Looking for Recommendations for a High Fantasy Campaign Setting

[Elodan]

My group is thinking of trying something outside of the Realms and Greyhawk. I'm looking for recommendations for some good campaign settings that can handle high fantasy.

Give me the good, bad and the ugly.

Thanks.

 

[dmccoy1693]

How "high" fantasy we talking? Do you mean airships (aka bacon, everything tastes better with bacon), magic trains that work like maglev trains, and golems as player characters (Eberron)? Or more like a fully detailed planar city (City of Brass, Necromancer Games)? Or something that stays true to the traditions of Greyhawk while having a completely different take (Pathfinder Chronicles, Paizo Publishing).

I hear the first two are great; I don't own anything of them, but people I have talked to love them. The third, I highly recommend. While Paizo's flagship product is their adventure path, they do publish stand alone setting material and this fall they will be putting out player products. And if you're thinking of going 4E, the Campaign Setting and Gazetter are suppose to have very little crunch in them (so should be relatively easy to convert over).

 

[Croesus]

If you're looking for a setting, vs. an adventure path, you can't go wrong with Wilderlands of High Fantasy. You don't need the player's guide, just use the box set and add your own touches. City State of the Invincible Overlord is a good add-on.

 

[Dimitri Mazieres]

How about Dawnforge? I don't have it (would love to, though), but all the reviews I've read about it were very positive, and it certainly is high fantasy.

 

[Ghostwind]

I'd recommend both Wilderlands of High Fantasy as a box set campaign setting. It is so rich in details. On the flip side, Dawnforge is also a good choice because it consists of exactly three books, the campaign setting, a player's guide and an adventure.

 

[jdrakeh]

If you'e looking for something noticeably different than Greyhawk, FR, or other vanilla settings, then I would advise against The Wilderlands of High Fantasy, Áereth (DCC #35), and Aihrde (Troll Lord Games). All are very good settings but thay're also not much different from other vanilla fantasy settings out there where basic nomenclature is concerned (to wit, you'll see all of them frequently recommended in "Sell me!" threads for vanilla fantasy). Now, if you want vanilla fantasy, you can't go wrong with any of those three settings, and I heartily recommend them all (though I'm partial to the Wilderlands).

If you want something different or non-vanilla, I think that things like HarnWorld (fantasy with a strong emphasis on verismilitude, unmatched in that regard by any other setting currently in print), Oathbound (high level, baroque, fantasy), Shadow World (high fantasy re-imagined, with unusual twists such as humanoid dragons and Evil as an actual entity that dwells in the setting), or The Scarred Lands (post-apocalyptic dark fantasy that takes place after a war amongst gods) will serve you much better. All of these are good, though my personal favorites are HarnWorld and Shadow World.

 

[kallisti23]

I highly recommend both the Morningstar Campaign Setting from Goodman Games, and the Scarred Lands Campaign Setting from S&S/Necromancer. Both are wonderfully executed settings in the tradition of Greyhawk, the Realms, and Tolkien's Middle Earth. While both are fairly traditional vanilla fantasy, there is plenty to each of them to set them apart as unique in their own right. The Scarred Lands, in particular, had a lot of really good support material.

I will also gladly add to the praise being heaped upon the Wilderlands of High Fantasy; it is very detailed, very user-friendly and very adaptable, and easily lends itself to customization. Great for beginners! Judge's Guild is teh swote!

Eberron is cool as well, but it might be stretching the definition of 'traditional high fantasy' a wee bit to include it here, what with airships, living constructs, and magical railroads and whatnot, but there is plenty more to Eberron that IS traditional high fantasy, and the setting is still pretty cool WITHOUT all the airships and living constructs and such.

 

[Voadam]

My group is thinking of trying something outside of the Realms and Greyhawk. I'm looking for recommendations for some good campaign settings that can handle high fantasy.

Give me the good, bad and the ugly.

Thanks.

High Fantasy?

Oathbound by Bastion press. High powered High Fantasy. Its a gestalt type world, seven divine beings bound to it, each with their own distinct style realms. The world almost leaks power which drives creatures and characters to advance and gives potential for great individual changes. For tens of thousands of years the bound divine beings have been drawing in creatures from across the multiverse and pitting them against each other in hopes of developing super powerful champions for metaplot reasons. You have an explanation for tons of different races thrown together, presence of powerful exotic creatures, and lots of conflict built in.

Particularly recommended if you want to use a ton of different sourcebooks or disparate character types or backgrounds.

 

[Starman]

Another vote for Dawnforge here. One of the great things about the setting is that it is set during the "Age of Legends." The epic era of awesomeness is not in the past; it is now and the PCs get to shape the world. I can't recommend it enough.

 

[Treebore]

For High Fantasy? Definitely Dawnforge or Oathbound.

Definitely NOT Morningstar, Wilderlands, etc...