D&D (2024) Greyhawk- New Map, Discussion of Changes

[Parmandur]

I am somewhat agnostic on this one.

I completely agree that they were correct in renaming actual countries to remove barbarian.

On the other hand, barbarian as a fantasy term and a general term is well-entrenched, and as long as it doesn't refer to the entirety of the people, I don't see an issue with it.

It's kind of like Druid. Or Paladin.

In other words, I would not be adverse to it changing, but I'm not particularly adverse to having it stay the same.


Note- I am, of course, always open to changing my mind on this if there is something I am unaware of or missing.

Yeah, I feel that. Part of my problem with Barbarian (and to an extent Monk) is that it frontloads too much implied flavor compared to even Paladin or Druid: rugged pastoralist or cloistered religious life feel like they should be in Background, not Class.

 

[Azzy]

I mean, I definitely made a Beavis kind of chuckle when I read Glorioles.

I never ever made that connection until today. I always pronounced it somewhat like it would be in Spanish... glow-ree-oh-lays.

 

[Yaarel]

Here I enlarged the Greyhawk 2024 map, and overlayed it over the Arneson map.

On the Greyhawk 2024 map, here is the Arn region in detail.

Spoiler: Overlay

For a sense of comparison between the maps, here is the overlay. (I relocated Archus to the coast, and Sul Peshwan to dry land. The purplish dot is where Arneson coordinates would have it. Everything else is in place.) Notice the scale of both maps is roughly the same.

 

[haakon1]

Here is Blackmoor from the 4-panel LG map published in Dragon Magazine.

The “ruins” are of Blackmoor Town.

You can bet a Comeback Inn is somewhere around to dimension hop to Dave’s iteration of Blackmoor though.

Definitely in my campaign, but I will keep it Blackmoor.

 

[haakon1]

Each "town" is less than one mile across.

You know, the City of London is to this day nicknamed “the Square Mile”.

Medieval cities were not sprawling places.

 

[Staffan]

You know, the City of London is to this day nicknamed “the Square Mile”.

Medieval cities were not sprawling places.

There's a difference between the City of London and London. But yes, very few medieval cities were the kind of metropolises we usually see in fantasy.

 

[Yaarel]

I modified the Arn region of the Greyhawk 2024 map, to match the geography of the Blackmoor map by Arneson.

Spoiler: Process

Here is the original Greyhawk 2024 map, the region of Arn.

Here is how the map of Arneson overlaps.

(This Blackmoor map by Bunce uses about the same scale of distance as the Greyhawk map. Likewise, the original Blackmoor map of 1971 by Arneson also uses about this scale.)


Here is how I modify the coastlines of the Greyhawk 2024 map to match the Arneson map.

(Also notice the subtle swampy Firefrost Channel at the location of the "n" in "Arn". It goes into and thru the Black Ice.)


Here is the location of Blackmoor.

Compare how the location of Blackmoor on the west coast of the peninsula is the same on both maps.

Here are a few more towns to get a sense of where the towns are on the Arneson map.

(Notice the Ruin is near Bramwald, on the west side. Maus is on the north tip of the peninsula. The distant Southport is here to help players triangulate the rest of the towns on the Arneson map. The locations are precise. The lair of the Egg of Coot is northwest from Blackmoor. Dantredun is a town on the original Greyhawk map. It exists just beyond the edge of the Arneson map.)

Compare the addition of the towns on both my modification on left and the original Greyhawk map on right.

(Using the original Greyhawk 2024 as-is for the Blackmoor region by Arneson, works great. Even so, some players might prefer the modification for the Arneson geographical tradition.)


Here is the entire Greyhawk map with my modifications and the towns for the Blackmoor map by Arneson. This map is a tribute in honor of Dave Arneson the inventor of Dungeons & Dragons, along with Gary Gygax.

Spoiler: The Map

 

[Parmandur]

Rise from your grave!

So, Beadle & Grimm are releasing a fancy map pack for the DMG, which gives the first full view of the Free City of Greyhawk map:

And also includes a Setting DM screen, that has a panel for the pantheon, one for the calendar, one for the full map again, and I cannot make out the fourth panel but I am sure it is very interesting:

 

[Hussar]

Dats purdy. I don’t buy this kid of thing but that’s really tempting.

 

[Parmandur]

Dats purdy. I don’t buy this kid of thing but that’s really tempting.

Yeah, nit quite $140 tempting (mostly because of the 30 detailed battlemaps of the Asvebture locals in the DMG but still...)