D&D 4E Greyhawk 4e: Back to the Beginning...

[S'mon]

As a fan of 1e Greyhawk, I have to say this sounds MUCH better than the directions Greyhawk had been going in 2e-3e. Heck, if this is true, I'll be seriously considering running 4e after all! I've been wanting to run the U1-U3 series for awhile in 576 CY Greyhawk, and this could be the perfect opportunity.

Celene in the Feywild might be a bit of a stretch, but Gygax's version of the elves was always pretty strongly fey/faerie, so I can see it working very well.

The big plus for this approaches for me is that it retains and emphasises the diversity of the original 1981 & 1983 Greyhawk setting, before it all got flattened out or clumped up by the Greyhawk Wars.

Edit: Oh gosh, please let this be true!

Edit 2: I would like to point out that the version of Greyhawk described here seems to be exactly the same as that used by Mike Mearls in his own 4e Greyhawk campaign, as described by him on these boards recently in a thread about incorporating Tieflings & Dragonborn in Greyhawk. Take that as you will.

 

[WhatGravitas]

Well, I'd really like to see it that way. With campaign settings, it's not like with a novel, where you have established canon, you only have suggestions for the DM.

The tone, the wants, and the approach changes over time, so redoing the setting, doing a reboot is pretty interesting, as it keeps fresh ideas in the settings. And the old settings aren't going away, so new DMs can just use the best of the new take, old DMs can pick out the fillet pieces and leave the rest.

But then, in general, I'm not keen on the idea of "canon" in RPG settings as well.

So... I'm all for a reset, but then, I never played in the original GH setting, just in the 3E version.

Cheers, LT.

 

[Serendipity]

Feh. And thirty years of continuity vanish in a blast of handwavium.
Nah. Won't buy it. Not a single dime. Granted that I am a pure Greyhawk fangirl, but even though I myself only consider the continuity post 580 or so as a "rough sketch" rather than the rule of law (generally in favor of a more Kuntz/Gygaxian treatment thereof) I *hate* reboots.

Besides, Greyhawk (allegedly) was core in 3.x. Give it a rest for a few years, neh? Come up with something new or mangle something else.

 

[qstor]

Tieflings and dragonborn shouldn't be shoehorned into Greyhawk or any setting.

4e's every setting is a generic 4e setting is a bad idea.

Mike

 

[RangerWickett]

I swear, it's like they're systematically taking apart every setting that I was introduced to in 3e, grew to enjoy, and now like a junky deprived of his heroin by an uncaring dealer, it's starting to hurt.

You were the one who made the analogy, not me. The first step to quitting is admitting you have a problem, so I have hope for you.

(In truth, I love the idea and aesthetic of Planescape, but I don't give a damn whether it comes in wheel shape or astral sea or crystal spheres. I just like the concept of nigh-infinite worlds, with a philosophical underpinning and cool Tony D. art. That last one is why I doubt I'd ever buy Planescape for 4th edition; the art in 4e is not to my taste.)

 

[Filcher]

I believe this is a fake ...

... but gawds it would be an awesome game. It'd get me back to Greyhawk.

 

[drewnchick]

You know...it's possible that diehard "canon" Greyhawk fans could play the 4E system without using the 4E version of Greyhawk. In this case, it's just a changing of the ruleset, not the whole campaign world. Would that be too difficult? Morph spells into "powers," give rogues the ability to shove folks around, make fighters take a feat for multiple swings, but keep the Great Wheel???

I dunno...just thinking outside the box, I suppose.

 

[thundershot]

Meh, I never cared about Grayhawk anyway.

Now Dark Sun, that I'd buy...



Chris

 

[Schmoe]

Well, gvdammerung described the Greyhawk I love. This would definitely get my interest up.

 

[Wyrmshadows]

Without the Greyhawk lore, what the heck is Greyhawk anyway? A lot of meaningless names on an old map tied to the bygone days of D&D IMO. If so many things are just retconned away into non-existance then all you really have is a plan to grab players with a familiar IP that bears little to resemblance to the IP as it has existed for years.

In other words you have the IP ie. Greyhawk, in name only. You have Generic Points o' Light Fantasy World #15 with the name Greyhawk slapped on it so it will sell.

I don't think too many Greyhawk fans will be thrilled with this and the fact is that outside of that rabid...and they are rabid....fanbase the vast majority of D&D players only know Greyhawk as the default "setting" for 3e, an adventure or two in the 3e era and some articles in Dragon Magazine which isn't all that much.

This 4ehawk is never going to happen because the fanbase, as it is, is full of Greyhawk purists who make FR purists look positively rational. Many FR fans are disgusted by the way WoTC gutted the world. IMO Greyhawk fans will feel the same only moreso because the nostalgia pull of Greyhawk is so strong for the true fans of the setting.



Wyrmshadows