I loved Sargent's work and there was one character he described that I thought was intriguing and I wish had been developed further somewhere.
Gywdiesin of the Cranes is a 30th Bard and a 'child of Joyhdee' - and clearly super-powerful, but despite his power did not look to be world-level influential character.
So I've been wondering who are the 'top five' most powerful and influential characters in Greyhawk.
Criteria for assessment:
- they must have some significant degree of personal power, so they are likely epic level characters
- They can't be deities (sorry, not-sorry Iuz), supernatural, or monsters
- They must have influence on outside events and the rest of greyhawk e.g. Mordenkainen's constant behind the scenes manipulations probably has a big impact on the world
We now have several versions of greyhawk. A setting is often partly defined by its key heroic/villain characters - so what does that look like for your Greyhawk?
My list seems to be:
1. Mordenkainen - maybe most powerful wizard, certainly seeking to influence the world
2. Rary - same as above
3. Gywdiesin - clearly super powerful, not sure that he cares about much outside the Ardri?
4. Tenser - powerful wizard, a force for good
5. Canon Hazen - powerful cleric of key nation, powerful force for good, did amazing things (like flight of fiends)
Fun topic but hard to define.
For good and neutral characters, there's a seamless continuum of epic NPC's like Mordenkainen blending into divine quasi-deities and demigods like Heward and Zagyg. Sargent's epic NPC's like Gywdiesin, the Walker, and Philador are on par with Gygax's quasi-deities like Quall and Keoghtom. I'd argue they're all divine and disqualified from this list.
Then there's chronology. In the earliest GH works, Mordenkainen was a PC and not even an archmage, definitely qualifying. In the latest canon, he's spanning the planes, trapped in Ravenloft, doing research in Hell, and probably an immortal quasi-deity.
Meanwhile, evil characters tend to become monsters. Tuerny became a monster. Iggwilv was imprisoned and surrounded by monsters and her daughter was a monster, but now she's content to hang with humans again. Acererak and Vecna became monsters. Is the Black One a monster if he's a shade? What about Lum if he's crazy? What about Xaene if he has two heads?
On to your question!
Mordenkainen would have been on the list from 576-590CY, but now that Flanaess events are fairly static and Hasbro is pillaging Greyhawk IP to toss easter eggs in generic products, Mordenkained seems to be focused on other worlds and has little concern with Greyhawk anymore.
I'll also take Rary off the list. As we see IRL politics, an individual or country can be mightily, but limited in power if they don't have institutional influence. Rary is basically a one-man nuclear warhead, he has no soft power, controls little trade, and has no real allies.
I'll also keep druids off the list since they tend to have councils and collective power rather than individual.
My list:
1) The Master of Obedience. Although the Scarlet Brotherhood has been nerfed, stymied, and paralyzed by every author post-Carl Sargent, they can and should still have vast influence. They have the biggest spy/advisor network, are the biggest naval power, are an active player in the arms races for artifacts and oerth magic, and have a monopoly on vital goods from the southern tropics.
2) Canon Hazen. Most powerful faith leader of the most popular god in the "common" pantheon (St Cuthbert) if you follow Gygax canon, especially if Thrommel is freed and Veluna/Furyondy unite. Still immensely powerful if you follow TSR canon. Might be too weakened by the Crook of Roa to maintain his influence.
3) Overking Xavener I. Ruler of what's likely to become the largest modern empire in the Flanaess. Stepping into a power vacuum and holding the keys to powerful infrastructure, neglected trade routes, resources, the breadbasket of the Flanaess, and institutions, from the Dirawein roads, to vaults full of artifacts, to the biggest libraries, to old Spelljammer docks, to groups like the Knight Protectors or the Fiend Knights.
4) Yolande. Most powerful demihuman in the Flanaess. Despite its small size and isolationism, Celene is a KINGDOM, with influence over every elf on Oerth as well as other planes. It sufferered no losses or setbacks in recent wars, its population lives centuries, and the power of its mages and priests is little known.
5) The Black One (if he's not a monster). I'm generally leaving secretive wizards like Iggwilv and groups like the Seekers off this list because they spend more time mucking in tombs and haggling with fiends than exerting influence on everyday life, but I'll make an exception for Jaran because he has tangible lands, resources, and positions that can't be quantified. First, he rules actual subjects, his borders are ironclad, and his spies are active in other lands. Second, if you follow Gygax canon, there's something special about his realm and he seems to control vast Oerth magic. Third, if you follow WGR1, he's a member of the most exclusive conclave of archmages in the Flanaess and has access to the Oerth Stone there as well.
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