Friends, Foes & Weirdos — The People We’ve Met in Greyhawk (576 CY)
Setting: The Flanaess, World of Greyhawk (576 CY)
Regional Scope: Gnarley Forest, Plain of Greyhawk, Free City, Cairn Hills, and Elmshire
Authoritative Lore Source: The Hellfire Club Campaign Journal & Greyhawk Gazetteers
1. The High & Mighty: Patrons & City Fixers
Archmage Tenser
- Title & Affiliation: Archmage of the Circle of Eight, Master of the Fortress of Unknown Depths
- Location: Citadel at Magepoint, Southern Coast of the Nyr Dyv
- Who He Is: A commanding, chivalrous champion of Law and Good dressed in deep blue robes edged with silver. Revered across the Flanaess as a patron of noble adventurers and an unyielding bulwark against tyranny.
- Our History With Him: Materialized in a flash of cobalt force magic to save our skins on the stairs of the Green Dragon Inn. He received us at his obsidian fortress in Magepoint, unsealed the mystery of the Talisman of the Eldritch Eye, equipped us with magic gear, and sent us back into Greyhawk’s sewers aboard The Night-Skimmer.
Mordenkainen the Archmage
- Title & Affiliation: Founder & Leader of the Circle of Eight
- Location: Obsidian Citadel, Yatil Mountains
- Who He Is: The supreme architect of the cosmic Balance in the Flanaess. A brooding, pragmatic master wizard who views kingdoms, wars, and demon princes from a detached planar chessboard.
- Our History With Him: We haven’t met him in person yet, but his shadow touches everything. Tenser consults him, Will reads his treatises, and the missions we are given—denying ancient relics to Iuz and containing the Void—serve Mordenkainen’s overarching doctrine of cosmic equilibrium.
Directing Oligarch Org Nenshen
- Title & Affiliation: Guildmaster of Thieves & Directing Oligarch of the Free City of Greyhawk
- Location: Thieves’ Quarter / Directing Council Chambers, Free City of Greyhawk
- Who He Is: The calm, razor-sharp spymaster of Greyhawk City. Wears dark, tailored merchant finery with concealed daggers and knows every secret whispered along the wharves.
- Our History With Him: Met us secretly in a private back room of the Black Dragon Inn. Recognizing Max’s guild standing and our party’s discretion, he deputized the Hellfire Club as independent outside investigators to look into the gruesome pier murders, granting us official immunity from City Watch interference in the River Quarter.
2. Home & Hearth: Folk We Swore to Protect
Rillard Senior (“Ol’ Rill”)
- Title & Affiliation: Patriarch of the Rillard Family Farm, Goldenwheat Agricultural Collective
- Location: Elmshire, Southern Nyr Dyv Shore
- Who He Is: A warm, pipe-smoking elderly halfling farmer sporting a frayed straw hat, bushy muttonchops, and mud-caked dungarees.
- Our History With Him: Hired the Hellfire Club on his front porch to find his kidnapped granddaughter Rilly June and eradicate the blight poisoning his fields. After we shattered the Gulthias Tree beneath the farm, he welcomed us into his home, paid a 200 GP bounty, gave us fresh bread and dried berries, and opened his hearth as our permanent sanctuary.
Rilly June
- Title & Affiliation: Granddaughter of Ol’ Rill, Rillard Family Farm
- Location: Rillard Farmhouse, Elmshire
- Who She Is: A spunky, resilient young halfling girl with freckles and a courageous spirit that outshines most grown warriors.
- Our History With Her: Kidnapped into the subterranean crypt of Gunthar the Gluttonous and bound to the roots of the blighted Gulthias Tree. We fought our way through the underground tunnels and broke the tree to bring her home safe and sound. She now helps her grandfather run the farm under Tayr’s watchful guard.
3. Sworn Steel & Holy Faith: Comrades & Adventuring Allies
Griffith Adarian
- Title & Affiliation: Master Botanist & Lord of Peculiar Manor
- Location: Peculiar Manor, Plain of Greyhawk
- Who He Is: An eccentric, fastidious nobleman and botanist who spent his fortune collecting rare exotic flora and carnivorous plants from across the Flanaess.
