From the Ashes (1992) is the core of the third, metaplot-driven incarnation of Greyhawk. Gone was the generic fantasy land. Here was a world where evil had triumphed and dominated the land. As with any big change to a beloved setting, some people love it and some people hate it. I am one of the former and I think even hardcore members of the latter will be hard pressed to argue that the shift didn’t make for a more interesting and energetic world to explore. This change was largely masterminded by Carl Sargent, who wrote a number of Fighting Fantasy novels – I can kind of see some of the influence of Titan bleeding in here.

The two books mirror what came before. The Atlas is essentially the same material as the World of Greyhawk box – the gods and cultures – but updated with the new paradigm. The second book expands on material from City of Greyhawk and details various surrounding regions. In the previous setting materials, this sort of thing invariably seemed flat and abstract. Now, in the aftermath of Wars, something BIG had finally happened and, because of that, the changes, rivalries and intrigues feel dynamic. You can make adventures out of them.

One major criticism: not nearly enough art. Ken Frank’s dark ink work is a big part of the appeal of this era of Greyhawk for me and there just needed to be more of it.

A handful of supplements and adventures came out in the From the Ashes era but not nearly enough before TSR canceled the line in 1994. Which is a shame. Roger Moore revived Greyhawk again in 1998, under Wizards of the Coast, but largely restored it to the era before From the Ashes (even returning poor Tenser to life). I wish the dark fantasy version of Greyhawk got more exploration, perhaps because I am such an enthusiast of the TSR Lankhmar setting and the two seem of a kind (right down to their relative lack of support).