D&D General Campaign Setting Contest: Should We Do It Again?

[LordEntrails]

This was his first post in the thread.

Yep, [MENTION=261]Doc_Klueless[/MENTION] already pointed out my mistake and I gave him XP to acknowledge it. I've also edited my post to admit the mistake.

I'm fairly certain that someone calling something 'adolescent' in the context of why they dislike said thing is meant to disparage said thing.

I'm not. Besides, even if someone is disparaging something, their is no reason to get worked up in the defense of said thing.

 

[LordEntrails]

As for the original topic of this thread.

I wouldn't be opposed to such a contest because it might just present something new and original. Never know. But I don't think WotC would do such a thing. It already has plenty of settings to revive if it so chooses.

As for an adventure contest... their is one going on right now and we are all first tier judges. It's called the DMsGuild and has been operating for a few years now. By purchasing, rating, and reviewing adventures and content we are all nominating to WotC concepts and authors that we think should make official products. And guess what? WotC then reviews those periodically and pulls in new talent from the Guild creators. Some they bring in for mapping, others for design, and some they name "Adept" and give them a psuedo-official license to create add-on content.

IMO, it's a much better long term method than any event based contest.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Eberron, Midnight, Dawnforge, Morningstar, and Peter Brett's Warded Man book series all came from that contest. It's safe to say that its impact was felt far beyond just the one that won.

I didn't realise Midnight was spawned from that!

 

[Aldarc]

As for the original topic of this thread.

I wouldn't be opposed to such a contest because it might just present something new and original. Never know. But I don't think WotC would do such a thing. It already has plenty of settings to revive if it so chooses.

That's the thing. I think that Hasbro-WotC is primarily focused on IP management mode when it comes to D&D.

 

[Mycroft]

No enumerated list could possibly contain my antipathy. The name of my hatred is Legion.

“Hey Lowkey? What do you dislike today?”

”Whaddya got?”

"...when asked what races and classes he hates, he answered "Gnomes and paladins, for they are many."

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

Mystara is actually pretty exotic and different. You got subterranean Aztec elves, a Japanese moon you can fly to, the whole planet is hollow with a sun suspended in the middle, with all sorts of interesting races and cultures inside (Black Lore/nonmagical elves, Aussie-Outback style Orcs).

If they do a Mystara product, how likely is it they'd give a good amount of space to the Hollow World? I love Taladas, but I'm sure that any Dragonlance product would focus on Ansalon (and more specifically the War of the Lance).

 

[Mycroft]

If they do a Mystara product, how likely is it they'd give a good amount of space to the Hollow World? I love Taladas, but I'm sure that any Dragonlance product would focus on Ansalon (and more specifically the War of the Lance).

Ah, yes, Taladas, love that boxed set (Time of the Dragon), another ahead of its time campaign setting, and the origin of Kits. Greco-Roman minotaur kingdom, Mongolian elves, depressed kender, gnomish death commandos, feral jungle illithids, Glass Sailors, so much goodness.

 

[Aldarc]

Eberron, Midnight, Dawnforge, Morningstar, and Peter Brett's Warded Man book series all came from that contest. It's safe to say that its impact was felt far beyond just the one that won.

Midnight for 5e seems like it would easily be doable with only a few adjustments.

I would love to see Dawnforge updated for 5e, as I think that a "prequel fantasy" to what D&D presumes is somewhat missing in the current field of settings, whether 3pp or official.

However, I also find that that the original Dawnforge a bit too conservative in presenting the "prequel to D&D" by having wizards unchanged, despite druids, clerics, and monks having replacement classes that were meant to be like prefigured versions of the classes. It seems like class dedicated to the study of magic would have also had an earlier version as well.

 

[Nevvur]

And here I am, with my homebrew settings.

Tame Halflings who ride Giant Foxes...

Wait...

Why are Halfings always riding something?

Because the people who play them lack the imagination to invent personalities more complex than, "I'm small," and they need a crutch.

 

[Mallus]

Hmmm... a new setting competition would give my group an excuse to dust off The Port on the Aster Sea/On the Shores of an Infinite Ocean and stat it again.

The question is would we use the setting as originally written up -- lyrical, melancholy, full with symbolism -- or the majestic trainwreck we turned it into during actual play?

 

[Tony Vargas]

Why are Halfings always riding something?

Short legs.

 

[TwoSix]

Hmmm... a new setting competition would give my group an excuse to dust off The Port on the Aster Sea/On the Shores of an Infinite Ocean and stat it again.

The question is would we use the setting as originally written up -- lyrical, melancholy, full with symbolism -- or the majestic trainwreck we turned it into during actual play?

Original write-up, of course. Why deprive play groups of their own trainwreck?

 

[Aldarc]

There are a few homebrew settings by D&D writers that I wish had also been officially published, namely James Wyatt's Aquela setting and Chris Perkins's Iomandra setting. I'm sure it's no small coincidence that both settings deal with island-hopping and high seas adventure.

 

[Aebir-Toril]

The main reason for an "official" competition is the prestige.

I mean, let's be honest with ourselves.

What could be more exciting for a D&D player than having your setting published by WotC, not by you, on Kickstarter, but by WotC itself.

Also, we're in dire need a "5e" setting.

 

[Aebir-Toril]

Furthermore, as Radhammer said, the impact of a large campaign setting event echoes beyond the one that WotC chooses.

 

[Matthia05718273]

Midnight for 5e seems like it would easily be doable with only a few adjustments.

I would love to see Dawnforge updated for 5e, as I think that a "prequel fantasy" to what D&D presumes is somewhat missing in the current field of settings, whether 3pp or official.

However, I also find that that the original Dawnforge a bit too conservative in presenting the "prequel to D&D" by having wizards unchanged, despite druids, clerics, and monks having replacement classes that were meant to be like prefigured versions of the classes. It seems like class dedicated to the study of magic would have also had an earlier version as well.

What is a "prequel fantasy"?

As for whether there should be a contest... as good and fun an idea such a contest would be, giving an opportunity for people to share and create their work in a context that is given more serious consideration (in turn giving an incentive for people to create more innovative settings for D&D), it simply doesn't make much sense for WotC to do this at this time.

There are 21 campaign settings that have been released over D&D's history. Even if you limit these to the most popular, there is plenty of material for Wizard's to release; there is almost no reason for them to want to do a contest when people are already bothering them constantly about Dark Sun, Planescape, and Spelljammer.

 

[Mycroft]

Also, we're in dire need a "5e" setting.

Well, apparently most people prefer home-brew, and even if they release another setting, no need to reinvent the wheel (yet another new setting), plenty of established settings that have not really been touched in years (aside from FR and Eberron), and all the M: tG worlds.

 

[Aldarc]

What is a "prequel fantasy"?

Dawnforge was written to be a "prequel" of sorts to D&D's sort of presumed current state of affairs. It was set before the split between elves and drow. Before the orcs became (mostly) evil marauders. The gods are not in the heavens but are, instead, demigods that walk the earth. The characters of Dawnforge will become the figures of legend that D&D speaks about. You are living in the building that will become the ruins that D&D characters will explore. Your character has the ability to shape the direction of the future such that maybe the drow never come about as a result of your actions in reconciling the elves. Or they may steer it towards the D&D that we know. Even though the setting was not Greco-Roman in flavor, it did have that sort of mythic flair or tone where your characters would become like Hercules, Jason, or Theseus.

 

[gyor]

Yeah, that'd be cool.