Which is the Best WOTC Setting to Purchase?

[Shellman]

IMO,

FORGOTTEN REALMS is one of my favorites and will always be up there at or near the top. Other than that I am with Nightfall!

THE SCARRED LANDS is my other setting of choice. I have played it and loved it, now I am just trying to get my own Scarred Lands Campaign going.

P.S. you can get a hold of all the Scarred Lands material a a greatly reduced price right now. I now have all the books and I can't wait to take my players through all of them.

Greyhawk is to bland to me, where Kalamar is a great setting but I prefer to spice up the magic use in the entire world. It is supposed to be a fantasy world after all.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Here are my prefrences in order:

1) Forgotten Realms
2) Arcana Evolved
3) Scarred Lands
4) Iron Heroes
5) A Game Of Thrones

 

[The Cardinal]

non-WotC is the way to go:

- Wilderlands of High Fantasy (the boxed set will stun you with its greatness: read the reviews on this site! - perfect classic setting, maybe the best bang for your D&D3.5 bucks you'll ever see)

- Midnight [FFG] (absolutely fantastic - but utterly dark, grim & gritty)

- Dawnforge [FFG] (great "how it all began" feel - just three books)

- Scarred Lands [S&S/WW] (discontinued line, but tons of details, and cheap to get)

 

[MerricB]

[size=+3]THE WORLD OF GREYHAWK![/size]

(Hah! You forgot I was a Greyhawk fan as well, didn't you! )

I thought about a Non-WoTC setting but I heard most of those other setting are pretty bad.

You heard correctly. Most are terrible. There are some that are better than what Wizards make, though. Much better. Much, much better. (Just ask Nightfall).

However, campaign settings are very personal things. What appeals to me (Greyhawk and Eberron) doesn't necessarily appeal to you. A lot of it is also tied up in nostalgia and other things.

So, here's a brief rundown of the two major D&D settings:

[size=+1]Forgotten Realms[/size]

A large world, made up of mostly city-states and a few kingdoms or empires. As the main D&D world for the past... err... almost 20 years, it has a wealth of information published for it. The setting reminds me of a mediaeval society just going into the Renaissance. There are the remnants of ruined empires, and to some extent humanity is on the rise and other humanoids are on the decline.

The Forgotten Realms are a place of high magic: powerful wizards and warriors walk Faerun, and the threats can be equally dangerous. Despite the high magic of the setting, magic isn't that commonly used. It is used by the great, not so much the common people.

The foes range from regular D&D enemies (orcs lurking in buried dungeons) to societies of evil, the most iconic being that of the Zhentarim. Manipulation from behind the scenes is common in some adventures.

For some reason, there are great wilderness areas in the Realms, meaning that actual wars aren't so common. Intrigue between nations is more common.

[size=+1]Eberron[/size]

Although Eberron is an entire world, most of the published material focuses on the continent of Khorvaire. Eberron is just coming out of a hundred-year war, which splintered a continent-spanning kingdom into many smaller domains. The result mistrust leads to a situation similar to that after World War II: the new kingdoms are trying to rebuild, they constantly scheme against each other, and the next war is just around the corner.

In stark contrast to the Forgotten Realms, there are very few powerful wizards or other magic-users in Eberron. However, low-level magic is very common, and is integrated into society.

So, magical devices such as the lightning rail (the train), elemental-powered airships and floating citadels do exist.

Foes tend to be secret societies, nations, or regular guys lurking in dungeons.

Adventures remind me of those of James Bond, Indiana Jones, and more darker sources.

As Eberron has only been around for about a year, there are fewer products to get and much less information to absorb.

OTOH, it's much less "traditional" a world (or Tolkienesque, if you prefer), and so may be off-putting.

Cheers!

 

[Ashrum the Black]

Between the two you've posted, I'd say Eberron. As has been stated it's fresher, and more open for you to add your own bits without somebody taking offence that you've changed cannon. Of course that is also its weak point, in that there's more work for you to do since every small hamlet hasn't seen print at one point or the other.

So if yo're looking to just pick up and run a campaign with very little work, the realms might be for you.

Of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't plug the Iron Kingdoms from privateer press. That is a wonderful campaign setting. Great writing, awsome artwork that complements the setting material, and one of the best adventures I've ever run, the Witchfire. They also have their own line of minitures for the setting as well. The full metal fantasy slant of the setting makes things new and fresh, and allows for a different slant to be taken on a campaign that standard fantasy of orks and goblins.

-Ashrum

 

[The_Gunslinger658]

Hi all-

I really did not realize that such a question would get such extream responces. One reason for my preference for the WoTC settings over the non-WoTC is because I was told most TPM's are badly produced and edited, hence, my preference for WoTC's settings.

