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

[Nightfall]

Nightfall
Scarred Lands needs an easily accessible core book.

That's what I'm here for. To be the accessible "core" source.
Seriously just pick up the SLCS: Ghelspad and the Gaz for your friends. Then you're off.

That's how a lot of SL Dms start out.

Looks like Eberron might be the way to go. As I understand it, it has a full world map. Does the campaign just focus on a "Known World" portion, or is it a "global" campaign? It's cool if it just focuses on the known world . . . my friend just wants to *see* what the world looks like but, to begin with, will just be running in one portion of the world (until he gets more experience, of course).

Eh well another Eberron person...Worse choices have been made.

 

[Mark Plemmons]

Can't the Kenzer folk just do a simple outline of the globe's continents. Like the tiny globe map discretely in the corner of the LGG and D&D Gazetteer maps?

Sure, we could, if we wanted to sit down and write a few more campaign settings.

The known world is (the continent of) Tellene, though its inhabitants believe it encompasses the entirely of the planet. Except for a brief note about humans not understanding why traditional elven sailing ships were designed to carry so much cargo (why not just stop along a coastline?) and have unusual sails, and a strange visitor from somewhere across the Brandobian Ocean, we don't refer to the rest of the world. This allows the DM to do whatever he/she wants with the rest of the planet without being hindered.

What percentage of crunch is in the Kalamar core setting book?

Less than 1%. The Kingdoms of Kalamar campaign setting sourcebook is 272 pages, and includes the following rules (for D&D 3.0) as sidebars throughout the book:

Ring of Improved Invisibility (p28)

Gaketan Mare, Drhokkeran Charger, Highland Dancer (horses, p63, 103, 154)

Brigandine Armor (p96)

Shathy's Pestilence (spell, p109)

Kargi Mourn (magic item, p117)

Sittik (snake venom, p118)

Lamellar Armor (p133)

Mother of Pearls (magic item, p134)

Half-hobgoblins (p157)

Cord Armor (p159)

Most or all of these were later updated for 3.5 as errata or in other books like the Kingdoms of Kalamar Player's Guide, and Dangerous Denizens: the Monsters of Tellene.

 

[teitan]

One potential problem with Eberron is that if the DM is a stickler for sticking to canon, he runs the real risk of having future publications contradict campaign history.

I don't see BIG metaplots being a part of the future of Eberron. WOTC have said that a big part of the appeal of Eberron is that the players are the heroes and not the NPCs of the novels. Even the first novel search seems to be focusing on the smaller character stories. Maybe they will do some metaplotty type stuff in the adventures but that just means you can participate in the overall storyarc kind of like the old Dragonlance stuff.

Jason

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

I don't see BIG metaplots being a part of the future of Eberron. WOTC have said that a big part of the appeal of Eberron is that the players are the heroes and not the NPCs of the novels. Even the first novel search seems to be focusing on the smaller character stories. Maybe they will do some metaplotty type stuff in the adventures but that just means you can participate in the overall storyarc kind of like the old Dragonlance stuff.

Jason

I wasn't referring to meta-plots from novels so much as future published game material. If WotC is to support Eberron, they'll have to publish region books, etc., and lots of them. It would really suck to spend a lot of time fleshing out an under-documented region only to see them publish a sourcebook for it.

And, as far as I'm concerned, Dragonlance is a poster child for how you can let published materials screw up a good setting.

 

[Soul]

And, as far as I'm concerned, Dragonlance is a poster child for how you can let published materials screw up a good setting.

Well, I think with any game or any setting that you have to make a choice, in wether or not you are going to use the initial materials, and fill out the rest yourself, or stick to the established material and let the designers flesh it out for you. You don't have to use any published material if you don't want to, it doesn't have to ruin your game. If you decide to flesh out an unexplored continent, and later a source book comes out that does the same, ignore that book or pick it up and see what concepts in it can be retro fitted into your new design. If you don't like doing those things, there is no reason why your game has to be a globe hopping adventure where your players go to all of the 'unexplored' regions. Just stick to the known, and explain to your players before hand that you'd rather not touch these areas yet, and would like to keep the plot/action to where you known. Some times challenging others expectations can be fun and provide things they didn't anticipate, possibly even enhancing their enjoyment in the process.

