Best campeing setting [Archive] - Wizards Community

Best campeing setting [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Ratguy629
05-27-04, 02:11 PM what do you guys think the best campeing setting is including map and details right now we play forgotten realms but we seem to stay real close to waterdeep im thinking ebberon or dragonlance and i heard ghost walk has no map so thats out of queston
Azer Firelord
05-27-04, 02:15 PM The best camping setting?:D Ok, someone else make the rest of the pun.

I use a homebrew, so I'm biased. However, I think Eberron could be really good if you're wiling to look at it with an open mind.

That said, I've heard good things about FR and Greyhawk too. And Planescape is just cool:cool:
PSchirf
05-27-04, 02:26 PM I too have always felt that homebrew is best, even if that means someone elses homebrew. Have you considered asking someone who runs a game world for help? I have had multiple DMs borrow maps,cultures,history writeups, etc. from my world. I'm sure others are willing to provide the same.
MetalGemini
05-27-04, 03:47 PM I like Forgotten Realms. There is so much diversity in it that I can create almost any plot line and it will fit in somewhere in the Realms.

I like some of the things in Dragonlance, like kenders, and learned to play in the setting, but it gets dull after a while.
volcanoDM
05-27-04, 03:56 PM my team's in the process of helping me playtest a totally new varient system, but w homebrew ours.

i incorperated modules into my game, so it'd kind of ogtta be homebrew. you can base a homebrew off of a pre-made thing, and it can be really standard for your first cmpaign, but if you guys are sticking to Waterdeep, by all means, oust them! do something to motivate them. flign a dragon out there, send a balor or five to wreck Waterdeep, make it unlivable by a scandal to the PC's (you killed the governor!) and make it unsolvable, find a way.:behold: :ayyyy!:

or even better, have the mage in your party pick up a baaaaad scroll and it incidentally goes off while he's talking to an important figure in Waterdeep.:bump:

don't try to reconfigure a world, that may take too much time. do something to get them going.
Moonstonedragon
05-27-04, 06:59 PM I like Forgotten Realms. There is so much diversity in it that I can create almost any plot line and it will fit in somewhere in the Realms.
yes even though I have my own campaign world I like forgotten realms alot for that reason,
i dont like dragonlance to much even though my friend dms it
and I really hate ravenloft
Temmogen
05-27-04, 07:06 PM I would have to stay Forgotten Realms, followed closely by Greyhawk. Then my homebrew.
Although Bluffside isnt bad.
I have a decision making disorder...
In case you hadnt guessed already.
:behold:
zodiki
05-27-04, 07:15 PM I like my homebrew, but Forgotten Realms is also very nice. Eberron comes out soon. It's not at all to my taste but I bet it will be of high quality and worth holding off a campaign setting purchase until it's published.

For alternatives you might want to look at Midnight. Though I don't know how good the map is for it. I've never spent alot of time on developing maps for a campaign setting beyond the bare minimum (like a state map of the US etc) to get things going. Campaigns move so slowly that you always have time to fill in the details as the campaign develops over time.
Ratguy629
05-27-04, 08:44 PM what about dragonlance or ghost walk?
bahamut_0
05-28-04, 09:10 AM Atm, I use FR but am gonna be using Eberron as soon as it comes out.
Dragontooth
05-28-04, 09:27 AM FR will have tons of information for their players, maps, and anything else you might need.

DragonLance, and Eberron are relatively new campaign's released. They are still working on some good source material for both worlds. And I would also hate to bust your bubble also but DragonLance didn't come out with a fold out map with the campaign setting book.

DragonLance is my favorite setting. A few things I really like about DL is that they only have 19 Dieties!! Not 1000 like some other worlds. The interesting culture there like the Minotaurs, Gnomes, and Kenders. Dragon take part in most major events on the world so if you love Dragons they are a major roll in DL. Their are some interesting PrC in DL like the Knights of Solamnia, Knights of Neraka, and Wizards of High Sorcery. Also DL has a rich history of events.
Raspu
05-28-04, 10:06 AM Dragonlance is my personal fav, but you'll be waiting forever for any additional material for it to be released (sovereign press suck).
It's a good (relatively) low power world, but if you want to play in it your better off hunting down the 2nd edition material for info.
MoogleEmpMog
05-28-04, 10:57 AM Hmmm...

