Probably to give an in-universe reason for something that never made any sense. While I don't follow that canon (everything after 1985 is questionable), I do find this attempt to reconcile that story aberration to be done quite well. It shows a level of respect for the characters involved, without directly ret-conning the event.Hi all,
Is the sidebar on page 27 of Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes meant to explain Rary's treachery in the history of Oerth, do you think?
For those that don't know, Rary's treachery (along with most of the early 2E Greyhawk lore) was mostly done as an insult to Gygax after his ousting, and in an attempt to deviate the setting as much as they could from his earlier works. This incident in particular was problematic for fans, because they never really gave any reason why Rary and Roblar would betray their friends. There was no power play that would have benefited them, nor did Rary have prior known connection to any participants in the Greyhawk War (the plan was to cause the peace negotiations to fail).