Favourite Fantasy Settings

[Thornir Alekeg]

For me it was Scarred Lands. Since I DMed a campaign in that setting and had a ton of ideas for story hooks depending upon where the players wanted to go, I felt really comfortable with it. It also helped that the players in my group didn't know a lot about the setting (unlike settings like FR or DragonLance), so I was able to capture a little bit of that sense of wonder we had as kids.

I also enjoyed being a player for a brief time in Eberron.

 

[howandwhy99]

I like Gygax. My favorites include Greyhawk and his DJ Epic of Aerth. Al Quadim rocks too. I just play a mishmash of all of them when refereeing, plus whatever the players add.

 

[ruemere]

Scarred Lands.

Vampire: Dark Ages.

Castle Falkenstein.

Cyberpunk.

Kult 1st ed.

... and practically every other game I own.

Regards,
Ruemere

 

[Pseudopsyche]

Another vote for Eberron: a perfect marriage of heroic fantasy with modern (early 20th-century) sensibilities. Dragons but also warforged. Kings but also nations. Teleportation but also trains. Old-fashioned taverns but also international corporations. Swords but also at least one nation-destroying nuke. It's a D&D world with gnome reporters angling for scoops, half-orc private-eyes and elven femme fatales, dinosaur-riding halflings robbing trains, and yeah, raiding tombs to recover ancient artifacts before the nazis get there first. I love it.

Runner up: Arcana Unearthed. Monte Cook changed up the traditional fantasy setting enough to make it distinctive, while still leaving it unmistakably a D&D setting. I love the cultural emphasis on ceremony and ritual, and the races, classes, and monsters ooze with flavor. Giants are the (playable) dominant race, wise and just, except when they undergo a ritual to become militant and unyielding. The Verrik are simply alien, perceiving the world in different ways than other races. You can play a fey race that can metamorphose into a sprite. Evocative and simply fresh, through and through.

 

[Ydars]

For a historical and gritty feel I like:

Ars Magica's Mythic Europe

and the Lands of Legend for Dragon Warriors (see my sig for some links: note that we are now starting to produce stuff for Legend that is d20 based in Ordo Draconis)

I also love the Old World of WHFRP, which is genius IMHO.

The greatest setting of all for me, is Middle Earth, though it is challenging to DM there, but nothing else comes close in terms of coherence and depth.

 

[Nebulous]

Is there a period in the Realms' development that you like best? How do you feel about the 4e take on the setting?

I understand a lot of FR fans aren't too happy with the Realms in its current state, but I personally like it. I find it far more suitable for running the type of game I'm interested in (points-of-light settings feel the most like D&D to me).

What exactly do you love about the Realms?

I don't really like the presentation of the 4e book very much (there is not even a mini-map inside, or maps on the inner cover which makes referencing areas hard). After the exquisite presentation of the 3e FRCG i was a little peeved at the 4e version, but utility-wise i've come to appreciate it much more. If offers extensive plot hooks for the DM to take and run with, and the Spellplague creates a nice backdrop of mystery and weirdness. But i'm not a hardcore Realms fan and neither are the players.

 

[Falstaff]

HarnWorld, because of the realism.

 

[pacdidj]

I will always had a soft spot for 2e Planescape. Maybe it is because it was pushing D&D toward steampunk. Maybe it is because it tried so very hard to insert theme into the game. Or maybe because I really like the British slang in the flavor text. Regardless of how clunky it was in execution, I love the ideas.

Totally agree, I love the philosophy-directly-impacts-reality angle.

As far as fantasy settings go though, Ursula LeGuin's Earthsea novels and short stories are by far my favorite. Don't know if they're particularly suited to rpgs, but I've always thought it would be fun to try with all the nautical flavor, and the magic is based on true names trope.

 

[Maldin]

Started in Greyhawk, and still live there! My home campaign is a bit complicated, however. While players (and their PCs) have come and gone, my campaign has had a continuous, unbroken timeline since I started DMing in 1980, hence I must say that Greyhawk is still my favorite, however right up there with Greyhawk, I must say that Planescape and Spelljammer are also favorites, and I've weaved them into my campaign world making them all integral parts of the whole. I also think the Harnworld material is great, so I've incorporated alot of Harn into my Greyhawk (for example, using the maps of Harn cities as World of Greyhawk cities - just change the names!).

Denis, aka "Maldin"
Maldin's Greyhawk http://melkot.com
Loads of edition-independent Greyhawk goodness... maps, magic, mechanics, and more!
Latest website update: A layered PDF map and description of Greyhawk's Underdark

 

[Mr. Wilson]

Besides my homebrew world, I would vote for Eberron and the Realms.

Eberron is a perfect combination of modern fantasy flavor mixed in with traditional DnD.

The Realms are a very in-depth and detailed traditional fantasy setting, with something for practicaly everyone.

That said, while I play in those worlds, I read Dragonlance (or, at least I own the most Dragonlance novels of any fantasy series).