Forgotten Realms: If you want complete and comprehensive material, look no further. This is the only setting with sufficient, readily-available materials to run a campaign without any homebrew at all. I'm not a big Realms fan, myself, but there's a lot to commend the setting - especially for relative newcomers to D&D.

Ebberon: Wizards of the Coast's answer to a new generation of gamers raised on Japanese-style fantasy as much as Tolkien, Ebberon strays as far from the D&D norm as any official setting since Dark Sun. It looks like great fun and I'm sure it will be highly detailed... but it hasn't been released yet.

Greyhawk: There's lots of information about Greyhawk if you're involved with the RPGA. Which I'm not. Anyway, it's the original D&D setting and the one very loosely implied by the core rules, but it never did anything for me.

Urban Arcana: You'll have to buy the d20 Modern book for this one, and it's not so much a setting as a set of suggestions for creating a setting. On the plus side, you can use any road atlas to get maps for it.

Dragonlance (Sovreign Press): Now a 2nd-party campaign setting, rather than a WotC in-house one, Dragonlance's Krynn is a rich and detailed world... if you play 2e. ;) I really like Sovreign Press's work on the setting (the company is owned by Dragonlance co-creator Margaret Weis), but they're slooooow. A good setting if you prefer a role-play heavy campaign.

Iron Kingdoms (Privateer Press): A true 3rd-party campaign setting, and a very new one. IK is a steampunk setting of a sort, with mecha and guns as well as some *very* nasty dragons, abberations, and undead. Unfortunately, if Sovreign Press is, shall we say, behind schedule on Dragonlance, Privateer apparently abandoned the concept of a schedule for IK long ago. With the harbacks *finally* coming out, Iron Kingdoms is a great setting if you want a change of pace or enjoy console RPGs. And it has a foldout map!

Warcraft (Sword and Sorcery): Another 3rd-party setting, this time by way of the computer Real-Time Strategy series Warcraft. Warcraft's world, and its take on orcs, are a great twist on traditional high fantasy. They're well supported with a full line of products. But the books are extremely hard to find, at least in my experience. If you and your players have played the PC games, you might enjoy this setting... if you can find it.
Blackstaff
05-28-04, 12:08 PM Greyhawk all the way, if you're looking for the most developed and in-depth campaign world out there. It has almost 30 years of gaming history and is the essential world of Dungeons & Dragons.
It has everything you'd want in a setting: hundreds of years of history, political intrigue, earthshaking wars and high magic all wrapped into one yummy continent ;)
The MadStepDad
05-28-04, 12:43 PM Ahh, easy question simple answer. Best campaign world?

Ravenloft, of course. Think LoTR meets Dracula and Frankenstein. Too hot to handle, too cold to hold baby.

Take a look at my campaign summary (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=131209) you might be able to gleam some ideas from there.

But yeah, Ravenloft is by far the best D&D campaign setting - in my opinion.

peace,

MSD
Sproik
05-28-04, 12:57 PM Iron Kingdoms is the best I have seen so far, by a very wide margin.
Sarig the Genie
05-28-04, 01:09 PM Originally posted by Ratguy629
what do you guys think the best campeing setting is including map and details right now we play forgotten realms but we seem to stay real close to waterdeep im thinking ebberon or dragonlance and i heard ghost walk has no map so thats out of queston

There's a map of the land surrounding Ghostwalk in the 3.5 update web enchantement. That said, it's one of the best 3rd ed settings I've seen.
Tisner44
05-28-04, 01:09 PM During a 2 year campaign in FR, I created my own world with maps and a history. I have run in this world ever since and enjoy it. Homebrew is awesome because you create the governments and history. If you need a city run by a warlord, create it in an unexplored area. Just keep track of where the players have been and make sure the story is semi-believable and possible.

New DM's should definitely stick to a pre-made campaign setting and some modules first. Then try making your own stories and modules. Then you can start making your own world based upon the stories you've seen and what you want from your first campaign.
LordofIllusions
06-08-04, 12:36 PM Dragonlance (Sovreign Press): Now a 2nd-party campaign setting, rather than a WotC in-house one, Dragonlance's Krynn is a rich and detailed world... if you play 2e. I really like Sovreign Press's work on the setting (the company is owned by Dragonlance co-creator Margaret Weis), but they're slooooow. A good setting if you prefer a role-play heavy campaign.

