What's a good D&D campaign setting for a beginning DM?

[caudor]

I'll go in with Merric and suggest Eberron.

Having played it now, I can vouch for the fun...real fun. Initially, I was a little worried that additions such a lightning rails and warforged, thinking that it would sap away the fantasy feel that I've come to enjoy, but that did not turn out to be the case at all.

If he has access to the Eberron Campaign Setting, reading the adventure in the back (called "The Forgotten Forge", I think) should provide enough flavor to decide whether or not it is his cup of tea.

I took the plunge and got Ebberon and now I'm glad I did.

 

[S. Baldrick]

Another thought would be Fiery Dragon's NeMoren's Vault and the Silver Summoning if you can still find them. NeMoren's Vault was the first 3rd Edition module that I ever ran. I learned a lot about the new rules and the players had a blast. The Silver Summoning was a pretty decent sequel as well and offered more details about the World of Karathis. I don't know if Karathis is still supported in anyway, but they would give a new DM at least a good place to start.

Necromancer's Games also offer the Wizard's Amulet and the Crucible of Freya as good starting points for begining DMs and players. It has been awhile since I bought any Necromancer Games adventures, but the modules that I did have had a fairly detailed generic setting that was loosely tied together through the modules.

 

[Mark Plemmons]

Yep, the "generic" D&D experience was one selling point for Kalamar. It has no complete world map, however. It should, how long has it been going for now?

Ten years, actually.

You won't be a getting a complete world map. At least, not for a very very long time. I should tell you that right now. However, you're not gonna need it. You get an incredibly detailed, realistic fantasy setting that is constantly being supported. The possibilities are nearly limitless.

And, as someone mentioned above, if you and/or your players were huge Greyhawk fans but are disheartened by the lack of new Greyhawk material, you might want to consider the Kingdoms of Kalamar setting. Many Greyhawk fans are now huge Kingdoms of Kalamar fans (and still Greyhawk fans too, of course).

The basic intro is here - http://www.kenzerco.com/rpg/kalamar/index.php - and the KoK discussion forums are here - http://www.kenzerco.com/forums/ubbthreads.php

At worst, you should check it out (along with the other settings) and see what feels best for you and your players.

If you do choose the Kingdoms of Kalamar campaign setting supplement (KCS) - technically the only setting book you must have to run a game in KoK - be sure to make your DM skim the book, picking out a section or two at random. If he sees an interesting bit, he can follow its threads and learn about one region at a time. The KCS is packed with a lot of detail, and sitting down to read it straight through doesn't work for some people because it's very much like a real history/geography book. Reading at random and spotting cool adventure hooks seems to work for almost any reader, though.

And of course, I'm always here for questions.

 

[Testament]

I'm with others here and I'd say Eberron. Its still D&D, with some minor additions (Dragonmarks are just Feats, and Action points are as SIMPLE as all funt). It also has the advantage of being well detailed, but with enough blank slate to go nuts on.

The new races are nothing difficult to deal with either. While the action focuses on Khorvaire, there's still Salona for psionics to play with, and the dark continent of Xen'Drik to go exploring on. And as caudor said, its fun. Lots and lots of fun.

Plus, Keith Baker's a nice guy.

 

[reanjr]

If you do choose the Kingdoms of Kalamar campaign setting supplement (KCS) - technically the only setting book you must have to run a game in KoK - be sure to make your DM skim the book, picking out a section or two at random. If he sees an interesting bit, he can follow its threads and learn about one region at a time. The KCS is packed with a lot of detail, and sitting down to read it straight through doesn't work for some people because it's very much like a real history/geography book. Reading at random and spotting cool adventure hooks seems to work for almost any reader, though.

I gotta second that one.

Also, in the context of the setting, there is absolutely no need for the rest of world. If you really like, you could just assume the rest of the world is ocean and you would be fine. I personally like the incompleteness of the globe because it allows you to easily use campaign drop-ins (Nyambe, Oriental Adventures, etc.) and not worry about something not fitting.

 

[jester47]

jester47
Pick a valley? He's a lazy GM and wants to do minimal mapping. Besides, he's still gonna have to read that mammoth volume full-o-crunch called the FRCS.

I would heavily suggest Wilderlands or if he wants full support now Kalamar.

However, take note that the FRCS is only 70 pages of crunch. Thats including races, new spells, monsters, changes to character classes, and PrCs. The other 244 pages are all fluff. Its only got 22% crunch. I think /eberon/ might be a little crunchier.

I really like Kalamar, but I like FR, and WL more. K is on the same level with BM, and GH.

Aaron.

 

[Thunhus]

Eberron campaing setting book heavily focuses on "Known World" part, which is called Khorvaire. There are something like 50? pages devoted to Khorvaire and 10? pages to the rest of the world. Psionics are really not supported much, less than one page. You can find maps there: http://pages.videotron.com/sebby777/home.html
And review:
http://www.seankreynolds.com/rpgfiles/opinions/review-eberron.html

Thunhus

 

[Sammael]

Eberron is crunchier. It has approximately 160 pages of crunch (half the book!), and introduces the very-un-D&D-like concept of Action Points. Also, alignment plays a rather reduced role, and dragonmarks are another new aspect of the game. A creative DM has but to wave a hand and dismiss all three things from his game, but if this DM is as lazy as you describe, he may not want to do that.

And what's with this globe and whole known world obsession? Most games I've participated in (regardless of system) never even switched countries, much less continents, until higher levels.

 

[johnsemlak]

Another thought would be Fiery Dragon's NeMoren's Vault and the Silver Summoning if you can still find them. NeMoren's Vault was the first 3rd Edition module that I ever ran. I learned a lot about the new rules and the players had a blast. The Silver Summoning was a pretty decent sequel as well and offered more details about the World of Karathis. I don't know if Karathis is still supported in anyway, but they would give a new DM at least a good place to start.

There were some supporting PDFs on the Karathis setting at the www.fierydragon.com , I assume they're still there.

There are a large number of modules that give a map and brief description of a region where the module takes place. As mentioned, the Necromancer mods, the World of Whitehorn modules (Hamlet of Thumble), and many others.

 

[MonsterMash]

Personally I'd say go the Wilderlands route - there isn't the need to stay canon like FR, material is coming out now including a lot of free downloads and its great for the lack of constraints.

For a probably more detailed setting then Scarred Lands and Kalamar are both well liked and nicely developed settings. If you want to stay within the WotC profitability sphere then Eberron, though its not really to my taste.