Looking For A Campaign Setting

[reanjr]

Iron Heroes is not really low powered. Just low magic. IH characters should be about on par with D&D characters level for level. The difference is the IH characters do it naked. When playing in a mixed party, one problem does crop up though. The IH characters can't seem to cause much damage in combat, but even the frailest of them can often outlast a barbarian or fighter. This leads to being a support character. This problem does not exist when using 100% IH rules.

Iron Heroes is a fantastic choice, but it might be a bit too different from traditional D&D for the tastes of many.

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

I'd go with Goodman's Gazeteer of Known Realms and the DCC module line. Kalamar + DCC would be a good follow-up choice. So would Wilderlands.

 

[Mistwell]

Iron Heroes is not really low powered. Just low magic. IH characters should be about on par with D&D characters level for level. The difference is the IH characters do it naked. When playing in a mixed party, one problem does crop up though. The IH characters can't seem to cause much damage in combat, but even the frailest of them can often outlast a barbarian or fighter. This leads to being a support character. This problem does not exist when using 100% IH rules.

Iron Heroes is a fantastic choice, but it might be a bit too different from traditional D&D for the tastes of many.

Yeah, the people I know that have played it all say it's a great setting, but that it's best played as exclusively in that setting with their classes and stuff. Which might be what this poster is looking for, and might not.

 

[Wraith101]

Jumping on the Kalamar bandwagon here.

Just some specifics:

Psionics are supported, there are campaign elements designed around it. There are Psionic organisations and one adventure features it's main villain as Psionic (Lost Tomb of Kruk Ma Kali).

It's books are 3.5 except for the Players Guide (but it has been updated on the website).

Magic can be whatever you want but it seems lowwish by default.

It is a fully official Dungeons and Dragons setting (they got a licence of wotc). This may help allay some concerns about moving to a new setting.

There are currently 17 published adventures (plus mini-modules in several other books) although 2 of those adventures actually contain 4 modules each.

Only one sourcebook is NEEDED to fully define the world (The Campaign Setting) but there are a lot of good regional and racial suppliments out there including a Monster book, an equipment book and an Atlas.

Hope this helps.

 

[jim pinto]

did anyone recommend scarred lands or eberron? i hear those are good.

but seriously, i love kalamar... i've been playing it since 94 or 95 when it came out as a stand alone world with no game mechanics

i've always loved the map and the realistic nature of the world, although some of the church names need a little helped

(church of armed conflict?!?)

and while it's self-serving to mention it, the AEG adventure i and adventure ii books are 24 adventures for $30 each... and all are low-magic... edited and designed that way on purpose

freeport was also a good suggestion and the new thieves world by green ronin isn't bad either

and while i may be completely out of left field, you may want to see if rokugan is right for your crew.

 

[Treebore]

Rokugan is low magic, in the heart of the Empire. Along a certain border there is as much magic as the Empire and the Crab Clan can muster. A great setting if you want an oriental flavor. But it is largely Japanese with some chinese and other neighboring cultures thrown in. Mostly as legends and monsters. The "culture" of Rokugan is strongly based on Japanese.

Personally I enjoyed the setting most with the L5R d10 rules set. It really adds to the flavor of the setting.

Of all the settings mentioned, and I have played or own and read many of the books of every setting mentioned, except Eberron. To me it is a setting on some kind of drugs. Definitely not a setting I would choose, and I have chosen not to get it. Anyways, Kalamar most closely fits all your criteria with a minimal of fuss.

Ptolus is a good setting, if you want a city. Plus if you don't mind the $120.00 (US) price tag to get in the door.

If you do get Kalamar you may or may not want to bother with the Players book. If you look around you can probably find it pretty cheap, and there is worthwhile material in there. But it is not critical to using Kalamar as a setting, but it would definitely help add some dimensions to it.

The world Atlas is awesome!! I wish every setting had an atlas like this one.

The Scarred Lands could be run low magic, but personally I think that would be a disservice to the setting. Everything going on with the Titans, The City of Mithril, the Necromancers, the various races, magic would have to be prominant to do SL justice, IMO. (I know, Nighfall, I know. You are "the" Sage of SL and all, but the big cool elements of SL demand a fairly high level of magic in my view.)

The only other setting that would fit is Wilderlands, but it does not have specific module support like you are looking for. I have found it extremely easy to fit many modules into the setting though. So in my view looking for modules specific to a setting is cheating yourself. I'm a module whore, though, so do it however you'll feel comfortable.

For the record, my current favorite setting is Erde, by Troll Lord Games. It also has everything you want, mostly 3.0 versions though. The setting book is badly laid out and can get confusing fast because of it. All I can say is the "flavor" of it grabbed me. Guess I am a sucker for "german" flavored dwarves, english humans, and "french" flavored elves and turning real world European (and others) legends into Erde myths. It just works for me.

Hope whatever you try first works for you.

 

[Capellan]

I love Iron Heroes dearly, but it is not "low power". Even "low magic" is a dubious claim (the PCs don't get much, but monsters are unchanged). Also, it's a new game, not a new setting: it changes lots of rules, has no psionics and has very minimal setting notes. So it is inappropriate for the OP's needs.

 

[hong]

What Capellan said. OTOH, don't let that stop you from trying out IH.

 

[grodog]

We usually try to stick to WotC products for consistency. Some of the third party stuff is just out there and unbalancing.

We're looking for a medium to low magic / power campaign setting.I would like for modules / adventures set in the world (I just don't have the time). Serries of adventures would be even better. The PC's would like a setting where psionics is included not something the DM has to add in.

What do you think might meet our needs? Doesn't necessarily have to be WotC if it doesn't change the rules to much or require many source books to be purchased.

I'll recommend the Greyhawk setting, since you're mostly looking for WotC stuff. The Living Greyhawk Gazetteer is the most recent update to the setting, and you should be able to find it cheaply on eBay, Amazon, or in a local used book store.

If you're looking for a setting that's also dark, but is 3.5-ready, you could look at Ryan Smalley's Valus setting (see .sig). It's similar to Greyhawk in tone, but is a micro-setting: it's big enough to stand on its own (a 600 mile long island within a larger world), but also something that you can insert into an existing game pretty easily. If you want to get a feel for Ryan's work, check out his Story Hour at http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=51797 and http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=81523

 

[ssampier]

As mentioned Wilderlands can be low powered (or it can be high-powered or medium powered). It doesn't have many large cities teaming with magic shops (there are a few in City State of the Invicible Overlord).

Psionics can be part of the setting. It has a pulpy feel of Edgar Rice Burroughs meets Conan and Nehwon (there are some optional sci-fi elements).

Wilderlands is 3.5, but some stats are mistakenly 3.0. They are corrected in the errata section of the messageboards.

As for module support, read below. As noted, no setting has tons of module/adventure support.

The only other setting that would fit is Wilderlands, but it does not have specific module support like you are looking for. I have found it extremely easy to fit many modules into the setting though. So in my view looking for modules specific to a setting is cheating yourself. I'm a module whore, though, so do it however you'll feel comfortable.

I don't see that a disadvantage. Wilderlands is generic enough that any module should work. Obviously Eberron may be a little difficult, but most other modules should be fine (many Dungeon adventures, goodman games, and, of course, Necromancer games).