Greyhawk Deities

A couple years ago when I converted my bootleg "AD&D Companion" compilation into the legitimate/OGL-licensed Heroic Legendarium, one section I was sorry to have to remove was the summary of the World of Greyhawk deities and the characteristics of their clerics, collecting the information that was previously spread across the World of Greyhawk boxed set and various issues of Dragon magazine into one convenient reference. 

Now, in preparation for next weekend's public playtest session, I decided to revisit that document. But instead of just copying the old text I decided it would be fun to expand it to include both those deities listed but not detailed in the boxed set as well as assorted god-like monsters. 

In creating the list I edited out a few deities* who seemed redundant or uninteresting (to me), and in a few cases repurposed some of their cleric characteristics into other deities with similar portfolios. Likewise, some deities were given cleric characteristics suggested by Roger Moore in Dragon #85 for use with clerics of the pantheons from Deities & Demigods. The rest I created myself, attempting to remain as consistent as possible with both the style and power-level of the published examples. It's likely someone else has already done and shared this same work at some point over the last 40 years, but I couldn't find anything online (at least not within my preferred 1st edition AD&D paradigm).

Symbols for the deities not detailed by Gygax or Lakofka mostly come from this wiki page (which I presume is based on content from post-Gygax TSR and WotC products with which I am not otherwise familiar), but I have unapologetically changed them wherever I didn't like what was provided there (and careful readers will also note other minor editorial emendations - deities with modified alignments or portfolios). Similarly, portfolios for the arch-devils and demon princes were mostly gleaned from a variety of online encyclopedias of folklore and witchcraft, in researching which I was surprised and amused to discover that almost all of the demon and devil names provided by Gygax in the Monster Manual II are authentic from medieval texts. In order to fit my list onto a single page I wasn't able to include all of the demon lords here, but I did keep a list of the portfolios of most of the remaining ones.

Anyway, as usual, once I've done the work I figured there's no reason not to share it more widely here. All of the deity names and previously-published descriptions are, of course, copyright Wizards of the Coast, LLC but are being used in a non-commercial manner, just like the wiki site linked above.

Download the pdf here 

*Beltar, Bralm, Delleb, Fortubo, Jascar, Lendor, Lydia, Phyton, Rudd, Velnius, and Xerbo. 8 of these 11 were detailed by Len Lakofka in Dragon magazine (issues #86-92, June-December 1984), for those who are interested

Abyss Info Dump

As a companion of sorts to my recent post about the Upper Planes here's a collection of canonical (and quasi-canonical) info about the planes of the Abyss in AD&D. My starting point was the overview in the Demon entry of the Monster Manual II,  supplemented by the extensive notes from Gord's Greyhawk drawn from Gary Gygax's novels Come Endless Darkness and Dance of Demons (which, like all of Gygax's fiction are very weak in terms of plot, characterization, and dialogue, but are a treasure trove of setting info and color and constitute a virtual series of "lost" AD&D supplements) and the expansions and translations of that material into AD&D game format by my friend GT, some of which I've shared here previously with his permission. 

I'm not sure exactly where the line is drawn between what GT drew from Gary and what he created himself (particularly regarding the names and locations of the various lords' and princes' home planes) - some of it is definitely the former, but I suspect some is the latter as well (I tried to peruse the books themselves to verify references but it wasn't easy - it's a pity that when Krista Siren compiled the Gord's Greyhawk database back in the 90s that she didn't include page references!) so full credit and acknowledgment goes to GT for anything included below that was his original material and not something adapted from Gygax.

Like the Upper Planes info, this is an undeveloped info dump, a starting place for further development and additions, not an endpoint. In particular, there are still many princes and lords listed in the MM2 that have not been otherwise detailed. At least some of those names come from actual real-world mythology and folklore and we can surmise and extrapolate what those beings would be like based on those names (as GT has already done with a few of them) but that's a larger scale project that will have to be done over a considerable period of time. When/if I get around to that perhaps I'll do a follow-up post. 

As always, please note that post-Gygax TSR and Wizards of the Coast "official" sources of info on the planes (including the Manual of the Planes, Planescape campaign setting, et al) were not consulted or given any weight when compiling this info, and any resemblance between anything here and in any of those sources is purely coincidental, based on shared inspiration from the Gygax-era works and the real-world myth and folklore that underlies them.

As with the Upper Planes info I compiled all of this for my own use, but realized once I'd done so that it might be useful or inspiring to others as well, and since the work was already done I might as well share it. 

Notes: (F) after name = female demons; names in italics = not on the MM2 list

---------------------------------------------

THE ABYSS


MONARCHS OF DEMONDOM

Demogorgon - MM; He wields the artifact Venomfountain. Demogorgon rules (nominally) over forty layers of the Abyss (429 – 469), inhabited by vicious apes, reptiles, and bird-like monsters but his home is the 444th layer, referred to as Demogorgia. He has several death knights and a large contingent (generally a company of 100) of dusin demons guarding his stronghold at all times.

