Gameworld Hodgepodge

[Melkor]

So I started a campaign in the Forgotten Realms using a Necromancer Games module. I've also been cooking up my own world with the help of my gaming group for several years. I also like the Iron Kingdoms products I own, and Rokugan.

My question is, how many of you mix and match everything you like about various campaign settings into one single world ?

How many of you use clever tricks like "magic portals" to whisk your player characters do various settings ?

How consistent are you ? In other words, do you try and keep everything 'aligned' on a map, or do you change names at your whim (does Dagger Falls become Bard's Gate if that fit's the scenario) ?

 

[Hand of Evil]

I have, I do and I will do it.

I am real bad with cities, reuse them just changing the names. Also use pockets planes a good bit to keep somethings out of the mainstream game.

 

[AFGNCAAP]

My homebrew campaign is nothing but a massive hodgepodge of various elements. Quite a few dungeons I used are "recycled" maps from old Dungeon magazines or modules that I know my players haven't played. My world map is the Map of Mystery from an issue of Dungeon (the large land mass with roads, cities, & port cities marked out on it).

Things I've specifically borrowed are:
* Maps from various sources
* Place-names from various CRPGs--mainly the Ultima series, Zork series, & Might & Magic 1 & 2.
* A rat/wererat undercity, ala Lankhmar Below.
* The Caves of Ningauble of the Seven Eyes--a massive cave system that connects to various realities (PCs can even meet Ningauble himself, & maybe take a trip to Lankhmar).
* Roman legionnaire-like hobgoblins--inspiration thanks to a piece of art on Claudio Pozas' website. They are members of a massive goblinoid army, ala the uruk-hai forces from Lord of the Rings.
* NPCs that are based on amalgamations of NPCs from various CRPGs (including the Ultima, Zork, & Baldur's Gate games)
* NPCs from old modules/adventures (Aleena & Bargle, anyone?)
* Obscure, out-of-the-way magic portals that whisk people across the land, ala Moongates from the Ultima series
* Magic items from various sources
* Races from various sourcebooks (Sendasti from Mythic Races, for example)

etc. . . .

However, consistency is a big deal for me--it's a fair amount of work to make sure that things match up. Clerics can't have domain combinations not feasible for the deities IMC; map locations generally have to match up (no major cities where none are marked on the map); consistent use of place names & NPC names; etc. (What can I say--I'm an editor. Consistency's a big part of my job.) Besides, I think that consistency throughout a storyline (or a setting, for that matter) really helps with the quality of the story as a whole.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

For
Urbis, I have stolen from the best.

Which includes the various Obscure Cities comics by Belgian artists Schuiten and Peeters, various pieces of real-world history and locations, H.P. Lovecraft (especially his views of life on other planet), David Brin (bonus points for finding out precisely where) and more.

 

[Arnwyn]

All the time (though I don't use magic portals). I keep the base geography intact, and then modify from there.

For example, I've place every Necromancer Games module in my FR game. Further, I've turned Shou Lung (Kara-Tur/FR) into Rokugan (I use the Shou Lung basic geography, but changed all the geographic names to the Rokugan ones). I've also put some Iron Kingdoms stuff into my FR game (in Lantan).

I'm fairly strict when it comes to consistency - Dagger Falls is Dagger Falls (since it's been detailed and mapped in more than one product). However, undetailed locations (the South in FR, for example) are perfect to add new things (eg. Bard's Gate). Shou Lung in Kara-Tur is the only thing that I fully threw out and remodelled.

 

[Desdichado]

So I started a campaign in the Forgotten Realms using a Necromancer Games module. I've also been cooking up my own world with the help of my gaming group for several years. I also like the Iron Kingdoms products I own, and Rokugan.

Sounds cool!

My question is, how many of you mix and match everything you like about various campaign settings into one single world ?

All the time.

How many of you use clever tricks like "magic portals" to whisk your player characters do various settings ?

Uh, not so much that one. I prefer to keep my players in a single setting at a time.

How consistent are you ? In other words, do you try and keep everything 'aligned' on a map, or do you change names at your whim (does Dagger Falls become Bard's Gate if that fit's the scenario) ?

I'm consistent, but a tip I've learned: if you only tell the players what they need to know, then it's much easier to be consistent. If they've never been to the land in the east, or heard about it until you bring it up, there's no inconsistency if you suddenly decide that it's really Rokugan, for instance.

 

[Voadam]

So I started a campaign in the Forgotten Realms using a Necromancer Games module. I've also been cooking up my own world with the help of my gaming group for several years. I also like the Iron Kingdoms products I own, and Rokugan.

My question is, how many of you mix and match everything you like about various campaign settings into one single world ?

How many of you use clever tricks like "magic portals" to whisk your player characters do various settings ?

How consistent are you ? In other words, do you try and keep everything 'aligned' on a map, or do you change names at your whim (does Dagger Falls become Bard's Gate if that fit's the scenario) ?

I use ravenloft which can suck in other realms and transport characters from one land to another mysteriously. I've also used non-PC controlled dimensional travel to get the party to different game worlds (dragonlance, dark sun, a celtic world).