D&D 5E What's Next for D&D's Campaign Settings? (And an idea/suggestion for WotC!)

[DEFCON 1]

In terms of "revamping" Greyhawk... I think their first, best, easiest and probably most accepted by the populace option would be not to "re-do it"... but simply re-print it.

Do with the Greyhawk box set (whether the first one or the grey one) what they did with the A series of modules. A hardcover book. Maybe include many of the Gazetteers inside it too. Maybe do a little bit of cross-editing if you wanted to insert Gazetteer information into the relevant sections of the box set information, rather than have them being appendices in the back of the book. Maybe take out all the AD&D stats altogether and make it "setting neutral" (and then if you wanted to, have downloadable packages of the statistics for AD&D, 3E, 4E, and Next available on the website.)

But in any case... if you aren't going to change the setting at all... there's really no reason to pay an author to re-write it. Since Greyhawk's been long out of print... just use the writing that's already there in several different old products and bind them together into a single product that you can buy now. That way its available for new players to pick up, but also is exactly how the older players remember it and would want it to be.

That's the way I'd go with it at the very least.

 

[Jacob Marley]

In terms of "revamping" Greyhawk... I think their first, best, easiest and probably most accepted by the populace option would be not to "re-do it"... but simply re-print it.

snip good stuff

That's the way I'd go with it at the very least.

I'd pay good money for this.

 

[Klaus]

In terms of "revamping" Greyhawk... I think their first, best, easiest and probably most accepted by the populace option would be not to "re-do it"... but simply re-print it.

Do with the Greyhawk box set (whether the first one or the grey one) what they did with the A series of modules. A hardcover book. Maybe include many of the Gazetteers inside it too. Maybe do a little bit of cross-editing if you wanted to insert Gazetteer information into the relevant sections of the box set information, rather than have them being appendices in the back of the book. Maybe take out all the AD&D stats altogether and make it "setting neutral" (and then if you wanted to, have downloadable packages of the statistics for AD&D, 3E, 4E, and Next available on the website.)

But in any case... if you aren't going to change the setting at all... there's really no reason to pay an author to re-write it. Since Greyhawk's been long out of print... just use the writing that's already there in several different old products and bind them together into a single product that you can buy now. That way its available for new players to pick up, but also is exactly how the older players remember it and would want it to be.

That's the way I'd go with it at the very least.

There's a ton of outdated information in the 83 boxed set: mostly having to do with the make-up of humanoid patrols, groups and armies, but also including details of the gods and whoch spells they can use (while having very little on what it means to be a cleric or a follower of those gods). Conversely, a lot of important information was left out: what does it mean to be a Knight of the Hart, or a Watcher, and how do you become one. Even if Greyhawk were to be rolled back to a pre-Greyhawk Wars status quo, the presentation and detailing could be very much improved.

 

[DMZ2112]

I'd pay good money for this.

http://www.dndclassics.com/product/17407/Greyhawk-Adventures-(1e-2e)?it=1

It's only a matter of time before we see the original boxed set up there, too.

 

[Jacob Marley]

There's a ton of outdated information in the 83 boxed set: mostly having to do with the make-up of humanoid patrols, groups and armies, but also including details of the gods and whoch spells they can use (while having very little on what it means to be a cleric or a follower of those gods). Conversely, a lot of important information was left out: what does it mean to be a Knight of the Hart, or a Watcher, and how do you become one. Even if Greyhawk were to be rolled back to a pre-Greyhawk Wars status quo, the presentation and detailing could be very much improved.

This is a feature, not a flaw.

http://www.dndclassics.com/product/17407/Greyhawk-Adventures-(1e-2e)?it=1

It's only a matter of time before we see the original boxed set up there, too.

Thanks! I actually own almost all the PDFs on Greyhawk from when they were previously for sale. My physical copy of the Greyhawk boxed set is thirty years old - and it shows. The rest of my physical collection is much the same. I'd gladly pay for a new physical copies of the boxed sets, accessories, and maps.

 

[Klaus]

This is a feature, not a flaw.

Honestly? No, it's not. Back when I learned D&D, we played in Greyhawk, but the lack of this sort of information meant that it was much less work-intensive to leave the characters unconnected to any of the power groups in the setting.

 

[DEFCON 1]

There's a ton of outdated information in the 83 boxed set: mostly having to do with the make-up of humanoid patrols, groups and armies, but also including details of the gods and whoch spells they can use (while having very little on what it means to be a cleric or a follower of those gods). Conversely, a lot of important information was left out: what does it mean to be a Knight of the Hart, or a Watcher, and how do you become one. Even if Greyhawk were to be rolled back to a pre-Greyhawk Wars status quo, the presentation and detailing could be very much improved.

As I haven't had any Greyhawk material in my possession for decades, I'll take your word for it. Although what you mention does make me wonder just what kind of stuff was included in subsequent box sets / gazetteers, and whether the editing I mentioned (by mix 'n matching other products into the main boxed set info) could solve the situation? And if not... the A series module hardcover did include a new module A0, so there was some new writing. So it might be possible for like a single author to go in and add new sidebars to the box set info to help fix or expand on the stuff you mentioned. That would still probably be the easiest, quickest and least likely to piss off Greyhawk fans way to get the Greyhawk setting back into the world (besides just expecting them to buy the PDFs of the original box set.)

 

[Jacob Marley]

Honestly? No, it's not. Back when I learned D&D, we played in Greyhawk, but the lack of this sort of information meant that it was much less work-intensive to leave the characters unconnected to any of the power groups in the setting.

Yes, it is. It may not be for you, but it is for me. What I want is an outline of a world so that I can fill in the blanks. That is exactly what the '83 boxed set gives me - an outline! How do I join the Knights of the Hart? Lets find out in play! What does it mean to be a Knight of the Hart? Lets find out in play!

I have no problem with WotC releasing other products that further define the setting. Hell, I own nearly everything TSR released for Greyhawk! But I find that it is a lot easier on the DM to start with an outline and build toward detail, than it is to start with something detailed and to strip out detail for those who just wanted the outline.

 

[Klaus]

How do I join the Knights of the Hart? Lets find out in play! What does it mean to be a Knight of the Hart? Lets find out in play!

The players always find out in play. But does the DM have to make it during play? Isn't the purpose of a campaign setting to reduce the ammount of prep-work the DM has to make?

For all I love the original boxed set (and I do), it is far too sketchy. And the Greyhawk Adventures hardback, instead of filling in these gaps, went overboard with dozens of pages of "named" spells of limited appeal and extensive backstories for NPCs of limited utility. So yeah, I still stand by my original assertation that Greyhawk could be re-released, with a better presentation.

 

[Jacob Marley]

Isn't the purpose of a campaign setting to reduce the ammount of prep-work the DM has to make?

It certainly is. However, too much information provided can actually increase the amount of time it takes a DM to complete his/her prep-work. It might only take me five minutes to come up with some notes on how to join the Knights of the Hart or fifteen minutes to dig out the source book, look up and read through the information provided, and then determine how it relates to the specific situation the PCs are in. That's not a decrease in my prep work; it's an increase!

I learned this lesson a few years ago as I prepped a Forgotten Realms campaign set in-and-around Silverymoon. The time spent reading and rereading through the 3.0 Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (~300 pages excluding the index) and the Silver Marches Campaign Accessory (~150 pages excluding the index) was rather significant. It should me just how ingenious the Greyhawk Folio and boxed set were! Enough information to inspire me and whet my appetite, without being so onerous to get through.