D&D 5E Mike Mearls on Settings

[Mercule]

To clarify, I think you're right about being able to shift the Eberron timeline to capture an urban feel. It would probably end up feeling a lot like the world of Incarnations of Immortality. While I enjoyed those books, I don't think it's a setting that would hold my interest for very long. Using Eberron for it, well, a sledgehammer is a hammer, but you won't get great results to use it for hanging a picture anchor.

Unlike Greyhawk, Eberron actually does have some unique rules. At the very least, there are rules options that are missing from the game (the one UA article didn't really please any existing fans, AFAIK). I think there's a good case for at least doing a SCAG-like book for Eberron/Khorvaire just for that reason.

As for Greyhawk, I think the only real argument for publishing a 5E sourcebook is that there hasn't been anything more than a gazetteer done since 1E. Next year will be 35 years since the red-and-gold box was published. That's probably far enough back that you could practically reprint 80% of the text, update the graphics and a few stats, and have your SCAG book ready to go. Heck, just drop any stat blocks for rulers (quite a few, IIRC) and you might not have anything mechanical to change. Boom! Evergreen source book. For 6E, just order a new cover and change any logo-type graphics and you're good for another print run.

 

[MechaTarrasque]

I am pretty sure they are just talking about a UA article (unless the article gets a lot of love in the survey) as MM specifically mentioned that on twitter, although I am holding out hope for the Big Book of Content.

 

[Mercule]

I am pretty sure they are just talking about a UA article (unless the article gets a lot of love in the survey) as MM specifically mentioned that on twitter, although I am holding out hope for the Big Book of Content.

There is nothing positive that could be done with Greyhawk in a UA-sized article. If that's what he's talking talking about, it should be taken as empirical and absolute evidence that he should stay as far away from the setting as possible.

 

[TwoSix]

Unlike Greyhawk, Eberron actually does have some unique rules. At the very least, there are rules options that are missing from the game (the one UA article didn't really please any existing fans, AFAIK). I think there's a good case for at least doing a SCAG-like book for Eberron/Khorvaire just for that reason.

I'm OK with a SCAG style Eberron book, but I'd still like it to have be primarily new material.

 

[Mercule]

I'm OK with a SCAG style Eberron book, but I'd still like it to have be primarily new material.

I just have no confidence that they could add new material without needing something up. I'm not a From the Ashes fan. Some of the adventures seemed good, though. Maybe just a matter of not advancing the timeline.


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[Staffan]

Unlike Greyhawk, Eberron actually does have some unique rules. At the very least, there are rules options that are missing from the game (the one UA article didn't really please any existing fans, AFAIK). I think there's a good case for at least doing a SCAG-like book for Eberron/Khorvaire just for that reason.

The mechanical stuff you'd need for Eberron are:

1. An artificer class - one that's not just a flavor of wizard, but something that stands on its own. They should be good with buffs, and have a very good ability to solve problems given a little time at the cost of generally not having the needed solutions at hand - essentially, they need to MacGyver some stuff up first.

2. Races: Primarily Changelings, Shifters, and Warforged. Kalashtar would be nice, but Eberron psionics are rather neatly cordoned off into their own corner of the world, so I would be OK with a "These guys exist but they'll show up later" disclaimer.

3. Dragonmarks, implemented in a way where a PC can start with one and with the option, but not the necessity, of it increasing in power at higher levels.

If they get these three things done for Eberron, I'll be fairly happy. There are of course many other things I would like to see - sub-classes for draconic totem barbarians and for various druidic sects; kalashtar, Inspired, and psionics; proper dinosaur mounts for halflings; various Eberron-specific monsters, and so on. But those would be gravy - it's the artificer, the dragonmarks, and the races I primarily need.

 

[Dragonhelm]

With Greyhawk being so close to the Realms, it makes it hard to market and sell Greyhawk. They would be competing properties owned by the same company.

What if Greyhawk was a setting that enhanced the Realms rather than competed?

For example, let's say that Oerth is a sister world to Toril. Or, maybe the Spellplague slapped the Flannaes on the other side of the world from Faerun.

I'm 99% certain this wouldn't sit well, though.

 

[Greg K]

and the 3e PHB itself used Greyhawk deities like Wee Jas, Kord

Well, sort of. Wee Jas and Kor were not among the deities written up by Gygax in Dragon or elsewhere. They were part of the Suel Pantheon and written by Len Lakofka and I was disappointed that they were included when other deities written by Gygax were left out until Complete Divine (which was one of many mediocre supplements put out by WOTC).

 

[Mercule]

What if Greyhawk was a setting that enhanced the Realms rather than competed?

For example, let's say that Oerth is a sister world to Toril. Or, maybe the Spellplague slapped the Flannaes on the other side of the world from Faerun.

I'm 99% certain this wouldn't sit well, though.

I would say you probably shouldn't give your home address to any die hard Greyhawk fans.

About the only way I can see Greyhawk enhancing the Realms would work would be if they anchored everything to Planescape. Then the Realms and Greyhawk are pretty much just two "continents" in a larger setting.



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[Hussar]

There is nothing positive that could be done with Greyhawk in a UA-sized article. If that's what he's talking talking about, it should be taken as empirical and absolute evidence that he should stay as far away from the setting as possible.

Oh, now that I disagree with.

As I've posted a few times in this thread, there are a couple of mechanical changes you could make to the base 5e chassis that would really bring out the Greyhawk feel. And, really, I think those mechanical changes actually wouldn't eat up a whole lot of page count. For example:

• Changing the encounter XP budget rules - probably shifting everything 1 to the left so that difficult becomes normal and deadly becomes difficult.
• a handful of new backgrounds
• a couple of sub-classes

I'm sure there's a couple of other things, but, that should catch a lot of the mechanical side of things.

I mean, heck, I've been reading the articles highlighting the Magic The Gathering settings as D&D settings. Something like that for Greyhawk would be fine.