Hi folks,
When it comes to RPGs, the world-building and lore are always what engages and excites me. I’ve enjoyed exploring Golarion, and prior to that the Forgotten Realms.
I’m curious to learn more about Greyhawk as a campaign setting; to get a sense of Oerth as a place. I know that Greyhawk’s evolution as a campaign setting was not as straightforward as other ‘game-worlds’, largely because it was one of the first.
If I really wanted to get a taste for Greyhawk, what five books/modules/accessories would fans recommend?
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I would pick up "The Living Greyhawk Gazeteer, From the Ashes and also The Adventure Begins. You can find them online.
From the Ashes is a boxed campaign setting which primarily consists of a world book, campaign book, and random encounter tables.
If you buy the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer the From the Ashes World book isn't a big deal, but the secondary book in the boxed set details out the Area Surrounding the Domain of Greyhawk quite well and for that reason I recommend buying the boxed set From the Ashes.
If your looking for just one item though, get the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer as it will be the most complete about the world as a whole. It is thick in size but does lack random encounter tables. It also includes the deities and a few organizations famous to the world.
The Adventure Begins goes into a lot more detail concerning the history of the world, especially the more recent history. It also includes a good Greyhawk City map and location descriptions as well. This makes adventuring in Greyhawk City easy when you want to stick to official places and NPCs found in the city. It also contains the calendar system and a host of other smaller details.
Thanks for the suggestions folks. What about adventures? I know the old 'classic' adventures are nominally set in Greyhawk, but perhaps light on lore. Any latter-day adventures?
Also, I have an idea that Paizo developed Greyhawk a little more in their tenure overseeing Dragon magazine. Any stand-out articles?
Thanks again.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Thanks for the suggestions folks. What about adventures? I know the old 'classic' adventures are nominally set in Greyhawk, but perhaps light on lore. Any latter-day adventures?
Also, I have an idea that Paizo developed Greyhawk a little more in their tenure overseeing Dragon magazine. Any stand-out articles?
There's a list of Greyhawk-related products, including adventures, here.
For Dragon Magazine articles, have a look in the DragonDex under Greyhawk.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I second that those three choices. I used those three books quite a bit when I was running my Age of Worms campaign, and it was picking up the From the Ashes boxed set many years ago that made me really interested in the setting.
If you are looking to run adventurers- you can't go wrong with the Age of Worms adventure path. Savage Tide is also in Greyhawk, but not really since it is mostly on the Isle of Dread or in the outer planes. I love that AP though.
I would recommend getting your hands on Expedition to Castle Greyhawk for 3.5, which is by Eric Mona and James Jacobs so...
Other good old school adventurers that are set in the Greyhawk setting include:
Against the Slavers
The Against the Giants/Queen of Spiders adventures
Lost Caverns of Tsojanth
Tomb of Horrors
Temple of Elemental Evil
White Plume Mountain
The Cult of the Reptile God
The Saltmarsh Trilogy
A a few of those are being republished in the Yawning Portal book that is coming out for 5e in a few months.
I would pick up "The Living Greyhawk Gazeteer, From the Ashes and also The Adventure Begins. You can find them online.
From the Ashes is a boxed campaign setting which primarily consists of a world book, campaign book, and random encounter tables.
If you buy the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer the From the Ashes World book isn't a big deal, but the secondary book in the boxed set details out the Area Surrounding the Domain of Greyhawk quite well and for that reason I recommend buying the boxed set From the Ashes.
If your looking for just one item though, get the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer as it will be the most complete about the world as a whole. It is thick in size but does lack random encounter tables. It also includes the deities and a few organizations famous to the world.
The Adventure Begins goes into a lot more detail concerning the history of the world, especially the more recent history. It also includes a good Greyhawk City map and location descriptions as well. This makes adventuring in Greyhawk City easy when you want to stick to official places and NPCs found in the city. It also contains the calendar system and a host of other smaller details.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Yes, Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk, by Bulmahn, Jacobs and Mona, is a must. They are real Greyhawk aficionados (particularly Mona), and their love for the setting shows.
Monte Cook's Return to the Elemental Temple of Evil (for 3rd Edition) is also worth looking at.
Cheers, and thanks for the input! :-)
Step one. Destroy Keoland!