History of Zagyg, part 1[1/2] (long)

Re: Of Iuz and [Castle Greyhawk]

Subject: Re: [GREYTALK] Of Iuz and [Castle Greyhawk]
Date: Wed, 23 Jun 1999 12:57:31 -0700
From: Chris Anderson
Reply-To: The GREYtalk Discussion List

Hmmm... I envision them differently. To me, the Soul Husks are a method of drawing off power from a set of individuals that is used to elevate Iuz to Lesser God status. Something like a set of batteries that super-charges him.

I also have thought about the connection between what Zagyg did, and the Soul Husks. It strikes me that Iuz learned, through personal experience in Castle Greyhawk, a method of short-circuiting the usual "gain worshippers and power" method of ascending from demi-god to Lesser God.

I've decided that Zagyg used the demi-gods as "filters" for power that he poured into them from elsewhere, and that without those filters, his mortal body would have been destroyed in his attempt to gain demi-god status. With the filters, he was able to power up safely. Acting as "filters" also powered up many of the 9 demi-gods to lesser god status.

Having said that, I am divided on whether or not Iuz has to replace his batteries periodically (implying a continuous feed of power from the Husks, which has a further implication of gradual decay if they are not replaced regularly), or whether the initial magic which powered him is now embedded within him. I sort of like the idea of him having to guard the Soul Husks because if they were "disturbed" his stolen power would flow back into them. As I've said, I'm torn.

IMC, I've left rumors of powerful individuals disappearing from time to time. Just in case I go that way.

--
Chris Anderson


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Scott Casper [mailto:scvolstagg@NETSCAPE.NET]
> Sent: Wednesday, June 23, 1999 12:33 PM
> To: GREYTALK@mitvma.mit.edu
> Subject: Re: [GREYTALK] Of Iuz and [Castle Greyhawk]
>
>
> Hi again!
>
> Eric Van wrote:
> >While I already knew this part, have you figured out how this translates to the secret of the Soul Husks Caverns in Iuz the Evil?
>
> Hmm...maybe you should talk to Noel "Worships Sargent" Graham about that. I don't own half of Carl Sargent's material for GREYHAWK, and take the other half with a
> spoonful of salt. I would guess, however, that the Soul Husk is an "anchor" that connects the half-demon Iuz to the Prime Material Plane so Dispel Evil and the like
> won't work on him. I don't think it has to do with his ascension to godhood.
>
> >Also, do you use all the rules for demigods found in Legends and Lore for Iuz?
>
> The '83 boxed set gave demi-gods even more special abilities than Deities & Demigods did. I don't see why Iuz wouldn't get them all.
>
> Scott "Volstagg" Casper
>
> Yak-Men think soul husks taste like chicken...

Various

Date sent: Fri, 7 Nov 1997 23:11:19 -0500
Send reply to: The GREYtalk Discussion List
From: Otto Zequeira 2
Subject: [GREYTALK][GT] Various
To: GREYTALK@MITVMA.MIT.EDU

Humanoid origins, Vatun: On Mon, 3 Nov 1997 17:40:12 CST, SCOTT CASPER wrote, “”What if, way back after the Invoked Devastation, the hordelings didn't leave right away. Recent postings have argued about whether summoning has a time limit. What if the hordelings stayed, molested the Oerdians, and the product of these hordeling-human unions gradually produced the orcs, trolls, and kobolds we all know (and love) today?”

The problem with this idea is that the Invoked Devastation reference comes after the description of humanoids as troops. A good idea, though.

“Secondly, this occurred to me at about the same time. What if the Vatun disguise of Iuz's was not Iuz's idea? A lot of gods were probably happy with his incarceration under Castle Greyhawk. What if they schemed to check the demi-god again? Zagyg, Cuthbert, and maybe some other lesser gods or quasi-deities kidnapped Iuz, forced amnesia on him, and told him he was the lost god Vatun? They got the Suel gods to go along with this, and that is why divination never revealed the Vatun deception.

Now we know why Iuz is so bitter. Imagine, a hunk like him getting stuck in the body of 'Ken'.

Greyspace: On Wed, 29 Oct 1997 17:20:33 +1300, rodking wrote, “I have a particular dislike of Spelljamming in the context of Greyhawk although it is an enjoyable game in its own right. The problems are these: 1) Its a huge departure from the sense of Greyhawk being a distinct Plane of existence in its own right. Now its just a bubble in an endless sea.”

I personally like the idea of limiting exit and entry into the sphere to only the most powerful mages, e.g. Zagyg. This maintains the feel of an isolated WoG.

