This is the book for the default D&D setting.
If you want my opinion, I think it was a very well done book and if you have the original class splat books ( pre 3.5) it ties in some with them. All in all if you need an example of a setting or need one you can expand on without running into problems with 'current events' of that world this is the book to get.
There have been many earlier versions of the Greyhawk setting but the LGG is the most up to date and detailed. If you are playing a Greyhawk campaign you really need this very good book.
Unfortunately the presentation is not quite up to the standard of FR and Ebberon, particularly the art.
A new Greyhawk campaign setting book is well overdue IMO.
I know you can join the RPGA and get some new GH material through them but, I have no interest in having to do that just to get newwer stuff. If anyone from WOTC is watching I would like to see a small splatbook with some new GH material I'd even settle for a collection of the material from older RPGA material and the Living Greyhawk Jornal.
Get the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (LGG). You won't regret it. You will regret the D&D Gazetteer as it's a very stripped down 32-page version of the LGG. The LGG includes various human ethnicities of Oerth, Greyhawk gods, and Greyhawk organizations as well as descriptions for the different geographic areas and nations.
Agreed, but the D&D Gazatteer does have some redeeming qualities. I like being able to pull out the smaller map (D&D Gazatteer) when I don't want to unfold the larger LGG map. The smaller size (thin) of the Gazatteer also makes it easier to flip back and forth when you just want basic info on GH realms.
Having both is a luxury, but something to consider if you like creating GH adventures.
Edit: Also take Torpedoes' advice.
http://web.archive.org/web/20040517184319/http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Greyhawk/DnDGreyhawkWars.asp
Mike
Unfortunately the presentation is not quite up to the standard of FR and Ebberon, particularly the art.
I'm usually in favour of well-illustrated hardcover books, but in this case I'm actually glad the LGG is b&w softcover. It's cheaper, and in my newbie group all players wanted their own copy (thus allowing me to immediately throw in lots of setting-specific details, which I like to do). Admittedly, by today's prices it's not really all that much cheaper, but during the first years of 3E supplement prices seemed to be higher.
However, I agree wit the affordability of the LGG compared to something such as the Eberron CS. Additionally, I like that my players, most of whom are new to D&D, don't need to learn new rules that are tailored for the specific setting. Greyhawk just uses all the defaults of the D&D game.
I would strongly disagree on the pricing of books when 3e kicked off compared to current prices. just look through WotC's products page and compare cover prices there.
Please do. Compare for instance the Hero Builder's Guidebook (64 pages, paperback, $14.95), the 3.0 splat books (96 pages, paperback, $19.95) or Lords of Darkness (192 pages, paperback, $32.95) to Champions of Ruin/Valor (160 pages, hardcover, $29.95) or the Complete classbooks (192 pages, hardcover, $29.95). Looking at the price per page and overal quality of the product (cover, binding, illustrations), the more recent ones are definitely cheaper.
When I do buy from an actual store I am more prone to buy from the used racks rather than the new. I know this may sound cheap but I have to make every dime count lately. If I can get a current book 30% less I'll do it.
Price all depends of where you look.
Unfortunately the presentation is not quite up to the standard of FR and Ebberon, particularly the art.
The Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (WotC, 2000, by Holian, Mona, et. al.) is not a campaign setting book. It is a gazetteer, primarily designed to support the RPGA's Living Greyhawk Campaign. It is a survey of the Flanaess that details the setting's nations, history and people. It is not a campaign setting book, and cannot be compared to the Eberron Campaign Setting and Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting books. Those books have Prestige Classes, Feats, rules for races and classes, etc. Elements not present in the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer.
Besides the above, the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer is an amazing book, dense with non-rules information about the Flanaess, the area of concern in the World of Greyhawk. It is one of my personally favorite items from WotC. And I strongly recommend Living Greyhawk Gazetteer for any Greyhawk campaign.
A new Greyhawk campaign setting book is well overdue.
Oh, you don't know how right you are, bastrak. Good call, but I think we are without hope in that desire.
I hope this helps clarify the issue a little. Happy gaming.
It is a survey of the Flanaess that details the setting's nations, history and people.
That sounds like a campaign setting book to me.
It is not a campaign setting book, and cannot be compared to the Eberron Campaign Setting and Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting books. Those books have Prestige Classes, Feats, rules for races and classes, etc. Elements not present in the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer.
But they don't have anything to do with being a campaign setting book. The Realms and Eberron books are hybrid campaign setting/crunchy bits books, I would say.
TERMINOLOGICAL ANALYSIS~!
What amazes me most is that this question (and many others we see on a daily basis) is answered in the FAQ up there but, apparently, nobody bothers to read it
Don't be too harsh about it. Maybe they didn't know there was FAQ or like many of us didn't have time to dig through it.
The Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (TSR11743, 2000, ISBN 0-7869-1743-1) covers the same topics as the D&DG, but in much greater detail. 190 pages of setting information, 2 pages of Living Greyhawk character generation guidelines for the RPGA campaign. The included map is poster sized. LGG takes all previous Greyhawk material and condenses it nicely into one tome, as well as adding new details to most of the nations of the Flanaess, as well as some of the more noteworthy organizations. The Greyhawk fan in search of a pretty comprehensive, all in one type sourcebook would be hard pressed to find a better product.
Now, LGG must have had a much larger print run, because although both products are now out of print, the LGG still appears on store shelves now and then, and can be easily had through online sellers like Amazon for a reasonable price. The D&DG, from my experience, is harder to find.
If you seek "crunchy bits" like Prestige Classes to supplement the D&DG or LGG, I suggest visiting http://www.wizards.com/greyhawk and exploring the downloads there, as well as the links there to all the Living Greyhawk regional triad websites. Spells and magic items and monsters in the core D&D books are designed for Greyhawk unless otherwise noted.
I would much rather have 190 pages of actual setting information and have to explore a bit to find the crunchy stuff, than have the greyhawk info reduced in the interest of making the LGG more crunchy.
Don't be too harsh about it. Maybe they didn't know there was FAQ or like many of us didn't have time to dig through it.
I am not being harsh, I am just disappointed.
I mean, there is only ONE sticky post on this forum and if we went to the trouble of creating it, it was exactly to answer such questions.
That said, apparently the post wasn't made originally on this forum since a moderator moved it, so I guess the author hadn't even seen the FAQ to begin with.
sorry.