Expedition To The Ruins of Greyhawk - Overview

Overview

The Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk adventure puts the adventuring party on a quest into the depths of the Ruins of Castle Greyhawk to save the Free City from the forces of the foul demigod Iuz the Evil - the half-fiend son of the demon lord Graz'zt and the evil archmage Iggwilv. Iuz built a sinister empire that once held the northern lands of the Flanaess in fear and constantly threatened the surrounding kingdoms in an attempt to rule the entire world of Oerth.

Iuz's empire fell apart 200 years earlier after Iuz was captured by the Free City's founding wizard, the mad Zagig Yragerne, who imprisoned Iuz in a device called the "godtrap" as part of a bizarre experiment to achieve divinity for himself. Decades after Zagig (now the Archmage Demigod called Zagyg) achieved his godhood, a powerful mage from the Free City named Mordenkainen, led an expedition into the depths of Castle Greyhawk.

There, two of Mordenkainen's allies, the warrior Lord Robilar, and Boccobite cleric Riggby, found the imprisoned Iuz and through Mordenkainen's manipulation, released the half-demon believing they could just kill him outright once and for all. Iuz however, managed to escape the battle and fled back to his kingdom where he could recover his power and plot his revenge against his enemies. Afterward, Robilar, along with the archmage Rary, betrayed Mordenkainen and the Circle of Eight (a committee of wizards), by killing the great wizards Tenser, and Otiluke, and leaving Bigby clinging to life. Mordenkainen expected Rary to betray him sooner or later, but not Robilar who was his trusted ally for decades.

Forty years later, in the Greyhawk realm's Common Year of 597, the player characters take on the role of adventurers who arrive at the Free City to explore the Ruins of Greyhawk looking for riches and glory. Under an oath with Zagig, Mordenkainen vowed never to enter the depths of Castle Greyhawk, but through researching Zagig's tomes, Mordenkainen only recently found a possible clue to Robliar's betrayal hidden deep inside the ruins. Mordenkainen, barred by oath from entering the dungeons, recruits the band of adventurers to go into the chambers for him and find the secret behind Robilar's treachery. Little do they realize they have stumbled upon an epic situation where failure could mean the destruction of the world.