Agreed. I am currently running a v.3.5 RL campaign. I also like RavenLoft(2e[The Golden Ages] & 3e[Nice mechanics]), although I feel that RavenLoft has died out due to the dolts that wrote the v.3.5 version. It is horrible.

~~~
astute1
06-08-04, 02:29 PM I always play homebrew. But I'm really thinking about picking up Eberron. If nothing else, the book looks like it will be packed full of good stuff I can lift into my campaigns.
Kronk LaSworda
06-08-04, 05:48 PM Kingdoms of Kalamar is my favorite.

Followed by Forgotten Realms and Garweeze Wurld (HackMaster).
Ack'noth Necrom
06-08-04, 06:00 PM The best WotC campaign setting IMO is planescape, although dark sun is an extremly close second. The best ever IMO is my homebrew one, but I might be a bit biased :D

The reason I say planescape is that you could go anywhere and do just about anything you wanted to and I found the lack of maps to give more to the imagination of the setting. I mean how exactly would you map an infinate plane?

If you want maps and all that (and can find it) i recomend picking up the old dark sun box set and just use the stuff at athas.org to update it.

Ebberron might be ok, i have to admit im very skeptical after reading the majority of stuff in dragon and what theyve put on the main page but Im trying to keep an open mind till I acctually read the book.
Capn Charlie
06-08-04, 06:26 PM Ok, I'l lbite.

The best setting is the one that works best for you and your group.

For me, this is the Forgotten Realms (http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Castle/2566/wellmet.htm). I enjoy having all the boring(for me) wojk done of setting a vast stage full of history and detail, that lets me get to the fun part of designing characters to populate it.

However I must say that I have a soft spot in my heart for almost every one of TSR's old settings, from Dragonlance and Dark Sun, all the way out there to Spelljammer and planescape.

Of the third party stuff that looks good, I must admit the Scarred Lands seems great.

However if a single setting were to be #2 in my eyes it would be: Greyhawk. I would likely still be there if not for the lack of published material for the setting, and seeming lack of support. IT was my first, and will always be special. To this day, I believe there is a little greyhawk in every thing I do, whether it is the gritty feel of old city in the slums of athkatla, or the feel of the original drow, even within Menzoberranzen.

However the setting which has probably had the most impact on my games is Howard's land of Hyborea, from the Conan novels.
Mark_Plemmons
06-09-04, 12:12 PM Originally posted by Kronk LaSworda
Kingdoms of Kalamar is my favorite.

By the way, there's more info at:

http://www.kenzerco.com/rpg/kalamar/

:)
D+1
06-10-04, 12:22 AM Originally posted by Ratguy629
what do you guys think the best [campaign] setting is including map and details right now we play forgotten realms but we seem to stay real close to waterdeep im thinking ebberon or dragonlance and i heard ghost walk has no map so thats out of questonAs already noted a map for Ghostwalk is available in a couple of places - the web enhancement and IIRC Sean Reynolds' site.

As to the core question it's almost too open-ended to answer. There are too many other variables to consider such as what style of campaign you want or how you feel about super-detailed versus very-open-to-interpretation. I'll leave aside your preference for playing style and such.

For maximum detail and stupendously large world I'd have to say Forgotten Realms. Even though the campaign map looks randomly generated (I think it pretty much is random - a map created by simply tacking on new pieces over time without thought to creating a cohesive whole) it is at least fairly consistent from a regional standpoint, it's well-organized and interesting. The rest of the setting is unbelievably detailed in societies, cultures, NPC's, monsters, and history. After... 15 years?... how could it NOT be?

For a world setting that has a VERY different, very old-school approach I think I have to vote for the very OLD Judges Guild Wilderlands/City State campaign. This is PRE-1st Edition stuff. If you have the patience (I've pretty much lost mine) the new Judges Guild/Necromancer Games is now about 2 years overdue in releasing a full 3rd Edition redux of it. play in it.] The old stuff is still available from places like Noble Knight and I've got a new campaign that's sort of based on it.

As a setting it's a very interesting approach compared to other recent campaign worlds. The idea was to provide enough detail to PRESENT a campaign world but at the same time to keep it open enough that not only COULD a DM add/subtract/rearrange almost anything but that he was EXPECTED to do so. The setting doesn't really run itself - the DM has to give it life and scope according to his taste.
