Looking For A Campaign Setting

[TheAuldGrump]

Okay, this is odd... Is everyone just perverse or what? The OP specifically stated that they had listened to other people talk about Eberron and had determined that it wasn't the desired style. So naturally, the fans of Eberron pipe in to suggest that the group use Eberron!!! :? Huh?

Most likely because the OP gave a description of Eberron that sounded nothing like the setting. Sort of like saying 'I wanted to run a game set in Waterdeep, but it sounded too much like Detroit on drugs'. A statement like that will get a response from the pro-[fill in the blank] folks. It had the sound of someone who was in fact unfamiliar with the setting, but was pretending otherwise.

That said - both Midnight and Iron Kingdoms are worth looking over. Midnight is sort of like Middle Earth if Sauron had won the War of the Ring, while Iron Kingdoms is a steam powered setting undergoing its Industrial Revolution.

The Auld Grump

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Most likely because the OP gave a description of Eberron that sounded nothing like the setting.

Or, alternately, because there's a lot of posters here who see "campaign setting" in a thread title and have to start pounding on their macros to spam their favorite settings, even if it has nothing to do with what the poster actually wants.

If I say I don't want to eat chocolate, people spending lots of time trying to convince me to mend my chocolate-non-interested ways are wasting my time at best and being fairly insulting at worst.

The OP wanted people's help, but the spammers don't really seem to care.

 

[3catcircus]

If you want low power and low magic, check out Harn. It isn't d20-based, but like anything else, easily adaptable.

Harn is my setting of choice when it comes to really capturing European medieval flavor. Nothing else quite comes close.

A great second choice would be Kalamar.

If you want a little darker feel, Midnight works too.

Heck, you could even use Greyhawk or Mystara for low power, low magic.

Stay away from Eberron, Forgotten Realms, "Iron" anything, etc. unless you are willing to put the time and effort into trimming the setting down to make it low power low magic.

 

[cidim38]

More Detailed Explanion of Desires

Ok, so I didn't do so good the first time.

About Faerun:
As far as I know it is still 3.0 but that doesn't bother me to much. However, many of the magic items (for a given cost), feats, spells and prestige classes seem more powerful than the core or splat books. {I think I had all of the 3.0 splat books.} Seems like every NPC described was at least 15th level or way into epic. I don't remember any published modules for FR but the few adventures I've seen someone make or read in my (very limited) exposure to Dragon magazine, all seemed to expect the characters to be in my opinion very powerful for there level. Looked like 32 point buy or higher, totaling magic item values seemed almost 1/2 again recommended in the DMG, and it acted like the introductory encounters are with invading multilevel drow.

About Ebberon:
I flipped through a friends book very quickly. But he spent quite a bit of time time talking about all of the superpowered things that were so much better than in FR. Flying vehicles, cities and building built by magic, etc... I also read a little bit through some of the Ebberon forums on the WotC website. I will admit that is the extent of my exposure to Ebberon. However, all I heard/read seemed to agree that what is there and is planned for publishing was pretty far over the top into a high power and high magic setting.

About the non-WotC products:
I've read some of the other source books and saw some really powerful common things. Dwarf sorcerers who base their powers on constitution (big jump for them). Prestige classes that nearly doubled the know spells for a sorcerer. Half demon necromancers with huge armies of undead (and almost no downside). Coeric spells to start uncontrollable plagues that would basically wipeout everyliving thing (everyone will eventually fail a saving throw). Barbed, poisoned, exploding crossbow bolts (and not expensive). Just 3 feats and you get another +10 to you're AC befire any magical adjustments. As I said we are willing to try non-WotC IF it's not to far off from std DnD or high powered.

Why low powered and low magic:
No tactics needed or helpful, better to just run in and start cleaving left and right because the characters do so much damage so fast. No mysteries, just walk into the town cast a few spells then kill the culprit. Magic items were quickly getting so powerful that it whether it was the weapon master or the npc warrior, anyone with that sword is going to win. By around the 8-12 level range clerics, mages, and psionicists are wiping out almost everything before the fighter can even get close for combat. Any encounter tough enough to give them a challange was almost as likely to be a TPK. Piles of magic items left over from previous opponents (had a commoner follower with a +1 shield and +1 spear). We wanted the PC's class, feat, skill, tactics, strategies, etc... choices to make a difference in results.

As for 3.0 or 3.5 version. I don't see that as too big a deal except for 3.5 psionics works. I don't mind a 3.0 setting if it is still supported because that would indicate it will eventually be updated to 3.5. And I haven't seen a 3.0 adventure that you couldn't just use the 3.5 rules and it would work just as well. Down side is they may decide to not continue supporting it.

And to clarify one point I'm trying to save money I do not want umpteen source books that you really just have to get. I'd much prefer 1 or 2 source books that don't change the rules too much and some adventures, or module series to go with it.

Hopefully that is a clearer explanation of what I'm looking for and why.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

About the non-WotC products:
I've read some of the other source books and saw some really powerful common things. Dwarf sorcerers who base their powers on constitution (big jump for them). Prestige classes that nearly doubled the know spells for a sorcerer. Half demon necromancers with huge armies of undead (and almost no downside). Coeric spells to start uncontrollable plagues that would basically wipeout everyliving thing (everyone will eventually fail a saving throw). Barbed, poisoned, exploding crossbow bolts (and not expensive). Just 3 feats and you get another +10 to you're AC befire any magical adjustments. As I said we are willing to try non-WotC IF it's not to far off from std DnD or high powered.

