What to run for my players?

[Davmeister84]

Due to two players of mine having to excuse themselves for the summer due to job opportunities, I've decided to hiatus my current longrunning WoW campaign and run something else for the remaining four players.

The general gist of what they'd like to see is a more exploration style campaign, dungeon delving and discovery of great artifacts and such. Less "go off and save the world" type plot hooks, and such.

While they've mentioned they would like to stay in the Warcraft universe, I want to steer clear of that so as to avoid accidently revealing plot points in one game that they may not know in the hiatus'ed game. I also feel that another campaign setting would feel fresher and offer a better way to get the sense of wonder and exploration I think they want.

Does anyone have any suggestions for campaign settings, or even just areas inside other campaign settings that can easily be exported to a homebrew? Any suggestions/advice would be appreciated.

My own idea was to get them involved in something planar based, preferably multiple planes since it opens up a good number of diverse terrains, monster populations, and all the like. Anyone have any experience in that regard?

 

[Crothian]

I'd use something like the Northern Crown campaign setting. It is about explorers from a Europe like place discovering America, except insert magic and other D&Disms.

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

You might take a look at Gygax's Hall of Many Panes:

An Adventure of Such Epic Proportions that it would not fit in one book! Gary Gygax’s long anticipated Hall of Many Panes comes in a solid 11 x 8.5 inch box that is deep enough to hold ALL THREE 80+ page full-size adventure books that comprise this wild, high level adventure. With the adventure comes a fourth full-size book, containing 20 pages of art and maps! Reasonably priced at $39.95 The Hall of Many Panes brings customers more fun for their adventuring dollar.

The Hall of Many Panes plunges the adventuring party into a dimensional matrix from which they must find their own way out. They find themselves on a long, thin ramp, ethereal darkness all about them. By looking up, or down, they spy strange shimmering lights. These are the panes of the Great Hall and lead to other worlds in time and space. The characters are pitted against all manner of eldritch beasts and magic. Gary Gygax’s Hall of Many Panes is written in the classic style of sword and sorcery fantasy literature and is sure to grip players in many nights of pizza eating, soda drinking, dice throwing fun!

 

[ThirdWizard]

If you're willing to look into published adventures, then Dead Gods of Planescape fits what you've described. It's quite epic and grand with a myriad of Planes. Or The Great Modron March, which is also multi-planar spanning.

 

[der_kluge]

Definitely check out "The Rod of Seven Parts". It's available as .pdf from rpgnow.com, and is made by TSR. It's second edition, but most of the critters are converted on the creature catalog in ENWorld. It's a great module.

It starts around 9th level or so. You can use Tomb of Abysthor (also available as a .pdf) which can take a party from around 2nd or 3rd to anywhere from 9th to 12th. So, that's pretty much the sum total of the entire campaign I'm running currently.

 

[Kunimatyu]

The general gist of what they'd like to see is a more exploration style campaign, dungeon delving and discovery of great artifacts and such. Less "go off and save the world" type plot hooks, and such.

I know this isn't in line with your planar idea, but have you taken a good look at Eberron? The world is geared for Indiana-Jones-style exploration of forbidding ruins and swashbuckling mayhem. Also, if your players are more familiar with traditional(read: Tolkienesque) fantasy, Eberron will seem like a breath of fresh air to them.