Are there too many settings out there?

[Wombat]

I'm baffled that people purchase settings; creating a setting is my main source of fun as a DM. I'm always kind of confused by the popularity of these things.

Hmm, well as a GM who, like yourself, makes his own campaigns, I find that I enjoy looking through some (far from all) campaign setting books for ideas to riff on. No, I wouldn't use Hollowfaust as written, but it has some fantastic notions regarding what a city run by necromancers (not all of whom are evil) would be like -- I am then able to spin out this idea and create my own city. Equally I can look at a setting, see things I cannot stand, and figure out how to avoid similar problems in my own world.

I got the FR setting for Xmas a couple years ago -- some of the crunchy bits are interesting, despite the fact I cannot stand the world. I have the Ravenloft setting book, which provided me with several "plot bunnies" (as my sister calls story ideas) and Nyambe has provided lots of food for thought in my campaigns.

Run someone else's world when I can create my own? Never!

Steal useful ideas from someone else's world? But of course!

I mean, I got to this game ultimately via reading Greek mythology and the Tales of the Round Table -- I like to steal from the best!

 

[Desdichado]

Plot bunnies; yeah, I'll steal that too...

 

[Psion]

Are there too many settings? Yes

Are there too many quality settings? No

Much like prestige classes in that aspect...

 

[Ashy]

Ya forgot the best one of all!

OATHBOUND!

 

[Nightfall]

*bad post* *very bad post*

 

[Nightfall]

I sort of agree with Crothy and Psion. Are there too many settings that just feel the same old same old? Yeah. But are there enough QUALITY settings? Hardly. But that is a matter of opinion in some respects as what quality is. For me though, there's plenty room for more settings...just the ones that don't work out won't sell. Simple as that.

 

[Desdichado]

I sort of agree with Crothy and Psion. Are there too many settings that just feel the same old same old? Yeah. But are there enough QUALITY settings? Hardly. But that is a matter of opinion in some respects as what quality is. For me though, there's plenty room for more settings...just the ones that don't work out won't sell. Simple as that.

Absolutely. I like having settings; even ones I never intend to play. I like Rokugan, I like FR, I like Midnight, I like Sovereign Stone and I really can't wait for Iron Kingdoms. I like the Scarred Lands books I have, and Greyhawk and Broncosaurus Rex.

But I could always use more. And I don't play in any of those out of the box anyway, and likely never would.

 

[Nightfall]

Josh,

Obviously you and I do things differently when it comes to settings, but I will agree, there are some I like, and some I will use CONSTANTLY and also not change that much. (Even though I admit to taking much liberties in some of my SL games. But that's part of the fun.)

 

[Voadam]

I used to run a ravenloft game. That setting draws in lands and people from other settings and traps them. I used stuff from Greyhawk, my roommate's homebrew, Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, Dark Sun and I even got the Doctor Doom Marvel superheroes supplement and adapted it to an island cluster. Everything but the Doctor Doom stuff came up directly in game (the Doctor Doom was there just never encountered due to party decisions). d20 allows lots of crossovers or amalgams, that is one of its strengths.

 

[trancejeremy]

I used to run a ravenloft game. That setting draws in lands and people from other settings and traps them.

Oathbound is somewhat similar, but I'm surprised we haven't seen more meta-settings like that. (Okay, Dragonstar might count as one of those as well).

Conversely, we've seen not that many mini-settings, which are designed to fit into most campaigns. Basically just Freeport. (There are lots of one shots, but Freeport is the only full fledged mini-setting).