Who is running a 4E Greyhawk campaign?

[Glyfair]

Right now there is a very strong chance that my upcoming 4E campaign will be in Greyhawk (Eberron being my other preference). I am curious about others who choose this route. How are you handling the 4E experience?

For example, how have you explained dragonborn (if at all)? Are you using the 4E cosmology (feywild, shadowfell, etc.) or some combination of classic and 4E? Any other changes or obstacles? Any surprises?

 

[Timeboxer]

Right now there is a very strong chance that my upcoming 4E campaign will be in Greyhawk (Eberron being my other preference). I am curious about others who choose this route. How are you handling the 4E experience?

I've been running in Greyhawk -- I transplanted Keep on the Shadowfell to Veluna, which has been very interesting because I've been suggesting that the theocracy isn't actually as benevolent as it appears. Keep in mind that I'm kind of newish to Greyhawk, but the setting has a strange appeal that I've always been fascinated with. As a result, though, I tend to play kind of fast and loose.

In terms of Dragonborn: I just said that they come from "the West." In my campaign, Dragonborn and worship of Bahamut are generally unknown in the Flanaess, but there has been a small amount of contact; the Dragonborn in my campaign is on a mission that entails going to the East. People are somewhat freaked out by him.

As for cosmology, I love Planescape, so I'm keeping the Great Wheel, but I'm also using the new cosmology simultaneously. Conceptually the way I'm interpreting it is that both of those are models proposed by the sages/Guvners/etc. which are considered somewhat similar to our model of the atom: Everyone knows the model is clearly not actually true, but it's true enough to be useful. Similarly, each cosmology is just one way of interpreting the fundamental unknowables of the multiverse in a useful way (e.g. for transport purposes, ideological mapping purposes, etc.)

My players out:

[sblock]I'm also planing to run Expedition to Castle Greyhawk at some point, but I don't have any immediate ideas on how to convert it or what an appropriate level to run it would be. I gave it a read, though, and it looks really good, so I'm pretty psyched about the idea of running it.[/sblock]

 

[The Grumpy Celt]

Right now there is a very strong chance that my upcoming 4E campaign will be in Greyhawk...

I hope to soon. Maybe Iuz summons all that stuff in as part of some mad scheme for power and conquest.

 

[MerricB]

Right now there is a very strong chance that my upcoming 4E campaign will be in Greyhawk (Eberron being my other preference). I am curious about others who choose this route. How are you handling the 4E experience?

For example, how have you explained dragonborn (if at all)? Are you using the 4E cosmology (feywild, shadowfell, etc.) or some combination of classic and 4E? Any other changes or obstacles? Any surprises?

Dragonborn aren't in my game (yet), but we've had half-dragons before, so they wouldn't be so surprising. The cosmology actually fits Greyhawk better than the Great Wheel, IMO - it's silly, but Greyhawk cared very little about where the demon lords and devil princes lived, just about what they did to the world. And the Demiplane of Shadow was more important.

There are more notes on my livejournal, as I'm converting Castle Zagyg to 4e (amongst a bunch of other gaming trivia).

For the main gods in my Greyhawk City game, I made the following list of divine feat correspondences (I'm not familiar enough with the system to do feat design yet):
Pelor, Good God of Sun, Strength, Light & Healing (Pelor)
St Cuthbert, Lawful Good God of Wisdom, Dedication & Zeal (Corellon)
Zilchus, Unaligned God of Power, Prestige, Influence, Money & Business (Erathis)
Norebo, Unaligned God of Luck, Gambling & Risk (Sehanine)
Fharlanghn, Unaligned God of Horizons, Distance & Travel (Corellon)
Istus, Unaligned God of Fate & Destiny (Ioun)
Boccob, Unaligned God of Magic & Arcane Knowledge (Ioun)
Rao, Lawful Good God of Peace, Reason & Serenity (Erathis)
Trithereon, Good God of Individuality, Liberty & Retribution (Kord)
Beory, Unaligned Goddess - the Oerth Mother (Nature & Rain) (N/A)
Heironeous, Lawful Good God of Chivalry, Honour, Justice & Valour (Bahamut)
Olidamarra, Unaligned God of Music, Revelry, Roguery & Wine (Aramis?)
Pholtus, Lawful GOod God of Light, Resolution & Law (Pelor)
Procan, Unaligned God of Oceans (Melora)
Ulaa, Lawful Good Goddess of Hills, Mountains, Gemstones (Moradin)
Kurell, Unaligned God of Jealousy, Revenge & Thievery. (Sehanine)
Xan-Yae, Unaligned Goddess of Twilight, Shadows, Stealth and Psionics (Corellon)

