OD&D What is Mystara?

[lowkey13]

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[Doug McCrae]

Second, it is not the only D&D setting that has done something genuinely new. From Ghostwalk to Spelljammer, D&D is filled with different takes.

And there are mutltitudes of genuinely new things even within the kitchen sink settings.

With Eberron everything is there that's in default D&D. But it's all different. I think my metaphor of a filter or lens being placed over the top works quite well to describe it. No other setting does that. With Greyhawk, FR, and Mystara, everything's there but it's mostly the same. With Spelljammer, everything's there but it's separated by the introduction of a new element - space travel.

 

[Leatherhead]

If everything is kitchen sink then nothing is kitchen sink.

And lets face it, every D&D setting that has or will be printed, even those that are explicity "cut off" from the rest of them, will be a kitchen sink. Simply because the people who make it will want it to be cross-compatible with other products. That's just good marketing.

 

[lowkey13]

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[Doug McCrae]

Eberron, Dark Sun, Dragon Lance, and many lesser-known settings (Ghostwalk, for example) are all POV settings (changing, modifying, subverting).

I completely agree. Eberron does change, modify, and subvert. And it's also a kitchen sink setting -

a large, multi-purpose setting that can accommodate a diverse number and type of "standard" D&D adventures and tropes. In other words, if you choose this type of setting, it would be fairly simply to quickly adapt any standard D&D module or AP to fit somewhere within it.

This is why I consider it to be a unique setting.

 

[lowkey13]

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[The Glen]

Each of the settings had their own 'hook', something that could attract players of differing tastes. If you knew the tastes of your players you could pick the right setting.

Birthright was high political fantasy, similar to Excalibur with its time jumps and having the players run the powers behind the thrones. It lacked quite a few races but nationality was more important than race most of the time.

Eberron was pulp fiction, much like the last Robin Hood. The action never stops and the story ignores the more anachronistic parts in favor of the rule of cool.

Dark Sun was just flat out post-apocalyptic scavenger world. No metal,psionics and the hardest monsters dreamt of, for a movie look at Steel Dawn, the Patrick Swayze movie that time forgot.

Grayhawk is the small heroes in a big world. You're not going to be in a position of power, there's a lot of things happening around you that you've got no control over, but you're still trying to make a difference. So like Ladyhawke for a reference.

Dragonlance is the epic quest setting. Here's your party, here's your macguffin, go fight evil. Like the Lords of the Rings.

Planescape is the multigenre super setting where you really don't have to worry about continuity in favor of story. If the party gets bored, change the setting. Similar to Valerian, City of a 1000 Planets.

Ravenloft is of course horror, but it's large enough in scope it covers all horror. If you want Susperia you can do evil cults, or pick the monster of the week and go with that. It's almost too big in scope.

Spelljammer is D&D in space. You want a new adventure just fly to a new planet. Endless possibilities but it can turn into a Star Trek alien of the week. See Treasure Planet for inspiration.

Mystara is real-world analogies and epic journies. You're going to be finding lost cities and civilizations more than just clearing out dungeons. For Mystara half the fun is getting there. Look at the 13th Warrior for inspiration.

Forgotten Realms is Mos Eisley cantina of movies. Quantity is its quality. The adventures (at least this edition) are monsters of the week. Every race is playable, and if a race isn't in Forgotten Realms just wait they'll add it. You're never going to find a location with just one race there. So, look at Star Wars for that feel.

 

[S'mon]

Another, similar, possibility that afaik no one has ever done would be twinning D&D and superhero, which, like pulp, is also a kitchen sink genre.

My 5.5 year, 103 session 4e D&D Loudwater campaign always strongly resembled a superhero team series set in the Forgotten Realms, I felt. Certainly from around level 5 to 29/30 when we ended. I think superhero doesn't require a specific setting, though I guess certain setting elements are more conducive, such as a strong Good v Evil tone.

 

[S'mon]

By definition, then, it isn't.

I am modifying, changing, and subverting the expectations and rules of D&D is NOT a kitchen sink setting.

Maybe you have your own reality, but in mine 'kitchen sink' means 'contains everything and/but the kitchen sink', a common saying. So a setting that includes all D&D elements would be a kitchen sink setting. AFAICS that applies even if the setting has a theme. Or adds new stuff on top.

Dragonlance is not a kitchen sink setting - no orcs!

 

[lowkey13]

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