Difference between revisions of "Grand Duchy of Geoff"

Revision as of 08:47, 1 March 2008

Overview

The Grand Duchy of Geoff is a vassal state of the Kingdom of Keoland in the western Flanaess. It is one of the three marcher realms to be invaded by giant forces, Sterich and the Yeomanry to the south being the other two.

Geoff was conquered during the Greyhawk Wars by a secretive band of cloud giants known as the Sakhut. Due in large part to the efforts of the Blackrazor Guild, the duchy has been liberated and is now being re-settled. The Blackrazors maintain several baronies in the western reaches of the duchy.

Political Information

Geoff was divided into eleven “high counties” before the giant invasion, some of which are now leaderless due to their ruling families being lost defending them.

High Counties

The names of the High Counties, their respective capitols, and the names and status of their rulers follow:

Geographic Information

Geoff is bounded on three sides by mountains. The Barrier Peaks border it to the north (beyond which lies the mysterious Vale of the Mage). The Crystalmist Mountains are to the west (beyond which lies the Dry Steppes, the remnants of the ancient Baklunish Empire), and the low Stark Mounds to the south, beyond which lies Sterich.

Geoff has three great woodlands, the Hornwood in the far southwest, the smaller Oytwood in the central southeast, and a portion of the great Dim Forest in the northeast (the remainder of which is claimed by Gran March and Bissel).

In the east, the border with Gran March is the Realstream, a tributary of the mighty Javan River (the longest in the Flanaess) which flows in from the northeast. Western Geoff is drained by the branches of the Oyt River. The Blue Oyt flows down from a large lake (Lake Mala) in the Crystalmists and through the Hornwood, and the White Oyt flows from the western Stark Mounds. The Oyt and Realstream join the Javan River within the Oytwood, and the Javan continues many miles south into Keoland, and eventually the Azure Sea. One smaller river, the Olvewater, flows down into the northern Javan from Lake Avon Ffyn in the Barrier Peaks. Within that lake is the fabled sacred Isle of Rhun, an island held by the druids.

Cultural Information

The Grand Duchy of Geoff is an ancient land, steeped in the traditions of the Flan people who make up the majority of its population. The druids of the Old Faith and bardic loremasters, called scops, are highly regarded by commoner and nobleman alike. They generally follow Beory, Obad-Hai, or [[Ehlonna[[ (or very rarely Nerull). Other religions of note among the general populace include the churches of Pelor, Allitur, Fharlanghn, and more recently Trithereon. Soldiers from Gran March and the Knights of the Watch or Dispatch favor Heironeous, Pholtus, St. Cuthbert, and Mayaheine. The elves of the three great forests and the dwarves and gnomes of the Stark Mounds obviously regard their own respective pantheons, and occasionally human city-dwellers revere other gods such as Norebo or Phyton especially.

Geoff is a very rustic country where most citizens are farmers or herders. Local coarse breads, stews of mutton or goat, trout and salmon from the rivers, and several varieties of cheese make up the standard diet of both the high and low born. Hard apple or pear cider is the drink of choice for the common man rather than ale, beer or wine. Plum and cherry brandy is also favored.

Cities and Towns

This is a dynamic list of all the Cities and Towns associated with this Country. {{#ask:located in::Grand Duchy of Geoff | ?Population | format=ol | sort=population | order=desc }}

Recent History

The Grand Duchy of Geoff was recently liberated (in early CY 591) from the giant, ogre, and evil humanoid tribes who had in earlier years swept down from the surrounding mountain ranges to conquer it in CY 583, during the height of the Greyhawk Wars. With the help of several factions, including foreign adventuring guilds (especially the Blackrazor Guild), the Knights of the Watch or Dispatch, and military forces sent by neighboring countries such as Gran March and Keoland, almost the entirety of the country has been freed.

The few larger towns and cities of Geoff suffered greatly under the giant occupation being severely damaged, and their populations enslaved. These faired better than the smaller villages, however, which were often completely destroyed and depopulated, leaving ghost towns behind. The few who survived the attacks and escaped enslavement either fled to the east, or retreated within the various expansive forests of the duchy to seek refuge with the elves. The Hornwood, Oytwood, and Dim Forest became staging areas for guerilla attacks and rescue missions for many years, led by skilled human and elven rangers.

The former Grand Duke of Geoff, Owen II, barely escaped both an assassination attempt and the giantish siege of his capitol city of Gorna, and fled the country for the city of Shiboleth in Gran March where he established a court in exile. There, the beleaguered Duke began slowly rebuilding his devastated army, and called upon his allies for aid, as well as sending agents to various other countries to seek out willing adventurers and ex-patriots. Unfortunately, the armies of his allies were committed elsewhere until the close of the Greyhawk Wars in CY 584, and thus little progress was made until after the Pact of Greyhawk was signed.

Eventually, by CY 586 the eastern city of Hochoch in Geoff was retaken with considerable help from the Knights of the Watch and the army of Gran March. Grand Duke Owen then moved his court there to continue the reclamation efforts, and begin making assessments of the condition of his devastated country through scouting and occasional raids. It was in CY 590 when real progress began to be made, through the efforts of the Steelstorm and Blackrazor adventuring guilds. Grand Duke Owen began focusing his efforts more and more towards promoting these guild’s activities, as their success was just the morale booster his army needed, plus, his political arrangements with both Gran March and the Knights of the Watch were becoming more than he bargained for, as Gran March had all but annexed Hochoch, and the Knights of the Watch enforced martial law, and both groups had designs on the newly liberated lands of Geoff.

Over the course of several months, the towns of Geoff began to be liberated. Many threats other than giants placated the adventurers of the Blackrazor Guild as they made progress, then had setbacks. Whether it was derro, white dragons, the vampiric minions of Zaund, or the rogue archmage Valeron, their exploits are well chronicled and are better told elsewhere. ^[2] However, the most important events to come out of this time was the so-called “Night of Storms”, where Grand Duke Owen and almost his entire family were slain by Zaund and his minions, and the assault on the cloud giant fortress of Durengard, where the leadership of the giant forces was eliminated. The Grand Duke’s oldest son and heir became Grand Duke Owen III, and he made many of the Blackrazors into his vassals by creating them as new Barons of his now-liberated Duchy.

References

1. ↑ Of note: The Monastery of Pelor in Radiance is within this county
2. ↑ Blackrazor Guild Sagas#Common Year 590