Graz'zt - MM2; rules an entire layer - Mezzafgraduun, 333rd layer of the Abyss, and levels 332 and 334 are directly ruled by him as well. He also holds nominal power from layer 304 to 346; dedicated foe of both Demogorgon and Orcus; confined to his own plane for a century; served by lamias. Graz'zt’s major artifact is The Eye of Deception.

Lolth (F) - FF; Demon Queen of Spiders; Her plane (“The Demonweb”) is the 66th level of the Abyss.

Marduk - lord of the 666 Type VI demons; owns the Fire Fan

Orcus - MM; rules manifold layers but his home plane is called Morterebus (Level 266). It is a dark and bone-littered plane populated with skeletal monsters, various sorts of zombies, huecuvae, shadows, sheet phantoms, vampires, and death knights. Owns the Rod of Unlife (aka Wand of Orcus).

Zuggtmov (F) - T1-4; Demoness Lady of Fungi; dread and fell ruler of the 222nd ghastly plane of the Abyss (Mycorji); owns the Cauldron of Corruption


LESSER DEMON PRINCES

Abraxas - Prince of Magic, detailed by GT; His Abyss level is 300, and he has aims to conquer back to Baphomet’s realm and through to Yeenoghu’s realm, which would give him seven levels and place him in a position of antagonism with Graz’zt. Ally of Demogorgon.

Ahrimanes - Prince of Darkness, detailed by GT; This demon prince is one of the most powerful of his kind, inhabiting the ranks of Demogorgon, Orcus, Graz'zt, Zuggtmoy, and such. He has been known to have alliances with Nergel and Ereshkigal when contending against the other greater demon princes; His dark and frigid plane (Drugaskanum) is located very deep within the Abyssal layers (rumored to be the 633rd layer).

Anarazel

Ansitif

Areex - demon prince (eventually conquered by Graz’zt) who plots with Zuggtmoy

Aseroth

Astaroth - detailed by GT; This demon prince is quite powerful and influential; not usually battling abroad as many demon princes and lords do, but content to consolidate his power at home. It is assumed that he merely bides his time in order to eventually become one of the greatest of all demon princes; His realm is called Scientiarrus (the 111th layer) and here he is rumored to hoard assorted arcane tomes and magic items, and retain a force of 40 companies of various demon sorts (mostly Type I – IV)

Azazel - He is a demon lord who is undecided in the wars with Graz’zt.

Dagon - Prince of Aquatic Monsters, detailed by GT; His realm is Dagnazotuus, a liquid plane with hezrou (type II), dretch, octopi, squids, kraken, sea snakes, eels, weird fish, and horrible fish-monsters

Eblis - a demon lord opposing Graz’zt.

Elazalag (F) - She is the overlord of the Abat-dolor demons, whom she rules from her palace in Iyondagur (layer 399). She is seven feet tall and beautiful. She rides a spike encrusted adamantine chariot that is driven by three hippokeres that are harnessed with iron chain. She is elegantly armored in dark chainmail with an adamantine helm and uses a morning star.

Ereshkigal (F) - Princess of the Dead, detailed by GT; Ereshkigal is the demoness queen of a vast, dark plane (Aralu-latari, level 356) of gray dust and stone inhabited by zombies and skeletons (wearing cloaks of gray feathers) and Type I demons. Her citadel is a mighty fortress of stone and baked-clay bricks surrounded by seven concentric stone walls. A Type VI demon of largest size (named Namtar) guards the gate of the outermost wall. Nergel is said to be her consort, and they often work together and co-rule levels 354 and 355.

Fraz-Urb'luu - MM2; Prince of Deception; dwells on a dreary plane (the 363rd) that seems to be totally flat and featureless but is actually alive to his wishes and shapes itself accordingly into hills, caves, etc. The place is not only depressing and sickening but magic items there lose their dweomer. Ally of Demogorgon.

Lugush - demon prince opposing Graz’zt

Mastiphal

Nocticula (F)

Obox-ob

Palvlag - Demon Lord of Flame; detailed by GT (after Gord novels); Palvlag, like Pazuzu and Shabriri, is a surviving proto-demon; commands 50 Type VI demons

Pazuzu - MM2; Prince of the Lower Aerial Kingdoms; “Proto-Demon,” rules the skies above all layers; does not compete for rulership on any plane or in any place - considers himself above competition; on amicable terms with daemons and dukes of Hell

Shabiri - Demon Lord of Water and Blindness, detailed by GT (after Gord novels); Like Pazuzu, Shabriri is a proto-demon of ancient origin and is on fairly decent terms with some daemon lords. Also like Pazuzu, he possesses an odd sense of humor and enjoys toying with victims and following odd whims.

Socothbenoth - Prince of Succubi and Incubi, detailed by GT; Socothbenoth’s realm is called Erossum, and is the 99th layer of the Abyss. This demon prince relies on diplomacy rather than brute force to maintain its stake in the Abyss.

