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Favourite D&D Setting?

  • Greyhawk

    Votes: 4 11.4%
  • Dragonlance (Krynn)

    Votes: 1 2.9%
  • Forgotten Realms

    Votes: 2 5.7%
  • Known World/Mystara

    Votes: 9 25.7%
  • Dark Sun

    Votes: 3 8.6%
  • Planescape

    Votes: 7 20.0%
  • Birthright

    Votes: 2 5.7%
  • Al-Qadim

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Ravenloft

    Votes: 6 17.1%
  • Ebberon

    Votes: 1 2.9%

  • Total voters
    35
My favourite D&D setting is home-brew, for the most part, although I've never had much compunction against attaching this to the standard Forgotten Realms default setting in most editions. Of the published settings, my tastes gear towards Planescape, as I like the surreal qualities.
 
Ah, the 1990s. The setting boom of AD&D2 and also my entry point into the hobby. Imagine 13-year-old me staring enthralled at the Easley, Parkinson and Caldwell covers, and you will divine a lot about my gaming proclivities.

Mystara, Birthright and not-D&D-but-might-as-well-be Palladium (the fantasy world from the eponymous RPG) are my lead influences on D&D worlbuilding to this day — to the degree that I have a hard time breaking free from this (thankfully comprehensive, if still mostly "vanilla") mindset.

Known World/Mystara.
First TSR world I really got to know and fell in love with. I am to this day smitten with the ideas of expies of historical human nations, and an underlying gonzo science fantasy "infrastructure" to the world, because of this (Palladium further cemented the latter).

Dark Sun. A welcome respite from the bowdlerization of TSR in the 1990s. Brutal sword-and-sorcery a Savage Sword of Conan-reading teen could get behind.

Birthright. Fairy-tale, Paladins & Princesses D&D done (mostly) right. Archetypal monster — THE Chimera, THE Gorgon, etc. Mysterious baddies — The Magian, The Swordhawk, The Cold Rider. More historical expies, and variety within them — the Khinasi had theocracies, plutocracies, monster kingdoms and even anonymous collegiates (the Red Kings of Aftane). Dynasties and long-standing rivalries, creepy elves in dark forests, "the King and the Land are one", god damn it, hook me to an IV and get that stuff into me.

Ravenloft. AD&D2 with hammy horror trappings, what’s not to love? Not sure how it'd fare as a long-term campaign, but I had plenty of fun with it.

Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance. Both would be better if there was less novel-shilling and canon-wank, but their early published versions have plenty of room for the enterprising, canon-agnostic GM to play with. That, and a little sentimental attachment (remember these covers?). I'm even using bits of Dragonlance as inspiration for the ACKS game I've been meaning to run.

Not much experience with Greyhawk (looks fun), Spelljammer (ditto) or Planescape (maybe fun but can we please drop the "cant" thing). Did I forget anything?
 
For me, it is Ravenloft. I probably sound like a broken record but from the Black Box to the Red, really adored the setting and played the heck out of it. Wasn't as thrilled with the later products when problems were taking root at TSR. But those Van Richten books and many of the adventures had lots of great material. Incredibly atmospheric and immersive. I grew up on classic horror like Universal and Hammer, which it did a good job of emulating.
 
Greyhawk, no doubt. It blows my mind when people refer to it as "vanilla" or "generic," when I see the exact opposite: gonzo, kitchen-sink, genre-mixing-and-bending goodness.

I guess it depends on the context. Greyhawk feels generic and vanilla to me compared to the Wilderlands. My main issue with Greyhawk, though, has always been how little it helps me run a game at the table. I suppose it's nice to know that Almor can field 5k heavy infantry and 15k medium infantry, and exports cloth and gems. But how does that help me run a campaign that will involve exploring ruins and fighting off gnolls, and remain confined to one hex in Almor for the first half-dozen sessions? How does it inspire adventures in a campaign that doesn't involve war and high level politics? The Darlene map is a classic, though.

So I'd have to go with the Wilderlands. Now that's a wild and weird sword and sorcery setting. And presented at a scale that supports boots-on-the-ground adventure. Dark Sun is also very cool, if more narrowly focused.
 
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Ravenloft.

I'll play in other people's games set in other official settings, but Ravenloft is the only official setting I will GM myself.
 
