One world for all your campaigns, or do you set campaigns in different settings each time?

[MerricB]

I suppose it might be different if I had a massive investment in my own campaign setting, but I don't have one.

I guess you could say I have a massive investment in my Greyhawk...

Cheers!

 

[Jacob Marley]

My campaigns are almost exclusively run in Greyhawk. Exceptions have been: three forays into Ravenloft and one into Planescape (thank you Die Vecna Die!), and I ran Red Hand of Doom twice in its setting (and once as the Pomarj invading the Wild Coast).

I am pretty invested in Greyhawk lore, but it is still my Greyhawk. I like to make reference to previous campaigns and tend to build new campaigns on old ones. Though I am "resetting" the game back to 585 for my next campaign.

 

[Umbran]

I'm just wondering how approach your campaigns. Are they all set in the same world? Different worlds each time? Do you return to favourite settings but otherwise explore the possibilities?

When I start a new campaign, I'm usually switching genres and game system as well - so no way are they in the same world.

And will anything be changing when 5E comes by?

I'll have to see what the final system does well, and then see if any group I play with wants to do high fantasy, and we'll see.

 

[Elf Witch]

I have two campaign worlds of my own one set in an alternate ancient Earth the other a fantasy world. But I do enjoy running games set in Kingdoms of Kalamar, Dragonlance, and Forgotten Realms.

 

[MerricB]

When I start a new campaign, I'm usually switching genres and game system as well - so no way are they in the same world.

I started thinking about how they could be in the same world... and then saw that direction lay madness (and Rifts, and Torg), so stopped.

Cheers!

 

[Gilladian]

I have 4 areas in my campaign world where I have set campaigns. They're all within a few hundreds or perhaps a thousand miles of each other, so definitely closely related. The oldest and most recent campaigns now span a time period of about 100 years, so some of the early campaigns are now legendary. But mostly, they're "recent history" and new PCs are always eager to "top" the antics of previous generations of adventurers.

Then again, I've been playing with some of the same players for the past 25+ years, so those are THEIR retired characters they're "topping". It's fun and I would never want to give it up.

However, I do occasionally run a one-shot or brief campaign in a different world, and have run/am running online in a totally different environment. Even I want some variety!

 

[Connorsrpg]

I too used Greyhawk for all of my early campaigns. I always tinkered with my own setting, but that was never fully realised until late 2E. Most of 2E was spent in Athas though. But that inspired me to include new and different ideas in my own world.

The 2E World Builder's Guidebook really inspired the creation of my own setting of Kage. Many elements of the world changed a few times (esp which Oriental setting I would tack on) until it was combined with the ideas of 2 friends' worlds. That was the most complete Kage ever got and we spent a lot of time detailing it. Kage got updated to 3E and we set many games there, but I found I spent more time 'writing' about the world than adventuring in it.

When 4E came around I was up for a change. By then I had developed my own complete set of detailed Realm Creation Docs based upon the 2E WBGB and throughout 4E I used that to develop several new settings. The first was African-inspired, the next was based upon Chris Perkins' Iomandra setting. I liked the non-human-centric aspect of it and developed my own map and setting based upon his very first doc. Next was a fantastical version of Dark Age England (oddly, which I now see Chris Perkins doing something similar ), then the Nentir Vale (I think, where ever Red Hand of Doom took place) where I placed it into a greater setting.

Currently playing a hybrid version of Savage Worlds - Song of Fire & Ice RP set in Golarion. (Rise of the Runelords actually.

So, I am not sure where to head for 5E. Will probably just convert the current game and keep going, as several of the players seem to prefer DnD. But I am do not find setting the game in a world like Golarion too inspiring. I love to create realms/settings, etc and there is too much info out there to keep a handle on. Also running an AP leaves even less to do. So, I guess at first chance I will develop another one.

(I have played other, non-fantasy, setting in between too. All settings created have their own websites linked to the my central site - in signature).

Good forum topic Merric. I could talk settings and realm creation all day - it is my fav part.

 

[Connorsrpg]

Oh, I love the games set in different eras in the one setting. One of ours resumed 800 years later! It was in the Egyptian-part of homebrew world (Kage).

An earlier campaign ended with the heroes in the desert, turned to stone in an ancient temple. I had not told my players what we were doing, but years (real life years ) later I resumed the campaign where another group of heroes were sent to restore the missing heroes to life. So they were brought back from being statues and off on a new kingdom saving quest (that did relate directly to what they were trying to stop all those years ago).

Sorry to bat on, but one cool part, was that the heroes were wemics. At the time of their 'imprisonment' wemics were respected members of the kingdom, formed the royal guard etc. When they came back they were dispersed nomadic tribes that were rarely seen in the kingdom and often referred to as sphinxes.

 

[Lord Mhoram]

Oh, that's marvellous! I've never jumped so much between campaigns, which is a pity, thinking about it.

Cheers!

Yeah.
Sometimes we do generational - kids or grandkids of earlier PCs. Sometimes we want something different.

The fact that the wife and I game (we met when she was the GM of a game I joined) means we have some special continuity in the worlds.

 

[MerricB]

Sorry to bat on, but one cool part, was that the heroes were wemics. At the time of their 'imprisonment' wemics were respected members of the kingdom, formed the royal guard etc. When they came back they were dispersed nomadic tribes that were rarely seen in the kingdom and often referred to as sphinxes.

That is cool. Fantastic!