Veteran DM seeking a setting

[Grifter86]

Hey all,
I was wondering if you guys could give me a hand.
I'm trying to find a setting that would be both entertaining and has a rich background that could spark interest in roleplaying into the guys who have playing under me for four years.
I started gaming with them using 2e in a plotless, kick in the door, hack n' slash campaign. I've tried to do things with greater depth, but I kept killing the characters off at lower levels.
It was half bad PC strategy, and inexperienced DM (although let it be known that wading into a riot at 2nd level and trying to take the crowd down is a bad idea).
Lately I've tried Greyhawk as a setting, but I found the realms to be too one dimensional and black and white. I also tried Kalamar, but that was just a little boring. I've considered Ravenloft and the Scarred Lands.
Also, to stimulate roleplaying, I've having the PC's fill out surveys to flesh out their characters. But these are guys who think roleplaying means acting real polite and talking with a mock deep voice.

I'm thinking that this has gone on a tangent from a request for help on deciding what campaign setting to use, to a general cry for help.
So...

HELP!!!

 

[Anabstercorian]

Pick something that lets your group have fun. If they have more fun not worrying about roleplaying, let em' kick ass.

 

[GreyOne]

Try Dameonforge!

Better yet help make it.

 

[Eryx]

Scarred Lands

I'd suggest the Scarred Lands as one of the best D&D settings out there.

I've been running a Scarred Lands campaign for over a year now and I've found it the most interesting setting for a D&D game.

Other than that, I've found Dusk (Hosted here on EN) to be a great piece of work as well.

 

[Aaron L]

Dragonstar is very cool.

 

[Brainburn]

When things ran dry for me I ran the guys through a world called the "Shattered World". It was a world that was brought to the brink of destruction and pulled back together in chunks and pieces in an atmosphere bubble. The chunks were then placed in their own orbit which sometimes crossed another's path. (You need to read the book. I just can't do it justice here.)

It was based off of a book by the same name and offered all kinds of different role playing twists.

I used a common theme in my worlds called the traveling doors.
In every world there was a tavern called the Traveler. In this tavern were seven doors. Each door was a gateway to a different world. Some NPCs used them as a form of suicide. Or a roll of the dice with their fate.

You didn't have to know each world by the back of your hand. Just enough to be dangerous

In most cases it was a case of them running from some great evil or the local law.

When I put them in the Shattered world I had the tavern in Darkhaven. It was no longer a tavern. Just an old dusty ruined great hall that used to be a tavern in centuries past. They had to figure this out and then go through the dangers of Darkhaven itself to return/ attempt to return home. (Cloakfighters kick ass)


I love running them ragged while they try to find the tavern to get them to another world.


I don't know if this helped or just made myself look real stupid.



Brainburn

 

[Grifter86]

Uhh...

I hate to seem ungrateful, but I got five responses and five different answers.

I was thinking Ravenloft was cool because of the gothic horror; putting the fear factor on the PC's i also neat.

But Scarred Lands seems cool too. It seems kind of like Mad Max, except with magic.

I'm not into that Dragonstar stuff; it would be hard to pull off without every other player picking up a copy. My players are cheap bastards. rolleyes:

They can roleplay; they just need the appropriate setting and the chance (as well as the motivation) to flesh out their characters.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

I have about 80 or so pages on my site that may be suitable for you.

CON: It's not a professional, published setting. The map is a huge download that will make a 28.8 modem cry.

PRO: It's free and the map kicks butt.

 

[EOL]

Rather than trying to find the one setting that has everything find something close and then modify it to fit. I realize this sounds simplistic, but it also hasn't been suggested. In my experience you can start with any setting and make it yours, it's just a matter of effort. So pick which ever is closest (i.e. requires the least amount of work) and go from there.

 

[Eryx]

Uhh...

I hate to seem ungrateful, but I got five responses and five different answers.

Thats gamers for ya!
I'd suggest that you pop down to your local games store and just take a look at the different settings available. You know your gaming group, so you should know what they will and won't like. See if anything just seems to fit that notch.