Aldarc
Legend
When thinking about "What setting would grab your attention?", it helps me to first think about what settings have grabbed my attention and how they were successful in doing so.
Eberron, for example, took many assumptions of 3.X and the commonality of magic items to logical conclusions to create a coherent world. But it also put new twists on familiar races, while also generating new ideas of its own for the world. Dark Sun also created a world that inverted many popular tropes of D&D to create a truly savage world of sword and sorcery. Whereas a setting such as Dawnforge created a world in the midst of a heroic age that was in the process of transforming into the familiar tropes of D&D. Meanwhile, Diamond Throne created a world that existed as a natural extension of its unique game mechanics. The rituals, oaths, and runes that are a part of game classes are an ubiquitous aspect of the cultures of the world. And then there is Midnight, which basically was created out of the hypothetical scenario of "What if Sauron won the War of the Ring?" Again, it's a unique inversion of a staple trope of fantasy. Then there are settings such as Tekumel which are so utterly bizarre and alien, that I find it freshly captivating and inspirational.
In the end, I have to echo Dice4Hire's list:
Setting generates new ideas and jogs my imagination
An "organic" world that feels plausible given the game rules and assumptions
Eberron, for example, took many assumptions of 3.X and the commonality of magic items to logical conclusions to create a coherent world. But it also put new twists on familiar races, while also generating new ideas of its own for the world. Dark Sun also created a world that inverted many popular tropes of D&D to create a truly savage world of sword and sorcery. Whereas a setting such as Dawnforge created a world in the midst of a heroic age that was in the process of transforming into the familiar tropes of D&D. Meanwhile, Diamond Throne created a world that existed as a natural extension of its unique game mechanics. The rituals, oaths, and runes that are a part of game classes are an ubiquitous aspect of the cultures of the world. And then there is Midnight, which basically was created out of the hypothetical scenario of "What if Sauron won the War of the Ring?" Again, it's a unique inversion of a staple trope of fantasy. Then there are settings such as Tekumel which are so utterly bizarre and alien, that I find it freshly captivating and inspirational.
In the end, I have to echo Dice4Hire's list:
But I would also add:
Setting generates new ideas and jogs my imagination
An "organic" world that feels plausible given the game rules and assumptions
