Replacement: Settings that made a difference.

[scourger]

Here are the settings I have owned that made a difference for me:


Conan taught me what I don't want. I don't want an OGL game that tries to replace the already complicated D&D d20 system with a new, even more complicated set of variant rules. The Road of Kings is pretty cool, though.

Dragonstar is a great setting and a creative use of the d20 license to take my favorite game to the stars. I still hope to run Raw Recruits one day.

Everquest I never even read. I never played the computer game, but the book was pretty. Again, I found out I wasn't really looking to replace D&D. Thank goodness for eBay, even though I bought it at retail.

Greyhawk is a nice default setting for the game. The Gazzetter is about as much information as I can process, but The Adventure Begins is a great OOP product.

Grimm is a fun adaptation of d20 rules to play kids caught in a fairy tale. It prompted me to check out Grimm's Fairy Tales from my local library and read up on them. Those stories aren't very nice. I sure wish I could play the game.

Slaine was a Conan pre-purchase. More human sacrifice to empower magic does not make the game more fun for me. Great art. Bad rules (except the increased sling damage, which is a good idea). Then they were retread for Conan. Well, I bought it from a local used book store and sold it on eBay; so it all comes out pretty even, I guess.


So, I read the poll as asking for positive and negative experiences. That's what I gave. I'll even throw in a couple tat I just played.


Kingdoms of Kalamar I really liked. It offered something a little different with the hobgoblin & half-hobgoblin character options. A friend owns it all, but I suspect I'll never play it again.

Wheel of Time showed me the true nature of broken classes.

 

[DreadPirateMurphy]

Not surprisingly, Eberron and Forgotten Realms are in first place (they vary as to who is ahead by the day). Greyhawk is third. Ravenloft is in the top 10. Settings from TSR/Wizards of the Coast are obviously influential.

Freeport from Green Ronin, Midnight from FFG, and Iron Kingdoms from Privateer Press got an amazing number of votes for a 3rd-party setting. The creators of those settings have done an amazing job building work that has influenced a large number of gamers.

Other settings of note that have high vote counts are Diamond Throne from Monte Cook, the Scarred Lands from Sword & Sorcery, and Conan from Mongoose.

 

[GuardianLurker]

Most influential on the *current* state of the hobby? None of them.

Greyhawk, FR, and Eberron don't count for these purposes, as they're the "default" settings, and thus, by definition *are* the current state. Nor do any of those represent really new ground for the industry, IMO.

A lot of the others are really good, either mechanically (e.g. Black Company), or setting-wise (e.g. Midnight), but their superior elements don't seem to be influencing, or being incorporated into, other companies' products. Likewise the 3 defaults are in the same boat setting wise.

Some (e.g. Dawnforge, Dragonstar) fill in holes left by existing support, but don't seem to be "influential" otherwise.

Which ones do I think *should* be influencing the next edition? Black Company - a great freeform spell system, replacing the ELH system. Dragonstar/Dawnforge - a "default" sci-fi/fantasy blend is needed. For that matter, so is a pure space opera sci-fi blend for d20, but that's not out there. Kalamar demonstrates how a setting atlas *should* be written. And Midnight is the definitive "Tolkienesque" setting.

 

[booboo]

Castles & Crusades

 

[tetsujin28]

Dragonlords of Melnibone can only be said to have made a difference due to it stinking to high heaven. It served as a great warning not to treat your audience like idiots and deliver a shoddy product based on an already-existing major license.

 

[tetsujin28]

Castles & Crusades

Not a setting.

 

[tetsujin28]

If you voted for Eberron, why do you feel it made a difference?

Because it breathed new life into the D&D license.

 

[petenik]

Actually, I'm puzzled why Eberron has so many votes; I'd think that Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk are both much more influential, having been published for far longer. Perhaps it's just because it is the newest major campaign setting by WOTC?

If you voted for Eberron, why do you feel it made a difference?

At the risk of sounding pedantic, I think the question is really geared towards the d20/3.5 era of D&D. The Realms, while very important to D&D, doesn't have the impact on it that Eberron and even Conan has (my two votes). If the question were more "In the History of D&D..." vein, then I wouldn't even hesitate to vote for it.

But "Making a difference" is a pretty vague qualifier so I suppose you make an argument, such as the amount of money the Realms makes for WotC, either way.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Actually, I'm puzzled why Eberron has so many votes; I'd think that Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk are both much more influential, having been published for far longer. Perhaps it's just because it is the newest major campaign setting by WOTC?

If you voted for Eberron, why do you feel it made a difference?

Hmmm, both Realms and Greyhawk have a feeling of 'same old, same old' - rehashed Tolkien with other authors thrown in. Eberron broke that mold.

The Auld Grump, accidently forgot to check off Wilderlands - but for OD&D not 3.X

 

[InzeladunMaster]

Conan made the biggest difference for me because it showed me how to throw off the shackles of magic items, power ups and a thousand other things I disliked about generic fantasy RPGs.