D&D General [+] What is your favorite non-WotC D&D setting?

[UngeheuerLich]

Zeitgeist.

 

[Firwood]

This is a spin on another thread started by @overgeeked.

What are your favorite non-WotC D&D settings? This can include games that are not strictly D&D, like Pathfinder's Galorion or Castles & Crusades Aihide, but are alternate versions of D&D. Other game systems like Savage Worlds may be great but they aren't versions of D&D so they wouldn't qualify.

Like the original thread, this one is a plus thread as well.

The one I played in the most was Pathfinder's Golarion and I really enjoyed it. It had tons of variety so I could find a culture to fit just about any idea I had. That said, my favorite was The Diamond Throne from Monte Cook's Arcana Unearthed. I liked the spin he gave the 3.x rules but mostly I loved the world because it had lot of influences from my favorite novels, The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant.

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Aventuria (The Dark Eye): wonderful and well developed European medieval setting.
Midnight (d20 system): dark, gritty, low magic setting in which the character struggle to survive to the only evil god.

 

[GothmogIV]

Back in the days of yore, we played in Greyhawk. Then I ran my games in the Forgotten Realms for decades. We have recently played Free League's Middle Earth game (we played MERP way back when, too). Now I am learning my way around Midgard (Kobold Press) which I like a lot. "There are other worlds than these...." --Stephen King

 

[Necropolitan]

Scarred Lands.

 

[jmartkdr2]

Honestly, Star Wars.

 

[Voadam]

Honestly, Star Wars.

Are you talking about the huge fan 5e Star Wars books? The three d20 versions that were D&D based were all WotC. I got and enjoyed WotC’s aliens sourcebook and kind of wish I had the dark side one. I have the 5e fan pdfs and hear they are good but they are huge and not top of list to read for me.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Are you talking about the huge fan 5e Star Wars books? The three d20 versions that were D&D based were all WotC. I got and enjoyed WotC’s aliens sourcebook and kind of wish I had the dark side one. I have the 5e fan pdfs and hear they are good but they are huge and not top of list to read for me.

I was talking about the 5e pdfs. Huge is good!

 

[SlyFlourish]

It has some problems but I really love Kobold Press's Midgard. It's a huge setting with tons of deep lore going on and lots of books and accessories to fill it out. Some of it is cringy and I think its attempt to be a real-world allegory makes it risky for negative stereotyping but the depth of the lore is fantastic. I'm running my third campaign in it – set in the eastern Mharoti dragon empire – and having a blast.

 

[AK81]

Ptolus. A big ascended paladin henotheistic theocratic empire that is descending into civil war as it decays and city states splinter off.

A big splintered LG paladin church with tons of saints contrasted with lots of local pantheons allows a vaguely medieval church structure down to having lore relevant inquisitions in the past, plus lots of room for D&D style polytheisms in the local old gods.

Having a big corrupt empire civil war gives a good excuse for powerful people to be focused on the war leaving many problems for PCs to be the logical go to heroes.

I don't really care for the slavery or trapped cosmology aspects, but the parts of the setting I do like have really inspired me.

I have used parts of Ptolus, as well as Golarion and Freeport and Midgard and SpirosBlaak, and Eberron and Warhammer as parts of my homebrew mashup setting for years.

You peeked my interest for Ptolus! I have downloaded the free player's guide and if I like it, I'll buy the campaign setting book.

 

[AK81]

Are you talking about the huge fan 5e Star Wars books? The three d20 versions that were D&D based were all WotC. I got and enjoyed WotC’s aliens sourcebook and kind of wish I had the dark side one. I have the 5e fan pdfs and hear they are good but they are huge and not top of list to read for me.

I use the fan made 5e Star Wars book in a SWTOR setting now. We are on our second year of that campaign, and I think it's great.