Ushablator - great demon prince opposed to Graz’zt

Zortolagon - great demon prince opposed to Graz’zt


DEMON LORDS (those who do not have complete sovereignty over an entire layer)

Agadin - minor demon lord allied to Demogorgon

Ahazu

Aldinach (F)

Alrunes (F)

Apepi - a cobra headed demon who wields a khopesh. He has poison spittle

Ardat (F)

Arioch

Asima

Azael

Barbu (F)

Bayemon

Bechard

Baltazo

Baphomet - MM2; lord of minotaurs; wars against Yeenoghu, occasional ally of Graz’zt; His realm is called Shubgottia (Level 296).

Bulumuz - He is a demon lord who is initially undecided in the wars with Graz’zt.

Cabiri

Cagrino - a potent demon lord. He chitters.

Charun

Gresil

Juiblex - MM; rules a plane (the 224th, called Szhubloxa) with slimes, deadly puddings, jellies, and various ameboid monsters; cousin and ally of Zuggtmoy

Kostchtchie - MM2; so hateful that he is disliked by all the rest of his kind; served by leucrotta, frost giants, and white dragons; His home realm is known as Tschyrtolikya, and resembles snow-swept tundra with odd lichen-like growths and strange green-black conifers. It is level 347. He is allied with Graz’zt currently, and serves as a buffer to the forces of Nergel and Ereshkigal.

Laraie

Mandrillagon - This demon lord is a monstrous, blue-faced parody of a mandril. He has filthy yellow-gray fangs and speaks in roars, coughing, and barking. He controls two planes with his winged monkey demons. He is a long ally and blood kin of Demogorgon, whom he fears. He opposes Graz’zt

Meurteenz - a minor demon lord allied to Demogorgon

Munkir

Mycortte (F) - The chieftainess of an Abat-dolor region and the chamberlain and vice-princess to Elazalag.

Nekir

Nergel - Lord of Unlife, detailed by GT (after Gord novels); Nergel is a dark and dour demon lord having dominion over the unliving. He has the fealty of legions of shadows (q.v.) and shadow demons (q.v.) in the Abyss, and occasionally is known to be at odds with Graz’zt; His realm is called Meslamtaius (level 353), and is a benighted realm with dust-covered plains and deep caverns. It is largely inhabited by Type I demons, shadow demons, shadows, manes, skeletons, and zombies. He is consort to Ereshkigal (q.v.).

Nigroch - Elazalag‘s chief warrior and herald. He is accompanied by the Abat-dolor chevaliers.

Ogrijek - lord of the winged Nabassu demons, in charge of the voord and consul to Graz’zt.

Ojukalazogadit - detailed by GT (after Gord novels); a sexless, sprawling, imbecilic mass of chaotic matter that covers an entire layer (the 366th) of the Abyss under a featureless orange sky. Its surface is mostly a disgusting dun color, resembling ulcerous, infected flesh. It constantly seethes, pulses, exudes vile fluids, and extrudes extremities or forms gaping maws; and the entirety reeks of decay. Its consistency ranges from sinking morass to steel-hard chitin. Shrieks, moans, gurgling, rending sounds, and other disturbing noises are constantly emitted by the being in a maddening cacophony.

Poshban - a minor demon lord allied to Demogorgon.

Soneillon (F)

Verin - detailed by GT (after Gord novels); He is lord general and viceroy to Graz’zt, and is utterly loyal to that demon prince. While Graz’zt was imprisoned by Iggwilv, Verin continued to administer his realm until the demon prince returned.

Vloorm - a minor demon lord allied to Demogorgon.

Volophon - a minor demon lord allied to Demogorgon.

Yeenoghu - MM; rules a vast plane abounding with hyenas and hyenadons, gnolls, ghasts, ghouls, and a few trolls; His realm is called Jaklhout and is layer 303. He currently has a nonaggression pact with Graz’zt, such that he serves as a buffer to Graz’zt’s holdings and is not invaded by the forces of that demon prince.

Zerkar - a minor demon lord allied to Demogorgon.

Zabulon - He is a high rakshasa and ally of Verin


Non-Demon Deities Listed as Dwelling in the Abyss

Lu Yueh (Chinese)

Tou Mu (Chinese)

Kali (Indian)

Vaprak (Ogre)

Laogzed (Troglodyte)

Urdlen (Gnome)


Demon Races/Types and Other Abyssal Inhabitants

Type I - Vrock (MM); fight with needle-tined military forks

Type II - Hezrou (MM); fight with jagged blades

Type III - Glabrezu (MM)

Type IV - Gashnulfu (MM); fight with pole axes (individuals: Bilwhr, Johud, Nalfeshnee)

Type V - MM (individuals: Aishapra, Kevokulli, Marilith, Reharemme)

Type VI - Raloogs or Conflagrati; 666 total in the Abyss; kin to the proto-demons (MM) (individuals: Alzoll, Balor, Errtu, Gulcar, Ndulu, Ter-soth, Wendonai)

Abat-dolor - The Abat-dolor are an independent race of demons of which Graz’zt is a member. They are ebon-hued, six-fingered, seven to eight feet tall humanoids. They are more human and more civilized than most demons; yet they are reputed to be the most vicious of all demons. They are broken into the nine clans of pain, each of which has their own lord, with Elazalag serving as their overlord. They are independent of all other demon lords. The soldiers wear polished red bronze plate armor. They are armed with swords, spears, and light crossbows. Some have swivel-mounted antimatter guns which are used as a last resort and only by the order of Elazalag. Mezzafgraduun used to be held by the Abat-dolor under Graz’zt, while he was Elazalag’s consort. However, Iggwilv came to Mezzafgraduun and separated Graz’zt and four clans of Abat-dolor loyal to him from the rest of the Abat-dolor.

