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'.

 

[TwiceBorn2]

There is nothing in any GH material I'm aware of that connects the Baklun lands and peoples to Siberian traditions.

The nation of Ket (a Baklunish state in GH) might have been influenced in part by the similarly named indigenous peoples of Siberia: Ket people - Wikipedia

That said, I agree that the nation of Ket -- as described in various GH sources -- has a more arabasque or Turkish feel to it (though I could certainly imagine Siberian-influenced indigenous peoples living there, too... again, make the world your own).

 

[Yaarel]

I'm Canadian, and I'm not convinced that this is correct.

You don't think Wegwiur could have been derived from the real life Uyghur (i.e., indigenous peoples of northwestern China)? Uyghurs - Wikipedia

Greyhawk's Wegwiur are ruled by a Tarkhan, and historically, the Uyghur were part of a Khaganate... I know of no indigenous Canadians who had "khans" (whether Tarkhans or others) as rulers or who belonged to a Khanate or Khaganate.

The "fantasy formula" is to take something familiar, and combine it with an element that is unfamiliar. In this case, adding a horse culture to a far north Indigenous nation. Some Indigenous nations in the south developed horse cultures, such as Souix.

The Wegwiur and Chakyik lack any "khan" and seem non-Islamesque in their descriptions. I would assume they are animists, tho the Hunting Land people are more clearly animists.

Inuit are understood to be relatively recent immigrants from Siberia, displacing Dorset during the medieval period, albeit I want to be cautious here about the precise origins.


Baklun (Baklunish Basin) is geographically Siberia, and perhaps there is connection between fantasy Baklun and reallife Baikal, the prominent lake in Siberia north of Mongolia.

There might be connection between the Chakyik, and the Chukotka region of Siberia.

 

[Parmandur]

The Wegwiur and Chakyik lack any "khan" and seem non-Islamesque in their descriptions.

That is incorrect, both groups are Khanates, and st one time were united under a Great Khan in the past. All indications are that theybare Turkish/Mongol style horse-diding herding pastoralists, and they explicitly worship the gods of the Sultanate and Caliphate.

 

[TwiceBorn2]

That is incorrect, both groups are Khanates, and st one time were united under a Great Khan in the past. All indications are that theybare Turkish/Mongol style horse-diding herding pastoralists, and they explicitly worship the gods of the Sultanate and Caliphate.

My point exactly.

Someone seems to be overlooking some things in official sources and overemphasizing others in order to make their "head cannon" the definitive standard of truth that ought to be considered universal in all GH campaigns.

 

[Parmandur]

The Wegwiur and Chakyik lack any "khan" and seem non-Islamesque in their descriptions. I would assume they are animists, tho the Hunting Land people are more clearly animists.

Here are the original descriptions: both Khans are started out elsewhere as multiclassed Illusionist/Fighters, which is an intriguing combo.

 

[Yaarel]

@Parmandur, @TwiceBorn2

Note, "khan" derives from Mongolian, such as Genghis Khan, and isnt necessarily Islamesque.

 

[TwiceBorn2]

Baklun (Baklunish Basin) is geographically Siberia, and perhaps there is connection between fantasy Baklun and reallife Baikal, the prominent lake in Siberia north of Mongolia.

There might be connection between the Chakyik, and the Chukotka region of Siberia.

Perhaps! And I could certainly be convinced that what you're suggesting here might work in my own campaign, too. But nothing's carved in stone... the names and connections are vague (inconsistent?) enough that there's plenty of room for each DM to make of them -- and their respective peoples -- what they will. That remains the beauty of GH as a setting.

 

[Parmandur]

@Parmandur, @TwiceBorn2

Note, "khan" derives from Mongolian, such as Genghis Khan, and isnt necessarily Islamesque.

No, but they do worship the Baklunish gods: the Baklunish are only passing lyrics, cosmetically Islamic-ish themselves, ro be fair. Point is, they are Centeal Asian Steppe Herder types, not Siberian. The inhabitants of the Burneal Forest could be done thst way, they are barely established at all.

 

[Yaarel]

No, but they do worship the Baklunish gods: the Baklunish are only passing lyrics, cosmetically Islamic-ish themselves, ro be fair. Point is, they are Centeal Asian Steppe Herder types, not Siberian. The inhabitants of the Burneal Forest could be done thst way, they are barely established at all.

(Also note, khan/khagan and tarkhan are etymologically unrelated.)

Do Baklunish gods exist in 2024 Greyhawk? Probably the sultan and pasha should be more Islamesque.

Among Chakyik and Weguir, it is Siberia, but does have a Mongolian aspects.

Maybe it is like, what if Genghis Khan invaded Alaska and the Yukon in the far north.

 

[Parmandur]

(Also note, khan/khagan and tarkhan are etymologically unrelated.)

Do Baklunish gods exist in 2024 Greyhawk? Probably the sultan and pasha should be more Islamesque.

Among Chakyik and Weguir, it is Siberia, but does have a Mongolian aspects.

Maybe it is like, what if Genghis Khan invaded Alaska and the Yukon in the far north.

There...really isn't any indication of Siberian aspects? The territory is a Steppe plain, and they are cattle herding horsemen, it's a different scene.