Here is why I say what it is not: I think people ask "why should I change the setting I am using now." It isnt meant as a dig against those settings at all. They are great. I like FR and GH. But they have plusses and minuses. Everything does. There is no perfect setting to everyone.
Plus, if you are happy with your setting, then you wont switch and pick up a new one. I am looking for people who perhaps are using a setting and they dont quite like it 100%. If you are using FR and love it and dont want to switch, then you probably wont pick up the Wilderlands. Or if you like the current GH, same thing. But (here we go again) if you dont like what FR has become (overdetailed and requires too many books) or if you want the classic GH feel that you didnt get from the new GH then maybe this setting is for you.
So when I say FR has gotten too detailed and needs too many books, out there is a person who says "you know what, you are right. I want a setting that is more unknown." Hopefully that person picks up the PGW. Or when I talk about the GH that WotC promised, out there is a person who says "Yeah, I got back into 3E because WotC made me feel like GH was going to be the main setting again. I thought stuff would feel like the old classic days back with Gygax's GH and I feel a bit betrayed because they didnt really do that. I want some classic fantasy gaming a la Fafhrd and Conan. You know, maybe I will pick up that Wilderlands stuff. And hey, cover by FRANK FREAKING FRAZETTA! Even Dungeon Mag never got one of those! That's huge!"
That is why I was using that angle. Not because I was trying to diss the other settings. I was just pointing out that the Wilderlands doesnt have their particular weaknesses. Because you cant argue that the FR is not overdetailed or that WotC did not live up to its promise to revive GH. You just cant.
So then what is the Wilderlands?
It is a setting that doesnt try to be a whole world. It limits itself to detailing an area the size of the Mediterranean Sea.
It is a world where the player characters are the most important characters. Sure, there are a few high level entities--the Green Emperor, the Marmon Witches, the Invincible Overlord, the Prophets of Mycr--but they are limited to their areas. There are no traveling bands of 20th level guys righting wrongs and interceding and fixing things making PCs feel irrelevant.
It is a world in decline where humanity is clawing its way back to where it once was. Where cities of today are built on or near the ruins of the cities of the great Dragon Empire or the Kingdome of Kelnore. It is a setting where there is a good logical reason why there are tons of ruins and dungeons everywhere.
It is a world of high fantasy, where red skinned altanian barbarians war against the green skinned Viridians or the blue ice wizards of Valon, or the swerting goblin men or the great winged apes, or the naked amazon warrior women and their sabretooth tiger pets or the elphand cavemen riding mastodons or dorins of the great desert or the feral dwarves of the southern jungles.
It is a land where the politics are defined by city states. There are no true empires (though the Green Emperor of Viridistan would disagree). There are 6 major city states: Viridistan, the City of Spices and seat of the dying Viridian Empire; the City State of the Invincible Overlord, the most powerful city currently in the world; Tarantis, home of the sea merchants and derisively referred to as the City State of Pirates; Valon, home of the ice wizards and blue skinned avalonians in their gold and silver towers that are built right on the waters of the Uther Pentwegern Sea; Rallu, the City State of the Sea Kings, once a hidden city now exposed to the world; and Tula, the City State of Mages, where all races mingle to learn the wizardly arts and where the seven towers of the seven schools of magic dominate the skyline, a city led by an ancient lizardman-lich.
It is a setting of monsters. Where the demon empires of the south occasionally intrude by sailing their demon barges into the northern lands and raiding. Or the demi-giants of the west make war against the desert lands and the eastern borders of Viridistan.
It is open ended. It can mesh with other settings. The far off Kingdom of Karak can be anything you want it to be. The ancient kingdom of Tarsh is undescribed, so that you can do with it what you want. Not every detail is explained. Instead it is a setting of evocative clues and tantalizing references for you to develop as you see fit.
I hope that helps. Again, when I mention other settings I am not bashing them, I am just trying to tap into feelings that might make people want to switch.
Clark