Official artifacts: On Fri, 31 Oct 1997 23:41:31 -0300, Bruno Di Pentima asked,
>For example, doesn't the City of Greyhawk have the proverbial “Sword of
>Damocles” hanging over it with a certain personage of the Outer Planes
>vowing vengeance against the place and it's former master for entrapping it
>and the theft of a potent device dear to it? Could it not be said by some
>that the City was both blessed and ultimately doomed by the legacy of
Zagyg?
I didn't knew that (I am a little inexperienced in Greyhawk) Where did you got that?? From City of Greyhawk boxed set?

The poster was referring to Iuz and his imprisonment under Castle Greyhawk by Zagyg as detailed in several places. I think some of this info. Is in the FAQ.

What's up with Greyhawk98?. On Sun, 2 Nov 1997 11:19:06 -0500, AOL KenNewq asked, “I've been away from the list for a while, so I'm not quite sure where these assorted Greyhawk98 posts are originating. Is Greyhawk98 (I'm assuming this is a proposed product line) actually going to happen, or is it wishful thinking?”

It's the best of wishful thinking...

Druids: On Sun, 2 Nov 1997 17L14L35 -0600, Victor Gonzalez asked, “I feel silly asking this question but last night my DM try to argue that, per the rules, druids do not have to be true neutral, just neutral in some aspect. And when we looked it up in the PH is did say just neutral, not true neutral. Has they're been an official change or is my DM being to picky in looking for the exact wording of true neutral?”

Yes, he's being picky. I personally enjoy the view that druids are just as vicious sons of Iggwilfs as anybody else.

GH Wars: Here's a little something that I put together, in case it's helpful.

Wars Calendar
Year Month Event
582-----------Rise of Stonefist
--------------The Fall of Tenh
583-----------Iuz returns to his homeland
------3-------Blood Moon Festival
--------------Martyrs of the Holy Shielding
--------------Stroke & Counter Stroke
------7-------Furyondy Besieged
--------------Great Kingdom Awakens
--------------Osson's Raid
--------------Lordship of the Isles Coup
583—winter----Aid from the South
----spring----An Empire Where None Had Stood
584---8-------Conquest of Almor
--------------Horsemen of Ket
--------------Giant Troubles
--------------Mad King Takes the Field
--------------Sea Princes Assassinated
--------------Collapse of Ide & Onnwall
--------------Hool Invasion
--------------Blockade of Gradsul
-------9------Aerdy Sundered
--------------Great Council of Greyhawk
585---2-------Day of the Great Signing
--------------Elves reclaim Lendor Isle?

My absense, humanoid origins, Vatun, and cow

Priority: normal
Date sent: Mon, 3 Nov 1997 17:40:12 CST
Send reply to: The GREYtalk Discussion List
From: SCOTT CASPER
Organization: Dominican Univ., River Forest, IL
Subject: [GREYTALK] My absense, humanoid origins, Vatun, and cow
Originally to: greytalk@MIT.EDU
To: GREYTALK@MITVMA.MIT.EDU

Yes! I'm finally back! For those of you who didn't notice, I've been gone for a month. For the first week, I was working on mid-terms. The second week I was catching up with the first week. Since then, something was wrong with my e-mail and I wasn't able to send anything no matter what I did. I owe one or two personal e-mails I intend to get to in the next few days. Of course, there are those among you who, for bizarre reasons, found my guns and plumbing threads boring and probably wished I'd stay silent. Well, to that I say – TOUGH!

Since I've been sitting here quietly for the past month unable to comment, I'm way behind on all the current threads. I intend to throw my opinions once more into the cyber-wind soon enough, but for now I thought I'd just share some musings I've had. These ideas are way out there, and I'm not even sure I'll be using them yet. Still, I wanted to share them and see what people thought.

First off, my idea about humanoid origins was this. What if, way back after the Invoked Devastation, the hordelings didn't leave right away. Recent postings have argued about whether summoning has a time limit. What if the hordelings stayed, molested the Oerdians, and the product of these hordeling-human unions gradually produced the orcs, trolls, and kobolds we all know (and love) today?

Secondly, this occurred to me at about the same time. What if the Vatun disguise of Iuz's was not Iuz's idea? A lot of gods were probably happy with his incarceration under Castle Greyhawk. What if they schemed to check the demi-god again? Zagyg, Cuthbert, and maybe some other lesser gods or quasi-deities kidnapped Iuz, forced amnesia on him, and told him he was the lost god Vatun? They got the Suel gods to go along with this, and that is why divination never revealed the Vatun deception.

