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Message: <blockquote data-quote="kenjib" data-source="post: 570097" data-attributes="member: 530">One difference between Kalamar and Scarred Lands is that while Scarred Lands is heavily themed, Kalamar is very open ended and flexible.  These approaches both have benefits and drawbacks.If you want to run a campaign out of the box using the godswar/titanspan ideas of the Scarred Lands you have lots of great support to do so.  You've got an epic storyline that has shaken the world, and a land trying to pick up the pieces in the aftermath.  It's a very strong theme to work with and build a story around and you can tie in lots of elements across the world into your plot if you decide to focus on this topic.  If you don't like these concepts though, you're facing an uphill battle though, because even if you try not to emphasize them they are fairly omnipresent.If you want to design your own campaign themes including elements of any of a wide range of genre conventions (including influences ranging from arthurian medieval, to roman empire, to native american, to egyptian, to meso-american, to swashbuckling high seas adventure, to african, to nordic, to evil theocracy, to slave overlords, to nation of evil humanoids with massive invading army, to city of pirates, to mythic lost city of the dead, and more), you will find that Kalamar has support for all of this and does so in a fashion that makes complete sense and feels like a real, living and breathing place.  It is very flexible.  It was designed intentionally to leave things open to DM interpretation and manipulation.  On the flip side of this, you don't automatically get a strong theme for the world that you can use to easily define your setting for you -- nothing quick and easy to grab on to.If you like homebrewing but don't have enough time, Kalamar might be for you -- as you can very easily take what's there and make it into the world you want.  If you like a dark world with a strong built in and well supported behind-the-scenes plot that flavors every aspect of the world, Scarred Lands might be the choice for you.I think they are both very much internally consistent.  The difference is that Kalamar is consistent in a natural manner, using natural geology and anthropology, whereas Scarred Lands is consistent vis-a-vis divine intervention and magical apocalypse.  Scarred Lands has a higher level of magic in general than Kalamar.  While both can be adapted to any level and in the grand scope of things they are still pretty close to one another, Scarred Lands works best as high to medium magic, whereas Kalamar works best as medium to low.They are both great settings with really strong support from their respective publishers.  I think that it's a matter of taste, rather than quality.I've tried not to be biased here, but just in case I have been I should mention that Kalamar is my personal preference.</blockquote>

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