Greyhawk Area Map
Territory Surrounding Greyhawk
The city is in many ways a product of its surroundings. Even more significantly, those surroundings control the approaches to the Free City of Greyhawk, and offer a great deal of adventure to those who base their travels in the city.
From the Cairn Hills to the north, along the blue shores of the Nyr Dyv, to the winding and placid course of the Selintan River, adventure awaits the brave adventurer within a short ride from the city walls.
The area discussed in this section is displayed on the large "Greyhawk Area" map included in this set. Specific numbered locations are described under their general geographical areas. For example, the gnomish warren of Grossettgrottell (area 2) is described in the section on the Cairn Hills.
The Cairn Hills
This barren string of hills is the north ern prominence of the massif known as the Abbor-Alz. Its name refers to the ancient discovery of mysterious burial sites here, containing relics from an unknown civilization. These relics proved to be of great value, though their acquisition was a matter of no little risk. Though Greyhawk was no more than a wild trading town at that time, this was the beginning of its role as a starting and ending place for would-be adventurers and treasure-seekers.
The hills fringe the territories of the Free City on two sides, providing strong and visible borders. In addition, their rugged nature and general lack of settlements make them the wildest territory near the City of Greyhawk.
The hills are the remnants of an ancient range of mountains. Their foundation is the bedrock of the earth itself and in places this rock-dark gray granite and rose quartz-juts through the shallow covering of earth that gives the hills their characteristically drab appearance.
It is this same bedrock that guards the gems from which the Cairn Hills derive their most significant commercial usage. The Free City of Greyhawk operates several vast mining regions in the hills, producing a variety of large, high-quality gems, especially emeralds and rubies, though a few dfamonds are unearthed here as well.
Most of the diamonds lie among the hills to the north of the Selintan River, land claimed and jealously guarded by gnomes. The humans have found it easier and much more practicable to purchase diamonds from gnomish miners rather than to try and conquer these hills. Though the surface of the land might fall to human invasion, the underearth where the gems are-would remain for ever in the hands of the industrious gnomes.
The gnomish capital of Grossettgrottell is described later in this section. The northern slopes of the hills, in their gentle descent to the shores of the Nyr Dyv, offer little in the way of mineral wealth or any other commercial enterprise. This might be why the halflings have been allowed to live here unmolested for so long.
The halflings fish the shallows of the Nyr Dyv, maintain small flocks of sheep on the slopes of the hills, and practice whatever trading they can with vessels passing into and out of the Selintan River.
Their bustling town, Elmshire, is also described in additional detail on pages 20- 21 of this book.
From the north slopes, the hills curve through a vast crescent toward the south, where they meet the Abbor-Alz. For much of this stretch the hills are devoid of permanent habitation. Instead, a few scattered monsters roam the hills here, where patrols from Urnst and Greyhawk seldom venture.
Only at their very southern extremity do the hills again host inhabitants. Here the dwarves hold sway from their rocky fastness called Greysmere. Though the mining is poor here, the quarrying is superb. The dwarves have erected vast underground halls and long tunnel networks far beyond the needs of their current population.
The hills are also dotted with the mysterious burial cairns of the ancients. Two of these, a minor and major cairn, are detailed later in this chapter. The ones marked on the map are all sites that have been thoroughly plundered by previous adventurers. Of course, there is a good (75%) chance that one of these robbed cairns has become the lair of a large monster, the shelter of a group of bandits, or the seething nest of a dark-dwelling horror.
The Free City of Greyhawk
A detailed description of this location is the province of both these books, and the other maps in the package. This map, however, shows the city in relation to its immediate surroundings.
Major points of access to the city are the Selintan River and the River Highway that runs beside the waterway for most of its length. However, any place on this map may be reached within, at the most, three days ride from the city.
The general surrounding areas of the Cairn Hills, the Nyr Dyv, the Selintan River itself, the swampy reach known as Mistmarsh to the southeast of the city, the eastern fringe of the Gnarley Forest, and even Woolly Bay and the city of Hardby.
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