One source for Greyhawk - which one?

[diaglo]

I'm getting ready to start a 4E campaign and am contemplating using Greyhawk (thanks to Mearls' Return to the Moathouse adventure). If I do this, I want to keep the word's background relatively simple. So, I only want to use one main source for the world's "canon."

I have much of the Greyhawk material. I have the original set, the 90's Moore set,the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, the City of Greyhawk set, etc. Anything I am missing I certainly can download from Paizo, etc. However, I know I will have players with a limited knowledge of the world, and I want to keep the "canon" details limited.

So, which single source* would you recommend.

* A single source can be multiple products closely related, such as the Roger Moore DM/Player's Guide to Greyhawk.

Supplement I Greyhawk (1975)

 

[rounser]

double post

 

[rounser]

Whatever you choose, to supplement that I'd look to the GH adventures from 1E. There's a lot of GH mystique and atmosphere in those that the boxed sets don't really communicate.

I recommend the same for FR - to really get a feel for what it's really all about, look to Greenwood's dragon and dungeon magazines adventure submissions.

I know this doesn't jibe with the "one source" request, but no one source really nails it, anyway.

 

[Thanael]

If you can get a hold of them, I highly recommend Ivid the Undying (only available as a document online), Iuz the Evil, The Marklands and City of Skulls.

The pdf version of Ivid the Undying is available here for free (Covers are available here).

If you like it, Iuz the Evil, The Marklands and City of Skulls will also be to your liking. Together with the From the Ashes boxed set, they pretty much constitute Carl Sargents core work on Greyhawk. The make for great detailed regional campaign.


But if you want to keep canon light, I second the LGG for the single best source. The other plus is it's available for cheap as a print version.

 

[Thanael]

If you can get a hold of them, I highly recommend Ivid the Undying (only available as a document online), Iuz the Evil, The Marklands and City of Skulls.

The pdf version of Ivid the Undying is available here for free (Covers are available here).

If you like it, Iuz the Evil, The Marklands and City of Skulls will also be to your liking. Together with the From the Ashes boxed set, they pretty much constitute Carl Sargents core work on Greyhawk.

They make for great sources on detailed regional campaigns. (Ivid for the Great Kingdom, the other three for the Marklands)

But if you like a lighter overview, I second the LGG. Plus it is available cheap as a print version.

 

[Thanael]

If you can get a hold of them, I highly recommend Ivid the Undying (only available as a document online), Iuz the Evil, The Marklands and City of Skulls.

The pdf version of Ivid the Undying is available here for free (Covers are available here).

If you like it, Iuz the Evil, The Marklands and City of Skulls will also be to your liking. Together with the From the Ashes boxed set, they pretty much constitute Carl Sargents core work on Greyhawk.

They make for great sources on detailed regional campaigns. (Ivid for the Great Kingdom, the other three for the Marklands)

But if you like a lighter overview, I second the LGG. Plus it is available cheap as a print version.

 

[Steely Dan]

Dark and Grim, with lots of demons and bad stuff going on in lots of the world? From the Ashes.

Yeah, I was looking at From the Ashes the other day, and it really did give Greyhawk that little bit of extra juice to the setting that a lot of people thought was otherwise a slightly vanilla flavoured setting.

 

[Mercule]

Supplement I Greyhawk (1975)

Do you know if this is available as a PDF, somewhere. I might pick that up just for fun.

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

Do you know if this is available as a PDF, somewhere. I might pick that up just for fun.

Yes, it is.

(However, you should be aware that it's more about optional/additional rules for OD&D than about Greyhawk as a setting.)

 

[Mercule]

Yes, it is.

(However, you should be aware that it's more about optional/additional rules for OD&D than about Greyhawk as a setting.)

Thanks for the heads up. It might still be worth $5.