D&D (2024) WotC Invites You To Explore the World of Greyhawk

This week a new D&D Dungeon Master's Guide preview video was released. This one features the sample setting chapter in the book, which showcases the World of Greyhawk.

One of the earliest campaign settings, and created by D&D co-founder Gary Gygax, Greyhawk dates back to the early 1970s in Gygax's home games, receiving a short official setting book in 1980. Gyeyhawk was selected as the example setting because it is able to hit all the key notes of D&D while being concise and short. The setting has been largely absent from D&D--aside from a few shorter adventures--since 2008. Some key points from the video--

• Greyhawk deliberately leaves a lot for the DM to fill in, with a 30-page chapter.
• Greyhawk created many of the tropes of D&D, and feels very 'straight down the fairway' D&D.
• This is the world where many iconic D&D magic items, NPCs, etc. came from--Mordenkainen, Bigby, Tasha, Otiluke and so on.
• The DMG starts with the City of Greyhawk and its surroundings in some detail, and gets more vague as you get farther away.
• The city is an example of a 'campaign hub'.
• The sample adventures in Chapter 4 of the DMG are set there or nearby.
• The map is an updated version, mainly faithful to the original with some tweaks.
• The map has some added locations key to D&D's history--such as White Plume Mountain, the Tomb of Horrors, Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth, Ghost Tower of Inverness.
• There's a map of the city, descriptions of places characters might visit--magic item shop, library, 3 taverns, temples, etc.
• The setting takes 'a few liberties while remaining faithful to the spirit of the setting'--it has been contemporized to make it resonate in all D&D campaigns with a balance of NPCs who showcase the diversity of D&D worlds.
• The backgrounds in the Player's Handbook map to locations in the city.
• Most areas in the setting have a name and brief description.
• They focus on three 'iconic' D&D/Greyhawk conflicts such as the Elemental Evil, a classic faceless adversary; Iuz the evil cambion demigod; and dragons.
• There's a list of gods, rulers, and 'big bads'.

 

[Parmandur]

If only they do the same with the species, I will be more optimistic. I know DMs, specially old school DMs, to wish species roles to be specifically mentioned in the rules.

Probably won't talk about it explicitly, but we already see Dragonborn, Tieflings, and Goliaths in Greyhawk itself.

 

[Azzy]

If only they'd published the Gazetteer of Nentir Vale. Thanks for your History of Nentir Vale.

While I have no interest in it, myself, I do hope that they do get around to publishing a Nentir Vale setting guide.

 

[Parmandur]

While I have no interest in it, myself, I do hope that they do get around to publishing a Nentir Vale setting guide.

How's this for a pitch:

A Campaign book, with Level 1-5 Adventures focused around Fallcrest in the Nentir Vale, with a gazateer for the area and the world similar to Shadow of the Dragon Queen or Ghoats of Saltmsrsh...but for higher level, it transitions to the nearby Elsir Vale for a 5E rendition of The Red Hand of Doom (both one of the perennial bestsellers on DMsGuild overall, but also one of the few wirh the "Nentir Vale" Setting tag).

 

[Zeromaru X]

Probably won't talk about it explicitly, but we already see Dragonborn, Tieflings, and Goliaths in Greyhawk itself.

Where?

 

[Imaro]

Yes and no. It started as you said, a piece of land to plug into whatever place you wanted in your campaign. However, as 4th edition advanced, the Nentir Vale started to grown into its own setting, with its own lore and stuff (though, it shares a lot of places with Greyhawk and Mystara). The only thing is that this lore was never compiled into a single product.

Yep agree though my impression was that the lore was scattered all over the product line. That said, my main point was that as presented in the 4e DMG... it wasn't a complete setting as some people are claiming.

 

[Azzy]

Where?

I presume they mean in Ghost of Saltmarsh.

 

[Parmandur]

Where?

The photos were in one of the first post for this thread, including the Inn in Greyhawk.

 

[Parmandur]

I presume they mean in Ghost of Saltmarsh.

Well, that, too, but the Greyhawk specific art for this new DMG has all these Species present, and the descriptions from the B&G Map Pack Hreyhawk screen include Dragonborn NPCs and such.

 

[Azzy]

Well, that, too, but the Greyhawk specific art for this new DMG has all these Species present, and the descriptions from the B&G Map Pack Hreyhawk screen include Dragonborn NPCs and such.

Oh, cool.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

I think that the species allowed will be more pitched a dial that a dm use set to what they want, X races have a history in the setting, but if you want more, here is a suggest...