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

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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[Azzy]

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

That's a you thing—not the setting.

 

[Stormonu]

Looks like a lot of (fantasy) racism here to me (from Unearthed Arcana)

 

[Umbran]

Mod Note:
Folks,

While racism in the game is a valid topic, in general, let us not stomp this thread into the ground with it. If you want to talk about issues of racism in older products, please take it to another thread, and let folks move on with discussion of the upcoming new material here, please and thanks.

 

[Vaalingrade]

NM

 

[Voadam]

I expect Greyhawk to stay a mostly humanocentric setting with human dominated kingdoms but plenty of room for not human PCs. In 1e Greyhawk a dwarven PC is not out of place even though the Greyhawk setting had exactly zero named dwarven kingdoms among the 40+ kingdoms.

I don't expect to see default art where a bar is Mos Eisley diverse non-human dominated (unless it is in a humanoid dominated area like the Pomarj, Iuz, the Bone March, etc.) but PC race stuff fits right in.

 

[grimslade]

Not sure why Greyhawk having Dragonborn and Goliath is a big deal. They will be small populations like every other demihuman race. You have 'monster' run nations in Greyhawk. Turosh Mak wouldn't turn away giant-kin or Dragon Men in the Pomarj or under Iuz. 1e had a lizardfolk assassin in 1E in the Rogue's Gallery, so not going to hurt ghost Gygax feelings.
Also lots of weird stuff in the Crystalmists, Amedio jungle and Hepmanoland.

 

[Distracted DM]

Because setting designers aren't clairvoyant nor can they sit and catalog everything and it's place in the setting. The goal of Eberron was to be a kitchen sink with a twist, not a curated experience like Dark Sun. If a DM wants to limit options they can, but they will get no support from the text in that regard. In Eberron, everything is a "yes" or a "yes, and" unless the DM steps in to say "no".

It's really not. Like I said, the additional materials had suggestions for DMs to use to say "yes," not "this is in eberron, you have to say no."

 

[Mournblade94]

Looks like a lot of (fantasy) racism here to me (from Unearthed Arcana)
View attachment 363423

That is world building.

 

[Micah Sweet]

A bit of an elitist attitude. Most people are easily bored, including me.

I'm sorry. I just sometimes get tired of lifting up simplicity and action as virtues under nearly every circumstance. Consideration, analysis and nuance are no less valuable than speed and directness.

 

[Micah Sweet]

The Living Greyhawk Gazetteer was a comprehensive book. Greyhawk items (like the Knight of the Watch prestige class, etc.) were specifically Greyhawk-flavored. Dragon, Dungeon, and Polyhedron all featured Greyhawk materials—there's a lot of Paizohawk material. There was also the Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk, Retrn to the Temple of Elemental Evil, and some other modules. The Living Greyhawk campaign should not be discounted—there is a metric butt load of Living Greyhawk material.

Sounds good. This is why I said I wasn't sure.