What is Greyhawk?

[Wolfpack48]

The word that always comes to mind when I think of Greyhawk (and Blackmoor and City State of the Invincible Overlord, too) is "primordial." Not just in terms of the aura that hangs over the setting (the formative days of civilization, when lands are wide open and lawlessness abounds), but also the fact that these are the earliest settings for D&D. The players in the game are actually players in that formation, and though much is lawlessness, characters can play a big part in pockets of the world. I remember reading that City State is a Lawful Evil city, and that makes sense. The emphasis is on Law, not good or evil. Chaos rules the land, with vast empty places and enemies and creatures everywhere. The excitement (and practical need) for adventurers, is that there are plenty of places that need taming. Adventurers are in demand, dammit. You can see, then, that civilized areas have authoritarian rulers that provide safe, if corrupt, harbor. This is the Greyhawk that comes to mind, and if it is tackled again by WOTC, the aspect I hope they play up.

 

[Umbran]

But, apparently, the way... is not the PCs?

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Barantor]

To me Greyhawk is that lighter end of Grimdark. Yeah things are grim, but not quite like Warhammer (though it could be said there are similarities with the Greyhawk Wars and the encroachment of Chaos in the Empire) and not quite as fantastical as Forgotten Realms, where under every stone is a god and magic item of some forgotten empire.

I always liked that the Kingdoms and Countries in Greyhawk feel like they have a reason to exist. Each has a formation story and an evolution it has gone through, from the Sheldomar Valley and it's joining and sundering, to the Great Kingdom of Aerdy and it's falling apart through mismanagement and greed for power.

It lives without the micromanaging details and to me that has always made me want to set games there over other D&D settings.

 

[Sacrosanct]

For me, a key difference is In order for the DM to run a really effective campaign in FR, they need to be up to speed in FR lore, history, regions, cities, etc, while those aren't needed in Greyhawk, as the DM can easily just insert their own creations into the world and no one would miss a beat.

 

[Parmandur]

They aren't literary masterpieces, that's clear.
But I was a teenager when the Italian translation came out. I remember that I was conquered by the figure of Gord, I loved his adventures and companions, I absolutely adored the fiendish politics aspect and the Theorpart metaplot.
I imagine we like different things!

It's entirely possible that the books were improved by translation.

 

[David Howery]

some of the points in the OP kinda depend on whether you're going pre- or post- Wars. Pre-Wars, the forces of Evil weren't all that dominant. Iuz had just barely returned, and he had a grudge against the Horned Society next door, who had a grudge against the Bandit Kingdoms next door, etc. The Great Kingdom wasn't that great or much of a kingdom as it was a collection of quarrelsome provinces. The humanoids of the Pomarj were in a giant free for all. The Scarlet Brotherhood was hidden and quiet. Post-Wars.... yeah, Evil got organized in a hurry; particularly Iuz, who established his Space-Filling Empire up north. Except the Great Kingdom, of course, which collapsed, but not before wrecking half the nations around them....

 

[David Howery]

And after that, I think I tried to read the next one after he left TSR. And I wanted it to be good. Because GORD! GYGAX! SEA OF DUST!

It was terrible. I couldn't finish it. I really tried.

I didn't think any of the Gord books were good... but I liked the Sea one the best. Not because of the story, but because of the setting, the Forgotten City of the Suel Empire. I stole a lot of stuff from that one and used it in a doozy set of adventures involving the PCs getting there and back again...

 

[Wolfpack48]

some of the points in the OP kinda depend on whether you're going pre- or post- Wars. Pre-Wars, the forces of Evil weren't all that dominant. Iuz had just barely returned, and he had a grudge against the Horned Society next door, who had a grudge against the Bandit Kingdoms next door, etc. The Great Kingdom wasn't that great or much of a kingdom as it was a collection of quarrelsome provinces. The humanoids of the Pomarj were in a giant free for all. The Scarlet Brotherhood was hidden and quiet. Post-Wars.... yeah, Evil got organized in a hurry; particularly Iuz, who established his Space-Filling Empire up north. Except the Great Kingdom, of course, which collapsed, but not before wrecking half the nations around them....

Yeah, I don't know if Evil is the right word. Untamed and wild, perhaps is a better description, with plenty of people looking out for #1. The adventurers are more aligned with those who want to bring order and peace.

 

[Sacrosanct]

The Gord books were/are good in the context of seeing all of those famous NPC names in an actual story. Not for the quality of the story itself. IMO of course