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

[Pseudonym]

A kind of plot you as a GM do not have any influence on. The world is developping without your doing, and you constantly have to adjust your own storyline to the changes originating from other sources, like the novels.

Another example of FR's metaplots was the destruction done to Cormyr during that Dragon nonsense, and the destruction of Tilverton by the Shades. Now, I had been running a game in Cormyr since 2ed. With the "official" developments, the environment of my campaign, and my player's base of operations in Tilverton, was literally and figuratively nuked.

 

[Nightfall]

Never cared much for Tilverton anyway.

 

[MerakSpielman]

Interesting. What on earth would you do if your PCs killed an NPC who was still alive in the books? The first thing my PCs would do is consider the destruction of their home base to be a major plot hook. For reasons such as this, I doubt any campaign I run will suffer from meta-plot, no matter how much has been published about it.

 

[Nightfall]

The only NPC I wouldn't want the party to kill is me. The others are fair game. (Though I wish them luck in trying!)

 

[MerakSpielman]

You made an NPC based off of yourself? Pardon me if I find that slightly.... amusing...

 

[Dark Jezter]

I don't see why "too many uber-NPCs" keeps getting listed as a con for FR. It's easy enough not to include the major players in your campaign. I've been running an FR campaign for a long time now, and the players have only met one major Realm NPC (Alustriel personally thanked them after they completed a quest).

Although I will admit that sometimes it seems as though the Chosen of Mystra only exist to smack down PCs that get too cocky.

 

[Nightfall]

You made an NPC based off of yourself? Pardon me if I find that slightly.... amusing...

Well at first it was just a running gag in my Scarred Lands game. But now I, Nightfall, am an NPC. Check out Shelzar: City of Sin.

Bl'ayne Nightfall, expert 17. It's basically me elven style.

Although I will admit that sometimes it seems as though the Chosen of Mystra only exist to smack down PCs that get too cocky.

Which is why I think Blessed of Mesos exist to smack them around. Them and of course Mesos himself.

 

[vrykyl]

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

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

Thanks for giving some love to Sovereign Stone! I'm still very proud of the work that Tim Kidwell, Chris Coyle, and I have done over the years. Working on the magic for Sovereign Stone was a terrific challenge, adapting Greg Porter's ideas to the d20 System.

There's still more to come! Soon we'll see the Empire of Vinnengael hardcover by Frank Reinart and Origins Vanguard Award-winner Tony Lee. After that we'll have Children of the Divine: The Elves by Origins Award-winning author Steve Sullivan (of L5R novel fame). Larry Elmore is doing an amazing new cover for the elves that I can't wait to display for everyone!

Happy Holidays!

Jamie Chambers
Vice President
Sovereign Press, Inc.

 

[Tsyr]

I've been waiting for that elf book. Hurry up with it already.

I've got all the others except the Beastiary of Loerem... Too poor to afford it

 

[Nightfall]

Well moving this along...

Anyone else think of a PUBLISHED setting that our friend Merek might use?