Great Kingdom

In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, the Great Kingdom, or the Great Kingdom of Aerdy, refers to an empire that varied in size at various points in its history.

History

The Great Kingdom arose from the Kingdom of Aerdy in -110 CY, when the Aerdi forces of Grand Prince Almor II defeated the Nyrondese in the Battle of a Fortnight's Length. Aerdy nearly doubled in size, and was thereafter known as the Great Kingdom, though its ruler still held the old national title and office of Grand Prince. Despite the new moniker, power in the new empire would not become truly centralized until 1 CY, when Grand Prince Nasran I declared universal peace throughout the land and took the title of Overking of the Great Kingdom of Aerdy.

By the 6th century CY, however, the Great Kingdom had shrunk to a fraction of its size, limited to the lands east of the Harp River and Teesar Torrent, and north of the Iron Hills and Thelly River.

In 586 CY, Ivid V, last Overking of the Great Kingdom, was rumored to be dead after the devastation of Rauxes, the nation's capital. This essentially brought an end to the Great Kingdom. Two successor nations, the United Kingdom of Ahlissa and the North Kingdom of Aerdy, now vie for control of the region.

Geography

At its greatest extent, the Great Kingdom stretched from the city of Rel Astra on the Solnor coast to the Viceroyalty of Ferrond in the west; and from Sunndi in the south to Ratik in the north.

References

• Cook, David. "History of the Greyhawk Wars." Wars (TSR, 1991). Available Online:

• Cordell, Bruce R. Bastion of Faith. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 1999.

• Guarhoth, Taras. "Timeline of Aerdi Grand Princes and Overkings." Available online:

• Gygax, Gary. The World of Greyhawk (TSR, 1980).
• Gygax, Gary. World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting (TSR, 1983).

• Holian, Gary, Erik Mona, Sean K Reynolds, and Frederick Weining. Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (Wizards of the Coast, 2000).

• Moore, Roger E. Greyhawk: The Adventure Begins (TSR, 1998).

• Niles, Douglas, and Carl Sargent. The City of Greyhawk (TSR, 1989).

• Sargent, Carl. From the Ashes (TSR, 1992).
  • Sargent, Carl. Ivid the Undying (TSR, unpublished). Available online:

• Ward, James M. Greyhawk Adventures (TSR, 1988)