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'.

 

[pemerton]

Wasn't like Frazurblu a demon lord imprisoned under Castle Greyhawk?

Yes. And Zuggtmoy was imprisoned in the ToEE.

 

[pemerton]

I was checking the Greyhawk map, and if the former Baklunish lands were in/near/around the Dry Steppes... there is potential there. Dragonborn in 4e were desert dwellers, so there is a lot of material to use as inspiration.

See also this:

Greyhawk Adventures has The Pinnacles of Azor'alq. We are told (p 89) that "the Pinnacles are not more than 50 leagues from the mainland, somewhere in the angle of the Dramidj between Ekbir and Zeif" and also that "Whatever else dwells among the pinnacles, it is certain that dragons of all sorts and sizes make their home there, from tiny varieties that sport among the beautiful and unique birds of the forests to huge coiled reptiles."

To me, this is why it makes sense to link Dragonborn to this part of the world.

 

[Senior_WotC_Janitor]

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

I heart Nentir Vale.

 

[Parmandur]

Yeah, I'm thinking having Bael Turath be the capital/main region of the Suel Empire, both name being interchangeable.

And similar idea for Arkhosia under the Baklun dynasty.

A little like Persia or China changed name constantly under each new dynasty.

Easy to do, given how lightly detailed they are.

I really like giving a hard Draconic element to the Baklunish, too, because there is an implied religous difference that isn't drawn out in the original text, but I really like "wow, those guys to the West and Dragons, am I right?" as the difference maker.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Yes. And Zuggtmoy was imprisoned in the ToEE.

See what you can accomplish, high-level Faerun wizards, if you don't spend all your time hooking up with Elminster?

 

[Zardnaar]

It depends on the setting, but the lore offered in the 2024 Players Handbook says, "Tieflings are either born in the Lower Planes, or have fiendish ancestors who originated there.

Since the Players Handbook lore seems officially true for both Greyhawk and Forgotten Realms, any Tieflings in Flanaess are Humanoids who originate from the Astral Plane.

(By the definition of "have fiendish ancestors", Iuz himself might be a Tiefling. The fiendish magic is bound to the "blood", thus transmits to offspring.)



I am unclear why there would be a "wide dispersement" of Tiefling?

There is a community of Tiefling in the city of Greyhawk. That would be a rare local phenomenon.



The recentness and rarity of the Tiefling is intentional, as it explains why earlier descriptions of Greyhawk dont mention it.

Earlier texts do mention Iuz is a "cambion". I am uncertain if in 2024 this means he is a Tiefling.



The demonic Tiefling is rare, but the devilish and lothic ones would be even rarer in Flanaess.

As they originate from the Astral Plane, they might arrive anywhere anytime.



I feel it is more helpful to have had a "faction" summon the demonic Tiefling, rather than demonize an entire culture.


In the case of Tasha, she herself is capable of summoning Tiefling along with Grazzt. Her magically born son Iuz would, with these Tieflings, found a faction that worships him, and presumably worship Grazzt as well.

Cambions a half fiend they're in 5E.

Tieflings originating in Iuz domain is an obvious and organic way to add tieflings.

 

[Hussar]

Wasn't like Frazurblu a demon lord imprisoned under Castle Greyhawk?

Demonic tiefling could be a noticeable presence in Greyhawk simply by exposition to a corrupting demon cyst.

Same with drow tieflings in Erelei Cinlu, with Lolth (and general demonic powers) worship is pretty common.

As for Chtonic tiefling, with all the warring kingdoms in Greyhawk, fiendish mercenaries might be more common than we think, making those tieflings prevalent in war-torn places or raided villages.

Heck, there is a direct portal to Zuttgmoy's realm in the Hool Marsh near Saltmarsh. Not a big stretch to see some Tieflings there. Never minding how long was the Temple of Elemental Evil in operation? Years, if not decades. That right there is a great source of Tieflings.

Tieflings in Greyhawk are not a stretch by any means.

 

[Parmandur]

Heck, there is a direct portal to Zuttgmoy's realm in the Hool Marsh near Saltmarsh. Not a big stretch to see some Tieflings there. Never minding how long was the Temple of Elemental Evil in operation? Years, if not decades. That right there is a great source of Tieflings.

Tieflings in Greyhawk are not a stretch by any means.

To the extent that...they might not excite much comment from people most places.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

I wonder if they're going to also reference Vecna or keep on pretending he's a Forgotten Realms iconic character whose mom was an exiled necromancer. In Greyhawk, he was a Flan emperor that rose up from being an "untouchable" nobody.

Vecna has not had anything to do with FR in his 5e appearances.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

Because the Tiefling come from the Astral Plane, they can show up in Greyhawk anywhere anytime. They dont need a civilization that is native to planet Oerth.

Indeed, they seem most likely to show up to assist individuals who are actively combating Fiends.

Tieflings do not come from the Astral Plane. They are descended from mortal’s who have bred with fiends or worked closely with fiendish magic. For example Iuz is a cambion a half fiend, so his children would be Tieflings.