There is one other thing I could use comments on. I am still working on my Monster Manual revisions (to the exclusion of far too much), and I just recently got to my Cattle entry. Has anyone given any thought to what breeds of cow may be found in the Flanaess? Can someone from Europe give me some names of European breeds of cow?

So far, I have developed three varieties of cow. There is the common (2 HD) Flannish cow. There is the smaller (1 HD) Kettish (or elven) cow which is considered excellent livestock. Then there is the Ideish cow (3 HD) which is strong enough to pull wagons, plows, and can even be rode like a mount (borrowed from the comicbook BONE). Is “Ideish” the word you would use to describe something from Idee?

Scott “Volstagg” Casper
Have fun in Brazil, Erik! Never mind that you've left me with one less Call of Cthulu player!

Re: Greyhawk Timeline

From glholian@MIT.EDU Tue Oct 24 23:39:18 1995
To: greytalk@MIT.EDU
Subject: Re: Greyhawk Timeline
Content-Length: 4052
X-Lines: 69
Status: RO


>This thing is beginning to attain the status of Old Cheastnut, but is still
>troubling if you are hearing about it/ realizing it for the first time.
>
>Although I don't have it with me now, I beleive what TEE says is that Iuz
>was active in the *construction* of the Temple, not its fall. Thus, his
>involvement would have to have occurred several years earlier, making it a
>more difficult problem to fix than just moving the date of a Battle by one
>year.
>
>I believe TEE was pretty vague on what Iuz's "involvement" was, however,
>other than lending aid and conspiring with Zugg. That is, I do not think he
>was necessarily personally, physically, involved. Thus some (Gary?) have
>resolved that Iuz's support of the Temple did come while he was imprisoned,
>just as he was supporting many things - through his minions, with whom he
>had some kind of contact.
>
>For myself, I have moved the dates of Iuz's appearance, capture, and release
>back by more than a century. I prefer this, as it also gives time for Iuz
>to ascend to godhood. There is not enough time for this, in my style
>campaign, in the official time alloted to Iuz. This solution,
>unfortunately, results in a very Unoffical chronology.

Yup Kirt,

I think it is possible, if not particularly satisfying, to attempt to rationalize the inconsistency. As I think I mentioned to you long ago, I think Iuz worked with Zuggtmoy (and certain Princes of Elemental Evil such as Ogremoch, Cryonax, and Imix) to lay down the foundation for the temple prior to the Lord of Evil's capture by Zagig Yragerne et. al. in CY 505. That, I contend, is his direct assistance as intimated by T.E.E., even though it did not come to fruition for decades. Further, due to the nature of the prison holding the Nine Demigods, I also assume that they were conscious and sensate during their imprisonment (mostly becuase of the many tasks to which Zagig Yragerne directed their combined powers.) Thus Iuz was able to collect devotional power supplied to him by his faithful servants, who went on to found the plague of cults across the Flanaess between CY 510-570. The most prominent was in the City of Greyhawk (led at one point by the infamous Falcon.) Iuz was conscious, able to communicate with and return priestly powers to his followers, and even indirectly influence events in the Flanaess. The one thing he did not
know, the one thing that pained him most, was not knowing where the hell he was. The magical power of the Obelisk beneath Castle Greyhawk, kept this knowledge from both men and gods, so that while Iuz was able to reach out to the world, he did not know where he was reaching out from. Only the nascent demigod Zagyg, his patron Boccob, and those who assisted him knew where the Nine were trapped. In many ways, this explains why Iuz's priest-hood began leaving their holds and fastnesses in the Lands of Iuz to spread across the Flanaess and search for their Master after his untimely
disappearance (which they claimed for propaganda reasons was their Lord's
Assumption into the Abyss to be reborn in the fires of Eternity.) I further contend, that only the leaders of the Spurned Cult of Iuz knew what had truly happened to their master, lest their juniors and adherents lose faith. The High Priest Patch and the Archmage Ormuz, acting as temporal leaders, coordinated the efforts of all the various sects, including lending assitance to their Master's efforts in Verbobonc (T.E.E.). And so, while Iuz embarked upon the plan that resulted in the Temple of
Elemental Evil, the show was really Zuggtmoy's, despite paltry efforts to make her succeed. Of course, who could predict that one of the Spurned Cult's spies would be sitting in the same tavern in the City of Greyhawk when a drunken lord by the name of Robilar, let slip his discovery of a certain chamber beneath the ruins of Castle Greyhawk on a previous journey with his compatriots Riggby and Tenser...thus setting
about a series of events which will be a tale for another time....

-Gary