Been playing D&D for a while now but I fancy checking out something differant from FR- Greyhawk was recommened to me but I am confused as to where to start.
Can anyone recommend some starting Greyhawk book please. Game edition is not that important as I am looking for a good overall guide to the world.
Finally, a memberof my group did complain that Greyhawk is 'very black and white'- is that true?
Thanks!
Check out the FAQ at the top of the boards there. That'll answer most of your basic questions.
GH is very black and white, eh? Ooh there's a statement to boil the blood of a grognard (old time Greyhawk fan).
Many fans of Greyhawk would say that the thing they like most about the setting is that it has plenty of shades of grey and that that is what sets it apart from other D&D settings. And to an extent that's true. The best of Greyhawk has multiple shades of grey, moral dilemmas and all the good stuff. For example, one of the central characters (Mordenkainen) has as his motivation the maintainance of the Balance between law, chaos, good and evil by any means necessary.
GH can be as grey as you want to make it
P.
Seems to me your FR friend simply has it wrong, there is a reason it's called GREYhawk.
In Greyhawk their are far fewer "black and white" choices, no one is there to take you by the hand. In my Greyhawk the players make the choices and have to live with the results.
I second the recomendation, Living Greyhawk Gazetter is a good overall source to explain the history and nations of GH (One of its many strengths).
Best advice jump in and give it a try, you will love it ;)
PS. Keep in touch, let us know Ogrebear, how and you / group find Greyhawk.
I also am new to Greyhawk. Most of my exposure to the adventure setting is from the Spellfire card game, and also through famous evil characters who originally came from Greyhawk, e.g. Iuz, Vecna, and Azalin (of Ravenloft fame). I'm looking to learn a little bit more about the campaign setting, especially as my Ravenloft players will be chasing Azalin back to Oerth as part of an escape attempt. Specifically, I'm interested in the geography of the world, which I've seen tantalizing glimpses of through the Spellfire mapsm, especially the city-state of Knurl.
I've put in a bid for the LGG on eBay and will see if I win that. I'm looking forward to exploring the grand-daddy of all campaign settings!
Since I posted this orginally I have spent some time gathering books, maps and web sites.
I am very impressed with the quality of some of the fan material out there!
I prefer my worlds a little less 'black & white' and 'good vs evil' than often D&D Worlds seem, but with Greyhawk (at least in the LG Gazetteer) I have been suprised by the seer amount of 'grey' that exists in many places.
There is a simple rule for setting for me- if I dont like it, I wont read it. I am still reading Greyhawk, I think thats a good sign!
I prefer my worlds a little less 'black & white' and 'good vs evil' than often D&D Worlds seem, but with Greyhawk (at least in the LG Gazetteer) I have been suprised by the seer amount of 'grey' that exists in many places.
Doesn't surprise me. This is what GH is about (as if anyone couldn't tell from the name ). Sure, you've got a fair amount of Good vs Evil too but many of the major players (read: NPC) are actually more concerned about the Balance. Even the deities seem to agree on this given the elaborate agreement they settled on to deal with "intervention".
Maybe for once common sense prevailed...
Yes, Greyhawk has some significant Good vs Evil conflicts. But it also features some interesting Good vs Good conflicts if people allow for them, as well as numerous Evil vs Evil, Law vs Chaos, Law vs Law, and Chaos vs Chaos conflicts. It all depends on what you look for in it.
And it features the "Balance", although that is typically more of a plot driver than a moral element. And all too often it is more an excuse to pretend Greyhawk doesn't have certain very starkly contrasting moral elements. (Go ahead, explain to me how Iuz is just misunderstood, or a product of his environment.
)What Greyhawk tries to avoid is the more blatant deus ex machinas of morality that some settings (FR and DL are the prime offenders on this count) try to foist off on players as clever plot development. Unlike Elminster and the Seven Sisters, Mordenkainen and the Circle of However-Many-At-The-Moment won't show up to save the day. Nor will Iuz suddenly have his entire empire collapse without any heroes opposing him just because the Boneheart starts fighting amongst themselves, with the survivor challenging Iuz at the end.
Since I posted this orginally I have spent some time gathering books, maps and web sites.
I am very impressed with the quality of some of the fan material out there!
Yes, there's a lot of love for GH out there among the fans. If you haven't yet, do check out all of my favorite GH web sites, listed on my GH links page at http://www.greyhawkonline.com/grodog/gh_links.html (the top two sections in particular).
Specifically, I'm interested in the geography of the world, which I've seen tantalizing glimpses of through the Spellfire mapsm, especially the city-state of Knurl.
I can't recommend the various sets of maps on Canonfire! highly enough, and you should also check out the updated GH maps that Paizo published in Dungeons 118-121 @ http://paizo.com/dungeon/products/issues/greyhawkmap
I've put in a bid for the LGG on eBay and will see if I win that. I'm looking forward to exploring the grand-daddy of all campaign settings!
You shouldn't have to pay more than cover for it, and likely less. Be sure that you're bidding on the LGG vs. the D&D Gazeteer, which is a light-weight version of the LGG, too.