I'd like to set one up, if people are interested, but I need a couple of things.
First, is anyone interested in coordinating this effort? I would like to get someone who is knowledgeable enough about Greyhawk to determine which questions truly belong in a FAQ and to answer those questions.
Secondly - what questions do you guys think should be included? Here's a few from me:
1. Who are in the Circle of Eight and what is their function?
2. What is the Horned Society?
3. Where did the Greyhawk campaign get its origins?
4. Was Greyhawk named after Blackhawk?
5. What is Canonfire?
I'll sticky this thread, and have you guys discuss this.
Thanks, everyone!
I would add the following to the list of questions:
6. Who is Vecna and how did he become a god?
7. Who is Tharizdun?
8. What are the human ethnic groups in GH and do they have special abilities?
9. What is the link between Greyhawk and Blackmoor?
10. Where can I find updated (to 3E) GH modules?
11. What is Living Greyhawk?
12. What is "canon" for Greyhawk? (that one is going to be tough to agree upon..)
13. Where can I find a chronology for GH?
As for a person to handle the FAQ .. :D
We discussed the idea of an FAQ awhile back, at
http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=163978
and I thought there was more, but I can't find it, since search disallows FAQ as a search term (short by one letter) ;)
Procedurally, I'd also like to clarify in an FAQ what we can/can't talk about from a fiction perspective. After you closed out the recent GH novels thread, after a little digging, I pinged WizO_BigSister, who pinged Melanie Creel in response to several Qs I had. I'd be happy to forward them to you if you'd like to review them for possible inclusion as FAQs.
And thanks for the vote of confidence, Mortepierre---it's good to know that my 17th level Knowledge Engineer aura comes through across the internet ;)
1. Subraces
2. Temple of Elemental Evil (original and return)
3. Maps
4. Lack of product support/ Default world status
5. Living Greyhawk Gaz./ 83 set and associated books as primers for beginners.
6. Circle of Eight, collectively or their individuals
7. Who are the Nine gods trapped by Zagig.
8. GH's theme/ tone compared to other settings.
9. GH characters in DnD minis.
10. Deity listings
11. Pronunciations
12. Scarlet Brotherhood general
13. Vecna general
14. Tharizdun general
15. What is canon (like mentioned above)
16. Polyhedron/ LGJ/ Dungeon status
17. Novels list (and like grodog said the policy in discussing them)
18. where to get oop products
19. Living Greyhawk
20. Fan sites
15- ARe the LGJ going to be edited or published online by soemone?
16- What are the material needed for Dm and players to begin a campaign in WoG?
17- links to the oerth journal
18- What's the next products available for greyhawk (the maps in dungeon)
Anyway, We get asked about animuses, tharizdun, and the subraces the most from what I recall.
It would seem that with 17 different topics that this FAQ would be long and confusing. You'd almost need 17 different threads to keep up on it. (Well maybe 16 becasue I did count the What is Greyhawk to Blackhawk and that's not something I've ever heard before).
I noticed that one topic could be the subraces of Humans. Well even on Greytalk, WotC's Greyhawk, AOL Boards and many times previous to now, I've seen so many different ideas behind them that I doubt you can clearly pinpoint any one historical perspective and say that "this is it" without argument. In fact, Argument is what Greyhawk is mostly about.
With such an expansive list of topics for the FAQ, the person handling it would almost be requirted, as noted above, to have several different FAQ's, or possibly cut and paste relevant topic discussions to the FAQ so as to keep it in a general area. Then again, the worst thing about the FAQ is that you're only getting the input from the people that review this message board. So the FAQ handler would almost certainly need to get others that don't normally post here to do so (put the juice on Holian and Zavoda [even if his thoughts about things are quite often debated]). I'm sure Abysslin would keep a link on CF! to it here, as it would be extremely useable, and getting the most activity is beneficial.
In fact, as I logined into to CF! this AM (8:15 PDT) there are 31 guests and 7 members viewing the site. That's a lot of people checking it out, in comparision, there are only 3 people checking out this board (including me).