- Our History With Him: Adventured right alongside us! Rather than hiding in his drawing room when vicious Vegepygmies and russet mold overran his prize glass greenhouse, Griffith took up arms and plunged into the overgrown conservatory alongside the Hellfire Club. We fought back-to-back, cleansed the spore infestation, and forged an enduring bond of battle.
Tayr the Paladin
- Title & Affiliation: Paladin of Heironeous (Oath of Devotion), Guardian of Rillard Farmstead
- Location: Elmshire (Stationed at Rillard Farm)
- Who He Is: A courageous halfling paladin clad in burnished plate with a silver lightning bolt tabard. Earnest, chivalrous, and totally devoted to defending the helpless.
- Our History With Him: Approached Nog at the Black Dragon Inn begging for holy assistance to rescue Rilly June, officially joining the Hellfire Club. After being snatched on the High Road by fly demons and rescued from the crypt barrow, Tayr swore a holy vow to remain in Elmshire as the permanent shield of Ol’ Rill, Rilly June, and the farm folk.
Lady Katarina of Walworth
- Title & Affiliation: Knight of the Holy Shielding, Scion of House Walworth
- Location: Midbay Coast / Met at Graveyard Cove
- Who She Is: A fierce, armored knight of Heironeous clad in battle-worn full plate, steadfastly defending a beached cutter against amphibious fiends along the stony lake shore.
- Our History With Her: We scrambled down the chalk ridge to reinforce her battle line, slaying a Babau demon and fiendish shock troops. When she sought summary execution for two weeping conscript deserters, Nog invoked the Heironean Rite of Penitent Service to spare their lives. In tribute to our chivalry, she conferred The Seal of Walworth upon our party.
High Priest Jaikor Demien
- Title & Affiliation: High Priest & Temple Head of the Sanctum of Heironeous (Building G14, Garden Quarter)
- Location: Sanctum of Heironeous, Avenue of the Realm, Garden Quarter, Free City of Greyhawk
- Who He Is: A battle-scarred, stern warrior-priest (Fighter 5 / Cleric 7 of Heironeous) who presides over Greyhawk’s foremost temple of righteous martial valor. Known for an imposing military posture, strict discipline, and zero patience for arcane foolishness.
- The Cleansing of the Talisman: Following the Green Dragon Inn ambush, the party sought emergency sanctuary at the Sanctum. High Priest Jaikor performed the sacred Remove Curse ritual to break The Tether, successfully unbinding Will the Wise from the cursed Talisman of the Eldritch Eye so it could be placed in a lead-lined container.
- The Infamous Ice Sculpture Incident: Moments after the curse was lifted, Will tried to show off by magically sculpting an ice sculpture inside the sanctum. The casting went wild, blasting High Priest Jaikor squarely in the face with ice! An enraged Jaikor grabbed Will by his robes and threw him out of the temple on his ear. Will remains strictly barred from entering the Sanctum of Heironeous, though Jaikor retains great respect for Nog the Dwarf’s devotion.
Brother Mossback
- Title & Affiliation: Sewer Hermit & Emissary of Ehlonna
- Location: River Quarter Sewers (Cistern Sanctuary Hollow), Free City of Greyhawk
- Who He Is: A gentle, green-robed hermit cleric of Ehlonna who tends to a hidden sanctum deep within the city’s sewer system where fresh water trickles through mossy stones.
- Our History With Him: Met us in the dark beneath the River Docks and recognized Amelia’s woodland devotion. He blessed each member of the Hellfire Club with a sacred Leaf of Ehlonna’s Mercy—a divine token that protected our souls during the darkest hours beneath the city.