Considering that none of the suggested third party settings have any of these then you may want to look at them. And the barbed exploding crossbow bolts were, if I recall properly, in the Arms & Equipment guide, which was by WotC... (And in fact I have to admit that aside from the crossbow bolts I have not encounterd the above mentioned garbage in any setting, WotC or third party...)

It really sounds to me like you need to look at what is out there before forming your opinions - those opinions are blinding you to almost everything.

And for what it is worth - never go by what is mentioned on the WotC forums - you will get the worst of everything. (There is a reason so many ENWorlders avoid the WotC boards....)

The Auld Grump

 

[Treebore]

Wilderlands is $44.00 at Amazon. There may be one cheaper on eBay, but after shipping was added in I didn't see one that went cheaper than Amazon, but I don't police eBay for WL prices.

If you have dungeon magazine, buy WL and use the Dungeon adventures you like. The players guide is good for players, but you can use WL without it, unless you decide to use WL gods.

You want a cheap setting with cheap modules? Check out Erde and the modules for it at Trolllords.com.

I don't know how much you can get Kalamar for. I lucked into a deal and got everything for under a $100.00. Well, everything available at the time. 4 years ago. Which is most of the stuff.

 

[Remathilis]

My votes.

Eberron: Ah spam-pimp. Eberron is not HIGH magic, its COMMON magic. Magic can be both wonderful-fanatastical (Giants of Xen'drik, Daelkyr, Rajahs, Quori, Manifest Zones) AND mundane (warforged, artificers, +1 swords aplenty, lightning rails). Psionics have a breathing part of the world (a whole friggin continent!). Most NPCs are lower level (12 tops, not counting villians). Oh, and APs let you do amazing stuff without resorting to wands of uber-kinds. And your PCs are the Heroes, no uber-mages to help out here.

DCC's Aereth: Not alot yet known, but if it seems to be what I'm thinking, it will be a wonderful, generic setting full of just enough to get ideas flowing, but not so much that it isn't customizable. Oh, and lots of modules to boot.

Kalamar: an expensive endeavor (lots of books), but a solid, realistic setting. Customizable, but not works out of the box. I've heard the quality of supplements varies (great to meh).

Oh

LIVING GREYHAWK GAZETEER: The original is still best. Not alot beyond the RPGA, but some good material all over the place if you want to scrape it up and go.

 

[shilsen]

My votes.

Eberron: Ah spam-pimp. Eberron is not HIGH magic, its COMMON magic. Magic can be both wonderful-fanatastical (Giants of Xen'drik, Daelkyr, Rajahs, Quori, Manifest Zones) AND mundane (warforged, artificers, +1 swords aplenty, lightning rails). Psionics have a breathing part of the world (a whole friggin continent!). Most NPCs are lower level (12 tops, not counting villians). Oh, and APs let you do amazing stuff without resorting to wands of uber-kinds. And your PCs are the Heroes, no uber-mages to help out here.

I have to agree. If you want, what you describe here, cidim38:

Why low powered and low magic:
No tactics needed or helpful, better to just run in and start cleaving left and right because the characters do so much damage so fast. No mysteries, just walk into the town cast a few spells then kill the culprit. Magic items were quickly getting so powerful that it whether it was the weapon master or the npc warrior, anyone with that sword is going to win. By around the 8-12 level range clerics, mages, and psionicists are wiping out almost everything before the fighter can even get close for combat. Any encounter tough enough to give them a challange was almost as likely to be a TPK. Piles of magic items left over from previous opponents (had a commoner follower with a +1 shield and +1 spear). We wanted the PC's class, feat, skill, tactics, strategies, etc... choices to make a difference in results.

, then in many ways Eberron is a very good fit for you. It's both lower magic and lower powered than the core rulebook level and than Greyhawk. It's very rare to find NPCs with PC class levels in the teens, which means by extension that finding high level magic is very difficult. For example, my campaign is set in Sharn, the largest and most magically powerful city in the setting. And in this place, the highest lvl cleric is 12th, the highest lvl druid/sorcerer/wizard is 9th, and the highest level character in the city is a 17th lvl commoner who is a damn good chef. High powered? Yeah, right!

While there are a couple of elements of the setting that naysayers fixate on (elemental powered vehicles, for example), they are neither ubiquitous, nor easily accessible. Depending on where in the campaign setting you put your campaign, magic above 2nd-3rd lvl is likely to be uncommon and a 6th lvl PC will be a force to reckon with.

 

[BlueBlackRed]

Put me on the list of Kalamar supporters.

Be ready to be overwhelmed by it.
It is second only to FR for the amount of information printed for it.

 

[FunkBGR]

Ravenloft

It's a horror setting, but you don't have to play it straight horror "let's screw the players over" methodology - just roll up some characters and go.

The world's there, you can treat the "domains" just like countries instead. It's got some magic (liches in power) but they don't have to be. And you can chuck the alignment thing out the window if you want.

As for cheap - it's out of print, and recently so. Most games stores I've been to in my area are trying to sell it, for 5 or 10 bucks a book. Pick up the Player's Handbook (or better yet, the 3.0 campaign setting - it's better, much so).

If you do decide to go the horror route, you've got tons of free support from places like the Fraternity of Shadows, who have adventures, ideas, Dread Possibilities, etc.

They're at www.fraternityofshadows.com