Dungeons & Dragons May Not Come Back to Greyhawk After 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide

Wizards of the Coast does not appear to have future plans for the Greyhawk setting past the 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide. Speaking at a press event earlier this month, Dungeons & Dragons game architect Chris Perkins explained that the inclusion of Greyhawk campaign setting material in the upcoming rulebook was meant to stand on its own. "Basically, we're saying 'Hey DMs, we're giving you Greyhawk as a foundation on which you can build your own setting stuff,'" Perkins said when asked about future Greyhawk setting material. "Whether we get back to Greyhawk or not in some capacity I cannot say, but that's our intention for now. This is the sandbox, it's Greyhawk. Go off and run Greyhawk or Greyhawk-like campaigns with this if you wish. We may not come to this version of Greyhawk for a while because we DMs to own it and play with it. This is not a campaign setting where I think we need to go in and start defining large sections of the world and adding more weight of content that DMs have to sit through in order to feel like they're running a proper Greyhawk campaign."

The 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide includes a campaign setting gazetteer focused on the Greyhawk setting, one of D&D's earliest campaign settings. The use of Greyhawk is intended to be an example for DMs on how to build a full-fledged campaign setting, with an overview of major conflicts and places to explore within the world. New maps of both Oerth and the city of Greyhawk are also included in the rulebook.

However, while it seems like Wizards isn't committing to future Greyhawk campaign setting material, Perkins admitted that the fans still have a say in the matter. "We're not so immutable with our plans that if the fans rose up and said 'Give us something Greyhawk,' that we would say 'No, never,'" Perkins said. "That won't happen."

Perkins also teased the appearance of more campaign settings in the future. "We absolutely will be exploring new D&D worlds and that door is always open," Perkins said.

 

[Parmandur]

It wasn't specified to be a box set, but yes it was the Forgotten Realms, completely confirmed at this point as 2 big setting books for FR books are coming next year, indirectly hinted at by James Wyatt for at least one or both 320 pages.

The OG hint came from Ray Winninger who was a man of his word even if he doesn't work at WotC anymore, hope his name still get included in the credits.

Winninger is credited as a Designer in the new PHB, at any rate.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

I am fine with this. The Greyhawk setting doesnt need more elaboration. It is a minimalist sandbox, and DMs can and should make it ones own. As Perkins wisely notes, "We DMs own it and play with it. This is not a campaign setting where we need to start defining large sections of the world."

Plus, the Greyhawk setting will inherently expand, detail, and evolve, depending on where the players explore, and where the DM plugs in adventures. Every official adventure will recommend locations on Flanaess, and fleshing out a campaign setting via the adventures in it, is exactly how the Greyhawk setting came into existence in the first place.

In the mean time, Greyhawk really is the "default" setting. Any newbie DM who only has the core books, and who doesnt purchase or homebrew a setting, will be referring to the Greyhawk setting.

The use of Greyhawk in this way, for the anniversary edition, is brilliant.

It's makes a weird kind of sense, it's basically the role that 5e tried to put FR into, but for which the setting and Fandom was I'll suited for. This frees FR from trying to do this, instead it gets to go back to what FR does best, deep, deep lore and broad varied setting. GH is just better suited to shouldering the default setting curse then FR.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

Winninger is credited as a Desogner in the new PHB, at any rate.

For a minute I thought Desogner was an alias, then I realized you meant designer. Not that I'm one to take shots over spelling, but I just found it kind of funny.

Glad he's getting a share of the credit, in many ways this new edition was his baby in term of D&D.

 

[MichaelSomething]

Once again, The Powers That Be attempt to eradicate the Greyhawk Wars from history! But we will remember!

 

[MerricB]

It features characters from Greyhawk, but it manages to visit locations all over the multiverse, apart from Greyhawk.

Vecna: Eve of Ruin has a Greyhawk chapter. (The Tomb of Horrors one).

The dungeon is solid. The setting stuff is what you expect from the Wizards that brought you Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen.

 

[Selas]

While I don't expect WotC to publish an Adventure in Greyhawk anytime soon (per the release calendar), I do think they might be coerced...I mean convinced to do so if enough player demand is raised. Although I have never played in the setting before, it does appeal more to me with it's darker tone compared to Forgotten Realms, so I would welcome an adventure in the near future

 

[mamba]

Surely I'm not the only one seeing the irony here and how out of touch Perkins is. Literally the last module they released was grayhawk content. Vecna is greyhawk.

the adventure covered multiple worlds, it was not a GH adventure. I assume whatever other GH adventures they update to 5e will offer locations for other worlds too, just like they did in GoS. I did not take this as ‘there will not be anything using GH material’, to me it is just a ‘we will not have any GH specific setting guide or big adventure book’

 

[Parmandur]

the adventure covered multiple worlds, it was not a GH adventure. I assume whatever other GH adventures they update to 5e will offer locations for other worlds too, just like they did in GoS. I did not take this as ‘there will not be anything using GH material’, to me it is just a ‘we will not have any GH specific setting guide or big adventure book’

Yeah, just making it clear that it is not goijg to be a "line" that is the "default" for the game. One and done sample, references and nods in the future.

 

[mamba]

One thing that occurred to me in light of this info. There has been rumours of a boxed set campaign setting coming early in the lifetime of the new (sub)edition. It was to be “a classic setting” already visited in 5e. Since we can now firmly rule out Greyhawk, it’s clearly Forgotten Realms.

given that FR is getting two books next year, I would not also expect a boxed set for it

 

[Parmandur]

given that FR is getting two books next year, I would not also expect a boxed set for it

My preliminary theory is that the two book setup may have started life as a slipcase and...evolved.