YMMV / Greyhawk

• Alternative Character Interpretation: invoked"Pelor, the Burning Hate". Pelor, the God of the Sun, is canonically Neutral Good, but there are actually a surprising number of indicators to the contrary, especially in 3E texts. The example cleric Jozan, who follows Pelor, is shown casting symbol of pain in the 3E Player's Handbook, which has the Evil descriptor and therefore is supposed to be impossible for an NG deity to grant and for an NG spellcaster to cast. The post goes on to discuss the Malconvoker Prestige Class in Complete Scoundrel, whose examplar is also a cleric of Pelor who acts very un-NG, and notes that consorting with fiends is also said to be an act of evil in the Book of Vile Darkness. Ultimately, the post concludes that Pelor is actually a Villain with Good Publicity: a Lawful-leaning Neutral Evil deity of burning pain and agony.
• Broken Base: The 1988 Castle Greyhawk module received a lot of flak since it presented the almost mythical and anticipated Castle Greyhawk dungeon as a bunch of broad humor sketch comedy parodies. The villains included Colonel Sanders, the Pillsbury Doughboy, and the cast of Star Trek among other insanity. Many believed it was a deliberate insult to the then-recently outsted Gary Gygax. Others felt that since Dungeonland and The Land Beyond the Magic Mirror were canonical "joke dungeons" that actually connected to the planned Castle Greyhawk dungeon, it wasn't as far off as people thought. Also, that the module was genuinely funny and people were taking it way too seriously.
• Author's Saving Throw: After Robilar's act of betrayal in From the Ashes, Rob Kuntz, his creator, called foul, claiming that Robilar, though flawed, would never turn on his companions. Erik Mona, author of Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk agreed and had the power to fix the situation, and so in the module revealed it to be the actions of an Evil (well, EVIL-LER, as Robilar is already canonically Lawful Evil) Counterpart; the real Robilar is even visibly unimpressed by his doppelganger.
• Complete Monster:
  • Iuz The Evil is the cambion child of the demon lord Graz'zt and the human witch Iggwilv. In his early career, Iuz rallied an army and launched a series of brutal campaigns that gave him the name "Lord Of Pain"; a name also earned by the atrocities he committed on innocents. Eventually, Iuz gathered powerful sorcerers and drained them of life to add their powers to his in a path to godhood. Eventually becoming a demigod, Iuz ended up feared by all those who knew him, with no care towards either of his parents or any in his way. He eventually resorted to murdering his formerly loyal servants and replacing them with Fiends solely for convenience and power.
  • Vecna, the God of Secrets and Lichdom, is a once-human wizard who became the most feared of liches. One of the most monstrous villains to ever emerge from Oerth, Vecna's evil deeds have filled volumes, having conducted murders, massacres and in one instance at the city of Fleeth shortly after becoming a lich. When Vecna was unsatisfied with how the city's officials begged for mercy, Vecna had everyone in the city tortured and massacred before sparing said officials just to let them live with the agony. Vecna has attempted to kill all living things to revive them in a kingdom of undeath, before becoming a god himself. In the adventure Die, Vecna, Die, his most audacious act was attempting to consume all reality and kill everyone who existed, solely to remake it with himself as the supreme god. One of the most recognizable and monstrous villains in all of Dungeons and Dragons, Vecna is never satisfied no matter how high he climbs, and will never stop trying for more power regardless of the countless innocent beings who suffer and die for it.
  • Ivid V, after murdering 122 siblings to take control of his kingdom before murdering his father, proves to be a warmongering tyrant who wages battles and wars that are best defined as genocide and has depopulated entire regions, with nearly half the region's populace massacred and hideously tortured. Ivid routinely wipes out entire families, slaughtering everyone remotely connected to his victims while condemning many to be tortured, healed, and tortured again for as long as he desires. Worse still is the Screaming Column, a structure where victims are beheaded with a blunt axe and their still living heads added to the column while aware and in pain forever.
• Fanon Discontinuity: Many fans hate From The Ashes, as mentioned above. Name something that's set in Greyhawk after Gary Gygax left TSR and you'll find someone that hates it and doesn't consider it canon.