Okay, this whole "points of light" thing . . .

[Shortman McLeod]

. . . is different from every other campaign setting HOW?

It seems so vague that it could be applied to virtually every other setting out there. Why are so many people saying, "I like the 'points of light' campaign idea"? What exactly is it that they like? That the PCs are heroes in a dangerous world? Isn't that, like, the same premise of virtually every other campaign setting ever made?

What makes 4e's "Points of Light" special or unique?

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

. . . is different from every other campaign setting HOW?

It seems so vague that it could be applied to virtually every other setting out there. Why are so many people saying, "I like the 'points of light' campaign idea"? What exactly is it that they like? That the PCs are heroes in a dangerous world? Isn't that, like, the same premise of virtually every other campaign setting ever made?

What makes 4e's "Points of Light" special or unique?

Umm...

It's intended to be generic and broadly applicable.

 

[GlassJaw]

That the PCs are heroes in a dangerous world? Isn't that, like, the same premise of virtually every other campaign setting ever made?

Depends on the ratio of hero to danger in the world. It could be a Forgotten Realms ratio or Ravenloft ratio. Big difference.

 

[Ktulu]

. . . is different from every other campaign setting HOW?

It seems so vague that it could be applied to virtually every other setting out there. Why are so many people saying, "I like the 'points of light' campaign idea"? What exactly is it that they like? That the PCs are heroes in a dangerous world? Isn't that, like, the same premise of virtually every other campaign setting ever made?

What makes 4e's "Points of Light" special or unique?

I think the great thing is that it's not "special OR unique". It's generic. Previously, there was always this underlying feel to 3e that magic item Wal*Marts existed and that there were super-high level NPC's running around who could handle these issues much easier (We're looking at you Elminster & Drizzt).

Points of light is less a "campaign idea" and more of a flat canvas for building your own or adapting D&D to one.

For example, I used to be a huge Kingdoms of Kalamar supporter. Loved the setting, but it never felt right in 3.X. The setting feels more akin to the low magic of Martin's Game of Thrones, or Conan, and not like the magic toting power that was 3rd. Don't get me wrong, I loved 3rd ed; I just felt it was often strongly tied to the implied high-magic gaming of Forgotten Realms. 4e should be much easier, imo, to adapt to a lower-magic world.

Ktulu

 

[Orcus]

As opposed to the "shiny happy" campaign setting. You know, the Forgotten Realms!

With archendale and mithrildale and featherdale and daledale and daleydaleydale and lots and lots of high level people to take care of all your problems so that you dont have to. Hey, dont worry about adventuring. If you dont defeat evil, there are at least 100 other super-uber-epic level guys with ultra-powerful artifacts to clean it all up for you.

You arent he hero, we are.

But maybe if we decide you are cool enough we'll let you join our club!

Clark

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

In current FR, it isn't "points of light" it is more like "points of darkness." You know generally what each region is like, there are powers in control of large areas of land, and in some areas, usually off the beaten path, there are some places that are wild and dangerous.

"Points of light" reverses this. The world is a dangerous place. There are settlements, but in between those areas, there is little control by "civilization." The maps will have a large area that says nothing more that "Here be Dragons."

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Depends on the ratio of hero to danger in the world. It could be a Forgotten Realms ratio or Ravenloft ratio. Big difference.

Exactly.

I ran a 2E/3E campaign in the Five Shires of Mystara. It was a very different place, adventure-wise, than the blasted magical wasteland of Kem in Praemal.

The Points of Light is a lot further toward the "civilization mostly exists as a few isolated hamlets cut off from the rest of the world" end of the spectrum. I'm sure there are people who already play in settings like this, and nothing else (Wilderlands fans are a good candidate), but plenty of people don't.

Much of the Forgotten Realms -- at least, the most popular areas -- are pretty civilized. The World of Greyhawk has many large successful kingdoms, as well. Eberron may be reeling from the Last War, but outside of the Mournland and other frontier areas, it's a civilized game world.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

In current FR, it isn't "points of light" it is more like "points of darkness." You know generally what each region is like, there are powers in control of large areas of land, and in some areas, usually off the beaten path, there are some places that are wild and dangerous.

"Points of light" reverses this. The world is a dangerous place. There are settlements, but in between those areas, there is little control by "civilization." The maps will have a large area that says nothing more that "Here be Dragons."

Precisely.

It should be noted, too, that FR is far from the only campaign setting which was more "points of darkness" than anything else. Many campaign settings, by studiously neglecting to mention anything unpleasant, or hand-waving it, yet covering "good guy" areas in detail, manage to convey the general impression that only a few certain areas are seriously dangerous, and that most of the world is happy-happy.

It's possible they'll go too far, I think, the real world hasn't been "points of light" since about 500BC, but maybe that sort of "mythic era", albeit with very much un-mythic technology and thinking, is the right place.

It's quite possible to have a great campaign setting that isn't "points of light" (Planescape comes to mind), but it's a good default state/assumption for Dungeons and Dragons.

it's a civilized game world.

Civilization and darkness are not incompatible, though, as Sarlona in Eberron clearly illustrates. Indeed, one of the few things to dislike about Eberron is that some of the areas seem so civilized in a "good" way, that it's hard to believe people get away with behaving the way they do, or indeed want to behave in such a fashion (the halfling dinosaur riders come to mind).

You could easily have a points of light setting in a heavily civilized world, though, indeed, I'm sure we'll see such a thing from a 3rd-party publisher sooner or later, you just have a very grim civilization, a few parts of which are decent, and few areas safe for "good", and the rest either dangerous or oppressive or the like.

 

[Nahat Anoj]

It seems so vague that it could be applied to virtually every other setting out there. Why are so many people saying, "I like the 'points of light' campaign idea"? What exactly is it that they like? That the PCs are heroes in a dangerous world? Isn't that, like, the same premise of virtually every other campaign setting ever made?

In theory, yes. In practice, it doesn't always turn out the way. Forgotten Realms is probably the most notable offender - in FR, there are some incredibly powerful, incredibly meddling NPCs running around, for both good and evil. In a PoL game, there still are incredibly powerful and meddling people, but they are evil (or at least have their own agenda). In PoL games PCs are pretty much the only thing standing between civilization and the forces of evil/chaos/savagery/monsters/etc.

I don't think this is a vast paradigm shift in the way people play, but I don't recall D&D ever having an assumed theme so explicitly laid out. So it's probably important for that reason. But yeah, I suspect many people play PoL games already.

 

[Vigilance]

. . . is different from every other campaign setting HOW?

It seems so vague that it could be applied to virtually every other setting out there. Why are so many people saying, "I like the 'points of light' campaign idea"? What exactly is it that they like? That the PCs are heroes in a dangerous world? Isn't that, like, the same premise of virtually every other campaign setting ever made?

What makes 4e's "Points of Light" special or unique?

Every setting is definitely not a points of light setting.

Forgotten Realms for example, is very much not a points of light setting.

That world is TEEMING with heroes in organized groups who can handle things if you don't.

Hyboria and Greyhawk are more points of light type settings.

Who are the heroes in those settings? There's no Elminster in Greyhawk. And there sure as heck isn't one in Hyboria.

If there's a hero in a true points of light setting, it's you.

Drizzt isn't going to show up, mope for a bit, and save the world if you don't.