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How do you feel about published settings?


I mainly do homebrew, but if a published setting is quirky enough I'll give it a try.
Spelljammer was a big favorite of mine, just because of how different it was. FR never did much for me, because it was just another high-fantasy world, likewise for Eberron.
If I'm going to shell out the dough for a setting, it's going to have to be something fairly off the wall.
 

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I do use published settings and adventures, but don't need them - after all I was looking to use my old Judges Guild Wilderlands stuff with 3.5, even before the updated versions came out.

But the Wilderland's stuff is very loosely described and I just use it more as a spur for creativity than a canonical setting (the way that FR is often presented).
 


I've bought several setting books (FR, DL, IK, Warcraft, and a few pdf settings) even though I never plan on running a campaign in any of them. I tend to mine every setting for use in my homebrew world. I also buy some of the geographic supplements for each setting if they contain information that is useful to me.

Kane
 

I buy a lot of published settings, finding them enjoyable to read and a good source of ideas both crunchy and fluffy.

Aside from Spelljammer (and using other settings as 'pit stops' for an adventure or two in a 'Jammer campaign) I don't actually use them in play, but they're well worth having.
 

I buy quite a few settings just for the read. Occasionally, I'll find a bit here or there that I can nick for my Homebrew campaign. Settings that I have ran a game in since the release of 3.0 would be:

Rokugan
Midnight
Ravenloft
The Old World (WHRP)

I own probably 2 other settings for each of those in that list. Settings that I defintely plan to use in the future:

Castle Zagyg (can't wait to see the first installment which should be out soon)
Iron Kingdoms (I have all the books, just need to find the time)
Conan d20 (I'll need to pick up a few more books, and again, find the time)

So many settings, so little time.
 

In general, I am Captain Homebrew (r)... but with a lot of provisos.

I do buy some campaign material. This is not because I necessarily intend to run a game in that world, but because the setting ideas, extra rules, monsters, magic, etc., has something to recommend itself to me. Sometimes I have only a "deeper" supplement, not the core -- with Scarred Lands, for example, I have Hallowfaust, but nothing else for the setting. I am quite willing to steal good ideas from other sources, cobbling them into my gameworld as feels appropriate. Ars Magica is probably the only line where I have gone out of my way to pick up most of the setting material, but even there I have fallen off the track on several occassions.

Equally, I don't usually buy adventures. I have looked at several and found that after adjusting the monsters, treasures, geography, interrelations, and architecture to fit my homebrew world, I might as well have started from scratch. I do own a couple Paranoia adventures, but that is for the amusement level. I also own a couple of others, but usually these have been bought because I am buying up some lot listed on eBay. The ones I bought for Ars Magica, with the exception of Broken Covenant of Calebais, have been universally disappointing.

None of the D&D worlds have ever really grabbed me, not Greyhawk, not Forgotten Realms, not Planescape, not Eberron. I am fascinated by some of the notions in Ravenloft, but not its execution. Now all of this is from a GM-who-likes-doing-homebrews-POV; I wouldn't turn down running a character in one of these if a friend was running it and I would never tell someone that they are somehow not really a GM if they use one. Overall these settings are popular, successful, and a lot of people love 'em. Fine with me. For my money, however, I prefer to do the homebrew thang. Thus I am not overly worried about support for anything along the D20 line.

Still, there is also the Economic Necessity line. Game companies need to turn out supplements if they are going to stay in business. A core rulebook (or even set thereof) will not keep a company afloat, no matter how snazzy the game might be. Since this is true, it is in every company's best interest to develop a setting with a good amount of support material and hope that people will become loyal to the line. That is good business sense, amongst other notions.
 

I went with option one. I am a big FR fan and tend to run my games in that setting. Started playing there with the gray box set.

I may consider something different next time around though. I think I find myself working harder to not contradict already published information when I play in FR land. So next time around I may look at either a different published setting (maybe Valus?) and see how that goes. Then I can yank items I want from FR if I want or just have fun with creating my own things in the world. I think the time it saves in not having to worry about contradicting something in the published setting could work out well.
 

Avast! Stand ye ready to be boarded!

Published settings I don't use so much as plunder.

It's sad when I see a good one go down (says a prayer over the corspe of Scarred Lands.)
 

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