- If it's in the 1980 Folio it is canon. I have to think very very hard on something before I change it, and I'll try to remain as close as possible to the original folio while still giving my own spin on things.
- It's the only thing that is canon. I will under no circumstances look at any other Greyhawk products for inspiration. Anything not in the folio must to be invented by myself.
- The only possible exception to this is the Village of Hommlet module which I have and like quite a bit. I might not use it for inspiration, but I might. All other Greyhawk products are off limits though.
- I will be using some other material for inspiration, such as the CSIO and other Judges Guild products.
- If I ever run this I'll use Labyrinth Lord plus the full litany of class and race options from the AEC. However, in building the setting I'll most often be referencing AD&D material such as the DMG, the MM, FF, MMII, and DDG.
This project is designed to give me a nice meat and potatoes fantasy* setting that still has a firm Evan stamp on it. I was a bit worried at first that Greyhawk was a bit too close to my wheelhouse (medieval Europe) but now I'm starting to think that may be a blessing. I'm still not sure which region I'm going to detail first, but it will undoubtedly have a big city in it since I miss city adventures.
More to come soon.
Looking forward to this! I'm getting set to get my own Gray Box Project going again; it'll be nice to be on the reader side for a similar project, particularly since, like you, I'm pretty much a Greyhawk newb.
ReplyDelete"The only possible exception to this is the Village of Hommlet module which I have and like quite a bit."
ReplyDeleteI would be very cautious about this. Gygax packs a lot of setting info and implications into T1, and unpacking/using it could have the effect of making your Greyhawk cleave more closely to later canon than the project implies you'd like. Me personally, I'd just roll with the folio.
I have to respectfully disagree with Scott, a lot of the backstory for T1 is already in the Folio. And you have some intriguing things in it that look like they tossed aside as the canon fell into place by say 1983-84.
ReplyDeleteThe take on religion for one, if you read T1 alone you definitely come away with an impression of St. Cuthbert as a saint in a pseudo-medieval Church rather than the stand-alone deity he becomes by the time of the boxed set. The same with the druidical Old Religion, no particular deity is presented (Obad-Hai I believe is the fill-in god in the boxed set). It really changes the cosmology and internal tension of the module.
I'm with Scott on this one.
ReplyDelete