Help me pick out a setting book to purchase

[Mercurius]

I've been out of the RPG loop for a few years so I started this thread -- http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=218568 -- largely to educate myself on what I might have missed. I haven't gamed in some years and have no plans to in the near future, but I am a bit of a "setting junky" with a small collection of my favorites. Funds are somewhat limited right now, but I'd like to buy another setting or two for reading material and inspiration (I'm a writer). Here are some guidelines for suggestions. I've put those settings that I own in bold; any not in bold means I don't have setting material, but am familiar enough with it to get a sense of what it is about.

Favorites: Talislanta, Everway, Shadow World
Others I like: Forgotten Realms, Earthdawn, Tekumel, Jorune, Planescape, Dark Sun, Artesia, Melnibone/Young Kingdoms, Hyborian Age
Ambivalent (mixed about): Eberron, Greyhawk, Dragonlance, Glorantha, Morningstar, Harn, Spelljammer, Atlantis: The Second Age, Nehwon, Exalted, Midnight, Kalamar, Ravenloft, Iron Kingdoms


Some qualities I'm look for:

• I like the feel of sword & sorcery settings, with ancient histories, ruins, etc.
• Unique but not too weird (For example, I like non-D&D standard races, but would prefer a unique, well-done spin on the old standards that "weird for the sake of weird" races or, ah, sentient ducks...but I love Talislanta's plethora).
• A detailed cosmology and strong back-history.
• I prefer if the setting isn't an exact real world analogy, with endless "This is actually ancient Egypt but with a different name" variations.
• I get a little irritated with overly "kewl" settings like Eberron, Exalted, and Iron Kingdoms--although enjoy aspects of them.
• The same goes for the uber-realistic medieval settings like Harn: very well done, but not my cuppa (too similar to the real world).
• No sentient ducks.

So the question is: Given the above, what would you recommend?

Some settings I am curious about:
Black Company Campaign Setting
Turakian Age
Valdorian Age
Valus
Warlords of the Accordlands (World Atlas)

I've got the Thieves World Gazetteer and Player's Guide to the Wilderlands coming to me in the mail, so those are covered (if I like the latter book I'll probably splurge on the box set, which might give me incentive to run a 4ed campaign at some point).

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

 

[eric mcloins]

I have a few suggestions, but then, all of them have sentient ducks in them...

 

[jdrakeh]

It sounds like you want a detailed, adventurous, somewhat vanilla fantasy setting that is neither too realistic, nor too wahoo, while not giving in entirely to D&D's all too familiar fantasy tropes. I think that you may want to take a look at two different settings for systems that were initially descended from D&D but then later took on a life of their own. . . Chronopia (sadly, you'll need to be able to read Swedish to grok this one) and Aventuria (FanPro did an English translation of this setting). If you must have a d20-only setting, then I recommend The Scarred Lands, as it seems to meet all of your criteria.

 

[Mercurius]

Scarred Lands is OK, but I kind of see it in the same light as Eberron and Iron Kingdoms: "vanilla fantasy with a postmodern twist." But my reading of the Scarred Lands has been relatively shallow, so I'll give it a deeper look. Is there a specific product you recommend? I'll check Aventuria out, too. Thanks!

Vanilla fantasy? Sure, but with shredded coconut and chocolate flakes on top

 

[jdrakeh]

Scarred Lands is OK, but I kind of see it in the same light as Eberron and Iron Kingdoms: "vanilla fantasy with a postmodern twist." But my reading of the Scarred Lands has been relatively shallow, so I'll give it a deeper look. Is there a specific product you recommend? I'll check Aventuria out, too. Thanks!

Vanilla fantasy? Sure, but with shredded coconut and chocolate flakes on top

For the Scarred Lands, I think that the strongest and most complete setting book is the hardcover Ghelspad guide. You can still grab one new for $10 plus shipping at several online vendors. Aventuria is a bit harder to find (at least the English edition). If you can read German, however, Aventuria has a wealth of official product support, as well as tremendous fan support (it's easily the European equivalent of FR in terms of setting development).

 

[Mercurius]

Aventuria is a bit harder to find (at least the English edition). If you can read German, however, Aventuria has a wealth of official product support, as well as tremendous fan support (it's easily the European equivalent of FR in terms of setting development).

I assume you mean this book?

http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Eye-World-Aventuria-FPR15002/dp/1932564063/

 

[jdrakeh]

I assume you mean this book?

http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Eye-World-Aventuria-FPR15002/dp/1932564063/

Yep. I hadn't even considered Amazon (most of my experiences with Amazon sellers have been negative and, as such, I don't purchase through them anymore).

 

[blargney the second]

With your list of criteria, I'd go with Eberron. It allows everything from D&D to find a sensible home. The primary continent is dominated by the PHB races with really interesting twists on them.

 

[S'mon]

You've mentioned Wilderlands, which would be my recommendation based on your stated preferences. Be warned that it does include the race of Nguak, who are... sentient ducks! Though they and a lot of the other minor races can be easily omitted if you don't like them.

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

Try Dawnforge. The world is fairly new, and the characters become the great heroes that people will sing about in ages to come. Races have some interesting mechanics to make them various paragons of their power, and Legendary Quests take a big part in Dawnforge playing. It's heroic, fun, and interesting, with two adventure books and one setting supplement in addition to the main book. And that's it. It's easy to get a good idea of the world with just the main book, and you don't have to worry about having to buy many books to keep up with all the various aspects of the world. I just own the main book and the setting supplement, and make up my own adventures. I find it rocks my gaming world.