Well I hope something like this does get off the ground. And I would agree that Grodog has both the know-how to handle something like this as well as the Greyhawk knowledge (and the ability to find answers to questions that he doesn't know).
Procedurally, I'd also like to clarify in an FAQ what we can/can't talk about from a fiction perspective. After you closed out the recent GH novels thread, after a little digging, I pinged WizO_BigSister, who pinged Melanie Creel in response to several Qs I had. I'd be happy to forward them to you if you'd like to review them for possible inclusion as FAQs.
Please, go ahead.
From a fiction perspective, WotC instituted this new policy to where novel discussions are not allowed on the boards. However, it's hard to discuss some elements of a setting without discussing the novels.
Try to keep any discussions on settings and rules if you can, and if novels tie into that, that's fine.
Grodog - I'll check that other thread out in a bit. Would you be interested in coordinating this? PM me if you wish.
It would seem that with 17 different topics that this FAQ would be long and confusing.
It possibly could be. I don't know if you guys have seen the FAQ on the psionics boards or not, but they're huge. I'd rather it be fairly simple and easy to navigate. I think with proper organization, we could come up with a good FAQ.
Great suggestions on questions from everyone. Keep them coming.
LOL
How many WizO's have we been through before we finally got one that is at least somewhat concerned with our communal welfare as it pertains to this board?
Originally posted by abysslin
"WizO_Drake, the WizO who finally tamed the Greyhawk board."
LOL
More like the WizO who was tamed by the Greyhawk board. ;)
How many WizO's have we been through before we finally got one that is at least somewhat concerned with our communal welfare as it pertains to this board?
I'm not really certain how many predecessors I've had. I know of Jedi.
Whatever the case, if there's anything I can do to help out these boards and to make them a more enjoyable experience, let me know.
Also, my thanks to all of you for rekindling my interest in the Greyhawk setting. It's been years since I played any GH, and it is good to revisit the setting.
Back to topic!
Although this thread has just started, and ideas are coming in (or had and seem to have stymied), where are we at? Do we have any concensues as to what and whom is going have control of this section? What topics does it appear this FAQ will have, and first and foremost, although this is (as it seems) to be a Greyhawk Informational FAQ, we do need to post that posts regarding novels need to be posted at CanonFire, and anything that will require a Wizo to be heavy handed.
So the beginning needs to be a FAQ about the message board requirements, and the requirements for an item to be part of the FAQ, as well as general information. Part of that should be a couple of links to major Greyhawk Sites, such as CanonFire and maybe DragonsFoot (I've never been their personally, so I'm not sure if that fits). My own GreyhawkOnline.com only fits if a GH fan needs free webhosting, so I don't think it fits. Places such as the RPGA's regional sites may or may not fit. I don't care for them, but others find their information useable. But EN World's 1e AD&D to 3e/3.5 module conversion would certainly fit.
Well here's to hoping that this post doesn't get edited for posting something about novels (oh, that's twice now).
As for the FAQ content in itself, I think the main question that needs to be answered is "what is considered canon?".
Given how many times we foug.. er .. debated it in the past, till we all agree to a list, this isn't going to get off the ground.
I would submit that every module and accessory published by TSR/WotC and bearing the GH logo has to be considered canon, except for:
WG7 Castle Greyhawk
WG9 Gargoyle
WG10 Child's Play
Beyond that, we've got to compile a list of modules that never received the GH logo but were still set in the GH setting (i.e. UK2 & UK3). Note that I am not talking about modules that we think would look good in GH but modules where the text itself makes reference to a precise location within the GH setting.
In the novel department, as much as the Mika novels made me laugh, IMHO it would be silly to consider them canon. At the very least, The Eyes Have It shouldn't be canon given it describes a Yeomanry that has little to do with the current one.
The first two Gord the Rogue novels published by TSR should be canon. Those published after G.G. left shouldn't. I really wish we could include them but since they end up with the current GH blown to kingdom come, we would have a problem :sad:
Night Watch is set in an alternate future of GH. Despite the novel using a very good grim & gritty description of Greyhawk City, we can't use it since it's an alternate future.
