Community

Mar 26, 2010 -- 6:23PM, Truefan wrote:

when i first picked up 4e PHB (Origins i believe it was 2005 right after 4th was announced at Gencon) the first thing i noticed was the absence of greyhawk gods(like Obad-Hai), and the addition of Forgotten realms gods, (like corellon *sp)

Corellon was the canon deity of the elves in Greyhawk, as well, probably all the way back to 1E days.  He's in the 1E Deities and Demigods book.

The main gods of the non-human pantheons (Corellon, Moradin, Garl Glittergold, Yondalla, Gruumsh, etc.) were first detailed in that book, and were then supplemented with additional gods which were originally presented in Dragon Magazine articles in 1982.  Those non-human pantheons eventually became canon (with some additions and revisions) for both Greyhawk and the Forgotten Realms.

Mar 26, 2010 -- 6:23PM, Truefan wrote:

in previous editions the greyhawk gods were the standard

Not really.  Only from 3E forward has there been any "standard" pantheon.  In the 1E and 2E days, any mention of the Greyhawk pantheons (other than the demi-human deities) were limited to the setting-specific books.

With 3E, WotC decided to make Greyhawk the "default" setting for the game, though it received very little in the way of "fleshing-out" in the 3E/3.5 rulebooks.  With that, however, a subset of the Greyhawk deities were presented in the 3E/3.5 PHBs (the first time that deities were specifically listed in a PHB).  A broader listing of Greyhawk deities was also given in the 3E "Living Greyhawk Gazetteer" book.

As 3E/3.5 progressed, WotC then introduced some new deities to the "default" pantheon (particularly in the "Races" books), who were not from the original Greyhawk pantheon (they were entirely new creations, in fact).

With 4E, WotC has, instead, chosen to create a default pantheon which borrows from both Greyhawk (Kord, Pelor, Vecna) and the Forgotten Realms (Bane), as well the traditional non-human deities (Bahamut, Corellon, Moradin, Gruumsh, Lolth, Tiamat), in addition to adding a number of newly-created deities (e.g., Erathis, Raven Queen, etc.).

Mar 26, 2010 -- 6:23PM, Truefan wrote:

now, since forgotten realms has subverted greyhawk as a the standard

It may feel that way to you, but it really isn't....there really isn't a "default" campaign world, at least not one that has been substantially fleshed out.  If there's a default setting, it's the general idea of the "points of light" theme for the campaign world, but there isn't a specific world behind that.

The Realms may feel "standard" to you because of the existence of LFR as the RPGA's sole campaign...but, WotC hasn't released a FR-themed book in about a year.  The Realms was the first campaign setting which received 4E support (with hardcover books and softcover adventures); once they got those books out, it was Eberron's turn.  And now, Eberron's turn is ending, and it's Dark Sun's turn next.

Mar 26, 2010 -- 6:23PM, Truefan wrote:

i think they should release a greyhawk alternative core book, like they did for forgotten realms for so long (1988)

I'd love to see Greyhawk get some 4E love, but it doesn't seem like WotC has much, if any, interest in supporting the Greyhawk setting (and, honestly, that was the case through the 3E era, as well, the Living Greyhawk campaign notwithstanding).

Mar 28, 2010 -- 3:54PM, Truefan wrote:

i agree about the fact that there are some standard gods without campaign restrictions, and its very cool they included most of these , you listed YOndalla, which unless its in a supplement is not in 4e, nor Forgotten Realms 3rd book,

I was referring to her, and the other non-human deities, in the context of how TSR and WotC handled those pantheons in the 1E/2E/3E eras.  She is, indeed, in the 3E Forgotten Realms (see the "Faiths and Pantheons" book), though it looks like she's been downsized out of the 4E FR pantheons. 

In the 4E FRCS book, Sheela Peryroyl is listed a goddess, and the other traditional halfling gods are listed as her exarchs (4E terminology for demigods).  My guess is that they saw Yondalla as being unnecessary, as she was very close in outlook, portfolio, and alignment to Chauntea (the main FR nature goddess).

Mar 28, 2010 -- 3:54PM, Truefan wrote:

do you think there is a way to get Greyhawk revitalised? something i can do?

There is a board here on the D&D boards for discussion of Greyhawk:
community.wizards.com/go/forum/view/7588...

That said, I'd be surprised if any WotC D&D staffers regularly visit that board (and it doesn't look like it gets a whole lot of traffic, anyway). 

I guess I'd suggest that you write to the D&D brand management team and let them know of your interest in seeing Greyhawk updated for 4E.  If WotC continues to follow the pattern they've established so far, they'll likely have a fourth game world which will receive support starting in 2011, though that hasn't been announced yet, and it's not clear if it'd be a world from a prior edition of the game, or a new one.