Friday, February 15, 2019

D&D 5e: Stranger Things Starter Set in Greyhawk?

Breaking News!

Ok, maybe breaking speculation... However, I asked a few questions of Steven "Stan!" Brown, one of the authors of the new Stranger Things D&D Starter Set.

@RagingOwlbear:
How much can you reveal?
1) New adventure written by you?
2) Still FR backdrop or set in generic fantasy land?
3) Any rewrite/re-presentation of the basic rules from the old starter set?

@stannex:
As always, I mostly can be coy and non-specific. But here goes:
1) I was the primary designer on the adventure;
2) ST [Stranger Things] is set in 1983/84 and the FR [Forgotten Realms] boxed set wasn't published until 1987;
3) The rules book was updated by the D&D design team.

This tie-in might be a nice way to
re-introduce Greyhawk to D&D fans.
So... #3 was a given since they want to tie in Stranger Things with some look and feel elements, but I think the Forgotten Realms question reveals a lot... Or at least, it notes that Forgotten Realms is specifically not available as a setting for that time period.

It goes on...

@RagingOwlbear
Did I just get a scoop?
#dnd #Greyhawk #IHaveADream

@stannex:
In that no one else has asked me these questions, kinda. But then, I didn't tell you anything that isn't already announced elsewhere ... so kinda not. See? I'm coy like that.

Mike Mearls has specifically mentioned Greyhawk on more than one occasion on his Twitter feed. Even though Stan doesn't specifically confirm Greyhawk, there is a strong implication. Could Greyhawk fans finally get a small taste after all this time? We won't know for sure until May... but to quote another 80's icon, "Signs point to yes".

UPDATE: As noted in my comment, there is minute possibility that it could be Mystara (Grand Duchy of Karameikos is in the original Expert Set).  However, I believe it is likely that the new set may contain Greyhawk references, but without a specifically mapped locations. This, however, leaves the door open for a DM's Guild "Guide to Greyhawk" release similar to what we've seen with Eberron.

But I'm often wrong.

You can read the thread here:




4 comments:

  1. It occurs to me that it could also be The Grand Duchy of Karameikos which fits the 1983 - 84 timeframe.

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  2. I'll take Mystara/Known World too. Either one means potentially opening up another setting for 5e authors on DMs Guild.

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  3. Oooh, I like it. I'm posting this over on The Piazza for further discussion! http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=81&t=21252

    ReplyDelete

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