Oerth

Oerth (pronounced: /ˈɔɪθ/ OYth^[5] or: /ˈɜːrθ/ URth^[5] or: /ˈeɪrθ/ AYRth^[5]) was a planet located in the center of Greyspace, a crystal sphere located in the Prime Material Plane.^[6]

Cosmography[]

Greyspace was part of a celestial configuration known as the Triad, which also included Realmspace, where the world of Toril was found, and Krynnspace, home of the world of Krynn. The phlogiston, a rainbow-colored chaotic liquid that surrounded the spheres, had strong currents flowing from Grayspace toward Krynnspace, from Krynnspace toward Realmspace, and in both directions between Greyspace and Realmspace. Traveling with any of these currents was a relatively simple matter, but traveling directly from Krynnspace to Greyspace or from Realmspace to Krynnspace was impossible.^[7]

Geography[]

There was a land here called the Flanaess^[8] and a body of water called the Coral Sea.^[9]

Calendar[]

Similarly to Toril, the inhabitants of Oerth used a number of different calendars to mark the time. The standard most commonly used was the Common Year (CY) calendar.^[10] A year on Oerth lasted 365 sidereal days,^[11] but as a result of the sun's orbit around the planet, a calendar year contained only 364 solar days.^{[12][13][14][note 1]}

The Year of the Turret, 1360 DR marked the first meeting between Elminster and Mordenkainen on Earth.^[15][16] On Oerth, this was shortly before the year 581 CY, when Mordenkainen was beginning to suspect a plot to destroy the Circle of Eight, which culminated in Vecna's first failed attempt at becoming a greater deity.^{[17][18][note 2]}

History[]

In the mid‒14^th century DR, Jewely Carseah and Marcus of the Waters were sent as emissaries from Oerth to the Rock of Bral to discuss the threat of invasion the Vodoni Empire posed to the crystal spheres of Realmspace, Greyspace, and Krynnspace, in the early stages of the War of the Spheres. The meeting marked the formation of the Free Space Alliance.^[19]

In the late 15^th century DR, a book on the history of Oerth was part of the collection of the arcanaloth headmaster of the Dweomercore level of Undermountain.^[20]

Inhabitants[]

Oerth was home to prominent wizards such as Bigby, Drawmij, Tenser, and Mordenkainen, whose spells were well known on Toril. Mordenkainen was an acquaintance of Elminster's; the two had met on numerous occasions in the home of Ed of the Green Wood on Earth to exchange spells and lore.^{[21][note 3]} Mordenkainen, when he had newly mastered interplanar travel, used to visit Waterdeep with some regularity.^[22]

When Harkle Harpell entered into an unorthodox contest of wizardry with the Sea Sprite's wizard Robillard, Harkle and Robillard mentioned a number of Oerthly wizards, including Bigby, Melf, Otiluke, and Tenser. In particular, Robillard regarded Bigby as one of the most powerful and impressive wizards of all time, on any world.^[23]

The Oerthly bard Gwydiesin of the Cranes also chatted with Elminster on occasion.^[24]

Both Elminster and Khelben "Blackstaff" Arunsun spent time on Oerth, and Elminster suspected that Khelben Arunsun the Younger settled there to begin a life away from the elder Khelben.^[25]

Oerth was the homeworld of Scaldulin, a famous hero who wielded a powerful enchanted sword, the Hoarfrost Blade. Before the blade ended up broken and then reforged on Toril, the sword accompanied its owner in the Battle of the Thousand Dead, battle against lich Scaroth the Warped of Blackmoor, and stayed with its master after his transformation into a death knight. The sword also cut down a solar named Arazium.^[26]

Culture[]

Large green plover's eggs were a delicacy in the Flanaess.^[8]

Appendix[]

Notes[]