 

[Ed Cha]

Forget all these settings and start with a small village or town and slowly you can build up from there as based on player actions. KISS is invaluable for being a good GM.

That's been my strategy with critically-acclaimed "The Hamlet of Thumble". You can then continue the adventure with the ENnie-nominated "The Village of Oester".

Both available, on sale, here:

http://www.indiepressrevolution.com

This site will be officially launched soon. IPR is taking orders right now though.

 

[Brennin Magalus]

That's what I'm here for. To be the accessible "core" source.
Seriously just pick up the SLCS: Ghelspad and the Gaz for your friends. Then you're off.

That's how a lot of SL Dms start out.

I second the Ghelspad recommendation; it is an awesome book.

Eh well another Eberron person...Worse choices have been made.

Yeah, like Forgotten Realms.

 

[rounser]

Forget all these settings and start with a small village or town and slowly you can build up from there as based on player actions. KISS is invaluable for being a good GM.

Yup, and download Hexmapper from here:
http://www.paonline.com/zaikoski/ak/tools.htm
....and he can paint out his whole world, Known World stylee, in minutes if he wants.

Homebrew (TM): The only supplement you need is your imagination.*

*: Although if you want to go electronic, a good hex mapping program like Arr-Kelaan Software's Hexmapper helps, and so does Milenix MyInfo to organise campaign notes. And a big pile of Dungeon magazines to adapt adventures from, and copies of the FRCS and Magic of Faerun to pillage cool spells from because the PHB selection is so generic....ahem, there goes my modus operandi.

 

[Coredump]

I know people that are on their 4th Kalamar campaign, and still have not utilized all the known world. I have no idea what I would do with even more land mapped out. (Mark, how many square miles is Tellene?)

As far as the people and the economy are concerned, there *is* no rest of the world.

And forget some unfulfilling drawing, they have a full fledged Atlas. Talk about great informative detail.

The timeline is static. You don't have the FR/Shadowrun type of situation where you have to be careful about which modules you run, since the world has drastically changed between them.

The world just makes sense. The geography, the population sizes, the political settings, etc.

I really can't think of a better setting for a beginning DM. In fact, I will be starting my first campaign in about 3 weeks...and you can bet it will be in Kalamar.

Really, go to their website and check out some of the info they have. The Atlas is great, the campaign setting is very informative (though it is textbookish, so some may not like to cover to cover it.), the monster book cares as much about how the creature lives, and where, as its HD and attacks, and it has, by far, the best DM screen I have ever seen.

Oh, my current favorite part, is the player primer, where it give info about what you may know regarding other parts of the world.

However, all you need to run in KoK, is the campaign book. and only need to skim the parts you want. If you are looking for others, the Atlas, players handbook, and then some of the location books (geanevue, Loona, etc.) would probably work well.
And Mark was a bit misleading , the 'crunch' he referred to is there, but it isn't necessary crunch, it is literally one new weapon, or one new type of armor, etc. It is crunch only added for flavor, not required for the campaign.

For your DM's sake, I really suggest he spends some time on the website to get a feel for the setting. Oh, and about half of their modules are on sale for $5. The critically acclaimed Coin Trilogy can be had for about $20 total. (three modules linked together, I know many that have DM'd it multiple times.)

Good luck, and I hope you have fun in whatever setting you choose.

 

[Coredump]

When you say you want a 'full' map for Kalamar. Do you mean for the entire known world? (Tellene) Or also including the entire globe?

And wouldn't you hate it if a company gave you the rest of the globe, but no information about it?