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D&D (2024) How Does Greyhawk Fit In To The New Edition?

Dungeon Master’s Guide contains a sample setting—and that setting is, indeed, Greyhawk.

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According to Game Informer — “the surprising importance and inclusions of what is arguably the oldest D&D campaign setting of them all – Greyhawk.”

So how does Greyhawk fit in? According to GI, the new 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide contains a sample setting—and that setting is, indeed, Greyhawk. Not only that, but the book will come with a double-sided poster map with the City of Greyhawk on one side and the Flannaes on the other—the eastern part of one of Oerth’s four continents.
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Even as the multiverse of D&D worlds sees increased attention, the Dungeon Master's Guide also offers a more discrete setting to get gaming groups started. After very few official releases in the last couple of decades, the world of Greyhawk takes center stage. The book fleshes out Greyhawk to illustrate how to create campaign settings of your own. Greyhawk was the original D&D game world crafted by D&D co-creator Gary Gygax, and a worthy setting to revisit on the occassion of D&D's golden anniversary. It's a world bristling with classic sword and sorcery concepts, from an intrigue-laden central city to wide tracts of uncharted wilderness. Compared to many D&D campaign settings, it's smaller and less fleshed out, and that's sort of the point; it begs for DMs to make it their own. The book offers ample info to bring Greyhawk to life but leaves much undetailed. For those eager to take the plunge, an included poster map of the Greyhawk setting sets the tone, and its reverse reveals a map of the city of the same name. "A big draw to Greyhawk is it's the origin place for such heroes as Mordenkainen, Tasha, and others," Perkins says. "There's this idea that the players in your campaign can be the next great world-hopping, spell-crafting heroes of D&D. It is the campaign where heroes are born."
- Game Informer​

 

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DarkCrisis

Reeks of Jedi
I ruffled feathers once on social media when someone thought they had invented spell casting spider folk for 5e. When I mentioned the Aranea had been around for decades, it was not taken kindly.

I follow several D&D groups on Facebook and it always makes me laugh when a “started with 5E” player makes a big post about something they “invented or discovered” about D&D even though that stuff has been around forever.

Especially when it’s really old school like weapon speed.
 

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Cergorach

The Laughing One
Yeah, from my own experience people get comfortable with things being a certain way, then get aggravated when someone pushes their way in, declaring that the old stuff was bad and needs these new updates and retcons to keep it fresh. It's not just restricted to RPGs. Thing is, everyone has a different opinion on what old stuff was bad and what new stuff is really good and mostly it just creates animosity from the way its handled.
But this is just a people problem and acting like arseholes, on both sides of the fence. It's fine when someone says "I like this new stuff, but I don't like that old stuff.", in the same way it's supposed to be fine to say " I like that old stuff, but don't like this new stuff.". Apparently it isn't and the Enworld forums is a perfect example of anyone who doesn't like the latest and greatest needs to get put down by the masses.

That might be due to insecurities or cultural differences? Because when you say "I do not like xyz that you do like." is apparently taken as a personal affront by some. On the other hand I'm Dutch and we're a pretty straightforward culture, we don't like something, you will hear it to your face. That is not meant to be hostile, but is straightforward. I've some Americans say that the Dutch are straightforward on a good day and rude on a bad day. It seems to depend on how much they didn't want to hear that particular statement... ;)

Maybe it also has something to do with mellowing with age, but again the Internet has shown that also not be the case for many...

As for outside of RPGs, I think most old school Star Wars fans can say they don't like the last three movies (7/8/9) and many fans of the original movies (4/5/6) disliked the prequels (1/2/3). But many younger fans do like the last three movies (or so I'm told by parents of some Star Wars fans). You don't scream in a kids face "Your movies suck and so do you!", at least I hope people don't, but you never know... We might say that we thought the were movies bad and joke that there are only six SW movies, and I expect the folks from the other side of the fence to do the same thing.
 



Von Ether

Legend
But this is just a people problem and acting like arseholes, on both sides of the fence. It's fine when someone says "I like this new stuff, but I don't like that old stuff.", in the same way it's supposed to be fine to say " I like that old stuff, but don't like this new stuff.". Apparently it isn't and the Enworld forums is a perfect example of anyone who doesn't like the latest and greatest needs to get put down by the masses.

That might be due to insecurities or cultural differences? Because when you say "I do not like xyz that you do like." is apparently taken as a personal affront by some. On the other hand I'm Dutch and we're a pretty straightforward culture, we don't like something, you will hear it to your face. That is not meant to be hostile, but is straightforward. I've some Americans say that the Dutch are straightforward on a good day and rude on a bad day. It seems to depend on how much they didn't want to hear that particular statement... ;)

Maybe it also has something to do with mellowing with age, but again the Internet has shown that also not be the case for many...

As for outside of RPGs, I think most old school Star Wars fans can say they don't like the last three movies (7/8/9) and many fans of the original movies (4/5/6) disliked the prequels (1/2/3). But many younger fans do like the last three movies (or so I'm told by parents of some Star Wars fans). You don't scream in a kids face "Your movies suck and so do you!", at least I hope people don't, but you never know... We might say that we thought the were movies bad and joke that there are only six SW movies, and I expect the folks from the other side of the fence to do the same thing.
My main frustration with ttrpg social media is when it's obvious the OP "hate" is hyperbole and clickbait to the point they now have to recycle the same issues at least twice if not three times a year.
 



Maxperson

Morkus from Orkus
You're welcome too reject it . A Mos Eisley pub in Greyhawk city just wouldn't seem very Greyhawk to me. I limit races to pretty much 3rd edition Forgotten Realms Campaign guide. Even in 5e I don't allow races outside the Players handbook in my own campaigns but I pretty much Run 3rd edition and Castles and Crusades now for the fantasy genre
The only reason Dragonborn and Tortles aren't in Greyhawk is that they didn't exist when Gary made the setting. If they had, you'd have seen something like the Isle of the Reptiles with Dragonborn on one side warring with the Tortle clans who dwell on the other side. Then you'd get a bit of lore like, "The Dragoborn tribes often raid Tortle villages, carrying off captives to be boiled alive to make tasty soup."

Greyhawk was a kitchen sink setting. The sink was just smaller back then and had fewer dishes in it.
 


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