What makes a better setting?

[Ourph]

I like the places that are detailed to be highly detailed, but I also like having a lot of areas that are open to DM creativity. Unfortunately, my experience with campaign settings is that the authors generally put in the kind of details that I'm completely uninterested in.

 

[Jimlock]

...that there is no room for mystery or to add in your own corner of the world.

Well, there IMO resides an actual problem.
If you have to do with veteran players, players who have experienced the various settings throughout their roleplaying career, there is little room for mystery if you introduce to them a setting they have played before.
There is little to no intrigue for a veteran player if you throw at him FRs and Greyhawk. Not that as a DM one cannot change whatever he wants... but the very fact that the player might know some very basic mythological, historical, political stuff about the world is certainly a killer. No matter how you have changed the Zhentarim or the Cult of the Dragon, no matter how obscurely you portray them in your "version" of the setting, the very fact that the player has encountered an organization with the same name/similar traits... well you understand...
On the other hand, if your players are not so experienced, or if they've never played the setting you are introducing, then there really is no problem, even with the most detailed of settings.

Personally, i don't get the chance to play with new players very often. People i play with are people who 've known/played the game for years and who are pretty much experienced as far as the most famous settings are concerned. Therefore the problem remains.

As a DM i have done both. I have both used detailed settings, as well as settings entirely of my own creation. The success of my games was not based on these factors however. Because as a DM, i get to change, throw away, whatever is getting in the way of making the game MY game.
Truth be told, when time was pressing me, i certainly enjoyed having a few things ready for me when using ready-made settings be that historic fluff, maps, or NPCs.

So in my opinion, it doesn't matter at all whether one uses a detailed settings, a less detailed setting, or a setting of your own. A good DM will always use his imagination for the best... be that to create a world on his own, or to change things on existing material so as to make his game a unique experience.
One could argue how a personal setting is far better because it is your own personal creation etc... etc... etc... ...which is certainly an argument i agree with... however i tend to think of the DM more as a director than a writer.

The best scenario in the world, in the hand of a bad director is still gonna make for a bad movie... while a bad scenario in the hands of an inspired director is always gonna make for a good movie.

So to conclude:

Makings things on your own has the important advantage of being able to keep experienced players in the black, with more mystery and intrigue even for those on the know.
Using existing settings, no matter the detail, can save you some valuable time when you don't have it.

 

[IronWolf]

I went with the detailed setting option. I don't mind a fair amount of detail. I can generally work within those confines pretty easily to adapt things as needed and add in what I need within those details. I was a big fan of the Forgotten Realms up through the 3rd edition and currently a fan of Golarion. I find I am able to work within either.

 

[AeroDm]

I like the places that are detailed to be highly detailed, but I also like having a lot of areas that are open to DM creativity. Unfortunately, my experience with campaign settings is that the authors generally put in the kind of details that I'm completely uninterested in.

Like what? I don't really need specific examples (although they can be helpfully illustrative). I'm interested at the general level of what sort of scenarios you like that are highly detailed but not detailed in certain areas.

 

[Lanefan]

What makes a better setting? Two words:

Blank space.

For those who have followed Forgotten Realms over the editions, each new version has provided more detail, more depth, more stuff...and less blank space for me to chuck in what I want. So guess which version I prefer?

What I want pretty much amounts to this:

- a broad overview map showing what realms/nations/geographic features are supposed to be where - the continental map in "Isle of Dread" is a good example
- a more local map of one area where the campaign can start, including a town or two (give some details) and the realm they sit in, and some possible adventure sites - "City State of the Invincible Overlord" is a good, if slightly overdone, example of this
- some vague details about what races and cultures live where and how the setting expects them to interact
- some vague details of major historical events going all the way back to the formation of the world if need be, to provide background for why those dangerous ruins are where they are, why the moon goes backward through the sky, why the various races live where they do, and so on
- a brief one-page overview of the world's astronomy - its solar system, important constellations, etc.
- at least one low-level starter adventure module that ties in with the local map.

Lan-"worlds away"-efan

 

[Ariosto]

On the assumption that we are talking about a commercial product line, and that "better" means more pleasing to me as a game hobbyist, I would say:

Provide a basic outline for those who want to grab that and run with it (e.g., Empire of the Petal Throne).

Provide an encyclopedic work for people who want that (e.g., Swords & Glory Volume 1: Tekumel Source Book).

Provide additional materials for people especially interested in particular topics (e.g., Deeds of the Ever Glorious, The Book of Ebon Bindings, The Tsolyani Language, etc.).

Columbia Games had (and may still have) an arrangement of their Harn material that I think served the whole spectrum pretty well.

 

[underthumb]

One thing my friends and I frequently discuss are things we don't like about settings. I generally feel like the majority of settings I have seen are too detailed, that there is no room for mystery or to add in your own corner of the world. I think it would be nice for a setting to just capture the feel of a place, provide you with a few locations that have a detailed description, and some NPC's or a starter town and leave the rest to you. This would be 50 pages at the very longest, but usually more like 15 or 20 (starter towns would take up more space). Adventures and campaigns could fill in these gaps as needed, and DM's would have plenty of room and inspiration to create their own stuff. That being said, I know a lot of people out there love a huge amount of detail and feel that makes the world a rich place to be in.

So which in your opinion is the best way to go?

The thing is, I don't need a basic idea with a few locations. I have lots and lots of those. Why would I pay for that? I will, however, pay for the careful thought and tedious work it takes to detail aspects of a world that I might not have spent time on, or might not have even thought to bring to life. Thus, I prefer fully-detailed settings. Otherwise, why not just use a homebrew setting?

 

[Dice4Hire]

For me a few things.

1. A great map, one that details everything and makes sense. I love greyhawk, but the oodles of open grasslands just shouts at me "I'm so sick of drawing mountains and forests!!!!11!!!" There needs to be more natural divides between different areas. The FR map is good at this, with interior bodies of water and both forests and mountains separating regions form each other. Sometimes with greyhawk it is hard to imagine where the monsters actually live.

I think Birthright had the best adventure map ever. Separated human kingdoms and non-human kingdoms, as well as VAST forests were wonderful. It looked like a primeval world, and not one after centuries of mechanized agriculture like greyhawk did.

 

[The Shaman]

Most of the time I use the most detailed setting ever devised for a roleplaying game.

For pretty much everything else I prefer a basic setting with plenty of room to add my own stuff and a detailed map.

 

[DragonLancer]

I like my published settings as detailed as possible. Books for each race, nation and lots of detailed maps. Don't give me secrets, give me the full rundown.