Greyhawk/Ravenloft Question

[Andrew D. Gable]

Was it stated definitively in any 2e 'loft material where the lich Azalin (mortal name Firan Zal'Honan) came from in Greyhawk? I think it may have been Aerdi/Great kingdom, at least I recall hearing that.

Didn't stick this in the "Other D20" board b/c it's a kinda general DnD question.

 

[Greyhack]

Was it stated definitively in any 2e 'loft material where the lich Azalin (mortal name Firan Zal'Honan) came from in Greyhawk? I think it may have been Aerdi/Great kingdom, at least I recall hearing that.

Didn't stick this in the "Other D20" board b/c it's a kinda general DnD question.

Yes, Azalin was a lord of a minor fief in the Great Kingdom (of Aerdy). It doesn't get much more detailed than that, and unfortunately, most Greyhawk fans don't accept it as "canon". We've tossed the idea around in the weekly GreyTalk chat a few times, but I don't think anyone has really done much more with it.

 

[grodog]

Andrew---

The only references to Azalin in Jason Zavoda's wonderful Greyhawk index occur in Vecna Reborn (page 14) and the Living Onwall Gazetteer, page 5.

Apparently there may be some additional info in these novels:

• I, Strahd the War Against Azalin by P. N. Elrod
• King of the Dead by Gene De Weese
• Lord of Necropolis by Gene De Weese

but they're not covered in Jason's index.

If you're curious for more info/speculation/etc. about him, search for Azalin in the Greytalk Archive at http://www.greycitadel.com/greycitadel/greytalk.nsf

 

[Alzrius]

Andrew---

The only references to Azalin in Jason Zavoda's wonderful Greyhawk index occur in Vecna Reborn (page 14) and the Living Onwall Gazetteer, page 5.

The Vecna Reborn reference to Azalin is in error, so that's no help. Likewise, that product is a Ravenloft one anyway, and contains no other references to Azalin besides that one that is a misprint.

As to the "Living Onwall Gazetteer", I've never heard of it...can anyone help confirm this for me? I think you may have meant "Living Greyhawk Gazetteer" but I skimmed that and didn't see anything about Azalin on page 5.

As far as I know, the first mention in a canon Ravenloft product that mentioned Azalin coming from Oerth was the Ravenloft adventure From the Shadows. I think (though I could be wrong), it said he was from Knurl...which was then part of the Great Kingdom, as he (according to his biographical RL novel King of the Dead) was the one who swore fealty to the Malachite Throne. He later broke from them, however, and they didn't challenge it. Seems that after he left they reabsorbed the nation.

 

[Welverin]

As to the "Living Onwall Gazetteer", I've never heard of it...can anyone help confirm this for me?

http://www.onnwal.org.uk/treasure/Living_Onnwal_Gazetteer_Index.pdf

Here's a link to the Living Greyhawk Onnwal site.

 

[Alzrius]

http://www.onnwal.org.uk/treasure/Living_Onnwal_Gazetteer_Index.pdf

Here's a link to the Living Greyhawk Onnwal site.

Thanks for the links Welverin. However, in perusing the Gazetteer there, I still can't find mention of Azalin. Since the actual Gazetteer seems to be in web page HTML format, there are no page numbers to act as a guide. Am I just not looking hard enough?

 

[grodog]

Alzrius---

The reference could be in error. I imagine that there was an "official" version somewhere with page numbers, however, since Jason generally lists online docs sans page numbers (he lists Ivid the Undying as IVID, for example).

Sorry I couldn't be of more help---RL isn't in my zone

 

[Alzrius]

Alzrius---

The reference could be in error. I imagine that there was an "official" version somewhere with page numbers, however, since Jason generally lists online docs sans page numbers (he lists Ivid the Undying as IVID, for example).

Sorry I couldn't be of more help---RL isn't in my zone

Thanks anyway Grodog. I think what it is is hat he (Jason) is taking the reference on faith from the Living Onwall Gazetteer Index, which lists Azalin as being referenced on page 5. It's still driving me nuts though...

 

[grodog]

I pinged Jason to pop into this thread, since he likes to keep the index error-free....

 

[Alzrius]

I pinged Jason to pop into this thread, since he likes to keep the index error-free....

Thanks for that, I look forward to his input.

To be totally fair, the error isn't his...at least not completely. The reference to Azalin in Vecna Reborn is there, but they obviously meant to print "Vecna" and someone typed in "Azalin" by mistake. The entire product never once talks about anything related to Azalin at all, and his name there is an error; whether Jason wants to keep that in his listing for that NPC despite it adding absolutely nothing to that character is his call.

I am hoping he can shed more light on the mystery of the Living Onwall Gazetteer though.