What are the pros and cons of the different campaign settings?

[Tsyr]

I'll list my five favorites thus far for D20..

Sovereign Stone My favorite setting. Dragonlance meets Wheel of Time meets goodness.

Pros:

• Best third party D20 magic system that still allows for something not all too different from standard DnD casting.
• A great new take on three of the standard races. Nomadic fire-magic using horse-lord dwaves styled after the mongols in many respects. Magic-fearing warrior/noble elves that are styled heavily after feudal japan. Sea-faring mercantile orc gypsies. Plus the pecwae, a race that combines elements of halflings, kender, and elves (No, they aren't kleptomaniacs or fearless. Good traits of the kender.
• Even if you don't use the setting as a whole, the races port great to any world.
• A fresh new look on the role of gods in day to day lives. Sovereign Stone is a very godcentric setting in many ways, but the gods interact with the world in different ways. No clerics in the DnD sense, for example. Magic-wielding priests are just mages with Profession: Priest. The Dominion Lords (Paladins x10) and Vrykyl (Anti-Paladins x10). The portals. The list goes on.
• If you like the feel of the Wheel of Time books, or of the Dragonlance books, or better yet both, you will probaby like Sovereign Stone. It's like having the best elements of each (Vast worlds, clashes of culture, the dark side of magic and the gods, vast distances to cross to get anywhere at times, unknown hoards from beyond...) all rolled up into one setting. The Taan are a far nastier bunch than the Sean'chan ever could hope to be, though.
• The main book comes with a number of new base classes... All non magical, except for Elemental Mage and Void Mage, the two magic using classes in the book. Good classes, too.
• Sovereign Stone is a nice mix of low-magic and traditional magic. Magic is everywhere in Loerem... Mages are common enough, for example, that they are no huge amazement, and divine magic in the form of Portals and Dominion Lords and such are readily apparent. But at the same time, not every person is going to be a magical entity... wilderness warriors and mounted knights and minstrils arent slinging magic about like a wannabe archmage in Sovereign Stone. Magic is practiced by mages. Period. If you want a magic-using knight, well, better have him take some Mage levels. Even priests and clerics get their magic from mages levels. There is no difference between divine and arcane magic, on the player character level... magic is magic is magic. Divine magic as in miracles from the gods, well, thats something else... But that's as it should be.
• It doesn't fundamentaly change the basic feel of DnD very much, it just... kinda shifts it around a little bit. You still feel like you are playing a DnD game with Sovereign Stone, not a whole new game... But at the same time, you do kinda feel like you are playing a whole new game.
• The good-vs-evil theme is very strong in Sovereign Stone.

Cons:

• Well, there is only one type of magic. That might be a con to some. Same with magic being a little more scarce.
• The world *is* a little contrived, in places, but I'm not one who really cares if the tectonic plate movement patterns are consistant with the continental shape. If you are, well, I guess that's something to consider.
• It doesn't fundamentaly change the basic feel of DnD very much, it just... kinda shifts it around a little bit. You still feel like you are playing a DnD game with Sovereign Stone, not a whole new game... But at the same time, you do kinda feel like you are playing a whole new game.
• The good-vs-evil theme is very strong in Sovereign Stone.

Slaine Celtic Buttkicking in the Days Before Yore.

Pros:

• A very flavorfull world... Using a cement ball made from the brains of your fallen foe as a weapon, bartering for goods, flint and crude iron weapony human sacrifice for magical powers... All allong side flying airships and undead hoards and berserker warriors from hell.
• Second best D20 magic system ever. Very low magic in feel. It's a point-based system. A lot of focus on storage and accumulation of points in stones and through sacrifice and such. Most spells have a very primal, earthy feel to them... But not in the happy-feel-good way of some earth magic systems and games, but rather the "The earth giveth only when it feels like it and you have made it happy enough, and the earth also taketh away... with an attitude" way. In a wild departure from what you would think of in the normal low magic game, everyone in the game can theoreticly cast spells... It only involves taking ranks in the proper skills (It's a skill-based system), and learning how to do it. So a lot of people could know simple warding charms and stuff. There certain classes that are better at it than others, however.
• A very rich world that is at the same time almost completely devoid of details... You can't look at a map and see 100 cities, then look them up and see what they are. It doesn't work that way. It's a primative world, and it's really up to you what its like outside of a few certain areas.

Cons:

• A very rich world that is at the same time almost completely devoid of details... You can't look at a map and see 100 cities, then look them up and see what they are. It doesn't work that way. It's a primative world, and it's really up to you what its like outside of a few certain areas.
• Pretty much none of the usual fantasy races. Dwarves exist, kinda, but they are not at all like DnD dwarves.

Midnight and Kalamar have been covered in enough detail already...

My fifth is Arcana Unearthed, but I have no doubt someone will get to that in due time...

 

[Tsyr]

I'd also LIKE to include The Wilderlands in thea above list, but I havn't really gotten enough of a chance to familiarize myself with it to say for certain.

 

[Aeolius]

I am old...I am stubborn...I refuse to go away. So, for me there is but one choice - Greyhawk.

People can knock it all they like but I know what I like and I plan to stick with it. I have been playing D&D for 23+ years and will only purchase campaign-specific materials unless they have a) lots of aquatic goodness, b) many references to hags, c) Greyhawk.

For me, it's the "Mysterious Places" of Greyhawk, coupled with the level of detail (just enough to let me run rampant with what I want) that makes GH the ideal setting.

 

[JoeGKushner]

I enjoy different campaigns for different reasons. It really depends on what you're looking for.

For lower powered, Harn and Kalamar are really the way to go.

For normal D&D games, Morningstar, Greyhawk, Forgotten Realms. Scarred Lands falls into this too but has more 'flavor' if you will.

