D&D (2024) Greyhawk Confirmed. Tell Me Why.

[Chaosmancer]

Adam isn't his name. The Monster goes nameless, but he compares himself to Adam

The quote in question is “I ought to be thy Adam; but I am rather the fallen angel”

Ah, true. I've gotten that mixed up with some interpretations of the work.

 

[Chaosmancer]

"These kids are idiots!" -- My freshman high school English teacher. I think R&J is much better appreciated when you come at in from the point of view that these are stupid teenagers doing stupid teenager things.

Agreed

But then I suppose there are a lot of great works of art that are sometimes misinterpreted. How many people play the Police's "Every Breath you Take" at their wedding?

... I am now nervous, because I've never sat down and read the lyrics to that song... and I will probably do so now.

If they're the pinnacle then what's the point of ever writing in that genre again? That would be a terrible thought. I don't know if it's so much about these works being the pinnacle so much as it is these are seminal works whose DNA is still all over the place and we don't even need a black light to see it. (That last sentence made me a little sick.) I imagine we'll get to a point where only scholars and die hard fantasy fans read Tolkien, but it'll probably be a while.

Exactly. And yet we still have people who will state that "Tolkien will outlast all modern fantasy" simply because it has lasted for 100 years. And, due to modern preservation of culture, I'm not saying they are wrong, it certainly won't become lost media, but the mutations grow, the genres shift, and the old is inevitably replaced by the new.

There are many works that people in fantasy declare are the classics that everyone must read, that I have never read. And there are many amazing new works I have deeply connected to, that many of those people have never heard of. Time simply keeps marching.

 

[Nikosandros]

Wait, people listen to the radio still?

I listen to the radio every day.

 

[Chaosmancer]

We can also look at negative influences. Game of Thrones was a big deal...but it crashed and burned, HARD, which may sour a lot of people on the constantly grim-and-gritty realpolitik angle that some of Greyhawk leans into. Superhero media has taken a pretty steadily "grime it up" approach since at least The Dark Knight and possibly earlier, and multiple generations are kinda sick of having "heroes" in name only and "villains" who are often significantly more sympathetic (or, worse, a black-on-black morality where your choices are "serial sex offender and murderer" vs "heartless 'I did what I had to' underground rebel" and anyone who shows a lick of human decency rarely lives to regret that choice, e.g. The Boys.) Nuance is good--and we see that in things like Invincible--but so much of "nuance" has been either ham-fisted or bad-faith over the past two decades.

I strongly agree with this.

There is space for darker, grimmer stories, but while Game of Thrones had shock value in a lot of places, I've met more than a few people who have said they could never get into the series because, in their own words, they hated all the characters for being terrible people.

And I think this does move a little deeper at times. I would have a really, really hard time selling a grim setting to my groups. Maybe a little grey and smutty, but in the end, no one I know WANTS a realpolitik story... because the world sucks. Tap dancing around issues here, but a lot of people in younger generations just flat out don't have any hope for the future getting better, only worse. So, much like how in the 50's with the threat of nuclear war, culture pivoted to the white picket fence and eternally smiling family, a lot of modern culture looks for absurdity, wackiness, or just purely bright and wholesome things. Yes, yes, fight the monster, but save the world and don't become the monster in the process. Or find a way to save some monsters, even if not all of them.

I think Greyhawk can deliver that, I think it can deliver fun and whimsy and even silliness at times, but it does have to be careful since it would be so easy for it to fall down the other path, because people often mistake "Grim" for serious or well-done.

 

[Reynard]

I listen to the radio every day.

My condolences. I can't take DJs or commercials, so Serius XM is well worth the cost.

 

[Micah Sweet]

My condolences. I can't take DJs or commercials, so Serius XM is well worth the cost.

I just listen to podcasts, and my wife's curated music when she's in the car.

 

[Reynard]

I just listen to podcasts, and my wife's curated music when she's in the car.

Podcasts yes, but I find it easier and preferable to just switch to Turbo of Lithium when I need music.

 

[Chaosmancer]

How much diving is considered diving in for character creation in a setting? Does a google or wiki search of a location on a GH map enough or are we talking saying my parents ran a shop in said city and the scarlet brotherhood was shaking them down and I grew tired of it and….go from there.

That'd be good for me. As a DM in that instance, I would also look at the location in a bit more detail, and see if I could find somethings I think you might be interested in. Like "Oh, hey, that city you were talking about has a trade agreement with the giants of this mountain, do you think that affected your character in anyway? It looks like they have a population of domesticated giant bees too."

Not to force you to take on anything, but just to see where your interest is.

 

[Chaosmancer]

Does Steven Universe relate to D&D at all?

eh, it depends.

Steven Universe is (on some levels) about the child of destiny saving the world with a group of warriors. It tackles a lot of themes and powers that could be utilized in a DnD game.

Ancient powerful beings unleashing a corruption curse
Rebellion against a tyranical government
The power of compassion
The burdens and struggles of always helping others.

It isn't a direct correlation, but I could see someone who liked those vibes looking to DnD with a "planning face" so to speak.

 

[Shardstone]

I've decided I cannot accept any version of Greyhawk if it wasn't written by an AI trained exclusively on Gary Gygax's written communications.