantages of this. Or lets say internal feuds break out between major clans in the Yeomanry, and there's a mysterious high level wizard who is advising one faction, stoking the fires of resentment and dissent and possible civil war. What if the gray elves of the Valley of the Mage decide to launch a war of extermination against the drow beneath the Crystalmist and Barrier Peaks? What would the over spill from a conflict like this look like? Possibilities are pretty endless.
I probably started a half-dozen campaigns there. It's a great starting location as it is good/safe, but compact with lots of different terrains for low and mid-levels, but with high-level locations fairly close. Hills, forest, ocean, and mountains make great starting locations for low levels as you can only be 2-3 days from 'safety' but have reasonable explanations of lower-level threats. An old tomb in the Good Hills, something bad in the marshes, some coastal smugglers, etc. Then move into deeper forests, nearby mountains, raids into the Pomarj, or to the jungle, or Hellfurnaces, etc.
My favorite was a sea campaign around the islands and coast. One players started as a wealthy son whose worked for his father's trading company. The other PCs were crew or passengers on a smaller cargo ship he was on. One was a cleric of sea god, one was gnome rogue seaman, and one a Silverwood elf. Some on the crew betrayed them to pirates, so the start was them trying to dodge a pirate vessel, while ferreting out the spy on the ship, while hiding in a cursed bay, and then uncovering a conspiracy to destroy his father's shipping business. They ended up dealing with Sea Prince nobles, aquatic elves, a secret pirate base in the Pomarj, and politics in Gradsul. The coast is just a great starting area.
Others I can remember were north in the Rushmores/Dim Forest (remarkably scary despite a good kingdom nearby) and a political campaign in the capital involving the PCs being guards for a secret emissary traveling to the Ulek states who ended up being assassinated under their watch.
Ran one campaign and played in another in this region. The possibilities are vast when you use Keoland as the jump off point. Highly recommend it if you are playing in Greyhawk. 👍
In the RPGA's Living Greyhawk campaign, which ran from 2000-2008, Keoland was assigned to New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. I started playing Living Greyhawk in early 2005, in Manhattan, so I was introduced to the Kingdom. I don't think any of the Keoland regional modules from Living Greyhawk were canonical, but they definitely fleshed out the Kingdom. Unfortunately, other than the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer and some online resources, none of this material is available any more.
During the pandemic lockdown, I began an online 5E campaign set in Keoland. My players delved into the Hool Marshes and met the Dreadwalkers, they foiled a plot by cultists of the Whispered One, and were given an opportunity to join the Sea Mages. However, my players surprised me by turning the Sea Mages down, and leaving Keoland for the planar metropolis of Sigil, where they joined the Society of Sensation. Later on, I ran Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, using Goodman Games' 5E update. The players were able to keep the denizens of the "metal cave" from invading Keoland, Ket and Sterich.
In my Dark Oerth home campaign (Vecna won,) I haven't yet done anything with Keoland, but I intend to. I've been developing what has happened to the regions of the Flanaess as my players' characters visit them. One thing I am thinking is, it was overthrown by the Scarlet Brotherhood, becoming an oppressive Suel stronghold. Perfect for a Robin Hood-like rebellion.
As you are aware, Gary Holian and I have an on again, off again, project for Sterich that we work on, periodically. Gary says that it was always their intention that Keoland was modeled on the Holy Roman Empire, that is, the fractured political nature, where the Emperor was "elected" from among the ruling nobles, who are always at odds with one another, even engagin in small wars, as they vie for position. Just FYI.
The Sheldomar Valley was the last place i ran a game on Greyhawk. I redrew the valley on a cloth map for my players. That whole valley is perfect for a full campaign.
According to the old RPGA my characters were supposed to originate from Keoland. It lies in a great part of the world to run games. There is a lot of adventure that can be found all around Keoland and definitely would make a great place for a DM to set a game there and make it their own.
This is my favorite, most used region in Greyhawk. Particularly the northern Dreadwood / Barony of Grayhill area.
I've run a couple of short campaigns in southern Keoland. I placed the Keep on the Borderlands near the coast. It's a terrific setting.
Ghosts of Saltmarsh got me interested in Keoland. I hold that book's first chapter as the best "background info" chapter in 5e, and it got me interested in Keoland as a whole. Since then I have gone looking for whatever scrap of information I could find. You're right that there isn't a lot of details, but the details that do exist are fascinating. Canonfire has been great for ideas to expand on.
