D&D 5E (2024) WotC Should Make 5.5E Specific Setting

[billd91]

Considering what we now know about EGG’s willingness to use the rules and setting to enforce his personal ideas about fantasy archetypes, and his preference for pulp sword and sorcery, it is not surprising that Greyhawk did not have much room for Gnomes and Halflings. I seem to remember some mention of Gnomes from the Kron Hills joining other races and realms in battle against the Temple of Elemental Evil, but I do not remember much at all about Halfling forces or settlements.

Well, hold on there. Halfling and gnome-ruled polities may not be around in the Greyhawk material, but that doesn't mean there's no room in Gygax's Greyhawk. If you look at the setting as published in the 1983 boxed set, when the various polities refer to demihumans in significant numbers to call out specific varieties, halflings and gnomes come up a lot and spread widely. They may not be the high and mighty NPCs, but there's plenty of room for their involvement, their presence in the background, and halfling/gnome PCs to come from just about anywhere.

 

[Parmandur]

Well, hold on there. Halfling and gnome-ruled polities may not be around in the Greyhawk material, but that doesn't mean there's no room in Gygax's Greyhawk. If you look at the setting as published in the 1983 boxed set, when the various polities refer to demihumans in significant numbers to call out specific varieties, halflings and gnomes come up a lot and spread widely. They may not be the high and mighty NPCs, but there's plenty of room for their involvement, their presence in the background, and halfling/gnome PCs to come from just about anywhere.

For sure, but it is pretty easy to slide Dragonborn, Aasamir, Tieflings, and Goliaths in there alongside them. There are already dragons, giants, fiends, and celwstials ar work.

 

[Flying Toaster]

Well, hold on there. Halfling and gnome-ruled polities may not be around in the Greyhawk material, but that doesn't mean there's no room in Gygax's Greyhawk. If you look at the setting as published in the 1983 boxed set, when the various polities refer to demihumans in significant numbers to call out specific varieties, halflings and gnomes come up a lot and spread widely. They may not be the high and mighty NPCs, but there's plenty of room for their involvement, their presence in the background, and halfling/gnome PCs to come from just about anywhere.

I do remember the 1983 boxed set having demographic data listing the populations of different races in various regions. There were a fair number of non-human populations scattered around, but not many realms on the map. I never really saw it as a big problem for players making non-human PCs, because their character could come from any number of settlements that do not appear on the continental-scale Greyhawk map.

 

[Yaarel]

Regarding 1e Greyhawk, is there an easy way to identify where Dragons and Giants are most populous in Flanaess?

A heat map would be great.

 

[Parmandur]

Regarding 1e Greyhawk, is there an easy way to identify where Dragons and Giants are most populous in Flanaess?

A heat map would be great.

So, a major portion of the world building in the Greyhawk boxed set uses random encounter tables set by nation or geographical region to establish what can be expected where (and triangles show where a lot of Gnomes, Dwarves, and Halflinfs are), but even these are meant to be supplemental to the DMG standard random tables. Interestingly, no mention of Dragons in the Greyhawk specific tables I could find, bit see below for the Giant hotspots (there were a few other smaller mentions, but these were big):

 

[Minigiant]

I do remember the 1983 boxed set having demographic data listing the populations of different races in various regions. There were a fair number of non-human populations scattered around, but not many realms on the map. I never really saw it as a big problem for players making non-human PCs, because their character could come from any number of settlements that do not appear on the continental-scale Greyhawk map.

I think the issue was not that players couldn't describe where they are from but that players couldn't tie their race or class into their roleplay because their nonstandard race or class has little to no impact on the history or diplomacy of the roleplay.

You would only have regional tire by default. Anything else would have to be made up by you and thus forcing you to hope your DM allows you to spawn an Orc Princedom or Warlock Cult. Many DMs don't like collaborative world building of that level.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

I have got an idea, close to Duskmourn. A fear-eater fiend is summoned but their domain is limited, only the underground zones and certain megalopolis. The good new is to escape is relatively easy, but the bad is some times you have to return, to travel other place, or you need special treasures, or a zone has to be cleaned before to become an infernal rift what send you hordes of fiends to your region. We could say it is like Duskmourn but with rest zones.

A setting with factions is Planescape and I am happy with the return of the Gatetowns. Ravenloft is a "too small" space for intrigues among several supernatural factions. Maybe an alternate timeline of New Capena where other megacities could survive.

Other idea is a setting inspired into the new weird fiction, like those videogames where you fight against "anomalies". We only have to add dragons with some weird touch.

 

[Yaarel]

@Parmandur, that was helpful.

I will probably have the Jotens mountainrange in SE Flannaess be the homeland of the Goliath, because of the proximity of both Fire Giants (Hellfurnaces) and Frost Giants (Crystalmist) along with Stone and Hill. I am guessing Storm Giants are nearby in Jeklea Bay (which seems hurricane areas with islands called "Flotsam and Jetsam". The Goliaths seem to have extended from there across the subcontinent of Flanaess before the arrival of Humans.

Now to think about Dragonborn. There is actually a place in planet Oerth called "Dragon Island", said to be ruled by a "dragon prince", according to the quasi-official world map in Dragon magazine. I wonder if there is a suitable place in Flanaess. The place makes most sense if all Metallic and Chromatic ancestors can be found nearby.

 

[Parmandur]

@Parmandur, that was helpful.

I will probably have the Jotens mountainrange in SE Flannaess be the homeland of the Goliath, because of the proximity of both Fire Giants (Hellfurnaces) and Frost Giants (Crystalmist) along with Stone and Hill. I am guessing Storm Giants are nearby in Jeklea Bay (which seems hurricane areas with islands called "Flotsam and Jetsam". The Goliaths seem to have extended from there across the subcontinent of Flanaess before the arrival of Humans.

Now to think about Dragonborn. There is actually a place in planet Oerth called "Dragon Island", said to be ruled by a "dragon prince", according to the quasi-official world map in Dragon magazine. I wonder if there is a suitable place in Flanaess. The place makes most sense if all Metallic and Chromatic ancestors can be found nearby.

There is a dragon empire to the West, according to some versions, so a diaspora of small Dragonborn communities and rare individuals from beyond the Flannaes seems reasonable, or from anywhere frankly, there is no shortage of Dragons.

Did a little bit of rabbit hole deep dive in my secondhand copy of the qW DMG, some interesting procedural world building information from Appendix C, that would apply to Greyhawk per the tables in the box set:

 

[Minigiant]

A setting with factions is Planescape and I am happy with the return of the Gatetowns. Ravenloft is a "too small" space for intrigues among several supernatural factions. Maybe an alternate timeline of New Capena where other megacities could survive

Planescape has too many independent factions.

I think GOT and MTG got it right. 5 factions is right. Especially when the PCs have at least 3 viable options to ally with and 1 outright villainous faction that they'd fight against if not selfish.

The Good, the Bad, the Ugly, the Technically Right, and the Other.