That's all not that difficult:

Indeed, the C&C's "The Great Kingdom" encompassed the entire Greyhawk map - because the group was of DMs was coordinating their games with one another.

All the conflicts, and the like, that we see in later Greyhawk publications,
came through the overall course of the different campaigns.

Like, the Greyhawk war, and the end of the Naelax/Ivid/Ovar kingdom was the very subject of Mr Kuntz' Kalibruhn campaign,
as was the civil war with the provinces (a trope we later see repeated in Blackmoor).

Also, take note that the king of the Great Kingdom is really "Dave"... "Ivid",
because he was the one who started the first metaplots.

That's really about everything there is.



I for my part prefer to use "The Great Kingdom" as well, but simply because "Thonia" sounds pretty retarded in German.

Also, I tend to use "Thonia" more as a term for a specific era, as seen in the LFC.

I think you guys should squash that out.




Dave never actually defined the kingdom in which he set his Blackmoor anyway other than in iuxtaposition to the core setting;
meaning, the kingdom had any abilities he needed it to have to for his stories - which, mind you, were mostly a slim frame for dungeon action.

Nor had Gary one, at least not in the Lake Geneva campaign, according to RJK.

The GK was really created as an artificial construct to facilitate crossover gaming among the C&C guys,
but, as a campaign setting, was always in a stage of redefining - because it was really just a flexible backdrop.

RJK's Kalibruhn, however, doesn't necessarily have to be the same place as any of the Great Kingdoms from any of the settings,
or the one where Gary's short stories from the initial Dragon are set.
This is mainly because in either case, the Maze of Zayene series, allegedly being the written version of RJK's home campaign,
would technically take place AFTER the Greyhawk box, which, by itself takes place in an alternate continuity years AFTER
the FFC gets expelled to Lake Gloomy:

Still following me?

Okay, then...

The plot of the Maze of Zayene series is basically the secret assassination of High King Ivid,
which basically leads to the Greyhawk Wars. (Note the many "basically"; I am not going to write you a novel here, gentlemen.)

That is ten years after 1e WoG, and, probably, a few hundred years after the FFC.

So, we have no indication to believe that this is ALSO HAPPENING in published 1e Greyhawk, or any version of published Blackmoor.

That Carl Sargent made this part of 2e Greyhawk lore speaks for his value as an author,
because it's a nod to Kuntz. But it is also nothing more.

While GGK = BMGK is an interesting theory, there is no factual evidence for it.





You might note, though, that I indeed draw upon all of this a lot in the LFC:

Basically, Ran is my version's Xaene. (Again, if you don't know who that is, google is your friend.)

I do so, though, as a fan service, not because I was trying to depict "true" Blackmoor, or "perfectly symbiotic" Blackmoor,
for that matter. The truth is, Blackmoor, as a setting, is so small, and so little about is defined, that you have to add
things for playability's sake, and I took this idea over because I thought it was cool.
That I think I did so in a more sophisticated way than others doesn't mean I value my idea - per se -
as more fitting on a pure gaming level, even if it might be on a meta-gaming one.


But, keep that in mind, folks, before you get lost again:
A dense metastructure doesn't necessarily make for a better story, or, in our case, for a better game.


I would recommend both of you guys to aim to create more stuff that is actually playable, instead of beating the metahorse to death. :wink:

Let's write an adventure together, or something! :)