What do you look for in a campaign setting?

[Psion]

It's a complicated question, I know, but I'm curious. If you're setting out to choose a campaign setting, what attracts you? (And, for that matter, what turns you off?) If you're roaming the isles at your FLGS and see a new campaign setting, what details help you decide whether to pick it up or not? Do you look for "generic" settings, in which you can play just about any sort of game (i.e. Oerth, Faerun, Scarred Lands),

I really don't see Scarred Lands as generic...

or do you look for a setting with a specific intended mood or type of game (i.e. Ravenloft, Midnight, Dark Sun)? Do you want it to be as "out there" as possible, or do you prefer it cleave pretty tightly to the feel and images of the core rules? How much detail do you look for, and why? And so forth.

Hmmm.

I need a campaign world that differs from the D&D baseline in some interesting way, but is not so bizarre that I cannot relate to it.

I need settings that suggest character roles.

I must have a rich history that has implications in the current time. There must be power groups, nations, philosophies, ethos, and creeds the players can hang their hats on.

I do not need settings that create new core classes without good reason. Now having a compelling reason for a new core class is okay.

I do like the setting to be close enough to the core that it is not going to prevent me from using other publisher's materials.

I do not want a magic system redefined from the ground up. Really, I have seen it done a few times, and each time I have not been happy with the results. A few nips and tucks here and there are okay.

 

[Necrogorgon]

Like Hand of Evil has said, I think a setting needs a slant that governs the whole thing and makes it a bit different. Scarred Lands is a good example of this.

I also like a world that has alot of flexibility. There should be enough locations, cultures, power groups, etc. so that one massive campaign doesn't exhaust most of the best ideas.

I like a setting to have lots of places that make me want to have a gaming session take place there. I LIKE FR for its ability in this category.

Finally, and this is not very specific, but I like to get the feeling that the developers have a core set of standards... a feel, a goal... however you want to put it. This is the thing that FR lost in the mid 90s. I love Scarred Lands for this reason, though I do share DragonLancers concern that an UberPlot is about to be unleashed on we innocent fans.