Campain Setting [Archive] - Wizards Community

Campain Setting [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Reclaimed
07-10-06, 10:46 AM Hello-

I've just recently started playing D&D. I have had a lot of fun with it so far. I would like to start to look at some campain settings.
I know that Wizards has the Ebberon and Forgotten Realms.

What does each of the settings offer?

What is good about each and what don't you like about one or the other?

If I was going to start one or the other, what books are the best to have with them as far as background and what campains do they have that are the best?

Any replies would be greatly appreciated.
Orancateb
07-10-06, 10:52 AM My advice: Do not buy a Campaign setting. Use your own imagination. I have read Ebberon and parts of FR and it isn't than nice. You can make your own setting. :) I know this sounds not very helpfull, but I really try to help you. ;)
Seeker95
07-10-06, 11:10 AM If you're new, then a published setting takes a lot of work off your plate.
I recommend a setting at first. Then they are purely optional.

I prefer Eberron to the Realms, simply because the Realms have been over-detailed in my opinion.
I prefer Greyhawk over everything for this very reason.

As for the rest of your questions, go to the Eberron and Realms Boards and just read a bit.
babysamurai
07-10-06, 11:19 AM Planescape/Spelljammer is the best because it encompasses all campaign settings/worlds.

IMO.
KJW
07-10-06, 11:24 AM I do agree that designing your own campaign setting is a great experience, but it can be a little daunting starting out. I first started out in Mystara and then the Realms and it does help to have a campaign setting when you start out, so you can focus on the art of designing adventures. Still if this idea intriques you it is really worth it, my campaign worlds work far better for me as a DM than any published campaign setting.

Now as for Eberron and Realms, I know the Realms fairly well and can say that it is the smorgasbord of campaign settings, you can do everything from low-level to epic in nearly any setting imaginable. This means though that things are a little jumbled and some of the settings are more than a little awkward, but it does work and gives you a well-developed tapestry. I think the main problem with the Realms is that many players know it pretty well and this can be confining for a DM who is less knowledgeable in Realms lore. Eberron I have skimmed and looked into and is a more aesthetic setting, NPCs are set at 12th level, magic is fully integrated into society to give it a more modernesque feel to it, but it does have a unifying feel to it. To me it seems inspired by settings like Rifts, but sanitized for D&D. The problem with Eberron is that either the setting works for you or it doesn't. If you are imagining more LOTR fantasy instead of Harry Potter then it may not be a good fit.

I would suggest you go to the Eberron and Realms forums and ask them about their setting, in other words go to the Eberron boards and ask "should I buy Eberron?" Don't mention the Realms just get their feelings about their setting. Do the same thing with the Realms. I imagine that after that you will have an idea of which fits for you.
Burpcycle
07-10-06, 11:41 AM The Realms are a fun setting, my favorite one. It's a high-power one compared to the others, and it's so detailed as to be confusing to a newcomer.
Eberron isn't my kind of thing. A lot of people swear by it, I do not. I understand why they like it, but it's not for me. I'd recomend looking at it, though.
The default setting (Greyhawk) is easy to work off of, just make countries and cities and so forth as you go along.
There are some other campaign settings, but they're not so popular and easy to find material for.

If you make your own setting, then you can simplify it by stealing a pantheon of gods from real life. Most people who do this steal from Norse mythology because it fits the best into D&D (Greek and Egyptian mythology work too, though)
Grandpa Gamer
07-13-06, 12:51 AM I've been using The Forgotten Realms since it came out.

Basically, the reason we're still in it is BECAUSE it's so detailed - my players (and myself) keep up to date with the major story lines in the novels. As one of them said to me, "it's like watching the evening news! All this stuff is happening to all these other people, but the vast majority has no impact on you whatsoever!".

BTW - How would you spell Faerun in L77T - "F43R0N"?
NineInchNall
07-14-06, 01:01 AM Eberron, regardless of anything else about it, is a better starting point for new players, new DMs, or even new groups than is the Forgotten Realms setting. This is due to several factors.

