D&D General Old Campaign Worlds - What Have You Used And Why?

[ElectricDragon]

I tried many campaign worlds both as player and DM. Forgotten Realms got most of our attention, with my homebrew campaign (Solace) coming a close second.

Forgotten Realms
Dark Sun
Ravenloft
Greyhawk
Dragonlance
Planescape
Kara Tur
Al'Qadim
Horde
Spelljammer
Council of Worms
Maztica

There may be others, but this is all I can think of at the moment.

Some people may claim that Al'Qadim, Horde, Maztica, and Kara Tur are all part of the Forgotten Realms; but we used them as separate worlds.

 

[Longspeak]

Greyhawk - though this was early and we were young and we didn't really engage the setting. It was all modules in those days.
Forgotten Realms was my first published setting as GM, and I ran it for years. Al Qadim worked its way in there near the end.
I did a brief bit in Mystarra, a short-lived game.
I played in a Dragonlance game.
I ran a long game in Cidri, the setting (what there was of it) for Steve Jackson's "The Fantasy Trip," but using AD&D 2e rules.

But for the most part it's been my own settings, until my recent return to D&D to run Tal'Dorei (that game will have it's 1 year anniversary in a couple of weeks).

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

For me:

Basic:
Known World

1e
Forgotten Realms
Greyhawk
Dragonlance

2e
Forgotten Realms
Ravenloft
Dark Sun
Spelljammer

3e
Greyhawk
Forgotten Realms

4e
Points of Light

5e
Forgotten Realms

 

[3catcircus]

I've DM'ed:

Greyhawk (1e folio/boxed set with 3e mechanics updates, but not the Wars/FTA stuff) for a humano-centric gritty campaign where the PCs no not much of the world outside of their village to start with.

FR with Kara-Tur, Al-Qadim and Maztica as one big setting - for the depth of existing lore in a cosmoplitan high fantasy campaign

Ravenloft - primarily as an adjunct to FR for horror using Libris Mortis, Ghostwalk and Heroes of Horror. I've also used for more cthulhuesque using Lords of madness.

Planescape and Spelljammer as the glue for GH/FR/Mystara

Mystara/Known World for converted BECMI modules

Kalamar and World of Aereth/Known Realms (DCC campaign setting) for lower magic settings where I wanted the players to not have metagame knowledge.

I've even used the Mythus/Dangerous Journeys World of Aerth.

Played in GH, FR, Mystara and Eberron.

 

[Tyler Do'Urden]

I’ve never played in or run a game set in any of the other settings, although Mr. Welch’s YouTube channel on Mystara has been really fun to listen to.

So I'm not the only one who is hooked on those! Gah, brings back memories of my copy of the Rules Cyclopedia when I was a kid... I love listening to them on my commute.

 

[ccs]

Basic, Expert, Companion, Master, Immortal :
We used assorted combinations of homebrew, Known World, & Greyhawk. Largely in that order. Because in the beginning all we had was the Basic book & B2 - & there's no setting there. So we had to make up everything else. Then we added some more modules & places in those got located on our "map".
A bit later we got the Expert set & the Isle of Dread. Now we had an official map & some description. Expert lv modules expanded upon this map. Then we started finding AD&D 1e stuff & the Greyhawk setting. Also the assorted BECMI Gazateer series. So our games were largely set in either the expanding Known World, Greyhawk, or combos of.

1e:
Greyhawk, FR, Dragon Lance, Known World, Middle Earth, a bit of the Hyborian Age from the Conan modules. Homebrew.
Sometimes separate, sometimes blended.
2e:
Greyhawk, FR, Dragon Lance, Known World, Middle Earth, Ravenloft/Domains of Dread (though we never actually used it as a whole setting), Dark Sun, a bit of Al Qadim, some Talasanta(sp?), a bit of Ars Magica. Plenty of Homebrew.
Sometimes separate, sometimes blended.
3x:
Greyhawk, FR, Dragon Lance, Known World, Middle Earth, Ravenloft/Domains of Dread (though we never actually used it as a whole setting), Dark Sun, a bit of Al Qadim, some Talasanta(sp?), a bit of Ars Magica. Plenty of Homebrew.
Plus Kalamar & Ebberon.
4e:
FR, Nentir Vale (only as far as whatever was in the couple of modules we had), & homebrew.
Not much effort was invested setting wise as initially we were playing the rules, and then we were finishing up our games as we were departing for PF.
PF:
Golarian, FR, GH, plenty of homebrew, bits of everything else.
5e:
Golarian, FR, GH, plenty of homebrew, bits of everything else.
PF2:
Golarian & Homebrew

 

[Rikka66]

Dark Sun: The only setting I ran specifically to play in that setting. The game couldn't pick up steam and we only went a few sessions, but I still hope to return one day.

Nentir Vale: Stole some resources (Hammerfast was the biggest one) for my own world.

Forgotten Realms: Again, stole resources, but more heavily than with Nentir Vale. Used a lot of stuff from the 4e Neverwinter book. Having a long-running campaign start with Phandelver is largely the reason for this.

 

[Baron Greystone]

Wilderlands of High Fantasy, Mystara, Midkemia, Tekumel, Sanctuary / Thieves World, Haven the Free City / Thieves Guild, Kara-Tur, Dragonlance, Spelljammer, and Ptolus. Still itching to do Lankhmar, Arduin, Barsoom and Middle Earth. And all that is more material than I could play in a lifetime!

 

[David Howery]

for nearly all of my 1E gaming, it was set in Greyhawk, mainly because that's all there was, aside from a handful of non-TSR stuff that wasn't widely available where I was going to college. Towards the end of my gaming days in 2E, I set a campaign in FR, which was going strong at the time. My gaming days were over by the time they worked up DS, Mystara, and the rest...

 

[Azzy]

I've mostly played/DMed homebrew settings, however, I have played in Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, Al Qadim, and Ravenloft. I have DMed Greyhawk, Dragonlance, Taladas, and soon, Eberron. I've bought (or been given), but never played/DMed Dark Sun and Spelljammer.