D&D 5E What do you want and not want out of future settings added to 5E?

[Scribe]

Why do people continue to tell me this like I don't know it?

That's a different issue though, but you do you.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

One of the reasons why the Magic The Gathering settings released for 5e have worked so well is that they stay focused. It takes far fewer words to explain Theros or Ravnica than it does Eberron. I don't play MtG, but the 5e books have all been interesting and inspiring to read.

Honestly, I'm more interested in a "less is more" approach. I'm getting pretty bored with the Kitchen Sink campaign settings that strain to include literally everything imaginable. Castles and swords and robots and dragons and lasers and cannons and zombie space pirate ninjas because "WoAh AnYtHiNg CaN hApPeN hErE!" doesn't really interest me. We already have Eberron, we already have Wildemount.

I would much prefer a new world that is carefully tailored to fit a theme, and is identifiable as much by what isn't included as what is. I'd be very interested in a campaign setting that is based on the lore and mythology of Welsh mythology and legend, for example, but only if it stays true to the theme. If I see warforged and samurai, I'm putting it down and walking away.

Maybe I'm just too picky.

What I want is pretty much more of what we've been getting - a mixture of daring new settings and old favorites. The feeling of newness and the comfort of sitting down to a familiar world are both good to experience. To keep the brain burbling with good ideas.

 

[eyeheartawk]

I used to be of the opinion that I wanted classic settings to come back, especially once the glut of MtG settings started and bland FR like settings like Exandria started popping out of the woodwork.

BUT

After seeing what they did to my boy Domains of Dread I no longer want that. No unexplained and needless retcons or changes.

Just gimme new settings.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

I now own a few setting books; Eberron, Wildemount, Theros, and Ravenloft.

IMO, the Ravenloft book is by far the best. And I know a lot of folks don't like it, but damn their opinions, it's one of the best books 5E has published.

And I'll put the emphasis on the word book. Is it the best setting book? I don't know, and I don't really care. But Van Richten's Guide is simply a book that hammers in hard on the genre of D&D, but with horror too! It's simply fantastic at it. It's not Call of Cthulhu, or Vampire: the Masquerade. It's still D&D, but it's D&D for heroes trapped in a terrifying world (or variety of worlds, for any horror taste).

I wouldn't say Ravenloft is the best book at detailing the setting. But it is the best book at defining a genre of D&D, and for that reason, I want more books done in its model.

 

[eyeheartawk]

I now own a few setting books; Eberron, Wildemount, Theros, and Ravenloft.

IMO, the Ravenloft book is by far the best. And I know a lot of folks don't like it, but damn their opinions, it's one of the best books 5E has published.

And I'll put the emphasis on the word book. Is it the best setting book? I don't know, and I don't really care. But Van Richten's Guide is simply a book that hammers in hard on the genre of D&D, but with horror too! It's simply fantastic at it. It's not Call of Cthulhu, or Vampire: the Masquerade. It's still D&D, but it's D&D for heroes trapped in a terrifying world (or variety of worlds, for any horror taste).

I wouldn't say Ravenloft is the best book at detailing the setting. But it is the best book at defining a genre of D&D, and for that reason, I want more books done in its model.

I'll grant you that.

It's less a setting book and more of a Horror Toolkit Handbook. Rather than a straight Hammer Horror setting. In that way I find it somewhat compelling and quite useful. I mean, I'd still argue that there are much better games in which to do, say, cosmic or body horror in games than 5e, but it's nice to have all the same. I think the format they used for Nu-Ravenloft would work well with new settings that are built on a theme. Like say, a sort of high level handbook baked into a demigod setting or something.

As a straight setting book for an older world it suffers though.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

I'll grant you that.

It's less a setting book and more of a Horror Toolkit Handbook. Rather than a straight Hammer Horror setting. In that way I find it somewhat compelling and quite useful. I mean, I'd still argue that there are much better games in which to do, say, cosmic or body horror in games than 5e, but it's nice to have all the same. I think the format they used for Nu-Ravenloft would work well with new settings that are built on a theme. Like say, a sort of high level handbook baked into a demigod setting or something.

As a straight setting book for an older world it suffers though.

I very much agree with this. There is not a lot of material in Van Richten's to run a specifically "Ravenloft" campaign. It has a lot of material to make shorter horror-skewed adventures.

The best "setting books" I've read are probably Eberron and Wildemount. But sadly, I don't really have the drive (and neither do my players) to commit to a whole campaign to either setting, so the books are mostly not useful to me. The Ravenloft book is therefore destined to get much more use at my table.

Nowadays, when I'm looking for a setting outside of "Generic D&D-land" (looking at you, FR) I'm more likely to go with something that really feels totally unique, and even puts strain on the D&D system. I'm very likely to run the Enemy Within Campaign for WHFRP as my next campaign, converted to 5E, and it serves as an example for how new "setting books"... probably aren't really that appealing to me much anymore.

 

[eyeheartawk]

Nowadays, when I'm looking for a setting outside of "Generic D&D-land" (looking at you, FR) I'm more likely to go with something that really feels totally unique, and even puts strain on the D&D system. I'm very likely to run the Enemy Within Campaign for WHFRP as my next campaign, converted to 5E, and it serves as an example for how new "setting books"... probably aren't really that appealing to me much anymore.

Cool!

I know there was a whole thread on that recently. Please do report on that whenever you end up doing that, as I want to see how that works out.

As an old time WFRP stan it's anathema to me personally to try, but as long as others are committing the heresy, I'm here for it.

 

[Mercurius]

Isn't that what they did with Strixhaven & Witchlight? At least marginally? Genuine question based on what little hearsay I've read.

Yeah, probably. I don't own either, but they are clearly departures from more traditional fare. I mean, if you look at the roster of 5E settings, they present a nice diversity already, so I think I'm merely stating what they're already doing.

That said, it may be more clear once they publish something like Dark Sun, whether they "soften it" to fit the more recent tone of many products. That would be a shame, imo, as DS--as it has been traditionally depicted--fills a gap in the range of 5E thematic offerings (darkish, post-apocalyptic sword & sorcery).

 

[Urriak Uruk]

Cool!

I know there was a whole thread on that recently. Please do report on that whenever you end up doing that, as I want to see how that works out.

As an old time WFRP stan it's anathema to me personally to try, but as long as others are committing the heresy, I'm here for it.

Thanks! I'm definitely not trying to preserve the integrity of the setting too strongly, as I have a couple players who insist on playing wackier races (one even wants to be a Skaven). I'm still wondering how it's going to go when a Lizardmen walks into a tavern. Probably a blast of a blunderbuss to the chest... definitely heresy.

I've actually already converted the encounters of part 1 (Enemy in Shadows), and it was surprisingly simple. That plus some inclusion of madness/longer healing rules from the DMG, and the game should be fairly easy to run.

 

[Rogerd1]

And this is exactly why I think D&D 5e is overdue for an Urban Fantasy setting (no, Ravnica doesn't count), and a Prehistoric one.

Not sure if you aware, but there is a KS for a prehistoric one

Planegea: The Prehistoric 5th Edition Campaign Setting

Discover a world of raw action, primordial horror, & mystic awe in Planegea for 5E!

www.kickstarter.com