D&D 5E Any story/flavor tweaks you'd like to see?

[Mouseferatu]

It's funny, they really seem, to me, to swap out based on what you're looking at.

If you're looking at the world-shaping uber-magi, Greyhawk's more shades of grey. I'd say the same is true--on average, not remotely 100%--of kingdoms/governments.

FR seems, to me, to have more shades of grey in factions/organizations. Again, on average, not nearly all th time.

But...

Neither of those really defines what the world is like, in D&D, to the same extent as adventure modules and fiction. And in that regard--yet again, in general terms, with the knowledge that there are lots and lots of exceptions--it seems to me that FR is much more "protagonists vs. evil," with Greyhawk a lot more "adventurers exploring."

YMM(aw)V.

 

[mach1.9pants]

^Welcome back Mouse

In opposite of what seems in the other thread I like the term multiverse which, to me, means you have multiple universes which overlap in places (in these 2 universes Lolth is both the same Deity but slaying her in one will not end her in the other cos of, you know, quantum multiverse magic) but are also completely different. So you can have the Elemental Chaos and also the 4 major planes (and their oozy subplanes) etc. So every campaign setting can have it's own planar layout etc, at the same time they all exist and if the DM wants you can visit them all.

 

[the Jester]

I would like to see them truly grasp the differences between Greyhawk and the Realms. Too often, Greyhawk is seen as being just like the Realms, only with different kingdoms, different gods, and easier to pronounce names. But the differences are more subtle. The Realms are highly detailed, Greyhawk has a lot of fill in the blanks. In the Realms, the fantastic is just around the corner, in Greyhawk, the farther away you get from civilization, the weirder things get. There are probably more, but I can't think of them off the top of my head.

I've always thought the best way to summarize the difference is that the FR are a Renaissance setting, while GH is a Dark Ages setting. In the Realms, civilization is on the rise, but in Greyhawk, civilization struggles to survive.

Maybe its just me, but I've always viewed Greyhawk as much more "gray" in morality compared to the Realms. Forgotten Realms is about Heroes fighting Villains, whereas Greyhawk is about adventurer's surviving in a strange fantasy world. If I were going to separate them thematically, I'd make FR more akin to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Greyhawk more Game of Thrones.

Yes. FR is more heroic fantasy, while GH is more sword & sorcery. In the FR, the focus is (very) often on world-shaking threats and preserving the world against blah blah blah. In GH, the focus is often on finding treasure and staying alive.

I've always seen it as kind of the opposite. There's a lot more shades of grey in Forgotten Realms than in Greyhawk. Greyhawk tends to be good-versus-evil, while Forgotten Realms is more like Good-but-has-an-agenda versus good-but-has-a-different-agenda versus evil-but-has-another-agenda versus neutral-but-has-an-agenda-aligned-with-the-second-good-and-the-evil and so on.

That's an interesting take, but it's pretty much completely contrary to my experience.

The FR is dripping with uberpowerful good npcs to the point that a lot of people have a hard time justifying why the big threats haven't already been taken care of. Its rivers run black with good-aligned Drow and secret societies full of good guys. GH, on the other hand, is full of manipulative bastards who want to make sure neither good nor evil grows too strong- and those are the setting's good guys!

Obviously, YMMV (and clearly does!), but I've never heard anyone assert that GH is more black & white than the Realms before, and I absolutely don't see it.

 

[Nebulous]

I want Dark Sun back. 100 or 1000 years later, Brom does the art, and there's a mega-adventure tied in and a miniatures line. EDIT: mega-adventure boxed set.

 

[Abstruse]

That's an interesting take, but it's pretty much completely contrary to my experience.

The FR is dripping with uberpowerful good npcs to the point that a lot of people have a hard time justifying why the big threats haven't already been taken care of. Its rivers run black with good-aligned Drow and secret societies full of good guys. GH, on the other hand, is full of manipulative bastards who want to make sure neither good nor evil grows too strong- and those are the setting's good guys!

Obviously, YMMV (and clearly does!), but I've never heard anyone assert that GH is more black & white than the Realms before, and I absolutely don't see it.

For the record, I'm not saying the original interpretation is wrong. It's just different from mine. That's the joy of fiction, especially in role playing games. We can all have different experiences.

 

[Dausuul]

Neither of those really defines what the world is like, in D&D, to the same extent as adventure modules and fiction. And in that regard--yet again, in general terms, with the knowledge that there are lots and lots of exceptions--it seems to me that FR is much more "protagonists vs. evil," with Greyhawk a lot more "adventurers exploring."

Another way to put it would be that Forgotten Realms is more J.R.R. Tolkien, and Greyhawk is more Robert E. Howard.

 

[the Jester]

For the record, I'm not saying the original interpretation is wrong. It's just different from mine. That's the joy of fiction, especially in role playing games. We can all have different experiences.

Absolutely!