Campaign setting recommendations

[Desdichado]

Hey, cyrosis, what happened to your beer bottle? I don't expect Silver Surfer to get liver disease...

FR's greatest strength -- it's familiarity and genericness -- can also be it's bane in the wrong game. You get some weenie who's read all the novels and is constantly correcting the DM and using all kinds of meta knowledge, and that'll turn you off the setting right quick. However, 3e FR is the best I've ever seen it; even though I don't run it, I like it for all the stuff I can steal.

 

[Tom Cashel]

Skip them both. Buy Midnight.

How about a link? Tell me what's so great about this Midnight thing, eh?

I'm also looking for a new setting, been eyeing the Kenzer & Co. website, like the lower magic aspect of Kalamar.

Right now we're slogging through CotSQ, and even radically shortened it is strangling the life out of my campaign! The players are so beat up they don't care anymore. I tell ya--it's structurally-sound from a mechanics point of view (amazingly good uses of templates throughout the material, plus villains that have logical tactics. From any other point of view, it's a one trick pony. Hack hack hack yawn urge to quit.

Long story short: I've played in the FR since 1988 and I need something new, lower magic than FR, BIG (two DMs trading off), and focused on the PCs.

How does Midnight stack up against Kalamar, descriptively speaking?

 

[Enceladus]

How does Midnight stack up against Kalamar, descriptively speaking?

Kalamar Boards

Everyone there will be delighted to answer any questions that you may have.

 

[Enceladus]

Skip them both. Buy Midnight.

And it only took lets see, 1, 2...9 posts! Damn you guys are losing your touch!

 

[Varianor Abroad]

Allow me to blatantly plug the Diamond Throne setting for the forthcoming Arcana Unearthed. As long as you guys are pushing Midnight.

The one distinction that I would draw between KoK and FR is that the former is gritty and the latter is heroic. Both are fine settings. FR tends to have more arguments about canon because the novels sometimes contradict the material.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Scarred Land, has lots of material.

Midnight.

Iron Kingdons when it makes it out.

 

[Nightfall]

Darn you beat me to my job Evil!

What's good about the Scarred Lands (besides the material):

Gods that matter. (Hey it's thanks to them we're in this mess!)
Druids that don't need gods. (They have titans or spirits. Much nicer)
Arcane magic that pretty neat (such as sorcerous bloodlines BESIDES dragons)
Really NEAT monsters (Life sized Ratmen that aren't were-rats, Human-like monsters called High Gorgons that are GREAT foes, plenty of evil outsiders)
Really great campaign places (Hollowfaust, City of Necromancer, Shelzar, City of Sin, the Blood Bayou)

More than just ONE mega continent (We have four! Dig that!)
Clerics and paladins do more than just be impressive spellcasters/fighters, they can be driving forces of change!
Plenty of wilderness and strange weather effects.
The Blood Sea (not to be confused with DL's Blood Sea) Unlike the latter, this one has someone BIG bleeding down there.
Titans. And these aren't your fathers' titans but PRIMAL titans of Greek-like proportions. (If you seen the movie Hercules the animated Disney movie, there are some similiarities.)

Finally the best reason: ME! I'm in it! And I wrote for it as well.

 

[StumpwaterJack]

How about something that you can run with core 3.5e rules? I'm about to run my first campaign since 3e came out, and I'm interested in a setting (geography, politics, local flavor, etc) without new races, feats, classes, etc to go along with it. I've nearly always made up my own modules and look forward to doing so again, but I'd rather not put the time into developing a society. Not to mention, we've already got a DM running things on Greyhawk and FR.

I'm leaning towards KoK for this, because it sounds like a very detailed setting, and because no one I play with already knows the world. Also, some of their changes (hobgoblins with a civilized county, etc) sound interesting and can be added without gameplay-affecting rule changes.

Are there simpler offerings out there that I'm passing up by going with a complete campaign like KoK and throwing most of it out? Are people making "drop in" worlds that don't have all the extras my group isn't interested in?

Thanks for any help!

 

[Sir Osis of Liver]

JD, just havin' a little fun playing with things.


Midnight!

 

[shoplifter]

The KoK campaign setting is simply awesome. The book itself has next to no crunch, and in nearly every City/Area description there are at least 10 adventure hooks you could easily write up. It has a GREAT section on the races, so you don't have to worry about developing them very much.

The new Kalamar monster book (Dangerous Denizens?) has migration maps for all/most of the creatures IIRC, but I have yet to see it. It's (the monster book) also completely 3.5. You might get more out of the book if you have the Kalamar Atlas which is a HUGE book with maps of every (and I mean EVERY) square mile of Tellene, and it's in full color. One hell of a book.

In fact this thread is almost changing my mind about running my new 3.5 game in FR. I may just have to run it in Kalamar

I really do like the new Realms books. The quality is just outstanding. I just don't like having to nerf everything due to an epic level character seemingly living on every other city block.