LordArkan
06-10-04, 02:22 AM I've never run a campaign based in a published world, and probably never will. This isn't to say that I don't like any of the published settings, but I'm just too much of a world builder at heart. :ayyyy!:

As a setting it's a very interesting approach compared to other recent campaign worlds. The idea was to provide enough detail to PRESENT a campaign world but at the same time to keep it open enough that not only COULD a DM add/subtract/rearrange almost anything but that he was EXPECTED to do so. The setting doesn't really run itself - the DM has to give it life and scope according to his taste.

That is interesting, and if I were to write or purchase a setting book, it would be with that same approach. In the end, its YOUR campaign, not any writer's or publisher's. :tiphat:
Xante Flatnose
06-10-04, 04:58 AM Planescape was the first campaign that I bought and I think it is the most detailed and the most difficult world to DMing.Multiverse includes all universes so you can jump to FR to Ravenloft or else.
But Forgotten realms is the most joying world.I have a lot of fun when Dming it.
Bait the Bard
06-10-04, 05:36 AM I'd go for Rokugan, and Oriental setting, but thats just me.

Otherwise, I play quite a bit in FR, and it's great, and I'm kinda looking foward to see what Eberron turns out to be.

- the annoying bard
SnowbearK
06-10-04, 06:13 AM You asked for it... :D

I love Ravenloft personally. I could never play in it though, as I've yet to meet a DM who could instill in me the same feelings and atmosphere I do in my players (maybe I'm just too jaded). I run a Halloween game every year in Ravenloft and by the end of the session, my players have had their heads, perceptions, and emotions screwed with so much that they start jumping at real life shadows and noises. And they love it.

Dragonlance always holds a special place in my heart, being the first campaign setting I ever bought, the boxed set of Time of the Dragon, detailing the lands and history of the lost continent of Taladas. Utterly amazing product, just the perfect amount of information for a DM who likes to write their own adventures but loves using a fully-realized campaign setting. The look on my players' faces when I had them run across an Tiger Clan ranger was and always will be a favorite memory.

Dark Sun also holds a great place in my Setting hierarchy, just below Dragonlance, and only because they went and "revised" it with all that extra crap. I like the Blasted World concept, don't give me "oh it's only like that in a comparatively small area of the world" bullpucky. Though Thri-kreen of Athas does sit next to my very worn Time of the Dragon set for a reason.

Kinkdoms of Calamari...as much as I kid about the name, I think it's a very well-done setting. I don't much care for it personally, but the races, classes, feats, and ideas presented in the Player's Guide and Core book are incredibly well written.

Best Forgotten Smells. That about says it all. If you've got a world with Elspinster, the Seven (8) Sisters, and Ditz Do'burden roaming about, who the hell needs PLAYER CHARACTERS?!? Yeah yeah yeah, they're not everywhere at once, ignore them if you want, blahblahblah. I prefer not having to modify every third page in the campaign setting book, thanks.

Garweeze Wurld...great for laughs, hard to imagine serious gaming with it, but I have seen it done. Mixed feelings on this.

Ghostwalk...starting up a new game as a player, so I'll have to let you know. Looks decent enough, and the DM's pretty talented, so we'll see where this one lands on my shelves of doom.

Plan Escape...well executed, never looked back after I got out of there. I do reference a copy every now and then when the inevitable planar sidetrek or Epic game crops up.

Birthright...now THERE was a campaign setting. Everything for Everyone. Sadly the 3E rules for it are so very much lacking, and I've not the time to re-invent them for my own group, so when we get a hankerin' to head back to Cerilia, we do so through 2nd Edition. It was woefully under-appreciated, partly due to rumors of "It's a boardgame" and "It's like Populous" or "Wargamers only allowed!"

Warcraft...meh, played the games, beat the games, godmoded the games, hacked...er...mod'd the games, still didn't particularly care for the setting. Interesting take on races and classes but not worth the money for that little bit.

Eberron...looks good, reserving judgement until I've had a chance to sit back and absorb it. Still, very novel approach and I do love the "common magic" scenario, as it always made sense to me as the next logical step.

