Mercurius
Legend
It seems that, for the proverbial "Settings Junky" - a gamer that collects setting material without the intention of directly using it in a game - the recent 4E era have been lean in terms of the amount of material being published. If we go back and look at the history of RPGs, we may be in the leanest time since the early 80s, before the time of the setting accessory book, probably first popularized with the Mystara gazetteers and then the Forgotten Realms FR series.
The 90s were the Golden Age for D&D settings, and thus a wonderful era for setting junkies, with the development of the Forgotten Realms and the birth of such classics as Dark Sun, Spelljammer, Birthright, Planescape, and the "From the Ashes" version of Greyhawk, as well as lesser known settings like Al-Qadim, Jakandor, and Kalamar, and a few new non-D&D fantasy settings like Earthdawn and Everway.
The 00s brought 3E D&D and the OGL, leading to a vast plethora of fantasy settings, from Eberron to Midnight to Dawnforge to the Scarred Lands. We also saw the new iconic kitchen sink setting Golarion developed for the Pathfinder game.
As we all know, in 2008 4E D&D was published and with it the new GSL, which proved to be much more prohibitive than the OGL was. The GSL, coupled with Wizards of the Coast's new minimalist policy with fantasy settings - just three books per setting, one setting per year - led to a lull in D&D setting material, at least official to 4E. Paizo published setting sourcebooks by the dozens, in the form of the Pathfinder Campaign Setting and the Chronicles and Companions series.
Which leads me to the purpose of this thread and my question. Given the above fact, that during the 90s through about 2008, a large quantity (although not always quality) of D&D-related setting material was being published, giving the setting junky a plethora to choose from, yet for the last 2-3 years the amount of new fantasy setting material has dwindled to, if not a trickle, then a slow stream. We have not seen any real new setting material for 4E D&D - just reworkings and updates of core settings (Forgotten Realms, Eberron, and Dark Sun).
So how do you get your fix these days? Is it through the frequent Pathfinder Chronicles books? Other genre setting books? What jewels have you found in the last few years to share with us other setting junkies?
Speaking for myself, I collect a fair number of the Pathfinder Chronicles books; I buy the WotC setting stuff when it comes out; I purchase settings from other games that appeal to me, such as Hellfrost and Sundered Skies for Savage Worlds, and I occasionally flesh out my collection with older stuff. I do miss the days of multiple D&D settings being developed and detailed through sourcebooks, though.
What about you? How do you get your fix?
The 90s were the Golden Age for D&D settings, and thus a wonderful era for setting junkies, with the development of the Forgotten Realms and the birth of such classics as Dark Sun, Spelljammer, Birthright, Planescape, and the "From the Ashes" version of Greyhawk, as well as lesser known settings like Al-Qadim, Jakandor, and Kalamar, and a few new non-D&D fantasy settings like Earthdawn and Everway.
The 00s brought 3E D&D and the OGL, leading to a vast plethora of fantasy settings, from Eberron to Midnight to Dawnforge to the Scarred Lands. We also saw the new iconic kitchen sink setting Golarion developed for the Pathfinder game.
As we all know, in 2008 4E D&D was published and with it the new GSL, which proved to be much more prohibitive than the OGL was. The GSL, coupled with Wizards of the Coast's new minimalist policy with fantasy settings - just three books per setting, one setting per year - led to a lull in D&D setting material, at least official to 4E. Paizo published setting sourcebooks by the dozens, in the form of the Pathfinder Campaign Setting and the Chronicles and Companions series.
Which leads me to the purpose of this thread and my question. Given the above fact, that during the 90s through about 2008, a large quantity (although not always quality) of D&D-related setting material was being published, giving the setting junky a plethora to choose from, yet for the last 2-3 years the amount of new fantasy setting material has dwindled to, if not a trickle, then a slow stream. We have not seen any real new setting material for 4E D&D - just reworkings and updates of core settings (Forgotten Realms, Eberron, and Dark Sun).
So how do you get your fix these days? Is it through the frequent Pathfinder Chronicles books? Other genre setting books? What jewels have you found in the last few years to share with us other setting junkies?
Speaking for myself, I collect a fair number of the Pathfinder Chronicles books; I buy the WotC setting stuff when it comes out; I purchase settings from other games that appeal to me, such as Hellfrost and Sundered Skies for Savage Worlds, and I occasionally flesh out my collection with older stuff. I do miss the days of multiple D&D settings being developed and detailed through sourcebooks, though.
What about you? How do you get your fix?
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