I love Keoland. I almost always start my campaigns there. N1: Against the Cult of the Reptile God. The U series of adventure modules, the giants/drow series adventure modules, etc. I've been working on a idea of nine very powerful individuals who all hail from Keoland, who are also part of a long forgotten prophecy concerning the fate of the Flanaess and the rise of Iuz.
Best country in Greyhawk, and my chosen playground for Greyhawk in 2e. It's a true sandbox
Edit: Figured I would add more. In my campaign, Keoland was facing international embarrassment due to their handling of the Wars. However, King Skotti seeks further advances into the territory of the Sea Princes and resources to the south, emboldened by the conquering of Westkeep. The players ended up tussling with The Scarlet Brotherhood in Saltmarsh before traveling north towards the capital.
I’m a new subscriber and big fan (Professor Dungeon Master and Seth Skorkowski too). I truly love AD&D 1e and Greyhawk exclusively. I appreciate your hard work and knowledge to help augment our campaign in Greyhawk. You’ve helped me become a more creative and passionate DM. I thank you.
Thanks much, and welcome aboard!
I’m looking forward to diving into your Castle of the Mad Arch Mage tome and extension mini-module dungeon levels !!
Your materials on your website/ blog are fantastic as well. Thanks for your dedication!
There are really two major valleys that define this horseshoe shaped region: the Sheldomar Valley and the Javan Valley. My current campaign is set in Geoff and the westlands and one of the things I like is how sparsely detailed it is... The giants are a threat but haven't taken over.
Give me Kimbertos Scotti or give me death! Keoland is my favorite nation. I've run the Saltmarsh trio there, but put a lot of political intrigue into the back-story of the area, by having characters from other areas, even other countries converging there for their own reasons; a lot like the expanded works found in the hard-cover revisions done by "another party." Don't forget that UK1 & UK2 (and I believe UK4) are all close by in the Flotsam and Jetsom Islands, just off the coast. It's actually a very print module heavy region.
There is actually a great deal that has been written about Keoland, just not by Gygax or Sargent. You’ve got Polyhedron mag. articles, LG-related info, the Tempest’s Gate comic, Dungeon Mag. modules set there, …
I7 is also in the area of the U series. Very timely, we just finished up U3 and may be moving onto the greater area, but probably into the Sea Princes and UK modules area. This region may make for a good follow-up video. It makes me think the Games Workshop London campaigns focused on this region of the Flanaess. It would be interesting to know if those guys developed this kingdom in their own games, and what it may have looked like. Thanks for the video!
The Baklunish region is the Middle East, with both the southern and northern nomadic people being quasi Turkish/Mongolian?
The Thillonrian Peninsula is Vikings
Furyondy and Veluna are very England-ish
The Great Kingdom is the (Un)Holy Roman Empire
The Amedio and Olman are Central America
Hepmonaland is Africa
Keoland is ...a place that also exists. Granted, I'd also classify Nyrond and the Urnst states as generic map filling Ye Olde Quasi Medieval Nations, but there has been something oddly empty about the heart of the Sheldomar Valley region. Keoland has a couple things that stand out, it's sheer age, it's relatively recent imperial phase, and it's long magically-adverse culture (the result of being founded by Suels who barely escaped alive from the Twin Cataclysms?). The rotating rulership does make me wonder if GoTing up is the way to go? I think that I'd be tempted to re-imperialize it and make most of the surrounding nations as merely only ever having been more like states in an United Imperiel States of Keoland or some such. I guess I'd leave the Uleks, Yeomanry and Sea Princes remaining fully-fledged break away states.
Curious if your sign-off "Stay safe from the Pinkertons" got cut off at the end. Thought I heard a "Sss" at the end.
I cut it off deliberately because I stammered on it, and it wasn't worth going back and re-doing it. Good catch! 🙂
I misplaced my Saltmarsh to lie on the coast between Keoland / Ulek / Pomarj. In our campaign, the Keolish high court is grudgingly giving the dwarves of Ulek mining rights in this borderland for more security against the humanoids of the Pomarj. Meanwhile the Keolish Navy has its hands full with the usurpation of the so-called Sea Princes to the south. Keoland is providing a very flavourful backdrop for our adventures both on land and at sea!
For Keoland!!
My favorite place to adventure, salmarsh is my go to starting town.
No matter which direction you go on the map, there is adventure. Pirates, Giants, the Drowned Forest, the Dreadwood, the mines.
I usually roll the Tales From The Yawning Portal, all the Phandelver stuff, and Stormwreck Isle into Saltmarsh aswell. With a little tweaking i even ran Call of the Netherdeep set in Saltmarsh/ Keoland instead of Exandria.
