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Message: <blockquote data-quote="takasi" data-source="post: 3969573" data-attributes="member: 20194">When I talk with some of the grognards in our group about the 'way things used to be', they very fondly recall what I like to call the "Mystery of the Absolute Setting." The reason for these whisps of nostalgia generally fall into one of two categories: the search for the Unknown (the mystery) and a single Known World (an Absolute Setting). Today there are many different campaign settings, but 'back in the day' there was really only one set of popular published canon and it all took place in the known world. Reading the Monster Manual, there were assumptions about the world the creatures lived in. This is still true today in 3E and 4E, but back then there was no legacy. The closest thing you had to 'tradition' and 'roots' was a hodgepodge collection of myths from dozens of real-world and fictional cultures. As adventures were published, names of cities and heroes and backstories were revealed slowly. There was only one assumed world, and it was presented like the inside out method in the DMG.Like original D&D, the new Points of Light setting is also doing this:"Start with a small area and build outward. Don't even worry about what the whole world looks like, or even the kingdom. Concentrate first on a single village or town, preferably with a dungeon or other adventure site nearby."Other settings, like Eberron and the 3rd edition 'Default World' of Greyhawk, have been presented outside in."Start with a big picture - [view] a map of an entire continent or portion thereof....you could start with a grand [understanding of] how a number of kingdoms and nations interact..."By drawing new players and DMs into a default world that is already filled out (like Greyhawk, or even FR or Eberron), you are not presenting D&D as it was originally. What do you think?  Do you like how Paizo's Golarion and Goodman Games Aereth settings were developed?  Or do you prefer your settings like Eberron?  Is that your opinion as a longtime player?  Which do you think is better for a new player or DM?</blockquote>

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