About Campaign Settings [Archive] - Wizards Community

About Campaign Settings [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
emereck
06-10-05, 02:08 PM I enjoy everything about D&D. Unfortunatley, I don't get to play that often, but I may have a chance to DM briefly over the summer.

I was considering constructing my own campaign setting to fit in some adventures I had already written, but I am very intrigued by some of the published settings, like Forgotten Realms, Eberron, and Greyhawk.

The people I would be playing with are new to D&D, so I want to deliver an experience that is varied and interesting, but not to far from the scope of standard D&D.

Should I continue making my own setting or buy one? If so, which one would you recommend? Help would be greatly appreciated.

(P.S. In the "Adventures" chapter of the DMG, there is a nifty table with a hundred random adventure ideas. It would be cool if there was one for campaign ideas.)
anarco_rata
06-10-05, 02:32 PM with a little imagination you can make those adventures ideas turn into a campaign ^^
If the players are new, don't make them play in released campaign settings, it's too much for them, at least i thins so, you should stick to a "generic" greyhawk, like the one presented in the PHB, building a little world yourself (just a kingdom for them to play) so they can get use to the game...maybe later you can play in the campaign settings like FR or eberron, but remember is a little hard to swallow to new players ^^
good luck
Gedrin
06-10-05, 02:42 PM The main disadvantage I found in using published settings was from my experience with the Forgotten Realms.

1. They may say certain areas are your's to deal with, but they're lying. If any of you had a Sembia Issue, you know what I mean. You may have actions in your game that shape the world in ways other than the guys at Wizards plan. Further, the guys at Wizards may say one thing about the world, then go in and change things completely...

2. The Publisher commands the gods. In fact, the publisher can wave a wand and have the gods go to war on your campaign world. All future material can be made useless if you don't want to go along with this. You need to be prepared for this possibility and be prepared for the fact that you've adopted a campaign world, are bound to the past material, but will still have to create the majority of any other expansion material you might want.

3. The Publish might blow up the main focus of the campaign, or have it go insane. As I had the Zents making inroads and Cyric acting as a backer for the Black Network, I looked forward to the Zhentil Keep boxed set, bought it, and found that the future of the published world was with a destroyed Zhentil Keep and a crazed Cyric. I returned the box and never bought another FR product.

4. Departing from the published line can create problems for you when trying to recruit new players. People seem much more willing to accept a home grown world, than a published world that had been "tampered with". It's a matter of having the world be other than they expected. Changing their assumptions of fact in the middle of the game is not good.

5. You have to alter the material anyway. Not just because having a book means anyone, players included, can accidentally read supposedly vital info, but also because you might kill off some bad guy.

6. They might change editions. $
However...

a: It is much easier to buy a book, read it, and get a good understanding, than it is to invest hours in creating a good campaign world yourself.

b: Professional game designers do a much better job than most people do in creating their world.

c: Store bought game worlds are much more detailed than the vast majority of home grown worlds. Volo's Guide's were probably the ultimate example of this.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
emereck 06-10-05, 02:08 PM	I enjoy everything about D&D. Unfortunatley, I don't get to play that often, but I may have a chance to DM briefly over the summer. I was considering constructing my own campaign setting to fit in some adventures I had already written, but I am very intrigued by some of the published settings, like Forgotten Realms, Eberron, and Greyhawk. The people I would be playing with are new to D&D, so I want to deliver an experience that is varied and interesting, but not to far from the scope of standard D&D. Should I continue making my own setting or buy one? If so, which one would you recommend? Help would be greatly appreciated. (P.S. In the "Adventures" chapter of the DMG, there is a nifty table with a hundred random adventure ideas. It would be cool if there was one for campaign ideas.)
anarco_rata 06-10-05, 02:32 PM	with a little imagination you can make those adventures ideas turn into a campaign ^^ If the players are new, don't make them play in released campaign settings, it's too much for them, at least i thins so, you should stick to a "generic" greyhawk, like the one presented in the PHB, building a little world yourself (just a kingdom for them to play) so they can get use to the game...maybe later you can play in the campaign settings like FR or eberron, but remember is a little hard to swallow to new players ^^ good luck
Gedrin 06-10-05, 02:42 PM	The main disadvantage I found in using published settings was from my experience with the Forgotten Realms. 1. They may say certain areas are your's to deal with, but they're lying. If any of you had a Sembia Issue, you know what I mean. You may have actions in your game that shape the world in ways other than the guys at Wizards plan. Further, the guys at Wizards may say one thing about the world, then go in and change things completely... 2. The Publisher commands the gods. In fact, the publisher can wave a wand and have the gods go to war on your campaign world. All future material can be made useless if you don't want to go along with this. You need to be prepared for this possibility and be prepared for the fact that you've adopted a campaign world, are bound to the past material, but will still have to create the majority of any other expansion material you might want. 3. The Publish might blow up the main focus of the campaign, or have it go insane. As I had the Zents making inroads and Cyric acting as a backer for the Black Network, I looked forward to the Zhentil Keep boxed set, bought it, and found that the future of the published world was with a destroyed Zhentil Keep and a crazed Cyric. I returned the box and never bought another FR product. 4. Departing from the published line can create problems for you when trying to recruit new players. People seem much more willing to accept a home grown world, than a published world that had been "tampered with". It's a matter of having the world be other than they expected. Changing their assumptions of fact in the middle of the game is not good. 5. You have to alter the material anyway. Not just because having a book means anyone, players included, can accidentally read supposedly vital info, but also because you might kill off some bad guy. 6. They might change editions. $ However... a: It is much easier to buy a book, read it, and get a good understanding, than it is to invest hours in creating a good campaign world yourself. b: Professional game designers do a much better job than most people do in creating their world. c: Store bought game worlds are much more detailed than the vast majority of home grown worlds. Volo's Guide's were probably the ultimate example of this.