interested in greyhawk, where do i start? - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

interested in greyhawk, where do i start?

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
zombiegleemax
Feb 23, 2006 7:35:36 basically, i'm new to the greyhawk setting and i'm wondering what i should read to be able to host a campaign in the campaign setting
#2
zombiegleemax
Feb 23, 2006 8:06:54 I would start with the original 1983 boxed set by Gary Gygax. You can either find it on eBay or download it really cheap at Paizo. What it does is present you the world, its people, its politics and conflicts -- all good stuff. The original set is like a lump of clay -- you shape it into whatever you wish so as to make it your own campaign world. You can insert published and home-brew adventures in at your leisure. Then, if you wish to follow the Greyhawk timeline post-Gygax, you may want to look into the offerings of second and third edition D&D. There are also some excellent fan-created articles www.canonfire.com. A lot of the work found there is actually better than a good amount of the published materials post-Gygax, but that is my *opinion* and not intended to be representative of the other folks who post here.

--Ghul
#3
Amaril
Feb 23, 2006 8:52:19 Personally, I would recommend the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer. It sort of compiles everything from previous Greyhawk publications.

You might also want to find a copy of the free, online publication titled "Official History of the Greyhawk Wars."

If you really want a detailed look at the area surrounding the City of Greyhawk as well as the city itself, find a copy of The Adventure Begins. I bought a mint-condition print copy of this from an ebay store for cover price, and it was worth it.
#4
zombiegleemax
Feb 23, 2006 14:07:40 While there isn't any "official" support for GH there are alot of adventures coming out in the Dungeon and Dragon magazines that are loosely set in GH. Paizo has had to change some names here and there to make it setting neutral so you could run it on Ebberon or in the Realms but it's essentially GH. In the last ish of Dungeon (?) they had a nice map of Alhaster (?) in the Bandit Kingdoms... I think. Anyhoo, have fun and add as much or as little as you want because afterall, it's your Greyhawk.
#5
Monteblanco
Feb 25, 2006 16:59:23 I was discussing which Greyhawk version would be the better with a couple of friends over a bar after our weekly game session. Although we are all fans of the great job done by Erik Mona and others at the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, we elected the original Greyhawk box set by Gygax as the best version. None of us are particullary fans of Gygax but we concluded that the original box has all you need and still looks fresh. The latter book, as a consequence of years of setting development, has too much information on history, which may intimidate newcomers.

I really like the vague descriptions of the original box, which allow me to develop from there on. Perhaps, people more interested in studying a setting will be more pleased with the Gazetteer, but then, it is good to have a version to each taste.
#6
zombiegleemax
Feb 25, 2006 18:41:28 I prefer the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer. You can buy it online for very low prices on sites like Amazon.Com. No other single book contains more information on Greyhawk than this one.

For a detailed overview of the LGG, you can read my review here: http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/10/10074.phtml

It is more detailed that the boxed set, but in my opinion most of that detail is on big things like history and politics that provide insight in things without being constrictive to an individual GM's vision.

If you're happy with less detail, though, Gygax's original boxed set is still the most attractive option. Beautiful books and maps.

Most Greyhawkers I know eventually get both, regardless of which one they purchase as an entry point.
#7
zombiegleemax
Feb 26, 2006 13:10:01 I use both the original Greyhawk box set by Gygax and the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer...

It's pretty cool in that my timeline is set at 579 or whatever, and I can use the living greyhawk material to advance things as I see fit- using as little or as much as I need.

Greyhawk is a very fun place to be.
#8
grodog
Feb 26, 2006 23:37:45
basically, i'm new to the greyhawk setting and i'm wondering what i should read to be able to host a campaign in the campaign setting

As with any campaign (whether off-the-shelf or homebrewed), I think that depends a lot on what you and your players are looking for in the game, and the setting.

If you're looking for a dark, Midnight-like fallen world of evil, Sargent's From the Ashes and Ivid the Undying may be for you.

If you're looking for a long, in-depth dungeon crawl campaign, either WGR4 Greyhawk Ruins or the T1 Village of Hommlet/T1-4 Temple of Elemental Evil/Return to the Temple of Elemental evil may be for you.

If you're looking for wild, light-hearted, anything goes fun, WG7's Castle Greyhawk may be for you.

Etc.

Greyhawk can be anything you want it to be, especially when you factor in the core setting eras, and the full-range of Greyhawk's history that's available to serve as the basis for campaign. What kind of game do you and your players want to play?
#9
thanael
Feb 27, 2006 6:03:54 Here's my so far unedited Getting-Into-Greyhawk Primer:
(Make sure to manually copy/paste the links into your browser or they will get truncated by WotC cry baby page!)

