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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Urriak Uruk" data-source="post: 8076472" data-attributes="member: 7015558">All right, since you don't know if these influences, I will compare it to something you do seem to have a reference for; the Forgotten Realms, or more specifically the Sword Coast, which has far more influence on D&D 5E than any other region.First, FR is not a setting in decline. It is not currently as enlightened as say the Age of the Netherese Empire, but to say that it is in decline is like saying Italy under the merchant city-states of Venice and Milan in the Renaissance is in decline compared to the Roman Empire. If anything, the cities of Waterdeep, Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter are growing in power and influence.Comparatively, the nations of Greyhawk are strictly stuck in a very much medieval view of the world, while the cities of the Sword Coast are (although with a similar technology level) much more free-minded. The City of Greyhawk is very much the exception to the world, being a more independent-thinking city, much like how Baldur's Gate dreary brutal pessimism is the outlier compared to the rest of the more optimistic Sword Coast.Additionally, the Sword Coast has arranged itself in the powerful Lord's Alliance in an effort to protect itself from the aggressive neighboring Amn, and far-off powers like Thay. If we look at recent history, the alliance has proven to be an effective deterrent; Amn has not made any aggressive action in recent times (even losing some colonies), and Thay's actions have all been thwarted.In comparison, Greyhawk has the Empire of Iuz, ruled by the cambion of the same name. Unlike far-off Thay, Iuz is nearby to the Flaeness kingdoms, and even has nominal partnerships with countries like the Kingdom of Keoland (which is not strictly evil) as the nations operate under a "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" paradigm. Although Iuz has not made any recent invasion, it is believed he is simply biding his time. And this does not even factor the other common threats like the raiding slavers of the Sea Princes, the Orcs of the Pomarj, or the sinister Scarlet Brotherhood.The other major difference is that Forgotten Realms has an expectation that you will make a "good" character. After all, the major characters of the setting are all pretty good. Dr'zzt, Elminster, Laeral Silverhand, Sir Isteval, Minsc... these are all heroes with big roles in the world, with entire series of novels, and are all unambiguously good heroes (though they have other flaws). These heroes all lived, and have a big role in the politics and history of the Sword Coast.But the heroes of Greyhawk are few and far between. The ones that survived aren't the good-aligned ones. The two most famous, Mordenkainen is strictly neutral to an annoying degree, and Tasha (or Iggwilv) is so evil she imprisoned a demon lord and mothered the evil Iuz herself. The various other famous heroes, the Circle of Eight, are repeatedly slaughtered when being outmaneuvered by the forces of evil. Few good aligned characters remain with any influence in the world; the rulers who remain are left to the normal politicking devoid of moral concerns.Now, I'm sure you can read the above and say, "Well, I can adapt a gritty, low-magic, morally-grey world to Forgotten Realms, or Eberron, or even Ravnica if I try." And that's true, you can. You can bring any tone or theme to any campaign setting if you try. But the strength of Greyhawk is that by default, your level 1 PCs are not chosen heroes, but are likely just a group of normal (but skilled) individuals trying to find a way to survive in a world that cares little for the affairs of the peasant life. Now, if the PCs are able to survive long enough, they may just be able to learn and gain enough strength to try and make a positive change in this grim world.And I think that's the difference in FR and GH in a nutshell. In FR, you're largely trying to protect the peace; Waterdeep, Phandalin, most of the Sword Coast (with the notable exception of Baldur's Gate) is a nice place; it deserves to be saved from Tiamat or the Demon Lords. But in GH, it is mostly a terrible place for most people; if you're a good character, you have to go out and change the systemic system of how the world operates to truly make it a decent place.</blockquote>

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