D&D General Melf's Guide to Greyhawk Coming From Luke Gygax & WotC

Dire Bare · 2026-03-20T02:09:26+0000

mamba said:
I do not consider it a rift so much as simply different preferences.

So, now we're nitpicking the use of "rift"? Sheesh.

You're right, Gygaxes haven't been involved with official D&D for quite some time . . . which is part of the "rift", part of Ayoub's point.

Gary was famously ousted back when D&D was published by TSR, Adkinson brought him in as a consultant for 3E, but Gary and WotC drifted apart as well. Luke has worked with WotC as a consultant before, but not for a while, and not so public-facing.

Rift? Folks drifting off in different directions? Let's avoid pedantics, please.

For WotC, this is a way to get some more nostalgia into the new releases. Gygax? Greyhawk? Melf? Of course part of the purpose is marketing and sales, $$. For Luke, this is a chance to be directly involved in the game his father created, and that was a huge part of his childhood. And to further his own interests as a professional in the larger RPG community. All of which is just fine, projects can have multiple purposes.

I'm happy that Luke is getting this opportunity, he's good people. And I'm fine with WotC banking on nostalgia. I'm excited for this project.

Dire Bare · 2026-03-20T02:12:18+0000

bedir than said:
I think your confusion about the rift is that you're thinking of it as a disagreement about rules. But since Luke plays current WotC D&D bringing up OSR is odd. The 'rift' wasn't about rules.

That was me.

OSR sometimes stands for "Old School Rules" but sometimes the "R" stands in for Renaissance or Revival. It's about rules . . . and about the feel, or nostalgia.

Luke is popular with the GaryCon crowd, which is definitely an OSR crowd, regardless if they are playing some B/X clone or 5E.

TerraDave · 2026-03-20T02:14:01+0000

Back to it. Melf, a fighter/mu as so many elfs were, was the replacement character for Otis, and he did create acid arrow and minute meteors in response to in play situations, including the infamous one were fireballs would fill available space.

Maxperson · 2026-03-20T02:15:52+0000

darjr said:
Should have named him 571oca!

As a dwarf maybe it should have been Local 571.

TerraDave · 2026-03-20T02:32:01+0000

Shifting to Dan Ayoub: New book announcements were delayed due to the "transition". Its clear from all the new hires and all this recent outreach that there has been a big one. Implies that maybe some things weren't working...(he uses the phrase "we lost sight of" a few times in terms of explaining various changes).

Anyways, while Ayoub has a video game background, lots of talk about his love of DnD and commitment to the book selling retailers who are the "beating heart" of the game. The seasons, relaunch of encounters, and commitment to (henceforth) announce next years products at Gencon are all meant to better support game stores.

dead · 2026-03-20T02:40:29+0000

What is Luke's work like? I've never read any of his material. eg. the World of Okkorim? Lost City of Gaxmoor?

TerraDave · 2026-03-20T02:51:32+0000

"Modules" is used multiple times. Hints at the return of shorter adventures.

Misanthrope Prime · 2026-03-20T03:32:53+0000

mamba said:
no, you really do not. The Gygaxes were not in charge or even involved with D&D for a long time, there is no need to change that.

There also is no need to keep them out, assuming they are good designers in their own right and this is not just nepotism / benefitting from your family name.

Misanthrope Prime · 2026-03-20T03:38:50+0000

Parmandur said:
Well, I guess we have some idea where some of those UA options may be headed.

I'm actually kinda scratching my head on this, I don't think there are any UA subclasses that really scream "greyhawk" and, tbh, as someone who's never played in it I don't really know how one would make a "greyhawk themed" subclass the same way one might make an FR or Eberron or Dark Sun subclass.

timbannock · 2026-03-20T04:06:49+0000

Misanthrope Prime said:
I'm actually kinda scratching my head on this, I don't think there are any UA subclasses that really scream "greyhawk" and, tbh, as someone who's never played in it I don't really know how one would make a "greyhawk themed" subclass the same way one might make an FR or Eberron or Dark Sun subclass.

The massive volume of prestige classes in 3E (especially in its earlier days) can provide a lot of indicators. A great many were born from 2E kits, various factions, and loads of cultural material from Greyhawk's lore.