Concerned: what if they DO release GH stuff?

Post/Author/DateTimePost
#1

lincoln_hills

Jun 02, 2005 20:54:33
You know, I was just glancing around the Optimization boards, and the New Releases boards, and I came to a startling conclusion:

I'm fine with them (you know... them) not releasing any Greyhawk support material lately.

I disagree with many of the decisions the current owners of the Greyhawk license have made concerning what it is that I want in my games, and I'm glad that they aren't directly trying to impose their new stuff on this classic campaign world.

I want a stable, understandable world in which 1) orcs are bad, 2) gold is good, 3) elves have pointy ears, 4) wizards cast fireballs, 5) fighters wear full plate, 6) ships sail on the water, and 8) dragons make people run away. I want a world full of archetypes, where I can set stories.

I know some folks want a campaign world that's "different", and that's great. I use a home-brewed campaign world for my radical notions and unusual races and classes: I use Greyhawk when I want people to know what to expect... to focus not on how strange the world is, but on how their very own stories are going.

I really don't want to see "The New Greyhawk Campaign Book" tell me that "dwarf" is now a template, Furyondy has been conquered by warforged Favored Souls, "Knights of the Hart" must belong to a prestige class or be hunted down by the order, and all dark elves now follow the Chaotic Good goddess "Snuggy Boodles". You hear what I'm saying?

They're trying to sell me things in which I have no interest.
#2

meorn

Jun 02, 2005 21:38:01
I kinda agree with you... but you have to agree that LGHG is a terrible book, that for you to create an adventure based on a kingdom you have to browse trough the whole book (the kingdom itself is in one chapter, the mountains are in another, the forests are in another and so on...) and you have to do it with that huge map open... not that I don't like the map, in fact I love it, but it sucks to have to look at it every time... I'd like to see a more organized book, divided by regions with everything you have to know about that area and with a small map of the specific region... with the material from Dungeon Magazine and Dragon Magazine that's Greyhawk oriented... but I know that's too much to ask, so I'd be more than happy with a Dungeon/Dragon Magazines Greyhawk Compendium.... even if it's fan-made.
#3

caeruleus

Jun 02, 2005 23:24:54
I really don't want to see "The New Greyhawk Campaign Book" tell me that "dwarf" is now a template, Furyondy has been conquered by warforged Favored Souls, "Knights of the Hart" must belong to a prestige class or be hunted down by the order, and all dark elves now follow the CG good goddess "Snuggy Boodles".



I wouldn't want to see that either. And I just loved how you put it.

The scary thing is that if they did do this, Greyhawk sales might match Forgotten Realms sales. And that would make WotC produce more such books.
#4

zombiegleemax

Jun 03, 2005 3:44:16
Yes but the only reason people want a hardback Greyhawk Campaign Setting is because they want good support that maintains the status quo. Greyhawk won't be Greyhawk anymore if all the old people who kept it alive for so long suddenly desert it because it has been bastardized.
#5

bdpenney

Jun 03, 2005 10:34:02
Heh!

Worry not, there is ZERO chance that Wizards of the Coast producing any 'Official' Greyhawk material ever again.

We'll get nuggets in forthcomming books (it is the default world, whatever that means...) and it gets a goodly amount of attention in both Dragon and Dungeon Magazines. Now, the quality of the content can be up or down, but at least it isn't called 'Canon' and you can pick and choose what fits into your campaign.

Anyway, I'm delighted that Wizards of the Coast has decided to lay their hands off Greyahawk. I find that the truly loyal and enthusiastic players (many of whom populate this forum and Canonfire!) do far better work than the individuals currently extreting Ebberon. Have them keep their hands off it and let the people who care about it deal with it. I'm experienced enough as a DM, and own enough sourcebooks to do anything I'll ever need with the World of Greyhawk and that suites me just fine.

Wizards, please keep your hands off!

Go play with Eberron or create yet another legion of epic-level innkeepers in the Forgotten Realms. We the players have got Greyhawk covered.
#6

chatdemon

Jun 03, 2005 10:44:14
but you have to agree that LGHG is a terrible book

No, I don't.

In terms of detail and "putting it all in one place", the LGG is hands down the best Greyhawk book to date. I would not want to see the level of detail and adventure hooks comprimised just to better organize things.
#7

zombiegleemax

Jun 03, 2005 11:28:02
I think that most people, who are not familiar with the setting, think that Greyhawk is just a hodge podge of do whatever you want whenever you want, without understanding the stories that developed to get Greyhawk where it is today.
#8

Elendur

Jun 03, 2005 15:03:18
I want a stable, understandable world in which 1) orcs are bad, 2) gold is good, 3) elves have pointy ears, 4) wizards cast fireballs, 5) fighters wear full plate, 6) ships sail on the water, and 8) dragons make people run away.

