For me this is why the following settings are interesting:
* Forgotten Realms - Traditional fantasy roleplay with 20 years of active development (over 90 books versus the 21 for Greyhawk I could find, excluding adventures for both). Its also now points of light which I am a big fan of.
* Eberron - Steampunk-esque setting with not a whole lot detailed so it can be easy to learn everything there is about the setting (yup. I like FR because its heavily detailed and Eberron because it isn't). It isn't points of light which I find annoying, but that should be fixed in its 4e publication.
* Dark Sun - Post apocalyptic world with new takes on old races. Also very PoL before the term even existed.
To me Greyhawk seems to fill a niche very similar to Forgotten Realms (possibly minus the PoL aspect). Which if it does is fine, but I'm wondering if there's something unique to Greyhawk.
Greyhawk is also steeped in D&D lore. Some of D&D's most well-known names arise from the Greyhawk setting. Mordenkainen, Tenser, Melf, Rary, Robilar, Maure Castle, Castle Greyhawk, Zagyg/Zagy, Otto... each one has an interesting backstory, and often need intermediaries and agents around the setting, which leaves lots of room for PCs to act.
It's a traditional fantasy setting, where heroes are needed, evil is everywhere and the bad guys have actually made large gains in the recent past (Iuz returned and conquered a huge area, Rary and Robilar betrayed their allies and killed some of the most powerful good aligned characters).
Also, if you're a Forgotten Realms fan, it should be noted that some of the NPCs from those worlds know each other (Mordenkainen and Elminster have met on several occasions, and the Machine of Lum the Mad has popped over to the Forgotten Realms at least once).
It's a great setting, and it's worth looking into.
First off, Greyhawk has, bar none, the most impressive array of uber-villains of any of WotC's settings. And IMO, having great villains are half of what make the setting interesting. Iggwilv, Graz'zt, Acererak, Iuz, Lord Robilar (sorta), Eclavdra, Lolth (remember, FR basically stole her), Fraz'Urb'Luu, Vecna, Kas, Tuerny the Merciless, St. Kargoth, Kyuss, Tharizdun, Demogorgon, the Queen of Chaos & Miska the Wolf-Spider. Even if you've never played Greyhawk, these names (at least most of them) are well-known to the D&D community. FR villains on the other hand are a pretty limp and unambitious lot, comparatively speaking. :D
Secondly, aside from the Circle of Eight, I think most people who weren't Greyhawkers would be hard pressed to name more than... one hero from the setting. I doubt they could name even one "good" organization in Greyhawk. So PCs really are the driving force for good in Greyhawk. And PCs have never really had trouble with (at least the perception of) being overshadowed by uber-powerful good NPCs. FR on the other hand, even if you haven't played the setting you'll likely recognize the names of their heroes.
Next, Greyhawk is home to the most well-known artifacts in the game: Axe of the Dwarvish Lords, The Bringer of Doom, Codex of the Infinite Planes, Crook of Rao, Daoud's Wondrous Lanthorn, Hand and Eye of Vecna, Iron Flask of Tuerny the Merciless, Rod of Seven Parts, Sword of Kas, Mighty Servant of Leuk-o... the list goes on. And who doesn't like artifacts...?
Greyhawk's lands as a whole are more sparsely populated than settings like FR, with a lot more wilderness and borderland regions. POL defines the setting very well. Planar ties are very strong with this setting, plenty of connections to other planes. Though mostly to the bad ones. :D
Not to mention, only Eastern Oerik has much detail. Some of Western Oerik is detailed in the Chainmail campaign setting, but it's very vague and sketchy.
Also, St. Kargoth is an awesome villain.
Forgotten Realms vs Greyhawk:
Where Greyhawk has always shined for me over the Forgotten Realms is that your character can actually mean something to the world at large. A mid-level (say 9-10th level in 3rd edition or early paragon tier in 4e) character in Greyhawk is already a person of influence. Many rulers aren't much higher level. While in the Forgotten Realms there are epic level NPCs in every city and even a lot of villages.
This has always created a feel for me that in Greyhawk adventures go on quests because they are the best people to do a desperate job. In the Forgotten Realms adventures go on quests because the quest is to unimportant for any of the truly powerful people standing around to bother with so they are sending your character in as some kind of 'minion' to deal with the piddling problem.
Of course Forgotten Realms is MUCH more developed than Greyhawk which is in my opinion both a good and a bad thing. I love the mass of source materials, novels, and adventures. But the lack of all that material for Greyhawk actually can become an opportunity for a good DM and his/her players, the lack of materials for Greyhawk gives an imaginative DM room to develop and insert their own ideas that much more easily. Additionally, I've always kind of felt that Forgotten realms was 'Greyhawk on steroids' with a kind of 'whatever has been done in Greyhawk we will do it bigger and with more special effects.' feel that I've never liked. For example: Elclavdra, the Fane, Lloth, and the drow being hijacked and becoming Mezo, Lloth, and <> Drizzt.