Achaierai - FF

Ahazu-demon - These are squarish, lank, long-armed greater demons that are affiliated with Demogorgon. (individual: Talonclast)

Alu-demon - MM2

Babau - MM2

Babau-ogres - larger versions of Babau

Bar-Lgura - MM2

Bodak - MM2

Boorixtroi - They are shuffle-footed, powerful, massive, stupid, lesser demons with disproportionately long right arms and shark-toothed, lipless mouths.

Cambion - MM2

Cataboligne - HL

Chagrin - massive arms, horny hands, long fingers with which they like to break necks and attack with their fists. Red rimmed eyes and an obscenely high pitched voice, but can imitate any human voice that they hear. Have acidic spittle and can produce flame. Are very intelligent. 33 of them are able to move out of the nether pits. Can hide in shadows, and like to sneak up from behind. (individuals: Krung, Yugnoth)

Chasme - MM2

Death Knight - FF

Demonic Beasts - There are 6000 kinds of animal brained demons Type one: elephantine in size, these have hippo bodies, snake necks, and beaked heads; Type two: these are bearlike mastadonian demons.

Demonic Brutes - There are 600 kinds of demon monsters more terrible than the Beasts. These are silent stalkers hunted by the demon lords with entourages of pike-wielding minions, who sometimes become the hunted. The demon lords carry special weapons to hunt the brutes. Many of them are more powerful than dragons.

Dretch - MM2

Dusin - GT

Goristroi - HL (as Grosskopf)

Hippokeres - GT

Kerzow - a demon type

Maluachau - pig demons

Manes - MM

Nabassu - MM2

Nikomars - saucer-eyed demons.

Quasit - MM

Retriever - FF

Rutterkin - MM2

Shadow Demon - FF

Shoosuva - Dragon #63

Skurda - GT

Ssilhex - snake demons.

Succubus - MM

Thang - a demon type with beetle brows.

Thunder Beast - MM2

Vargrineen - another type of Abysmal steed used by the Abat-dolor.

Voord - carrion eating demons. They are under Ogrijek‘s control.

Yatish - a demon type

Yochlol - MM2


Index of Abyssal Planes

1 - There is a maelstrom above this level which is controlled by no one. The plane itself is a desolate dun with leprous ochre growths and livid gashes of terra cotta. In the distance (from Gord and Gellor‘s entry point) stand several tall, flat-topped hills. Nearby is a portal to Layer 303. Also in the bluffs are portals to levels 2 through 21. A few hundred lesser demons live there. These portals are disguised as Bottomless pits, toothed maws, caldrons of lava, a grinding millstone, etc. A metallic sphincter is a gate to level 8.

8 - This layer is a frozen wasteland. There is an entrance on the Soulless Sounding here. It is reached by digging a hole in the frozen ground the size of a bier. Four feet below the surface is a coffin with a crystal lid and a rotting spinning corpse. This is the entrance.

66 - Demonweb - Lolth

99 - Erossum - Socothbenoth

111 - Scientiarrus - Astaroth

222 - Mycorji - Zuggtmoy

224 - Szhubloxa - Juiblex

266 - Morterebus - Orcus (also nominally rules many other layers)

296 - Shubgottia - Baphomet

300 - (unnamed) - Abraxas

303 - Jaklhout - Yeenoghu

333 - Mezzafgraduun - Graz’zt (also directly rules layers 332 and 334 and nominally layers 304-346)

347 - Tschyrtolikya - Kostchtchie

353 - Meslamtaius - Nergel (also co-rules layers 354 and 355 with Ereshkigal)

356 - Aralu-latari - Ereshkigal

363 - (unnamed) - Fraz-Urb’Iuu

366 - Ojukalazogadit

399 - Iyondagur - It is attached to layers 398, 400, and 366. It is held by the Abat-dolor demons. It is not a great strata, but is considered to be a large wild layer. The entrance from the Soulless Sounding is in the middle of the great plaza of Elazalag‘s fortress’s outer courtyard. The palace itself is in the center of the plane (if such a thing can be said). There are many frowning facades of hewn stone blocks hedging in this irregularly shaped area. Squads of Abat-dolor line the parapets on the walls of the square. Princess Elazalag is announced by iron rods pounding on wood and by deep horns that shake the stones. The fortress has a massive portcullis and drawbridge leading to the courtyard.

