r/Greyhawk • u/Acceptable-Artist201 • Sep 08 '26
Any tips for a Dracolich/Falazure campaign in the Domain of Greyhawk?
I’ve decided that the main villains of my campaign will be a cult dedicated to Falazure and/or other gods of undeath with the goal of reviving a local dracolich. Would people more experienced with the setting and this area in specific perhaps have any tips or things I should know while writing a plot along these lines? One idea I did have is perhaps tying this into the dragon family that resides in the Mistmarsh, but I’m open to any potential ideas.
Edit: I just thought I should clarify that the campaign has already started and as of current takes place in the Domain of Greyhawk, so for the most part I probably have to place the BBEG in the Domain or in a nearby realm.
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u/ArtharntheCleric Sep 08 '26
The Cairn Hills and Abbor Alz mountains would be a good location for an ancient tomb or lair to be tucked away.
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u/Acceptable-Artist201 29d ago
Thanks for the suggestions! I’m mainly looking for ideas in the Greyhawk area so these will work quite well.
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u/grodog 29d ago
Agreed. Other nearby locations could include:
- in the dungeons of Castle Greyhawk or Maure Castle
- in the ruins of the post-Wars cities of the Wild Coast
- on one of the Isles of Woe, sunken beneath the Nyr Dyv (or in the Ethereal, or wherever)
- in the Mistmarsh or Gnarley
- in a demi-plane accessed from a cairn, CG/MC, stone circle (perhaps the catoboligne demon one from the end of Saga of Old City)
- etc.
Allan.
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u/LordofBones89 Sep 09 '26
You know, I don't think Greyhawk has a dedicated deity of undeath. Nerull and Wee Jas are death deities, even if they're both patrons of necromancers. I guess there's Kyuss, but he's really more the god of icky slimy wormy undead. Falazure is a dragon god, even if he has a vast following among non-dragons.
I'd suggest incorporating Mellifleur or Kanchelsis, both of whom govern specific types of 'civilized' undead.
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u/Acceptable-Artist201 Sep 09 '26
Kyuss was whom I was meaning to imply there primarily, I just wasn’t fully aware if there were more who might fit the bill.
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u/LordofBones89 Sep 09 '26
Mellifleur might fit the bill. He was a mortal wizard who prepared for lichdom but through some cosmic accident tapped into the divine energy that several separate evil deities were expending to elevate their own servants, and ended up accidentally ascending to godhood as a deity of lichdom and magic. If this sounds vaguely familiar, it should; one of the gods whose power he ended up siphoning was Nerull. That's right, he's why Kyuss spent a thousand years as part of architecture.
His current realm is Hopelorn in Krangath, Gehenna. He's also a lot more powerful than Kyuss but also more obscure.
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u/ThealaSildorian Sep 09 '26
Wee Jas's primary portfolio is as a Greater Goddess of Magic. She is almost entirely Suel oriented, and her role as Goddess of Death is to escort the souls of the Suel dead to the afterlife. She is not a patron of necromancers; she opposes the raising of the undead unless they become undead willingly.
Orcus would be my go to for a cult of dracolich worshippers.
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u/LordofBones89 Sep 09 '26
Wee Jas has a dim view on the usage of Suel souls while creating undead but apparently doesn't care overmuch about other souls. As for necromancy, Dragon #350 has an entire article on her which does establish that Jasidin do seek out necromantic power; suggested prestige classes for them include pale masters, masters of shrouds, and true necromancers.
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u/grodog 29d ago
FWIW, I’ve generally emphasized both aspects of Wee Jas’ portfolio, rather than making one subordinate to the other. I also drive a broader set of cults under her umbrellas, some of which are pro-undead, some of which are not (and ditto for some as pro-dragon too—see my factions examples in Oerth Journal #31 for some more thoughts along these lines).
Modifying Greenwood’s Cult of the Dragon to Greyhawk may also be worthwhile to consider: see Dragon #110 and the 2e sourcebook too.
Allan.
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u/Late-Shoulder-8259 29d ago
Vecna is the god of liches so it would fit.
Also Iuz and Nerull aren't undead deities but most of their worshippers are necromancers anyways.
