UngeheuerLich
Legend
Yes, I did world hopping. In 3.0 PHB we started in Greyhawk. Then we had to transition to Forgotten realms. We just hopped there with the help of a powerful Lich.
And also, one only need to worry about one small place, the one where the heroes are. One need not build the rest of the world unless the heroes go there.You can create your own settings. Some people would have you believe that worldbuilding some arcane art, requiring huge amounts of time and skill, but really it isn't. Especially when characters are just passing through, you don't need thousands of years of history or pantheons of gods.
One thing you can do is borrow a trick from science fiction. You think of one defining characteristic and blow it up to gonzo proportions. It might be kilometre tall trees, or floating islands, or planetary cities, or a lizard world. Political and social ideas taken to extremes also work.
As @Paul Farquhar says, you don't need to invest a lot of money or time into campaign settings to run a worldhopping campaign. The dirty secret of worldbuilding is that you only need to create as much as you're going to use for your games and the rest can be implied in the imaginations of the players.I'd like to do a multiverse spanning 'Rod of Seven Parts' campaign, but that would entail learning about (and paying for) far too many campaign worlds for my limited time.
Let's suppose you have not just a party that can jump from Eberron to Athas, but many.Just curious, why do you dislike it?
Why would there be many? Powerful magic is rare on Eberron, no reason anyone other than the PCs has ever made that journey.Let's suppose you have not just a party that can jump from Eberron to Athas, but many.
I mean, in this particular case my assumption is always that magic in Athas is defiling magic by default and preserving magic is difficult to learn even for native Athasians. So the Eberron armies you're talking about (or magical armies from any other world) are going to basically just make things worse, and possibly trap them all in Athas.Let's suppose you have not just a party that can jump from Eberron to Athas, but many.
Now why haven't they gone and cleaned it up?
It removes something from World building if you can have beings from a setting with a wildly different tone show up.
Because, let's suppose.Why would there be many? Powerful magic is rare on Eberron, no reason anyone other than the PCs has ever made that journey.
I prefer settings retain their own distinct nature without tourists.
I'm pretty sure that they would have better reasons for travelling to a difficult-to-reach plane than tourism. But if a world contains any level 20 adventurers they can do whatever the heck they want.Because, let's suppose.
Even if it's one party of level 15-20 adventurers that's still too jarring to me.
I prefer settings retain their own distinct nature without tourists.
Thats what I'm saying, and its what I dont like...I'm pretty sure that they would have better reasons for travelling to a difficult-to-reach plane than tourism. But if a world contains any level 20 adventurers they can do whatever the heck they want.
High level characters? Just end the game at level 10.Thats what I'm saying, and its what I dont like...
/shrugHigh level characters? Just end the game at level 10.
Err... so high level characters that originate from different worlds are different? I don't see the problem./shrug
A high level party on Athas should be wildly different in perspective, in comparison to a high level party from Sigil, in comparison to a high level party from Toril, in comparison to a high level party from Eberron.
Because I believe settings, and setting tone, should matter.
The problem, is dropping them into another world.Err... so high level characters that originate from different worlds are different? I don't see the problem.
Then they are foreigners, with their own culture. Culture-clash is the main fun in doing it.The problem, is dropping them into another world.
Thats cool if you disagree.
Then they are foreigners, with their own culture. Culture-clash is the main fun in doing it.
Ok, but there is no need to suppose that. It could easily be extremely rare or even a unique occurrence. Why jump to "many' visitors? It seems you are assuming it would be easy. It need not be.Let's suppose you have not just a party that can jump from Eberron to Athas, but many.
I don't know what this means.Now why haven't they gone and cleaned it up?
I guess I just don't see how the possibility that something could happen, needs to have much effect on world building. I am perfectly happy to have two very different worlds (Athas and Eberron) that have little to no connection to one another. I mean this is the reality of life in our solar system, galaxy, and universe. They billions of worlds that are just doing their own thing with no real influence from each other. It works in reality, why not in fantasy?It removes something from World building if you can have beings from a setting with a wildly different tone show up.
I dont really care to continue this, but bringing up MTG is a great example of how I hate it.For example, my personal cosmology I use the all settings approach. It is not really the great wheel, but similar enough. The various settings (including MTG) are generally separate from each other, but they do existing in same "multiverse." So while it is theoretically possible to go from Theros to Athas, is practically impossible (even for gods). Similar situation with Eberron. So I could make / allow such travel to happen as the DM happen if I want, that is not something the PCs can even contemplate. They don't know anything about worlds they can reach, let alone ones that they can't! I just don't see what this removes from world building.