To the west of our wondrous Flanaess lies the great mountain-bordered Baklunish Basin, where an empire ruled a millennium ago. This region is generally believed to be a dry steppeland, but its interior is rumored to be fertile and mild, with rivers and small lakes about. The Dramidj Ocean narrows and reaches down through this land, cradling countless islands and strange societies on its shores. The climate here is thought to range from temperate to hot, as the Dramidj Ocean is so warm itself. Beyond the vast mountain range to the far west is said to be a great and ancient empire, the likes of which we can scarcely dream. Of this imperial realm we know little, though explorers and merchants would dearly love to know more. A couple of adventurers in times long past have told of passing through this empire and even beyond it, meeting a range of mountains that dwarfs even our own mighty Crystalmists. Of western Oerik, we can say little, except that some believe it can be reached if we sail far enough to the east across the Solnor, a thousand leagues or more past islands we have never seen and sea monsters we could not conjure even in nightmares. Perhaps we shall hear more of these marvels in our lifetimes, but I doubt it.

— Master Cartographer Jawan Sumbar 
Guildmaster of Cartographers, Free City of Greyhawk
from An Inspection of the Nature of Oerth

Oerik

Oerik is generally known to be the largest of the four continents of Oerth, though only its eastern extent, the Flanaess, is reasonably well known. (What is not known about the Flanaess, however, could fill a thousand libraries.) The Flanaess is regarded by its inhabitants as "the center of enlightened humanity," though tales are often told of foreign civilizations of advanced aspect whose nature and customs would astound even the most cosmopolitan wayfarer from the City of Greyhawk.

Almost nothing is known of the lands beyond the Flanaess, as these lands are isolated from the larger world by geography, hostile nations, and monsters. To the west, beyond the towering mountain chains stretching from the Yatils down to the volcanic Hellfurnaces, are endless steppes where once lay the ancient Baklunish empire, as well as the horrific wastes of the Sea of Dust. Rotating clockwise from there, one finds the shores of the mysterious Dramidj Ocean, the dangerous Land of Black Ice, the aptly named Icy Sea, and the immense, storm-racked Solnor Ocean, said to reach over a thousand leagues eastward. To the southeast are the jungles and swamps of tropical Hepmonaland, then the Densac Gulf and Pearl Sea stretching straight south for another thousand leagues or more. The wild Amedio Jungle rounds out the geographical walls that enclose the Flanaess.

Equally as dangerous as the terrain are the inhabitants of these areas. Sullen nomads eye foreign visitors on the steppelands, freebooting barbarian hordes and humanoid armies crowd the north, sea monsters of terrible aspect haunt the Solnor, Hepmonaland's jungles conceal headhunting savages and beasts, and pirates and many-armed kraken lurk in every sea and bay. Giants compete with bandits and lycanthropes for the wild lands, with dragons and undead wizards offering distractions from the norm. Everywhere are hordes of rapacious humanoids.

While reliable maps for the whole Flanaess are not difficult to acquire in the City of Greyhawk and other civilized and learned areas, the hard part is amassing the courage, funds, and armament necessary to see those lands first-hand, let alone the ones beyond.