D&D (2024) Greyhawk Confirmed. Tell Me Why.

[Reynard]

It's not a coincidence. It's happening across a lot of current pop media. It is absolutely a current trend. It won't last forever and things go in cycles. There have been many trends and directions in pop media over the decades. This is a current one, without question. The alienation of previous fans of IPs to in theory to obtain a much different current customer base has been the current trend. Although it has met with mostly failures and debatable successes, and I believe is now experiencing so much backlash from new and old customers, it has slowly started to shift. There is a way to maintain and respect long time IP supporters and bring in new customers without the mean spirited alienation. I think for a lot of people, new and old, "expectations subverted" tolerance has been already adequately "subverted". How about we move to, "exceeding expectations" for a change of pace, let's give that a try.

You don't think that the "alienation" is simply a byproduct of fans' own making, being too set in their ways and too nostalgic for the past? You believe there is an active agenda to reduce sales for all of these things?

 

[CleverNickName]

Yeah, they will destroy that great original setting by making it (REDACTED). I really wish they would not have used the Greyhawk setting. From the looks around here, so many whiners and crybabies about it.

Yikes. Welcome to ENWorld! Um, maybe re-read the Terms and Rules?

For one, I think that the world of Greyhawk, and most other older legacy D&D content, hasn't aged well over the last half century and is long overdue for an update. A more socially-aware, culturally relevant update (ahem.) I've been playing D&D since the 80s and I look forward to seeing what they've done here.

And two, most people here have been happy, even enthusiastic, about this news. Sure, there's the usual "WotC can't do anything right" folks, with their usual comments about anything WotC does, but we usually tune them out.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

First note, Gen Zers are starting to age out of the target audience for D&D, Gen Alpha is the upcoming target.

As to Greyhawk...it is perfect. The actual Setting itself, at core, is a 32 page 1E booklet worth of information, which is the ideal size for a chapter in the DMG (we know now that Greyhawk and "how to build out your Setting" is Chapter 9 of the new DMG). It follows all the core assumptions of D&D, everything in the new PHB and MM will fit in without issues.

It is nearly a blank slate, a canvas for a DM and players to develop in play. Forgotten Realms is too detailed for this purpose, Eberron is too quirky, Nerrath is too little detailed.

And Greyhawk is a touchstone to the origins of the hobvy.

Yeah, when you look at the Greyhawk Folio, it's concise enough that you can strip it down a bit more and still be able to present a usable campaign setting in a single chapter. That would be impossible with the level of detail that the Forgotten Realms runs on.

 

[TwoSix]

You don't think that the "alienation" is simply a byproduct of fans' own making, being too set in their ways and too nostalgic for the past? You believe there is an active agenda to reduce sales for all of these things?

It's almost like people have trouble accepting that their preferences are mostly set in their formative years, those preferences are difficult to change once they're set, and that those preferences won't continue to be catered to as they get older and less relevant in the marketplace.

 

[AstroCat]

You don't think that the "alienation" is simply a byproduct of fans' own making, being too set in their ways and too nostalgic for the past? You believe there is an active agenda to reduce sales for all of these things?

Yes I believe there is an active "misguided" agenda to alienate previous fans. The theory was they are not needed, and the "new" fans will be enough to support us. But what has happened is that is not the case, and it has even alienated potential new fans. Extremely small anecdotal example...

Fortnite introduced Star Wars characters into the current season. My son was explaining to me how cool Chewbacca and Han where in the game, etc... I asked him casually if they had any of the newer characters like Rey and Finn, he immediately said and I quote, "Who the hell are they?" And, when I see him with his friends Star Wars as an IP is super far down there interest list, and when it is it's never the Disney sequels. He's 10, and yes he did get called out for the light swearing.

 

[payn]

 

[Reynard]

I've re-thought this whole thing, and I think they should have just gone with threshold and Karameikos like the Immortals intended.

 

[el-remmen]

What D&D really lacks is an islands/archipelago setting.

Look! It is my old homebrew, Aquerra, that I and friends used in games in from 1989 to 2016!


Somehow my entry of it into the setting contest lost out to Eberron.

 

[Charlaquin]

@Belen and @jasper you care to explain what you found funny about my post?

 

[Shardstone]

Yes I believe there is an active "misguided" agenda to alienate previous fans. The theory was they are not needed, and the "new" fans will be enough to support us. But what has happened is that is not the case, and it has even alienated potential new fans. Extremely small anecdotal example...

Fortnite introduced Star Wars characters into the current season. My son was explaining to me how cool Chewbacca and Han where in the game, etc... I asked him casually if they had any of the newer characters like Rey and Finn, he immediately said and I quote, "Who the hell are they?" And, when I see him with his friends Star Wars as an IP is super far down there interest list, and when it is it's never the Disney sequels. He's 10, and yes he did get called out for the light swearing.

That's a really terrible example to draw any conclusion from.