Greyhawk...what can I say? It's the oldest and the most "medieval" of any setting. Classic is the word that best describes it. Not my kind of game, but Castle Greyhawk, OTOH, is definitely my kind of game. Then again I take great pride in having the only character in my group to ever survive Acerak's Tomb of Horrors without a single death during that time.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Ratguy629 05-27-04, 02:11 PM	what do you guys think the best campeing setting is including map and details right now we play forgotten realms but we seem to stay real close to waterdeep im thinking ebberon or dragonlance and i heard ghost walk has no map so thats out of queston
Azer Firelord 05-27-04, 02:15 PM	The best camping setting?:D Ok, someone else make the rest of the pun. I use a homebrew, so I'm biased. However, I think Eberron could be really good if you're wiling to look at it with an open mind. That said, I've heard good things about FR and Greyhawk too. And Planescape is just cool:cool:
PSchirf 05-27-04, 02:26 PM	I too have always felt that homebrew is best, even if that means someone elses homebrew. Have you considered asking someone who runs a game world for help? I have had multiple DMs borrow maps,cultures,history writeups, etc. from my world. I'm sure others are willing to provide the same.
MetalGemini 05-27-04, 03:47 PM	I like Forgotten Realms. There is so much diversity in it that I can create almost any plot line and it will fit in somewhere in the Realms. I like some of the things in Dragonlance, like kenders, and learned to play in the setting, but it gets dull after a while.
volcanoDM 05-27-04, 03:56 PM	my team's in the process of helping me playtest a totally new varient system, but w homebrew ours. i incorperated modules into my game, so it'd kind of ogtta be homebrew. you can base a homebrew off of a pre-made thing, and it can be really standard for your first cmpaign, but if you guys are sticking to Waterdeep, by all means, oust them! do something to motivate them. flign a dragon out there, send a balor or five to wreck Waterdeep, make it unlivable by a scandal to the PC's (you killed the governor!) and make it unsolvable, find a way.:behold: :ayyyy!: or even better, have the mage in your party pick up a baaaaad scroll and it incidentally goes off while he's talking to an important figure in Waterdeep.:bump: don't try to reconfigure a world, that may take too much time. do something to get them going.
Moonstonedragon 05-27-04, 06:59 PM	I like Forgotten Realms. There is so much diversity in it that I can create almost any plot line and it will fit in somewhere in the Realms. yes even though I have my own campaign world I like forgotten realms alot for that reason, i dont like dragonlance to much even though my friend dms it and I really hate ravenloft
Temmogen 05-27-04, 07:06 PM	I would have to stay Forgotten Realms, followed closely by Greyhawk. Then my homebrew. Although Bluffside isnt bad. I have a decision making disorder... In case you hadnt guessed already. :behold:
zodiki 05-27-04, 07:15 PM	I like my homebrew, but Forgotten Realms is also very nice. Eberron comes out soon. It's not at all to my taste but I bet it will be of high quality and worth holding off a campaign setting purchase until it's published. For alternatives you might want to look at Midnight. Though I don't know how good the map is for it. I've never spent alot of time on developing maps for a campaign setting beyond the bare minimum (like a state map of the US etc) to get things going. Campaigns move so slowly that you always have time to fill in the details as the campaign develops over time.
Ratguy629 05-27-04, 08:44 PM	what about dragonlance or ghost walk?
bahamut_0 05-28-04, 09:10 AM	Atm, I use FR but am gonna be using Eberron as soon as it comes out.
Dragontooth 05-28-04, 09:27 AM	FR will have tons of information for their players, maps, and anything else you might need. DragonLance, and Eberron are relatively new campaign's released. They are still working on some good source material for both worlds. And I would also hate to bust your bubble also but DragonLance didn't come out with a fold out map with the campaign setting book. DragonLance is my favorite setting. A few things I really like about DL is that they only have 19 Dieties!! Not 1000 like some other worlds. The interesting culture there like the Minotaurs, Gnomes, and Kenders. Dragon take part in most major events on the world so if you love Dragons they are a major roll in DL. Their are some interesting PrC in DL like the Knights of Solamnia, Knights of Neraka, and Wizards of High Sorcery. Also DL has a rich history of events.
Raspu 05-28-04, 10:06 AM	Dragonlance is my personal fav, but you'll be waiting forever for any additional material for it to be released (sovereign press suck). It's a good (relatively) low power world, but if you want to play in it your better off hunting down the 2nd edition material for info.
