Recommend a Campaign Setting Book

[kenjib]

Anyone disagree with BiggusGeekus on KoK?

I do. It's a great setting. The world is finely crafted. It can be less accessible than some of the other settings because there is not really a hook to it (post-apocalypse, steampunk, etc.). Instead, it is just a finely crafted world that holds together very well. There are intricate strings of causality that you can take advantage of.

The main points:

1. Human-centered. Non-humans are pushed into corners of the world and often under siege. Humans really dominate this world. If you are a big fan of non-humans you might find information on them to be a little lacking. If you like non-humans to be a little more exotic and perhaps mysterious than in typical D&D then Kalamar can help.

2. Great political details. Things that happen in one part of the world can reverberate throughout other regions in a really intricate way and there are really tense and complicated political relationships between various groups to be played out. Kalamar has the most complex politics of any d20 setting I've seen.

3. Flexible magic level. You can run it very low magic or you can run it standard magic levels. High magic would be a stretch but is possible.

4. Rich cultures. The various human cultures that have spread across the world have very distinct identities. It's not the standard feudal europe or stuff and more attention seems to be paid to cultural factors than most settings.

5. Believable world designed from the bottom up. Things work right, from geology to cultural migrations to economy etc. This allows you to make assumptions about the world based on real world principles. I feel that many worlds just don't hold together in this regard. It can sometimes be hard to interact with a world that has arbitrary and/or careless cause-effect relationships. This is not really a problem with Kalamar.

6. Highly flexible. Instead of telling you what type of story to run, it provides a structure for you to run just about any kind of campaign, from gritty , sprawling, super-urban to swashbuckling pirates, to tomb robbing, to wilderness exploration, to all kinds of different types of wars and political intrigues, to wars with the evil humanoid hordes, to struggles against evil priests or slavers or warlords etc. All of this can be placed against a backdrop of several different cultural milieus and types of societies as well (tribe, empire, kingdom, colony, frontier, anarchy, etc.).

Many people think that it's a boring read. I don't, but enough people say it that you should take it into account. However, this is a sourcebook for a campaign world, not a novel. All of the little pedantic details make for a more coherent, interrelated, and detailed world. Are you buying a campaign setting to read while you sit on the pot, or are you buying a campaign book to bring a campaign world to the table when it's time to tell a story? In the end you need something that gives you the tools to make your storytelling easier, right?

Check out the Kalamar Atlas. Heck of a product.

The important thing is to check out the various settings and make sure you are getting the one that best suits your taste. There are a bunch of high quality settings out there. You need the one that does the things you want it to.

 

[mistergone]

I just picked up Swashbuckling Advertures from AEG, and it looks great for the most part. Lots of prestige classes and feats, but not really adaptable to a standard fantasy setting. Not much background reading either. I own Oriental Adventures, and that's a good book to have, different flavor from your standard settings. Rokugan is also pretty keen, but I'm an L5R fan.

 

[Robbert Raets]

My first thought after reading your thread title was 'Forgotten Realms', but that's a moot point. I'll assume you've got most of the books that came out for that setting.

I agree that Oriental Adventures is one of the best choices out there. Not too fond of the Rokugan setting m'self, but practically everything in the OA book is useable. Challenge the gajin players with new ideas

Tho not an actual setting, Savage Species has a lot of neat ideas and potential in it.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Midnight looks interesting and should be out in March.

Iron Kingdoms rocks.

The Hunt: Rise of Evil is very good.

 

[wighair]

I'd take a look at Slaine. It has a whole different vibe from the normal DnD standard being set in an ancient celtic world. I'm still reading it myself so can't be too specific yet, but so far so good.
Check out the reviews for more info.

 

[JoeBlank]

Again, many thanks for the responses, very helpful information.

For those concerned that I felt I would not have the time to run a Scarred Lands, or any other, campaign: I failed to mention before, not wanting to bore anyone with details, but I play in one main game with 4-6 others. We live great distances apart and have a hard time getting together regularly, often play over email and on OpenRPG, whatever format we can get. We rotate DMs within the same campaign.

The campaign, Mythica, is set up so that all of us who desire to DM can do so, and still get a chance to play. It is based in a city that has been occupied by orcs for close to 200 years. At the start of the campaign (this incarnation), about 3 years ago, the orcs had just up and left without warning or reason.

The PCs all come from the city (Thain), and for various reasons end up exploring the surrounding country to see what has gone on while Thain was occupied. They try to make contact with other cities, set up trade routes, and also just explore and bring back information. We divided the unknown lands, so each DM has control over a vast area. Each time that person is ready to DM, the PCs wind up exploring in his area.

So, I can't radically change the campaign the way some DMs like to do. There is no transporting the PCs to the Oathbound setting, or Scarred Lands, or any other setting. Putting a city even the size of Bluffside anywhere close to Thain would not be logical, why did the orcs not attack Bluffside? Why did Bluffside not come to the aid of Thain? I can however bring in a lot of the good elements from published materials if I can find a logical place to put it in the area I control. In fact, Bellhold (from Of Sound Mind) is in my area.

