Which Campaign Setting has the best fluff? Why?

[Kai Lord]

So which setting (FR, Eberron, Dragonlance, third party, etc.) has the best flavor (or fluff)? I'm talking tone, style, geography, cultures, specific creatures and so on.

If you cite a homebrew describe what makes your fluff unique or more appealing than a published setting.

Why does your favorite setting appeal to you above all others?

 

[S'mon]

Well, my setting is the best, because of its depth, developed over 20 years of play, and richness of the cultures, politics, geography et al, and because my familiarity with it allows me to run it very easily. It supports a wide variety of scenario types and has pretty much exactly the mood & feel I want in a setting. And I can plug bits of other people's settings (scenarios, sourcebooks etc) in as desired. Check the Barakus link in my sig for 1 current campaign. Best of all, it's open enough that other GMs sometimes run stuff set in it, and I get to play in my own world!

 

[der_kluge]

That's a tough one. Probably because I'm so unfamiliar with all the different CSs, that I'd be hard pressed to compare them.

That, and "fluff" is hard to quantify. The fluff of one book might be great, but I might hate the tone, and the ideas it presents, even though it might all be internally consistent, and imaginative. Those would have no bearing on whether I like it or not.


That said, one world I consistently see praised is Hârn for heavy realism and lots and lots of detail.

 

[Khayman]

Depends on how you define 'best'. (And I assume that we're talking D&D settings.)

* Greyhawk's cultural history makes the most sense and the early stuff was fun to read. It has become a somewhat generic fantasy world.
* FR has the most detail (though perhaps to an absurd degree). I've never been happy with the Realms. They always felt pretty bland.
* Dragonlance, as it stems from a series of novels, was fairly consistent and self-contained.
* Planescape was chock full of strangeness that could be transplanted into other games, including plots, terminology, and characters.
* Dark Sun was alien and disturbing, almost in the same vein as Tekumel. A nice riff on traditional D&D --- halfling cannibals rock.

I'm not familiar enough with Eberron to comment. Overall, I'd have to say that (for me) Planescape leads the pack in terms of flavour, adaptability, and sheer craziness. Dark Sun also benefits from its divergence from traditional fantasy settings.

 

[MoogleEmpMog]

D&D, all-time:

Spelljammer
It simultaneously had a very unique and original setting and left room for virtually anything the GM and the players wanted to add - without losing its internal consistency.

D&D, current:

Eberron
It's somewhat outside the norm, but more importantly it's internally consistent with itself and, unlike either the Realms or Greyhawk, with D&D.

d20, current:

Iron Kingdoms
It's developed, it's original, it's consistent, it's gorgeous, it's gritty, it's realistic - and it has mecha, too!

RPGs, all-time:

TIE

Conan the Roleplaying Game
Brilliantly gleaned from Robert E. Howard's brilliant vision, the current incarnation of the Conan RPG is nearly unmatched in its savage grandeur. The days of high adventure, indeed!

Shadowrun
Cyberpunk almost makes sense in Shadowrun, unlike in its purely technological incarnations; what's more, the use of Aztec mythology is hugely cool, and the setting, for all its strangeness, manages to have a powerful internal logic.

 

[demiurge1138]

Probably Planescape at this point, because of the cant, the excellent flavor, and all of the material that it got. Eberron has a lot of potential - with more support, it could easily be up there with Planescape in terms of fluff.

Demiurge out.

 

[twofalls]

Kingdoms of Kalamar

Kenzer went out of their way to envision a world where fantasy magic and creatures existed, and tried to work them logically into a world ecology. The politics of the game are interesting and engrossing, and the structure of the continents make sense. In the Atlas, even the weather patterns of the world are explained.

Cultures are given entire books such as Hobgoblins, Orcs, Elves, heck even gnomes. The material is original, with enough traditional fantasy to make it all relate well, and its all quite intelligent. Kalamar gets my vote.

 

[Waylander the Slayer]

Iron Kingdoms - Just picked up the IKWG and it is 100% fluff - the only company ballsy enough to do this and the material in it is just that good that it can stand alone without any crunch - add the monsternomicon to the mix and you have a setting that is internally consitant, fun, well written and beyond unique. Needless to say, i shelved my home brew to run an IK campaign.

 

[Khairn]

Another voice for Iron Kingdom, although Midnight is a very close second.

What sets them both apart from the rest of the pack is the quality and consistency of the writing and how well it meshes with each of their unique worlds.

Some folks might want a more classic fantasy setting, or might not enjoy the darkness of Midnight or the "full metal fantasy" of the Iron Kingdoms, but thier fluff is outstanding.

 

[Doug McCrae]

Glorantha. In terms of richness, imagination and the cultural knowledge possessed by the creators it leads the field.

Maybe Tekumel can rival Glorantha but I'm not that familiar with it.