For games with a dark element to them, Midnight or Ravenloft.

For something different, Nyambe, Spelljammer (Poly update anyone), or Dragonstar.

Variants: Arcana Unearthed is interesting and Everquest is well supported. Both are D&D but slightly different in game mechanics.

 

[Klaus]

Let me add one award-nominated setting to this thread:

World of Karathis: West Wood Barony

Pro: - It's detailed, but not so much you keep second-guessing yourself as to where stuff can be placed
- It's classical, and easily portable into larger settings as needed.
- It easily houses most of the major races in DnD, and has a few new twists of its own.
- It has a free supplement detailing the Religions in Karathis at great length.
- It is FREEEEEE!
- Read above.
- Has two adventures available as pdf so far, one of which is by Monte Cook
- Has two FREE adventures available, spanning the bridge between the first two published adventures.
- Has lots of counters with pretty pictures on it.

It's available for FREE download here:
http://www.fierydragon.com
Just go to the DM's Day page and download at will!

 

[Paka]

Finally, there is Midnight. I can't say how much I love Midnight. Its just so dang cool. Its like a Middle Earth where everything went wrong, and the characters are TRUE heroes who don't struggle for money, power, or fame, but for what is RIGHT against all the odds.

Agreed. Midnight is the only real d20 setting that has really grabbed me by the hair and made me want to set aside homebrew options.

 

[Paka]

Homebrew

Pros - Flexible and supplements come out as often as you can think them up.

Cons - d20 Rules additions really aren't my bag and so piracy is my main resort for PrC's and such. However, with a good forum community you can test out your rules additions, make sure they are balanced.

Question: Who and where do you want to be today?

Midnight

Pros - Well written supplements and a world that is poised on the brink of your PC's adventures. Your PC's are the main heroes because thy are almost the only heroes left. Fun stuff.

FFG puts out nice d20 products and their rules tweaks are nifty. IF you want an alternate Ranger, the Wildlander is the way to go.

Cons - Can't think of any.

Question: What are you willing to sacrifice to destroy the shadow over the land?

Arcana Unearthed

Pros - A neat non-traditional fantasy world from Monte Cook, so you know it is going to be well-supported with neat rules tweaks. Monte's world creation ethos is great and there are nice white spots on the map for DM and PC creativity.

Cons - I dig this setting, can't think of any real cons.

Question: What choices will your PC's make once alignment is abolished?

Forgotten Realms

Pros - Good lawd, the books are beautiful. WOTC keeps the setting well-supported with plenty of PrC's for flavor. If nothing else these worldbooks are good for piracy for your homebrew.

Cons - Too many powerful iconic NPC's, too much magic, a feeling of clausterphobic density.

Question: If you are 12th level, would Elminster even have lunch with you?

 

[Hammerhead]

I'm tired of all this pathetic Realms-bashing, so I'll weigh in.

Forgotten Realms

Pros:
-The FRCS is by far the best, most detailed campaign book on the market.
-There is no "metaplot" in FR. I consider this a good thing, since the DM has the ability to run any damn adventure he feels like.
-A wide variety of locales, each dripping with adventure hooks and seeds. Simply flipping through the FRCS gives dozens of adventure ideas.
-The Realms is the most popular setting for D&D. More players like it than any other. Furthermore, this means more players are familiar with it and you don't need to explain who the Zhentarim is.
-The Realms is also the best supported D&D setting, with adventures and other supplements cranked out monthly. The advantage here is if one aspect of the Realms particularily intrigues you, like the uneasy peace between Thay and Aglarond, you can buy the East book. If not, don't buy it.
-Rather than trying to cram D&D concepts into a pseudomedieval world (Greyhawk, cough cough), FR makes magic and monsters a relatively common part of life.
-FR is far more fun than a setting like Midnight, where the bad guys have already won. That being said, you can still easily make a difference in the Realms.
-Each locale in FR is unique in its own way, unlike settings like Greyhawk or KoK, where things tend to blend together.
-FR assumes that people other than the PCs adventure and gain power. A novel concept.
-Cool pantheon of gods, see if you can find Faiths and Avatars, a 2nd Edition book for FR. Best religious supplement ever.
-The Realms are huge, and any DM can find an area he/she particularily likes.

Cons:
-Expensive books, but unlike the SL you really only need the FRCS.
-Lots of uber NPCs; if they don't serve a point in YOUR world, get rid of them, it's relatively easy (they haven't been missed in my FR).
-FR can change through new books being released; while I like the idea of a dynamic setting where things happen without the PCs interference, the amount of novels is annoying.


BTW, for anyone who claims that the FR geography is nonsensical, why not take a moment to actually read the book before saying so.

Spoiler

The desert of Anauroch is unusually dry because of numerous Lifedrain spells cast by the Phaerimm in their attack on Netheril, and the Great Glacier is also unusually cold because of other magical effects. Wow, magic actually plays a role in the geography of worlds.

 

[Nightfall]

Uhm again must point out that Merek was looking for a PUBLISHED setting folks. I know you all think Homebrew is da bomb. But for some of us, we prefer LESS overhead and perspiration TRYING to get it right, even if it's just ourselves we are competing with.

Anyway the rest is all good.

 

[MerakSpielman]

Thanks Nightfall. Just so y'all know, I am following this thread rather closely. I'm not posting 'cause I don't want to unduly influence what is posted. If I said "Right now I'm thinking of running KoK except with all the FR cities and the SL gods (to pick an absurd example) then everybody else with the other, potentially very interesting settings, would stop posting while the advocates for Kok, FR, and SL started arguing with each other.

Only thing I've thought of so far is that the city settings are nice just because whatever campaign setting I pick I can just plop them in with a few minor changes.