D&D General [+] Tell me about your favorite official D&D setting...

[Tonguez]

I loved the Birthright setting and in particular Brechtur as it sparked my obsession with the Hansa League and the role of the Merchant-Adventurer. Plus Birthrights approach of unique Boss Monsters is cool imho

I also like Al-Qadim for all my childhood Sinbad fantasies

and though it was shortlived I played a Vanara in a Vietnam inspired game using Mahasarpa rules which I enjoyed.

 

[Shiroiken]

The OG Greyhawk, before TSR advanced the timeline. The Boxed Set provided an awesome map by Darlene that gave plenty of different regions to work with. The information in it and the folio is enough to stir the imagination, yet there's not a whole lot of details, allowing the DM to customize it to their needs. Despite peoples complaints about it being "generic," it has a pretty interesting history that sets up the current (576 CY) volatile political structure.

 

[GuyBoy]

Greyhawk; The setting itself is varied with a wide variety of geographical areas to set games. It also has a darker, more S&S feel than FR, and it carries the value of the game's history within it to a greater extent than any other setting. The named spellcasters, the classic modules, artifacts of renown; all come from Greyhawk.

 

[payn]

I never thought I'd say this but, Eberron. I tend to be more of sword and sorcery style fantasy gamer, so Eberron didn't look too appealing when it dropped. After playing Dungeons and Dragons online for a few years with friends, I really gained an appreciation for it. I think I just really needed to see the setting in action, and I am the GM 75% of the time. If I don't dig a setting, I probably wont learn much about it. The MMO gave me a good background and showed me what a higher fantasy setting could really be like.

Honorable mentions for Dark Sun (Gritty fantasy yes pls) and Birthright (love me some domain play).

 

[The Glen]

Mystara but you knew it was. Real world fantasy analogies. Two equally powered Empires on the brink of constant war and threatening to trample all the lesser nations in the crossfire. Unique magics, heroes ascending to literal immortality, and races and over a hundred supplements give it a slightly weird vibe while feeling very relatable.

Throw in three other subsettings with Hollow World, Savage Coast and Blackmoor and you can play all over the world with a different theme and vibe every single time.

 

[TheSword]

I like a lot of them. Darksun gets an honourable mention for sheer brass cojones.

My favourite has to be Birthright though. I’ve only ever set one campaign there but I would love to revisit it. It has the perfect balance between politics and heroism. Gritty reality and magic. Witcher style monsters and hostile elves. Magic in the land itself and the bloodlines of the old gods present among the great and the good.

I also like analogies of real world civilizations if done sensibly. It adds instant recognition and depth to characters and realms.

 

[Lidgar]

Al-Qadim. I really loved the flavor and sandbox adventures, including exploring lost tombs and archipelagos. It had its own vibe that made it a nice change of pace.

 

[Jer]

I'm a huge fan of Mystara, and in addition to what Glen said, I like the more late medieval/early modern feel of the Known World setting. For whatever reason - possibly the clearly delineated national boundaries and the way the Gazeteers describe the international relationships of the different countries, possibly the "age of exploration" vibe of some of the later products like the Princess Ark and Red Steel, possibly both - Mystara just feels different from the other settings, like it's further along the historical timeline. And I like that difference.

 

[RoughCoronet0]

I'm less a fan of a particular setting, and more a fan of different pieces of a setting's lore. For example....

• Eberron - It's depiction of dragons as an actual civilized species that for organizations and factions to pursue a number of goals across the plane.
• Exandria and Nentir Vale - It's creation story.
• Forgotten Realms and Grayhawk - various snippets of lore for various monsters and civilizations.

 

[Hex08]

It's a hard choice. Greyhawk is my first campaign setting and will always have a special place in my heart, but the Forgotten Realms is where my favorite campaigns happened. Between the two I think I would have to go with Greyhawk, even though I have fewer really memorable campaigns there I like the setting better. That said, I haven't played using either since I stopped playing D&D when 4th edition came out.