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All Living Greyhawk characters are made using the same rules, and since there isn't a judge to watch your rolls, and you can take the character from judge to judge, con to con, anyway, dice roles are not used to create characters. Instead attributes are assigned with a point-buy system. The full details of how to generate a character are defined in the Living Greyhawk Character Creation Guidelines

Your character also didn't just appear out of nowhere (well, probably didn't), your going to want to make a background for that character. Its probably best to do this first, as it might affect how you make your character, what class, race, skills and feats you might choose. To get a better idea of the nation your going to find yourself in, and therefore what kind of background you want, read through the Nyrond Gazetteer. The Gazetteer should give you some basics as to the History of Nyrond, its Political areas, and its Geography.

In creating your background its important to remember that just because people want to have a character that may not fit into Nyrond society easily, the Triad and the module writers are not going to let you get away with having it easily. Be prepared for being treated unjustly, and even unfairly by simple-minded peasants and the like.

Races

Players can be any race found in the Players Handbook, however the vast majority of Nyrond are human, and non-human races can expect to be treated badly. Poor education leads to superstition and intolerance, so in some areas (especially further away from the capital city of Rel Mord), nonhuman races are treated with suspicion and on occasion outright hostility. Consult the People of Nyrond section of the Nyrond Gazetteer for greater information.

Classes

Again, players can be any class found in the Players Handbook.

It should be noted that there are no Barbarian Hordes wandering about Nyrond, nor even anywhere near Nyrond. It is possible for a lone Barbarian to have wandered considerable distance to have gotten here, or to be a leftover mercenary who has remained since the Greyhawk Wars ended 5 years ago.

Druids and rangers generally find the central lands of Nyrond are too civilized. However, the recent expansion of Nyrond has left many wilder places on the outskirts: The Gnatmarsh, the Gamboge Forest, the Flinty Hills, Woodverge, Almor. For those who wish to work more on restoring the land, the Almorian lands are largely unoccupied, and blasted by warfare and demons. For those who wish more to protect the lands, the Celadon forest has suffered greatly lately from over-logging. See the Geography section of the Nyrond Gazetteer. Many Rangers train at Stalwart Pines in the Celadon Forest.. Druids in Nyrond generally learn directly from a single mentor.

Bards can come from anywhere, though many are having a rather hard time lately. Rampant poverty and high taxes have left people with little coin to give to travelling performers. To reduce taxes the King has let go several royal orchestras, flooding Rel Mord with out-of-work professional performers who are going to be extremely protective of any venue they've managed to corner.

The crushing poverty has also seen to a recent explosion in the number of rogues and bandits. In reaction, a few areas have instituted rather draconion measures against anyone caught stealing. This is particularly true in the Barony of Woodwych.

Clerics can always be found wherever people are. See the section on Gods and Deities later in this page. Clerics will need to pick some deity to worhsip. Heironeous is the state-favored religion, of honor and duty. It is particularly favored by the military and nobility. Pelor is a sun god more common with the masses and stresses healing and good-works.

Fighters of various sorts are common throughout Nyrond. Nyrond maintains an extremely powerful army and an extensive navy. Various nobility also train private armies. Nearly every citizen of Nyrond has served in the Militia at some point during the recent wars. Mercenaries left-over from the war have settled down throughout the nation. Monks find the lawful and orderly bend of Nyrond a good place to train, though the recent wars has sown Chaos everywhere.

Sorcerors also can pop up anywhere throughout the nation. Wizards on the other hand have only a few places in which to train. Most Wizards train in Rel Mord, and the capital maintains a large Royal University. A few train in Hendrenn Halgood, capital of the Duchy of Orberend. The Archmage Ghiselyn retired to Orberend during the war, and has contributed greatly to the Academy there.

Alignments

Gods & Religions

Religious beliefs have polarized since the wars. Some folk seek solace in stern faiths, which promise certainty in an uncertain world. Conversion to the faith of Pholtus is the most extreme case of this. Some folk believe the gods of good have abandoned them, and have become bitter apostates. Others still have turned to placating evil gods, or grasping at any straw. These have become vulnerable targets for the sweet sayings of charlatans and soothsayers. Superstition is also on the rise throughout the kingdom.