Anyway, perhaps Eberron might be the way to go, it does sound like a really cool setting with great production values.

Scott

 

[Psychic Warrior]

Hi-

I'm think about buying either Eberron or Forgotten Realms but can not decide which to get, so why not ask you guys which setting should get my hard earned $$. I thought about a Non-WoTC setting but I heard most of those other setting are pretty bad.


thanks guys


Scott

Scarred Lands. It ain't WotC and it is awesome.

 

[Anti-Sean]

Oh, Eberron, how I love you so! *clutches ECS tightly, rocking back and forth*

This setting grows on me more and more every day. Many of the reasons it flips a bunch of my switches have already been mentioned, but I want to expand on one in particular. Enough cannot be said about the fresh new spin put on the old races in Eberron. Dragonmarks and the Dragonmarked Houses were not only a way to entice players to use the standard PHB races instead of abandoning them wholesale for the (also very cool) new races introduced in the setting, they've also been woven into the history and background of Eberron in many great ways.

For instance, I've always hated halflings with a burning passion. Despised them ever since I first cracked open the Red Box almost 17 years ago. Never have I ever entertained the thought of playing one. But Eberron made them into nomadic barbarians who ride dinosaurs. Holy crap - that works for me on *so* many levels! That's just sheer, inspired lunatic brilliance! (I know some utterly loathe that notion, but to me, it's a thing of beauty). If the dino-riding halflings aren't your thing, they also bear the Mark of Healing. The churches in the setting are actual churches for the most part, and not giant Cure Light Wounds ATMs - House Jorasco, the halflings who bear the Mark of Healing, have a continent-wide monopoly on mundane and magical healing.

They also managed to half-elves cool! For once, you can find a half-elf who isn't a brooding, whiny Tanis clone! (no knock against Tanis or the Chronicles trilogy, I still love those dearly). Half-elves have bred true over time, have developed their own Dragonmarks, and have a society and culture all of their own. Instead of angsty, mistreated loners, you now have swashbuckling, freewheeling airship captains! Airships, I tell you! (ohhh, House Lyrandar, you tempt me so!)

I'll stop there, but I really could go on for hours about it. It took me a little while to warm up to it, but each time I gave it another look, I found something else that drew me in. I'm hopelessly hooked now! Whatever setting you wind up running, I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy Eberron.

 

[Grimstaff]

Hi-

I'm think about buying either Eberron or Forgotten Realms but can not decide which to get, so why not ask you guys which setting should get my hard earned $$. I thought about a Non-WoTC setting but I heard most of those other setting are pretty bad.


thanks guys


Scott

I'd say Forgotten Realms is definitely your best pick for a first campaign setting. Its a good, traditional high-fantasy setting that most of your players should be able to get the feel of very easily. And don't believe the naysayers that say "there are too many high-level NPCs" or "you'll have to buy $800.00 worth of books", thats BS, the Realms are huge and no one need ever encounter any official NPCs whatsoever, and all you need is the main campaign book, which is excellent. Really a well done book with tons of detail and wonderful maps, you wont need to buy anything else unless you really feel like it.

Eberron, on the other hand, is probably better for the more jaded gamers who have been playing Greyhawk and Forgotten Realms for the last 20 years and are bored with them. THe book itself is kind of lame, imho, and the maps are terrible, you'll have a really hard time pulling this into a cohesive world without buying some extras, like the issue of Dragon that comes with a big poster map. The City of Sharn book, on the other hand, is very good, and could be used for a whole campaign without having to deal with any other Eberron nonsense. Don't believe the whole "Noir/Pulp" thing, it really closer to steam-punk.

And yes, whoever told you 3rd party settings are junk needs to do some homework (Wilderlands, Black Company, Freeport are all great) but admittedly not for the beginning group.

 

[DragonLancer]

Hi-

I'm think about buying either Eberron or Forgotten Realms but can not decide which to get, so why not ask you guys which setting should get my hard earned $$. I thought about a Non-WoTC setting but I heard most of those other setting are pretty bad.

I had to agree with what the others have said... there are some very good non-WotC settings out there. Theres some awful bumpf, but don't let that turn you off.

Out of the two settings you mention, I suggest Forgotten Realms. It holds to the traditional D&D fantasy setting which IMO makes more sense than the pesudo-medieval steampunk that is Eberron.

I'm playing in an Eberron game at the moment, and while its enjoyable, the world is too weird and too far removed from D&D.

If you want to look further afield I recommend Dragonlance, Dawnforge, and Scarred Lands. While yes, its true that Dawnforge and Scarred Lands are no longer supported they are IMO two of the best settings out there.