Greyhawk's Underdark

by Denis Tetreault

Version 2.9



The idea of a special "world beneath the world", a dark, mysterious place isolated from the surface world of the player characters and filled with natural wonders and ancient evils, was first introduced to D&D players and DMs as the D-Series of modules (D1 Descend into the Depths of the Earth, D2 Shrine of the Kuo-Toa, and D3 Vault of the Drow) first published in 1978, and later reprinted in 1986 as the GDQ1-7 Queen of the Spiders supermodule. This new subterranean world was based in the World of Greyhawk. Since then, much has been written about this "underdark" realm, both set in specific worlds (such as the Forgotten Realms) and as generic writings, as numerous adventure modules, magazine articles, and hardcover rulebooks for every edition of D&D since. The popularity of the setting even spawned a series of highly popular novels by R.A. Salvatore about Drizzt, a drow ranger from the Forgotten Realms.

This section of my website will strive to present material about Greyhawk's underdark, sometimes referred to as "DeepOerth". The material here could also be easily adapted by DMs to fit into any campaign world they choose to use.





Dragonsfoot Collaborative Project: Mapping the Depths of the Earth

This is a Dragonsfoot community project discussed at the Collaborative Project: Mapping the Depths of the Earth forum (originally proposed by PapersAndPaychecks in May 2005, and kicked off by Gnarley Bones, in July 2006) to detail all of the remaining areas on the map provided in D1 Descend into the Depths of the Earth, and that were not described in the original D-series modules. The latest compilation of the project, edited by Iain_IF, can be downloaded as the "Encyclopedia Subterranica" here. Check back for updated versions as the project proceeds. Eventually, a finalized document will be available here and on the Dragonsfoot website. Below is a new index map of the area. If DM's do not wish to read through the entire compiled document, they can click on the encounter area on the map (or the chart below) to view a PDF of the single encounter description, if one is available. Hovering over the encounter areas with your mouse in the index map below will bring up pop-up text with the name of the encounter.



For a high-resolution (1500x2166) version of the index map suitable for printing, please click here.

The collaborative project is indeed a massive undertaking, consisting of contributions from 20 different authors. The current state of the project is summarized below. Completed encounter areas are available as part of the compilation volume, and will become available as separate files accessed off the index map above (by clicking on each corresponding map location) and from the chart below, as the individual PDFs are being created. Other encounter areas will become available as the authors complete them. Check back to see how things are going.

Coordinates # of Hexes Encounter Name Creator Status 001 B/9 1 Trading Post of the Dead, Dying, Damned, and Doomed Dwarves! Predavolk Complete 002 B/30-31 2 The Duergar Redoubt Eldersphinx Complete 003 C/19 1 The Duergar Guardpost SoulCatcher78 Complete 004 D/3 1 Drow Checkpoint Gary Gygax Module D1 005 E/15-F/16 2 The Moaning Chasm SoulCatcher78 Complete 006 F/35 1 Obsidian Pool of the Fallen Star jmidd Need Map 007 I/18 1 Bugs Iain_IF Complete 008 I/25 1 Purple Worm Warren Michael Sandar Incomplete 009 J-K/31 2 The Repository of Lost Souls Xiuhcoatl "Xi" Incomplete 010 K/4 1 The Captive Pech Istarlome Complete 011 L-M/19 2 The Trading Grounds Eldersphinx Need Map 012 M/12 1 Mind Flayer Spy Post Gary Gygax Module D1 013 N/38-39 2 Kuo-Toan Town wbeatty Incomplete 014 O/10 1 Cleanup Crew Eldersphinx Complete 015 Q/18-19 2 The Caverns and Warrens of the Troglodytes Gary Gygax Module D1 016 Q/32 1 Hidden Shrine to the Elder Elemental God wbeatty Incomplete 017 R/9 1 Wererats' Warren Eldersphinx Complete 018 S-T/17 2 The Ghoul Warrens (map held by ghouls and ghasts in

D1 leads back to here) Marco Complete 019 S/27 1 Stone Giant Mining Project thenraine Complete 020 T/40 1 Shadows in the Darkness Runecrow Complete 021 U/13-14 2 At the Gate of Da-mur-shou (A Mind Flayer Outpost) Runecrow Need Map 022 W/22 1 Mice in the Lab Maze Disjected Complete 023 W/27 1 Thoopshib's Barge Crossing Gary Gygax Module D2 024 X-A2/43-45 6 The Forsaken City of Naavros Eldersphinx Need Map 025 Y/26 0 The Dread Sinkhole Eldersphinx Need Map 026 Y/36 1 027 Z-A2/35 2 The Secret Garden wbeatty Complete 028 A2/20 0 The Fire Giant Ambush Istarlome Complete 029 A2/31 1 Svirfneblin Prospecting Claim Gary Gygax Module D2 030 B2/14 1 031 B2/24 0 Svirfneblin Trading Post Elfdart Complete 032 C2/20 1 The Fire Giant Lair Istarlome Complete 033 E2/24 1 The Lava Fissure Istarlome Complete 034 E2/43 1 035 F2/29 1 Grotto of the Morkoth Eldersphinx Need Map 036 I2-J2/34-35 2 Bodanay 037 I2-J2/47-48 2 The Fungi Caverns Gnarley Bones Incomplete 038 J2-K2/26-28 6 The Svirfneblin Stronghold Istarlome Incomplete 039 L2/31 1 Sanctum of the Absent Mage Eldersphinx Complete 040 L2/41-42 2 Shrine of the Kuo-toa Gary Gygax Module D2 041 M2-N2/18 2 042 N2-O2/51 2 The Drowad Caverns Papers and Paychecks Complete 043 O2-P2/23-25 6 The Ancient City of Khor Maldin Complete, future

website expansion 044 Q2/49 1 Gateway to the Vault of the Drow Gary Gygax Module D3 045 R2/28 1 The Forbidden Cavern Maldin Incomplete 046 R2/47 1 Grotto of Silussa and Belgos Gary Gygax Module D3 047 S2/30 0 The Smugglers Elfdart Complete 048 S2/33 1 Beware the Lord of Eyes grodog Complete 049 U2/32 0 White Goblin Ambush Elfdart Complete 050 U2/48 1 Black Widow Guardians Gary Gygax Module D3 051 W2-X2/27-28 2 Papers and Paychecks Incomplete 052 W2/31 1 Mock26 053 W2-Y2/44 3 The Chasm of Deadly Breath Eldersphinx Complete 054 X2/37-38 2 Realm of the White Goblins Elfdart Incomplete 055 Y2-Z2/54-57 6 The Vault of the Drow Gary Gygax Module D3 056 Z2-A3/24-25 4 (Isle on the Sunless Sea) Papers and Paychecks Incomplete 057 The Ursinians Terry Need Map 058 Escaped Slaves Disjected Need Map 059 The Brazen Tower Eldersphinx Need Map 060 random encounters Bodanay





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This page last modified on June 23, 2011