I guess it depends on the context. Greyhawk feels generic and vanilla to me compared to the Wilderlands. My main issue with Greyhawk, though, has always been how little it helps me run a game at the table. I suppose it's nice to know that Almor can field 5k heavy infantry and 15k medium infantry, and exports cloth and gems. But how does that help me run a campaign that will involve exploring ruins and fighting off gnolls, and remain confined to one hex in Almor for the first half-dozen sessions? How does it inspire adventures in a campaign that doesn't involve war and high level politics? The Darlene map is a classic, though.

So I'd have to go with the Wilderlands. Now that's a wild and weird sword and sorcery setting. And presented at a scale that supports boots-on-the-ground adventure. Dark Sun is also very cool, if more narrowly focused.

*smacks head* Geesh, I can't believe I forgot the Wilderlands. That's a damn fine setting, and hits a lot of the things i like about Greyhawk, and then some.

I can definitely see the point that Greyhawk isn't exactly helpful. The original folio was designed to give a pretty map and some broad strokes of the setting, with the assumption that people would fill it in as they go and make it their own. That's how I approached it anyway - first through the hints in the 1e core books, then through modules, and only later through setting guides. I'm betting my Greyhawk doesn't look like anyone else's - and I think Gary would have been happy with that.
 
*smacks head* Geesh, I can't believe I forgot the Wilderlands. That's a damn fine setting, and hits a lot of the things i like about Greyhawk, and then some.
Based on selections in the poll, I didn't know we were allowed to choose non-TSR settings. I missed the Wilderlands back in the day, but I have caught up with it in the last couple of years. It really is focused entirely on actual play in a way most settings aren't.
 
I, too, was under the impression that we were to select from the settings in the poll. Thus the poll.

Otherwise, heck, put me down for my homemade Wonderful and Frightening World of Aard as my favorite setting!
 
There's no "All of the Above" option. :sad: Let alone an "All of the Above, but This One." :cry:
 
Other than that, I'd be interested in checking out al-Qadim to see if there are any useful resources for a game set in the Islamic world of Sinbad and the Arabian Nights.

I have some Al-Qadim. Anything in particular you want to know?
 
I never liked the name Greyhawk.

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:grin:
 
Read that link to the capsule reviews of the Known World gazetteers...I'm curious about the Emirates of Ylaruam. If anyone has a copy, does it have good rules and information for Arabic traders and merchants and seafarers?
GAZ9 The Minrothad Guilds has a merchant class I believe and seafaring info. I doubt that Ylaruam has seafaring in it, I think it is all desert.
 
GAZ9 The Minrothad Guilds has a merchant class I believe and seafaring info.

Yes it did. I ran a short 4e campaign in the guilds and really dug that part of Mystara at least. Kind of wanted to see what Ierendi was like, Magnum PI references and magical tourism and all that played straight.
 
Wow. I do not want to go to Kuwait.
iraq-desert_view_2.jpg
That's what we called The Ridge, which is the country's one actual geographic landmark. It is an anomaly. Most of the country is just flat like the foreground.

On the bright side, it rains once a year, and for a day or two, there is somewhat of a greening effect.
0AA_RjXGqmqLeyCK8ZEDvd2se7-fzn1PN4Si1uDKvkD2kCMk9qdc5wDf4e28QgIUJER3vypdGxB2u4joOZ9O9FehQv6NWc82wlOF0EYqfI7CnV_ru6B5nuNUxualLUSR4axE0w5NmO8aVipCj2YAkmBII_eBu0VcxS1X7oFU-Ngh4V9tBkROMag24x9Rtkph-l2pLboymjTLgTgnkMnZ_X46MNy7GDHNEP55lskTPl6G_Ei3PZV18AyoLPe8bMOczX5kJtDIqpjgsTAy66eXdpvzy1V4YdM2hgUM4RIiOT3wkDN1m28tdMC_IRinz-YsATno4DOjRPa6tlCkx1887b-E-Ten0u2xL4v7PpIMRr0GMOZDrmaPYhKFwrK2m0HqD-giShxKsELJzOtslM-j5e73jAMiUOrJfbW9w7hNexSaD52jN7TfycJUvcsCeRftxj2fvOtIWN5H8IFnsobQ7MNpWeM8Rd2Mf2TM_iOOTcOdyUS4o0N5Nk1UjoymhqKTASJj_zT_dHBfn4OQBvWXsVOaIMuhD1irYpZkPZxkoj1DE1NEgnUNhIpJ9hElw0VGH7Hc63eoRgrYTZiS7NP4949-b0C0jQpfUe6csdVlQ5jcdqice585WhfYXs5oaXJ19q3Gx5qVxyLgkMTVvPoz_9i33TaheHbRiQ=w1022-h776-no

The precocious lad running away from the camera with an untucked shirt is me. I remember that day well. The ground there was littered with spent machine gun casings. You could link them back together and wear awesome belts to wear over your shoulder. Sadly, a friend of mine was waving his belt out the window of the school bus, and we got pulled over by some military types with AK-47s who confiscated all our casings. Ah, for the innocent frivolities of youth!

