D&D General Lets Make a 5e 2024 Setting - World Structure

[FitzTheRuke]

One idea that might have legs, and combines a lot of the above:

A setting where the "civilization" is along a rocky shoreline, with a mountainous interior (full of monsters, naturally) that has developed submersibles (like Spelljammer under the sea) and underwater exploration is one of (but not the only) big draws for adventure.

Of course, down there are fallen kingdoms, indigenous sentients (both friendly and unfriendly), natural hazards, and both great beauty and great horror.

 

[Lakesidefantasy]

I like urban campaigns. This gives me plenty of fun wallowing in the seedy underbelly of my fantasies.

I like a small, limited scope campaign where wilderness abounds between points of light. I like limited power.

I like worldbuilding, so I like giant scopes with fully fleshed out cultures and histories.

 

[Steampunkette]

Big continent, points of light, urban sprawl.

World-hopping is kind of "Whatever" to me. Yeah it makes the fantasy "Bigger" but you can do world-hopping levels of variety of environments/enemies without bothering with portal magic. An Archipelago makes for a solid stand in for world-hopping adventures by making each island uniquely threatening or interesting, for example.

Nah, gimme a big continent where part of the continent is fairly densely populated and you have urban sprawl options and then there's lots of points of light once you head out into the hexcrawl to explore the world.

 

[TwoSix]

I definitely like all of them, so any vote I make is simply a nod towards settings I've enjoyed, not a vote against any settings I didn't vote for.

I voted for Big Continent, mostly because of Eberron, one of my all time favorite settings. I also voted for Archipelago and Shattered World, because making up a new island/plane/location is where most of my campaigns end up if they linger past a few sessions.

 

[CreamCloud0]

i think a points of light - archipelago - parallel worlds setting would be neat, where instead of sailing between the islands you're instead traversing through the different layers of realities to find ones with landmasses that go in the direction you want, passing from a high magic lush jungle world to a fiery mordor-esc setting and further onto a more tech-oriented crystal world sorta thing.

i think a parallel worlds setting would also help incorporate the array of different species in 5/5.5, being able to say humans, dwarves and dragonborn originate from and are most found in this layer, elves, gnomes, tieflings and goliaths originate from that layer, then halflings, aasimar and orcs are from another layer.

 

[Marc17]

I went with Parallel and Shattered worlds. I started with a large, cosmopolitain trade city that had gates to select other trade worlds, as well as some other gates farther away or on those worlds. Add in spell jammers. Throw in some dimensional travel devices along with it. Go from there. I have a large cosmpolitain city that the game can start in and in just a few days travel overland, they can actually be in a fairly different world for whatever is needed for the adventure.

 

[Stormonu]

I think if I were to do this, I'd start with a central "metropolis" like kingdom where all the various races congregate and that is relatively new. Pretty much an experiment. From this central hub, have older kingdoms that cater to specific races and perhaps lean towards specific classes (A kingdom of elvin wizards, a kingdom of paladin dwarves, etc.). The further away from the central kingdom the more ancient and fragmented the realm is until at its edges it is a borderland and eventually wild/unclaimed lands. The old kingdoms remain because they somewhat reject the integration of the central realm; there are old grudges, mores and customs these old kingdoms and their rulers don't want to give up.

This could spring several styles of play

1) Those in the "lawless lands" trying to avoid or occasionally butting up against the old kingdoms. This might be where pirate or bandit groups may the most common, raiding into the civilized lands

2) Those in the old kingdoms, trying to preserve the old ways and those in power and playing against the other kingdoms. This could lead to very heavy political and espionage campaigns.

3) Those from the metropolis, who want the spread the benefits of their new multicultural realm to the old realms and beyond. This may lead to campaigns that are about righting old wrongs and ending discriminatory practices in the outer realms.