D&D General Old Campaign Worlds - What Have You Used And Why?

[Aldarc]

Greyhawk & Mystara: I mainly plundered them for adventures, dungeons, and modules.

Eberron: Experienced as both a player and a DM. Eberron is probably my favorite D&D setting.

Nentir Vale/World Axis/Points of Light: The 4e campaign setting is probably my favorite setting to run as a GM no matter how you call it. It's bare bones enough for sandboxing and personalizing while also having a tremendous wealth of plot hooks and mysteries. A lot of things that people love about running Lost Mines of Phandelver or Red Hand of Doom as adventures is how the Nentir Vale existed as a setting. Thanks Richard Baker for all three of these things.

 

[Doc_Klueless]

When I use published campaign worlds, I typically use Greyhawk for the simple reason that I know it backwards and forwards. Which, while it doesn't make it the best campaign world, makes it the easiest for me to run.

 

[Zardnaar]

When I use published campaign worlds, I typically use Greyhawk for the simple reason that I know it backwards and forwards. Which, while it doesn't make it the best campaign world, makes it the easiest for me to run.

Used to use FR same reason. They blew it up though and I rarely use it now.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

When I use published campaign worlds, I typically use Greyhawk for the simple reason that I know it backwards and forwards. Which, while it doesn't make it the best campaign world, makes it the easiest for me to run.

Yup, I use FR for the same reason. It's a boring, but I know it well enough that I can answer pretty much anything that crops up without having to look it up. I just ignore anything I don't like.

 

[bedir than]

Realms (mostly Dalelands, but also al-Qadim, Kara-Tur)
DragonLance
Spelljammer

 

[David Howery]

Used to use FR same reason. They blew it up though and I rarely use it now.

I'm guessing that was in 3E or beyond? I haven't followed any of the game worlds since I got out of D&D at the end of 2E.
The only worlds I'm familiar with/gamed in were GH and FR... and the fate of those worlds in 2E were quite a bit different. FR had a hiccup to get into 2E (Time of Troubles), and then went multicultural with a vengeance... Maztica, AQ, Hordelands, Kara Tur, etc.... this was an approach I really liked. Plus, they added in some big plotlines (Crusade, Golden Legion) that were interesting but didn't really change the world. Greyhawk, OTOH... well, they just 'blew it up' for no good reason and made vast changes for no good reason. And we dealt with the same parts of the world that we had always dealt with, nothing new to be seen. It wasn't until nearly the end of 2E that we got The Scarlet Brotherhood and a look at something different. (Technically, the short lived Chainmail miniature game was set on western Oerik, but it deserved to die a quiet death. Along with EGG's map of Oerik that appeared in one of the annuals).

 

[Wiseblood]

Where I have played an ran.
FR ( i know well )
Eberron ( pretty neat )
Greyhawk ( little too something)
Homebrew
Ravenloft ( good but so specific takes more buy in by players )
Planescape ( i do not like the planes )
and

Mystara ( the best )

 

[Zardnaar]

I'm guessing that was in 3E or beyond? I haven't followed any of the game worlds since I got out of D&D at the end of 2E.
The only worlds I'm familiar with/gamed in were GH and FR... and the fate of those worlds in 2E were quite a bit different. FR had a hiccup to get into 2E (Time of Troubles), and then went multicultural with a vengeance... Maztica, AQ, Hordelands, Kara Tur, etc.... this was an approach I really liked. Plus, they added in some big plotlines (Crusade, Golden Legion) that were interesting but didn't really change the world. Greyhawk, OTOH... well, they just 'blew it up' for no good reason and made vast changes for no good reason. And we dealt with the same parts of the world that we had always dealt with, nothing new to be seen. It wasn't until nearly the end of 2E that we got The Scarlet Brotherhood and a look at something different. (Technically, the short lived Chainmail miniature game was set on western Oerik, but it deserved to die a quiet death. Along with EGG's map of Oerik that appeared in one of the annuals).

After 3E spellplague 4E. And the time jump.

Basically they killed off everyone and Deus ex machina Drizzt and co back.

 

[Laurefindel]

I played a few games in various settings that were so short that I can't say I have experienced, but the main ones are the following

Greyhawk: My first character and campaign ever when I was 15, so it holds a special place for me. That was my first and last game in that world however; GH lost to "The North" box set when I started DMing, so FR it was.

Honorable mentions The Black Eye and Lone Wolf books (and later on, Birthright) which I never played but plundered for my homebrewed settings.

Forgotten Realms was my setting-of-choice for a long time, and still is to this day (although Eberron is growing on me). Unlike what seems to be everyone here, I love the Realms, love its plasticity, love many elements that others find boring. There are a lot of very neat things in FR's setting that many players overlook or take for granted. Too bad TSR/WotC feel they need to blow-it-up every time there is an edition change (except for 2e AD&D to 3.0. That transition was nice and smooth).

Planescape. Why? Mostly because of Tony DiTerlizzi, and the pretension of that setting being for "advance players". I loved to design game for planescape, create NPCs, allow more surreal elements without feeling like ruining the medieval-fantasy genre.

Eberron. It took me a while to appreciate the magic-technological revolution feel, but I love it now.

 

[Weiley31]

Campaign settings we used in/as a campaign:

DragonLance! #1
Greyhawk #2

Idea's/modules we used from other settings in our generic campaigns/games:

Castle Greywhawk
Ruins of Castle Greyhawk
Ruins of Undermountain
Ruins of Undermountain II
City of Lankmar
Skullport
Ravenloft I6
Dragon Mountain
etc.

If the DM wanted to do a certain module, we did not care which "setting" it was from.

We had considered most game "settings" as being just a different continent on a super-sized world.

That's EXACTLY how I do it. Ebberon, FR/Faerune, Soburin(Mist of Akuma replaces Kara-Tur), Greyhawk, Sword Coast, Al quadim, ETC are ALL different parts of the same world.

The Cosmology is Planescape/Great Wheel with The Dawn War.