Campaign Setting Pros & Cons

[Eye Tyrant]

So in another thread I'm soliciting advice on game consoles. Figured since I'll be starting up a new game in a few months (once I move back home to FL), I just thought I would get some input on different published settings.

I have recently purchased the KoK and Scarred Lands settings, and will probably pick up Greyhawk next. But I haven't really had a chance to play in any of them (being a long time FR player).

So now I'm looking for opinions on this... Tell me what you think of these three, pros, cons and so on...

 

[adndgamer]

Me too...

I was just about to post something akin to this I'll sit back and watch with you...

 

[Black Omega]

KoK has some huge supporters. It's not bad, there's nothing about it I look at and think "This sucks" or "This makes no sense." But at the same time I can't find anything in that that really makes me want to run the world. I'd still rather do Rokugan or Forgotten Realms (or both

 

[Kichwas]

There are HUGE flavor differences in those three.

So it might help for you to give us an indication of your preferences in that regards.

I'd sum it up as:

KoK: What a preindustrial world would be if you added magic. Highly real, highly detailed, highly consistant, very political, millions of things boiling over in every little region that all tie in and interconnect.
(Think NPR/PBS)

Greyhawk: "Generic". It's flavor is 'DnD' whatever that means. Not too magical, not too real, not too detailed, not too vague, not too consistant, not too inconsistant, not too fantasy, not too sci fi. Vanilla DnD.
(Think ABC, CBS...)

Scarred Lands: Highly magical, highly unreal, divine powers running rampant have reshaped the world. DnD meets the Greek tale of the gods. All that matters is the action. Comic Book DnD with a dark edge (if FRCS was Superman, this would be the X-Men).
(Think UPN, FOX)

 

[Stormprince]

Pros, Cons & Miscellaneous

Figured I'd go ahead and add my three cents to this discussion with my personal opinions about the mentioned settings

Kingdoms of Kalamar - http://www.kenzerco.com/rpg/kalamar/
* Pros: Well thought-out, well-rounded world. Of all the official published game worlds, it's probably the most 'realistic' one in regards to history and geography, with enough parallels with our own world history to make things understandable. Plus, they've got Ed Greenwood working on their first regional sourcebook...and let's face it, when it comes to World Building, he's one of the best.
* Cons: The main book reads like a Text Book. Very dry and kind of monotonous, with so much information that just seems to melt together into a big blob. It also doesn't really 'stand out' there, to me... nothing really out-there that grabs my attenion as being 'different'. Also, unfortunately, besides the Core Book and quite a few adventures, there's just not enough source material quite yet.
* Misc: Plenty of support for the world, and with alot of die-hard fans that could give alot of advice on the world, yet it still lurks beneath the radar of most players, so you'll have the advantage of them not knowing everything there is to know about the world, or have them buying the products in bulk in one-up-manship that I've (at least) had the misfortune to have in the past with players who made more money than I did. They do have a fairly decent web-site, however, which helps DMs to get a good grip of the world.

Scarred Lands - http://www.swordsorcery.com/
* Pros: It's new and edgy, different enough from the other major worlds (Greyhawk, Forgotten Realms, etc) to be interesting, while still maintaing a core of similarity that won't scare away new DMs and players. There's plenty of sourcebooks out, so you'll have more than enough material to work with, and it's got a dark enough edge to appeal to more 'adult' gamers. They have a pretty good website support, and just look at this MAP! (http://www.swordsorcery.com/images/SCARmapfin.pdf)
* Cons: The popularity of their sourcebooks...since their monster manuals (ahem, Creature Collections) came out before anything else, I know <b>alot</b> of players who purchased them, drooling over templates they could try and convince their DMs to allow them to play. But, this is a relatively minor 'con', overall, and not all DMs are put off by this.
* Misc: Heck, they're owned by the same people who publish the hard copies of Monte Cook's Malhovic Press stuff... gotta be worth at least some bonus points, no?

