I own Wilderlands of High Fantasy, from Necromancer Games and the revamped Judges Guild. I also have the Mayfair Games boxed version of the City State of the Invincible Overlord and a more recent one also from Necromancer Games.
First, welcome to the Wilderlands! Glad you enjoy the setting. Second, I should note that the Mayfair CSIO is a completely different creature from the original; almost nothing, save for the vague shape of the city and a few place names, are held in common. The gritty sword & sorcery factor was also completely ripped out of the setting. If the JG CSIO is the "New York" of fantasy cities, the Mayfair CSIO is the Mayberry...
Unfortunately, it seems like there is so much information and history, yet I only get small pieces and find I have to fill in the gaps.
Bob Bledsaw, the designer of the CSIO and Wilderlands, always said first and foremost that the Wilderlands was whatever the Judge (DM) made of it. His philosophy was to provide the nitty-gritty bits and let the wider concepts be supplied by the Judge and the needs of his individual campaign. Thus, save for broad guidelines, most elements of history and such were left to the Judge.
How did the Plaza of Profuse Pleasures come to be and who profits the most from that place?
The Plaza of Profuse Pleasures is simply a wide-open area paved with cobblestones, a market of sorts, not an actual shop in and of itself. At the intersection of Festival Street, Hedonist Street, and the Park of Obscene Statues, it is a location for great merriment and public carousing, on a decadent "Imperial Rome" or New Orleans Mardis Gras level. While it does not state such, there are certainly many pushcart vendors there selling food, drink, and various things that are fun and pleasurable (think of the Black Lotus vendor in Conan the Barbarian, only open and public!) As the plaza is owned by the Overlord, the pushcarts must pay for licenses to sell in the plaza, so he, if anyone, profits the most...
What about the history of the city's Thieves Guild?
That's never really been detailed, even in the old Journal or Pegasus. It is definitely modeled after the Thieves Guild of Lankhmar (down to skeletal former guild masters), so you might want to read up on the adventures of Fafhred and the Gray Mouster to get some ideas.
Who built the Park of Obscene Statues and is there a purpose to it?
Again, completely up to the Judge. It might have some basis in old or even current religions. The name might be a nickname given to it by followers of Mitra, who tend to be rather prudish. As to purpose, again, whatever you make of it.
Where can I find more about Tengal Manor?
Unfortunately, at this point, the original Tegel Manor from JG is not available in PDF. The revised and expanded version created by Gamescience is available here:
EN World PDF Store - Judges Guild - Tegel Manor - Revised & Expanded Edition
I hope to help Bob Bledsaw II get the original Tegel and the revised Tegel from JG up on there eventually. As to a new Tegel Manor, well, that is currently up in the air...
What is the relationship between the Overlord and the Death Cult of Harmakhis?
None, other than the standard relationship the Overlord has with all the temples of the City State. The Overlord had some bad interactions with religions in the past, notably with the Temple of Set and the Temple of Rash'l. The Temple of Rash'l was actually the predominent temple in the City State during the current Overlord's father's rule, and when the current Overlord came to power, the Temple, led by his younger brother, rebelled. After they were defeated and outlawed, the Overlord decided that it was politically expedient to recognize no faith as the "official" faith of the City State, and so he treats all temples equally. That said, the Hellbridge Temple has a contract with the City State for weather control (the infamous and ancient Coventant of Rain). On a personal level, as Harmakhis is a sometime ally of Set, the Overlord certainly does not like the cult or its priests, but must maintain neutrality to keep the precarious balance of faiths.
I have a ton of questions, and have been doing what I can to answer them, but I've found sparse info on the internet despite Judges Guild once being very prolific. Is there a large pool of open knowledge on some webpage I am missing? It seems sad, but the world Judges Guild had built seems to fade away with time.
As Joe mentioned, I am currently publishing products for the Wilderlands, under the Wilderlands of High Adventure label. The material is designed for use with Castles & Crusades, which can easily be converted for use with BECMI. The WoHA is a "parallel world" of the Wilderlands of High Fantasy; ~80% compatible overall I'd say, but it is not the official Wilderlands, merely one alternate Wilderlands. You can find most of my products in PDF format here:
EN World PDF Store - Adventure Games Publishing - - RPG PDF downloads
The first issue of Adventure Games Journal includes a bit of history on the Overlord and his family, plus information on knighthood in the City State, and a bunch of other stuff, so that might be a good place for you to start.
Bob Bledsaw II plans further releases of new JG material, though he's not quite ready yet to announce his plans. Soon, hopefully. I have semi-regular updates on my blog, which Joe linked to. And if you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me at the address below.