MoogleEmpMog 05-28-04, 10:57 AM	Hmmm... Forgotten Realms: If you want complete and comprehensive material, look no further. This is the only setting with sufficient, readily-available materials to run a campaign without any homebrew at all. I'm not a big Realms fan, myself, but there's a lot to commend the setting - especially for relative newcomers to D&D. Ebberon: Wizards of the Coast's answer to a new generation of gamers raised on Japanese-style fantasy as much as Tolkien, Ebberon strays as far from the D&D norm as any official setting since Dark Sun. It looks like great fun and I'm sure it will be highly detailed... but it hasn't been released yet. Greyhawk: There's lots of information about Greyhawk if you're involved with the RPGA. Which I'm not. Anyway, it's the original D&D setting and the one very loosely implied by the core rules, but it never did anything for me. Urban Arcana: You'll have to buy the d20 Modern book for this one, and it's not so much a setting as a set of suggestions for creating a setting. On the plus side, you can use any road atlas to get maps for it. Dragonlance (Sovreign Press): Now a 2nd-party campaign setting, rather than a WotC in-house one, Dragonlance's Krynn is a rich and detailed world... if you play 2e. ;) I really like Sovreign Press's work on the setting (the company is owned by Dragonlance co-creator Margaret Weis), but they're slooooow. A good setting if you prefer a role-play heavy campaign. Iron Kingdoms (Privateer Press): A true 3rd-party campaign setting, and a very new one. IK is a steampunk setting of a sort, with mecha and guns as well as some very nasty dragons, abberations, and undead. Unfortunately, if Sovreign Press is, shall we say, behind schedule on Dragonlance, Privateer apparently abandoned the concept of a schedule for IK long ago. With the harbacks finally coming out, Iron Kingdoms is a great setting if you want a change of pace or enjoy console RPGs. And it has a foldout map! Warcraft (Sword and Sorcery): Another 3rd-party setting, this time by way of the computer Real-Time Strategy series Warcraft. Warcraft's world, and its take on orcs, are a great twist on traditional high fantasy. They're well supported with a full line of products. But the books are extremely hard to find, at least in my experience. If you and your players have played the PC games, you might enjoy this setting... if you can find it.
Blackstaff 05-28-04, 12:08 PM	Greyhawk all the way, if you're looking for the most developed and in-depth campaign world out there. It has almost 30 years of gaming history and is the essential world of Dungeons & Dragons. It has everything you'd want in a setting: hundreds of years of history, political intrigue, earthshaking wars and high magic all wrapped into one yummy continent ;)
The MadStepDad 05-28-04, 12:43 PM	Ahh, easy question simple answer. Best campaign world? Ravenloft, of course. Think LoTR meets Dracula and Frankenstein. Too hot to handle, too cold to hold baby. Take a look at my campaign summary (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=131209) you might be able to gleam some ideas from there. But yeah, Ravenloft is by far the best D&D campaign setting - in my opinion. peace, MSD
Sproik 05-28-04, 12:57 PM	Iron Kingdoms is the best I have seen so far, by a very wide margin.
Sarig the Genie 05-28-04, 01:09 PM	Originally posted by Ratguy629 what do you guys think the best campeing setting is including map and details right now we play forgotten realms but we seem to stay real close to waterdeep im thinking ebberon or dragonlance and i heard ghost walk has no map so thats out of queston There's a map of the land surrounding Ghostwalk in the 3.5 update web enchantement. That said, it's one of the best 3rd ed settings I've seen.
Tisner44 05-28-04, 01:09 PM	During a 2 year campaign in FR, I created my own world with maps and a history. I have run in this world ever since and enjoy it. Homebrew is awesome because you create the governments and history. If you need a city run by a warlord, create it in an unexplored area. Just keep track of where the players have been and make sure the story is semi-believable and possible. New DM's should definitely stick to a pre-made campaign setting and some modules first. Then try making your own stories and modules. Then you can start making your own world based upon the stories you've seen and what you want from your first campaign.
LordofIllusions 06-08-04, 12:36 PM	Dragonlance (Sovreign Press): Now a 2nd-party campaign setting, rather than a WotC in-house one, Dragonlance's Krynn is a rich and detailed world... if you play 2e. I really like Sovreign Press's work on the setting (the company is owned by Dragonlance co-creator Margaret Weis), but they're slooooow. A good setting if you prefer a role-play heavy campaign. Agreed. I am currently running a v.3.5 RL campaign. I also like RavenLoft(2e[The Golden Ages] & 3e[Nice mechanics]), although I feel that RavenLoft has died out due to the dolts that wrote the v.3.5 version. It is horrible. ~~~