444 - Demogorgia - Demogorgon (also nominally rules layers 429-469)

633 - Drugaskanum - Ahrimanes

? - Dagnazotuus - Dagon


The Soulless Sounding - This is essentially an express route through the Abyss. There is an entrance on the eighth plane. It is reached by digging a hole in the frozen ground the size of a bier. Four feet below the surface is a coffin with a crystal lid and a rotting spinning corpse. This is the entrance. Inside are all things and nothing. It is very gloomy and sad. It is full of lost loves and melancholy dreams. Distance is variably distorted. It connects with 600 layers of the Abyss including most of the middle ones. It does not reach the first layer. It is a mind twisting passage and only the very strong can tolerate it for very long. The portal leading to Iyondagur (layer 399) consists of iridescent striations like black opal and silver, hammered into six horseshoe-shaped arches. The gate closest to the Iyondagur gate leads to a cold windswept waste plane filled with icy rock and scrub. This unnamed layer is full of demonic brutes and is adjacent to Mezzafgraduun (layer 333).

Melonath Falls Rumors

 Last summer I wrote an AD&D adventure (actually an extract from a larger work-in-progress) called "Melonath Falls" and submitted it to Prince of Nothing's "No Artpunk" Contest where it ultimately placed as the runner-up and is now available for purchase (only as a pdf, alas) with the proceeds going to charity (for the time being - eventually it will become a free download instead, but don't wait for that). I wrote the adventure quickly and didn't get a chance to playtest it prior to submission - what I submitted is effectively a first draft - but since Prince liked it I let him publish it more-or-less as-is 

Not everybody liked it as well as he did, and one of the complaints was that I didn't provide enough aids to make it easy to run. In an attempt to rectify that (and as an aid to myself because I might finally be running it myself sometime soon) I came up with and am presenting here a table of rumors to help get a party of adventurers oriented and provide a bit more info about the place and inhabitants before they get dropped into the deep end.  

The "core" hook for the adventure is that the PCs have been adventuring (or otherwise spending time) in the town of Warnell and have learned from the locals about Melonath Falls, a spectacular 400' tall waterfall in the forest about a day's travel north of town and famous local landmark. In addition to being a spectacular sight in itself there are also known to be caves behind the falls and it has come to the party's attention that a band of "blue goblin" bandits who have been causing trouble in the area (attacking merchants and travelers along the river) have established a base there. So the party has either decided on their own or been sent by the government of Warnell (as suits the circumstances of the campaign) to scout and explore the area, see what the blue goblins are up to and what their strength is, and to hopefully put an end to their depredations and even recover some of the stolen trade goods if possible.

Beyond that, each PC gets one roll on the following table. It's likely multiple PCs will hear the same rumor (though the DM is free to make minor alterations to obscure this, if desired) and they can share their info with the other players or keep it to themselves. Spending an evening bar-hopping (and 10-60 g.p. on drinks and tips) allows another roll, but only if the players specifically ask about the possibility (don't volunteer it).

Roll 2d6 (-1 for Lower SEC characters; +1 for Upper SEC characters)

2 (or -) Within the highest cave behind the falls is a shrine to a forgotten river god (T)

3 The tribe of blue goblins dwelling in the caves behind the falls are particularly favored by their patron rat-god (T)

4 A giant catfish dwells in the pool beneath the falls (T)

5 The blue goblins in the caves behind the falls are led by a human magic-user (F)

6 The caves behind the falls are all connected to each other via secret passages (B)

7 There are multiple caves behind the falls, including at least one underwater cave (T)

8 Blue goblins are behind the local lotus blossom smuggling ring (B)

9 The blue goblin bandits are in league with a local wine merchant who is siccing them on his competitors in order to corner the local market (F)

10 The blue goblins are magic-resistant due to eating fungi that grow in the caves (F)

11 The blue goblins in the caves behind the falls are allied with a gang of rat-people (T)

12 (or +) Boss Bowlton’s [i.e. the lord-mayor of Warnell] missing daughter was kidnapped by blue goblins (B)

T = rumor is true

F = rumor is false

B = rumor is partially true but also contains a substantial false component

A Taxonomy of Old-School D&D

As a hobby for nerds, there's a strong appetite among D&D fans to make lists and categorize things, and this extends not just to elements within the game but to meta-level discussion about the game itself. The most obvious breaking point is TSR-D&D (1974-97) and Wizards of the Coast/Hasbro D&D (1998-present), with the 1998-99 period (after Wizards took over but before D&D 3.0 was released) as a transition period.  The next most obvious is the various editions: Original (1974-77*), 1st Edition Advanced (1978-88), 2nd Edition Advanced (1989-99), 3rd (2000-2007), 4th (2008-2013), and 5th (2014-present) editions. Neither of those really work for me, because my interests D&D-wise are sufficiently narrow that finer distinctions are warranted in order to pinpoint what I consider to be "the good stuff" vs the other junk.

