Looking for: Good Setting Books (any edition, any game)

[Mercurius]

Please help me with my jones, I mean quest to fill out my RPG collection, with a focus on settings. Below is a list of settings I currently own books for, with a general idea of the books that I own for that setting. I am including this not to show off my relatively meager collection, but so that you can either recommend new settings or new books about a given setting that you think I need to know about. I am less interested in an exhaustive list of RPG settings, and more into settings of quality (in other words, give me the good stuff, not the shwill that I don't have). Also, this list is all dead tree versions; I have a bunch of PDFs but tend to buy my favorite stuff in its "real" version.

I am primarily interested in fantasy settings, but a good scifi one would be fine. Thanks for playing!

Accordlands - World Atlas
Agone's Harmundia - main book
Artesia's Known World - main book
Atlantis - The Second Age, Lexicon
Blue Rose - main book, Aldea book
Codex Arcanis's Onara - 2nd ed book
Cyradon (HARP setting)
Dark Sun - 1ed box
Dragonlance - I sold most everything over the years; what's the best setting book?
Dying Earth (Scaum Valley Gazetteer)
Earthdawn - Barsaive box, Theran Empire
Eberron (4E book, various 3E)
Everway - box set, Spherewalkers Sourcebook
Fading Suns - 2ed book, a few other sourcebooks
Forgotten Realms - 4E book, 3E CG, various 3E, 1E box
Glorantha - HeroQuest
Greyhawk - Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, 1E box set
Harn - Harnworld
Iron Kingdoms - World Guide
Jorune - various books
Midnight - 2ed book
Mythic Vistas - Hamunaptra
New Sun - GURPS book
Pathfinder's Golarion - Campaign Setting book, various Companion books
Planescape - main box, Factol's Manifesto
Shadow World - 4ed Master Atlas, 2ed box, Jaiman
Shattered Skies - main book
Spelljammer - main box, Practical Planetology
Talislanta - tons (although have been eyeing Hotan's for awhile)
Tekumel - Swords & Glory vol. 1:Tekumel Sourcebook
Thieves World - Gazetteer
Valus
Wilderlands of High Fantasy - Players Guide

 

[ggroy]

Kingdoms of Kalamar

Castlemourn

 

[Umbran]

Your collection does not include the "Dark Matter" setting for Alternity - while the game is out of print, and sci fi rather than fantasy, this has been lauded as one of the best setting books ever written, period.

 

[Shemeska]

Shadowrun - the new full-color anniversary edition of the SR4 main book. Secondarily, Shadows of Europe, and Shadows of Asia are very nice.

Eclipse Phase - only one book so far. It is sexy.

Cthulhutech - main setting book is a work of art.

Fill out your Planescape collection with the following: Faces of Evil, Planes of Chaos, Planes of Law, Uncaged: Faces of Sigil, Planes of Conflict, Hellbound: The Blood War, Guide To The Astral Plane, The Ethereal Plane, The Inner Planes, Faction War, In the Cage: Guide to Sigil

And finally, any setting books for any setting written by Nigel Findley

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

I'd put Al'Qadim among the highest quality settings TSR/WotC has ever produced. I've never had a chance to play in it, but I'm glad I own everything for it.

I'm fond of Mystara, I've collected everything for it. There is no core setting book, though the D&D Rule Cyclopedia is the only time TSR/WotC has created a single book with all the rules for an edition of the D&D game. The RC has a brief section of the setting in it in addition to the complete rules. The setting for Mystara came out in gazetteers. I think two of the setting gazetteers (there are many) are worth adding into any collection. The Grand Duchy of Karameikos (4e's Nentir Vale is in many ways an imitation of Karameikos) and The Principalities of Glantri are tops. Others are equally good, but those are worth getting. For a different take on an underground culture, The Shadow Elves (also a free download) may be a close third gazetteer.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Oathbound.
Nyambe.
Possibly Northern Crown.

Some of the most interesting OGL settings, IMO.

 

[gribble]

Your collection does not include the "Dark Matter" setting for Alternity - while the game is out of print, and sci fi rather than fantasy, this has been lauded as one of the best setting books ever written, period.

There is also a d20 version with the same fluff (and about 90% of the book is fluff). It has a funky glow in the dark cover and is likely more available than the Alternity version.


If you're willing to accept more modern/sci-fi settings, I'd also add Delta Green (Call of Cthulhu) which is also highly acclaimed.

 

[grodog]

I am primarily interested in fantasy settings, but a good scifi one would be fine. Thanks for playing!

For SF, I recommend Blue Planet, since the game is 90% setting, and it's quite excellent (if you like hard-SF set in the near future); I've continue to hear great things about Ken Hite's GURPS: Transhuman Space from people I trust, but I haven't gotten around to picking it up yet.

On the fantasy front, I've added my recommendations after the books you own already, which are now bolded:

Glorantha - HeroQuest, Pavis, Big Rubble, The Complete Griselda (excellent gaming fiction short stories: they really bring the setting alive!)

Greyhawk - Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, 1E box set, From the Ashes, Greyhawk: the Adventure Begins (for the city of Greyhawk updates; this is better than the CoG box set), Living Greyhawk Journal #2 (for the CoG map; or you can pull it from Maldin's site @ www.melkot.com) and #4-5 add on addition city updates); largely, further recommendations depend on what you want to run or what interests you: if you provide more specifics, I'm sure I/we can provide better input for your consideration

Harn - Harnworld, Cities of Harn, Castles of Harn (both great for any setting, really)

Tekumel - Swords & Glory vol. 1:Tekumel Sourcebook, TSR box set, or one of the later reprints

Thieves World - Gazetteer, Chaosium box set and Thieves World Companion, the 4 adventures published by FASA

Valus - YAY! There's unfortunately only one other Valus book, and it's still available from DWP @ Different Worlds Publications - Valus: it's the "Return of Ippizicus Child-Eater" adventure, which is quite good

 

[Wik]

A few books spring to mind:

1. Call of Cthulu, d20 Version. Amazing book, and just an awesome read. I like the Delta Green sourcebook (I have the d20 version, and it's pretty well done).

2. Dark Sun. You have the important book. I'd pick up The Veiled Alliance, City-State of Tyr, and The Ivory Triangle. The rest of the books are only okay (Dragon Kings and Dune Trader are nice aditions, too).

3. Serenity RPG. Because you've seen Firefly (you've seen Firefly, right? ), you'll love this book. It's a very good sourcebook for any Browncoat, and the game itself seems like it'd be a blast.

4. Jakandor: A D&D setting book trilogy. Check it out - it's probably the weirdest published D&D setting, in that it really takes apart the game and changes what the expectations on what D&D is. It's 2nd edition (as most setting books are), and it's pretty damned neat.

 

[pawsplay]

Dawning Star is a fun SF setting. Disclaimer: I did some technical advising on it.