I started a campaign in Keoland by chance, when I ran 'Ghosts of Saltmarsh' 5e in 2021. I did a lot of research to find all the canonical and uncanonical stuff about the Vicecounty of Salinmoore. I found a lot on the canonfire! webside. The campaign includes the northern Hold of the Seaprinces, and my group is currently in Monmurg to help the ruler Jeon II against a Nerul sect which us trying to assassinate him (Treasures of Greyhawk). In fact, it is a much bigger threat behind it; the Scarlet Brotherhood is preparing to take over the realm as is described in Greyhawk Wars, only they started years before (the original story is lacking logic and inspiration), bringing their spies, assassins, agitators and saboteurs in place. The players have the opportunity to stop this plot, or not.
Appreciate you
I would love to play as a Druid in a campaign to cleanse/ reclaim the Drowned Forest. Start of with a scouting mission, then go from there.
I wonder if that's why they had Ru Emerson's novel "Against the Giants" set there? And Paul Kidd's novel is kind of set there too in the Dreadwood. I read both those books just to try and get some kind of flavor of the area so I could set more adventures in Keoland.
Really been enjoying these. Here’s how you can pronounce these places more naturally/natively while still honoring Gary’s goofy naming conventions. Keoland = “coalind” or “kellind” (colloquially); Geoff = “Jeff” or “Jev” (welsh ff); Iuz = “Yiz” or “Yiss” Flanaess = “flanish” as “Flemish”; Ten/Tehn = “tain” or “thane.” Diphthongs ftw when it comes to sounding smooth like you live there.
I am researching feudal systems to fit over Keoland to turn the Salt Marsh module into a small "Duke Maker" type module
Kingdom of Keoland, my 1st and highest level wizard is from there. He's trying to create a magical item, a paddle ball, a magical weapon. It's gonna be called the "Paddle ball of blazing good fun," you can fill in the blank. He's a gnome wizard, not an evoker/invoker specialist. Just a mage
Keoland was one of the last kingdoms of the Flanaess to fall to the Chaos God Khorne from the Olde World of Warhammer. Having slain the God Iuz and several of the lesser Greyhawk Gods in 857CY, the Keeper of Skulls portaled in an army of men demihumans and daemons from the Cold Wastelands and Steppes to the Land of Black Ice, to fight alongside remnants of the Army of Iuz and Northern Nomads who made oaths of fealty to Khorne. Those armies swiftly ran south in several directions, and Keoland and its brave knights and yeomanry united in a last great battle to fend off the hordes of Khorne in 870CY. Lord Khorne's armies, swollen with slaves and battlemasters of switched allegiance from the Horned Society and Iuz, marched south through the Kingdoms of Furyondy and Veluna. The knights and foot soldiers waged several battles against the Chaos forces, to no avail, and followed by a valiant last major battle involving all if Keolands remaining forces bolstered by the defeated remnants of the Gran March, the Duchies of Ulek, and the freemen of the Yeomanry at the Battle of Nicole Dra under the banner of King Tavish XVI. The battle lasted for several weeks but in the end, Keoland fell, as did the rest of Oerik. Now measurements of time start from the reign of Lord Khorne over all of Oerthe, it is now 557 in the year of his Majesty the Lord of Chaos' reign at New Khorne, once the fabled city of Greyhawk, and the Sea of Dust has spread northward as far as the Lortmill Mountains, covering the once vast green lands of Keoland in a layer of ash and ruin. Nothing of Keoland remains but the odd spire of some knights fortification on the odd hill poking out from dune and endless dune, and the ghost of Tavish the fruitless, whom Khorne keeps in a magic bottle / cage by his side on his iron throne.
Forget Godzilla vs Kong.
This right here is an epic crossover event!!!!!
But-as it is always the case in Steven Erikson's books-when one god touches the mortal realm, the thing that He touched automatically becomes fair game for any and all other gods!
Watch out, Khorne: Boccob is (maybe) coming!
When I was DMing, I tended to start around Verbobonc or Keoland and surrounding areas. I like the political balance in the area and did not like the other side of the map as much.
It's always the Scarlet Brotherhood. The world of Gradsul, a much better city than Greyhawk.
I'm curious about something: When the first thing a UA-camr says in a video is the whole spiel about like support etc, I find it off putting. Give me the video content first and let me see if it's worth supporting. Is there data that shows putting that stuff at the front is better? I'm not trying to be mean or anything, just wondering.