For a more complete list of Deities and information about them, see the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer.

Pholtus: The church of Pholtus within Nyrond is bitterly divided between those who follow the deity in his lawful good aspect and those who revere his lawful neutral aspect. Fervent supporters of the Valorous League of Blindness dominate the latter, while the good-aligned priests have come close to dismissing this as heresy. The Valorous League is strongly approved of by the Theacracy of the Pale. The message is simple "There is now only one hope of salvation, Pholtus of the Blinding Light. Only those blinded to iniquity and its lures can hope to prevail in these terrible times." They frequently ferment virtual insurrection, trying to incorporate northern Nyrond into the Theocracy instead of Nyrond. Many wear blinders to emphasize with pride their refusal to see anything but doctrinal creed. The more adventurous of the League enjoy going to fiend-hunting in the Almorian lands.

Boccob: Some powerful mages sages revere Boccob, but a deity known as "the Uncaring" hardly marshals much faith in Nyrond. However, the important group known as The Sagacious Society has many reverers of Boccob, Boccob's few followers have influence disproportionate to their numbers.

Heironeous: Heironeous remains the major faith among veteran fighters and the officer class. To them, Heironeous embodies the virtues of a Greater Nyrond, a land sustained by faith and valor. The church has gained much favor in the eyes of all citizens of Nyrond since they were responsible for saving the life of former King Archbold, during the coup attempted by his younger son Sewarndt.

Rao: Priests of Rao are active throughout Nyrond, seeking to resolve the many conflicts within the land by discussion and arbitration. Led by Canon Durinken of ReI Mord. Durinken's frank honesty has earned him the respect of all his priests, and they work hard among the common people, the landowners and all sections of society, as mediators of disputes. Durinken has no desire to see Nyrond defenseless, He simply has a humanitarian sense of priorities, and he does not consider the fact that Nyrond is in serious danger of invasion.

Zilchus: Priests of Zilchus were angry with their rulers and their king because trade and exchange was collapsing. High Priest Palindren of Rel Mord insists that Nyrond has lived and grown strong through trade and will perish if trade diminishes. King Lynwerd then empowered the Priesthood to rebuild trade in the Kingdom. Palindren rages at the corruption of so many landowners and the militias, who rob merchants and farmers, Palindren is a forceful man.

Pelor: Pelor is worshipped by commoners throughout the nation, and maintains many good works. Worship of Pelor is particularly strong in the Duchy of Orberend, and the Duke Orberend is a Paladin of Pelor. In Rel Mord the temple of Pelor has become an almshouse for the poor and needy, doing what it could to assist people through the crushing poverty. With some recovery in the economy the crowds have lessened, and few people now sleep on its steps. Nevertheless the works of the priesthood has strongly encouraged Pelo'rs worship among the poor.

Evil Deities: Since the war, a terrible thing has happened within Nyrond, which would have been considered impossible before. Many people, especially in rural communities, have taken to placating evil deities. They do not worship them, but they perform ceremonies in an attempt to mitigate them and spare themselves from ravages. After the outbreak of plague in Midmeadow early in 585 CY, a small shrine to Incabulos was discovered and some half a dozen villagers lynched for praying to the dark god of disease and death. Likewise, it is said that on the borders of Almor some folk pray to Hextor, the evil god of war, beseeching him to turn the eyes of the fiends there eastward so that Aerdi may be devoured from within rather than fiends feasting on Nyrondese flesh, As yet, this tendency is not general, but it is a source of alarm to any upholder of good and valor within this land. It could also be exploited by priests of dark gods.

What Now?

Hopefully by now you've created a character, gotten some background into what can be found about Nyrond and are ready to play an adventure. Check the Conventions section of the website to find up coming conventions near you. You also might try looking under Game Days to find groups who meet regularly in your area. Under the Peoples of the Realm section you can read about other characters, and register your own. Under Metagaming you can read about other groups and activities your character can get involved in.

[ Players Guide: Character Primer, Gazetteer ]