D&D General Great and not so great setting specific sourebooks/modules

[AdmundfortGeographer]

I used to be a big fan of the Underdark until I read Veins of the Earth. Then suddenly the Underdark seemed far too safe and full.

I would love a comprehensive Underdark take without drow. If I want a subterranean elf I’ll substitute Mystara’s shadow elves, drow so saturate the current incarnation of D&D’s Underdark it’s a challenge to ignore. I just want a bit less work omitting drow.

 

[wingsandsword]

It also is not trying to cover every asian thing, so it is not applying samurai stuff to fantasy D&D China the way Kara Tur did.

Rokugan focused on being a pseudo-Japan, but it definitely had its elements of other Asian cultures. The Hida clan had a lot of pseudo-Chinese elements (defending the pseudo-Great Wall had a lot to do with that). The Mantis Clan was a catch-all for Southeast Asian cultures, and the Unicorn Clan definitely had a pseudo-Mongolian bent to it. The Dragon Clan (and the Brotherhood of Shinsei, when they were a faction in the card game) also tended to get some of the Tibetan theme going with being the wise monks living in the impossibly high mountains. The politics of how the Imperial throne and court worked certainly were more on a Chinese model of ruling dynasties and warring factions competing for the throne, instead of the Japanese model of one family holding the throne since antiquity and the political battles instead being for who would run the government in the name of the Emperor with the Emperor largely as a figurehead.

The setting was built around being a fantasy analogue of Japan, but they definitely drew on a lot of elements of other Asian cultures, especially China, but some aspects of Southeast Asia, Mongolia, and Tibet for some of the factions.

 

[Upper Bugburbian]

GAZ 1 Grand Duchy of Karameikos and much of the rest of the GAZ series was great, if a little cluttered and nonsensical if you tried to tie it all together. I rather liked the related Top Ballista! setting for Mystara as well, with the skygnomes and their magical biplanes. And player character sphinxes. All in a flying city that could show up anywhere. It was kind of awesome, but very mechanically tied to BECMI for all the races introduced (and used races as classes, of course, like the rest of the system). I did try doing 5e with a GAZ 1 campaign using Keep on the Borderlands (the 5e conversion) but then we got sidetracked with the Waterdeep 5e campaign with a more consistent DM.
Amazed how much mileage I got out of Tomb of Annihilation and the related Tortle Package. I ran a total of four campaigns using it to varying extents for different groups over the past couple years, including one play through of the main module and one full exploration of the tortle island. For the sequel for the tortle group I'd like to use Qelong from Lamentations of the Flame Princess as a follow up, situating this weird fantasy Cambodia in the Samarach area of the Realms, but off and running with something else right now with them. I found the Innistrad MtG crossover kind of appealing as a setting, but I took it in kind of a weird direction inspired by Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis that was maybe less appealing to my players who are really into playing D&D when we are there to play D&D and it definitely needed fleshing out if you weren't going to do the suggested meshing of Barovia with it.
Have also found Testament from Green Ronin for 5e very inspirational for doing Bronze or Iron Age D&D. And I really like HR5 A Mighty Fortress from the old historical reference series from TSR for the 30 Years War and Reformation periods.

 

[Voadam]

I read through the 3.5 Dragonlance Campaign Setting and thought it was a great setting sourcebook that handled multiple eras of the world well. I had not followed things after Dragons of Summer Flame in late AD&D but the book gave a great overview and timeline to the point that I felt I would be comfortable running or playing in multiple time periods in the setting (pre War of the Lance, War of the Lance, Post War of the Lance, Chaos invasion, Gods gone, Gods Back, Current Age of Mortals Timeline). It provided a lot of the elements I enjoyed from the earlier setting (neat pantheon of gods, draconians, minotaurs and ogres, orders of sorcery and knights, etc.).

 

[Voadam]

The original Realm of Terror 2e Ravenloft Campaign Setting hit a lot of spots right for me. It had great DM advice for hitting evocative immersive play, it was the horror staples without being depressing or splattery, it had a strong tone for its vision of gothic horror that was executed well. The focus on themed domains and darklords and having its gothic horror play still apply to D&D worked well. I am a fan of the Steven Fabian art. The family trees were fun. Curses as separate from magic was a good choice. The full color map is evocative. It had a neat focus on individuals and families over sprawling kingdoms and organizations.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Absolutely. In hindsight, its advice on DMing and evoking mood was a game-changer for me. Even outside of Ravenloft, it helped me grow as a DM. And yes, that Stephen Fabian art is so darn good.

The original Realm of Terror 2e Ravenloft Campaign Setting hit a lot of spots right for me. It had great DM advice for hitting evocative immersive play, it was the horror staples without being depressing or splattery, it had a strong tone for its vision of gothic horror that was executed well. The focus on themed domains and darklords and having its gothic horror play still apply to D&D worked well. I am a fan of the Steven Fabian art. The family trees were fun. Curses as separate from magic was a good choice. The full color map is evocative. It had a neat focus on individuals and families over sprawling kingdoms and organizations.

 

[jayoungr]

Bumping this thread to see if anyone has new recommendations--either things that have come out in the last year, or things you have read since then, or whatever.

 

[Lyxen]

I'm a bit late to the party here, but just wanted to add that for me, the best setting ever is Planescape, although I really like some 4e additions like the Shadowfell and the Feywild, and some concept of the Astral Sea. The good thing is that they are easy to retrofit into the Great Wheel that I have always cherished and used in most of my campaigns.

 

[Ath-kethin]

Bumping this thread to see if anyone has new recommendations--either things that have come out in the last year, or things you have read since then, or whatever.

Well, absent an official 5e take on Al-Qadim, we made our own. And people seem to really like it! Check it out in PDF and Print On Demand here:

Campaign Guide: Zakhara - Adventures in the Land of Fate

We also have a book of magic items that includes everything published for the setting, plus those in the Complete Necromancer's Handbook, converted to 5e here:

Kazerabet's Keepsakes: Over 180 Classic Magic Items Updated for 5e

Aside from our own stuff, I've really enjoyed the Dragon Kings setting, started by Tim Brown. It's a "Spiritual Successor" to Dark Sun, originally a system-neutral book by one of the setting's creators, and there's a 5e ruleset that came out late last year.

 

[Scott Christian]

I haven't seen a related thread (if there is one - please point me to it!)

Just want some examples of setting specific sourcebooks or modules that you think fit the thread title.

Sourcebooks/modules that do a great job of representing the setting - making you immediately want to play in that world.

Sourcebooks/modules that do a great job making the gameworld seem like something you could really get your players into - etc.

Conversely - what are some sourcebooks/modules that fall short - they don't do a good job of conveying the setting, have serious problems with execution etc?

Any edition is fine - I'm, not looking for 5e specifically.

Tomb of Annihilation is not a world setting, but it does a good job at creating a distinct setting. I think Skull & Shackles adventure path for Pathfinder also does a good job.