One common taxonomy, as proposed by James Maliszewski at Grognardia (the influential, long-dormant but possibly newly revived "OSR" blog), divides the TSR/1st Edition era into a Golden Age (1974-83) and a Silver Age (1984-89), a distinction largely based on trade dress (but also perceived attitude changes that occurred in conjunction with the slicker and more professional upgrade in production values). The other common one differentiates between the Gary Gygax era (1974-85) and the post-Gygax or Lorraine Williams era (1986-97). I definitely buy into the latter, but even that is not a granular enough distinction for me, because it glosses over the difference between what Gary was doing himself and what the design department at TSR, the group originally led by Lawrence Schick and Tom Moldvay (who had been friends and collaborators before coming to work for TSR) that starting in 1980 reported to Brian Blume instead of to Gary, were doing at the same time. And that's not even to mention TSR-UK, which was a mostly-independent subdivision with their own writers, artists, and a subtly distinctive voice and style that's now commonly referred to as B-OSR and seems to have more kinship with what other UK game publishers were doing than what TSR in the US was.   

And it gets even more complicated because Gary himself did a "soft reboot" on his approach to D&D c. 1975 when he handed the core of Greyhawk Castle over to Rob Kuntz and effectively started over with the Hommlet/Temple of Elemental Evil campaign.  So even "Gygaxian" means different things at different times. I've seen a an explanation attributed to Gary that because Greyhawk Castle had been used for so much intensive play testing with a deliberately "anything goes" approach that it had become too sprawling and inconsistent and Gary wanted to separate that element (and the veteran players who were accustomed to that style) and keep the sub-campaign more grounded and structured and "pure" - developing what we eventually saw in AD&D, the modules, and the World of Greyhawk not just as an outgrowth from but in some sense also a repudiation of the earlier, more freewheeling and gonzo, Greyhawk Castle paradigm. 

Take all of this together and by 1983-84 (the time that's most interesting to me because it's when I first discovered and got into the game) you've got a half dozen different takes on D&D with some degree of official support (not even counting all the other ways third party publishers and players out in the wild were drifting and modifying the game to their own ends):

1. Original Greyhawk Castle "we made up some shit we thought would be fun" style (also includes Blackmoor, Tunnels & Trolls, Arduin, Grimtooth's Traps, and most early Judges Guild)

2. Post-reboot "structured campaign" Gygax style (AD&D, World of Greyhawk, B1-2, D1-3, EX1-2, G1-3, L1-2, S1, S3-4, T1-4, WG4-6; IMO the Jennel Jaquays Judges Guild stuff (Dark Tower, Caverns of Thracia, etc.) also fits pretty solidly within this category)

3. Moldvay-Schick "customer-facing" style (less sandboxy and wargamery than #2; more focus on set-pieces and less on behind the scenes depth; more consumer-oriented as stuff to pull off the shelf and play through rather than stuff to add to your world - the B/X sets, Deities & Demigods, B3-4, X1-2, A1-4, C1-2, I1, O1, Q1, R1-4, S2)

4. TSR-UK "almost satirical" style (broadly similar to #3 but with its own distinct voice and aesthetic feel - White Dwarf magazine, Fiend Folio, U and UK series, O2, X8, Fighting Fantasy books, Citadel minis)

5. Tracy Hickman/Douglas Niles "I'm working on my novel" style (B5-7, X3-5, I2-6, N1, DL series, Ed Greenwood's articles in Dragon magazine)

6. Shovelware "going through the motions/paint-by-numbers crap" style (AC1-5, B8-9, X6-7 & 9, BSOLO, XSOLO, XL1, M1-2, CB1-2, MV1, N2) 

#1 was pretty much forgotten by the time the 70s rolled into the 80s (and as an accident of fate is better represented and was preserved longer by third-party publishers, because TSR had already mostly repudiated this style by the time they ramped up production in the late 70s) so it felt like a genuine rediscovery when people found and embraced this stuff ~15 years ago, but I feel like that has since morphed into fetishization and groupthink, and refusal to acknowledge that this approach eventually grows stale.

#2 is my favorite and IMO the one worth preserving and emulating. It's what I've been talking about here for the last 3 years and in other places online for the 15 years prior.

#3 and 4 are what seems to be the most popular, both at the time and among the "grognards" at Dragonsfoot.org, in "1E" oriented Facebook groups, etc. This is probably because this style a little more accessible (and also a little bit easier - as in more carefully balanced and less deadly) than the #2 stuff. However, these fans either don't recognize (or do, but don't care) that it's also shallower and more limited than the #2 stuff - it's not as expandable, doesn't exist in a larger context, doesn't feel like something that might exist in the game-world whether or not the PCs are interacting with it, and so on. 

#5 and 6 are, of course, what TSR fully embraced from 1986 until Wizards of the Coast took over and brought back a little bit of flavor from #2, a little more flavor and structure from #3 (i.e. a "story" built of strung-together but individually free-standing set-piece encounters), and a whole lot of deckbuilding and "rules mastery" mind-poison.

