What area in Greyhawk is good to start a campaign?

[A'koss]

Personally, my favorite region is the Yeomanry, far to the south.

You're right in the middle of all these cool and vastly disparate regions. You have the Hellfurnaces and Sea of Dust right next door, the Hold of the Sea Princes in the east, the Hool Marshes to the North and you're just a hop, skip and a jump away from the Amedio Jungle.

Cheers!

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

Wild Coast could be good, but it might be difficult working around the Orc Empire occupation in 591 cy.

Ratik could also be a good choice. Much wilderness, mostly small towns and two small cities (6,600 and 5,000 in pop.), pretty isolated from the rest of the continent.

Barony of Blackmoor is extremely underpopulated and mostly wilderness.

My first recommendation would likely be Highfolk. Pretty close analog to FR's Dalelands.


Regards,
Eric Anondson

 

[caudor]

I'd go for the Hold of the Sea Princes. That's if you want to start you campaign in an area torn by civil war (rebels/Olman versus the Scarlet brotherhood), strife, plenty of pirates, fruit plantations, and absolutely the best beaches around.

Other than that, the adventure path (Cauldron) is still further south and would make a great start to a Greyhawk campaign too.

 

[David Howery]

I like Sunndi.... right between the Vast Swamp and the remains of the Great Kingdom, not too far from the ocean, near the Scarlet Brotherhood.... adventure in every direction!

 

[qstor]

I'd vote for Verbobonc. Its easy to work in the Temple of Elemental evil and hommlet stuff into a starting campaign. The Free City of Greyhawk isn't that far from the area. The Slavers 2e book and material in the Village of Hommlet mod and web stuff from the Verbobonc Living Greyhawk site should get you going for a while with adventures.

Mike

 

[Kalendraf]

I started a 2e group in The Yeomanry and ran Return to the Keep on the Borderlands placed in the nearby hills/mountains which was a good starting adventure. I followed it up with Against the Giants: Liberation of Geoff. This all worked pretty well, but alas the campaign ended after a few years and long before we could finish AtG:LoG due to players leaving and other scheduling difficulty.

In the first 3e campaign I DM'ed, I used the Freeport setting and adventures and placed it over in the eastern ocean area near the Sea Barons. That also worked well.

 

[Wraith Form]

My first recommendation would likely be Highfolk.

I was going to suggest Highfolk as well. Seems to fit in the parameters of what you need just about perfectly.

 

[MrFilthyIke]

What about the Principality of Ulek on the Pomarj border? Not to many cities, and the Pomarj can/is full of overrun places, ruins, and nasty beasties.

 

[Cyronax]

I myself was always a fan of the lands between the DreadWood in southern Keoland and the Hool Marshes in the northern hinterlands of the Hold of the Sea Princes. This area proved perfect for rugged subtropical frontier feel (a la Spanish Conquistador) mixed with some good ole fashioned D&D medieval romps. I, like Barendd Nobeard, enjoyed the 1st edition adventure Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh (U1) and thought it was a perfect starting point. I followed up with that adventure with some homebrews and completed that campaign with an amalagam of the Slave Lords. It was great fun.

That region really puts you at a crossroads of possible adventure areas.

C.I.D.

 

[grodog]

We're all missing the ultimate starting point for hundreds if not thousands of Greyhawk campaigns ... Hommlet!

Well-said Olgar