Geoff Grand Duchy of Geoff
His High Radiance, Owen I, Grand Duke of Geoff
Capital: Gorna (pop. 4,800)
Population: 65,000
Demi-humans: High Elves (6,000), some others
Humanoids: Some (see Crystalmist Mountains)
Resources: cloth, copper, silver, gold, gems (I)
The isolated position of Geoff, surrounded on all sides by mountains, hills, and forests, has made it virtually immune to the normal warfare of the Flanaess — although at one time a brief conflict with Keoland was fought (c. 450 CY). Rushmoor forms the nominal eastern boundary of the realm. The inhabitants of the Grand Duchy are of Flan-Suel-Oerid mixture, seemingly combining the best features of each race. This is fortunate, as they are continually threatened by incursions of formidable ogres and giants coming down the Crystalmists. The Geoffites dwell in harmony with the olvenfolk in the realm, and these two peoples often combine to combat the invading monsters. The Grand Duke, Owen I, is a clever and valorous leader, on friendly terms with the Earl of Sterich and the King of Keoland alike. The forces of the Grand Duke include horse, bowmen, and contingents of pikemen from the mountain holdings.
The Living Greyhawk Gazetter (LGG) is a sourcebook for the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. Setting is 591CYProper Name: Grand Duchy of Geoff
Ruler: His High Radiance, Owen I, Grand Duke of Geoff (exiled—LG male human Wiz15 (illusionist)/Ftr5 now ruled by rival giant and nonhuman tribal leaders and shamans, divided by race and religion
Government: (Formerly) feudal monarchy with minor fealty to Keoland; (now) no central government exists
Capital: (Formerly) Gorna; (now) noneMajor Towns: Gorna (pop. ?), Hochoch (pop. 5,500; see text), Hocholve (pop. 0), Pest's Crossing (pop. 800), Pregmere (pop. 300)
Provinces: (Formerly) six high counties, numerous elven lordships among nomadic woodland tribes, a few dwarf and gnome lordships in Stark Mounds; (now) several ill-managed "provinces" commanded by most powerful giant inhabitants of former human cities
Resources: (Formerly) cloth, copper, silver, gold, timber, gems (I)
Coinage: [Modified Keoland] griffon (pp), lion (gp), eagle (ep), hawk (sp), owl (cp)
Population:70,000—Human 79% (FSO), Elf 9% (sylvan 90%), Halfling 5%, Dwarf 3% (hill), Gnome 2%, Half-elf 1%, Half-orc 1% (plus vast number of uncounted orcs, goblins, various giants, etc.)
Languages: Common, Flan, Keolandish, Elven, Halfling (plus Orc, Goblin, etc.)
Alignments: NG, LG, CG, N, LN, CN, CE* (law formerly LN)
Religions: Pelor, Ehlonna, Allitur, Phyton, Fharlanghn, St. Cuthbert, Obad-Hai, elf pantheon, Norebo, Beory, gnome pantheon
Allies: Sterich, Keoland, Gran March, Bissel
Enemies: Valley of the Mage (distrusted), nonhumans and giants in Crystalmist
The native people, an Oeridian-Suel-Flan mix, have been driven from their homes by an invasion of giants and humanoids from the Crystalmists. Some have been enslaved, some have fled into the Gran March (including the Grand Duke, exiled in Shiboleth), and others have fled to the woodlands—the Dim Forest, the Oytwood, and some in desperate straits encircled in the Hornwood, where they work with wood elves to counterattack their invaders. Most of the original fine cavalry of the Grand Duchy managed to flee to the Gran March, while the bowmen of repute hid in the woodlands, unable to escape in time.
There is little order within Geoff now, with disorganized but numerous giants and humanoids simply pillaging and ruining the land, towns, and cities. Gorna has been settled by giants, notably fomorians, who have looted the place and smashed many buildings and monuments. Rumors circulate regarding wily and freakishly intelligent leaders among the giants, but no firm evidence has been forthcoming.
Overview:The land of Geoff is utterly devastated. Its villages are ghost towns, and armies of orcs and giants of all varieties have inhabited the cities, taking as slaves those humans they did not kill and eat. Few buildings have escaped ruin, and the land's forests are being harvested for unknown purposes. Nearly everything that once was Geoff has been erased. The giants hold all land from the Crystalmist mountains in all directions but east, where the Realstream, Dim Forest, Oytwood, and Stark Mounds demarcate a chaotic, violent border with Gran March.
Geoffs isolated position accounts for some unusual weather. Morning fog is common near the Dim Forest, giving northeastern Geoff a reputation for secrecy and hauntings. Rain is plentiful, though thunderstorms are short, violent affairs. Winter brings significant snowfall, especially in the west and mountains.Before the wars, Geoff was well known as a source for wool and furs. Animals, both wild and domesticated, once freely roamed the countryside. Most of these were captured and eaten by giants and orcs, though the deer population has grown following the loss of their foremost predator (humans—the orcs and giants eat cattle and horses). Roving packs of wild dogs range widely throughout Geoff, creating yet another hazard in an already frightful realm. Geoffs roads, predictably, are in disrepair. Traveli ng them is relatively safe, however, since giants ignore roads to take the most direct overland path, carrying their belongings. Few bandits inhabit Geoff, as the giants are dangerous and nothing is left worth stealing.
