D&D 5E Why Greyhawk is Loved

[Azzy]

Being someone that loves history, I love the fact that Greyhawk has an organic history (complete with migrations and ancient civilizations) that inform, but don't overwhelm the setting. I love that there are multiple human ethnicities that are tied to the history (rather than being an afterthought). I love that the present of the setting (regardless of which you choose—original folio/boxed set, FtA, or the Adventure Begins/LGG) that the setting has kingdoms and empires in decline, large amounts of untamed wilderness, the threat of evil and tyranny, the threat of looming conflicts even as old ones fade away. I love all the adventure hooks.

 

[MoonSong]

I'd be wary of introducing dragonborn, though. I'd probably be happier with making them a variation of lizard men without the dragon connection and breath weapon (maybe a venomous spittle).

Could always go back to have them as dragonborn of Bahamut?

 

[Soul Stigma]

Could always go back to have them as dragonborn of Bahamut?

I wouldn't have a problem with Dragonborn in Greyhawk, personally. Greyhawk is so open, so undefined, that there is a great deal of room to make it your own.


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[gyor]

Here is something that Greyhawk fans haven't considered, but given Greyhawk and FR have been connected in the past and are even more connected now, it means the Greyhawk setting has also effectly made the over 100 year time jump as well. It probably looks nothing like you remembered it.

 

[Hussar]

Well, that's not entirely true though [MENTION=6670153]gyor[/MENTION]. Yes, elements from Greyhawk have been ported into FR recently, but, very little directly. Princes of the Apocalypse, for example, doesn't actually feature any Greyhawk NPC's other than Elemental Prince's and, well, time doesn't really matter to them. It's not like the two time lines have to match up. it can be Year X in GH and Year Y in FR.

 

[Soul Stigma]

Well, that's not entirely true though [MENTION=6670153]gyor[/MENTION]. Yes, elements from Greyhawk have been ported into FR recently, but, very little directly. Princes of the Apocalypse, for example, doesn't actually feature any Greyhawk NPC's other than Elemental Prince's and, well, time doesn't really matter to them. It's not like the two time lines have to match up. it can be Year X in GH and Year Y in FR.

^this - the connection is planar, not time.


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[Demetrios1453]

Well, that's not entirely true though @gyor. Yes, elements from Greyhawk have been ported into FR recently, but, very little directly. Princes of the Apocalypse, for example, doesn't actually feature any Greyhawk NPC's other than Elemental Prince's and, well, time doesn't really matter to them. It's not like the two time lines have to match up. it can be Year X in GH and Year Y in FR.

In any case, the whole "let's more or less blow up the Multiverse in 4e and then re-construct it right back pretty much as it was previously for 5e" could have seriously mixed up the time lines (i.e., Oerth could have been "reconnected" to the Multiverse shortly after it got disconnected, while it might have taken longer for Toril). That's in addition to what the Spellplague and its associated catastrophes, both physical and metaphysical, could have done all on its own to Toril's connections to the rest of the Multiverse...

 

[ninjayeti]

I'd agree with the points previous posters made - I love GH because of nostalgia, because it was created by the guy who created D&D, because of the gritty sword and sorcery vibe, and mostly because it managed to feel like a living, breathing world while still feeling like MY world to tell MY stories in a way that other published worlds don't.

The great thing about the last point is that I really don't need a 5E version of GH. I don't care what Perkins and Mearls think should happen with the metaplot or what the timeline should be or what races should be part of the setting. Sure, I wouldn't mind a POD version of the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, but give me that and the Anna B Meyer maps and my grandkids will be running games in the Flanaess.

Here is something that Greyhawk fans haven't considered, but given Greyhawk and FR have been connected in the past and are even more connected now, it means the Greyhawk setting has also effectly made the over 100 year time jump as well. It probably looks nothing like you remembered it.

Wait, according to old Dragon Magazine articles Elminster used to meet with Ed Greenwood .... on EARTH! That means the timeline of Earth is tied to the FR timeline as well. When those madmen at WotC advanced the FR timeline they were wreaking untold havoc on our own space-time continuum!

What if it is 100 years from now and we just haven't realized it yet?

 

[The_Gneech]

I have a bit of a problem with the tieflings, though, because I still prefer the origin of "Surprise! Someone in your family tree, maybe even hundreds of years ago, slept with a demon and your genetic roll of the dice came up snake eyes." That's how I play them, and I think that would fit pretty well with Greyhawk.

Seriously. What's Iuz but an epic tiefling?

-The Gneech

 

[Sacrosanct]

I prefer Greyhawk because it was in an era where most DMs created their own maps and worlds, and Greyhawk adventures were drag and drop compatible. Heck, even in the "official" gameworld, you could easily drag and drop adventures into whatever area you wanted with little fuss.