Finally, Forgotten Realms is High Fantasy while Greyhawk is Low Fantasy. The low fantasy give more weight to politics, environment and other mundane things that any player character can get involved in at any level while also making magic and other fantasic things more interesting through their rarity (it took over a year of play before I found my first magic weapon in Greyhawk whereas I found a magic longsword in my first encounter in the Realms... guess which +1 sword meant more to me).
Greyhawk vs. Eberron:
I've got to admit that Eberron has probably become my favorite WotC setting. I like the steam punk feel, the art work has been incredible. I like how it is something not even really comparable to Greyhawk in most ways. Where Forgotten Realms has its 'Greyhawk on steroids' feel Eberron is and was from its very beginning something completely unique from either Greyhawk or the Realms.
It also manages to be High Fantasy while avoiding the Realm's problem of overshadowing the characters. True there is a ton of magic and techno/magic going around but not a lot of Epic NPCs thundering around the place. This allows your mid-level characters to be people of importance like they are able to be in Greyhawk but less so in the Realms.
Eberron also currently lacks the Realms over developed feel. I think that may be a factor of how new it is though. Its nice having a very well described couple of cities and countries for DMs who don't want to develop the setting on there own but hasn't touched on other areas for DMs who do.
Final notes:
For us that are real old school players Greyhawk also has a special place because we watched and helped it grow. Forgotten Realms, and to a lesser extent Eberron, burst upon the scene fully grown with shelve full of books within a few years of their inceptions while Greyhawk stared with a thin little book and gradually grew and we grew with it. It give you a sense of propriety to be able to look over the materials for Greyhawk and easily see how it all fits together and were your character(s) fitted into it as it developed.
There has also always been a feel that WotC didn't like Greyhawk, despite its large and very loyal fan base WotC has rarely done anything to promote the world and the few times they have it has felt like they have done so grudgingly. This has given a lot of Greyhawk fans a tighter loyalty the world. When you look at the Greyhawk fan sites there is a definite feel of 'well since WotC won't we will' attitude and so Greyhawk fans have yet another reason to feel a sense of propriety for the setting... it is a setting of the fans more than either of the other two worlds. Even with the recent and hugely successful Living Greyhawk campaign the entire campaign was run and developed by the players with seemingly very minimal support or encouragement from WotC. Hundreds of people have written LG scenarios that thousands of others have played (I did a regional scenario myself for Living Greyhawk that got decent reviews) and having a very real opportunity to actively help develop a world to that extent gives you a feel for the world that the Realms and Eberron just can't touch.
Thanks everyone. I do feel like I've got a better understanding of the world, although while it isn't ultimately for me (many of your concerns or comments about FR have been addressed in 4e IMO, I also like my fantasy high rather then low with the exception of Dark Sun because that's got a special place in my heart), I certainly did appreciate everyone taking the time to talk about it with me
Glad we could help. Personally I don't like where FR went with the new developments. The destruction of the weave and Goddess of magic was one of the biggest wins for evil that I have seen in an ongoing campaign. Evil shouldn't have to win just to get things under control - at least not on that level.
But then, as I said before, I likely won't DM the realms anytime soon. As for the low fantasy, I would actually disagree with that particular assertion. Politics can be equally important in any setting, regardless of its fantasticness. Greyhawk has not one, but two liches who try to become gods (and one which succeeds), several kingdoms overrun by giant led armies, the Tomb of Horrors (come on, need I say more?), a fey elven kingdom (likely one of the big sources for eladrin, Tolkien references aside), a human supremecist organization with their hands in everyone's cookie jar, and a demigod half demon working to conquer the world. Sounds pretty high fantasy to me
But all the same, thanks for listening to us wax poetic about (one of) our favorite setting(s).
Well I have been on the ropes for some time with my group trying to decide what world we wanted to run our campaign in. Dragonlance was at the top and then Greyhawk and a homegrown world in second place, but after reading this thread I am returning home to where I started and where I was raised.
I never went past 2e Rules and currently play a mix of house rules using 1E, 1.5E and 2E rules.
What do I find special with Greyhawk?
1. Gary Gygax created it, it was the first world released and that in itself means something.
2. in my opinion - Greyhawk never needed all the books to help build its storyline although I would not mind reading a few more books hehe what other world has as much background as Greyhawk does without having to publish a million books to puch it.
3. alot of the most famous modules came from Greyhawk.
it is hard to explain, but playing in Greyhawk just feels right.