You can tell it is the wet season not just because of the verdant blooming of vegetation, but because there is enough moisture in the air to actually produce wispy clouds. Usually the sky is stark, numbing blue like in the picture you shared. Or it is brown, like in this picture of my house.
HFCjXepQVPJwOR_C4WsFpIV5aW6ez0_rbNkG0p_XLMPbsMOKW58iFrFRjruxsYHoQWp-gp8lxCXu3UKiIY00ZiRDtshZk-lFUDpp9i8bWTd770Ks6uUz0okOjeDdeBFNgnyX0fgIM4aXhA8iWyp-RkvuJcBBqFClqlXmceTPKOg_Gaun-v47VnBnMXLWS9xmarVk-6jSc4-zSBvt9rIOSwQ1D558zutJNOuXyGG8C0YBucCOYmSmNc6cimXEZWIE0uHT9l7dhlLVrq9v5pZZ_tSbW1nHfq0Tegwv59NOLLS_Il7BtNQ4Vxry5BfrkL6iJsQUMxsow4Gl74YSSJuCnBwS-v_OilI7Pi6JvEcnP1_2BaGd1yc4bWsWbANdxHbUh9XYhlkGCE-2dfdVNx_e8NhvhMl3EOhieFdGUeM-P-7dLBFo125BblF13upwmt5ooAzJA1fo17p7x0gOveEDn2MOv0N8OSn-6RhwKn45xE4Y0pJgao6A6horbMPVe3p75lpEFnArXs222tro_M4ks2ce9pOwz_V96QOeampY1CUfvjlowhjv_7y-MowKQn8OlNHdz4T1cVd5kOD9FjP5juQ2f1E_g3ClnZryYebVh36mBXIzug2nJe8vrM3j7E7s2IOv5JRr3xARhep5LGmwDQOoM0fSRnEe-Q=w1011-h696-no


Those aluminium tanks on the roof contain water. We didn't have water piped in. It just got delivered on a truck. Let me tell you, water in a roof tank in 115 degree weather gets really, really hot. You don't take showers. You just draw a bath and wait for it to cool.

Our neighborhood didn't have paved roads. Just sand. Here is the view from my front gate. That's my father waving.
H2D-R_YF1nl4RqNcd20SMxyvjN6l9h8NqXezpxD35ujsoHqf5JqTpppgoYotWImbkcu3-tJObzaoP860P0ns3zzPOOrzeTERlCKCRp7Fjc_Etixgg45odac1u0uPFzNcSQjehc1O7VPMZITHYArn1lAFy1Gzj220V20PjMpHRfFXNmAnL0THorOK9xmC-oloG8IOK_WT-av3sYZzTcMew-7P1kwy3eq64R381yhdCG_IRj4bgxsGPW_EF_wwqZiMwu8KLHr6woRjt2jWgorrp6JHXKfyrY3z9QAmjMCaGOl45U85KO_BExN1wW5QlWtCs3ZdMYqxYTevV7MhmGKsXfwgaNEQoQasuXJQSHwo40y4dEJxaYtSVp3oz-y4kULBSiNlMj2oULrpPHml85gpOjZny1W22GEZrQkftM1FWjdRCjamacrowwDDFYi7aRyFZYx8OuuCwFAiZOe7XFEYSsV2r_GYPcSuXtcknVeGBNViTMQonYwfc63drif5vdC-hHP2F2DdinFeAPQAreEfZ3FbwlZsACKfutY4pQ3A-Mw8N6mc2VHSkul5vNs4Npb5cAlO1k2VB-QKo4gU3CYBHm8RtJINMp3CMlfSdu_zEyBbREDD13W8ud4XBYDrtQH9GIQOO25wGP7656KreOFny_NPhG4T5_FGpQ=w1009-h696-no