"Era-based" taxonomies (like Grognardia's) never really distinguish between #2-4 because they were all roughly synchronous with each other in the so-called "Electrum Age" of transition between the Golden and Silver Ages. Most fans even within this "old-school" niche-within-a-niche seem to engage only with the surface and are blind to anything but trade dress, cover artist, and logo. Module S4 obviously (at least to me) has much more stylistically and game-design-wise in common with G1, EX2, and WG6 (fellow "category 2" products with different trade dress) than it does with A4, B3, or X2 even though the latter all have the same yellow corner-flag trade dress, "face" logo, and Erol Otus covers. But if you try to bring this up to most fans, you're almost invariably going to get back something along the lines of "all I know is we had a great time playing through A4 - [insert favorite set-piece: the myconids/the cave fisher/the final battle on the docks] was awesome!"

Like everybody else who started playing D&D in the 80s I owned and played stuff from all of these groups (except #1, which I only discovered later) side-by-side and although I instinctively turned up my nose at the group 5 and 6 stuff even then, it was only long after the fact, looking back on all of it from a different perspective, that I also perceived the difference between #2 and #3/4, and realized that my interest and sympathies were really only with the former, and that that position puts me outside of the "mainstream" of even old-school/retro/OSR/grognard/whatever D&D fandom pretty much everyplace except The Knights & Knaves Alehouse, the seemingly one-and-only active online refuge of the hardcore Group #2 Gygaxians. But hey, at least I've got my tribe, small as it may be.

*of course some version of original or "classic" D&D remained in print through 1996, the D&D Basic Sets of 1977, 1981, and 1983 were, by all accounts, TSR's all-time best-selling products, and the 1991 D&D Rules Cyclopedia is Wizards of the Coast's current pdf/print-on-demand bestseller at DriveThruRPG, so defining the "Original D&D era" as ending in 1977 is unfair and not technically accurate. Nevertheless, from the time of its release AD&D always received the lion's share of attention both from TSR and the public and the non-Advanced version was mostly an afterthought, something mostly targeted at kids and beginners who were expected to "graduate up" to AD&D in fairly short order. There's a reason why 5th Edition is numbered that way - it's effectively the 5th version of AD&D. The widespread embrace of the "classic" version of the game and the way it's come to eclipse the popularity of AD&D even among "old-schoolers" is entirely a phenomenon of the 21st century - people who played AD&D (1E or 2E) as kids looking back and realizing that they now prefer the version they dismissed as "kid stuff" the first time around.

Facts about Odd Alley and Weird Way

Odd Alley and Weird Way were created by Gary Gygax as an inter dimensional nexus-point and goblin market. “The Strange Occurrence on Odd Alley” was announced by Gary in Dragon #102 as a story scheduled for publication in the May 1986 issue of Amazing Stories magazine, but it did not appear there, and instead was first published in the 1987 collection Night Arrant, under a slightly different title - “A Weird Occurrence in Odd Alley.” Odd Alley and Weird Way also existed in the Greyhawk Campaign:  Rob Kuntz (as Robilar) adventured and found a ring of spell turning there in late 1973. The potential for use of these locations in D&D games is huge, so I felt it was worth collecting all of the facts about them from the story for myself and others to use as a baseline towards creating our own versions:

Odd Alley is located in the Old City of Greyhawk. It is so difficult to locate that most citizens of the metropolis are unaware of its existence. Its head is blocked by an old, rusted locked iron gate that is shunned by all living creatures. Knocking, banging, and pounding will not open the gate and magic also doesn’t affect it. 

There are several business establishments and dwellings in the alley, none of which have back doors or even back windows onto the area behind the gate:

• A junk shop (run by a miserly old half-elf named Scriggin)
• A used clothing store
• Freedle’s Librarium
• A potter’s booth
• The Sunken Grotto Tavern (near the gate)
• A money changer’s stall
• Green Wulfurt’s apothecary
• The crazy limner’s place
• Zreed’s Antiquary (nearest the mouth)
• An old warehouse and stable (at the mouth of the alley across from Zreed’s)

A barely-noticeable passageway near the Sunken Grotto Tavern leads to the other side of the gate, which is also locked. 

A special coin-shaped token of unrecognizable metal with a hand on one face and a rectangle on the other, when placed against the gate with the hand-side up causes it to glow phosphorescent, shimmer, and then disappear, opening a mist-filled passage that leads to Weird Way. Once passed through, the gate closed behind the travelers and cannot be opened by the same token. [There is a method of passing back through the gate, but it is never explained in the story - likely because Gary intended to continue using this location in his games and didn’t want to make things too easy for potential future players.]

Weird Way is wide, curving cobblestone street about 1,000 feet long, well lit by torches, lanthorns, and glowing globes at night. 

