Which Campaign Setting has the best fluff? Why?
- Thread starter Kai Lord
- Start date
Viktyr Gehrig
First Post
All time, in order of preference:
1) Planescape. Rich, detailed setting with powerful themes. Easily enables more mature themes than "kill them and take their stuff", but the variety of ways to kill them and the excellent variety of their stuff supports that method of play as well. Incredibly flavorful, with easy-to-understand societies that can, as the game progresses, show themselves to be more and more alien.
This preference will probably never change.
2) Dragonstar. Interesting exploration/variation on standard D&D themes. Broad, open setting allows for nearly the same variety of environments, creatures, and cultures as Planescape. Has powerful cultural ideals that can be examined, as well, such as the differences between the Empire and the Outlands, or the Empire and the Dark Zone. Can be expanded in any number of directions, and offers a breadth of compatible playstyles.
3) Eberron. So many themes and parallels, that adventures in Eberron may come across as deeper than intended-- and the interactions between them allow for story ideas to be drawn from nearly any source, without making the setting seem like a mishmash. Beautiful implementation and assimilation of the excessive numbers of sentient humanoids in D&D.
Emphasis on conflict of agendas over conflict of morality makes for more uncertain, exciting intrigue. Setting offers many different approaches to the world, which can change the entire play experience.
If I can continue picking up supplements and quality keeps up, this might move up to take the #2 spot.
1) Planescape. Rich, detailed setting with powerful themes. Easily enables more mature themes than "kill them and take their stuff", but the variety of ways to kill them and the excellent variety of their stuff supports that method of play as well. Incredibly flavorful, with easy-to-understand societies that can, as the game progresses, show themselves to be more and more alien.
This preference will probably never change.
2) Dragonstar. Interesting exploration/variation on standard D&D themes. Broad, open setting allows for nearly the same variety of environments, creatures, and cultures as Planescape. Has powerful cultural ideals that can be examined, as well, such as the differences between the Empire and the Outlands, or the Empire and the Dark Zone. Can be expanded in any number of directions, and offers a breadth of compatible playstyles.
3) Eberron. So many themes and parallels, that adventures in Eberron may come across as deeper than intended-- and the interactions between them allow for story ideas to be drawn from nearly any source, without making the setting seem like a mishmash. Beautiful implementation and assimilation of the excessive numbers of sentient humanoids in D&D.
Emphasis on conflict of agendas over conflict of morality makes for more uncertain, exciting intrigue. Setting offers many different approaches to the world, which can change the entire play experience.
If I can continue picking up supplements and quality keeps up, this might move up to take the #2 spot.
Keeper of Secrets
First Post
Hmm. I like Iron Kingdoms, Midnight and Eberron. All three of these seem creative and unique and clearly had a group of people who really loved gaming and really had an eye for creativity involved.
Gothmog
First Post
In order of preference:
#1 Classic Deadlands- no other RPG books even come close for fluff and flavor text. These are some of the only gaming books I have that are a joy to read, and will genuinely make you chuckle several times while reading.
#2 Midnight- somehow FFG managed to capture all the best elements of fantasy with this game, and avoid the worst. The prose in the book is evocative, and its the only fantasy book series I have read where the descriptions are good enough to actually let me see the locales and people in my head as I'm reading, LOTR movie-style. That, and just a 5 minute quick read through any of the Midnight books is enough to give me 2-3 adventure ideas.
#3 Tie between Arcanis and Iron Kingdoms
Arcanis is another great setting that is often overlooked because of the small size of Paradigm, but its an incredible setting. More Romanesque than medieval, it has a very different spin on things, including an evil theocracy that actually makes sense theologically, politically, and economically- not just a bunch of guys wearing black for the PCs to kill. No other setting has ever managed to portray an evil country as anything other than a bunch of one-dimensional black hats. Arcanis also has very different takes on dwarves (cursed giants), elves (a slave race created by the ssethragorans), and serpent people (ssethragorans).
Iron Kingdoms, although new, has a lot going for it in terms of flavor and in-depth background. I really like their take on gods, magic, and the pseudo-steampunk thing is starting to grow on me. I still haven't finished the IK world guide yet, but it seems to have lots of great possibilities for gaming. The only thing I am somewhat leery of is that there seems to be a pretty strong metaplot element, which hopefully won't take over too much.
#1 Classic Deadlands- no other RPG books even come close for fluff and flavor text. These are some of the only gaming books I have that are a joy to read, and will genuinely make you chuckle several times while reading.
#2 Midnight- somehow FFG managed to capture all the best elements of fantasy with this game, and avoid the worst. The prose in the book is evocative, and its the only fantasy book series I have read where the descriptions are good enough to actually let me see the locales and people in my head as I'm reading, LOTR movie-style. That, and just a 5 minute quick read through any of the Midnight books is enough to give me 2-3 adventure ideas.
