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The Free City of Greyhawk, also known as the Free and Independent City of Greyhawk, Greyhawk City or simply the Free City and often called the Gem of the Flanaess, is a powerful city-state located in the central Flanaess. The word "Greyhawk" is often used in reference to those lands controlled by the Free City, though the proper term for the entire realm is the Domain of Greyhawk.
Greyhawk is girdled by 30 feet high curtain City Walls built from blocks of Cairn Hills granite fitted together in a tight pattern and is 18 feet thick at the base (where a splay confounds would be rams). The platform along the top is ten feet wide, with a parapet running along both the inside and outside edges. All those wishing to enter the city must explain their business to the City Watch, who take pains to question all comers. Those hailing from realms hostile to or at war with the Domain of Greyhawk are barred from the city. All granted access to the city must make their mark on a roster that is carefully kept by the Watch.
Seven gates pierce the city’s external walls. All are warded by patrols of the City Watch and most remain open between sunrise and sunset. Four gates – Black, Highway, Garden, and Cargo – are larger than the others, reaching 16 feet in height and a total entrance width of 24 feet. In all other respects mentioned here they resemble their smaller kin.
The two gates within the city – Black Gate, leading from the Old to the New City, and Garden Gate, leading from the upper district of the city into the Foreign Quarter and Clerkburg in the more crowded central district – divide the city, in function if not necessarily by intent, into three classes. The Garden Gate remains open except in rare instances of emergency, such as riots or panic. The Black Gate, on the other hand, is closed during the deepest hours of the night.
The city is divided into eight districts or quarters. The oldest of these are the Thieves’ and Slum Quarters. These lie east and west, respectively, of the southern end of The Processional – the broad avenue that runs the length of the city from the Highway Gate in the south to the Grand Citadel in the north. Together, the Slum and Thieves’ Quarters make up the Old City, which is separated from the New City by the Black Wall.
In Old City, south of the grimy Black Wall, agents of the The Guild are everywhere. In this long-shadowed area of leaning tenements and filthy streets, a man’s life is worth less than his shiny brass belt buckle. The penniless labourers who keep the city running dwell in squalid conditions here amid the wanton criminals and desperate beggars. Opportunity and wealth seem distant notions, zealously guarded privileges kept forever out of reach.
Three districts of note lie outside the city walls. The Wharf District occupies a narrow strip of land along the Selintan in the Shadow of the city’s western wall. The collection of shanties at the northern end of the wharf is called Shacktown and is considered a separate district. A far more orderly district is emerging at the opposite end of the city, just outside the Highway Gate. In recent times it has come to be called the Wainfields for the large numbers of caravans that halt here before entering the city proper.
Greyhawk, named for the small grey hawks which populate the region, was originally a trading outpost on the Selintan specializing in local wood and woven garments, which was known by that name as early as 330 OR (-315 CY). In time, the town developed strong textile and meat-packing industries. From the earliest days, Greyhawk was ruled by a warlord who took the title "Landgraf of the Selintan." This first Landgraf's son was then married to the Gynarch of Hardby's daughter. The nuptials formalized a political alliance that served as the basis for rule over the Lanstadt of Selintan, the area that eventually became known as the Domain of Greyhawk.
In 4 CY, Greyhawk came under the domination of the Great Kingdom of Aerdy and remained so while strong Overkings ruled from the Malachite Throne in Rauxes. The Great Kingdom's influence over the city began to wane during the third and especially the fourth centuries as the House of Rax declined and the Overkings hold on distant provinces became increasingly tenuous.
Notable Locations
• Black Dragon Inn
• Broken Staff Tavern
• City Hall
• Free City Arena
• Geld's Maps
• Grand Citadel
• Grand Hall
• Great Hall
• Great Library of Greyhawk
• Green Dragon Inn
• Grey College
• Griffon's Nest
• Guild of Wizardry
• High Tower Inn
• Maps by Melezakan
• Nine of Swords
• Old City Great Hall
• Patricians' Club
• Royal Opera House
• Sanctum of Heironeous
• Silver Dragon Inn
• Temple of the Far Horizon
• Temple of the Radiant Sun
• Unearthed Arcana
• University of Magical Arts
• Wheel of Gold
• Whistling Fish
• Wild Goose
• World Serpent Inn
The Free City of Greyhawk is located centrally in the Flanaess, which is the easternmost part of the continent of Oerik on the world of Oerth. The city controls a large swath of land along the Selintan River from the Nyr Dyv south to Woolly Bay, most of the Cairn Hills, parts of the Gnarley Forest, the northern Wild Coast, and parts of the Abbor-Alz. The entire region is officially known as the Domain of Greyhawk. The Domain is bordered on the east by the Abbor-Alz and its western border lies within the Gnarley Forest. The area south of Greyhawk City along the Selintan is known as the Plain of Greyhawk.
The Free City of Greyhawk is divided into eight Quarters. The Thieves' Quarter, the Slum Quarter, the Artisans' Quarter, Clerkburg, the Foreign Quarter, the River Quarter, the Garden Quarter, and the High Quarter. Generally speaking, the poorest sections of town are to the south, on lower ground, while the wealthier quarters are to the north, at higher elevation. The Thieves' and Slum Quarters are known collectively as Old City, while the other six quarters are referred to as New City.
Greyhawk's Directing Oligarchy elects one of its own as Lord Mayor, who serves as the head of state in addition to his Directorial duties. The current Lord Mayor, Nerof Gasgal, has held office since 571 CY. The Lord Mayor heads both the Directing Oligarchy and the Council of Mayors and Manorial Lords. The chief of state also officially heads the military, though actual command is most often left to the Captain General of the Watch.
he Free City of Greyhawk is ruled by the Directing Oligarchy, an executive council of twelve to eighteen members representing the city's major professional guilds and the military. In some cases, the Oligarchy may include important wizards and/or clerics. Current council members choose new Directors when a vacancy must be filled.
There are four advisory councils which, in theory, serve the interests of various groups as representatives to the Oligarchy. Each meets separately with the Directors quarterly or annually.
•Public Council—comprised of representatives of the citizenry-at-large in the City of Greyhawk.
•Grand Administrative Council—comprised of minor nobles of the City of Greyhawk.
•Grand Council of Greyhawk Guilds—comprised of guildleaders in the City of Greyhawk.
•Council of Mayors and Manorial Lords—comprised of civic leaders of the Domain of Greyhawk.
The Public Council stands out as a democraticly, popularly-elected advisory body consisting of eight representatives, one from each of the city's quarters.
Major legal matters in the Free City of Greyhawk are adjudicated by a Judge of Greyhawk, one of eight such officials appointed by the Directing Oligarchy. One of these eight is chosen to serve as Chief Judge of Greyhawk. In cases of great import, three Judges of Greyhawk may preside.
Appeals of major cases are always heard by a panel of three Judges of Greyhawk, though the Lord Mayor sometimes sits in place of one of the Judges. Lesser matters in Greyhawk City are tried by magistrates from the Guild of Lawyers and Scribes.
The Greyhawk criminal code does specify those spells being entirely outlawed "from judgement" and at "trials". But, it also specifies "in criminal proceeedings" which includes investigation before arrest. The city's coat of arms is blazoned thus: 'Sable, a castle triple-towered argent, in chief two chains each of four links chevronwise of the second, in base six bezants.
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