It would seem that with 17 different topics that this FAQ would be long and confusing. You'd almost need 17 different threads to keep up on it. (Well maybe 16 becasue I did count the What is Greyhawk to Blackhawk and that's not something I've ever heard before)
Maybe their could be more than one FAQ:
Greyhawk inhabitants FAQ:
- subraces
- animus
- dragon
Greyhawk Deities FAQ:
- Link to Deities list
- Tharizdun
- Who are the Nine gods trapped by Zagig
- Vecna
Greyhawk Products FAQ:
- What is canon
- LGG
- Beginner kit (Living Greyhawk Gaz./ 83 set and associated books)
you get the picture;)
Originally posted by Mortepierre
As for the FAQ content in itself, I think the main question that needs to be answered is "what is considered canon?".
Canon seems to be one thing that can be debated endlessly. We might have more success in reaching consensus if we just include in the FAQ a definition of what the term means, so that the first time a newcomer runs across it, they'll know what we're talking about. Beyond that, there are probably some broad areas of agreement that can be used as examples (for instance, I think that everyone agrees that the "joke" Castle Greyhawk is not canon - it even says so in "The Adventure Begins," if I recall correctly). However, I doubt that we'll be able to reach any broad agreement about the full contents of the list. And it would probably be useful to note that even non-canon items can still be useful.
As for a definition of "canon," I would propose "the continuity of the setting as defined in official products." Any other suggestions?
We tend to get alot of newbies on this board asking questions very specific to the living campaign which 1/2 of us have no clue about nor any desire to learn about.
Although I don't mind helping a lost soul out, those types of things deffinately belong on the RPGA Living campaign forums. That's what they are there for.
Originally posted by WizO_Drake
[b]I'll address a couple of points here real quick.
[snip]
Please, go ahead.
WizO_Drake---please shoot me an email, and I'll forward you the correspondence.
Grodog - I'll check that other thread out in a bit. Would you be interested in coordinating this? PM me if you wish.
I'd be happy to help to coordinate the first drafting of the FAQ, but I don't have the time to be able to commit to maintaining the FAQ on going-forward/perpetual basis.
It possibly could be. I don't know if you guys have seen the FAQ on the psionics boards or not, but they're huge. I'd rather it be fairly simple and easy to navigate. I think with proper organization, we could come up with a good FAQ.
That would definitely be my intent: organize it well so it's easily usable.
So it appears that Grodog will help to make sure any FAQ is started out well and has the appropriate information (heck, who wouldn't), but he's got his little carpet shark he has to water now and doesn't have time.
Is there someone else with FAQ experience that is willing to take the reigns? Of course it would have to be someone that many of us know and not some newbie to the boards and Greyhawk in general. Someone that others can back and agree that they have the knowledge, resources and time to get things posted and handled.
I know Abysslin likely is a candidate, but I'm not sure, since he handles the majority of CanonFire's day-to-day posting. Chatdemon is likely another candidate, but I'm not sure he has the time or energy to put into it (although this would be a good re-start for him). Although I haven't had the pleasure of e-meeting either Mortepierre or Brom Blackforge both appear to have been online for a while, have some GH background, and make good, well informed posts.
I'm sure that there are others that I haven't eMet or don't know that they have FAQ experience. Who else has the ability to handle such a project?
One thing that I think would be helpful is to also make the FAQ a PDF. I can do that, and have GreyhawkOnline.com, CanonFire, and others have downloadable copies of it as well. Sure it would be called the WotC Greyhawk Message Board FAQ, but many people don't visit these forums in particular.
On to what is canon....I must agree that is the most problematic question in Greyhawk. I know I read somewhere the things that Erik Mona and Gary Holian used as canon when doing the LGG. That includes some older Dragon Mags as well. We can also include quasi-canon (or even alternate-canon) for things done in Dungeon mag (I recall a module set in the Pale region that was god awful, but did have some minor Pale information [it had some ancient lords coming back from the past]).
I haven't been part of an FAQ prior to this. So I'm not sure how posting to one really works. Do you actually post to the FAQ, or do you post to a separate board and after discussion it finally makes it to the FAQ?