1. ↑ This difference in the number of days of the Oerthian year is due to the fact that the sun orbits Oerth in the same direction as the planet's rotation around its own axis. For that reason, every 365 times Oerth completes a full rotation around itself, the sun completes one, subtracting a day, for a total of 364 calendar days.
2. ↑ The year 1371 DR appears to be equivalent to 591 in the Common Year (CY) timeline used in parts of Oerth, assuming the Forgotten Realms adventure For Duty & Deity and the Planescape adventure Tales from the Infinite Staircase (which were marketed as crossover adventures) both take place in late 1370 DR, and assuming that the adventure Die Vecna Die! (which includes scenes in the Greyhawk, Ravenloft, and Planescape settings) takes place a few months after Tales from the Infinite Staircase and Faction War, which seems evident from the political situation in Sigil. This is supported by the Wizards Three series in Dragon Magazine. In Dragon #185, it's stated that the events of the novel The Parched Sea, which takes place on Toril, have just recently occurred. "Novel Ideas" in Dragon #196 places The Parched Sea in 1360 DR. Dragon #185 also places the meeting described in that article prior to the events of the adventure Vecna Lives (which happened in 581 CY according to the Greyhawk supplement The Adventure Begins), which suggests that 1360 DR approximately equals 580 CY.
3. ↑ See other articles in the Wizards Three series in Dragon Magazine.

Appearances[]

Further Reading[]

• Monte Cook (1998). Tales from the Infinite Staircase. Edited by Skip Williams. (TSR, Inc). ISBN 0786912049.
• Cook, Monte and Ray Vallese. Faction War. Renton, WA: TSR, 1998.
• Cordell, Bruce, and Steve Miller. Die Vecna Die!. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2000.
• Dale Donovan (May 1998). For Duty & Deity. (Wizards of the Coast). ISBN 0-7869-1234-0.
• Ed Greenwood (September 1992). “The Wizards Three: Magic in the Evening”. In Roger E. Moore ed. Dragon #185 (TSR, Inc.), pp. 56–63.
• Ed Greenwood (December 1992). “The Wizards Three: Sorcery from Three Worlds”. In Roger E. Moore ed. Dragon #188 (TSR, Inc.), pp. 27–34.
• Ed Greenwood (August 1993). “The Wizards Three: Three Wizards Too Many”. In Roger E. Moore ed. Dragon #196 (TSR, Inc.), pp. 82–92.
• Ed Greenwood (December 1993). “The Wizards Three: Once more the three”. In Kim Mohan ed. Dragon #200 (TSR, Inc.), pp. 20–25.
• Ed Greenwood (November 1994). “The Wizards Three: A Night of Shadows”. In Kim Mohan ed. Dragon #211 (TSR, Inc.), pp. 82–86.
• Ed Greenwood (August 1997). “The Return of the Wizards Three”. In Dave Gross ed. Dragon #238 (TSR, Inc.), pp. 42–49.
• Ed Greenwood (December 1997). “Jest the Wizards Three”. In Dave Gross ed. Dragon #242 (TSR, Inc.), pp. 48–52.
• Ed Greenwood (April 1998). “The Wizards Three: The Night It Wailed Wizards”. In Dave Gross ed. Dragon #246 (TSR, Inc.), pp. 86–92.
• Ed Greenwood (June 2006). “A Dark and Stormy Knight: Another Evening with the Wizards Three:”. In Erik Mona ed. Dragon #344 (Paizo Publishing, LLC), pp. 56–61.
• Ed Greenwood (September 2007). “Goodbye and Hello, as Always: One Last Evening with the Wizards Three:”. In Erik Mona ed. Dragon #359 (Paizo Publishing, LLC), pp. 79–82.

External Links[]

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the following links do not necessarily represent the views of the editors of this wiki, nor does any lore presented necessarily adhere to established canon.

• Oerth article at the Greyhawk Wiki, a wiki for the Greyhawk campaign setting.
  
• Oerth article at the Spelljammer Wiki, a wiki for the Spelljammer campaign setting.
  

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