What was number 7?
#9

ORC_Paradox

Jun 03, 2005 21:44:20
I think it was "Waldorf ruled the world."

:D
#10

meorn

Jun 03, 2005 23:57:43
No, I don't.

In terms of detail and "putting it all in one place", the LGG is hands down the best Greyhawk book to date. I would not want to see the level of detail and adventure hooks comprimised just to better organize things.

Yes, but whow does a book that has the same material that LGG has but you can actually read sound to you?
#11

chatdemon

Jun 04, 2005 0:41:54
Yes, but whow does a book that has the same material that LGG has but you can actually read sound to you?

Would the 83 Greyhawk boxed set be better? or From the Ashes?

Oh wait, they are both organized the same way the LGG is.

LGG followed a time tested format for GH sourcebooks, one that is far easier to reference than the hodgepodge format the Greyhawk Player's Guide used.

Sure, you have to flip back and forth a bit, but lets say they used the format you suggest, and Im looking for info on the Javan River.

Which country do I reference? Keoland? Geoff? Sterich? Yeomanry? Sea Princes?
#12

samwise

Jun 04, 2005 11:56:43
Which is why we need regional gazzetteers instead Chatdemon!
That way we don't need to look through a dozen entries for the full history of a country.

:P
#13

chatdemon

Jun 04, 2005 13:29:17
Which is why we need regional gazzetteers instead Chatdemon!
That way we don't need to look through a dozen entries for the full history of a country.

:P

Great, then instead of one new book at $40, we'd be expected to purchase 5 to 10 new books at $25 or $30 each.

Bah! :P
#14

samwise

Jun 04, 2005 20:23:50
Of course!
What could be better than that?
Greyhawk and more Greyhawk.

:D
#15

Elendur

Jun 04, 2005 22:31:29
Yeah, there's are term for "Greyhawk and more Greyhawk"...
#16

gv_dammerung

Jun 04, 2005 23:04:54
Heh!

Worry not, there is ZERO chance that Wizards of the Coast producing any 'Official' Greyhawk material ever again.

. . . We the players have got Greyhawk covered.

I have nothing but my formidable gut to go on here. ;) But I would not count GH out at all. My gut tells me GH will be back in print. Whether that is via Wotc or a 3rd party, I have no idea.

I agree that the players have GH covered. And I think that may very well be what turns the tide for seeing GH back in print. While it is easy enough to blow off Greyhawkers as a bunch of coots hanging on to a faded or "never was" setting, like a "bad penny," they and GH keep turning up. ;) Eventually, you get the "Butch Cassidy" reaction - "Who _are_ those guys?" Then, its just a matter of what a New Hawk might look like.

Unlike, I think, a lot of Status Quo-ers or "Deadenders," I'm all for a New Greyhawk that throws off large portions of the past to forge a New Hawk future. NOTE - New _HAWK_. That is retaining enough of the past to be recognizable GH but allowing whomever does the design to add material and developments as Sargent did (hopefully with more skill/aplomb).

IMO :D
#17

zombiegleemax

Jun 05, 2005 1:44:08
I think you have a point there GV. Putting a definite separation between the old and new Greyhawk is the best way to go. Many fans have deeply rooted ideas of their own (beyond the official material) on how things are supposed to happen in GH. If someone tried to pick up exactly where the official material left off, they would undoubtedly alienate a lot of fans every time they added new material.
#18

faraer

Jun 05, 2005 14:46:38
Yes, but whow does a book that has the same material that LGG has but you can actually read sound to you?

This kind of sarcastic rhetoric has never got anyone anywhere. Obviously, tens of thousands of people can read the LGG or the preceding works organized similarly, and I dare say you can too. I've never even heard this complaint before across a lot of different boards.

And GV, you will persuade more people if you hold off from labelling them.
#19

Elendur

Jun 06, 2005 11:22:04
Yeah, no offense, but this is the first time I've heard anyone state that the LGG was anything less than excellent.

It keys to the map perfectly. That's the point, the map drives the information.
Adventurers go into Suss forest? Look up Suss Forest. They go to Flen in Keoland, look up Keoland. I though this was how all Gazetteers are set up.
#20

Amaril

Jun 06, 2005 11:43:29
The onyl thing I can think of that could be better than what the LGG offers is an index, which appeared in an issue of the Living Greyhawk Journal, and deeper content such as that which can be found in sources such as Ivid the Undying, Iuz the Evil, and The Marklands.

Additionally, I think a Greyhawk-specific Underdark book, something I've wished for in the past on these forums, would be an excellent addition. I found the Forgotten Realms version to be too specific to FR. Maybe the two Fantastic Locations books will help with that.
#21

lincoln_hills

Jun 07, 2005 14:00:57
What was number 7?

I deleted 7 in compliance with the Homeland Security Act.

No, no, just kidding. 7 had something to do with thieves, but it got lost when I edited the post. Sorry about that.