D&D General What's your favorite starter sandbox region?

[Azzy]

IIRC, the original said it might be in Ratik too. It's been a lot of places. The last time I used it in a campaign, I put it in the Cairn Hills near Greyhawk City...

I placed in Nyrond, equating the eponymous keep with Pelleur Keep (briefly mentioned in WGR4 The Marklands).

 

[Iry]

Phlan in the Moonsea right? Is that the city thats racist towards demihumans?

That's Hillsfar, on the other side of the Moonsea. Zhentil Keep and Yulash are not exactly friendly to demihumans either, but that makes a great plot hook for characters to reform those cities. Assuming they want that topic in the game at all.

 

[David Howery]

I placed in Nyrond, equating the eponymous keep with Pelleur Keep (briefly mentioned in WGR4 The Marklands).

the last WoG campaign I ran was long before the GW, so I set most everything around Greyhawk city... KotB in the Cairn Hills, that Reptile Cult one by the marsh there (same for the Tomb of the Lizard King), Saltmarsh down near Hardby, Horror on the Hill southwest of KotB, etc.

 

[Enrico Poli1]

Seeing some love for Karameikos, which I’ve just found in my attic despite not remembering ever buying it - what in particular works about it? (I was about to list it on eBay but might hold off!)

• Classic Middle-Ages Eastern Europe (Bohemia, Romania) feeling. Great starting locale at Threshold. (like Prague). Classic Monsters: humanoids, werewolves, vampires, giants.
• Great villains (Bargle and Baron Ludwig von Hendricks, Slavers of the Iron Ring)
• Backed by existing modules (Keep on the Borderlands, Horror on the Hill, The Veiled Society, The Eye of Traldar, Night's Dark Terror, The Isle of Dread...)
• Mysteries (the Lost Valley etc)
• Great treatment of social, ecclesiastical, political structure, with possibility of careers and encounters with movers and shackers.
• The Duchy is at the centre of a very interesting world, can be the base for exploration or interaction with other countries or cultures.
• Dynamic environment: it offers a number of ideas about events that set in motion changes in the setting.

 

[howandwhy99]

I agree with Greyhawk. So many great areas. IIRC the Wild Coast is the traditional starting area, but the same could be said about GH city, castle, and pre-publication wilderness surroundings - the first Gary DM'd adventures.

I'd say B2 and B1 and the best starting locations, with T1 thrown in for my town play.

 

[Pawndream]

I am fond of Elsir Vale from Red Hand of Doom.

 

[Aldarc]

I am fond of Elsir Vale from Red Hand of Doom.

I'm fairly certain that Rich Baker's Elsir Vale was the spiritual precursor for Rich Baker's Nentir Vale.

 

[THEMNGMNT]

Sandpoint, in the Pathfinder setting, is my favorite.

Sandpoint is very good. James Jacobs and Erik Mona are quite strong at creating starter areas and Pathfinder has several good examples to choose from. James Jacobs did the version of Saltmarsh in the 3.5E DMGII. It's different than the original version but really shows how to mix setting details with adventure hooks to great effect.

 

[Inchoroi]

Sandpoint is very good. James Jacobs and Erik Mona are quite strong at creating starter areas and Pathfinder has several good examples to choose from. James Jacobs did the version of Saltmarsh in the 3.5E DMGII. It's different than the original version but really shows how to mix setting details with adventure hooks to great effect.

My only real complaint is they didn't include actual dungeons for all the little things that can be done outside of the actual town of Sandpoint; so, sure, there's a few paragraphs describing whats in them, but nothing more than that. If you're running one of the APs out of there, that ends up fine--but if you're running a Sandbox, its not as useful. I still love it, though, as I love the majority of that setting.

 

[The Fighter-Cricket]

Good to see some love around here for the Nentir Vale. Two of my most beloved campaigns I ran were situated in it. I really like that there aren't any metropolises around, (not counting Hammerfast) just Fallcrest sitting in the middle of the map as a last remnant of a bygone era. Besides that there is mostly wilderness and ruins with the occasional village. The sandboxy feeling also comes from the fact that imho the PCs really can have an impact on the Vale because there aren't many heroes like them running around. And there is some really gorgeous fan art of parts of the Nentir Vale that captures the feeling of it very well.