What third-party d20 settings should I investigate?

[Allandaros]

I'm a mainly 2nd. Ed. player starting to branch out into 3.5 D&D - but I'm not a fan of the WotC material beyond the core stuff, and am looking for some other settings and rules variants.

I've heard good things about Midnight and Iron Heroes, and I know that the Black Company setting was uberspiffyawesome (I just need to find another copy). Any suggestions for other settings to look into?

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

Midnight would be my top choice. The Iron Heroes setting pretty much assumes you are using the Irom Heroes rules, which vary quite a bit from stock D&D (not that there's anything wrong with that). Conan is pretty good too. Also, Arcana Evolved has some pretty neat aspects (especially for spellcasters). And the Ptlous city-book is essentially a setting in and of itself.

The only issue with Midnight is that you should really make sure your players understand what the setting is and buy into it. Otherwise it may not suit them and they'll be unhappy in the game.

 

[Psion]

I've heard good things about Midnight and Iron Heroes, and I know that the Black Company setting was uberspiffyawesome (I just need to find another copy). Any suggestions for other settings to look into?

Just to be clear... those three all entertain more rules changes than being mere "settings", and Iron Heroes doesn't really have much of a setting to it.

Any particular notion about your preferences? There's a lot out there. I like settings that go pretty far afield like Oathbound and Scarred Lands, but sadly, not all the material for those have been updated to 3.5.

I am also making pretty good use of smaller settings and cities. Some people are rather fond of Necromancer Games' 3.5 conversion of the classic Judges Guild setting, the Wilderlands. Freeport, the pirate city-setting, as well as the 3.0 city, Bluffside. Freeport's also only a 3.0 book, but there is a revised book on its way, to be distributed as a Setting book and separate crunch books with 3.5 and True20 conversions.

 

[jdrakeh]

The older Oathbound stuff (for 3.0) is very cool if you like both high level adventure and baroque fantasy that plays something like a Square/Enix endeavor (I haven't seen the newer stuff, so I can't comment on it).

Codex Arcanis is also a very neat setting (easily my favorite from 3x) that combines the overt alien features of Jack Vance's The Dying Earth and Allastor novels with the pulp sensibilities of Kenneth Roberson's Doc Savage.

Finally, if you're simply in the market for some bog standard fantasy in the vein of Greyhawk, you may want to check out The Kingdoms of Kalamar setting -- so far as detailed medieval-ish fantasy in D&D 3x goes, Kalamar leads the pack.

[Edit: Psion is right -- the stuff you listed earlier is less setting in and of itself than it is rule changes geared toward a specific setting that already exists elsewhere (Black Company) or play style (Iron Heroes).]

 

[JRRNeiklot]

Scarred Lands
Midnight
Wilderlands
DCC world (whatever it's called)

 

[Deekin]

May I ask what you dislike about Eberron or Forgotten Realms? I don't want to point toward a setting that you will dislike.

 

[Nightfall]

Yay! Someone mentioned Scarred Lands before I had to come in and say it!

 

[Gundark]

Iron Kingdoms is a very well written setting

 

[Psion]

DCC world (whatever it's called)

Aerth.

Don't have that one yet, but it has the virtue of being fairly self contained, and it steps right into tons of adventure support (being the backdrop for all of Goodman's DCC adventures.) And it's pretty fresh.

 

[Nightfall]

*insert these two words into Allandaros' brain*

Scarred Lands!