Difference between FR, Eberron, Middle Earth, Greyhawk etc.

[Odhanan]

only the creator of each.

FR - Ed Greenwood
Eberron - Keith Baker
Middle Earth - JRR Tolkien
Greyhawk - E. Gary Gygax
etc...


when you try to use someone else's ideas to model a world you are gonna use and at the same time use the rules of the game to make it playable..

well they all are gonna seem similar to you. b/c only you know how you are gonna do it.

does that make sense?

I see what you mean, diaglo, but I don't think it makes sense.

Your statement seems to assume that, no matter what they do, authors and/or DMs just end up writing and/or running the same kinds of settings.

I don't think it's true. It may be true of some, if not many, people out there, but I sure don't want to think I'm running the same kind of stuff all the time. That'd be a good question to ask to the regular players of my games over the years, though. I am able, or like to think I'm able, to vary the feel and "taste" of the settings I run or create, and do whenever I wish to, for whatever reason, if not only for a change of style.

 

[JEL]

The balrog in Moria predated Sauron (it was a servant of Morgoth), and it is hinted that other strange creatures might lurk in the depths.

Bit of a nitpick here, but Sauron was Morgoth's chief lieutenant, and being a maiar like the balrog would have been its contemporary.

Moral ambiguity in LotR is, admittedly, more subtle than in Eberron. The sin of Sauron isn't that he is simply evil, but that he wants to order the world to match his own vision, and then to keep it timeless. This is what the Three Rings of the elves were made to do (which is why Rivendell and Lothlorien are untouched, and time passes differently there), and is the sin of the elves that forces them to ultimately dwindle and return to the West. Also, of course, they weren't supposed to be in Middle Earth in the first place.

That's an interesting interpretation, but not one I think is supported by the text. The elves wanted to preserve parts of ME sure, but they didn't want to conquer and subjegate it. Sauron was motivated by pure lust for power. Apples and oranges. And going to the West isn't some sort of punishment. It was part of Illuvatar's plan.

 

[buzz]

How is that nont D&D?

Umm... I don't know. I never said anything about "not being D&D."

You seem to be using a version of the "True Scotsman" argument; all D&D games have X element, any game that doesn't have X element isn't really D&D.

We really aren't having the same conversation. I'm not talking about anything remotely close to this. All I'm talking about is what makes campaign settings meaningful w/r/t the play experience.

 

[pawsplay]

Deleted because this is going round and round.

 

[RFisher]

I personally think that this is fairly natural. When you're using a published setting, there is a whole lot of material that the DM might never use. When its a homebrew, though, it is more likely that any information is put there for a reason.

Which has generally been my complaint with most published settings I've looked at. I don't want a huge world full of locations I could set my campaign. I want a place to set my campaign. I want more detail about the area where the PCs will be adventuring & only short summaries of the world beyond.

 

[Raven Crowking]

That's an interesting interpretation, but not one I think is supported by the text. The elves wanted to preserve parts of ME sure, but they didn't want to conquer and subjegate it. Sauron was motivated by pure lust for power. Apples and oranges. And going to the West isn't some sort of punishment. It was part of Illuvatar's plan.

That's a specific statement of the author.


RC

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

. . . which major NPCs have already explored and resolved any plot-points associated with the adventure locale.

The "major NPCs" - which I assume you mean Elminster, Khelben Arunson, the Simbul, Drizzt and similar "instantly recognizable" names - are actually scattered far and wide. Again, the Realms are huge, and even the most frequent travellers among these people can only have explored a fraction of it.

 

[buzz]

Which has generally been my complaint with most published settings I've looked at. I don't want a huge world full of locations I could set my campaign. I want a place to set my campaign. I want more detail about the area where the PCs will be adventuring & only short summaries of the world beyond.

(Tangent) I've been feeling this big-time reading some settings for a Star HERO campaign I'm prepping. Lots and lots of data, lots and lots of options, very little guidance as to which options are worth bothering with and what I'd do with them anyway.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

Which has generally been my complaint with most published settings I've looked at. I don't want a huge world full of locations I could set my campaign. I want a place to set my campaign. I want more detail about the area where the PCs will be adventuring & only short summaries of the world beyond.

Sounds like you'd like Ptolus...

 

[JEL]

That's a specific statement of the author.


RC

Can you please cite it then. You're the first person I've ever heard it from.