D&D General Did Greyhawk/Oerth exist in 4e canon?

[James Gasik]

There were public play seasons devoted to the Ghost Tower of Inverness and Evard (of Black Tentacles fame), as well as Beyond the Crystal Cave.

The Chaos Scar adventure path had some clear references to Keep on the Borderlands, though I'm less clear on if there was a direct link or not, as to my knowledge it was unfinished.

Greyhawk was never front and center in 4e, but apparently WotC was trying to delve into the past, if for no other reason than harness nostalgia.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Greyhawk did not exist in any version of D&D, on account of being fictional. There was not much Greyhawk stuff realised during 4e on account of it being a relatively short lived edition and Greyhawk not being the most commercial setting. But there was no attempt to erase Greyhawk, you could use it for 4e just as well as any other edition.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

There were public play seasons devoted to the Ghost Tower of Inverness and Evard (of Black Tentacles fame), as well as Beyond the Crystal Cave.

The Chaos Scar adventure path had some clear references to Keep on the Borderlands, though I'm less clear on if there was a direct link or not, as to my knowledge it was unfinished.

Greyhawk was never front and center in 4e, but apparently WotC was trying to delve into the past, if for no other reason than harness nostalgia.

I think it's a bit uncharitable to leave it at "if for no other reason than to harness nostalgia." In several cases, Greyhawk elements were used as the starting point to tell new stories, or as a core setting conceit to build on themes sincerely added from the Greyhawk milieu. For example, AFAIK, the 4e Kord is pretty much identical in personality and behavior to the Greyhawk Kord, and his presence adds both a fly in the ointment for the otherwise "goody two shoes" deities he bunks with, and a clear case of how someone can be generally neutral but still morally upstanding (since Kord is genuinely convinced to betray his mother and fight against her evil conquest of the world specifically because he realizes how much damage that war is causing to mere mortals caught in the crossfire.)

The adventure adaptations were, I admit, probably at least in part expecting to benefit from nostalgia, but I very much doubt nostalgia was the only reason, or we'd have seen quite a few more of them. They seem to have been genuine homage, recognition of Greyhawk's historical importance.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Wondering the same for the Against the Giants update.

The 4e version doesn't specifically call out Greyhawk, but I doubt that the original does either, seeing as it isn't set anywhere near the city. Nor does it say anything at all about the Nentir Vale. The only thing that the 4e Steading of the Hill Giant Chief says regarding setting is this: "The hill giant steading is located among the secluded foothills of the Crystalmist Mountains. Feel free to change the steading’s location and the name of the mountain range to better serve the needs of your home campaign. Suffice to say, the steading is close enough to the civilized lands to be a source of great concern."

The Tales from the Yawning Portal 5e version has a sidebar on placing it in various worlds, of which Greyhawk is only one, and the Crystalmist mountains are listed only as one option of a few ranges. I'd say that the 4e one is at least as much "set in Greyhawk" as the 5e one, if not moreso.

 

[James Gasik]

I think it's a bit uncharitable to leave it at "if for no other reason than to harness nostalgia." In several cases, Greyhawk elements were used as the starting point to tell new stories, or as a core setting conceit to build on themes sincerely added from the Greyhawk milieu. For example, AFAIK, the 4e Kord is pretty much identical in personality and behavior to the Greyhawk Kord, and his presence adds both a fly in the ointment for the otherwise "goody two shoes" deities he bunks with, and a clear case of how someone can be generally neutral but still morally upstanding (since Kord is genuinely convinced to betray his mother and fight against her evil conquest of the world specifically because he realizes how much damage that war is causing to mere mortals caught in the crossfire.)

The adventure adaptations were, I admit, probably at least in part expecting to benefit from nostalgia, but I very much doubt nostalgia was the only reason, or we'd have seen quite a few more of them. They seem to have been genuine homage, recognition of Greyhawk's historical importance.

Perhaps you're right- I don't know, I wasn't there when these products were created. The Inverness adventure for example has very little to do with the Ghost Tower module- you visit the ruins of the Tower in it, but things veer off in a different direction.

Maybe it was done to "test the waters" and see if there was a market for Greyhawk in that era. Or maybe it was simply some "easter eggs" for older fans- at least in my area, very few people got the references.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

None of those adventures have much to do with Greyhawk (not even the original Ghost Tower). They are generic D&D adventures that happened to be located in Greyhawk because that was the only official setting at the time.

The put them out because it is less work to refurbish old stuff than create new stuff from scratch.

I would describe WotC’s attitude to Greyhawk as “indifferent” unto they thought of something useful to do with it (world building exemplar material).

 

[Parmandur]

You guys are wrong. There was other 4e Greyhawk stuff. Among other things, there was the entirety of Against the Giants in Dungeon (and Perkins wrote an extra chapter for the Stone Giants). Several other classic adventures came out for special game days.

But was thst in Greyhawk, or repurchased for the Nentir Vale world?

 

[Parmandur]

Kinda hard to, when the current edition is clearly following that policy in practice. Better to just accept it.

I mean, canon is just something to help WotC with selling the brand and the game: theyvchabge it as theyvsee fit to do that

Thing is, that's all ot ever was or could be, so at least the philosophy Perkins laid oit as thrybstsrted the DMG process is open and clear.

 

[Parmandur]

I would describe WotC’s attitude to Greyhawk as “indifferent” unto they thought of something useful to do with it (world building exemplar material).

If you watch the Greyhawk preview videoz it is clear that Wyatt and Peekins have real fondness for Greyhawk. But commercially, hard to make a case for it over and against the Forgotten Realms.

 

[Clint_L]

If you watch the Greyhawk preview videoz it is clear that Wyatt and Peekins have real fondness for Greyhawk. But commercially, hard to make a case for it over and against the Forgotten Realms.

Yeah, until the 50th anniversary provided a serendipitous way to kill two birds with one stone: celebrate a beloved setting synonymous with the game’s origin, and offer an exemplar setting for the new DMG. I think it was a wonderful choice, and am pleased as punch that Gygax’s OG setting will be a part of D&D’s core going forward. Then Faerun can remain as the default setting for most published adventures. It’s a win-win!