The following locations are found in Weird Way (none have rear exits; most have apartments on upper floors with dovecotes and small gardens - from the rooftops can be seen a wall of impenetrable, colorless nothingness surrounding Weird Way through which only sunlight penetrates):

Left side of the street:

1. Dome of Delights: A beehive-shaped structure with a sign depicting a buxom young lady (brothel)
2. Achmut's Cut-rate Carpets: Across from the Tower Tavern and Count Joseph's Emporium of the Unusual.
3. Pagoda of Pools: The department for extraplanar travel to the upper, lower, and other outer planes. 
4. Juxort's Charts and Maps: A shop to the left of the gate.
5. Wonders of the World: A shop to the left of the gate, next to Juxort's.
6. The Helix: An exclusive club. Entered through a plain doorway off the Way separated from the street by a two-story wall. The building is throne shaped with low wings and a tower in the middle; the central garden patio has a fountain. Guarded antechamber leads to a wide spiral stair to a grand salon on the second floor. A transporter in one of the turrets leads to Rel Mord - a block of gneiss activated by a disc of reddish metal.
7. The Explorer's Inn: Has two dining areas - a members’ salon and a general parlor - plus a common room with a well-stocked bar. Lies at the end of Weird Way just before the plaza. Provides a service to allow its customers to chronogate through time and unusual probability lines. Filled with potted flowers and shrubs, and trophies (curios and hunting souvenirs) line the walls, are displayed in cases and are atop every surface. The floor is of worn narrow-sawn oak, with wainscotted walls and smoke-blackened ceiling beams.

Right side of the street:

1. Tower Tavern: Across from the Dome of Delights and Achmut's Cut-rate Carpets.
2. Count Joseph's Emporium of the Unusual: Across from the Dome of Delights and Achmut's Cut-rate Carpets. Count Joseph is a tall, pear-shaped man of indeterminate age wearing powdered wig. He loves to haggle and buys and sells treasures of the multiverse - Yeogorian door-knockers, Staffordshire Toby mugs, etc. He pays in domars (from Gamma World - “small, lightweight coin, inlaid with colors and symbols denoting various denominations; nearly indestructible and impossible to counterfeit”), sequins (from Planet of Adventure), scrip, credits, iridium, jotellium in addition to metal coins of strange and unidentifiable minting. He is possibly in league with Plincourt (q.v.).
3. Pavilion of Portals: Has broad double doors, a wide portico running the entire length of the long plastered building, strange columns, a tent-like roof and tower tops, and draped windows and entrance. It is cool and dim inside, where broad endless marble-walled and tile-floored corridors are tended by a gnome wearing red and saffron tailored  livery with puffs and slashes revealing flashes of contrasting colors. The corridors lead to gates identified by sigils which will send those who traverse them to parallel prime planes such as Yarth and Aerth - but not to Oerth, which is considered too dangerous and uncivilized, or other inhospitable planes or dead-end dimensions. Fees for passage are charged in credits, domars, and standard precious metals. 
4. Abner Grontny the Outfitter: A shop to the right of the gate, across from Juxort's
5. The Arms Exchange: A shop to the right of the gate, across from Wonders of the World.
6. Elixirs from Everywhere: A shop to the right of the gate, near Abner Grotny’s and the Arms Exchange.
7. Multiversal Armorer: Lies at the end of Weird Way, just before the plaza, across from the Explorer's Inn.

Faire Market: The walled plaza at the end of the alley is 300 feet deep by 600 feet broad. It is lined by booths and stalls that are bustling by day but deserted at night. There are no other exits from the plaza except to Weird Way.

• "Rare Wine at Bargain Prices": A maroon and citrine-draped booth in the Faire Market that sells wines including Yugharian Purple and vintage wines from Earth.
• Sogil the Gemner: A gem/jewelry store located at the end of Faire Market. Sogil is old, bald, skinny, doddering, and fearful and wears an enchanted protective brooch.
• Hostel of Ineffable Comfort: Located at the end of Faire Market. Run by Huskons and the night manager Plincourt, a vampire. The first floor is a narrow lobby, richly furnished with displayed artwork, thick carpet, and a counter of rosewood to the right of the entrance. Offers drinks, meals, clothes-mending and tailoring, and the Gedrusian exotic dancers. Rooms are on the second floor: an expensive suite -   the Burke and Hare Suite with padded canopy beds, and a cramped one, the Bates Complex, plus ordinary rooms. There is a 3’ wide secret passage behind the rooms with spiral stairs to a secret room in the cellar behind the hinged back of an old cupboard in a storeroom with a cistern in the floor. A kitchen, refectory, and office - with a small table and box of coins, notes, and bills - are on the top floor. The Hostel employs Yagbo, a porter who carts luggage to the Hostel in his spiked wheelbarrow. He is a raggedy, stooped and bent creature with greasy hair but is very big and strong. He blows a whistle to warn pedestrians out of the way of his cart. Yagbo and an accomplice (Lou) use the secret passage and sleep poison (breathing the fumes knocks the victim out for 1-2 hours) to capture patrons for Plincourt to feed upon and then dispose of the bodies in the cistern. 
• The Fragrant Blossom: A tea house in Faire Market near the Hostel.
• At least six other places are at the far end of the Faire Market.

Weird Way is crowded with people from across the Flanaess (Dyvers, Ket and the West, Nyrond) as well as from many other worlds including Aerth and Yarth, civilized ogre magi, blue-skinned people with green hair and eyes, dwarfs, furry-faced humanoids with purple eyes, etc. A few pass through the portal from Odd Alley, but most enter and exit via the other portals.