D&D 5E Greyhawk?

[Agamon]

Anyone know which Ravenloft set that is? It looks like Masque of the Red Death to me, but that could be wishful thinking on my part.

It's the 2nd edition base set.

 

[werecorpse]

As someone who started gaming during 2E, well after Greyhawk heyday, I'd appreciate if a kind soul were to tell why it is such a well-regarded setting. I know the basics, sure, I've read about it online, but I've never really understood what makes the setting tick, what is it that engenders such fan loyalty for what is ultimately a fairly generic sword and sorcery setting? This question isn't meant to be taken confrontationally, but as a sincere query on my part.

If you google "grey in the hawk" you find a note by a greyhawk fan that I agree with about 70% ( it's a bit anti forgotten realms, just ignore that bit) - mostly I like his ideas of what should happen next.

My opinion the most appealing things about Greyhawk are:
1. Nostalgia: not just that I played there but that classic modules are set there, classic spells come from there etc
2. Room to move: not just that the countries are painted in broad strokes, there are lots of countries and power bases in close proximity to explore, some of them have detail, some of them have none. There are not a plethora of novels or supplements clogging up the landscape.
3. No active powerful forces of good: they are either evil or neutral, the PC's really have to do the heavy lifting. The reason they have to defeat the slave lords is because there is no-one else.
4. Some awesome supplements: not all of Greyhawk material is good, some stinks (castle greyhawk, puppets) but some of the stuff is awesome. Plus IMO anytime they kinda made a mess, they fixed it up.

I also like the three ages of published greyhawk:
A: before the war which is an era of adventuring, putting out spot fires, dealing with troubles at the borderlands of civilisation
B: the war and the ashes of the war which is when the lands get plunged into chaos and despair - not by some weird curse but by nations going to war
C: post war recovery when the evil has suffered pushback and the world is trying to figure out a new world order

I could happily play in or run a campaign set in any of these eras.

A long time ambition of mine has been to run a greyhawk campaign starting before the war, running through the war and ending in the new era.

Ahh Greyhawk, I await your return with anticipation

 

[Warunsun]

I would love to see the Elemental Evil adventure path set on the World of Greyhawk. It would also be nice to see another adventure set on Eberron. I thought they did establish that all these adventurers were all going to be shoehorned into the Forgotten Realms however. Since they have more or less scrambled the D&D website it is difficult to find things now.

 

[Parmandur]

I recall some indication that Elemental Evil will be FR; but that could easily be wrong.

 

[Thaumaturge]

More love for GREYHAWK!!!
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And Mystara!

You need to warn us before you post spit-take material. My screen was almost covered in adult beverage.

Thauma-hic-turge.

 

[pemerton]

As someone who started gaming during 2E, well after Greyhawk heyday, I'd appreciate if a kind soul were to tell why it is such a well-regarded setting.

<snip>

what is it that engenders such fan loyalty for what is ultimately a fairly generic sword and sorcery setting?

For me, Greyhawk is a set of maps with geography that is at least superficially plausible, some fairly generic nations/kingdoms stradding the feudal (Furyondy etc) and quasi-Byaznatine (Great Kingdom etc) and west/central-Asian (Baklun and Ket), and a relatively light but nevertheless interesting historical backstory. Plus Iuz and the Horned Society make for pretty straightforward antagonists. And the Scarlet Brotherhood gives you myseterious, sinister martial artists.

Maybe FR has most of that too, but it's not a setting that I'm very familiar with. (And it wasn't published when I got my Greyhawk Gazetteer around 1984.)

Personally I prefer Greyhawk for non-D&D fantasy RPGing - I think its set-up supports political/historical intrigue fairly well, which I think can be better handled using a system with richer skill mechanics and less of an emphasis on combat as the core of confict resolution.

 

[EtherealWatcher]

I would support Greyhawk if they made it but I prefer Forgotten Realms. I also second Ravenloft.

 

[Mercurius]

What I hope WotC plans on doing is a story arc every six months in every major setting, following by a sourcebook a few months later. I doubt it will happen, but...why not?

 

[AntiStateQuixote]

What I hope WotC plans on doing is a story arc every six months in every major setting, following by a sourcebook a few months later. I doubt it will happen, but...why not?

That would be perfect. I would love to see a Greyhawk sourcebook. I'd pick up Ravenloft too. Others . . . not so much, I think. I like my generic quasi-European fantasy.

 

[Ron]

If this was any other company than WotC, I would assume Perkins is hinting a new product specifically tied to Greyhawk. Either a setting book or an adventure path. However, considering how the company have treated the setting in the last ten years, I wouldn't be surprised if he was just researching for some minor thing, such as an online article or a nod in a rule book.

That said, Mike Mearls seems to like Greyhawk and Just after the release of a new edition is the perfect time to revamp a product line in hibernation.