Greyhawk Elevator Pitch?

[ninjayeti]

I'd say Greyhawk is the In-N-Out Burger to FR's McDonald's: their both just selling cheeseburgers and fries, but lots of people will swear one does it much better than the other.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I would say Greyhawk is the equivalent of buying an uncooked pattie, some cheese slices and a bread roll and making your own burgers at home.

 

[Radaceus]

I'd say Greyhawk is the equivalent of McDonalds (i.e., FR owners) buying In and Out Burgers and stripping what IP they could from it and reskinning the end product as their own, shelving the rest, and 30 years into the future all burgers are McDonalds burgers, In and Out burgers have no canon to bring forth to the fight.

 

[Azzy]

I would say Greyhawk is the equivalent of buying an uncooked pattie, some cheese slices and a bread roll and making your own burgers at home.

Yeah, I agree--the end result is better than what you'd get at a fast food joint.

 

[gyor]

See, this is a prime example of the Forgotten Realms trying to subsume Greyawk! You can't even have a thread about Greyhawk without the discussion shifting to the Forgotten Realms.

Maybe they, should just make Greyhawk about of the Forgotten Realms. They already share more then any two other none metasettings (Planescape and Spelljammer being metasettings).

 

[Aldarc]

Maybe they, should just make Greyhawk about of the Forgotten Realms.

No.

 

[Azzy]

Maybe they, should just make Greyhawk about of the Forgotten Realms. They already share more then any two other none metasettings (Planescape and Spelljammer being metasettings).

That idea should die in a fire.

 

[Psyzhran2357]

All I'm seeing right now is a big argument about the merits of Sunbeam vs Wonder Bread,

Maybe they, should just make Greyhawk about of the Forgotten Realms. They already share more then any two other none metasettings (Planescape and Spelljammer being metasettings).

If it helps bring back Spelljammer, then yes please.

 

[Urriak]

I'm new to the forum so don't judge me too harshly, but here's my impression of what is compelling about Greyhawk compared to other settings...

Forgotten Realms is the default setting partly because it's the place where things never truly get screwed up beyond repair. Yes Tiamat almost returns and Acerarak almost creates a Death God, but the BBEGs are always foiled, peace returns to the Sword Coast, all thanks to our intrepid heroes (and the lore literally has some strong as hell good characters like Elminster and Drizzt played up). That's a pretty good setting for it's own uses, especially as an introduction for new players.

But Greyhawk isn't that. I won't say it's truly as grimdark as Warhammer Fantasy (where everything is on the verge of total annihilation) or Dark Sun (where everything is already screwed up beyond repair), but it is in this zone where there are good guys, but there are way more bad guys, and even the good guys often make morally dubious decisions to survive. In that way, it feels a lot more real than the "Everything will work out" of FR and the "We are already totally screwed" of Dark Sun.

And in that way, it makes the antagonists (Iuz, Yggwilv, Kyuss, Vecna, and Rary) way more interesting because they linger between "can win, but can also lose." The villains in FR never truly feel threatening because you feel someone's going to beat them. The villains in Dark Sun are threatening but have mostly already won. The villains in Greyhawk haven't yet won, but it feels like they can. I haven't watched Critical Role but that to me is a big reason why Vecna is one of their BBEG.

Anyway that's my pitch. Feels more realistic, feels more threatening, and there's a lot of room for customization of setting and character.

 

[Saracenus]

The World of Greyhawk is a collection humano-centric faux-Medieval European civilizations surrounded and beset by fantastic creatures, magic, and ancient dungeons. It is the blueprint on which many a subsequent published campaign was built or it was spurned in attempt to do something "different."

Truth is, Greyhawk has had many incarnations and authors in its publication history. Each brought a different point of view to Greyhawk.

I think the most important thing is found in the Forward of the World of Greyhawk box set from 1983...



Greyhawk is what you make of it.

Is it a composite of Gygax's Appendix N from the 1st Edition DMG al la the Folio and Box set?
Is it the war-torn and grim-dark world of Carl Sargent's From The Ashes?
Is it the reconciling "Silver Age" of Greyhawk during the Anne Brown/Roger Moore/Sean K. Reynolds era?
Is it the sprawling Living Greyhawk shared world Organized Play brought us on the heels of Brown/Moore/Reynolds?

Or is it your interpretation of one or more of these possible Greyhawks?

You decide.