D&D 5E Mike Mearls on Settings

[Demetrios1453]

You know, honestly, if it wouldn't cause a complete uproar, WotC should just publish a campaign setting book that features both the Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk in contrasting halves of the book...

 

[Mistwell]

You mean like:
Mondekaenin Magnificent mansion
Leomund's Tiny hut
Tensers Floating disk
Nystul's magic aura
Melf's Acid Arrow
Evard's black tentacles
Bigby's hand

All originally Greyhawk spells from Greyhawk PCs/NPCs.

I've gamed Greyhawk since '83 and still use the 83 Folio as the basis for my campaigns (which are set almost always pre-wars), but also have the Out of the Ashes stuff and 3E guide to draw on if needed. However, I've also run plenty of games in the FR using the '89 Grey Box and a few of the source books (eg Savage Frontier/ the North) with a smattering of info from the 3E campaign guide.

I've enjoyed games in both settings but overall my preference is Greyhawk as I prefer the grittier vibe and political situation it involves-nation state level bickering/ machinations as opposed to a pack of interferring NGOs and less coherent (IMO anyway) history but also because I've more than 30 years of campaigns that have added rich stories to my version of Greyhawk. I've run a couple of campaigns in the past three years acquainting my current group to Greyhawk (currently using elements of PoTA + parts of the original ToEE & the 3E RttToEE) as none of them had ever gamed there before.

I would be happy to simply see some of the earlier works reprinted/updated but they are probably available online anyway. However, modern players probably want more crunch and detail than Gygax's wonderful broad brushstrokes- I don't mean that in a negative way, just times and gamer expectations have changed.

Stormdale

Yeah my campaign takes place in Greyhawk as well. Adventurers have been based mostly out of Sassarine for years now.

And yes I mean spells like those, which did mostly originate in Greyhawk though really it's Jack Vance's Dying Earth novels. I think it might even be possible to have regional or local spells in Greyhawk, as most were invented by a named magic user and have not necessarily spread and been taught outside of that area. Such a campaign setting might have a more robust "Create your own spell" system too.

 

[CapnZapp]

Give us Eberron, Al Qadim, Dark Sun first. Then do Birthright.

FTFY

 

[CapnZapp]

In addition, Greyhawk default is a lot "cleaner". No Tieflings, Dragonborn, Drow, and so on.

I am utterly convinced any new 5e Greyhawk will support everything in the PHB.

The Sage is not interested in having to answer a lot of whining about why Pete can't bring his favorite character which is 100% PHB legit.

 

[CapnZapp]

At the top of the rankings, Eberron, Ravenloft, Dark Sun, Planescape and Forgotten Realms were all about equally popular.

The next tier included Greyhawk, Dragonlance and Spelljammer.

Below these settings there was a sharp drop-off in terms of popularity. Since this is the case, smart money would say that any release they're working on would be drawn from these choices. But whether or not the second-tier picks would have a chance - well, that feels like a guessing game at this point.

Popularity would be a major factor in choosing what gets released, but I'm sure other factors would be in play, too.

Other factors indeed. The numbers that is far more important than what people *want* is what people *use*.

And there is was 50% homebrew, 25% Realms, 25% everything else. If half of the homebrewers are open to using lightly Realms-fluffed content, this means that WotC's choices for setting are:

Realms - capture 50% of the market
anything else - capture nearly zilch of the market

I understand they need and want to expand this, ideally by promoting a second setting that captures a lot of customers that reject the realms. But Greyhawk is not that setting.

Doing a one-off for legacy setting more as a kind of thank you to the fans than as a long-term lineup expansion is another thing. So by the above I don't mean to suggest a Greyhawk or Cerilia book can't happen.

 

[Gradine]

I am utterly convinced any new 5e Greyhawk will support everything in the PHB.

The Sage is not interested in having to answer a lot of whining about why Pete can't bring his favorite character which is 100% PHB legit.

This. Any official 5e Greyhawk campaign guide is going to include some explanation for why Tieflings and Dragonborn are there. That is pretty much inevitable.

 

[Hussar]

My 5E campaign has taken place in multiple settings, and it's honestly very easy to just play the game in the settings you like and not worry so much about the rules.

But I don't know if you can actually achieve what Mearls was talking about....some way to make Greyhawk feel significantly different and unique....without altering the rules or adjusting them in some way. Similar to how Primeval Thule and the 5E Lord of the Rings game have modified 5E rules systems to match their setting. Different classes, modified abilities, scaled magic, etc.

I would expect something at least along those lines. Otherwise, as we've all kind of been saying, it just doesn't seem to be worth it.

To be fair though, the number of actual rule changes in Thule can be listed on about 5 pages, and most of those would deal with the descriptions of the new Backgrounds (called Narratives in PT). Other than some minor equipment changes, a few flavor changes, and the suggestion to exclude paladins and monks (mostly a holdover from 3e mentality since paladins in 5e aren't paragons of virtue and monks have a much broader background), there isn't a whole lot of actual mechanics changes.

My point is, you don't need a book full of crunch to make things different. The mechanics just don't take up that many pages.

-----

Hey, I know how you could differentiate Greyhawk.... WARLORDS EVERYWHERE!!!!!!

 

[CapnZapp]

I could even see elements of the old Birthright setting getting incorporated into a Greyhawk reboot.

Problem is - I don't think this is what old Greyhawk hands want.

I OTOH would love to see the domain system and monster-ruled nations, and I really don't care if they implement it for the Cerilia map or the Greyhawk map

 

[Davelozzi]

I should have clarified that - Drow as PCs and not adversaries. I don't have a problem with Salvatore's favorite son, I just have a problem with how easily he integrates with society at large.

If you want a world where races that would normally be considered "monsters" or at least dire threats to the existence of civilized lands running around, that's great.

If you accept the occasional drow, then you have orcs and I don't know ... friendly vampires running around. That's all part of the "anything goes" feel of FR which is fine. But I want my drow to be the bogeyman, not just another playable race.

I agree here completely. I enjoyed the Drizzt novels as a kid but haven't read any in the past two decades, but from what I remember in the earlier ones, Drizzt did have a lot of difficulty getting accepted everywhere he went and was seen as a bogeyman. Even Alustriel wouldn't let him into Silverymoon. I am not sure when things changed exactly on that score (and am guessing it had something to do with the introduction of Eilistraee), but in fact I am just about to start up my first Realms campaign in almost as long (a run through of Storm King's Thunder, though probably set back in the earlier Realms timeline), and that is exactly what I am going for. My one player that was new to the game suggested a drow after flipping through the PHB totally unaware of their baggage, and I was frankly very surprised to hear that they were even listed in the PHB as a potential player race in the first place. I explained they were bad guys in my game if he didn't want to be chased out of every town and be constantly under attack and suspicion and he wisely went with a green/wood elf instead.

 

[Oofta]

I am utterly convinced any new 5e Greyhawk will support everything in the PHB.

The Sage is not interested in having to answer a lot of whining about why Pete can't bring his favorite character which is 100% PHB legit.

If it's released, I doubt they will mention it one way or another. Or if they do it will be a blurb something along the lines of "Tieflings aren't normally found in Greyhawk so if you do include them this may be how they are treated...".

That's different from having a major well known Drow NPC ranger. They won't attempt to come up with a back story of why dragonborn exist.

That doesn't mean you can't have warforged in your campaign if you want. It's easier to add to a setting than it is to take away.