I the feat I assigned to Olidamarra. Is there a god called Aramis? It was something like that, anyway. So, for Ulaa, the PC could take the feat in the PHB used by Moradin. (In my Greyhawk, there are no separate demihuman pantheons; Ehlonna is goddess of the elves, halflings & gnomes, and Ulaa the goddess of the dwarves and possibly gnomes & some halflings).

Cheers!

 

[mearls]

I'm running a Greyhawk campaign, with various bits and pieces modified to fit my whims. I'm using the 1983 boxed set as the starting point, but changing a fair amount of stuff.

I placed dragonborn as originating from the far south, beyond the Amedio jungle.

Tieflings are from the Horned Society. The name is just far too good a fit for them!

In my Greyhawk, the primary "good guys" form the Sword Alliance, an uneasy military union between Bissel, Veluna, and Furyondy. A few smaller stats, most notably the Highfolk, also support these guys.

Keoland is an unaligned but aggressive state with an eye toward expanding its borders.

Iuz is recently returned from his imprisonment. He conquered the Horned Society and now launches attacks into the Shield Lands. Iuz is tightly aligned with the demon lords of the Abyss.

The Great Kingdom exists pretty much as depicted in the '83 set. Its rulers are devil worshippers.

The Shield Lands are essentially a giant warzone, the primary battlefield between Iuz, the Great Kingdom, and the Alliance.

Ket is a magocracy content to sit behind the Yatils and wait for the rest of the continent to grind itself into an exhausted, bloodied mess.

The City of Greyhawk is in turmoil, as its mighty (if eccentric) protector, Zagyg, has disappeared.

The Scarlet Brotherhood is a secretive order of assassins and monks.

I'm currently running Temple of Elemental Evil, with all of this background as the campaign's foundation.

 

[meomwt]

Mike, that game sounds awesome.

Tieflings in the Horned Society - who'd've thunk it?

Right, now all I need to do is steal the ideas, convert ToEE to my Edition of Choice and I'm good to go!

 

[JohnBiles]

In my 4E Greyhawk, Tieflings are generally the fruit of various past times that the Suel have interbred with demons and devils. In the Greyhawk City / Urnst area, they are generally descended from the Maure. In the Great Kingdom area, lots of Aerdi houses interbred with demons once the house of Naelax took over. (The Horned Society's another source)

Dragonborn come from the west and the south mostly. Some of the Rovers of the Barrens are Dragonborn.


The Keep on the Shadowfell ended up halfway between Greyhawk and Hardby; Thunderspire Labryinth is in the Abbor-Alz.

Some of the 4E gods are worshipped under other names in different places, some of the old Greyhawk gods are now exarch servants of the 4E gods.

I'm running two seperate groups in Greyhawk with different players. One group is about to head to Thunderspire Labryinth; the other one is out near Hommlet, trying to pit slavers and Wastri cultists against each other.

Funniest moment for that group was their visit to the Inn of the Welcome Wench, leading one player to proclaim

"IT'S A MAID CAFE! AAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!"

 

[cangrejoide]

I am currently running the Age of Worms AP in Greyhawk.

I did not use the Dragonborn and have changed the Eladrins to fit the Greyhawk feel.

As for gods I am waiting to see the new divine feats from FRPG to assign them.

 

[Steely Dan]

The Scarlet Brotherhood is a secretive order of assassins and monks.

So, you already have the 4th Ed Assassin and Monk – hand them over!

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

So, you already have the 4th Ed Assassin and Monk – hand them over!

And what kind of leverage do you want to bring against him? He already has the Assassins and Monks, and I am pretty sure he is closer to having Pirates than you, too!

Doesn't leave you any options, right, except maybe begging...