astute1 06-08-04, 02:29 PM	I always play homebrew. But I'm really thinking about picking up Eberron. If nothing else, the book looks like it will be packed full of good stuff I can lift into my campaigns.
Kronk LaSworda 06-08-04, 05:48 PM	Kingdoms of Kalamar is my favorite. Followed by Forgotten Realms and Garweeze Wurld (HackMaster).
Ack'noth Necrom 06-08-04, 06:00 PM	The best WotC campaign setting IMO is planescape, although dark sun is an extremly close second. The best ever IMO is my homebrew one, but I might be a bit biased :D The reason I say planescape is that you could go anywhere and do just about anything you wanted to and I found the lack of maps to give more to the imagination of the setting. I mean how exactly would you map an infinate plane? If you want maps and all that (and can find it) i recomend picking up the old dark sun box set and just use the stuff at athas.org to update it. Ebberron might be ok, i have to admit im very skeptical after reading the majority of stuff in dragon and what theyve put on the main page but Im trying to keep an open mind till I acctually read the book.
Capn Charlie 06-08-04, 06:26 PM	Ok, I'l lbite. The best setting is the one that works best for you and your group. For me, this is the Forgotten Realms (http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Castle/2566/wellmet.htm). I enjoy having all the boring(for me) wojk done of setting a vast stage full of history and detail, that lets me get to the fun part of designing characters to populate it. However I must say that I have a soft spot in my heart for almost every one of TSR's old settings, from Dragonlance and Dark Sun, all the way out there to Spelljammer and planescape. Of the third party stuff that looks good, I must admit the Scarred Lands seems great. However if a single setting were to be #2 in my eyes it would be: Greyhawk. I would likely still be there if not for the lack of published material for the setting, and seeming lack of support. IT was my first, and will always be special. To this day, I believe there is a little greyhawk in every thing I do, whether it is the gritty feel of old city in the slums of athkatla, or the feel of the original drow, even within Menzoberranzen. However the setting which has probably had the most impact on my games is Howard's land of Hyborea, from the Conan novels.
Mark_Plemmons 06-09-04, 12:12 PM	Originally posted by Kronk LaSworda Kingdoms of Kalamar is my favorite. By the way, there's more info at: http://www.kenzerco.com/rpg/kalamar/ :)
D+1 06-10-04, 12:22 AM	Originally posted by Ratguy629 what do you guys think the best [campaign] setting is including map and details right now we play forgotten realms but we seem to stay real close to waterdeep im thinking ebberon or dragonlance and i heard ghost walk has no map so thats out of questonAs already noted a map for Ghostwalk is available in a couple of places - the web enhancement and IIRC Sean Reynolds' site. As to the core question it's almost too open-ended to answer. There are too many other variables to consider such as what style of campaign you want or how you feel about super-detailed versus very-open-to-interpretation. I'll leave aside your preference for playing style and such. For maximum detail and stupendously large world I'd have to say Forgotten Realms. Even though the campaign map looks randomly generated (I think it pretty much is random - a map created by simply tacking on new pieces over time without thought to creating a cohesive whole) it is at least fairly consistent from a regional standpoint, it's well-organized and interesting. The rest of the setting is unbelievably detailed in societies, cultures, NPC's, monsters, and history. After... 15 years?... how could it NOT be? For a world setting that has a VERY different, very old-school approach I think I have to vote for the very OLD Judges Guild Wilderlands/City State campaign. This is PRE-1st Edition stuff. If you have the patience (I've pretty much lost mine) the new Judges Guild/Necromancer Games is now about 2 years overdue in releasing a full 3rd Edition redux of it. play in it.] The old stuff is still available from places like Noble Knight and I've got a new campaign that's sort of based on it. As a setting it's a very interesting approach compared to other recent campaign worlds. The idea was to provide enough detail to PRESENT a campaign world but at the same time to keep it open enough that not only COULD a DM add/subtract/rearrange almost anything but that he was EXPECTED to do so. The setting doesn't really run itself - the DM has to give it life and scope according to his taste.
