The Powers That Be

The Free City is ruled by a Directing Oligarchy-a group of technically coequal rulers, currently numbering 16 members. Heading the Oligarchy, and elected by its members, is the Lord Mayor. This group is variable in number; it may include as few as 12 or as many as 18 members. Thus, the rulers are not always obliged to replace an oligarch who retires, is dismissed , or dies.

There is a dominant subgroup within the Oligarchy which effectively plans and schemes to ensure its supremacy. This group consists of Nerof Gasgal, Org Nenshen, Turin Deathstalker, Glodreddi Bakkanin, Carmen Halmaster, and Demen Nathane. The latter pair are general merchants, fairly prosperous, who are also middle-ranking members of the Thieves Guild and thus owe formal allegiance to Org Nenshen and Nerof Gasgal. Although this group is only less than one third of the total membership , Ren o' the Star, Bodmi Hollardel, Laup Cobrun, and Sir Anton Palmirian usually line up with them, giving the collaborators and their allies a majority whenever something critical is brought to a vote.

These secondary supporters are not party to the central intrigues of Gasgal's group, but they have learned through experience that the Lord Mayor's policies are good for trade, and so they will almost always support him. Also, Cobrun is under the instructions of Janziduur (Chapter 3) to report back to her (and thus to the Church of Trithereon) about the decisions of the Oligarchy, and he usually plays safe by supporting majority views so as to appear inconspicuous; of course, this generally means going along with the Gasgal-Nenshen faction. Further , Sental Nurev hardly dares to speak in Oligarchy meetings any more, while Ravel Dasinder is not truly interested in politics. Thus, Gasgal and Nenshen and their accomplices usually win the day, and the wily thieves more or less direct the politics of Greyhawk.

As a result, Nerof Gasgal is not "just" Lord Mayor, but the driving force and the most important man in the City of Greyhawk.

The Directing	Oligarchy	of Greyhawk
Name	Role/Title/Function	Further detail
Nerof Gasgal	Lord Mayor and Assistant Guildmaster of Thieves	See below
Sental Nurev	Captain-General of the Watch	Chapter 2
Org Nenshen	Guildmaster of Thieves	Chapter 5
Turin Deathstalker	Guildmaster of Assassins	Chapter 5
Kieren Jalucian	Guildmaster of Wizards	Chapter 3
Otiluke	President, Society of Magi	Chapter 3
Ravel Dasinder	Patriarch of Boccob	Chapter 3
Jerome Kasinskaia	Patriarch of Rao	Chapter 3
Ren o' the Star	Guildmaster, Merchants' and Traders' Union	Chapter 4
Laup Cobrun	Merchants' and Traders' Union	See below
Carmen Halmaster	Merchants' and Traders' Union	See below
Demen Nathane	Merchants' and Traders' Union	See below
Bodmi Hollardel	Guildmaster of Jewelers and Gemcutters	Chapter 4
Sir Anton Palmirian	Guildmaster of Lawyers and Scribes	Chapter 4
Glodreddi Bakkanin	Inspector of Taxes	Chapter 2
Derider Fanshen	Constable	Chapter 2