For starters if you want to invest a bit of money, get the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (If you're lucky for less than $10 on ebay). It's the only 3E GH product (aside from LGJournal) and is well worth the price at more than 190 pages. Here's a link to a detailed review: http://66.34.111.89/eric/3eoldnews15.htm (scroll down)

For the other (2E) GH products it depends how deep you want to go into it.
See these lists for what products are Greyhawk specific or related:
http://ulmo.mux.net/greyhawk/ (old material, some advice on what's essential)
http://www.cmc.net/~rtaylor/greyhawk/product_chron.html (all)

Many of the old stuff should be available on ebay quite cheap, though there are some collector pieces which fetch quite high prices.

For descriptions check out the TSR Archive
http://home.flash.net/~brenfrow/gh/gh.htm
http://home.flash.net/~brenfrow/ (many 1E modules are GH!)

Of course there are also pdf-Downloads for $$$ of most of the old 2E material.
http://www.svgames.com/downloads-wotc.html

There is a nice thread on canonfire about "Which Modules(accessories) make for the best Canon" with a lengthy anserw by Erik Mona himself: http://www.canonfire.com/cfhtml/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=5354

Here's another thread about "Essential 2E Greyhawk products.": http://www.canonfire.com/cfhtml/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=3449

Of course you also can get much material for free on the internet. There's loads of material on the web, as when GH was discontinued the web community held it alive with some real quality material.

First and foremost download the great Ivid the Undying. This product is a fullblown Greyhawk supplement about the Great Kingdom available for free as it never got printed.

Download it from WoTC: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/downloads
or as pdf available from the Acaeum site's Library: http://www.acaeum.com/Library/IvidUndying.pdf
There's also a nice cover replica available at canonfire: http://www.canonfire.com/cfhtml/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=1413

More official WotC Greyhawk downloads:
http://ulmo.mux.net/greyhawk/wizards.html

Other 2E GH modules available for free from WotC:
EX1, EX2: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/dx20020121x8
L1 Secret of Bone Hill: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/downloads

More 1E modules download links (scroll down)
http://www.greyhawkonline.com/grodog/gh_links.html

Also I found this on the net: http://members.fortunecity.com/noldrek/modules/index.html
(scourge of the slave lrods, queen of demonwebpits, expedition to barrier
peaks)

Then there's lots of quality original fan created material available including many fanzines and great websites.

http://www.canonfire.com ( host also the greytalk mailing list, subscribe there or searchthe archives)
Oerth Journal:
http://www.canonfire.com/htmlnew/module ... &pid=2
Best of Greyhawk folders:
http://www.canonfire.com/htmlnew/module ... mp;sid=113

World of Greyhawk Fanclub:
http://members.aol.com/WoGFanClub/woghome.html
The Council of Greyhawk:
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~monax002/Council/index.html
Chris Siren's Gord's Greyhawk Page:
http://home.comcast.net/~chris.s/gordmain.html

Some stuff from Greyhawk Adventures HC: http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/dreadwood/greyhawk/magical.htm

http://www.dracheninsel.de/insel/add/greyhawk/
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/5878/

Russ Taylor's site http://www.cmc.net/~rtaylor/greyhawk/
Maldin's Greyhawk http://www.timebomb.on.ca/denist/greyhawk/
Talmeta http://talmeta.net/runequest/greyhawk/rqgods.htm
Grodog Research: http://www.greyhawkonline.com/grodog/greyhawk.html
Sheldomar Valley: http://freespace.virgin.net/scott.rennie/sheldoma.htm
Duicarthan's 3E site: http://www.greyhawkonline.com/duicarthan/

More GH links:
http://www.greyhawkonline.com/grodog/gh_links.html
http://www.nuketown.com/griff/links/
http://homepages.ius.edu/rvest/Greyhawk/GHLinks.html

Greyhawk Webring: http://c.webring.com/hub?ring=greyhawk

Greyhawk Forums:
RealmsofEvil: http://greyhawkonline.com/pitsofevil/viewforum.php?f=21
WotC: http://boards1.wizards.com/ (there's a Greyhawk subforum)
Canonfire: http://www.canonfire.com/cfhtml/modules.php?name=Forums

And last not least:
The awesome Living Greyhawk Deities pdf: http://www.theocracyofthepale.com/downloads/lg_deities.pdf
#10
Amaril
Feb 27, 2006 10:08:16 I would suggest ordering any PDFs from Paizo.com. They sell for $4 there, and Paizo is a big supporter of Greyhawk in their publications.
#11
maldin
Feb 28, 2006 0:12:14
Here's my so far unedited Getting-Into-Greyhawk Primer:

Maldin's Greyhawk http://www.timebomb.on.ca/denist/greyhawk/

Very nice list, Thanael! Just one correction that I know of (there may be more). My website moved over a year ago to the URL in my sig.

