Best NonWOTC Campaign setting?

[John Q. Mayhem]

AU/Diamond Throne is very good, IMO, but is pretty darn variant.
IK ROCKS! You're very fortunate to be looking for a new setting just when the campaign guide is coming out I just checked the IK site, and it's due near the end of July. They have an excellent, albeit 3.0, monster book out called the Monsternomicon. A 3.5 re-release is due sometime in 2005.

 

[RangerWickett]

If I may go against the grain a bit, let me suggest my own setting, Tides of Homeland. It is a world emerging from the dark ages into a rebirth of knowledge, but such knowledge includes the truth that villainy from thousands of years ago still lingers on, in the shadowy places of the world.

I have all the setting information available for download, originally put up for my players, but hey, maybe you'll enjoy it too. Nothing is subtracted from the core rules, though I personally use a few house rules. Now that I have a mind to do it, I think I'll include some more history, stuff that I originally had planned to write up in storyhour format, but which would help provide an insight on the world.

Setting and Rules.

I'll even put up a map tomorrow.

 

[Varianor Abroad]

Uhm only thing is Derv, I think he doesn't want to break the box so to speak.

Even so AU is a good choice for those that had played D&D for a long time.

To be a little more specific, Arcana Unearthed is a variant players handbook. You could use all of those classes and races in any setting you wanted, just by taking a little time to figure out how they fit in. There is a separate product, Land of the Diamond Throne, which is similar in scope and feel to the original Greyhawk gazetteer. It overflows with ideas and neat concepts, with enough detail to get you going, but not too much to bog down on. Great stuff all around, but I'm biased.

If you don't want that significant of a variant from standard D&D though, I'd say Scarred Lands or Morningstar. Plenty of folks have talked about the former. The latter has a Roman Imperial feel, high magic, and tons of neat details in it. Kalamar, Oathbound and Dawnforge are said to be good, but I don't have them to comment on.

 

[teitan]

Midnight is good but are you looking for a D&D setting or a D20 setting? That is the most important thing you need to mention or you are going to hear Midnight, Midnight, Midnight. If you want a mostly unaltered D&D you have several GREAT options: Scarred Lands, Dawnforge, Eberron (yeah, WOTC but new), and Freeport. Midnight isn't D&D.

Jason

 

[d10]

I nominate Midnight by FFG, its well supported, has an active community and is ... well... excellent!

The tone is very dark, sort of Lord of the rings only Sauron won, the dark god Izrador conquered the land of Eredane and almost all of the races are slaves. The heroes are those who fight against the shadow, the few left who still have hope of one day freeing the land.

Its a high powered - low magic campaign setting with radically different spell system and classes (ranger,paladin,cleric,wizard,sorcerer,monk out - all replaced)

I second that!

 

[Corinth]

Try a little Omega World from Dungeon/Polyhedron #94.

This is a separate and distinct science fiction minigame, not a campaign setting for use with D&D.

Judge Dredd is great for a different flavor of D&D. There are only 4 modules in print, but it's enough for a good adventure series.

Judge Dredd is a separate and distinct science fiction RPG, not at all a campaign setting for use with D&D.

Now, to the question put forth by Zakter: What non-WotC D&D campaign settings would I recommend? Given the stipulation that the setting allow for the use of the basic classes in the PHB, I shall add to the recommendations for Kenzer & Company's Kalamar and Sword & Sorcery Studio's Scarred Lands. If you're one to go a little further afield, then check out Alderac Entertainment Group's Rokugan and Fantasy Flight Games' Dawnforge. Midnight, while excellent, is probably too far afield for your specifications, Zakter.

 

[Jaws]

Diamond Throne aka Monte Cook's Arcana Unearthed


Peace and smiles

j.

 

[SSS-Druid]

Much as I love Scarred Lands...

You are so fired, rodent.

 

[Cake Mage]

Oathbound is what I'm currently running. True, you do kindof need them to be around 5th to start in it, but not really. Of course you can always start the game somehwere else and as they are doing their adventure thing, they can be pulled into the world (works great!)

you could also do what I did once, and create your own world. its not too hard to do. I like to start with a map so I can get a visual aid, and then start making up stories on why certain things are there and such, who has the power and why... I really got into it.only stopped cause I made the players too powerful. but then I found oathboud. been running that for almost a year I think. Oathbound tends to be on the high powered side..but it balances it self out by making sure there is always someone thats more powerful.

eberron is looking good too. though I havent gotten a chance to take a look at a book yet. and it is wotc owned I guess.

arcana unearthed is a fun one too, but the changes are many. many many.

of course you could always cheat and throw ideas from different settings into one and tie it all together some how.

 

[Zarrock God of Evil]

Well if you want a setting a bit different (space-fantasy) I'd recommend Dragonstar. Only backside is that the setting has not had the support it merits from FFG.

Dawnforge I haven't picked up but it seems very exciting.

And you may reconsider your non-WotC stance and go for Dragon 319 and Dungeon 110 and 111 and pick up the Dark Sun setting at a bargain price. Reading through the update of the setting had me roaring to play it again. It was like a I never fully grasped its potential as a setting back in the days of 2E when it had its Golden Age.

-Zarrock