The only fantasy world map you'll ever need

[gamerprinter]

I like how everyone is assuming kitchen sink worlds are terrible to play in, or that they get old after a while. I like kitchen sink worlds in some regard, I'm in the middle of making my own! I guess the way to make sure that it's different rather than just more of the same is to find some twist in traditional settings and make it something far more interesting. One of the things i've done is have desert dwarves as an analog for the near east asian (i.e. turkey, isreal ect.). Elves in my world, or at least a far east asian analog, have a twist where when they go into battle, they have two self-portaits on their person as a type of funeral rite, as well as a way to determine who they were. Little weird things like that can easily change how one sees the world, and keep i fresh and interesting.

That all said, the Forgotten Realms is way too much for anyone who wants to catch up, especially since they focus on their north east corner most of the time

I never said a kitchen sink has no value, I simply stated not everyone requires one to play D&D. I'll add that not only don't I use kitchen sink settings, but not one setting in 30+ years included elves, dwarves, halflings, gnomes of any flavor. There are far more interesting races of the imagination as well as from folklore beyond the Tolkien-esque/D&D races. I'd rather use minotaurs for militant, dungeon building race instead dwarves for example.

Probably my biggest turn-off for most published kitchen sink settings, is that its often a cross between analog Earth and Middle Earth - every world seems to include a different flavor of elf and dwarf, instead of building specific cultures for specific geographical niches. Its the lack of imagination that sullies such settings for me.

 

[steelsteve]

I never said a kitchen sink has no value, I simply stated not everyone requires one to play D&D. I'll add that not only don't I use kitchen sink settings, but not one setting in 30+ years included elves, dwarves, halflings, gnomes of any flavor. There are far more interesting races of the imagination as well as from folklore beyond the Tolkien-esque/D&D races. I'd rather use minotaurs for militant, dungeon building race instead dwarves for example.

Probably my biggest turn-off for most published kitchen sink settings, is that its often a cross between analog Earth and Middle Earth - every world seems to include a different flavor of elf and dwarf, instead of building specific cultures for specific geographical niches. Its the lack of imagination that sullies such settings for me.

Sadly that's what's wanted out of the Published settings. I know a lot of GMs who make their own setting so complex that there are 3 civilizations of dwarves, 4 of elves, maybe 2 halflings, and so on. Each with a different flavor or aspect but somehow familiar.

It's hard for a published setting, which gets compared by default to other settings like Tolken's middle earth, to get a large following, large enough that it's worth putting out more material for. Not to mention that it's a lot of work to figure out HOW this culture developed this way, and not some other way like this culture over here.

 

[Razjah]

Probably my biggest turn-off for most published kitchen sink settings, is that its often a cross between analog Earth and Middle Earth - every world seems to include a different flavor of elf and dwarf, instead of building specific cultures for specific geographical niches. Its the lack of imagination that sullies such settings for me.

This is my issues with most settings, they have too much sameness. My current group LOVES to make everything a kitchen sink. We just wrapped up a Dresden Files game, which had stuff from the following:

1. Dresden Files
2. Percy Jackson
3. HIghlander (original movie and I think the TV series)
4. Buffy
5. Sorcerer's Apprentice (the Disney film)
6. Technomancy- I don't remember what this is from.
7. MIB adapted to fit the supernatural and not aliens
8. Extra stuff from Chtuhlu mythos
9. The Word and Void series of books by Terry Brooks
10. D20 Urban Arcana
11. World of Warcraft- via creatures of Shadow from number 10
12. Grimm the TV Show
13. Cintran Elves- Shannara books by Terry Brooks

There is probably some more stuff that I didn't recognize.

The game was awesome, but the constant "Wait, what is that from?" drove me nuts. I'm in grad school I do not have time to go read all that source material. Plus it makes the supernatural far, far more common which changes the genre. We were supposed to help protect the muggles from not knowing about supernatural but 2/3rds of the NYC population was supernatural.

Now, if we play Dresden Files again we either keep a gigantic amount of source material, or we GM has to limit the game and potentially upset the kitchen sink loving part of the group.