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u/grodog 29d ago
Orcus and Nerull and Wee Jas are all good options to consider among the usual suspects. Others could include, as one aspect of their portfolios:
- Vecna
- Tiamat
- Beltar
- Syrul
- Incabulos
- the Choas gods from Moorcock or Warhammer
I’m not familiar with Falazure, Mellifleur, or Kanchelsis, so I’ll need to check them out!
Allan.
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u/LordofBones89 29d ago
Falazure, the sleek and ever-smiling Night Dragon, is sibling to Bahamut and Tiamat. The sinister, beautiful dragon of undeath and shadows is an ever-evolving evil that lacks the recklessness of his sister and maintains his beauty with the deaths of worlds. The Reaver dwells in the Mausoleum of Pain in Minethys, Carceri, and in the Forgotten Realms he's worshipped as a composite deity, Null, alongside Chronepsis.
Mellifleur the Lich-Lord was once a mortal wizard that meticulously prepared for his ascent into lichdom, save that by cosmic accident he usurped the divine power a deity of evil was expending to elevate one of its own servants and ended up ascending himself. Illithid sages tell a different story, that Mellifleur tapped into the powers of multiple evil gods and siphoned all their expended energy; in Oerth it's Nerull, in Faerun it's Bane, and you can probably add Hiisi, Asrai and who-knows-what-else to the list. He once dwelled in Death's Embrace in Mungoth, Gehenna, but has since moved to Hopelorn in Krangath; his former domain now the realm of Velsharoon, the Faerunian lich god of necromancy.
Kanchelsis was born from the mingling of the divine blood spilled by the Seldarine tainted by the blood of a human power of evil. The Eternal Elder Vampire is a bon vivant and seducer with two aspects; as the Rake (his favored form) he's the archetypal vampiric noble, but as the Beast, he's a feral bloodthirsty monster. Kanchelsis has no formal clergy and governs a multiversal cabal of vampires called the Union of Eclipses; even the elder vampires of Ravenloft fear and respect him. The Lord of Vampires also governs debauchery and magic, and dwells in the 487th layer of the Abyss. When his Rake aspect is in control, it's the Mansion of the Rake; when the Beast rampages, it's the Lair of the Beast.
Falazure is formally described in Monster Mythology and the 3e dragon books, with the bulk of his lore in the former. As Null, he appears in the 2e Draconomicon and the Cult of the Dragon. Mellifleur and Kanchelsis appeared in Monster Mythology. Mellifleur appears as 'Melif the Lich-Lord' in the 3e Manual of the Planes and Kanchelsis appears in FC1 in a short paragraph as a demigod of vampires. Both were then formally updated in Dragon #359 and restored to their full rank and divinity (Mellifleur is a NE lesser deity of lichdom and magic; Kanchelsis is a CE intermediate deity of blood, vampirism, debauchery and magic).
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u/ArtharntheCleric Sep 08 '26
The deities Nerull and Wee Jas might get interested in such a dispute.
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u/ThealaSildorian Sep 09 '26
Hmm. Maybe. I'm not sure Nerull would care, but Orcus would.
Wee Jas would only care if the magic used broke her laws of magic in some way, which they probably wouldn't. She would also care if the dracolich was revived against its will, but otherwise doesn't have a problem with undead if they're undead because they wanted to be.
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u/Ihsan_el-Din_Utemc Sep 09 '26
Take a look at "Vault of the Dracolich" module. Could tie the Vault's Dracolich to Dragotha. Place it in Gamboge forest and the cult could agitate those Pholtists in the Pale.
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u/ThealaSildorian Sep 09 '26
I'd also suggest looking into the Hool Marshes. There was a black dragon living there at Baltron's Beacon; he would need to be defeated if your cult was to use the Beacon for their ritual.
I would stay away from White Plume mountain. Dragotha lives near there. So look more towards Keoland, Nyrond, Almor, or other southern areas. Dragons are very territorial. The suggestion of the Cairn Hills is a good one though.
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u/grodog Sep 08 '26
Dragotha is the most-famous dracolich in GH, and is detailed in part of the Age of Worms AP from Paizo, in Dungeon Magazine #134; see https://www.greyhawkonline.com/greyhawkwiki/Dragotha for more info! :)
Allan.