got Wilderlands?

[The Shaman]

..."MY GOD! IT'S FULL OF COOL!"

 

[ssampier]

I like it over all. Like others have said, that intro is a little off-putting.

Get past it though, and you'll be very very happy.

I must have missed it. What's wrong with the introduction?

As you can tell I don't own the book (something about me owning waaaay too many campaign settings already ).

 

[Mystery Man]

I must have missed it. What's wrong with the introduction?

As you can tell I don't own the book (something about me owning waaaay too many campaign settings already ).

Actually nothing, if you don't mind a little peanut butter in your chocolate.

 

[Shadowslayer]

I must have missed it. What's wrong with the introduction?

As mystery Man said, there's nothing really wrong with it. It differs from most fantasy settings in that the initial creation story is science fiction rather than your standard fantsy fare. That stops some guys short.

Briefly: Goes into how the planet was created and a little about the system that the planet is part of. How the planet itself (sort of) gained its own sentience and the ability to manipulate the early races....then how these sentients later ordered the races underground when visitors in spaceships came etc etc....you get the idea.

The setting is pure fantasy, actually fairly generic fantasy too. But the story of how it got that way is pure science fiction.

Its important to remember that the history can come into play or not. It doesn't permeate the setting, not even a little bit. Its just an intro. And it really doesn't affect anything unless you the DM decide to base a storyline around it. Its purely optional.

Anyway, some guys don't care for the genre mix. If you hear negative comments about the Wilderlands history, thats probably why. (some guys don't like peanut butter on their chocolate...as Mystery man put it so eloquently.)

Personally I think its cool.

Trev

 

[Sundragon2012]

I read it over and not to be a wet blanket I see it as a gigantic vanilla setting that I could mine for ideas from time to time if I was in a hurry to prep for a game. I guess that the Wilderlands is supposed to be a gigantic blank canvas upon which a DM can write his own tales, and as such a setting it succeeds on a massive scale. It is a great plug-n-play setting for DMs who don't want to do their own homebrew or don't want a setting with a strong personality.

If you want a setting that oozes atmosphere and makes you say "damn! I wish I came up with that!" (not just in regards to production values but innovation or character) this is not the setting for you. For character and personality nearly any 3rd party setting on the market from Scarred Lands to Dawnforge to Midnight or Iron Kingdoms would suit your tastes far more than this setting will.

I'm not downing the setting, it simply isn'y my cup of tea. If I want something that doesn't come with its own strong personality until I create it I would do a homebrew. When I buy a 3rd party setting, I look for something that strikes me in regards to innovation, personality, atmosphere and.....some undefinable quality that grabs me.


Chris

 

[Mystery Man]

I read it over and not to be a wet blanket I see it as a gigantic vanilla setting that I could mine for ideas from time to time if I was in a hurry to prep for a game. I guess that the Wilderlands is supposed to be a gigantic blank canvas upon which a DM can write his own tales, and as such a setting it succeeds on a massive scale. It is a great plug-n-play setting for DMs who don't want to do their own homebrew or don't want a setting with a strong personality.

It a very old timey Sword and Sorcery personality to it.

If you want a setting that oozes atmosphere and makes you say "damn! I wish I came up with that!" (not just in regards to production values but innovation or character) this is not the setting for you. For character and personality nearly any 3rd party setting on the market from Scarred Lands to Dawnforge to Midnight or Iron Kingdoms would suit your tastes far more than this setting will.

Who are you talking to? This is a thread for people who are gettting it or already have it.

I'm not downing the setting, it simply isn'y my cup of tea. If I want something that doesn't come with its own strong personality until I create it I would do a homebrew. When I buy a 3rd party setting, I look for something that strikes me in regards to innovation, personality, atmosphere and.....some undefinable quality that grabs me.


Chris

So it wasn't for you, that's OK.

 

[Grimstaff]

I read it over

That was quick. Wish I could tear through 400 pages of tiny print that quickly.

If you want a setting that oozes atmosphere and makes you say "damn! I wish I came up with that!" (not just in regards to production values but innovation or character) this is not the setting for you. For character and personality nearly any 3rd party setting on the market from Scarred Lands to Dawnforge to Midnight or Iron Kingdoms would suit your tastes far more than this setting will.

No personality? You've got to be kidding. Not to knock those settings, but anyone who thinks Dawnforge and Midnight will still be around in 30 years raise your hands. Wilderlands has been around for 30, and will most probably be around for 30 more. Its all about personality, think Conan wandering fleshpot cities full of vice and dark magic, Elric summoning elementals to fight off a gibbering mouther, etc, its all about lowdown dark dirty fantasy. I think what you mean is it doesn't have a "gimmick", like the other settings you mentioned. As any fan of New Coke will tell you, gimmicks dont last long.

 

[JoeGKushner]

Wilderlands has been around for 30, and will most probably be around for 30 more.

Well, to be fair, it started 30 years ago, but hasn't really been around for that long in active support. That's like saying Carse, Tulan, and Jonril were around for 30 years.

 

[Sundragon2012]

That was quick. Wish I could tear through 400 pages of tiny print that quickly.
No personality? You've got to be kidding. Not to knock those settings, but anyone who thinks Dawnforge and Midnight will still be around in 30 years raise your hands. Wilderlands has been around for 30, and will most probably be around for 30 more. Its all about personality, think Conan wandering fleshpot cities full of vice and dark magic, Elric summoning elementals to fight off a gibbering mouther, etc, its all about lowdown dark dirty fantasy. I think what you mean is it doesn't have a "gimmick", like the other settings you mentioned. As any fan of New Coke will tell you, gimmicks dont last long.

As JoeKushner said, 30yrs without active support. My homebrew could last 30yrs to amongst my players. When it comes to supported settings this may last, it may not. FR, Dragonlance, Greyhawk, etc. have been around for many years with support (sometimes more sometimes less).

On the point of Gimmicks. Wrong choice of words, its a hook that defines a setting or milleiu. The Iconic dragon gods of Dragonlance, Midnight with its dark fantasy, Planescape and its cosmopolitan planer setup, Ravenloft's gothic horror, etc. These hooks, which you call gimmicks, are part and parcel of the atmosphere of the setting that seperates it from all the generic plug-n-play backdrops that allow a DM to play any type of game he wants therein.

Star Wars' Jedi Knights and Force are gimmicky in terms of your definition but I guarantee that 1000 sci-fi worlds will live and die and one of the most memorable is Star Wars. If you remove the Jedi and the Force from star wars you have sci-fi vanilla that is utterly forgettable.


Chris

 

[Shadowslayer]

If you remove the Jedi and the Force from star wars you have sci-fi vanilla that is utterly forgettable.

Yes that would be correct. But Star Wars was a movie setting that was translated to a game setting. It needed a hook to make it a good movie, and the hook followed into the game.

Wilderlands gives you the "vanilla" universe to create your own Jedi in. It doesn't spoon feed a story to you. Just gives you a well detailed stage to act one out on.

This goes back to a time when a game setting was simply that...a game setting. On that level, the Wilderlands delivers in spades.

Many that followed later were story/fiction settings meant to spur novel sales as well as game products. While not all of them have novels, most are based on the principles laid down by those fiction based settings. Wilderlands is not.