D&D 4E Which 4e setting do you prefer?

[Pour]

I chose the Nentir Vale largely because it's new material and holds surprises for me. I love paying homage to the past as much as the next guy, but give me new material alongside new spin (like conversions and prequels/sequels to historical stuff)!

I desperately want more settings, locales, factions, worlds and planes unique to the current edition. I feel the creation and innovation of setting material is just as important as the creation and innovation of the rules. 4e took some leaps and bounds in a different mechanical direction, so why not give us a few new, unique settings? I'm not even picky on themes (though no more kitchen sinks, please), I just want the opportunity to peruse new stuff.

EDIT: Kudos to all 3rd party companies for doing their part. Amethyst is amazing.
EDIT2: I also appreciate what Dungeon and Dragon have put out of late regarding Nentir World, I just want even more.

 

[Kzach]

I think the 4e version of the Forgotten Realms gets a really unfair negative rap from a lot of cry-babies who think their particular favourite version of the Realms is the best and that's how it should forever remain.

I think if people could divorce themselves from all the baggage of FR and view the 4e version as an entirely new and stand-alone setting, that it would be the most popular setting by a long-shot.

From a DM's perspective it has all the hallmarks of a really great setting. The regions all have bucket-loads of potential for adventure without dousing you in information overload or straight-jacketing you with setting lore. There is more adventure potential in just one paragraph of the FR DM's book, than there is in ten pages of other setting books.

Then there's the PoL nature of the 4e version. Step left and you could be in a floating city of air spirits, step right and you're in a land where magic is poisonous, and you better hope you can get to a point of light before you're consumed by the Warlock Knights that patrol the areas in-between.

Such a shame there's so many vocal douchebags who seem intent on destroying anything that doesn't fit their version of fun.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

One guy I gamed with always described FR as the setting that every GM would come up with if you gave him enough time to develop his homebrewed world into a full setting. Not that its a bad thing, but it does end up feeling kinda like exactly what you'd expect.

Yeah, that was kind of always my feeling about it. And honestly the same was always true of Greyhawk as well. Of course both of them ARE exactly that, settings that were designed by a particular DM and simply elaborated to the Nth degree. Golarion feels very similar in a lot of ways.

DS and Eberron both have the virtue of avoiding that to one extent or another. I'm hoping if they do more settings they'll be at least as tightly focused as DS is. I can do my own kitchen sink, thx!

 

[Gronin]

I find it interesting that there are a fair number of people who mention that as much as they want to like Dark Sun it just doesn't work for them. I am in complete agreement.

I wanted to like Dark Sun the first time it came around and I wanted to it to work this time and to be fair it comes closer to what I wanted but.....

I'm not sure what the attraction is with desert campaigns (perhaps I'm a wannabe Lawrence of Arabia or maybe I just want to ride a camel --- although I wouldn't walk a mile for one-- )but I remember being fascinated by Al-Qadim as well, which now that I think of it came closer to what I wanted than Dark Sun did -- hmmmm -- I wonder if I still have all that stuff. (Is any of it available as a PDF?)

 

[Pour]

How do you feel about Kara Tur? live from gencon: ask design & development seminar Blog of Holding

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

Kara Tur would be interesting. I'm not sure if I would run it or just steal a lot of stuff from it, but I'd consider buying it. Really will depend on exactly what all is in there, but since it is going to be DDI I guess I'll find out

Sure looks like 4e is still live and kicking...

 

[S'mon]

I think the 4e version of the Forgotten Realms gets a really unfair negative rap from a lot of cry-babies who think their particular favourite version of the Realms is the best and that's how it should forever remain.

I think if people could divorce themselves from all the baggage of FR and view the 4e version as an entirely new and stand-alone setting, that it would be the most popular setting by a long-shot.

From a DM's perspective it has all the hallmarks of a really great setting. The regions all have bucket-loads of potential for adventure without dousing you in information overload or straight-jacketing you with setting lore. There is more adventure potential in just one paragraph of the FR DM's book, than there is in ten pages of other setting books.

Then there's the PoL nature of the 4e version. Step left and you could be in a floating city of air spirits, step right and you're in a land where magic is poisonous, and you better hope you can get to a point of light before you're consumed by the Warlock Knights that patrol the areas in-between.

Such a shame there's so many vocal douchebags who seem intent on destroying anything that doesn't fit their version of fun.

Cut out the 'vocal douchebags' line and I agree 100% with Kzach! Taken alone, IMO 4e FR is a great stand-alone setting with loads of potential. I'm really loving running it, whereas my attempts to run 1e FR foundered disatrously on the rock of all those goody-goody NPCs. Where 1e FR was often twee, 4e FR is heroic and even slightly grim. My players seem to love it too, I've had a lot of complements and happy smiley faces around the table in my Loudwater campaign, even as I'm killing their PCs (again).

 

[SkidAce]

I really didnt have a problem with goody-goody NPCs in 1e FR. It wasnt until all the books and 2e it got on my nerves.

1e FR gray box was nice.

 

[Dice4Hire]

10 Dark Sun

3 Nentir

Not on the map--> Whatever the other two were.

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I was not happy they redid two 3.5 worlds with 4E, but a lot of people were, so no biggie. I really hope next year is something new, totally new. Neverwinter is a module or a location book, not a CS.

 

[Zaran]

I picked Default as I rather use that than the other three. Out of those four I would say best to least "Mine, Darksun, Forgotten Realms, Eberron." And it really doesn't mean that I hate Eberron. If I use a setting it would not be my first choice.

My first choice would probably be Dragonlance. It was what introduced me to DnD and I love the epic good vs evil motif. I wish they would do a Dragonlance setting for 4e. I doubt they have the rights to do so anymore but I can still wish. I think introducing Dragonriding and magic linked to the moons would make for new subsystems in the book and maybe a new class called Panwielder.