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

[dead]

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

Naw, I run Greyhawk and I'm tickled pink that they put a tiny map of the globe down in the bottom left corner. Gives a DM something to dream about . . .

 

[teitan]

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

What I was referring to was the way when DL was first released you could play through the stories told in the novels as opposed to reading about them and playing these other adventures that didn't matter in the overall scheme. Yeah, DL is a mess as far as player support goes versus novels but they seem to be trying to fix that recently with adventures like the Key of Destiny. I am no supporter of the over-priced books but they are at least trying to fix the problems.

 

[Nightfall]

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

Yep. It would be even better (not the book itself just this idea) IF they made a 3.5 "Scarred Lands" thing for Ghelspad and mention specifics for Termana and Asherak with just glances at Fenrilik and the Dragon Lands. Course that's my dream of a Restart. But we'll see.

Yeah, like Forgotten Realms.

Well that's one yes. But I still dislike Greyhawk a GREAT deal. Spelljammer comes in second after FR which is tied with Greyhawk.

 

[mikedidthis]

I would second Ed's "Hamlet of Thumble". A good module geared specifically for the beginning DM.

Another option, if there's no problem with using older material, is Colin McComb's "Thunder Rift" available on RPGnow:

http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=1183&

It was a tiny Basic D&D setting from the early '90s. It's set in a canyon with a few villages, several land types, some monster areas and ruins, etc. The setting contains basic history and interactions between the various villages and races. It's small enough that you can get a good grasp of the entire setting in just an afternoon. The idea seemed to be that you could run a campaign of several adventures in the setting until the DM had a good grasp of DMing, then move the PCs out of the canyon into the wider world.

I don't recall that there was too much crunch, mostly fluff so it wouldn't be too hard to convert. The biggest limitation would be the dearth of 3.5 classes and races. There were also a few modules published for the setting (I think they're also available as PDFs), but they might be more of a pain to switch to 3.5 compatibility.

 

[wsclark]

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?)

I'm not Mark, but I run several campaigns in Kalamar. Tellene, the world and not the continent that is described in the campaign book (the inhabitants call it Tellene because they think it is the whole world), is the size of the planet Earth. If I remember correctly, the continental area described is about 1000 x 3000 miles.

 

[Prince of Happiness]

Gotta pimp the Kingdoms of Kalamar!

 

[Micah]

Brand new DM here - and I'm working out of the Eberron setting. I struggle with some of the rules still, but I would with any setting. I'd throw a vote in for it. Although we also play in Scarred Lands and it's a blast, even though there might not be a "core book".

Just wanted to mention that if your friend doesn't want to map a whole lot - there are several folks on the Dundjinni site who have made maps for the Eberron adventure path and campaign setting.

One for the Forgotten Forge

Several for the Shadows of the Last War

Charnel Pit

Twisted Skeletons

A different rendition of Rose Quarry

The Bloody Market

Message Station


And there are more. A search of the site will bring up maps for the lightning rail and airships.

Mostly I just wanted to point it out as a "lazy DM resource" to anyone running the Eberron Adventure Path.

 

[Ed Cha]

I would second Ed's "Hamlet of Thumble". A good module geared specifically for the beginning DM.

Thank you, mikedidthis! I know I'm the author of "The Hamlet of Thumble", but I have to say, without shame, that EVERY DM should own this book. I especially recommend it to those starting a new campaign or DMing for the first time.

There is a "DM Tips" section that has received near universal praise by both reviewers and readers for its usefulness. This section contains the following articles in the back of the book:

"Starting a New Game"

"How to Keep Role-Playing from Becoming 'Roll-Playing'"

"12 Signs of a Good GM"

Of course, the book comes with an adventure, a highly detailed mini-setting, 3 new core classes, 56 new spells, 12 new magic items, etc. It should really be a 96 page book, but I've packed it tight into 72 pages.

And, best of all, it's on sale right now here:

http://www.indiepressrevolution.com

You get FREE PRIORITY MAIL SHIPPING within the U.S., if you add "The Village of Oester" (which is also on sale) and another book for an order of $25 or more. Don't pass up on this offer!

 

[Doug McCrae]

Eberron best suits your needs IMO. It's new, without much of a back catalogue currently. All the traditional D&D stuff is there. There's only one new rule - the Action Points system - which is easily ditched if you don't like it.