Denis, aka "Maldin"
============================
Maldin's Greyhawk http://melkot.com
Loads of edition-independent Greyhawk goodness!

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Feb 23, 2006 7:35:36	basically, i'm new to the greyhawk setting and i'm wondering what i should read to be able to host a campaign in the campaign setting
#2 zombiegleemax Feb 23, 2006 8:06:54	I would start with the original 1983 boxed set by Gary Gygax. You can either find it on eBay or download it really cheap at Paizo. What it does is present you the world, its people, its politics and conflicts -- all good stuff. The original set is like a lump of clay -- you shape it into whatever you wish so as to make it your own campaign world. You can insert published and home-brew adventures in at your leisure. Then, if you wish to follow the Greyhawk timeline post-Gygax, you may want to look into the offerings of second and third edition D&D. There are also some excellent fan-created articles www.canonfire.com. A lot of the work found there is actually better than a good amount of the published materials post-Gygax, but that is my opinion and not intended to be representative of the other folks who post here. --Ghul
#3 Amaril Feb 23, 2006 8:52:19	Personally, I would recommend the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer. It sort of compiles everything from previous Greyhawk publications. You might also want to find a copy of the free, online publication titled "Official History of the Greyhawk Wars." If you really want a detailed look at the area surrounding the City of Greyhawk as well as the city itself, find a copy of The Adventure Begins. I bought a mint-condition print copy of this from an ebay store for cover price, and it was worth it.
#4 zombiegleemax Feb 23, 2006 14:07:40	While there isn't any "official" support for GH there are alot of adventures coming out in the Dungeon and Dragon magazines that are loosely set in GH. Paizo has had to change some names here and there to make it setting neutral so you could run it on Ebberon or in the Realms but it's essentially GH. In the last ish of Dungeon (?) they had a nice map of Alhaster (?) in the Bandit Kingdoms... I think. Anyhoo, have fun and add as much or as little as you want because afterall, it's your Greyhawk.
#5 Monteblanco Feb 25, 2006 16:59:23	I was discussing which Greyhawk version would be the better with a couple of friends over a bar after our weekly game session. Although we are all fans of the great job done by Erik Mona and others at the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, we elected the original Greyhawk box set by Gygax as the best version. None of us are particullary fans of Gygax but we concluded that the original box has all you need and still looks fresh. The latter book, as a consequence of years of setting development, has too much information on history, which may intimidate newcomers. I really like the vague descriptions of the original box, which allow me to develop from there on. Perhaps, people more interested in studying a setting will be more pleased with the Gazetteer, but then, it is good to have a version to each taste.
#6 zombiegleemax Feb 25, 2006 18:41:28	I prefer the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer. You can buy it online for very low prices on sites like Amazon.Com. No other single book contains more information on Greyhawk than this one. For a detailed overview of the LGG, you can read my review here: http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/10/10074.phtml It is more detailed that the boxed set, but in my opinion most of that detail is on big things like history and politics that provide insight in things without being constrictive to an individual GM's vision. If you're happy with less detail, though, Gygax's original boxed set is still the most attractive option. Beautiful books and maps. Most Greyhawkers I know eventually get both, regardless of which one they purchase as an entry point.
#7 zombiegleemax Feb 26, 2006 13:10:01	I use both the original Greyhawk box set by Gygax and the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer... It's pretty cool in that my timeline is set at 579 or whatever, and I can use the living greyhawk material to advance things as I see fit- using as little or as much as I need. Greyhawk is a very fun place to be.
#8 grodog Feb 26, 2006 23:37:45	basically, i'm new to the greyhawk setting and i'm wondering what i should read to be able to host a campaign in the campaign setting As with any campaign (whether off-the-shelf or homebrewed), I think that depends a lot on what you and your players are looking for in the game, and the setting. If you're looking for a dark, Midnight-like fallen world of evil, Sargent's From the Ashes and Ivid the Undying may be for you. If you're looking for a long, in-depth dungeon crawl campaign, either WGR4 Greyhawk Ruins or the T1 Village of Hommlet/T1-4 Temple of Elemental Evil/Return to the Temple of Elemental evil may be for you. If you're looking for wild, light-hearted, anything goes fun, WG7's Castle Greyhawk may be for you. Etc. Greyhawk can be anything you want it to be, especially when you factor in the core setting eras, and the full-range of Greyhawk's history that's available to serve as the basis for campaign. What kind of game do you and your players want to play?