Although I haven't had the pleasure of e-meeting either Mortepierre or Brom Blackforge both appear to have been online for a while, have some GH background, and make good, well informed posts
Why, thank you!
It's true I've always been a GH fan. My first setting .. and my last if I have anything to say about that :D
That said, while I do have access to a wealth of material about GH, my main contribution to previous questions has been to point people to other websites such as Grodog's
I can't claim to have worked on a message board's FAQ before either but I am certainly willing to help Grodog (or anyone else) with the work if they deem my contribution worthwhile (and my english acceptable, french-speaker that I am)
So, shall I send it again, to WizO_Drake for his review? I think the important thing is to get one started and build upon it after its initial posting.
Greyson, so if you have done up a FAQ, why not let us review it first before having a Wizo post it? If a Wizo posts it and it needs adjusting it might be harder for the rest of us to modify it. But then again, I'm new to FAQ's in general.
Originally posted by Greyson
So, shall I send it again, to WizO_Drake for his review? I think the important thing is to get one started and build upon it after its initial posting.
Please do. I agree with the sentiment that if we can get a rough draft going, we can then refine it as we go. Once we have an initial FAQ, maybe you and Grodog could go over it and refine it. We can get commentary from board members and refine it further.
Grodog, you should be able to get my e-mail through my profile.
My thought is that if we could get a small team together to maintain the FAQ, or maybe one dedicated person, this could work out nicely.
Mortepierre, you may be elected yourself! ;)
I'll do what I can to help out in the process.
I want to add that we should have a small section of Living Greyhawk, which should point to the Living Greyhawk boards for discussion there.
Keep the suggestions coming, guys!
If I sounded like I was pulling myself out of the running for this completely, that wasn't my intent :D
Originally posted by WizO_Drake
Grodog, you should be able to get my e-mail through my profile.
I get this when I click the email in your profile:
Sorry! That user has specified that they do not wish to receive emails through this board. If you still wish to send an email to this user, please contact the administrator and they may be able to help.
If you email me, I can certainly reply, Drake :D
A: Well, us 'hawkers have alot of different outlets for discussion of our favorite setting in addition to these WoTC forums. Sometimes discussion of a particular topic may take place elsewhere.
Some other popular Greyhawk forum discussions can be found below...
Canonfire Forums
Dragonsfoot Gygaxian Greyhawk Forums
Thursday GreyChats hosted by Psionics.net IRC
The Greyhawk Webring
RPGA Living Greyhawk Forums
Rob Kuntz: Greyhawk Forums
Furthermore, some of us get a taste of Greyhawk via online play, see below for examples...
D20 World of Greyhawk: Online RPG
CORE Greyhawk Campaign: Online RPG
Perhaps a visit to Greytalk would help Wizo drake find someone who will aid in maintaining the FAQ for the Greyhawk boards!
Give me a few days, and I'll help get things started on this. Again, I really need someone who could dedicate themselves to maintaining this.
Thanks for the support, everyone!
2. Vecna--a brief description, history from the 3 products, current status etc..
3. List of all modules Specifically set in Greyhawk before the base campaign world decision.
I think that most questions can be contained within a broader question and answered efficiently by seperating the FAQ into two sections. The top section containing general, broad-stroke answers to general, broad-stroke questions, whilst the lower half pertains to more specific questions.
------------------------------------------------------------
WotC Greyhawk Message Board FAQ
What is Greyhawk?
Never has there been a question that has caused so much controversy, at least amongst Greyhawk fans. This question is part and parcel with the question, 'What is Canon?', however that is seperate enough that it deserves it's own answer, which is addressed later on in this FAQ.
The simple truth of the matter is that Greyhawk is the first RPG setting published by the originator of the RPG concept, Gary Gygax. That is about as much as most fans can agree on, and even then there is the contention that Blackmoor was first. The evidence, however, says that Blackmoor, whilst preceeding Greyhawk as a gaming world, was not published until after Greyhawk.
In essence, Greyhawk is an RPG setting. It has many published resources. Over a hundred, in fact. Most are currently OOP (Out Of Print), meaning they are no longer available as a new book and must be hunted for on eBay, or through 2nd-hand book dealers. Many can also be found as PDF's online, through legal distributors.