Every city-state description includes a section of adventure ideas as well as a description of what adventuring in that region is like. A new DM or a DM new to the setting will have an easy time coming up with adventures for his PCs.

The setting is not as densely packed with NPCs and history from hundreds of novels, supplements, computer games, and published adventures. Not having all of those things makes it easy to get into the setting, and it also means that the themes of the setting are much more clearly seen, as they are not obscured by an overabundance of detail. (You avoid the "can't see the forest for the trees" phenomenon.)

The setting has an easily recognizable theme and shtick. After sitting down with the Eberron book for a while, it is evident that the setting was designed around a core set of themes. Again, this cogency makes the setting much easier to digest and to get the feel for.

The setting is designed around the 3.5 ruleset. This is a subtle point, but it means that any new player can use the information in the PHB (aside from the deities) almost unadulterated.

K.I.S.S. New players should always remember these four letters, and Eberron delivers.
Ashanti
07-14-06, 05:36 AM My advice is to read some good quality fantasy novels (none of the TSR crap mind you).

Pick something like Magician by Raymond Fiest (for your goblins, elves and dragons style, Perdido Street Station by China Mieville (for your arcane/techno/steam punk setting) or Blue Moon Rising by Simon Green (for your more cynical/witty settings).

Read books like these then you will get an idea of what you want you world to look like. I personally dislike official settings (with the exception of Darksun).

Make you own world up and you can guarantee you will learn to be a good DM quicker.
Grandpa Gamer
07-15-06, 11:35 AM My advice is to read some good quality fantasy novels (none of the TSR crap mind you).

Pick something like Magician by Raymond Fiest (for your goblins, elves and dragons style, Perdido Street Station by China Mieville (for your arcane/techno/steam punk setting) or Blue Moon Rising by Simon Green (for your more cynical/witty settings).

Read books like these then you will get an idea of what you want you world to look like. I personally dislike official settings (with the exception of Darksun).

Make you own world up and you can guarantee you will learn to be a good DM quicker.

In college, we played a homebrew based on the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, by Stephen R. Donaldson

