How do you use pre-made campaign settings?

[Azazyll]

So, having just talked about it on another thread, it occured to me that I hadn't seen a poll for this, and maybe it would be of use to the industry and community. Do you use campaigns that are sold by WotC or any other publisher as they are, with only minor house rules changes? Do you take parts of different campaigns and mesh them into your home campaign? Or do you only use your own home campaign with the additions of generic, non-setting specific supplements? Pardon if I haven't thought up enough options, and hopefully I will figure out how to make the poll work, having never posted oen before.

PS I hope it goes without saying that you pick what the best answer is. I realize that there are nuances between these options, I'm just looking for a feel of the community.

 

[Altalazar]

I pretty much only run home-brew, but I'm interested in looking at campaign supplements to get ideas and/or adventures.

In fact, I suppose I can't remember ever running anything but home-brew.
No wait, I lied. I did run Ravenloft, though in my own particular manner. But other than that, I don't do anything but homebrew.

 

[Calico_Jack73]

I tend to use pre-made settings. My view is... why reinvent the wheel? I don't really have enough time to detail my own setting to the same extent that WoTC and other publishers can. Let them do the work and then I can tweek it as needed.

 

[diaglo]

i homebrew.

there is nothing like taking a recipe from another brewmeister and adding your own flavor tho.

gives a new meaning to good head.

 

[Belegbeth]

Sixty percent of the fun of being a DM, for me, is coming up with my own campaign world. I love designing new cultures, histories, religions, etc.

Why pay someone else to have that fun for you?

 

[Arnwyn]

Pardon if I haven't thought up enough options

You haven't. (But you're excused. )

I chose option 1, but it's not quite correct. I use a published campaign setting, but I heavily modify it (but certainly not far enough to consider it a "homebrew with published campaign setting ideas").

 

[Wombat]

Homebrew campaigns, pretty much all the way.

Sometimes I take material from a pre-made setting, but usually only as "thought material" -- I don't use pre-packed adventures, for example, but I might borrow a town government or an interesting NPC.

I dislike the level of magic, the mix of races, the poorly thought out interaction between cultures/nations, and the rather static politics of most pre-packaged worlds. I prefer something that feels new, alive, and that allows for my players to join in, without worrying whether or not something will be nixed or wildly altered by the next Official Campaign Supplement.

YMMV, of course.

 

[wedgeski]

Pre-made for me. It's all a matter of time and motion. I don't have much time where I'm not in motion. Whenever I do find the time to get imaginative, I prefer to use it to come up with half-decent adventures.

 

[Psion]

I strip 'em for parts.

Well, mainly, but I do a little "excisement" too, and I dig generic campaign drop ins (go Bluffside!)

I am considering dropping both Streets of Silver and Hollowfaust in my Second World earth campaign, even though they are ideally world specific.

 

[inthisstyle]

Sixty percent of the fun of being a DM, for me, is coming up with my own campaign world. I love designing new cultures, histories, religions, etc.

Why pay someone else to have that fun for you?

Amen to that! Yeah, this is where I get most of the fun out of gaming. I love to create worlds for players to explore, which is why I write games. I'm way too vain to just use something out of the box. My ideas must be better, after all.

I did run a Legend of the Five Rings game using their setting, but then I changed a whole bunch of the back story.