Tomas Ratek
- Title & Affiliation: Master Thief & Smuggler, Thieves’ Guild of Greyhawk
- Location: River Quarter Docks & Subterranean Sluiceways
- Who He Is: A quick-witted, leather-clad rogue and expert subterranean guide who knows every watergate, rusted culvert, and contraband drop under the River Quarter.
- Our History With Him: Partnered with the Hellfire Club through Max’s guild connections to track disgraced bard Korex the Cunning. Tomas navigated the flooded sewer channels, guided our flanking routes, and warned us about hidden pit traps in the dark.
4. Catalysts & Curious Acquaintances
Gilda Merrybloom
- Title & Affiliation: Village Matriarch & Master Herbalist, Merrybloom Garden Exchange
- Location: Elmshire Market Square
- Who She Is: A curious acquaintance met in Elmshire. A jovial, grandmotherly halfling apothecary renowned for cultivating fragrant medicinal gardens, brewing soothing chamomile infusions, and preparing restorative wound salves.
- Our History With Her: Sold us herbal supplies and gave motherly warnings about blighted grain when we arrived in Elmshire. A well-known community elder who offers warm counsel and hot tea to visiting adventurers.
Flizzlebin (“The Vanishing Gnome”)
- Title & Affiliation: Eccentric Illusionist & Labyrinth Explorer
- Location: Gnarley Forest & Dungeon of Shadows
- Who He Is: A wild-haired, mischievous gnomish illusionist obsessed with puzzles, high-stakes games of hide-and-seek, and testing wanderers.
- Our History With Him: The catalyst who brought our party together! His magical puzzle summons drew Amelia, Will, Nog, and Max into the Dungeon of Shadows in the Gnarley Forest. His game accidentally woke a Spawn of Demogorgon, forcing the four of us to unite, slay the beast, and form The Hellfire Club.
The Spared Conscripts (Garin & Renald)
- Title & Affiliation: Shield Lands Conscript Deserters & Penitent Stretcher-Bearers
- Location: Magepoint Refugee Camp / Bitter Shore
- Who They Are: Two frightened young farmhands pressed into military service whose platoon was wiped out when Iuz’s forces overran the northern shore.
- Our History With Them: Captured at Graveyard Cove, where Lady Katarina intended to execute them for desertion. Nog intervened with the Rite of Penitent Service, placing them under our custody. They carried wounded refugees and helped haul our gear to Magepoint, proving that second chances matter.
5. Foes & Captives
Korex the Cunning
- Title & Affiliation: Disgraced Bard & Sewer Rat King
- Location: River Quarter Sewers beneath Greyhawk City
- Current Status: CAPTURED ALIVE by The Hellfire Club in the flooded sewer amphitheater. We broke his shield wall, disarmed him, and confiscated his ivory pan flute—eradicating his control over the defiled plague-rat swarms. He was bound in chains and remanded into custody under Org Nenshen’s thieves’ guild oversight for interrogation.
Wexley the Tailor
- Title & Affiliation: Secret Cell Leader, Cult of the Whispered One
- Location: River Quarter Wharves, Free City of Greyhawk
- Current Status: SLAIN by The Hellfire Club in his shop’s subterranean cellar. We looted the cold-iron Talisman of the Eldritch Eye from his corpse, setting off the cult manhunt that drove us across the Flanaess.
Active Regional Factions
| Faction | Alignment | Where They Operate | What They Want in 576 CY |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Circle of Eight | True Neutral | Central Flanaess | Preserving the cosmic balance and defending Oerth against existential perils. |
| Knights of the Holy Shielding | Lawful Good | Shield Lands / Nyr Dyv | Defending northern bastions, escorting refugees, and upholding holy oaths. |
| Directing Oligarchy of Greyhawk | Neutral / Variable | Free City of Greyhawk | Securing commercial dominance, municipal law, and lucrative river trade. |
| Empire of Iuz | Chaotic Evil | Northern Waste / Dorakaa | Aggressive territorial conquest and expansion across northern borders. |
| Cult of the Whispered One | Neutral Evil | Underground Cells | A clandestine network of occultists seeking forbidden ancient relics. |