There are two exceptions to the general OOP rule. All new core rule books produced by WotC are intended to be used in the Greyhawk setting as it is still essentially the core setting of D&D. This is the theory, however many contend the practicality of that argument.
Currently, the most Greyhawk content you can find, is adventure modules, NPC's, and miscellany that are published in Dungeon magazine.
At the end of the day, Greyhawk is whatever you want it to be. Select at will from any of the numerous resources for the setting that are available and choose what you like and dismiss what you don't like. It's your world, so it's up to you to decide how you use the material. Nobody can tell you what your Greyhawk is as there are as many Greyhawks as there are DM's and fans of the setting. Each has their own, unique flavour, and none are more or less superior than any other.
What's the difference between Living Greyhawk and Greyhawk?
Living Greyhawk is a relatively new concept in co-operative world building. It is run and administered by the RPGA, an international roleplaying organization based in America. Volunteers set up and organize adventures and monitor regions that are allocated to various real world locales. You can play at sanctioned tournaments or at home with a sanctioned module and advance your character by playing at any of them and reporting the results through official channels.
Living Greyhawk uses the Greyhawk setting as a base upon which the world is advanced one year at a time, using real time as a measuring stick, and the modules as a continuous story-line. It is not, however, the same as the Greyhawk setting. The two can be mixed and matched as much as you please, that is an individual's prerogative, however this board is for the discussion of Greyhawk the setting, not Living Greyhawk the game.
To discuss Living Greyhawk the game, there is an alternate messageboard available that can be reached by following this link.
What are these 'resources' you keep mentioning?
As was mentioned, there have been many books, articles and adventure modules published for the Greyhawk setting. Most are OOP and can be difficult to find, however it is not impossible. Due to restrictions on what can be posted on these boards, we cannot direct you to where these materials can be purchased, however if you do a quick search in Google for online retailers of PDF's (Portable Document Form, a standard document format that requires Adobe Acrobat, free from Adobe's website, to read), and 2nd-hand RPG book dealers, should give you what you are looking for.
A list of previously published Greyhawk materials follows:
(insert Jason Zavoda's list, with his permission)
What is 'canon' and how does it relate to Greyhawk?
Oh boy. You really know how to pick 'em, dontcha?
This question has plagued Greyhawk fans for many, many years. It is a bone of contention that will never be fully resolved. Heck, even the dictionary description of canon can't be agreed upon!
Essentially, canon is what is considered 'official'. Even that brings up much debate amongst fans because some consider that the fans should decide what is and isn't official, whilst others feel everything published is official.
The word itself comes from literary origins where catholic priests would decide what was and wasn't proper reading material that could be included in the bible.
The way some fans react to this discussion, you'd think it was a religious war!
Suffice it to say that this is an issue that only ever causes grief amongst Greyhawk fans. It is best left undiscussed. And at the end of the day, like I mentioned before, it really doesn't matter what is and isn't canon, as the only canon that matters is what you choose to include in your Greyhawk campaign.
What's a good 'primer' for someone who knows very little about Greyhawk?
Yet another contentious issue (there are many amongst Greyhawk fandom) but one that is less so if you are willing to decide for yourself and look through the below proposals which span the breadth of suggested reading. The titles below are listed in chronological published order, from most recent to oldest.
Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (yes, it's called the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, but it is still a Greyhawk sourcebook)
The Adventure Begins
Player's Guide to Greyhawk
Greyhawk Adventures
World of Greyhawk Boxed Set
World of Greyhawk Gazetteer
All of the above will give you a wealth of information as all were designed to be an overview of the world as an RPG setting. Some people will tell you that only the first one matters, whilst others will tell you only the last one matters, whilst still others will tell you that they all matter. It is recommended that you pick up whichever one you can find and make up your own mind.
Who are the major NPC's of the setting?