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Reclaimed 07-10-06, 10:46 AM	Hello- I've just recently started playing D&D. I have had a lot of fun with it so far. I would like to start to look at some campain settings. I know that Wizards has the Ebberon and Forgotten Realms. What does each of the settings offer? What is good about each and what don't you like about one or the other? If I was going to start one or the other, what books are the best to have with them as far as background and what campains do they have that are the best? Any replies would be greatly appreciated.
Orancateb 07-10-06, 10:52 AM	My advice: Do not buy a Campaign setting. Use your own imagination. I have read Ebberon and parts of FR and it isn't than nice. You can make your own setting. :) I know this sounds not very helpfull, but I really try to help you. ;)
Seeker95 07-10-06, 11:10 AM	If you're new, then a published setting takes a lot of work off your plate. I recommend a setting at first. Then they are purely optional. I prefer Eberron to the Realms, simply because the Realms have been over-detailed in my opinion. I prefer Greyhawk over everything for this very reason. As for the rest of your questions, go to the Eberron and Realms Boards and just read a bit.
babysamurai 07-10-06, 11:19 AM	Planescape/Spelljammer is the best because it encompasses all campaign settings/worlds. IMO.
KJW 07-10-06, 11:24 AM	I do agree that designing your own campaign setting is a great experience, but it can be a little daunting starting out. I first started out in Mystara and then the Realms and it does help to have a campaign setting when you start out, so you can focus on the art of designing adventures. Still if this idea intriques you it is really worth it, my campaign worlds work far better for me as a DM than any published campaign setting. Now as for Eberron and Realms, I know the Realms fairly well and can say that it is the smorgasbord of campaign settings, you can do everything from low-level to epic in nearly any setting imaginable. This means though that things are a little jumbled and some of the settings are more than a little awkward, but it does work and gives you a well-developed tapestry. I think the main problem with the Realms is that many players know it pretty well and this can be confining for a DM who is less knowledgeable in Realms lore. Eberron I have skimmed and looked into and is a more aesthetic setting, NPCs are set at 12th level, magic is fully integrated into society to give it a more modernesque feel to it, but it does have a unifying feel to it. To me it seems inspired by settings like Rifts, but sanitized for D&D. The problem with Eberron is that either the setting works for you or it doesn't. If you are imagining more LOTR fantasy instead of Harry Potter then it may not be a good fit. I would suggest you go to the Eberron and Realms forums and ask them about their setting, in other words go to the Eberron boards and ask "should I buy Eberron?" Don't mention the Realms just get their feelings about their setting. Do the same thing with the Realms. I imagine that after that you will have an idea of which fits for you.
Burpcycle 07-10-06, 11:41 AM	The Realms are a fun setting, my favorite one. It's a high-power one compared to the others, and it's so detailed as to be confusing to a newcomer. Eberron isn't my kind of thing. A lot of people swear by it, I do not. I understand why they like it, but it's not for me. I'd recomend looking at it, though. The default setting (Greyhawk) is easy to work off of, just make countries and cities and so forth as you go along. There are some other campaign settings, but they're not so popular and easy to find material for. If you make your own setting, then you can simplify it by stealing a pantheon of gods from real life. Most people who do this steal from Norse mythology because it fits the best into D&D (Greek and Egyptian mythology work too, though)
Grandpa Gamer 07-13-06, 12:51 AM	I've been using The Forgotten Realms since it came out. Basically, the reason we're still in it is BECAUSE it's so detailed - my players (and myself) keep up to date with the major story lines in the novels. As one of them said to me, "it's like watching the evening news! All this stuff is happening to all these other people, but the vast majority has no impact on you whatsoever!". BTW - How would you spell Faerun in L77T - "F43R0N"?
NineInchNall 07-14-06, 01:01 AM	Eberron, regardless of anything else about it, is a better starting point for new players, new DMs, or even new groups than is the Forgotten Realms setting. This is due to several factors. Every city-state description includes a section of adventure ideas as well as a description of what adventuring in that region is like. A new DM or a DM new to the setting will have an easy time coming up with adventures for his PCs. The setting is not as densely packed with NPCs and history from hundreds of novels, supplements, computer games, and published adventures. Not having all of those things makes it easy to get into the setting, and it also means that the themes of the setting are much more clearly seen, as they are not obscured by an overabundance of detail. (You avoid the "can't see the forest for the trees" phenomenon.) The setting has an easily recognizable theme and shtick. After sitting down with the Eberron book for a while, it is evident that the setting was designed around a core set of themes. Again, this cogency makes the setting much easier to digest and to get the feel for. The setting is designed around the 3.5 ruleset. This is a subtle point, but it means that any new player can use the information in the PHB (aside from the deities) almost unadulterated. K.I.S.S. New players should always remember these four letters, and Eberron delivers.
Ashanti 07-14-06, 05:36 AM	My advice is to read some good quality fantasy novels (none of the TSR crap mind you). Pick something like Magician by Raymond Fiest (for your goblins, elves and dragons style, Perdido Street Station by China Mieville (for your arcane/techno/steam punk setting) or Blue Moon Rising by Simon Green (for your more cynical/witty settings). Read books like these then you will get an idea of what you want you world to look like. I personally dislike official settings (with the exception of Darksun). Make you own world up and you can guarantee you will learn to be a good DM quicker.
Grandpa Gamer 07-15-06, 11:35 AM	My advice is to read some good quality fantasy novels (none of the TSR crap mind you). Pick something like Magician by Raymond Fiest (for your goblins, elves and dragons style, Perdido Street Station by China Mieville (for your arcane/techno/steam punk setting) or Blue Moon Rising by Simon Green (for your more cynical/witty settings). Read books like these then you will get an idea of what you want you world to look like. I personally dislike official settings (with the exception of Darksun). Make you own world up and you can guarantee you will learn to be a good DM quicker. In college, we played a homebrew based on the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, by Stephen R. Donaldson