D&D (2024) WotC Invites You To Explore the World of Greyhawk

This week a new D&D Dungeon Master's Guide preview video was released. This one features the sample setting chapter in the book, which showcases the World of Greyhawk.

One of the earliest campaign settings, and created by D&D co-founder Gary Gygax, Greyhawk dates back to the early 1970s in Gygax's home games, receiving a short official setting book in 1980. Gyeyhawk was selected as the example setting because it is able to hit all the key notes of D&D while being concise and short. The setting has been largely absent from D&D--aside from a few shorter adventures--since 2008. Some key points from the video--

• Greyhawk deliberately leaves a lot for the DM to fill in, with a 30-page chapter.
• Greyhawk created many of the tropes of D&D, and feels very 'straight down the fairway' D&D.
• This is the world where many iconic D&D magic items, NPCs, etc. came from--Mordenkainen, Bigby, Tasha, Otiluke and so on.
• The DMG starts with the City of Greyhawk and its surroundings in some detail, and gets more vague as you get farther away.
• The city is an example of a 'campaign hub'.
• The sample adventures in Chapter 4 of the DMG are set there or nearby.
• The map is an updated version, mainly faithful to the original with some tweaks.
• The map has some added locations key to D&D's history--such as White Plume Mountain, the Tomb of Horrors, Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth, Ghost Tower of Inverness.
• There's a map of the city, descriptions of places characters might visit--magic item shop, library, 3 taverns, temples, etc.
• The setting takes 'a few liberties while remaining faithful to the spirit of the setting'--it has been contemporized to make it resonate in all D&D campaigns with a balance of NPCs who showcase the diversity of D&D worlds.
• The backgrounds in the Player's Handbook map to locations in the city.
• Most areas in the setting have a name and brief description.
• They focus on three 'iconic' D&D/Greyhawk conflicts such as the Elemental Evil, a classic faceless adversary; Iuz the evil cambion demigod; and dragons.
• There's a list of gods, rulers, and 'big bads'.

 

[Remathilis]

Sounds like they did a good job on hitting the core elements of Greyhawk (DIY aesthetic, conflicts, history) without getting trapped in the idea that Greyhawk only exists as it did in 1983.

 

[TravDoc42]

Excited to hear more about Iuz in this!

 

[Parmandur]

Some interesting stuff in there. Sticking pretty close to the original Srtting as presented, providing a light amount of detail that a DM can build on or use as a template for building their own Setting.

One interesting tidbit is that they have 3 sort of "major plots" that a DM can use to develop a major high level campaign:

• Iuz goijg full Sauron
• Elemental Evil cultists trying to awaken that which should remain unamed
• Something they don't specigy beyond "The Chromatic Dragons are up to aomething"...but since Ashardalon is in the Lore Glossary, I do have my suspicions.

Pishures:

@Snarf Zagyg

 

[darjr]

 

[Charlaquin]

Elemental evil and dragons are the two of the big three threats I wanted to focus on in my Phandbox leading into sword coast sandbox campaign... Any Greyhawk experts have suggestions for where on the map you’d put Phandalin if you wanted to transport the starter sets to Greyhawk?

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Elemental evil and dragons are the two of the big three threats I wanted to focus on in my Phandbox leading into sword coast sandbox campaign... Any Greyhawk experts have suggestions for where on the map you’d put Phandalin if you wanted to transport the starter sets to Greyhawk?

You can put it anywhere you want!

But I put it on the eastern bank of the Nyr Dyv, south of Radagast, in the County of Urnst. Good central location to start.

Plus, it's close to the Nyr Dyv, which is a great place to dump all those bard corpses!

 

[overgeeked]

People who literally know better continuing to say this is the first time a campaign setting was included in a DMG. Both James Wyatt and Chris Perkins are credited in the 4E DMG. Le sigh.

"We've never included a campaign hub before. Here's one with maps."

Again, the 4E DMG would like a word.

 

[Parmandur]

Elemental evil and dragons are the two of the big three threats I wanted to focus on in my Phandbox leading into sword coast sandbox campaign... Any Greyhawk experts have suggestions for where on the map you’d put Phandalin if you wanted to transport the starter sets to Greyhawk?

Yeah, anywhere can work, but my first immediate thought was to set Phandelver between Verbonc and Dyvers, to the West kf Greyhawk proper and North of the Wild Coast, lots of places to go. Thisnhas the added advantage of being in striking distance of Hommlet and the OG Temple of Elemental Evil:

This also matches with the Greyhawk placement advice from Princes of the Apocalypse, which Richard Baker wrote to thematically and geographically follow from Phandelver:

 

[Charlaquin]

Yeah, anywhere can work, but my first immediate thought was to set Phandelver between Verbonc and Dyvers, to the West kf Greyhawk proper and North of the Wild Coast, lots of places to go. Thisnhas the added advantage of being in striking distance of Hommlet and the OG Temple of Elemental Evil:

View attachment 382902

This also matches with the Greyhawk placement advice from Princes of the Apocalypse, which Richard Baker wrote to thematically and geographically follow from Phandelver:

View attachment 382903

Sold!