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<blockquote data-quote="Mercule" data-source="post: 7084552" data-attributes="member: 5100"><p>Mystara, Greyhawk, Krynn, and the Realms (order of introduction to D&D) are all reasonably similar in that they're all pretty generic pseudo-medieval fantasy settings. A lot of the differences are hard to nail down, but there are definite differences in feel.</p><p></p><p>It's a bit like when someone says that <u>Sword of Shannara</u> is a <u>Lord of the Rings</u> rip-off. There are a ton of arguments, either way. Someone who is able to present just one side can easily "prove" their point. Either way, there are a lot of thematic differences. There is also a difference in the way the two feel. Some of that is purely stylistic, as Tolkien and Brooks have very different writing styles. One can like one while disliking -- or even hating -- the other. One can also enjoy both. (Note that I'm specifically looking at the earlier Shannara books for tone and style, since they change somewhat.)</p><p></p><p>You could also say that the different settings are like the different iterations of Batman: Adam West, Tim Burton, Kevin Conroy, Christian Bale, Ben Affleck. It's the same character, and generally recognizable as such. But they're very different in the way they feel.</p><p></p><p>The settings could almost be attached to certain fantasy authors: Mystara is Burrows' style. Greyhawk is Lieber. Krynn is Brooks. The Realms are Piers Anthony <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite7" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue :p" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":p" /> (maybe Eddings).</p><p></p><p>To be more honest, Mystara is Cook/Mentzer/design-by-committee. Greyhawk is Gygax. Krynn is Weiss/Hickman. The Realms are Greenwood/Salvator/design-by-different-committee.</p><p></p><p>I'm not sure I could fully put it into words. While I much, much prefer to home brew and play in home brew, if I was forced to use one of the "vanilla fantasy" published settings, I would be quite comfortable running or playing Greyhawk; be less happy, but accepting of running or playing Mystara; roll my eyes but deal with playing Krynn; drink heavily before playing the Realms; and find something else to do rather than playing with a Realms purist. There's a difference that goes beyond the basics -- but, yeah, to the cursory player, there really probably isn't. Heck, if all you've ever seen of the Realms is the SCAG, there probably isn't any meaningful difference at all. </p><p></p><p>I still don't like the Factions being so prevalent. Greyhawk doesn't really have anything comparable, but we can reach a little. If Greyhawk was on top, it would still annoy me to see every adventure have hooks for the Scarlet Brotherhood, the agents of the Circle of Eight, Knights of the Hart, Church of St. Cuthbert, and Druids of the Old Faith. Blech. Just assume an unaffiliated party of adventurers/mercs. Stop with all the PC puppet masters.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Mercule, post: 7084552, member: 5100"] Mystara, Greyhawk, Krynn, and the Realms (order of introduction to D&D) are all reasonably similar in that they're all pretty generic pseudo-medieval fantasy settings. A lot of the differences are hard to nail down, but there are definite differences in feel. It's a bit like when someone says that [U]Sword of Shannara[/U] is a [U]Lord of the Rings[/U] rip-off. There are a ton of arguments, either way. Someone who is able to present just one side can easily "prove" their point. Either way, there are a lot of thematic differences. There is also a difference in the way the two feel. Some of that is purely stylistic, as Tolkien and Brooks have very different writing styles. One can like one while disliking -- or even hating -- the other. One can also enjoy both. (Note that I'm specifically looking at the earlier Shannara books for tone and style, since they change somewhat.) You could also say that the different settings are like the different iterations of Batman: Adam West, Tim Burton, Kevin Conroy, Christian Bale, Ben Affleck. It's the same character, and generally recognizable as such. But they're very different in the way they feel. The settings could almost be attached to certain fantasy authors: Mystara is Burrows' style. Greyhawk is Lieber. Krynn is Brooks. The Realms are Piers Anthony :p (maybe Eddings). To be more honest, Mystara is Cook/Mentzer/design-by-committee. Greyhawk is Gygax. Krynn is Weiss/Hickman. The Realms are Greenwood/Salvator/design-by-different-committee. I'm not sure I could fully put it into words. While I much, much prefer to home brew and play in home brew, if I was forced to use one of the "vanilla fantasy" published settings, I would be quite comfortable running or playing Greyhawk; be less happy, but accepting of running or playing Mystara; roll my eyes but deal with playing Krynn; drink heavily before playing the Realms; and find something else to do rather than playing with a Realms purist. There's a difference that goes beyond the basics -- but, yeah, to the cursory player, there really probably isn't. Heck, if all you've ever seen of the Realms is the SCAG, there probably isn't any meaningful difference at all. I still don't like the Factions being so prevalent. Greyhawk doesn't really have anything comparable, but we can reach a little. If Greyhawk was on top, it would still annoy me to see every adventure have hooks for the Scarlet Brotherhood, the agents of the Circle of Eight, Knights of the Hart, Church of St. Cuthbert, and Druids of the Old Faith. Blech. Just assume an unaffiliated party of adventurers/mercs. Stop with all the PC puppet masters. [/QUOTE]
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