Something I'm a bit confused over as I'm writing my module, is just how much 'hawk you can put into a module.
In particular, it says in the guidelines that you have to use the generic PHB gods, but they're Greyhawk gods. So is every generic adventure a Greyhawk one? But it also says that Dungeon sometimes prints Greyhawk adventures, so does this mean there's a difference between generic adventures and Greyhawk adventures?
My module can easily be adapted to another location with the backstory, so even though it has a lot of GH in it, it's still a flexible option. However, I'd like to include the worshipers of two gods that are specific to Greyhawk and not in the PHB (Xerbo and Zilchus). Does that mean it's a Greyhawk adventure, or a Generihawk adventure?
I'm confused.
Something I'm a bit confused over as I'm writing my module, is just how much 'hawk you can put into a module.
In particular, it says in the guidelines that you have to use the generic PHB gods, but they're Greyhawk gods. So is every generic adventure a Greyhawk one? But it also says that Dungeon sometimes prints Greyhawk adventures, so does this mean there's a difference between generic adventures and Greyhawk adventures?
My module can easily be adapted to another location with the backstory, so even though it has a lot of GH in it, it's still a flexible option. However, I'd like to include the worshipers of two gods that are specific to Greyhawk and not in the PHB (Xerbo and Zilchus). Does that mean it's a Greyhawk adventure, or a Generihawk adventure?
I'm confused.
Personally, I would write them up and stat them the way you want them, and then in an "Adapting the Adventure" sidebar, provide appropriate substitutions from the PHB gods... but that's just me.
- Ashavan
Confused,
To answer your question. The PHB has only a sample of the Gods that are in Grayhawk. The Content in the PHB is both Generihawk and Grayhawk. You can add or take away anything in your campain. It is YOUR campain. If I am not mistaken it in one of the core rule books it states that there are other Gods. I hope I have helped you become unconfused
I'd like to include the worshipers of two gods that are specific to Greyhawk and not in the PHB (Xerbo and Zilchus). Does that mean it's a Greyhawk adventure, or a Generihawk adventure?
Generihawk is a kind of confusing term. Just think of of the core (PHB) pantheon as one similar to, but seperate from, Greyhawk.
Including those gods would make it a Greyhawk, rather than generic adventure. As long as you supply conversion notes that probably won't hurt your chances of being accepted. Especially when you consider the editorial staff's love for that setting. :-)
Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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The first thing to do is to think long and hard about what the "Greyhawk" elements add to the story. Are there clerics of Xerbo and Zilchus in the adventure merely for set dressing, or are they inherent to the plot? Just by looking at the two gods involved, I presume (perhaps falsely) that the adventure involves some sort of conflict between two business-oriented churches. Keep in mind that most settings do not have as many commerce gods as Greyhawk, and ideally all of the adventures we print in the magazine can be adapted to any campaign setting with a modicum of effort.
That's not to say that you can't use Greyhawk elements (or FR elements, or Eberron elements, etc.), but please be mindful of how the decisions you make about what the adventure is "about" can affect the module's portability to other campaign settings. I think this is at the root of the beefs some readers have with the Eberron content in the magazine. An adventure that contains a bunch of warforged in flying ships with connections to Eberron's boutique planar cosmology takes more effort to convert than a map with some monsters in the various interesting rooms.
I'm not trying to suggest that all adventures should be generic dungeon crawls, but the ones that grab on to an aspect of one of the three supported campaign worlds have to be "that much cooler" to get past the gatekeepers. Yeah, we really like Greyhawk, but we can't make Dungeon all Greyhawk all the time, so it's best to be careful with the setting-specific elements.
All of that's a very long way of saying that an adventure featuring Zilchus and Xerbo is fine. Take a look at Dungeon #106 to see how we handled Procan in a "core" adventure, or #104 to see the same thing for Incabulos. Or see #121 for Tharizdun. In short, include a brief sidebar on the nonstandard god, and another sidebar, on "Adapting the Adventure" to other campaign settings, would also improve the manuscript's chances.
--Erik Mona
The first thing to do is to think long and hard about what the "Greyhawk" elements add to the story. Are there clerics of Xerbo and Zilchus in the adventure merely for set dressing, or are they inherent to the plot?
Just dressing, really. The plot has a fair bit to do with the trade in a certain region, so it's only logical to include some characters with such gods. But they're all unimportant NPC's and the plot doesn't rely on them, or even the merchants... hard to explain after saying that it essentially centres on them, but it's true, it doesn't rely on them. It's actually a very portable adventure... no, really. In fact, I think you'll love it. So you should definitely approve the query and ask me for the manuscript :D
All of that's a very long way of saying that an adventure featuring Zilchus and Xerbo is fine. Take a look at Dungeon #106 to see how we handled Procan in a "core" adventure, or #104 to see the same thing for Incabulos. Or see #121 for Tharizdun. In short, include a brief sidebar on the nonstandard god, and another sidebar, on "Adapting the Adventure" to other campaign settings, would also improve the manuscript's chances.
Ah, neat. Thanks. That's what someone in greytalk suggested as well. Canny people, those greytalkers ;)
"That's not to say that you can't use Greyhawk elements (or FR elements, or Eberron elements, etc.), but please be mindful of how the decisions you make about what the adventure is "about" can affect the module's portability to other campaign settings. I think this is at the root of the beefs some readers have with the Eberron content in the magazine. An adventure that contains a bunch of warforged in flying ships with connections to Eberron's boutique planar cosmology takes more effort to convert than a map with some monsters in the various interesting rooms."
Actually, this is the exact opposite problem I have. Even though I want less Eberron adventures overall (I've been VERY vocal about this), I would prefer that the ones that are printed have the courage of their own convictions and not be afraid to go heavy on what makes Eberron unique. What's the point in publishing an "Eberron adventure" that's either not really or just barely Eberron? Nobody wins there. The non-Eberron fans still have to do some converting and the EBerron fans get a shallow treatment of their beloved material. May as well make all adventures fully generic and skip the pretense.
And I would LOVE some GH adventures that really plumb the setting's politics and lore in great depth for the same reasons.
And I would LOVE some GH adventures that really plumb the setting's politics and lore in great depth for the same reasons.
You can have it both ways if you're clever, like moi.
I planned my module from the beginning so that it could be both rich in GH lore, but be portable to any setting. And I think I've succeeded in doing that. I just hope the editors see that in my query :D
Confused,
To answer your question. The PHB has only a sample of the Gods that are in Grayhawk. The Content in the PHB is both Generihawk and Grayhawk. You can add or take away anything in your campain. It is YOUR campain. If I am not mistaken it in one of the core rule books it states that there are other Gods. I hope I have helped you become unconfused
Umm... did you even read the original post?