In our last session of my Castle Greyhawk campaign, Peggy’s magic-user “Mya” used her magic to destroy an altar to the Chaos Gods. She was promptly cursed by those gods, who made it impossible for her to heal. Luckily she was able to get the curse reversed (Into the Woods line there) at the temple of Rao, although she’s now engaged on a quest for the priests of that stalwart deity.

This is the first introduction of this group to a theme that I hope will be sustained during the course of the campaign: the Gods are Real.

In my previous D&D games, the gods have mainly manifested through their (rare) clerics and occasionally the odd demon or angel popping up. In this new game, I want something a bit more than that. The gods are active and they care what the PCs are doing – and they’ll both help and hinder them.

As this campaign develops, exactly how strong the deital interferences are will be determined. They may end up being rather light… or stronger than that. I have ideas of linking in some of this campaign to the Age of Worms aftermath, especially the situation that found Holly (a paladin of Heironeous) in control of the reclaimed city of Alhaster. There are several gods and goddesses that have an interest in what is happening in that part of the world. At one time, Alhaster was part of the Shield Lands, a group of knightly holdings with allegiance to Heironeous, but then they were conquered by forces owing allegiance to Iuz and manipulated by Vecna.

Of course, the beginnings of this campaign are rooted in the Free City of Greyhawk (with its pantheon of gods) and the arcane madness of Castle Greyhawk; they’ll have their part to play, with little doubt.