 

[gamerprinter]

Sadly that's what's wanted out of the Published settings. I know a lot of GMs who make their own setting so complex that there are 3 civilizations of dwarves, 4 of elves, maybe 2 halflings, and so on. Each with a different flavor or aspect but somehow familiar.

It's hard for a published setting, which gets compared by default to other settings like Tolken's middle earth, to get a large following, large enough that it's worth putting out more material for. Not to mention that it's a lot of work to figure out HOW this culture developed this way, and not some other way like this culture over here.

While it is definitely an analog Japan, I'm the primary developer of the Kaidan setting of Japanese horror (PFRPG) as an imprint under Rite Publishing, which is extensively based on Japanese folklore, religion (both Shinto and Buddhist concepts), culture and history. Many other Asian settings kind of hand-wave the social castes and many other idiosyncracies of a feudal Japan setting. I wanted social castes, Buddhist concepts and esoteric spirituality to be intrinsic with the setting. Kaidan has human (Kaidanese), human (ainu - barbarians), kappa, kitsune, korobokuru, henge and tengu comprise the only races available. There is not one mention of any of the standard D&D/PF races (which simply do not belong).

We've been putting out material for Kaidan since 2009, and there are no plans of stopping. The GM and Player setting guides should be out this year, which is where all our current efforts are placed, but there's definitely a bestiary on the schedule, a supplement on ninja and much more in the pipeline for the next several years. So there's at least one non-kitchen sink setting with ongoing development and publications for PF.

 

[Viking Bastard]

My main problem with most kitchen sink settings is how much they downplay and normalize their kitchen-sinkyness.

I love a kitchen sink, but I like to play up the inherent weirdness of it.

Because it's bizarre. Much in the same way superhero comics are.

 

[Enkhidu]

This thread needs less angst over kitchen sink settings and more stories about how metal the Mammoth Tribes are.

I'm seriously considering starting my next campaign in Big Crimey Crapsack, with several side treks to Fancy Magic Town.

 

[Mallus]

I haven't been able to get the words "Tiger-Headed Opium Nightmare" out of my head since I saw that map. And I love the "Clockwork Czars", they're straight-up Michael Moorcock.

I spent a half hour the other day renaming places in our group's old homebrew in the style of the map.

 

[Sunseeker]

This is, somewhat unsurprisingly, almost identical to half the maps I've ever drawn up.

 

[Dragonblade]

Well lookit that, it's the Forgotten Realms!

And Pathfinder's Golarion setting. Its pretty much the proto-typical kitchen sink setting. Which is fine by me. I actually like kitchen sink settings.

The weird settings where the author's try too hard to be "original" are the ones that find the least traction in my group. I guess we're so comfortable with certain fantasy tropes that the game feels off without them.

 

[gamerprinter]

And Pathfinder's Golarion setting. Its pretty much the proto-typical kitchen sink setting. Which is fine by me. I actually like kitchen sink settings.

The weird settings where the author's try too hard to be "original" are the ones that find the least traction in my group. I guess we're so comfortable with certain fantasy tropes that the game feels off without them.

Which is why when I develop an "original" world, its only ever a region and never an entire world/plane, intended to be dropped into any existing gaming world to include a place with alternate rules, yet not forcibly tainting the existing world with its rule differences.

For example, my analog Japan published setting, the Kaidan setting of Japanese horror, has very unique PC Death/reincarnation rules, its own closed cosmology, certain spells are restricted from functioning at all, includes a cosmically defined social caste system and many other rules idiosyncracies within its cosmic borders, but its an archipelago of islands only, and periodically moves from prime material to prime material. Which ever prime material it currently exists with, the rules for Kaidan do not alter the rules of that specific prime material plane.

Its designed to be plug-and-play ready to be inserted into an existing world to represent an esoteric Japan land with its own unique rules, (especially for a world where there isn't a proper 'Asia' to put a Japan analog). I would never need to create an entire world/plane to accomodate any unique setting rule changes. By doing so in a region only, it spares the need to enlargen the arcane effects to apply to all regions of a world.