Oerth

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Oerth is the name of the fictional planet on which one of the earliest Dungeons & Dragons campaign settings – that of Greyhawk – is located. Oerth has an axial tilt of 30 degrees, which results in larger polar caps and would have caused shorter summers in temperate areas but for wizardly and divine magic shifting weather patterns to be more favorable to the populace (at least the god-fearing folks).

1 Physical Features
2 Oerth in the "Solar" System
3 Alternate Oerths
4 References

[edit] Physical Features

According to the paper by Gary Holian in Oerth Journal, Oerth's circumference is about 42,024 km, and its radius measures 6,714 km, about 1% more than that of Earth. There is no flattening of the planet sphere due to rotation, and divine power is again hinted at.

Oerth has at least four continents, the largest of which is Oerik, lying mainly in the Northern Hemisphere. Southeast of Oerik lies the much-smaller landmass of Hepmonaland, lying in the tropics. Hyperboria, also called Telchuria (after Telchur, the god of winter), lies at the north pole, while Polaria lies at the south pole.

Author Frank Mentzer, in an early module, added a continent called Aquaria to the world, but its existence is not considered canon by most authors and fans of the setting.

Oerth also has a number of islands, the largest being Fireland, depicted on maps as being roughly half the size of Hepmonaland.

The easternmost part of Oerik, the Flanaess, has received the lion's share of detail, though Hepmonaland has received significant attention. Western Oerik was the setting for Wizards of the Coast's original miniature line, Chainmail, but few regard the material written for that setting as canon, especially after the miniature line's cancellation in 2002.

[edit] Oerth in the "Solar" System

It takes exactly 24 hours for Oerth to make one revolution on its axis. Oerth lies at the center of Greyspace. Unlike most planets, Oerth does not orbit its sun, Liga. Instead, the sun, and all other planets in the crystal sphere, orbit Oerth. Thus, Greyspace houses a geosystem, rather than a solar system. Oerth's "moons," Celene (Kule) and Luna (Raenei), are in fact the first and second planets in the geosystem, with Liga being the third. From Oerth, planets beyond Liga appear to the naked eye as wandering stars.

Liga orbits the Oerth once every 364 days, thus the Oerthly year is slightly shorter than that on Earth. Luna has a 28 day lunar cycle, while Celene's cycle is 91 days.

[edit] Alternate Oerths

In a 1984 interview for Polyhedron Newszine, Gary Gygax revealed several "alternate Oerths" while explaining the setting for his HEROES CHALLENGE game books, co-written with author Flint Dille and published under the aegis of the Dungeons & Dragons Entertainment Corporation by the Wanderer Book division of Simon & Schuster.

"By the way, action takes place on Yarth, a place somewhat similar to Oerth, the setting of Greyhawk, et al. It has fewer magical properties than Oerth but more than Earth. It is not impossible that additional works will be contracted for in months to come, action being set on Yarth or perhaps another alternate world, Aerth. On Earth, magic is virtually non-existent. On Uerth, dweomers are weak, chancy things. Yarth has a sprinkling of things magical, and Oerth is pure magic."

Other references to these alternate Oerths appear in the Gord the Rogue short story anthology Night Arrant as well as in Gygax's Epic of Aerth campaign setting for the Dangerous Journeys roleplaying game.