If you are new to RPG's, or new to D&D, then you might not have heard of the following names, however if you have played D&D for more than a few years, you should recognize many of the names as they are as ubiquitous as are Prestige Classes and Feats. Well, maybe not quite as popular
Mordenkainen:
Rary
Tenser
Otiluke
Otto
Robilar
Lareth the Beautiful
Eclavdra
Vecna
Iuz
What deities does the setting have?
Lots! Not all are considered 'canon', and not all have to be used to make the setting work. There are loose-knit pantheons that are seperated by race, and there are also 'generic' gods who belong to no one particular group of peoples. All, including demi-gods, hero-gods and quasi-deities, are listed below under their relative pantheonic headings:
Suel Pantheon
Oeridian Pantheon
Flan Pantheon
Touv Pantheon
Olman Pantheon
Elven Pantheon
Dwarvish Pantheon
Gnomish Pantheon
Halfling Pantheon
General
What races are there in Greyhawk?
Greyhawk is a fairly generic RPG fantasy setting, in that it has most critters and races you would expect in such a setting. There are no Greyhawk specific races such as Draconians, however there are various sub-groupings of humans that are differentiated mainly by skin and hair colour, but also have differing cultural backgrounds which make them distinct from other fantasy setting humans. The primary human sub-groups are the following:
Suel
Oeridian
Flan
Touv
Rhennee
Olman
What political, social, magical, thieving or other guilds or groups are there in Greyhawk?
There are numerous groups who seek power and influence throughout many distinct areas within the greater area that is known as the Flanaess. A listing and minor description of these groupings follows:
Circle of Eight
Horned Society
What does this term mean?
Like any group, fans have created and use many abbreviations in order to both distinguish themselves as educated fans and quicken conversation among others of their ilk. Below is a list of common abbreviations and their meaning amongst most Greyhawk fans:
More specific queries
Below can be found answers to more specific, frequently asked questions. Though most of these questions have already been answered above, the following is given simply to allow those looking for a quick answer to a specific question, easy access so they don't have to read the entirety of the above answers.
What is the Circle of Eight?
Who is Mordenkainen?
What is an 'animus'?
Where can I find Greyhawk materials for 3.5 edition?
Are there other fan discussion forums and fan sites?
Yes, there are many. Below is a listing and links to some of the more popular ones, according to Google.
Canonfire
Dragonsfoot
Grodog's site
PPP
Greyhawk-L
Is there anywhere to chat online (IRC) about Greyhawk?
Yes, there are several places however most are just casual ones that can be found on any server. To list them would be far too much work. There is, however, a weekly discussion headed by a prolific Greyhawk writer and fan, and sometimes frequented by other Greyhawk luminaries such as Erik Mona, and where many fans, of all editions and Greyhawk flavours, come together to discuss all things Greyhawk... among other things
The chat can be found by following the directions below:
If we widen the scope a bit The Keep on the Borderlands should be mentioned since the "Return to ..." version is placed in Greyhawk and the original has been translated into quite a few languages.
Crossover products any? Spelljammer has a book about Greyspace, one Planescape book features the Vault of the Drow.
Add some trivia section for entries like H1 Bloodstone Pass in which someone mentions "The greatest show on Oerth ..." on page 4 of the adventure booklet.
Note that while many of these may not be canon, they mention Greyhawk one way or another.
Regards,
Glorfinden
Stranger things have happened though.
Originally posted by rostoff
1. Canon---We can't agree on what it is or isn't on this or any other Greyhawk board, it should be left off the FAQ. A thread will be started every 2 months and we will be debating it all over again.
Actually what is canon is very simple. It is what the company owning the IP declares must be taken into consideration for new submissions. And a list of this is very easy to obtain. Just ask one of the writers of the LGG to list what they used in writing that product. Then ask the coordinators of the LG campaign what they require. Finally you can ask the editor of both magazines what they require. These three lists, assuming they are different, can then be noted as to what constitutes the canon of Greyhawk. What individuals then chose to employ in their games is then left to them to decide.
And I would like to note that such a list, which would be a near duplicate of the product list and could be connected to such by the simple expedient of listing those products with GH references that were not used, would be of great relevance for a FAQ.
Originally posted by abysslin
hmmm, I seriously doubt Zavoda will allow his index to be publicly displayed here.
