Mercurius
Legend
I ran across jdrakeh's blog on Old School Gaming, Front Range Warlock, which pointed me in the direction of an old mid-80s setting from the UK magazine, Imagine, called Pelinore (or here for a nice little present).
Now I'm a bit of a setting junky and have a pretty good knowledge of the range of fantasy settings that have been published over the last four decades, but Pelinore was new to me. It got me thinking - there's got to be a few other obscure gems out there, not to mention the tons of settings on the internet.
So the point of this thread: What are some obscure gems? I'm not just looking for any old fantasy settings online, but the ones that stand out. They don't have to be totally obscure, I'm just not looking for another thread about which TSR/WotC settings are your favorite.
Another that stands out to me that is only a bit obscure, is the recently re-published setting for Fighting Fantasy, Titan. As far as I can tell, the new book is just a re-print, so if you already have [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Titan-Fighting-Fantasy-Steve-Jackson/dp/0140321276/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1311343892&sr=8-2"]this[/ame] then you are set. But browsing through my old copy gave me a feeling of "They just don't make 'em like they used to." Sure, you have the fancy modern graphics and layout of, say, a Golarion book or one of the WotC settings, but you don't have to hand-drawn maps and idiosyncratic diagrams like Yaztromo's Tower or the dwarven citadel of Fangthane.
Another quality that appeals to me about Titan is that it has that classic, fantasy feel that seems to have been watered down somewhat in recent years by other elements, namely video games and wuxia, but also an integration of non-classic fantasy elements like steampunk. Don't get me wrong - I enjoy a wide variety of campaign settings, and actually like, for instance, the steampunk elements in Eberron, but I have a special place in my heart for the classic, "vanilla" fantasy setting, such as Titan or the grey box version Forgotten Realms or Gygax's Greyhawk or the Wilderlands of High Fantasy.
So what are some other, obscure classics? Feel free to discuss the other elements of this post - for instance, what are thoughts on "classic" fantasy vs. newer forms?
Now I'm a bit of a setting junky and have a pretty good knowledge of the range of fantasy settings that have been published over the last four decades, but Pelinore was new to me. It got me thinking - there's got to be a few other obscure gems out there, not to mention the tons of settings on the internet.
So the point of this thread: What are some obscure gems? I'm not just looking for any old fantasy settings online, but the ones that stand out. They don't have to be totally obscure, I'm just not looking for another thread about which TSR/WotC settings are your favorite.
Another that stands out to me that is only a bit obscure, is the recently re-published setting for Fighting Fantasy, Titan. As far as I can tell, the new book is just a re-print, so if you already have [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Titan-Fighting-Fantasy-Steve-Jackson/dp/0140321276/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1311343892&sr=8-2"]this[/ame] then you are set. But browsing through my old copy gave me a feeling of "They just don't make 'em like they used to." Sure, you have the fancy modern graphics and layout of, say, a Golarion book or one of the WotC settings, but you don't have to hand-drawn maps and idiosyncratic diagrams like Yaztromo's Tower or the dwarven citadel of Fangthane.
Another quality that appeals to me about Titan is that it has that classic, fantasy feel that seems to have been watered down somewhat in recent years by other elements, namely video games and wuxia, but also an integration of non-classic fantasy elements like steampunk. Don't get me wrong - I enjoy a wide variety of campaign settings, and actually like, for instance, the steampunk elements in Eberron, but I have a special place in my heart for the classic, "vanilla" fantasy setting, such as Titan or the grey box version Forgotten Realms or Gygax's Greyhawk or the Wilderlands of High Fantasy.
So what are some other, obscure classics? Feel free to discuss the other elements of this post - for instance, what are thoughts on "classic" fantasy vs. newer forms?