The giants' gains were hard won. Geoff's archers, predominantly sylvan elves and half-elves, picked off the first giant forays, allowing the full evacuation of the capital and much of the southlands. Eventually, Geoffs defense broke. Cavalry and pikemen were little match for seemingly countless bands of giants and nonhumans. Little evidence of an organized Geoffite army exists today; survivors long ago pledged themselves to Gran March or newly liberated Sterich, and they encourage the retaking of Geoff from afar. The largest group of these warriors is based in the all-but-annexed town of Hochoch, between the Dim Forest and Oytwood.
History:Geoff is among the oldest nations in the Flanaess. Settled by migrating Suel and Oeridians who befriended the native Flan tribes, the land has benefited from its geographic isolation for centuries, seeing little war or bloodshed. With the help of the sylvan elves of the forests and the gnomes of the Stark Mounds, the Geoffites erected Gorna more than nine hundred years ago. In 316 CY, the region was peacefully incorporated into Keoland, its nominal leader gaining the title of Grand Duke of Geoff. As the ambition of the Keoish kings grew great, the councils of the grand duke urged their leader to distance himself from the philosophy of the Wealsun Proclamation, which announced manifest destiny upon the entire Sheldomar Valley. Though the dukes of Geoff did not openly oppose the measure, Duke Arnod II failed to supply any troops for the king during the Small War with Veluna, claiming that the royal messenger bearing the mustering order (a minor Keoish noble named Dartun Dasco) had never arrived. Thereafter, relations between the court of the Duke Arnod and King Tavish III grew cold.
The discovery by a Keoish spy of a desiccated, poisoned corpse beneath the grounds of Eagle Peak (the duke's castle) in 450 CY triggered a series of events that would end in war between Geoff and Keoland. When divinations revealed the body to be that of the missing knight, Dasco, the king ordered his armies across the Stark Mounds, intent to teach Geoff the price of ignoring Keoish edicts.
The result of this was the bloody Battle of Gorna, which saw the defeat of the Keoish force. Some claim that powerful magic employed on behalf of the duke by the archmage Vargalian had a dire origin; many of the slain Keoish warriors remain in the Stark Mounds as undead swordwraiths to this day. The defeat was profound, and it resulted in great humiliation for King Tavish III. In the following years, Geoff continued to pay tribute to the crown, but with confidence that never again would the nation fear an attack from the east.
The nation, however, lay exposed to a deeper threat from within its own borders. In 497 CY, the unthinkably rich Count Granus of Pregmere made a play for the capital, using as his army a well-paid force of mercenaries and, it is whispered, the secret support of the Knights of the Watch and certain forces within Gran March. Grand Duke Rohan III was slain in early fighting, which encouraged three other counts to join the fray, challenging Granus's claim upon the entirety of Geoff. Keoland, who stood duty-bound to quell the fighting, watched from afar, still aching from the defeat suffered in the Stark Mounds. At the end of the battle, the heir of Count Granus took the title Rohan IV. With a surprisingly gentle spirit and even-handed philosophy, he pacified his wounded nation.
Throughout the next eighty years, Geoff lived in relative peace. Raids by giants, ogres, and orcs from the Crystalmists were a continual nuisance, but the creatures never worked in concert and were easily laid low.
This pattern changed dramatically in 584 CY, when the orcs and giant-kin of the Crystalmists worked together, systematically invading and destroying western villages in a series of calculated attacks that appeared to be orchestrated by an unknown entity. By Harvester, the entire nation had fallen to the giants. The duke, wise Owen I, fled to Shiboleth, where he was greeted by friendly nobles of Gran March.
Those Geoffites who could not escape the nation began a guerilla war against the giants, striking from secluded hideouts in hills and woodlands. Aided by gnomes and elves, these humans gained only minor victories. By 586 CY, most resistance cells had been discovered and slain, the few survivors retreating deeper into the woodlands of the east.
A vicious, violent push into Geoff came in 588 CY. Orchestrated by leaders of the Knights of Dispatch in Hochoch, the action saw a great deal of fighting in the Oytwood, where a small army of lesser giantkin was defeated with great bloodshed. The push was taxing, however, and the soldiers of Hochoch now mount only small raids in the west, awaiting money and manpower to support a reinvasion of the destroyed duchy.
Very little information on the current status of the nation has reached the outside world. It is known that Gorna is in ruins, and that a fire giant named "King" Mogthrasir rules from a crudely wrought stone castle in Pest's Crossing. The giants call the land "Tjalf," which means "toil" in their language, an accurate representation of the life of the few surviv ing humans in the region. Whether Mogthrasir plotted the invasions and is the overlord of the entire region is unknown, but doubted.
Conflicts and Intrigues:Rumors that old Owen I intends to move his court to Hochoch cause consternation among the leaders of the Knights of the Watch, who have designs upon a reconquered Geoff. The Oytwood and Dim Forest sylvan elves are on increasingly unfriendly terms. Owen's heir, Count Hustin, who vanished in 587 CY, was recently revealed by divination to be alive and "amid the sky."
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