And down the street.
Tq9f9zEaEIXV23sKtFHR3nDkOAVEh1F3G2Cs9bq0sek0gHSM3MElGqmlwiYFdJDsxGMd2uBwHXP6Q8Ya7ZQ4XPfl8eSHvY_4ULlrConofb73aIndLFfERdm4ecI4Hbd9X-vmyEdI4iCFXrA8PtrL330csPkjgMTLVwsgse9ELf8MNVguuGbcnLeioO1ee600oRpGu_06f484E7vaNGEV1wkmYZN2hboeyJBSterOji80MR8foUcLliS0QamsGDUBmw7Zoa7ERXpyA6UbIb5LwnZE2ALiHmcvQIZQSF0TD-y95UFVQmbMrylsTE0iUcUU0SkggNy6w4wFtzrFghRioaeFfXA94BAzuCXNs9AM3RX6whJ3cgCbgLr2K3RoQMOfgctvqSzDPlEFOQ_Y2MUciHKX51nLQlpu3a-80DP75GLfi675yPneQF1CMPu-TvxOQ6dWVhLLrmmdEzKJkHJ3d8r4CcQ2plKc-nwQxWGmhPcgO1gowsPzP8mdWE3RjcWBSDWoM7J7e6TrYmQtUza9I_0LMOBEBUSF7FK8j1bad-4pjjPzLnOcDrlCVlYyTm9R954RC7mLhVADDUCwPgu9Hd_StVjO9kq0OEiPYLb6_yiDRayx-63U77QIQZ-SIDM4nA-7uJWnXjBddpR59PvHW6PAbSRRf4QsUw=w1006-h698-no


That was the early '80s, so I am sure it is probably very different now.
I'll close with an abandoned palace that was nearby.
Q9apsUoBrtzUjQc9-lqgvWCdzPQyNEVQP53yk3hqpuBbw_x0wS8diw2YUenyHEocRKePr9nEvCnP9jKm7XBV3GGD3HuvoEWPiYasB7ukRgPO6illfx647qHy7JxBcLg0ybqJhVlECF_slqVTAcb6-pyJqZRKZDzFJ19PUIEX_cjRi0fQ1vrAH0pFYDEB5UITC55wnOXQuPSp1fYnuxcbMe_Lcnx6J2BmqV-xkVCM8efEgQ28lbD9cPvymznZ6ZIGHHWPsWVdDs0R8ZRKEnLLrYasuD4GhMd8iR1jqxYRSaBb_misOAsHofr_hCBRmxfGw3Ouc-F12XUTht4etHm4-H4BPdhgbId9YrkHB0acpf5wCAUcp565m7ViVTgMMJyO76-PDjCdpS26u7AH-eV3kXy_nLsauuGVNaGA7LH7GNqk01StXL-zUob7PwjhbkOWkDhXKowiZ3-4OLaVa37Tjn2NhFb7G3hGYnTsfVryDMxGIQ4WSsy4AY_h979zKJO_0qH0w4loLU8ESo2OLkmc5JNeOD7ysUAPveOVgFpScyYPDTNgW1ZVNnAviLlY9uGyBHAsgs1LURjLV-dM1K4sFSvfO04quO4Sgmth-KA9IZ5m-WNTaEsYMINDD2OM9D0ysq1twBohN0B-_JM6Wx4QlFC1z_yV688toA=w716-h493-no


Anyway, if I learned one thing in Kuwait, it is this: I really like rain.
 
Baulderstone Baulderstone

You know, if we ever met face-to-face, I think I'd just take you to a bar, feed you drinks, and just let you talk. I think you've got a lot of good stories to tell.

Also, Baba Ganoush is the greatest thing ever created in the history of man, other than anchovie pizza and TTRPGs.

I was going to "like" this but then I read "anchovy pizza" :sick:
 
Dude. We've all already been over this.

Anchovies pizza is the pinnacle of human culinary achievement!
Where did that unlike button go?
 
Baulderstone Baulderstone

You know, if we ever met face-to-face, I think I'd just take you to a bar, feed you drinks, and just let you talk. I think you've got a lot of good stories to tell.

Also, Baba Ganoush is the greatest thing ever created in the history of man, other than anchovie pizza and TTRPGs.
You buy the drinks, and I will bring the pizza. I live in New Jersey, so I can get the good stuff.
 
You buy the drinks, and I will bring the pizza. I live in New Jersey, so I can get the good stuff.

You're on! I hope you like Colt 45. Also, make the pizzas vegetarian, because anchovies on pizza are gross.
 
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Not without pineapples, it ain't.

Seriously, if I can only have two toppings on a pizza, it's pineapple and anchovy.

I'm not sure if you're trolling, or a genius. I'm gonna go with genius. It's a safe bet either way. :grin:
 
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