Greyhawk -
* Pros: Next to the Forgotten Realms, this is probably the best supported game system out there - heck, even the Core Rulebooks are written with Greyhawk in mind. It has a very rich and detailed history and setting, you get new information every month from Dragon Magazine, at the least, and it is the forebearer for all other D&D Game Worlds. If you don't know it, you can find it, either on the Messageboards, Fan-Sites or a zillion other ways.
* Cons: The antiquity of the world...while also a Pro, it can be a Con, as some players (and DMs) think that it's just overdone...what's left of the story to tell? Many people like 'new and exotic' to 'tried and true', and it can majorly influence players reactions to hearing that it's yet 'another' Greyhawk Campaign.
* Misc: Of the three mentioned Game Worlds, it has the best support... there are still stories left to tell in the world, and I think it's got more than a few good years left in it Besides, how can you go wrong with the home of Mordenkainen, Tenser, Bigby and all the familiar 'friends' made by reading the spells in the Player's Handbook?

Though I personally don't currently play in any of the above game worlds, either as a player or as a DM, each one has its own merits and flaws... basically, you just have to decide which one suits your own personal likes and dislikes the best... check out the websites, read some of the messageboards and go from there

Hope this helped a little bit!

Christopher

 

[Kichwas]

Re: Pros, Cons & Miscellaneous

Plus, they've got Ed Greenwood working on their first regional sourcebook...and let's face it, when it comes to World Building, he's one of the best.

That's like saying:

Plus, they've got Britney Spears working on their first Album...and let's face it, when it comes to Music, she's one of the best.

popularity != quality. But it does give you market power.

 

[Stormprince]

*laughs!* Very true... but let's face it... when certain names are on the covers, they're gonna sell better for a reason. I think the 'prestige' associated with names like Ed Greenwood, Monte Cook, Jeff Grubb, etc is well-enough earned that giving their stuff a look over isn't going to hurt.

Christopher

 

[Nightfall]

You know eventually I'd show up.

Greyhawk: Pros: It's good ole "old school" D&D. It has it roots in everything. Cons: Trying to find anyone that can remember anything about is tough, at least in my neck of the woods.

Kingdoms of Kalamar: Pros: It's a well designed, well thought out world that has a low magic appeal to many. Cons: This is a personal con but it's not necessarily a bad thing, too many nobility and reliance on racial makeup.

Scarred Lands: Pros: Can be a High magic, medium or even low magic world, races are different from your usual D&D world but not decidedly so, has a edginess to it, and has some interesting takes on divides between the gods, their creators the Titans, and natural magics. Cons: Not for everyone, not always easily understood, no real "MAIN" sourcebook (yet), and also not for the weak of heart player wise.

 

[GravyFingerz]

Re: Re: Pros, Cons & Miscellaneous

That's like saying:

Plus, they've got Britney Spears working on their first Album...and let's face it, when it comes to Music, she's one of the best.

popularity != quality. But it does give you market power.

Plus, George Lucas is directing Episode 2 ... and let's face it, when it comes to destroying a franchise, he is one of the best.

 

[trancejeremy]

Putting aside my slightly deranged vendetta against Kenzer for ridiculing the Known World/Mystara...


I like the Kalamar setting, and their Kalamar modules are probably the highest quality I've seen. But, does Kalamar seem like a D&D world, or a world with the D&D rules grafted on?

What I mean - as many people out, it's low magic. Yet why is that? The D&D rules are not low magic, and AFAIK, Kenzer never altered the D&D rules to fit Kalamar (I have the setting book and a few of their modules).

For instance, the whole plot of one of their modules, Aldriv's Revenge - relies on the fact that clerical healing doesn't work (let alone, raise dead). Or spells like 'Speak with Dead' don't exist.

Anyway, my point is - while it's a nice enough world, it's being retrofitted to D&D, and so can run into some small problems.

The Sovereign Stone people did the same thing, basically, but they had to come up with a whole new magic system (actually, they just adapted their old one to d20)., because the D&D one wouldn't fit their world. I think the Kalamar people needed to do that as well....