Author-Only Adventures
Seeing Legends of Greyhawk, Unfiltered
Author‑Only (AO) adventures tend to get talked about in slightly hushed tones. They’re limited. They’re rare. They’re only available at specific events. And can make people wonder if they’re somehow *more important* than other adventures—or worse, if they’re something you’re supposed to chase in order to keep up.
They aren’t, but they are special, so let’s dig in to why.
What an Author‑Only Adventure Is
Whether you’re new to organized play with Legends of Greyhawk, or a veteran of D&D Adventurers League, there’s a good chance you’ve heard the term. And, confusingly, it can be used a few different ways. The short version is that an an Author‑Only adventure is an official campaign adventure that can only be run by the person who wrote it. That’s the defining rule, but that’s not all that helpful to understanding what makes them special all by itself.
The key thing is that in the Legends of Greyhawk organized play campaign, only Wizards of the Coast (WotC) staff and Premier Organizer campaign staff are permitted to write Author‑Only adventures; writing one isn’t a a perk you earn by publishing enough material—it’s a special privilege given only to those who oversee the campaign. These are the people already responsible for shaping the campaign: defining regions, guiding story direction, maintaining continuity, and making sure Legends of Greyhawk holds together as a shared world.
Why They’re Special
(and Why That Doesn’t Mean “Better”)
Author‑Only adventures aren’t intrinsically “better” than other Legends of Greyhawk adventures. They aren’t more canonical or more important. You’re not getting a “premium” version of the campaign.
What you are getting is an unfiltered view of the world.
Every Author‑Only adventure is written and run by someone whose vision already shapes the wider campaign. If you play the Legends of Greyhawk adventures in the Domain of Greyhawk, you’re already experiencing Savannah Houston‑McIntyre’s influence on that region—but filtered through other authors and Dungeon Masters.
An Author‑Only adventure removes that filter.
When you sit down at an AO table, you’re seeing the campaign as that author understands it: what they emphasize, what they care about, what questions they find interesting, and what the setting feels like to them when they’re the one behind the screen. It’s not a different campaign, and it’s not more official. It’s simply the clearest expression of a vision that already helps shape the world.
It’s also worth saying explicitly: Legends of Greyhawk doesn’t have a single creative voice. Campaign leads and administrators bring different perspectives, and those perspectives coexist by design. Greg Marks’ Greyhawk isn’t identical to Savannah’s—but all of them are valuable, and all of them inform the campaign as a whole.
Timeline and Continuity
(and What You’re *Not* Missing)
Where Author‑Only adventures fit on the Legends of Greyhawk timeline is going to vary. Some have a clear place, referencing events from previous adventures, while others are completely free-floating. But they are, by design, stand alone. And you don’t need to play any of them to understand or enjoy the wider campaign. They take place within the Legends of Greyhawk campaign, but they’re not load‑bearing story components.
If you never play From the Grave, you’re not missing a required chapter of the Domain of Greyhawk storyline. Nothing in the standard campaign breaks. You’re simply missing the chance to see that part of the world through Savannah’s eyes, directly, at the table.
Think of Author‑Only adventures as windows into the minds of their creators, not doors to the campaign. They let you look more closely at how one person views the campaign, but they don’t gate progress or knowledge.
So, Who Are the Current Authors Anyway?
Jon Christian
Jon Christian, also known as the Dwarven DM, is the Design Lead for the Highfolk region of Legends of Greyhawk at Baldman Games. If you played at the Weekend in Highfolk or have played any of the Highfolk adventures at a VDDW, you’ve seen his influence.
Jon previously served as Project Lead for Baldman Games’ Dragonlance storyline Vault of the Undying, and has an extensive background as a tabletop RPG designer across a wide range of systems, including D&D, Old-School Essentials, Dungeon Crawl Classics, Shadowdark, Mörk Borg, Mothership, and the Marvel RPG.
Author-Only Adventure: Beneath the Coiled Earth
Savannah Houston-McIntyre
Savannah Houston-McIntyre, aka Savvy, is the overall Project Lead for Legends of Greyhawk at Baldman Games, as well as the Design Lead for the Domain of Greyhawk region. She is one of the primary voices shaping the campaign’s structure, tone, and long-term direction.
Prior to Legends of Greyhawk, Savannah served as Project Lead for the Moonshae Isles storylines Promise of Blossoms and Malefic Delusions (shared with Paul Gabat), and as a trilogy lead for Moonshae Isles: Rising Shadows.
Author-Only Adventure: From the Grave
Thomas Valley
Thomas Valley is the co-founder of GameConclave and oversees their Legends of Greyhawk content, including adventures set in the Duchy of Urnst, County of Urnst, and the Lordship of the Isles. As part of that work, he is directly involved in both organized play administration and regional adventure development.
Thomas has been a driving force behind many other projects, including the legendary Grung adventures at GaryCon.
Author-Only Adventures: The Nesser River War & Wreck of the Wyrmglass
Eric Menge
Eric Menge is the Design Lead for the Ferrond region of *Legends of Greyhawk* at Baldman Games.
Also known as Baldman Games Moonshae Loremaster, and Project Lead for Moonshae Isles: Rising Shadows, and owner and maintainer of the Moonshaes.com website. Eric also contributed to the Moonshae Isles: Promise of Blossoms storyline, as well as numerous stand-alone adventures for many organized play campaigns, Dragon Magazine articles and Menzoberranzan: City of Intrigue.
Author-Only Adventure: Whispers from the Well of Wishes
Toni Winslow-Brill
Toni Winslow-Brill is a veteran tabletop RPG designer and a current WotC administrator for both Legends of Greyhawk and D&D Adventurers League. She has contributed greatly to organized play the organized play ecosystem and is actively involved in campaign leadership and oversight.
Author-Only Adventure: Secret Lies
Shawn Merwin
Shawn Merwin is a long-time legendary D&D writer and adventure designer with extensive organized play experience. He has written numerous adventures for Wizards of the Coast, Ghostfire, and Baldman Games and currently serves as a contracted designer for Wizards of the Coast.
Shawn has had a hand in many pivotal adventures over many years, often helping shape grand narratives and hooking players with fun interactive mechanics.
Author-Only Adventure: Wrath of the Pirate Queen
Greg Marks
Greg Marks is a highly experienced D&D designer and organized play administrator, serving as the WotC Content Manager for Legends of Greyhawk and D&D Adventurers League. He has decades of experience writing, developing, and overseeing organized play adventures.
Greg’s work has helped shape how modern organized play campaigns function.
Author-Only Adventure: Ruins of Sulm
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