The Free City of GreyHawk

Important Names

Oerth (pronounced orth or oyth) is the world of Greyhawk. It has four continents, four oceans, and a plethora of islands and seas.

Oerik (pronounced or-ick or oy-rick) is one of Oerth’s continents.

Eastern Oerik, the vast region explored in this article, is home to many powerful nations and some of the D&D game’s most famous dungeons and adventurers.

The Flanaess (pronounced flah-nay-ess or flay-nayz) is another name for Eastern Oerik and means “land of the Flan.” The region’s first human settlers and their descendants are known as the Flan.

Greyhawk is an independent city in Eastern Oerik that attracts large numbers of adventurers

The City

Would-be heroes are drawn to the Free City of Greyhawk by promises of adventure. The city is rife with opportunities for peril and plunder.

The city stands on the eastern banks of the Selintan River. The river flows south from the Nyr Dyv (the Lake of Unknown Depths) down to Woolly Bay and remains easily navigable for its entire length.

Once a frontier hub of the Great Kingdom of Aerdy, Greyhawk proclaimed itself free and independent seventy-eight years ago, claiming the Selintan basin as its territory. Adventurers drawn to the nearby ruins of Castle Greyhawk have provided a steady influx of cash to the city in the years since.

Port in the Storm

The city provides a place to rest, heal, acquire information, and procure magic items. Adventurers looking to visit distant lands can book passage on ships docked at the wharf.

Trade Hub

Adventurers can buy gear and sell their hard-won loot in the city’s shops and markets.

Local Hurly-Burly

Greyhawk has a frontier spirit atypical for a settlement of its size. The locals are a tough and rowdy lot. Adventurers seeking action don’t need to look far, as the city contains more than its fair share of troublemakers.

City Neighborhoods

The Free City of Greyhawk is split into three main sections by two internal walls running west to east. The northern section is home to the High Quarter and the Garden Quarter, where the wealthiest folk of the city reside. The central section is home to the River Quarter, Clerkburg, the Artisans’ Quarter, and the Foreign Quarter. The southern portion, known as the Old City, includes the poorer and rowdier neighborhoods of the Slum Quarter and the Thieves’ Quarter.

Brief descriptions of the city’s neighborhoods are presented below:

Artisans’ Quarter - The Artisans’ Quarter is built around a large marketplace. The finest artisans live and work here, and the city’s trade guilds are headquartered here.

Clerkburg - Clerkburg is the university district of Greyhawk, with dozens of schools and colleges and the businesses that support them. Temples line the appropriately named Street of Temples in the southeast corner of the district.

Foreign Quarter - The Foreign Quarter is among the most multicultural districts of the city, and it boasts fine apartments and restaurants.

Garden Quarter - The Garden Quarter is an extravagant neighborhood similar to the High Quarter, but the mansions aren’t quite as ornate, the estates aren’t as large, and it’s not as gaudy.

High Quarter - Palaces, temples, mansions, and gardens fill the posh High Quarter. Extravagant architecture and wide-open spaces define this quarter.

River Quarter - The River Quarter encompasses taverns and entertainment venues, as well as the wharves along the Selintan River outside the city wall. Because it’s a hub of trade, it’s the most diverse, multicultural part of the city.

Slum Quarter - The Slum Quarter is the poorest, most desperate region within Greyhawk’s walls, full of crime-ridden apartments.

Thieves’ Quarter - The buildings of the Thieves’ Quarter are slightly less run down than their Slum Quarter equivalents, and its people are marginally better off.

City Government

The Free City of Greyhawk is ruled by a council called the Directing Council, made up of sixteen coequal rulers. This council elects its chief officer, the lord mayor—a position currently held by a human named Nerof Gasgol. The other directors include the captain-general and constable of the City Watch, several guild masters, priests of Istus and Rao, the inspector of taxes, and a few other influential aristocrats.

City Watch

The City Watch is a standing garrison of some eight hundred Guards and Veteran Warriors. Bolstering these defenders are Mages from the city’s Guild of Wizardry, as well as Priests from local temples.

The captain-general and constable of the City Watch are stationed at the Grand Citadel (see “City Locations”).

City Walls

A 30-foot-high stone wall winds like a snake around the city. Two other walls, identical in height to the outer wall, separate the city into its three great sections. The walls are patrolled regularly.

City Gates

Each city gate consists of a pair of iron-reinforced wooden doors that can be barred from the inside. These heavy doors are backed by a massive portcullis of iron bars. A very small child might be able to squeeze between the bars, but not a youth or even an adult halfling. The city’s portcullises are usually left open even when the gates are closed.

Three of the city’s gates typically remain open throughout the day and night: the Highway Gate (the grand entrance to the city), the Cargo Gate (used primarily by traders and merchants), and the Garden Gate (one of the city’s two inner gates). The remaining gates are closed from dusk until dawn, and a visitor must produce a written message from the lord mayor of Greyhawk, the captain-general of the City Watch, or a head of state to be allowed through. In the latter case, the guards ensure the traveler is harmless before opening the gates.

Those passing through open gates aren’t asked to explain their business, nor are they detained or turned back unless they are recognized as known fugitives. Wagons and carts might get searched if they trigger the guards’ suspicions, but most vehicles are waved through without inspection.

Crime

The Free City of Greyhawk is home to many thieves, vandals, charlatans, and hooligans. Crimes are divided into three categories.

Petty Crime. Public unarmed brawling, pickpocketing, vandalism, and other crimes that cause up to 50 GP in property damage are petty crimes. The perpetrator pays a fine or works to provide restitution.

Minor Crime. The category of minor crimes includes armed assault (defined as any nonfatal attack made with a weapon or damaging spell) and property crimes that cause between 50 and 250 GP in damages. The perpetrator must pay a fine and is sentenced to time in prison.

Major Crime. Crimes more severe than those described above—including murder, bribery or impersonation of a city official, and magical coercion—are major crimes. The criminal faces 2d10 years of imprisonment, the death penalty, or permanent exile. A city magistrate decides which punishment is appropriate.

Religion

The city has temples and shrines dedicated to various gods. Religious practices that are certifiably evil aren’t tolerated, however. When an evil sect is discovered in the city, its wealth is confiscated, its leaders are put to death, and all other members are banished from the city for life.

Magic in Greyhawk

In the world of Greyhawk, as in most D&D worlds, magic is widespread but still wondrous and sometimes frightening. People everywhere know about magic, and most people see evidence of it at some point in their lives. Magic permeates the cosmos and moves through the ancient possessions of legendary heroes, the mysterious ruins of fallen empires, those touched by the gods, creatures born with supernatural power, and individuals who study the secrets of the multiverse. Histories and fireside tales are filled with the exploits of those who wield magic.

What normal folk know of magic depends on where they live and whether they know people who practice magic. Citizens of an isolated hamlet might not have seen true magic used for generations except the strange powers of the old hermit living in the nearby woods, which they regard with suspicion and mention only in whispers.

By contrast, magic is common enough in the Free City of Greyhawk that the Guild of Wizardry teaches magic and sells spellcasting services. Extensive codes of law govern the use and abuse of magic. The law treats magical coercion as a major crime, and punishes the public use of magic in situations that could harm people or property.