At this point, the PCs have only managed to get a couple months' journey away from Thain. Eventually, we could move farther, even to other continents, which would open things up for things like Bluffside and mini-versions of other settings. But remember, it has taken us 3 years to get this far, and all of the PCs have ties to Thain which would discourage them from leaving for years at a time. Also, if we ever make it to higher levels then teleportation and the like could open up the possibilities.

So for now I am looking for a campaign setting book that is a good read, with some portable ideas and crunchy bits. I mentioned FR, but all we have used from there are a few spells, feats and one wild elf PC. I played in a FR PBEM, and am now in an Iron Kingdoms PBEM (so I can't buy the Witchfire Trilogy, the DM is using it). I do plan to get Lock and Load, but have not run across it yet.

 

[JoeBlank]

On to some more specific responses.

* Wheel of Time: This looks like a sure thing. Some portable stuff along with an intro to a series I know little about. (Now if we could just get a full Song of Ice and Fire setting I would be happy. Maybe the Dragon treatment will take care of this, but I bet it leaves me wanting more.)

* The Hunt: Rise of Evil: I read some of the stuff on the website, and plan to read more. I am wondering how I could work my current PCs into the dream setting, opening up a lot of the campaign material for my use.

* Oriental Adventures: Is sounding good, I could easily use some of the classes, feats, and spells, and maybe introduce characters that come from a far-away land. Further down the road, Rokugan could turn up on a distant continent in my campaign.

* Umbragia: Will read through this. The price is certainly right. I am also reading through the Dusk materials. But I want to spend some money on a nice book that I can sit and read, taking my eyes away from the computer for a while.

* Kingdoms of Kalamar: I may have to thumb through it to make a final decision, see if the writing style suits me.

* Scarred Lands: I am very tempted by the many devout followers of this cult. Although I had planned on a nice, all-in-one-book setting I may have to get something from SL just to get a taste. Perhaps Relics and Rituals is the way to go, a lot of crunchy with a taste of the setting. Does that make sense? Or should I start with SLCS: Ghelspad?

* Codex Arcanis: Will have to hear and read more about this one, have not heard much about it so far.

* Slaine: same as above, will have to read more.

* Swashbuckling Adventures: Doubt this fits the bill, but maybe for a future purchase.

Funny, I had hoped to buy something today for some weekend reading. I may go ahead and grab WoT, and then wait to decide on another. Plan was to get two anyway.

Thanks again, everyone.

 

[Tsyr]

My suggestions?

Wheel of Time, for all the reasons mentioned.

Kalamar... It's a bit old-school-ish in a way, which is good, but it's also very well designed.

I'm going to not suggest OA... I love the book, but it's very much a "Is this something I will ever want?" type of book. You have to decide that on your own.

Slaine... Great low-magic, gritty fantasy. Get it.

The Hunt: It's cool. I have a few slight problems with some of the mechanics (Classes that have a BAB starting at 2 and ending at 21 bother me...), but it's a great setting.

Soverign Stone: Hard to explain, but good. It's basicly just your average fantasy, on the surface... Elves, Dwarves, etc... Though no halflings or gnomes, instead you have Pec'wae... But it's a different take on things than usual, a number of new core classes, and a superb new magic system that compares favorably with the core system and yet is more flexable.

And I'm going to tentativly suggest Midnight... It looks good, but not being out yet, I can't say for sure. *crosses fingers*.

 

[BV210]

Don't forget about that underrated gem that is called Nyambe. I can't wait to spring it on my players.

 

[Xeriar]

* Wheel of Time

Haven't read it, so I can't really comment.

* Kingdoms of Kalamar

The setting and the rules are both pretty solid, despite my initial concerns.

* Oriental Adventures

Rokugan/L5R is a beautifully done setting, and the only non-homebrew that has captured my interests since I started D&D with Mystara. It takes a bit for some to step out of the western 'good versus evil' mindset, though. Its a well done example of a different philosophy and many complaints on the boards reflect this

* Savage Species (not really a setting, but playing monster classes would be different enough to make this qualify)

Some of the spells and things in here could make good story arcs for a campaign on their own.

I will probably go with 2 setting books. I have read the reviews on EnWorld, and wouldn't mind some additional input from others. Any suggestions I have left out, or reasons I should/should not consider the above books?

Thanks for the advice.

I literally collect L5R (Rokugan) books now. It is by far my favorite overall setting, and I ended up being thoroughly dissapointed with 7th Sea (Swashbuckling Adventures) in comparison. As a setting it stands well, but I really don't like the d20 adaptation - just kind of messy by default.

Savage Species has a lot of plot ideas in it, but be careful about jamming everything into a game. Kingdoms of Kalamar has a solid set of rules expansions that are (fairly) balanced.