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

[Klaus]

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.

 

[Mirtek]

I'd like to see it continue on from Living Greyhawk. Lots of GREAT work was done in advancing the world in that campaign.

That's what I would prefer too

 

[Mithreinmaethor]

That's what I would prefer too

At Gencon 2008 when they were talking about this they said that everything that had happened in LG over 8 years would not be included in any remake of Greyhawk. Needless to say the LG people left that meeting a little disheartened.

 

[Nemesis Destiny]

This, but keep some of the new toys to a minimum.

Greyhawk can distinguish itself from FR and the other settings by emphasizing its Sword & Sorcery roots.

Yes, I agree here 100% - allow the "newer" 4e stuff, but emphasize that it is in the vast minority. Greyhawk can be distinctive from Kitchen Sink (or is it "Kitschen" Sink?) FR-type stuff by what is not included.

If necessary, they could even plunk the Nentir Vale down somewhere in Oerth. They could say that things like Dragonborn and Tieflings come from somewhere out yonder, off the charted maps, or emerged from centuries of slumber, but are still very uncommon. Such things could even be completely reskinned as existing entities, to have been present all along, without invalidating whole categories of player options.

 

[Klaus]

With all the devil/demon-worshipping, you could easily plunk the tieflings right into the Great Kingdom or Horned ( ) Society as the upper ruling caste.

Dragonborn could easily be from Hepmonaland or Amedio, giving them a tropical, barbaric feel that keeps them distinct from other dragonborn, and puts them squarely at odds with the yuan-ti living in the jungle.

 

[GameDoc]

Yes, I agree here 100% - allow the "newer" 4e stuff, but emphasize that it is in the vast minority. Greyhawk can be distinctive from Kitchen Sink (or is it "Kitschen" Sink?) FR-type stuff by what is not included.

If necessary, they could even plunk the Nentir Vale down somewhere in Oerth. They could say that things like Dragonborn and Tieflings come from somewhere out yonder, off the charted maps, or emerged from centuries of slumber, but are still very uncommon. Such things could even be completely reskinned as existing entities, to have been present all along, without invalidating whole categories of player options.

For the life of me, I can't find the thread with google, but way back when 4e debuted there was a guy who posted about teaching some of his elementary students to play. He was an old school player from his younger days and even though he used 4e, he dusted off the old Greyhawk stuff for the setting. One kid wanted to play a dragonborn, so he just said that the dragonborn were from another continent and only recently had a hand-full of them started coming to the Flanaess in search of adventure and fortune. Very simple idea, seemed to fit nicely. I can't recall where he was posting, if it was here or Giant in the Playground, or rpg.net

 

[Nebten]

While it may not be valid, I would hope it would be events shaped by Living Greyhawk. Myself and thousands of other players would deeply embraces this version of Greyhawk, espically if there are key moments in its history that I could say "I was there." Having that kind of ownership in a product would be beautiful.

 

[Dragonhelm]

If WotC was to remake Greyhawk as the next 4e campaign setting to be released in 2012, how would you want it done?

I would want a Greyhawk that was a re-imagining, keeping the feel of the Gygax era at its heart, while also allowing for some of the innovations that came since. Iron out the kinks of continuity. I guess more of a Dark Sun take on things.

What would you like the other two Greyhawk books to be? A creature catalog like Dark Sun got? A city book that completely details the City of Greyhawk? An adventure? A players' book?

1. Campaign Guide - Players guide, plus an intro to the setting.
2. Greyhawk Gazetteer - The world of GH described, with a huge section on the City of Greyhawk, its NPCs, and the surrounding environs.
3. Castle Greyhawk - adventure


Thing is, GH needs something to set itself apart. I'm not certain that sword & sorcery is enough. Maybe the re-imagining needs to make GH into the D&D equivalent of Golarion (funny, since Golarion was inspired by GH).

It definitely needs to have the epic old-school dungeons to it. I also think it shouldn't take itself too seriously.

 

[cignus_pfaccari]

Honestly? I'd prefer it stay in the box and some new setting come out instead.

Not only do I not really see what makes Greyhawk different from, say, Forgotten Realms, but I think we spend way too much time rehashing past settings. I'd much rather see a new and original setting than Yet Another Iteration of a setting.

Brad

 

[GameDoc]

It definitely needs to have the epic old-school dungeons to it. I also think it shouldn't take itself too seriously.

This!

Morbid humor and lots of bad puns. It sounds rediculous by itself, but part of the old-school D&D flavor was the juxtaposition of this kind of mirth with the ever-present sense of impending doom. The traditional D&D races and classes give Greyhawk a Tolkein-like verneer, but at it's heart was mutch more like a Fritz Leiber story.