D&D 5E Greyhawk: Pitching the Reboot

[Mind of tempest]

I kind of wonder if the success of Mork Borg points to the general direction WotC might want to take with a rebooted Greyhawk. Obviously toned-down and more mainstream-oriented (and with actual words on pages), but in the same way that I think Planescape was at least in part a reaction to World of Darkness and so on, I think a Greyhawk that was a reaction to Mork Borg might make some sense.

what is a mork borg?

 

[UngainlyTitan]

what is a mork borg?

I don't know but when I see the reference I think Mork from "Mork and Mindy" (Robin Williams) as a Borg

 

[Aldarc]

what is a mork borg?

Butter scraped over too much bread, but with stylish layout.

 

[John R Davis]

I think it's a bit like the Lamentations effect. Everyone thought they should love it's edginess and naughty words, but upon playing realised it wasn't really any different.

I'd like to see a GH reboot/issue

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I don't know but when I see the reference I think Mork from "Mork and Mindy" (Robin Williams) as a Borg

I would pay to see a Borg in the striped shirt and suspenders!!!!!

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Butter scraped over too much bread, but with stylish layout.

That is horrifyingly accurate, and yet Mork Borg is pretty damn popular with a certain part of the TT RPG crowd (basically RPG hipsters, not Twitter people, they're different groups), and the sheer coolness of it is likely getting in some people who were otherwise slightly "Hmmm" about RPGs.

I guess what I'm saying is that having a punk-ish style and a really good layout and really strong visual design, together with a sort of minimalist vibe could potentially work out really well for a rebooted Greyhawk.

Here's Mork Borg: MÖRK BORG — MÖRK BORG CONTENT

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I loved reading this. I'm a geezer and I play Greyhawk (slightly homebrewed) because: a) I know it well and b) think it has true virtues - though it has a lot of funky liabilities as well. One thing that was cool about how Greyhawk evolved in 3e through 3.5e was the fact that players were writing cannon. I suspect the players today are among the smartest and most creative. I think it would fascinating to see a well curated fan based cannon. Greyhawk is distinct and yeah, kinda bleak, VERY political and definitely dated (but hopefully in a charming way). The blatant racism and sexism of the setting should be addressed head-on and compellingly. I don't know about marketing or how to "woo the younguns" but I know that the most obvious point made about quality can't be stressed enough.

I think some of the schmaltz should be kept (like they did in Witcher). There's no question that any reboot will have its detractors. You just can't please all the people all the time.

I think since most of the iconic monsters and many iconic figures spring from Greyhawk, an overarching "grand unification theory" could be amazing (like the Pixar grand unification theory). One that would explain why some of the iconic dungeons are so stupid and non-sensical and trace the origins of great (but under examined) races, e.g., Doppelgängers.

I should mention, if you enjoyed this, that there have been a few prior posts on Greyhawk-

Digressions, Discussions, and Discursions: Snarf's Splendiferous Scrolls

It's been a year, so I'm collecting and sorting my past essays on this thread. Mostly because I realize I was about to start writing something I wrote about last year! There are roughly organized by topic, but not by date. HERE IS THE SECOND PART!!!! (Mostly RPG History, Pop Culture, and Jon...

www.enworld.org

If you go down to entry 5 (Greyhawk Greyhawk Greyhawk) I think that's most of them?

 

[Aldarc]

That is horrifyingly accurate, and yet Mork Borg is pretty damn popular with a certain part of the TT RPG crowd (basically RPG hipsters, not Twitter people, they're different groups), and the sheer coolness of it is likely getting in some people who were otherwise slightly "Hmmm" about RPGs.

I guess what I'm saying is that having a punk-ish style and a really good layout and really strong visual design, together with a sort of minimalist vibe could potentially work out really well for a rebooted Greyhawk.

Here's Mork Borg: MÖRK BORG — MÖRK BORG CONTENT

In general, I find that the style detracts from my engagement with and enjoyment of whatever substance others have assured me is there.