LordArkan 06-10-04, 02:22 AM	I've never run a campaign based in a published world, and probably never will. This isn't to say that I don't like any of the published settings, but I'm just too much of a world builder at heart. :ayyyy!: As a setting it's a very interesting approach compared to other recent campaign worlds. The idea was to provide enough detail to PRESENT a campaign world but at the same time to keep it open enough that not only COULD a DM add/subtract/rearrange almost anything but that he was EXPECTED to do so. The setting doesn't really run itself - the DM has to give it life and scope according to his taste. That is interesting, and if I were to write or purchase a setting book, it would be with that same approach. In the end, its YOUR campaign, not any writer's or publisher's. :tiphat:
Xante Flatnose 06-10-04, 04:58 AM	Planescape was the first campaign that I bought and I think it is the most detailed and the most difficult world to DMing.Multiverse includes all universes so you can jump to FR to Ravenloft or else. But Forgotten realms is the most joying world.I have a lot of fun when Dming it.
Bait the Bard 06-10-04, 05:36 AM	I'd go for Rokugan, and Oriental setting, but thats just me. Otherwise, I play quite a bit in FR, and it's great, and I'm kinda looking foward to see what Eberron turns out to be. - the annoying bard
SnowbearK 06-10-04, 06:13 AM	You asked for it... :D I love Ravenloft personally. I could never play in it though, as I've yet to meet a DM who could instill in me the same feelings and atmosphere I do in my players (maybe I'm just too jaded). I run a Halloween game every year in Ravenloft and by the end of the session, my players have had their heads, perceptions, and emotions screwed with so much that they start jumping at real life shadows and noises. And they love it. Dragonlance always holds a special place in my heart, being the first campaign setting I ever bought, the boxed set of Time of the Dragon, detailing the lands and history of the lost continent of Taladas. Utterly amazing product, just the perfect amount of information for a DM who likes to write their own adventures but loves using a fully-realized campaign setting. The look on my players' faces when I had them run across an Tiger Clan ranger was and always will be a favorite memory. Dark Sun also holds a great place in my Setting hierarchy, just below Dragonlance, and only because they went and "revised" it with all that extra crap. I like the Blasted World concept, don't give me "oh it's only like that in a comparatively small area of the world" bullpucky. Though Thri-kreen of Athas does sit next to my very worn Time of the Dragon set for a reason. Kinkdoms of Calamari...as much as I kid about the name, I think it's a very well-done setting. I don't much care for it personally, but the races, classes, feats, and ideas presented in the Player's Guide and Core book are incredibly well written. Best Forgotten Smells. That about says it all. If you've got a world with Elspinster, the Seven (8) Sisters, and Ditz Do'burden roaming about, who the hell needs PLAYER CHARACTERS?!? Yeah yeah yeah, they're not everywhere at once, ignore them if you want, blahblahblah. I prefer not having to modify every third page in the campaign setting book, thanks. Garweeze Wurld...great for laughs, hard to imagine serious gaming with it, but I have seen it done. Mixed feelings on this. Ghostwalk...starting up a new game as a player, so I'll have to let you know. Looks decent enough, and the DM's pretty talented, so we'll see where this one lands on my shelves of doom. Plan Escape...well executed, never looked back after I got out of there. I do reference a copy every now and then when the inevitable planar sidetrek or Epic game crops up. Birthright...now THERE was a campaign setting. Everything for Everyone. Sadly the 3E rules for it are so very much lacking, and I've not the time to re-invent them for my own group, so when we get a hankerin' to head back to Cerilia, we do so through 2nd Edition. It was woefully under-appreciated, partly due to rumors of "It's a boardgame" and "It's like Populous" or "Wargamers only allowed!" Warcraft...meh, played the games, beat the games, godmoded the games, hacked...er...mod'd the games, still didn't particularly care for the setting. Interesting take on races and classes but not worth the money for that little bit. Eberron...looks good, reserving judgement until I've had a chance to sit back and absorb it. Still, very novel approach and I do love the "common magic" scenario, as it always made sense to me as the next logical step. Greyhawk...what can I say? It's the oldest and the most "medieval" of any setting. Classic is the word that best describes it. Not my kind of game, but Castle Greyhawk, OTOH, is definitely my kind of game. Then again I take great pride in having the only character in my group to ever survive Acerak's Tomb of Horrors without a single death during that time.