D&D (2024) Greyhawk Confirmed. Tell Me Why.

[pemerton]

What I remember from the WoG folio is there was lots of stuff on knightly orders, chivalry, and heraldry, accompanied by art that was very "Hollywood Medieval". I guess it was down to the personal enthusiasms of the author, since it didn't really relate to the fantasy I was reading at the time (REH, Moorcock).

That is extremely curious, because those particular influences are pretty large in Gygax's Greyhawk.

In the WoG Folio the main sign of REH is the ancient empires that underlie the present time. But the armies, heraldry and military rivalries seem more oriented towards wargaming than anything particularly Conan-esque.

 

[Parmandur]

In the WoG Folio the main sign of REH is the ancient empires that underlie the present time. But the armies, heraldry and military rivalries seem more oriented towards wargaming than anything particularly Conan-esque.

But a lot of the countries really are clearly based on Sword & Sorcery precursors, if detailed briefly.

I do think the new DMG is not likely to replicate the detailed troop disposition every country.

 

[TiQuinn]

I do think the new DMG is not likely to replicate the detailed troop disposition every country.

I think the wargaming roots of D&D are firmly in its past, to the point that bringing war gaming back into the game requires its own game now, a la MCDM’s Strongholds and Followers.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

That is extremely curious, because those particular influences are pretty large in Gygax's Greyhawk.

That's what I thought, and why I was disappointed. I was expecting something far more Hyborian Age, and a lot less Hundred Years War!

 

[Belen]

You and I got real different definitions of quirky, even if it was a sex thing. Centaurs are basic fantasy 101 and BG3 reminded folks FR in particular is unrepentantly horny

I run, at most, PG-13 games. The guy was odd.

 

[Belen]

Eh, that just sounds like someone who was looking for a different type of group. I wouldn't even register that as quirky, just trying to include erotic elements into a game and group that didn't want them. Which is generally just a person with poor understandings of boundaries.

But, see, if you hadn't said "intimacy" and instead said "love" or "marriage", I likely wouldn't even have a clue why this was a problem. Centaur Clerics are pretty basic after all. The devil is always in the details.

We've currently got a player in a game who is playing a myconid druid, not an issue. They love fire. Also, not an issue. They are playing them as a 5 year old with no sense of danger or understanding of combat, while we are trying to play a political game of intrigue, family drama, and rebellion. THAT has been the problem, because they have caused disruptions with their actions.

A young myconid druid who is a pyromaniac is a quirky character I am just fine with. A character who runs to get a hug from the BBEG because they don't understand the concept of fighting, causing the other characters to rush after them, restrain them, THEN continuing fleeing because they are good people who can't leave a literal child to be turned into mulch... that was the problem.

But, this gets back to my original point. It is never these grounded characters like "this player was looking for a game with more erotic elements" or "this player took playing a literal child too far" that people use as examples. It is "Half-Kobold Half-Purple Unicorn" as though that is how these things actually go.

I said intimacy because the actual character description went into heavy detail and included having a holy herd of mares.

I do not want to sit at a table with it.

I have had someone play a cleric of a goddess of love in the past and it was cool. The centaur guy was just over the top.

 

[Remathilis]

That’s the big thing to me. In order to understand the AD&D branch of D&D, or which 5e is a descendant, one must also understand Greyhawk, and vice versa. At least, that’s my opinion.

For many years, I considered Greyhawk the default setting for no other reason that so many names came from Greyhawk:Tenser, Mordenkainen, Vecna, Bigby, Boccob, Ehlonna, etc. They were in the spells and magic items of the game. There are no Elminster spells in the PHB, no Dalamar named magic. Magic items like the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind or the dragon lance never make the DMG.

Greyhawk is a kitchen sink D&D setting because Greyhawk is intertwined with the core of the game. It can't be separated from the core rules and that goes both ways.

 

[TiQuinn]

Greyhawk is a kitchen sink D&D setting because Greyhawk is intertwined with the core of the game. It can't be separated from the core rules and that goes both ways.

That’s it in a nutshell. Greyhawk’s theme is D&D. It’s the default D&D experience.

 

[Belen]

For many years, I considered Greyhawk the default setting for no other reason that so many names came from Greyhawk:Tenser, Mordenkainen, Vecna, Bigby, Boccob, Ehlonna, etc. They were in the spells and magic items of the game. There are no Elminster spells in the PHB, no Dalamar named magic. Magic items like the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind or the dragon lance never make the DMG.

Greyhawk is a kitchen sink D&D setting because Greyhawk is intertwined with the core of the game. It can't be separated from the core rules and that goes both ways.

I never really used "worlds" when I first started playing. I ran Temple of Elemental Evil, so it was set in Greyhawk. I ran Myth Drannor so it was set in FR.

By the time I was creating my own content, I was building my own settings. This was mainly a reaction to reading the D&D novels. I just cannot ever use FR again because the novels have spoiled the setting. I know too much.

I enjoy Greyhawk and it is more fun because I do not have an extensive knowledge of it so I would find it easier to set or play in a campaign in that setting rather than FR.

 

[Desdichado]

D&D has been aimed at 12-24 year olds since forever. Yes, it is a kids game, but that's OK.

That's clearly not true. OD&D and AD&D have no age listed, have nudity prominently displayed in the artwork, and are clearly marketed for adult wargamers. The D&D line, when it split off, originally (Holmes) has written prominently on the cover "The original ADULT fantasy roleplaying game for 3 or more players" (emphasis mine.)

B/X and BECMI started talking about 10 and up and 12 and up and that's when that corny commercial of some dad running it for a bunch of junior high kids came out too. But BECMI and B/X were relatively minor cadet lines; AD&D was the main product, and it clearly was not aimed at 12 year olds until at least second edition. And even then, it wasn't aimed at them, it was merely hoped that they would pick it up but then continue playing as adults.