Heavens and Oerth
The world of Greyhawk encompasses the Flanaess, the easternmost portion of the vast continent of Oerik, on the sphere of Oerth. Scholars from the Flanaess are certain that Oerik is the greatest of Oerth’s four continents, and that four great oceans surround these lands, as do four layers of the heavens and four depths of the underworld. Yet, even in this benighted age, almost nothing is known of the lands beyond the Flanaess, and little is understood of the regions above and below. Such knowledge is of small importance, claim the high and the mighty, for clearly the lands around Greyhawk form the center of all enlightenment and civilization. Some folks question this assumption, and they yearn to explore their world and its challenges.

Oerth is but one world among many, separated either by the gulfs of space, the invisible ether, or the fragile veils of reality. The craft and persistence of magic defines the nature of Oerth. Throughout recorded history, magical conflict and restoration have shaped this world. Some of these magic-driven events touch upon the history of other worlds, and portals sometimes open between Oerth and alien spheres. Few other worlds boast the magical profundity of Oerth, and many strange beings are found there, drawn by the lure of the supernatural. The majority of such entities make their homes far from the sunlit skies of Oerth’s surface, preferring to live secretly in lightless caverns below, where they may thrive and plot unseen. If the paths of the underworld are hidden from view, the wise may still turn their attention to the heavens. All know that the sun travels once around earth every 364 days, visiting the Twelve Lairs of the Zodiac in an appointed round that never varies. The pale Great Moon, called Luna, waxes and wanes infixed cycles of 28 days each, upon which the months are based. The aquamarine Lesser Moon, Celene, follows a path that reveals her full beauty but four times each year, thus showing the time for civilized festivals. Both Mistress and Handmaiden, as the greater and lesser moons of Oerth are also known, are held to be worlds in their own right, though few claim to have met any visitors from those lofty realms (or, for that matter, to have visited those alien worlds personally).

Table 1: Standard Week (Flanaess)

Day	Task
Starday	Work
Sunday	Work
Moonday	Work
Godsday	Worship
Waterday	Work
Earthday	Work
Freeday	Rest

Table 2: Dozenmonth of Luna and the Four Festivals

Common	Elven	Nomads	Season
Needfest	-	-	Midwinter
Fireseek	Diamondice	Tiger	Winter
Readying	Yellowillow	Bear	Spring
Coldeven	Snowflowers	Lion	Spring
Growfest	-	-	-
Planting	Blossoms	Frog	Low Summer
Flocktime	Violets	Turtle	Low Summer
Wealsun	Berrytime	Fox	Low Summer
Richfest	-	-	Midsummer
Reaping	Goldfields	Snake	High Summer
Goodmonth	Sunflowers	Boar	High Summer
Harvester	Fruitfall	Squirrel	High Summer
Brewfest	-	-	-
Patchwall	Brightleaf	Hare	Autumn
Ready’eat	Tinklingice	Hawk	Autumn
Sunsebb	Lacysnows	Wolf	Winter

Each month has 28 days. Each festival is seven days long.

Climate and Seasons
The Flanaess is exceptionally blessed in regard to its weather. Outside of the northern latitudes, the winter temperatures seldom fall below freezing, except during the two winter months, and at night during early spring and late autumn. In the depths of winter come a few days when the temperature reaches the freezing point, then gradual warming begins. The northeast and north-central regions tend to be considerably colder, for the seas of those regions cause winter to linger about twice as long as it does in the heartland of the Flanaess. An important exception to this is the Dramidj Ocean, whose strange, warm currents moderate the climate of the lands that border it.

Autumn, winter, and spring are rather short seasons, but summer in the central Flanaess lasts five or more months. Prevailing winds are from the northeast in the winter and autumn, and the east and southeast at other times. Most areas of the Flanaess have sufficient rainfall to assure abundant crops.

Climate of Greyhawk

G Holian, E Mona, SK Reynolds, F Weining. Living Greyhawk Gazetteer. 2000