D&D 5E Mike Mearls on Settings
I'm okay with drow not being a boogeymen. In my eyes it's fairly simple: a lot of things happened in the past 100+ years which gave them opportunity and reason to be more on the surface. And not just the crazy Lolth worshippers from Menzoberranzan, but sensible ones too, just like the Bregan'd'arthe. Actually the more sensible ones might be even more likely to venture to the surface, to build mercantile connections, etc. Not to mention that being a fugitive could have became a viable option for a lot of drow this way. Drizzt might started it, but the spirit is out of the bottle. As they encountered more and more people, they ceased to be a kill-on-sight boogeymen and became a more accepted, if not really trusted race on the whole. What you know and meet on a regular basis, you won't fear, not with the dread of legends and the unknown.
Beleriphon
Totally Awesome Pirate Brain
Its a bit more complicated than that but TL;DR version is that she died, came back, and her followers showed up seeking refuge and they created a shrine within in the city.
Yeah, if you want them as boogeymen,who are utterly evil, known mostly from legends, their magic not really working on the surface for long time and their stuff disintegrating under the sun, because you like that fluff, I won't argue with that!
It's a matter of taste. I personally am liking the more approachable drow. They are people in the end, individuals and an interesting culture. People like to trade, to make connections, etc. Godly intervention/mystical fluff mumbo-jumbo aside I don't think they would remain in total isolation indefinitely. They're still an overwhelmingly evil, demon-goddess worshiping race and most of the drow prefer to remain in the Underdark, that's their element, but I think it's plausible that they'd still want some connection to the surface. You would have a hard time to see the charming merchant you buy the exotic fungi wine you serve in your inn, as a monster. And the merchant will need guide and guards, who might play dice with other caravan guards at the compound, etc, etc.
I totally think a drow character might cause trouble in a more backward village, just as a tiefling, or half-orc, dragonborn, or even elf. In big cities, the watch might keep a close eye on them, just in case. Still, as people see them more and more, they'd grow accustomed to them. And I like that, because I like them as a playable race. That doesn't mean to me that they'd lose their evil-ishness and role as an adversary, just they are becoming not as one-dimensional.
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No. Eilistraee's appearance there led many of her followers to Waterdeep (and they are not being hunted down or killed on sight). Some of her priestesses sought the support of the Harpers to create a glade dedicated to her within the city walls (I guess to strengthen relationships with humans in the wake of their goddess' return, since that has always been one of their goals, and since they also had an underground temple under Waterdeep, with that being one of its purposes)--in the Field Ward more precisely, rather than outside or underground, like they were usually forced to do when trying this with other human or elven communities. They received that support by Remallia Haventree (the Harper representative in Waterdeep, the same character from the Tyranny of Dragons adventures).
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Hussar
Legend
Thinking about it, another way to distinguish Greyhawk from FR is a shift in the encounter xp economy. If you shifted everything basically one step to the left, so that moderate encounters are now considered easy and hard is the new moderate, this would go a long way towards changing how Greyhawk plays at the table. It would make the game considerably more deadly, which goes hand in hand with the more grim and gritty feel of Greyhawk.
Kobold Avenger
Legend
In addition to FR and Greyhawk (and Dragonlance) not being that distinct from each other to the average person, I don't think that Mystara was that distinct either. Between FR, Greyhawk and Mystara, they were the general settings of certain editions or variants of the game system, whatever general elements were introduced to the game they were just dumped into those settings. Kara Tur was originally intended to be in Oerth and the Greyhawk setting, until it was actually placed inside of Forgotten Realms.
I also don't think we can use UA to go by what they might release, since after all they did have that UA on Modern Magic a while back ago, but I highly doubt they'd come up with Urban Arcana (a D20 Modern setting) or whatever Modern day Urban Fantasy setting anytime soon.
I also don't think we can use UA to go by what they might release, since after all they did have that UA on Modern Magic a while back ago, but I highly doubt they'd come up with Urban Arcana (a D20 Modern setting) or whatever Modern day Urban Fantasy setting anytime soon.
TwoSix
Dirty, realism-hating munchkin powergamer
The dance was the Macarena. She earned that temple.
Dragonhelm
Knight of Solamnia
There are a number of folks who believe that the Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk are two similar, though die-hard fans of each setting may disagree.
I think I would add in Mystara to that mix as well. What Mystara has going for it is the Hollow World and the Immortals. While there are skyships, they remind me a lot about Spelljammer. A large part of Mystara reminds me of Greyhawk and the Realms.
I also believe that Spelljammer should have its own setting rather than be a connection to various settings. I'd have Spelljammer be about spacefaring swashbuckling adventures.
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