David Howery
Hero
well, yeah, you can leave stuff out and change the rules. I'm generally assuming that the DM and players want the whole enchilada, and my point was that with GH's bare bones presentation, it can be done without a lot of fuss...
D&D General Greyhawk setting material
Depending of what official material you intend to use (convert from prior edition(s)) it is not easily done in any setting be it as vanilla as FR or as inclusive as Eberron. The later is probably the easiest base to take in every aspect of 5E no matter what even Ravnica.
GH's bare bone is not so bare at second glance, there is a timeline, there is lore and history. It is just that the official fluff of greyhawk allows for easier adaption of homebrew, because that was the standard method to design your game as a DM back then.
FR grey box and 2e products from about that time (e.g. ruins of zhentilmyth drannor, undermountain etc. ) which I really like is a similar easy barebone fluffwise. No spellplague no dead gods no sundering, no really complicated worldshaking things which need shoehorning like hell if you were trying to omit these.
Just a vanilla world frameset with loads of different adventure styles. E.g. waterdeep setting does not get up to greyhawk blue box in its depth, but it allows for a good city adventure campaign.
The work I like to do as a DM is to flesh out things, select which parts of official material I can use, what I want to add in, what pregenerated stuff makes my work easier and what I can leave out because it is not to my or my players liking. FR grey box allows for just that. The later stuff not so much.
Hussar
Legend
I have to admit, I really don't get the issue with the Forgotten Realms shaking events. I mean, I just played Storm Kings Thunder and ran Dragon Heist. Both are pretty solidly grounded in Forgotten Realms as far as modules go. Yet neither of those modules mention anything about any Realms shaking events, even though something like Storm Kings Thunder has you traveling all over the Sword Coast.
OTOH, the Time of Troubles gave us Baldur's Gate. Which, by all accounts, has been a rousing success. So, again, where's the problem?
I suppose if I wanted to run these long, drawn out campaigns spanning several years all set in the same setting, I might see the problem, but, 99% of the time, it really doesn't matter. Two years of weekly sessions all set in the Realms and not a single Elminister to be seen.
People blow this stuff way out of proportion.
OTOH, the Time of Troubles gave us Baldur's Gate. Which, by all accounts, has been a rousing success. So, again, where's the problem?
I suppose if I wanted to run these long, drawn out campaigns spanning several years all set in the same setting, I might see the problem, but, 99% of the time, it really doesn't matter. Two years of weekly sessions all set in the Realms and not a single Elminister to be seen.
People blow this stuff way out of proportion.
Yea we sometimes are a bit to fanatic on all this stuff, because we all love the game and some like these elements to be at least manageable with their homebrew adaption. But my personal experience showed me that more often than not players are not very versatile in some lore anyway, sometimes not even if they mastered a campaign in this world themselves but it is so far in the past that they have forgotten stuff already.
Baldur's Gate is cool and I love it and the campaign aka 3 part crpg is the measure for other stuff like this.
Yet, can you imagine how hard it would be and how much player investment it would require to play the Baldurs gate campaign tabletop with one or more players being the offspring of Bhaal, but without knowing the CRPG? I think this would be easiest if all players where Bhaalspawn in such a campaign.
Let us stay a moment, this example is good to demonstrate something else: Were only one char the bhaalspawn he would be the only one at the table getting the goodies aka spell like abilities depending on his actions. A typical modern player not versatile with any of the CRPG would eventually cry that things getting out of balance or the DM being unfair by only giving one char the extra powers.
Only in that some players would know the scenario from the crpg or be very mature and total into teamplay the original scenario would be accepted in a table top game.
Hussar
Legend
Well, speaking for myself, I'm not a Realms guy. Most of the knowledge of the Realms that I have comes from Baldur's Gate. 
As far as having a Bhaalspawn campaign, 1. I think someone already made one, IIRC. But, that could be my faulty memory and 2. considering that the advantages also come with some hefty disadvantages, it could remain balanced if done right.
But, in any case, I managed to play Baldur's Gate without any real Realms knowledge, and my players barely know anything about the Realms and have still played in 2 Realms campaigns.
I think you're right. There's a significant difference between people who view a setting as something to read or something to use in the game. I think it's more the "reading" crowd that gets deeper and deeper into the weeds when it comes to setting details.
It's kinda like reading TVTropes.com. The more you read, the more time gets sucked into the giant black hole.
As far as having a Bhaalspawn campaign, 1. I think someone already made one, IIRC. But, that could be my faulty memory and 2. considering that the advantages also come with some hefty disadvantages, it could remain balanced if done right.But, in any case, I managed to play Baldur's Gate without any real Realms knowledge, and my players barely know anything about the Realms and have still played in 2 Realms campaigns.
I think you're right. There's a significant difference between people who view a setting as something to read or something to use in the game. I think it's more the "reading" crowd that gets deeper and deeper into the weeds when it comes to setting details.
It's kinda like reading TVTropes.com. The more you read, the more time gets sucked into the giant black hole.
Rob Kuntz
Hero
Maybe WotC should approach for me to finish it. I'm game. I've written Mike Mearls about this and other over a year ago, still no reply. Shrug.
Parmandur
Book-Friend
Try hitting them up at Cons, like Gary Con, instead of writing.
Rob Kuntz
Hero
Perhaps I would if I had not been living in France for the past 4 years.
Rob Kuntz
Hero
Hopefully. For once you know everything the world is no longer "fantastical".
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