What do you think is the best campaign setting?

[Acid_crash]

Tough question Z. The 'best' campaign setting, that's hard to label. If Eberron and Warcraft, two settings that are different from mainstream D&D yet similar, I would say that Kingdoms of Kalamar, Scarred Lands, Greyhawk, and even Dawnforge, or any setting that is based off them and has that similar feel isn't what you are looking for.

If I wanted different than Eberron and Warcraft, of the currently published settings that I know about, Midnight is different enough to warrant another mention. You also mentioned Dragonstar, which is pretty cool but it is basically D&D in space, and to me, it has the same feel as a generic D&D game, just in spaceships instead of wagons and guns instead of bows.

Wait for Dawning Star, it looks pretty cool and has a science fiction feel that Dragonstar lacks. If you like sci-fi and are willing to try something different, go for it, but it does require d20 Modern (I think).

If you are willing to go outside the box and look at other settings that are NOT based on the d20 system, here are a few that are pretty cool: Exalted, Fireborn, Call of Cthulu (BRP, not d20), Talislanta.

If you are willing to look into past games, Dark Sun and Planescape were both killer settings. Planescape has kind of gotten a face lift with Malhovac's new book Beyond Countless Doorways (I think that's the title) and Dark Sun got a rather dumb update in Dragon Magazine recently.

As for the 'best', by what criteria are you looking to define the Best?

 

[Khairn]

My vote goes for Midnight or Iron Kingdoms.

Both have unique rules in a very immersive setting and provide great hooks for RPing. Iron Kingdoms is outstanding but will require more of a paradigm shift if you and your players are looking for a standard fantasy setting, while Midnight is a great challenge especially forcing players that are used to standard dungeon crawls to change their play style or perish under the evil might of Izrador!

/key maniacal laughter

 

[Starman]

Midnight is a great challenge especially forcing players that are used to standard dungeon crawls to change their play style or perish under the evil might of Izrador!

/key maniacal laughter

The maniacal part is that even for those players that do change their style, they are still crushed by the might of Izrador!

Starman (Wishing he was playing/running a Midnight game)

 

[shilsen]

It's hard to recommend a campaign setting without knowing exactly what your tastes are. Most of the campaign settings out there are geared (explicitly or implicitly) towards certain tastes and preconceived notions about what makes a good D&D game/campaign. I am currently running an Eberron campaign and really like the setting, but I know for a fact that it would not suit everybody, and the same is true of any setting you can name.

 

[Wisdom Penalty]

if you want a campaign setting to read, as you mention, then Valus wins the award. easily.

however...im not sure how easy/hard it would be to DM. i would imagine experienced dm's/players would have a better time with it - folks that cut their teeth on greyhawk, for example.

to play...i dont think you can go wrong with any of the settings mentioned above. if i had to pick one, id suggest Greyhawk. id also suggest midnight, but if you're looking for a mature setting, valus trumps it.

and dont forget Eberron - it's different, and gets some bad press around here, but it's pretty well done.

(also like the poster's recommendation of Umber

hmmmmm...i guess i just recommended everything, eh? sorry.

live from hotlanta,
W.P.

 

[Mucknuggle]

I'd have to go with Dragonlance. This setting has a feel that can be described as nothing other than "epic". I believe that you can incorporate almost any material into the setting (although others will disagree with me). Your PCs have the chance to become real heroes. In fact, the current age in DL doesn't really have any heroes other than the PCs. If you love high fantasy, a varied world with interesting cultures, lots of history, and the most amazing fan base ever, DL is for you.

Check out www.dragonlance.com and the WotC DL forums for more information.

 

[Thanee]

I like the Forgotten Realms for the detailed background and tons of information available. And you don't have to use the stupid NPCs.

Bye
Thanee

 

[nothing to see here]

I really like Oathbound. It's the best (perhaps only) real 'value-added' setting on the major market. (though I stand to be corrected).

What I mean by valued added is that, not only can it stand alone, you can port pieces of any other campaign, and any other setting into it...it's designed for it.

It's also well written, and well supported, and presents a few interesting new mechanics (prestige races!) without going over board and rewriting the base system.

It's also apparently well supported, though my experience is currently limited to the main setting book.

But it also seems to draw the ire of some on these boards. So to each their own.

 

[The Cardinal]

1. Midnight - but only if you can handle the dark mood!

2. Dawnforge

3. Wilderlands (+Citystate+Blackmoor+WLD= really great old school gaming!)

4. Dragonstar - for a great sf/fantasy crossover setting

 

[Gez]

My homebrew, definitely.

But to give a more useful answer, I'd say Dragonstar. It's fun, and it allows you to use anything you want -- monster, class, race, item, whatever thanks to the sheer size of the setting.