Lord Ravinous
First Post
Forgotten Realms, Forgotten Realms, Forgotten Realms, Forgotten Realms, Forgotten Realms, Forgotten Realms.
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Campaign setting recommendations
- Thread starter Innocent Bystander
- Start date
Nightfall
Sage of the Scarred Lands
Skade said:
I've waiting for that one, even more than Shelzar.I've been very curious about that since I first read about the Blood Bayou in CC2. Is it a place that can be used to start adventureres in? It seems a little non-good for most campaigns.
Probably not the best play to make for a home base, BUT it's got enough campaign hooks to shake 12 sticks at.
Not sure how much you'll enjoy the Dream Lands idea. (Some like it. Some don't.) But I'm sure of three things 1) The revised Jack of Tears will scare the crap of ANY sane player. 2) Toy Town and the Castle are pretty sweet. 3) You can even have the Jack come visit in Ghelspad! Just make sure you send emissaries. 
JoeGKushner
Adventurer
Nightfall said:
Probably not the best play to make for a home base, BUT it's got enough campaign hooks to shake 12 sticks at.
And once again, your statement here makes me wonder, "Why make your first sourcebook on another land one that's not good for a starting campiagn?"
No offense Nightfall but we've had this conversation before where I agree with you that SL is great but that the authors/writers keep making the weirdest places as sourcebooks. Almost 80% of the regional books are good places to adventure, not base a campaign in.
Nightfall
Sage of the Scarred Lands
Don't look at me Joe. 
I just do Player's Guide. But seriously I do understand your frustration. My hope is once they get some of the prelimary stuff out of the way, places like Darakenee, Albadia, and other places will get more details on them. (Shelzar though I think proves to be both a great place to adventure AND do campaigns in.)
I just do Player's Guide. But seriously I do understand your frustration. My hope is once they get some of the prelimary stuff out of the way, places like Darakenee, Albadia, and other places will get more details on them. (Shelzar though I think proves to be both a great place to adventure AND do campaigns in.)Innocent Bystander
First Post
Thanks again for all your recommendations. Most of the settings other than KoK and FRCS are a little to dark for my taste, and some of the ideas I have will probably be easier to pull off if the players have never played in the setting, so I won't go with FRCS. I'll be going with KoK.
Other than the Campaign Setting and DM Screen (and possibly Players) are there any other Supplements you would recommend picking up.
Other than the Campaign Setting and DM Screen (and possibly Players) are there any other Supplements you would recommend picking up.
Mucknuggle
First Post
Haven't played Kalamar but I despise the Realms. If you want something that will be supported, has a ton of background info and is a great setting overall, check out the Dragonlance Campaign Setting. It comes out in a few weeks, but from what I hear from people that have advanced copies, it really manages to capture the feel of the world of Krynn.
More info @ www.dragonlance.com. And amazon.ca has it cheap!
More info @ www.dragonlance.com. And amazon.ca has it cheap!
What I like best about Kalamar is that it is very easily adaptable to any campaign style you want to run. Yes, by default, it is low magic. But, we have run two long term campaigns in Kalamar. One was very low magic and by the book. The second was very high magic campaign where the PCs ended up challenging a couple of gods well into epic levels (after starting off at level 1)
There are not a lot of special rules/alternative systems where it would behoove everybody in the group to spend hours studying. All you need are the 3 core rulebooks and the Campaign Setting. Heck, the players do not need more than their Player’s Handbook.
And, each chapter contains information on a region, and within that region, each nation and the major cities and areas within those nations. Each writeup comes with several plot hooks that can be developed into a long term campaign.
Yes, there are other good worlds out there (Midnight & Scarred Lands come to mind) but, they are themed worlds. You basically have to play by certain rules to get a true feel for the world. In Kalamar, the world is a well organized blank slate upon which the players and the DM can create. The sourcebook is an outline that leaves it up to you to fill in the detail... The geography also makes sense and has not been warped by 90th level archmages blasting each other thousands of years ago.
In the Forgotten Realms, even if you play without Elminster, Khelben, Drizzt and the others, they are still lurking out there. In Kalamar, your PCs can become the most powerful people in the world. I think there is one epic level NPC in the campaign sourcebook, and he is level 21.
There are not a lot of special rules/alternative systems where it would behoove everybody in the group to spend hours studying. All you need are the 3 core rulebooks and the Campaign Setting. Heck, the players do not need more than their Player’s Handbook.
And, each chapter contains information on a region, and within that region, each nation and the major cities and areas within those nations. Each writeup comes with several plot hooks that can be developed into a long term campaign.
Yes, there are other good worlds out there (Midnight & Scarred Lands come to mind) but, they are themed worlds. You basically have to play by certain rules to get a true feel for the world. In Kalamar, the world is a well organized blank slate upon which the players and the DM can create. The sourcebook is an outline that leaves it up to you to fill in the detail... The geography also makes sense and has not been warped by 90th level archmages blasting each other thousands of years ago.
In the Forgotten Realms, even if you play without Elminster, Khelben, Drizzt and the others, they are still lurking out there. In Kalamar, your PCs can become the most powerful people in the world. I think there is one epic level NPC in the campaign sourcebook, and he is level 21.
Mystery Man
First Post
I'll second that, third it and pimp it!!: D
Live the Realms!
apocalypstick
First Post
Make your own. Steal the Greyhawk deities from the PHB, detail a town, some immediate surroundings to adventure in (ruined temple to the north, bandit outpost in the hills to the east), and draw a couple of roads with vague descriptions as to what lies at the end of them. It's all kinds of fun, just a little more work on your part, and best of all - it's yours.
Homebrew - it's the only way to go.
Homebrew - it's the only way to go.
Desdichado
Hero
I'll second the notion that homebrew is the only way I can really GM. For me, it actually saves time -- I don't get these folks that say they want to run a prepared setting to save time. Have you seen the size of those books you have to read and know well in order to run a prepared setting? First Rule of Dungeoncraft, baby. Never create more than you need for the next few sessions tops. Prep time is never an issue for me.
However, there are some settings that I like quite a bit. The only thing is, both Realms and Kalamar are fairly bland, in my opinion. Greyhawk even moreso; I don't even know what the schtick of Greyhawk is supposed to be, other than "original D&D setting" (which isn't even exactly true anyway.) I like a setting to have a twist or a theme. That's why Midnight or Scarred Lands is more interesting to me than FR, at the end of the day.
However, there are some settings that I like quite a bit. The only thing is, both Realms and Kalamar are fairly bland, in my opinion. Greyhawk even moreso; I don't even know what the schtick of Greyhawk is supposed to be, other than "original D&D setting" (which isn't even exactly true anyway.) I like a setting to have a twist or a theme. That's why Midnight or Scarred Lands is more interesting to me than FR, at the end of the day.
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