D&D 5E What are the more interesting 5e settings?

[Gundark]

My group and I may be making a return to D&D 5e, and I feel like the default setting is a little boring (forgotten realms) as we have played this setting quite a bit. I've not been paying a ton of attention to products and setting for D&D for sometime, but want to know what are some 5e compatible settings that are IYO interesting?

I should point out that I am familiar with a lot of 3rd & 4th ed. settings but not super interested in doing a lot of conversion work.

Willing to look at official and 3rd party settings. Doesn't have to be fantasy even

 

[RSIxidor]

I'd say the two biggest setting departures currently available in books are Eberron (with a second book coming this year) and Ravnica. I'd take a look at one of those first and see if it will work for you.

There's also Curse of Strahd, set in Ravenloft, if you want some more horror elements. Not a full setting guide, though.

 

[Mister-Kent]

As far as "official settings" i.e. Wizards-published settings you just have Eberron and Ravnica. Eberron you'll be familiar with. I happen to like what I've seen so far.

Ravnica is the first wholly new to D&D setting in a while, based on a land from Magic the Gathering. Its a world-city with many competing factions, a spiritual echo of Planescape in some ways (at least in my opinion) but with some new flavors.

 

[robus]

I agree that Forgotten Realms should have remained forgotten . I find it a very heavy and annoyingly random setting.

I've been enjoying the Planeshift series by James Wyatt of WotC where he's been providing brief guides to adapting Magic: the Gathering planes to D&D 5e. Zendikar, Ixalan, Innistrad and Dominaria all look like a breath of fresh air compared to the well trodden paths of the Forgotten Realms.

Here's a handy catalog of what's currently available: Plane Shift

 

[MonkeezOnFire]

If you're willing to venture out into third party territory there are plenty of options, but I'll just bring up the ones I have experience with.

Primeval Thule is a pulpy sword and sandals setting heavily inspired by Conan the Barbarian stories and the Cthulu Mythos. Horrible monsters await in the wilderness and equally dark figures run the cities. It does some really creative stuff with backgrounds that give abilities as you level up. So for example if you come from a tribe that lives out in the wilderness eventually you will get to command members of your tribe as you level up representing your growing reputation. By Sasquatch Game Studios.

Odyssey of the Dragonlords is technically not out yet, but due out soon so I'll include it. It's a campaign adventure set in an ancient Greece inspired world. Greek mythology races including centaurs, satyrs and even gorgons. While it is by default a campaign the surrounding setting is perfectly serviceable for a custom campaign. By Arcanum Worlds.

Gene Funk 2090 is a biopunk and cyberpunk setting built on D&D 5e currently in playtest phase. It has all new classes and the races are different genetically modified humans. I found the overall power level is higher than straight 5e and some of the balance between options is a bit wonky but we had great fun with it since all the PCs felt super powerful. It was great for a change of pace from traditional fantasy. By CRISPR Monkey Studios.

 

[Mister-Kent]

If you're bored with Forgotten Realms this might not be a helpful direction, but Cubicle 7 did release a 5E Adventures in Middle Earth book, which has some rules for travel and some newer more LotR-appropriate classes like the Scholar. It's interesting and well done, even if LotR isn't within my particular interests.

 

[RSIxidor]

If you're bored with Forgotten Realms this might not be a helpful direction, but Cubicle 7 did release a 5E Adventures in Middle Earth book, which has some rules for travel and some newer more LotR-appropriate classes like the Scholar. It's interesting and well done, even if LotR isn't within my particular interests.

I'll second AIME as great way to go. I'd say it's different enough from FR by dropping down to a very low-magic setting, you get a very different experience in the game. The additional journey and audience rules are great as well.

I've also heard good things about Primeval Thule, though I've not looked at it much myself.

 

[MarkB]

There's also the Tal'Dorei campaign setting from Critical Role, though I don't have experience with that one myself.

 

[Morrus]

I'll second AIME as great way to go. I'd say it's different enough from FR by dropping down to a very low-magic setting, you get a very different experience in the game. The additional journey and audience rules are great as well.

I’d strongly recommend if you want to do that, just take the plunge and play The One Ring. It’s much more suited to the setting than D&D is.

 

[Shiroiken]

Thule is really good, and while I haven't played it yet, Midguard looks really good as well. While Eberron and Ravnica aren't my cup of tea, they are a significant departure from the style of the Realms. Ravenloft and Greyhawk have been touched upon in adventures, but really don't provide anywhere near enough information to try and run the settings (outside the adventure) without older edition information.