Your least favourite setting

[Tyler Do'Urden]

Plansecape, Spelljammer, Eberron and, to a lesser extent Forgotten Realms are on my SUCKS list.

Put another way,

I hate munchkin settings.
Just can't stand em.
Give me a shovel, man I'll plant em.
Six feet under is where they belong.
I hate *power gaming* is the name of this song.

I can't really comment on Spelljammer, as it never grabbed me (and is just about completely dead), but the other three really aren't what I'd call "munchkin" settings, just settings with immense potential for abuse. If you run them the way they're supposed to be run (does anyone actually read the flavor material and the actual guidelines and suggestions in these books? I get the impression that most DM's don't...) they're fine.

And I've never understood the slur against Planescape. It actually seems underpowered for a setting that takes place in the outer planes... and the 2e books actually spent very little time on game stats or treasure, and you could frequently go entire sessions without swinging a sword- if you knew what you were doing (and Planescape: Torment took this to heart). In fact, I'd say that Planescape's emphasis on roleplaying and ideas rather than game mechanics makes it the anti-munchkin setting, but your milage may vary... and, as always, your DM...

 

[der_kluge]

I think as a followup to my previous thread, I would add that I have a love/hate relationship with Forgotten Realms. Some of the books for this setting are some of my favorites. The gods are some of the most well done, and most descriptive I've ever seen. I also love the detail. It's hands down the best.

But I do hate the magic level, and the munchkiny aspects of FR. If it was toned down by about half, I think it would be the absolutel best setting, IMO. Likewise, in any future game I run, I am going to disallow anything from the FRCS since it's just over the top. Spellcasting prodigy comes to mind.

 

[Joël of the FoS]

Ravenloft never really scared me.

I assume you mostly played in Ravenloft games of the "weekend in hell type", for exemple with a FR caracter brought to Ravenloft for an adventure? It is less scary indeed then a campaign where the PCs are low level Ravenloft natives. This rocks

Joël

 

[JPL]

Wraeththu.

I celebrate Storm Constantine's entire catalog.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Personally, I don't like Dragonlance. It's the only setting I can really bring myself to dislike, mostly because of the railroading and some bad experiences with gamers who tried to bring in the obnoxious kender, gully dwarves and tinker gnomes into "normal" D&D. And say what you like about 3e halflings, but they're not kender.

I think it would be difficult to look at the 1E and 2E halflings and then look at the 3E things they mutated into and not believe that they're at least half-kender, particularly the "modern" kender with most of their annoying/fun traits removed.

 

[Odhanan]

Forgotten Realms.
It made me feel like the player characters were just along for the ride.

I have had that experience with FR as well. It soured me on the world for a long time but I have also had GMs who essentially 'de-npced' the Realms and y'know, they aren't half bad.

Never had that feeling in a game. In novels, hell yeah, these characters seriously lack some depth and weaknesses. For me, Eric summarizes it pretty well:

I've never had the "high level NPCs" issue, and I truly don't see what the problem is. Then again I've never run any of the published adventures for FR. NPCs like Elminster etc. worked as great window dressing and patrons for the PCs in the campaigns I've run.

Used that way, they rock. Anyway, time for me to answer the main question, isn't it?

The setting that sucks the most now, for me, is EverQuest. It just *sucks* - doesn't appeal to my imagination at all. Just behind is Dragonlance. And I say "now", because I was and am still a huge fan of the 1st edition modules and supplements. Dragonlance 3E is IMO a complete failure. You simply cannot play it if you haven't read the War of Souls. And the information about the War of the Lance just isn't consistent enough... so you're left with questions like "now, what novel should I read first?" This is not a way to build a campaign setting IMO.

My favorite published setting would be the Diamond Throne of AE. Followed by Ghostwalk, Spelljammer (all the sessions I've been playing/GMed were so excellent), Eberron, Birthright, Greyhawk, FR, Ravenloft... really, I love all these settings and more.

 

[Turjan]

Put that flower away... there are children here.

And I've never understood the slur against Planescape. It actually seems underpowered for a setting that takes place in the outer planes... and the 2e books actually spent very little time on game stats or treasure, and you could frequently go entire sessions without swinging a sword- if you knew what you were doing (and Planescape: Torment took this to heart).

I agree, PS:T was a somewhat unique CRPG, because it made much more fun if you went the diplomatic way instead of fighting . Even if I won't play a Planescape campaign, because I'm not that fond of plane-hopping, I very much appreciate the ideas in that setting. I just bought 'The Factol's Manifesto' on ebay last week .

 

[VirgilCaine]

Al-Qadim might not have been everyone's favorite, but neither does it push the triggers that seem to make people actively dislike other settings: the preponderance of high-level NPCs and metaplot in FR, the wooden-ships-in-space of Spelljammer, the attitude of Planescape, the strong novel ties of Dragonlance, the psionics and high-powerness of Dark Sun, and so on.

I could see how Sha'irs could turn someone off--a caster getting to use any spell they wanted...crossing the arcane/divine barrier.
And I'm pretty sure it wasn't very true to Arabian/whatever culture. But this is D&D, not real life. Gorgons and Medusas are different creatures. But I like the free boxed set .PDFs that are on the WotC website--Corsairs of the Great Sea and Caravans.

A close second would be Jakandor. I don't know what more to say.

Nice. Did you ever read the "Questions about Wraethu" thread at RPG.net.

Explain, please. What are these? And WHY are they so bad?

Dragonlance.
I _HATE_ kender. I _HATE_ Gully dwarfs.
And more than anything else, I _HATE_HATE_HATE_HATE_HATE_ Tinker Gnomes.

I hate the fact that WOTC is now making core halflings into kender.
Gully dwarves are kinda funny, to an extent.
No comment on tinker gnomes.

I hate Kender. They aren't a race, they're what happens when someone plays the same halfling thief over and over, and the group can't remember a halfling that isn't like that one. Yeah, it's a bad player, as a whole race!

I also hate Sturm "Magic Nazi" Brightblade. All magic is evil. How about destroying all technology, too, since stirrups and iron armor and weapons make it easier to "do evil"?

[Of course, this is from reading one novel.]

"I just find out some incredibly important information that I have been wanting to find out for years...namely, MY FATHER IS ALIVE...and I don't write it down! Anywhere! And then I forget it! Because I left the red moon!" Oh yeah, thats believable.

But I don't see how 3e is turning halflings into Kender. They've turned them into neutral immigrant businessmen who like big swords and crossbows, yes. But Kender?

 

[Wombat]

I celebrate Storm Constantine's entire catalog.

Well, the final Grigori book didn't do much for me, but all the rest is good. As for Wraeththu as a rpg setting, I'll wait until her game actually comes out first.

Least favourite setting? Can't really say there is one. It all depends on who is running the game. For the most part I can say that I like the settings I have run (almost all homebrews) and most of the ones run by my friends (though I did have problems with one CoC campaign, not due to the setting, but due to an unprepared GM). It comes down, in the end, much more the to GM and the players than the settings, per se.

 

[Mystery Man]

But I don't see how 3e is turning halflings into Kender. They've turned them into neutral immigrant businessmen who like big swords and crossbows, yes. But Kender?

No it's not turning them into Kender. That would be a gross overreaction by those who would prefer their halflings as short, fat, and with furry feet.