Stranger things have happened though.
Not the whole damn index, twit. That's over a megabyte. I'm talking about the alphabetical listing of products.
Regardless of whether he allows it or not, it's just an index, which means it can be used by anyone for anything. I just thought it'd be polite since I'd rather copy-paste it from his work than redo it.
Not the whole damn index, twit.
Delglath
Last Post: 01-26-04 07:29 AM
Graz Hober
Date Registered: 01-28-04
Last Post: 02-19-04 09:51 AM
Iksander
Date Registered: 02-19-04
Well, I believe that's all I have to say about that. Otherwise I like the rest of the ideas we have thus far.
Iskander, you forgot From the Ashes.
One might also post common questions about timeline conflicts, ex: "How was Iuz involved with the rise of the Temple of Elemental Evil if he was imprisoned during that time?"
Note that speculation may be used for questions with no clear answers, but must be identified as such.
One might also consider a "canon" question pertaining to Greyhawk authors, ex: "Who are some of the more popular Greyhawk writers?" The answer could start out something like this:
"EGG is the best-known GH author, & creator of the setting. Consequently, his writings on GH are accepted as "canon" by GH fans more than any other writer."
The answer could go on to mention RJK, Sargant, Roger Moore, "Team Greyhawk," SKR, Mona, Holian, et al.
Other questions could be:
"What is Aquaria?"
"What is the Old Faith?"
"Are the Mystara/ Minaria/ etc campaign settings also on Oerth?"
"Is GH geocentric or heliocentric?"
That's all I have time for now. . . .
Originally posted by Robbastard
Iskander, you forgot From the Ashes.
I don't consider it to be a setting book really. I guess that's because I don't tend to use the Atlas that much. Is the Atlas worth including as a setting book?
Originally posted by Iksander
I don't consider it to be a setting book really. I guess that's because I don't tend to use the Atlas that much. Is the Atlas worth including as a setting book?
Uh, yes--it defined the post-Wars Flanaess. FtA is the stepping stone between the '83 box and the LGG.
Originally posted by WizO_Drake
Hey, gang, sorry to go silent.
Give me a few days, and I'll help get things started on this. Again, I really need someone who could dedicate themselves to maintaining this.
Thanks for the support, everyone!
We really need some one to take the iniative and get this thing rolling with some supervision and format.
As it stands this thread is a mesh of disjointed ideas and points of view. (of which, mine are/is the best ofcourse, haha ;) jk)
Originally posted by Robbastard
One might also consider a "canon" question pertaining to Greyhawk authors, ex: "Who are some of the more popular Greyhawk writers?" The answer could start out something like this:
"EGG is the best-known GH author, & creator of the setting. Consequently, his writings on GH are accepted as "canon" by GH fans more than any other writer."
The answer could go on to mention RJK, Sargant, Roger Moore, "Team Greyhawk," SKR, Mona, Holian, et al.
I recognize that the way "canon" is used in Rob's quote above is a pretty common usage on these boards, and presumably in other Greyhawk forums as well. For that reason, I suppose that the meaning given above should be acknowledged in the FAQ. However, I think it should only be mentioned as a prelude to describing why that's not what it really means. "Canon" is not synonymous with "fans' preference." Samwise was right on with his definition:
Originally posted by Samwise
Actually what is canon is very simple. It is what the company owning the IP declares must be taken into consideration for new submissions.
At the very least, the FAQ should describe these two competing usages, even if it does not commit to one of them as correct. That might even cut down on the frequency of the canon threads that rostoff mentioned. ;)
Originally posted by rostoff
1. Canon---We can't agree on what it is or isn't on this or any other Greyhawk board, it should be left off the FAQ. A thread will be started every 2 months and we will be debating it all over again.
Originally posted by abysslin
We really need some one to take the iniative and get this thing rolling with some supervision and format.
As it stands this thread is a mesh of disjointed ideas and points of view. (of which, mine are/is the best ofcourse, haha ;) jk)
Sorry about that. I have the beginnings of a FAQ in order and will post shortly, after which time we can expand upon it.
No rest for the weary WizO! lol