D&D (2024) Check Out The New Dungeon Master's Guide's Greyhawk Map

Greyhawk is the 'sample setting' provided in the 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide, and it is illustrated with a massive hex map by the awesome Mike Schley.

 

[Nikosandros]

I have heard folks praise Sargent's work with From the Ashes, he wasn't joking around at least.

I agree. He wrote a serious product and he put a lot of work into it. The reason I've never adopted it is not because of lack of quality and even less because of Gygax's "vision" (whatever it might have been), but because I made Greyhawk mine and I cared about making my own developments.

 

[Parmandur]

I agree. He wrote a serious product and he put a lot of work into it. The reason I've never adopted it is not because of lack of quality and even less because of Gygax's "vision" (whatever it might have been), but because I made Greyhawk mine and I cared about making my own developments.

Yeah, From the Ashes was published when I was about 6, a full decade before I got into D&D at all and close to 25 years before I got into lookong at pre-3E D&D stuff. I bought the '83 box set from Dndclassics a bit before it became the DMsGuild, but haven't really dug into he post-Gygax yet pre-me era material.

 

[Gord the Rogue]

This is complicated and up to interpretation.

Supposedly, at the time it was published Gary said things implying that Greyhawk now for those who game in it, that any advancement to the setting was under their control.

But nearly immediately Gary’s column in Dragon Magazine (titled From the Sorcerer’s Scroll) he was describing battles and army movements of forces in the setting, and setting up further conflict points. Undeniably advancing beyond the material as published.

Allegedly this was towards advancing development of an armies-related wargaming product that never saw production. Or was shelved in development. This was way back in the early years of Dragon magazine.

Many years later, Greyhawk Wars/From the Ashes essentially takes many of those conflicts described in From the Sorcerer’s Scroll, puts them into canon events, and then more or less takes the angle that the evil or chaos forces ended up winning all of them. Then added a few more to spread the vibe of “bad guys winning” across the whole subcontinent, and that those bad guys had a lot of extraplanar alliances/patrons that sent legions of demons and devils too. There probably isn’t a hex on the map that is safe, danger and threats are ubiquitous and stakes were substantially raised. One complaint was that Greyhawk was now far too dangerous as very high level encounters could be everywhere.

I can’t speak to any intent to be an insult to Gary. Though the Castle Greyhawk adventure would have a much higher claim towards an intentional insult.

This is all second or even third hand info but I had heard at the time that he destroyed Oreth in the Gord novels on purpose, because he hated what they did with "his" setting. Take it with a grain of salt and it was a long, long time ago.

 

[smcc360]

Mike Schley has said that, later this year, it will be possible to buy both printed copies and high-res digital files from him.

Great news! Thank you. Because I don't need the book, but I do want that map.

 

[Voadam]

Though the Castle Greyhawk adventure would have a much higher claim towards an intentional insult.

WG7 Castle Greyhawk takes Gygax's Castle Greyhawk that he promised to publish but never got around to doing so and turns it into a megadungeon of joke/pun levels.

It includes a Mordenkainen goes to Hollywood and becomes obsessed with making a movie level where Gary's character of Mordenkainen stops dealing with Greyhawk and sets up his own area with his new interests. It includes:

Area 4: Mordenkainen’s Office
On the door leading to this chamber is a sign reading “PRIVATE KEEP OUT.” From here Mordenkainen carries on all of his day-to-day operations. The office features a large ivory desk (worth 750 gp), a collection of file cabinets stuffed full of old papers, and the fabled hot tub of relaxation. Mordenkainen himself will be in the hot tub with Fiona, his very special friend, when the PCs enter.

 

[Savnock]

I have heard folks praise Sargent's work with From the Ashes, he wasn't joking around at least.

Late to the party here, but you should definitely, definitely read both From the Ashes and Iuz the Evil.

They are great writing IMO: both the world-level events and the tone and quality of the descriptions themselves. There are also some very interesting plot hooks that never got developed in TSR/WotC material thereafter (though iirc a couple got used in Living Greyhawk adventures).

At the very least they are interesting reading on their own. Sargent was brilliant. RIP.

 

[Jamie_L_B]

First post here (been meaning to sign up since like forever) to chime in on the quality of Sargent's work. I have his books in print and digital, and I've lost count of how many times I've read through them and imagined new plotlines and campaign twists. I'm super intrigued by the idea that they'd reboot to 576.

 

[Parmandur]

First post here (been meaning to sign up since like forever) to chime in on the quality of Sargent's work. I have his books in print and digital, and I've lost count of how many times I've read through them and imagined new plotlines and campaign twists. I'm super intrigued by the idea that they'd reboot to 576.

Probavly mainly so they can fit the whole thing in the DMG, and as a tribute to the 50th anniversary of the game and the work of Gygax.

 

[haakon1]

First post here (been meaning to sign up since like forever)

Welcome!

 

[mikeburke]

WG7 Castle Greyhawk takes Gygax's Castle Greyhawk that he promised to publish but never got around to doing so and turns it into a megadungeon of joke/pun levels.

View attachment 370797

It includes a Mordenkainen goes to Hollywood and becomes obsessed with making a movie level where Gary's character of Mordenkainen stops dealing with Greyhawk and sets up his own area with his new interests. It includes:

Area 4: Mordenkainen’s Office
On the door leading to this chamber is a sign reading “PRIVATE KEEP OUT.” From here Mordenkainen carries on all of his day-to-day operations. The office features a large ivory desk (worth 750 gp), a collection of file cabinets stuffed full of old papers, and the fabled hot tub of relaxation. Mordenkainen himself will be in the hot tub with Fiona, his very special friend, when the PCs enter.

Wow. I’d known this was an anger-inducing module among Gygax loyalists but hadn’t read it. Having listened recently to the “When we were wizards” podcast I recognize a bunch of these references and wonder about the thoughts ( resentments?) going on in Breault‘s (the editor’s) mind. His CV show a love and loyalty to the game.

The conventional take is presumably something like “Lorraine Williams ordered a hatchet job” but I am willing to bet the reality was very different. Not sure if there’s research into what was really going on at the time and how this found the light of day. Just bizarre.