#9 thanael Feb 27, 2006 6:03:54	Here's my so far unedited Getting-Into-Greyhawk Primer: (Make sure to manually copy/paste the links into your browser or they will get truncated by WotC cry baby page!) For starters if you want to invest a bit of money, get the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (If you're lucky for less than $10 on ebay). It's the only 3E GH product (aside from LGJournal) and is well worth the price at more than 190 pages. Here's a link to a detailed review: http://66.34.111.89/eric/3eoldnews15.htm (scroll down) For the other (2E) GH products it depends how deep you want to go into it. See these lists for what products are Greyhawk specific or related: http://ulmo.mux.net/greyhawk/ (old material, some advice on what's essential) http://www.cmc.net/~rtaylor/greyhawk/product_chron.html (all) Many of the old stuff should be available on ebay quite cheap, though there are some collector pieces which fetch quite high prices. For descriptions check out the TSR Archive http://home.flash.net/~brenfrow/gh/gh.htm http://home.flash.net/~brenfrow/ (many 1E modules are GH!) Of course there are also pdf-Downloads for $$$ of most of the old 2E material. http://www.svgames.com/downloads-wotc.html There is a nice thread on canonfire about "Which Modules(accessories) make for the best Canon" with a lengthy anserw by Erik Mona himself: http://www.canonfire.com/cfhtml/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=5354 Here's another thread about "Essential 2E Greyhawk products.": http://www.canonfire.com/cfhtml/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=3449 Of course you also can get much material for free on the internet. There's loads of material on the web, as when GH was discontinued the web community held it alive with some real quality material. First and foremost download the great Ivid the Undying. This product is a fullblown Greyhawk supplement about the Great Kingdom available for free as it never got printed. Download it from WoTC: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/downloads or as pdf available from the Acaeum site's Library: http://www.acaeum.com/Library/IvidUndying.pdf There's also a nice cover replica available at canonfire: http://www.canonfire.com/cfhtml/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=1413 More official WotC Greyhawk downloads: http://ulmo.mux.net/greyhawk/wizards.html Other 2E GH modules available for free from WotC: EX1, EX2: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/dx20020121x8 L1 Secret of Bone Hill: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/downloads More 1E modules download links (scroll down) http://www.greyhawkonline.com/grodog/gh_links.html Also I found this on the net: http://members.fortunecity.com/noldrek/modules/index.html (scourge of the slave lrods, queen of demonwebpits, expedition to barrier peaks) Then there's lots of quality original fan created material available including many fanzines and great websites. http://www.canonfire.com ( host also the greytalk mailing list, subscribe there or searchthe archives) Oerth Journal: http://www.canonfire.com/htmlnew/module ... &pid=2 Best of Greyhawk folders: http://www.canonfire.com/htmlnew/module ... mp;sid=113 World of Greyhawk Fanclub: http://members.aol.com/WoGFanClub/woghome.html The Council of Greyhawk: http://www.tc.umn.edu/~monax002/Council/index.html Chris Siren's Gord's Greyhawk Page: http://home.comcast.net/~chris.s/gordmain.html Some stuff from Greyhawk Adventures HC: http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/dreadwood/greyhawk/magical.htm http://www.dracheninsel.de/insel/add/greyhawk/ http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/5878/ Russ Taylor's site http://www.cmc.net/~rtaylor/greyhawk/ Maldin's Greyhawk http://www.timebomb.on.ca/denist/greyhawk/ Talmeta http://talmeta.net/runequest/greyhawk/rqgods.htm Grodog Research: http://www.greyhawkonline.com/grodog/greyhawk.html Sheldomar Valley: http://freespace.virgin.net/scott.rennie/sheldoma.htm Duicarthan's 3E site: http://www.greyhawkonline.com/duicarthan/ More GH links: http://www.greyhawkonline.com/grodog/gh_links.html http://www.nuketown.com/griff/links/ http://homepages.ius.edu/rvest/Greyhawk/GHLinks.html Greyhawk Webring: http://c.webring.com/hub?ring=greyhawk Greyhawk Forums: RealmsofEvil: http://greyhawkonline.com/pitsofevil/viewforum.php?f=21 WotC: http://boards1.wizards.com/ (there's a Greyhawk subforum) Canonfire: http://www.canonfire.com/cfhtml/modules.php?name=Forums And last not least: The awesome Living Greyhawk Deities pdf: http://www.theocracyofthepale.com/downloads/lg_deities.pdf
#10 Amaril Feb 27, 2006 10:08:16	I would suggest ordering any PDFs from Paizo.com. They sell for $4 there, and Paizo is a big supporter of Greyhawk in their publications.
#11 maldin Feb 28, 2006 0:12:14	Here's my so far unedited Getting-Into-Greyhawk Primer: Maldin's Greyhawk http://www.timebomb.on.ca/denist/greyhawk/ Very nice list, Thanael! Just one correction that I know of (there may be more). My website moved over a year ago to the URL in my sig. Denis, aka "Maldin" ============================ Maldin's Greyhawk http://melkot.com Loads of edition-independent Greyhawk goodness!