D&D General For the Love of Greyhawk: Why People Still Fight to Preserve Greyhawk

[LordEntrails]

@Snarf Zagyg It certainly is more than nostalgia, and I think your aspects of what has happened with poor previous treatment of the subject is certainly a big part of that. Poor treatment results in broken trust, as you say.

I would enjoy a well done 5E GH. And yes, that would means it would not be another kitchen sink FR. No need for another

 

[DnD Warlord]

For a while WoTC had exactly the guy - Erik Mona. You'd be hard pressed to find a bigger fan of Greyhawk who was also a top game designer.

He was responsible for the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (2000) a supplement I still glance at to this day. He was also responsible for quite a lot of Greyhawk content in Dragon and Dungeon Magazine from 2004-2006 when he was editor in chief (granted it was through Paizo but, at that time WotC got the benefit).

And I just had someone basically say his stuff was nothing more then fan fic filler

 

[DnD Warlord]

Their kids are now often hitting their 20s and are primary players of this game. It's the combination of the older original generation and the youngest new generation which encapsulates a desire for a new Greyhawk. The youngsters have been hearing about it since they started playing from their parents.

I have some bad news for you...

(And me I am old). The people I introduced to 2e in the 90s who got married and had kids have 20 year olds now... and the guy (who I miss) who was playing in college before I was born used to call me kid... I wonder if he would have called these guys kid or grand kid...

if you ran a game in 1985 and you had teen players they could have had kids in the 90s and have grand kids now old enough to play

 

[Cadence]

I have some bad news for you...

(And me I am old). The people I introduced to 2e in the 90s who got married and had kids have 20 year olds now... and the guy (who I miss) who was playing in college before I was born used to call me kid... I wonder if he would have called these guys kid or grand kid...

if you ran a game in 1985 and you had teen players they could have had kids in the 90s and have grand kids now old enough to play

There's a pretty wide age-range out there... I started playing in middle school in 1981 and my son is just starting middle school and is several sessions into playing in his first campaign with friends. There are certainly others my age with grand kids who are getting to the right age.

 

[Helldritch]

I only played Greyhawk in one campaign. It was boring and generic. Even the Realms are pretty generic but I just couldnt get into Greyhawk. There wasnt anything that set it apart as far as rules. At least FR has wild and dead magic for example.

Greyhawk is not for everyone. And it depends a lot on the DM running (ruining?) it. I know that a few young people at the hobby store were saying: "Greyhawk has nothing for us..." And yet, when they watched a few games, they bought the box set on the DM Guild and started to play in it. I gave them my 5ed notes on the world and they have not returned to the realm yet. It's been over 4 years now. If the DM knows the setting well and play it as it was intended to be, Greyhawk is simply a fantastic setting because so much of it is easily adapatable to each individual DM. Of course, this can be said of any other settings, but for some reasons, GH just fits the bill in such an elegant way that it is almost too easy to adapt.

Edit: it's been 4 years, not 7. Big finger stroke the 7 on the key pad... or am I just clumsy?

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I have some bad news for you...

Is the bad news that due to the lack of government mandatedchild-birth ages, people have kids from the ages of 18 (or lower ...) to 45 (or higher) making generalizations difficult?

 

[JiffyPopTart]

Greyhawk is not for everyone. And it depends a lot on the DM running (ruining?) it. I know that a few young people at the hobby store were saying: "Greyhawk has nothing for us..." And yet, when they watched a few games, they bought the box set on the DM Guild and started to play in it. I gave them my 5ed notes on the world and they have not returned to the realm yet. It's been over 7 years now. If the DM knows the setting well and play it as it was intended to be, Greyhawk is simply a fantastic setting because so much of it is easily adapatable to each individual DM. Of course, this can be said of any other settings, but for some reasons, GH just fits the bill in such an elegant way that it is almost too easy to adapt.

I'm still struggling to figure out what exactly in Greyhawk is different that makes it that way versus the Realms? I have seen mention of Sword & Sorcery feel, however when I think of Greyhawk I think of the old 1e adventure modules and those had magic items and magical effects sometimes literally pouring out of the woodwork so I have an altered perspective on it.

 

[DnD Warlord]

I'm still struggling to figure out what exactly in Greyhawk is different that makes it that way versus the Realms? I have seen mention of Sword & Sorcery feel, however when I think of Greyhawk I think of the old 1e adventure modules and those had magic items and magical effects sometimes literally pouring out of the woodwork so I have an altered perspective on it.

My understanding it is “more limited” as it’s selling point.

 

[DnD Warlord]

Is the bad news that due to the lack of government mandatedchild-birth ages, people have kids from the ages of 18 (or lower ...) to 45 (or higher) making generalizations difficult?

The bad news is we got old...

I may not have kids but I know more people (who were playing in 2eeras) have kids in high school or college then have kids in middle school or younger...

Now the fact that half of us don’t have kids at all screws with the idea

 

[Bupp]

I ran campaigns for many, many years using nothing more than the 1983 Boxed Set. I would occasionally mix in bits of From the Ashes, but did not have the Greyhawk Wars happen whole cloth.

I think what makes the 1983 Boxed Set a near perfect setting is what the OP mentioned, it's a collection of writing prompts. Hooks. Just enough to give each DM an idea and fill in the blanks how they see fit.

Greyhawk is not a global setting for epic heroes. Each of the many campaigns I've run in Greyhawk have been regional affairs, even at higher levels. When starting a new campaign, it was quite easy to move the main setting. Fighting cultists in Perrenland? Holding back the orcs of the Pomarj? Fighting the forces of Iuz in the Vesve forest? The rise of Vecna in the City of Greyhawk? All campaigns I've run, some years apart, and all easily set in that simple box.

If we were to see an update to Greyhawk for 5e, I wouldn't want to see any update to the timeline or the world. Give me some subclasses and subraces that are more appropriate to GH. More spells from Bigby, and Tenser and the like. Stats for the Machine of Lum the Mad. Don't add in dragonborn, tieflings, and any other new races, but give a one paragraph write up of suggested ways a DM could add them in. Keep true to what made GH beloved. Give us blank spaces with just enough hooks to inspire.