D&D 4E What If?: Greyhawk 4e in 2012

[Ryujin]

Works for me, but then who would be the Rovers of the Barrens?

 

[Knightfall]

Hmm, all this talk of the 4e races in Greyhawk makes me wonder the following: Which iconic Greyhawk races (including monstrous races) should be given racial write-ups in a 4e version of Greyhawk?

Or, are there any?

 

[Nemesis Destiny]

Hmm, all this talk of the 4e races in Greyhawk makes me wonder the following: Which iconic Greyhawk races (including monstrous races) should be given racial write-ups in a 4e version of Greyhawk?

Or, are there any?

I think the human "subraces" are more like cultures than true races, so they should just be supported via feats and PPs and such.

As for the rest... I think if they get a writeup, it should be done in context (adventure module, or subsetting book/article), so newcomers have some clue as to what they're about without having to read a bunch of out-of-print materials.

 

[Klaus]

Razorclaw shifters could be Tiger Nomads, and Longtooth shifters could be Wolf Nomads. I know that would be a bit of a retcon, but thematically, it fits.

Personal Pet Peeve: tigers are much stronger and less agile than wolves.

Personal Pet Peeve 2: tigers should be Medium Solo Lurkers.

I wouldn't go so far as to say all of those Barbarians are shifters, just that there is a high percentage of shifters among them (probably incorporating their tribe's totem), and I'd mix the shifter types.

 

[Ron]

I think they should grab the original box set and work from there, disregarding everything it was published after. Still, I would prefer something innovative. A re-imagined Greyhawk, faithful to the spirit of the original but with modern sensibility.

As such, I want the original pantheon, the original frontiers and timeline, and the original sword & sorcery feeling. However, I hope they will add some innovations here and there that will fit the setting and bring in some originality. I am tired of all canon worship that follows Greyhawk. I already have the Gygax's box and I don't need it redone in 4th edition. I want to see new ideas on the old theme.

I know, easier said than done.

 

[grodog]

As for what books:

- One book detailing the Oerik, covering the same area as the 83 boxed set. A few player material included (themes, but also information on the guilds and groups the PCs can beling to).
- One book of threats, including Iuz and his minions as the big bads, but also including evil societies, like the Scarlet Brotherhood, the Great Kingdom and the Cult of Elemental Evil.
- One book presenting the City of Greyhawk and the surrounding areas (Cairn Hills, Castle Greyhawk, etc) as a sandbox.

For WotC to do this right, I think they'd have to balance out the reuqirements of supporting the new edition while making the content useful for someone playing earlier editions, too.

In particular, the sandbox regional survey around Greyhawk sounds very good to me.

 

[Greg K]

The Greyhawk that I would want would be based upon:
Original Folio
The original boxed set
The pantheon Gary introduced back in Dragon (leave out the Lendore Isle deities)
The little bits on cultures from the 1e Unearthed Barbarian class
The little bits from Gary's Dragon articles and S4: Lost Caverns
Throw in the locations from the modules that Gary wrote

Throw in Half-Ogres as a PC race
Tieflings are okay for the Horned Society (I'd prefer they were not PCs).

In general, skip the post Gary stuff
No Dragonborn, no Shadar Kai, etc.
No updating the timeline or reimagining the setting.