D&D (2024) How Does Greyhawk Fit In To The New Edition?

According to Game Informer — “the surprising importance and inclusions of what is arguably the oldest D&D campaign setting of them all – Greyhawk.”

So how does Greyhawk fit in? According to GI, the new 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide contains a sample setting—and that setting is, indeed, Greyhawk. Not only that, but the book will come with a double-sided poster map with the City of Greyhawk on one side and the Flannaes on the other—the eastern part of one of Oerth’s four continents.

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Even as the multiverse of D&D worlds sees increased attention, the Dungeon Master's Guide also offers a more discrete setting to get gaming groups started. After very few official releases in the last couple of decades, the world of Greyhawk takes center stage. The book fleshes out Greyhawk to illustrate how to create campaign settings of your own. Greyhawk was the original D&D game world crafted by D&D co-creator Gary Gygax, and a worthy setting to revisit on the occassion of D&D's golden anniversary. It's a world bristling with classic sword and sorcery concepts, from an intrigue-laden central city to wide tracts of uncharted wilderness. Compared to many D&D campaign settings, it's smaller and less fleshed out, and that's sort of the point; it begs for DMs to make it their own. The book offers ample info to bring Greyhawk to life but leaves much undetailed. For those eager to take the plunge, an included poster map of the Greyhawk setting sets the tone, and its reverse reveals a map of the city of the same name. "A big draw to Greyhawk is it's the origin place for such heroes as Mordenkainen, Tasha, and others," Perkins says. "There's this idea that the players in your campaign can be the next great world-hopping, spell-crafting heroes of D&D. It is the campaign where heroes are born."

- Game Informer​

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[Henadic Theologian]

Why are we getting excited about something that's likely going to be around 10 pages? This isn't like a full Greyhawk campaign setting. It's going to be a section of what's traditionally the most anemic book in the line - put in largely to pander to old-timers who wouldn't have purchased the book without it.

Probably closer to 20 to 30 pages, but its not the actual pages in the DMG that matter, yiur right its bare bones, although the maps are cool, its that it open Greyhawk (and possibly Blackmoore by extension?) To the dmsguild, so folks to do their own Greyhawk products, most of which will be better then anything you'll find in the Greyhark chapter (not including the maps).

 

[jayoungr]

I thought conventional wisdom was that "kids these days" wouldn't go for Greyhawk?

I'm not sure it does for the audience that largely started with the pandemic/rise of Critical Role/Stranger Things era, who were weaned on anime and Avatar and for whom the fantasy game they've played most is Minecraft.

Nightmarish survival horror dungeon crawl vibes are a Gen X thing. I think Gen Z is more about positive upbeat adventures where combat isn't a necessity. (Note that they're facing a good-aligned dragon on the front cover and appear to be riding on its back on the back cover.)

I started with 1E myself, but the majority of the audience is young, with a very different expectation of what fantasy adventures entail.

 

[Parmandur]

Facts. Though iirc the OG folio has no cultural info, or gods for that matter. Given the City of GH is supposedly featured on one side of this map, that place alone could eat up any word count.

A lot of that "cultural info" from the box set would, uh, probsvly not get past a modern sensitivity consultant, let's say. I also don't expect theybwill provide such detail on each nation's troop dispositions.

 

[carmachu]

It’s nice to see. But its been in loving hands of fans who have carried the torch for it for decades. Do not f$&k up the setting WotC

 

[Uni-the-Unicorn!]

Well, I'm not getting excited about spending $50 for a pandering nod to a classic setting.
Let me see the contents of what's covered - see new encounter building rules, magic item economy, etc. That's stuff that I can get excited about.

I would rather have more Grayhawk as a template how to build a world and a magic Academy. That is absolutely useless to me. If we’re talking about just what we want.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I wonder how much we will get, the 40+ kingdoms? The multiple pantheons, the ethnicities, a focus in on one area?

The Free City (probably a mini gazetteer, given the poster map), the immediate surroundings, and short write-ups of power players like Iuz, Selene, the Great Kingdom, the Bandit Kingdoms, the Shield Lands, the Pomarj.

While there are definitely plenty of people who really loved playing in Perrenland or Sunndi or the Yeomanry, let's be honest, the neighborhood around the Free City is extremely gamable as a setting, has a decent amount of material for it (relatively speaking -- it's nothing compared to what the Forgotten Realms has) and has the most famous landmarks and NPCs.

 

[MNblockhead]

Why are we getting excited about something that's likely going to be around 10 pages? This isn't like a full Greyhawk campaign setting. It's going to be a section of what's traditionally the most anemic book in the line - put in largely to pander to old-timers who wouldn't have purchased the book without it.

Because having a fold out map inserted into a hardcover book is grognard catnip. I can't help it. It is an addiction that I picked up at a young age.

Though the new cartographer has some big shoes to fill. The folks most excited about this are likely those of us who fondly (well, okay, have a fanatic love for) the original Darlene map. I may have to avoid any threads discussing it. I can imagine the negativity fans of the original map are going to heap on anything they feel doesn't hold up to the original.

 

[MNblockhead]

View attachment 363050

According to Game Informer — “the surprising importance and inclusions of what is arguably the oldest D&D campaign setting of them all – Greyhawk.”

So how does Greyhawk fit in? According to GI, the Dungeon Master’s Guide contains a sample setting—and that setting is, indeed, Greyhawk. Not only that, but the book will come with a double-sided poster map with the City of Greyhawk on one side and the Flannaes on the other—the eastern part of one of Oerth’s four continents.

​

View attachment 363051​

Even as the multiverse of D&D worlds sees increased attention, the Dungeon Master's Guide also offers a more discrete setting to get gaming groups started. After very few official releases in the last couple of decades, the world of Greyhawk takes center stage. The book fleshes out Greyhawk to illustrate how to create campaign settings of your own. Greyhawk was the original D&D game world crafted by D&D co-creator Gary Gygax, and a worthy setting to revisit on the occassion of D&D's golden anniversary. It's a world bristling with classic sword and sorcery concepts, from an intrigue-laden central city to wide tracts of uncharted wilderness. Compared to many D&D campaign settings, it's smaller and less fleshed out, and that's sort of the point; it begs for DMs to make it their own. The book offers ample info to bring Greyhawk to life but leaves much undetailed. For those eager to take the plunge, an included poster map of the Greyhawk setting sets the tone, and its reverse reveals a map of the city of the same name. "A big draw to Greyhawk is it's the origin place for such heroes as Mordenkainen, Tasha, and others," Perkins says. "There's this idea that the players in your campaign can be the next great world-hopping, spell-crafting heroes of D&D. It is the campaign where heroes are born."

- Game Informer​

​

Wait! So Greyhawk confirmed? Actually? Damn, there goes another another snarky reply I have to retire.

 

[Dire Bare]

Because having a fold out map inserted into a hardcover book is grognard catnip. I can't help it. It is an addiction that I picked up at a young age.

Though the new cartographer has some big shoes to fill. The folks most excited about this are likely those of us who fondly (well, okay, have a fanatic love for) the original Darlene map. I may have to avoid any threads discussing it. I can imagine the negativity fans of the original map are going to heap on anything they feel doesn't hold up to the original.

Grognip?

 

[Parmandur]

I thought conventional wisdom was that "kids these days" wouldn't go for Greyhawk?

Not sure why anyone would assume that. Much older Fantasy properties still appeal to today's youth.