#3 Tie between Arcanis and Iron Kingdoms
Arcanis is another great setting that is often overlooked because of the small size of Paradigm, but its an incredible setting. More Romanesque than medieval, it has a very different spin on things, including an evil theocracy that actually makes sense theologically, politically, and economically- not just a bunch of guys wearing black for the PCs to kill. No other setting has ever managed to portray an evil country as anything other than a bunch of one-dimensional black hats. Arcanis also has very different takes on dwarves (cursed giants), elves (a slave race created by the ssethragorans), and serpent people (ssethragorans).
Iron Kingdoms, although new, has a lot going for it in terms of flavor and in-depth background. I really like their take on gods, magic, and the pseudo-steampunk thing is starting to grow on me. I still haven't finished the IK world guide yet, but it seems to have lots of great possibilities for gaming. The only thing I am somewhat leery of is that there seems to be a pretty strong metaplot element, which hopefully won't take over too much.
Kanegrundar
Explorer
For me, it would have to be the Iron Kingdoms. Everything from the original adventures (the Witchfire Trilogy) to the new IKWG is overflowing with an attitude and presence that I haven't seen since Planescape. Needless to say, Planescape is #2 in my book, followed by Dark Sun, Eberron, and Warcraft.
Kane
Kane
Eremite
Explorer
Wow, tough question for me as I like so many campaign worlds but I'll mention two:
Midnight has been a revelation because of how it has made rare magic and a dark setting into something really special, as many above have noted.
Forgotten Realms has such a wonderful sense of history (albeit spoiled by world-altering novels) and a well-detailed pantheon that sets up so many divinely inspired conflicts. If you can keep the novels out of the game, the history can make even the most mundane dungeon into something really interesting.
The history and religion of both worlds provides for a multitude of campaign ideas and that's why I would pick these two ahead of just about any other worlds. This sort of background "fluff" is what I buy a campaign world for: a coherent background against which I can set my own plots.
Midnight has been a revelation because of how it has made rare magic and a dark setting into something really special, as many above have noted.
Forgotten Realms has such a wonderful sense of history (albeit spoiled by world-altering novels) and a well-detailed pantheon that sets up so many divinely inspired conflicts. If you can keep the novels out of the game, the history can make even the most mundane dungeon into something really interesting.
The history and religion of both worlds provides for a multitude of campaign ideas and that's why I would pick these two ahead of just about any other worlds. This sort of background "fluff" is what I buy a campaign world for: a coherent background against which I can set my own plots.
John Q. Mayhem
Explorer
Gothmog said:
Khador, the Protectorate of Menoth, Ios, and the Lord of Blades' country in the Mournland spring to mind. Granted, three of 'em are from IK, but still...this is a pretty sweeping statement.
IK is the winner for me, by the by. 371 pages of fluff...I really do think the IKWG is the first fluff-only D20 book.
Gothmog
First Post
John Q. Mayhem said:
I agree to a point, and I realize the statement is pretty broad. While Khador, the Protectorate of Menoth, and Ios could be made into bad guys or have evil means to an end, they are not by definition evil. Khador is imperialistic and expansionist, but not evil. The PoM are a bunch of religious zealots with extreme methodology, but not necessarily evil. And the elves of Ios are xenophobic and will kill intruders, but again, not evil. I'm not as familiar with Eberron, because it never leapt out and grabbed me, but IME most evil countries/organizations in Wizards/TSR products were VERY one-dimensional.
What I meant by a deep, compelling evil society is one that actually makes sense given the social/political/religious values of the area and people. While Khador, PoM and Ios could be portrayed as evil, they are not by definition. Canceri in Arcanis is, by definition, evil. It is a theocracy ruled by priests of a triumverate of gods, most of whose worshippers are evil. (In Arcanis, any god can have clerics of any alignment, so its not as easy to say all clerics of Sarish are evil- but most are). They have an iron grip on law, religion, and trade, but oddly enough the people in Canceri don't live in abject terror of their rulers. In fact, while they might grumble occasionally about taxes or brutal efficiency of the government, most of the citizens are fairly happy with their government, which they see as the last "enlightened" country in the world where the worship of their gods is not prohibited. The theocracy champions their faith, protects them from their enemies (the Coryani Empire and Milander), and the people of Canceri have been persecuted for their beliefs and genuinely socially progressive (by western standards) philosophy. Given the history of Arcanis and how the people of Canceri have suffered, been neglected and abused when they were a territory of the Coryani Empire, its easy to see how a charasmatic evil clergy and the Dark Prophet could play upon the disillusionment of these people, incite rebellion, and establish a functional evil society. My beef with most other campaign world's evil cultures and kingdoms is that they aren't compelling or plausible- there is no backstory or reason for them being evil other than a few evil people in charge, and people are not evil for the sake of being evil.
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