D&D 5E What does Midgard do that Forgotten Realms and Wildemount don't?

KentDT

Explorer
The Gnomes are interesting. From what I remember (I don't want to crack the book open-that would require me to actually stand up and walk a few feet. Much too much effort), they played one too many tricks on Baba Yaga, who is essentially a god-like being in the campaign. She cursed them and then they made a deal with a devil to try to get out of the curse. So, most Gnomes are evil, they just try to hide it under a façade of cheerfulness. Reminds me of the Chronicles of Amber (probably in the 5th book) where the protagonist Corwin comes across a bunch of little bearded guys having a party. He gets put under an illusion spell and snaps out of it just in time to see them all grinning evilly, coming towards him thumbing their knives and cleavers.
I never really liked Gnomes that much but Midgard definitely puts a different spin on them.
 

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gyor

Legend
The Southlands. It’s a fantasy Africa/Arabia. Lots of gnolls, insect people, and lion folk.

I haven’t read that product personally; it’s a separate sub-setting currently only available for Pathfinder at the moment although a small player’s guide with races was one of the first 5e races Kobold Press did.

Yes! That's it, the Southlands.
 


Doc_Klueless

Doors and Corners
I really don't like that style of map. I much prefer one that looks hand drawn. One of my old gaming buddies, though, thought the map was six kinds of awesome. So it's definitely a preference sort of thing, but it is, unfortunately, the thing that turned me off of Midgard

However, I found the Midgard Worldbook so chocked full of awesome that I almost went with it anyway.

What I think Midgard does is pretty much what everyone else has said:
1) Different, Eastern Europe sort of flair
2) Dark and evil countries that feel like they could be a real threat.
3) Masked gods
4) etc.

But mainly: The Worldbook is so complete that there is no reason to purchase any other book to happily adventure in Midgard.
 



People like to talk about fairy tales with Midgard, but it's not a fairy-tale world, and I'm not really sure why people say that. You see flashes of it from time to time, but it's just an element, not a key thing.

It's much more in line with certain kind of older fantasy setting, like that of Gygax's Dangerous Journeys, where you have a bunch of of cultures/kingdoms based very loosely on human cultures from various time periods, together with some entirely fictional cultures, and none of it really makes sense, but it has a distinct sense of style. As Parmandur says, these match up with locations pretty well. People say "Eastern Europe", but that's literally one kingdom in many, and even it's not very Eastern Europe. And that it seems like it's an older setting is probably because it is - it's a homebrew from the early '90s (and I suspect even older than that in some ways), and was even in the Civ II (!!!!!!!) fantasy setting expansion "Fantastic Worlds".

It's also dark and scary without being full of ridiculous nonsense. It's not like some games we've seen over the last few years where there are demons rampaging everywhere, and everything "METAL AS HELL!!!". Nor is it over the topic gothic like Ravenloft. It's a quieter, creepier, more encompassing kind of scary-ness, that's less personal in some ways. I mean, they do have a terrifying vampire kingdom but somehow it seems to fit in pretty well, rather than seeming OTT.

It also has some fairly silly stuff going on, like clockwork Warforged which you can bring people back as instead of res'ing them.

It's got a lot of style, but my group voted between playing an AP there and Odyssey of the Dragonlords (an the ancient Greek-influenced setting/AP), and we picked Odyssey.
 
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Zardnaar

Legend
They probably mean in like the darker Grim Fairy Tale aspect of it. The Shadow Fey have that kind air to them in Courts of The Shadow Fey.

Certain aspects, like the Gnomes and even Baba Yaga, gives off a kind of dark fairy tale aspect as well.

Tome of Beasts has a lot of fey in it.

Leylines as well.

Elves are also Uber rare, vastly outnumbered by half elves.

No Drow either although a PDF has a sidebar if you want. They're ghoul food.
 

Tyler Do'Urden

Soap Maker
They pretty much laid it out, but here it is:

1.Your heroes are the heroes. As you read through the Worldbook, you'll quickly notice that... there's no Elminsters, Gandalfs, or Tensers. No Drizzts or Fahfrds. Your heroes are front and center, in a world where there's horrifying NOPE of one sort or another in any direction. Even the good and neutral kingdoms have something that makes them a bit dark or exciting. The tone is closer to Greyhawk or Lankhmar than, say, Warhammer - it's not grimdark.

2. It's huge and detailed. Only the Realms and possibly Mystara have more content. Kobold has published over 230 adventures of varying length, from four-page oneshots to campaign-length epics. The Worldbook is only matched by the 3e Realms FRCS - plus there's the entire Southlands book as well (and from time to time they hint that there will be an Eastlands book eventually too!)

3. It's the "official" unofficial setting of D&D. It was started at the TSR offices in the early 90s by Wolfgang Bauer and Jeff Grubb as their lunch game. Everyone from Ed Greenwood to Monte Cook has contributed to it along the way. It's D&D "The Director's Cut" - where they put their ideas that didn't fit in the other settings. As mentioned in the thread, it's willing to spend time on a lot of adult themes that WotC is more squeamish about - sexism, racism, slavery, sex, drugs and human sacrifice are very much part of this setting, without getting excessively graphic or disgusting.

4. Deep Magic. If you want a setting where you can cut loose with Monty Haul levels of magic treasure and have it make sense... this is the place. And given how much of it they publish... there's a lot. Plus, virtually any third party magic supplement thus fits like a glove somewhere in the campaign without unbalancing it. (Get Sandy Peterson's Cthulhu Mythos 5E- it mixes with Midgard like peanut butter and chocolate.)

5. You can go anywhere. Want a fantasy Egypt? Got it. Want to go a-viking? Got it. Want to fight dragons? Got it. Want to lead a mongol horde? Got it. Like the Realms or Mystara, it's a kitchen sink, but a better constructed one.

6. It's your setting. Kind of getting back to point #1, but... there are no novels. There's some measure of canon, but you're not going to have some fanboy getting in your face about it. In fact, the Worldbook expressedly encourages you to blow the whole place up in creative ways. THE WORLD TREE IS GONNA BURN.

7. Mixed-up mythology. While there are some entirely new deities and cultures, this is the setting where all the world's myths are reality, and rubbing shoulders with each other. Because most all the cultures and religions have some real world analog, it's a feast for folklore buffs and it's pretty easy to make naming conventions actually believable. When I say, "this country is renaissance-era Bohemia with clockwork magic" "this is late medieval Poland if it had been overrun with vampires" or "this is the early modern Holy Roman Empire with elf-blooded nobility", boom. Everything can be encapsulated this way. The Goddess Marena? "The Virgin Mary as imagined by vampires". Nothing that requires much explanation. It's the world you already know - twisted and turned up to 11.

So yeah... to me, this is the Uber-setting for people who want something kitchen sink and well supported like the Realms, but with a unique flavor all it's own - and where you can sandbox with impunity. Adventure everywhere!
 

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