Your least favourite setting

[fredramsey]

I don't have to. Simply put, there's no way any sane person would say that Grave of the Fireflies and Cosplay complex were part of a "genre", any more than Aliens Vs. Predator and Sense and Sensibility are part of the same "genre". They are both films, therefore they are the same medium.

But, I can understand the difficulty of letting the western ideas of animation go.

And you ignore my points. I'm actually familiar with both of those, and yet I still make the statement I made above, and I still stand by them. You haven't said anything about them yet.

Nor have you addressed your mis-use of the word medium.

In the sports world, that's what we call a forfeit.

 

[howandwhy99]

I gotta voice my opinion on FR as well. It's an insanely detailed setting with hundreds of campaigns worth of ideas and place to explore. However, it does have to ran correctly or the players will feel like second fiddles to the Elminsters and Drizzts of the world. In the first FR campaign I played in, this happened. Everytime we fought a BBEG, some major NPC was there to steal our thunder. It made the campaign a total waste of time and nearly soured me on the setting. That's the only time this has happened, and I've had a great time playing in the Realms each time after.

The two settings that I've found myself playing second fiddle in the most are.....

You're right about Forgotten Realms. Being SO exceptionally detailed it is almost impossible to surprise the players. If you go strictly by canon, the players could plan out a continent spanning trip for their PCs road by road, inn by inn. What shocks where their be? What cultural differences would intrigue them? The player knowledge is vastly more than character knowledge making the game a little stale. Which is shame, because so much of the FR is pure flavor. However, I feel the game can be stripped of this aspect as easily as stripping out the uber-NPCs. I personally stay out of the core lands. But running in them isn't bad either. Just use total immersion and use the fully-fleshed out descriptions as kernals of the truth. Not in-game reality.

I play in a Mistledale game and am fortunate enough to have a great DM running it. But I can certainly relate to playing Second Fiddle. Almost all our players do.

 

[Desdichado]

I don't have to. Simply put, there's no way any sane person would say that Grave of the Fireflies and Cosplay complex were part of a "genre", any more than Aliens Vs. Predator and Sense and Sensibility are part of the same "genre". They are both films, therefore they are the same medium.

But, I can understand the difficulty of letting the western ideas of animation go.

1. I never called animation a genre. I specifically called it a family of related styles. Please read before you react.
2. I have no "western" preconceptions of animation, having watched and enjoyed to a greater or lesser degree all kinds of anime over many years.
3. Attacking statements that I didn't make, and then making sly allusions about me personally that are not only incorrect but also irrelevent may seem like a good strategy once you realise that you can't back up your earlier claims. However, it's not. It's very transparent.

 

[francisca]

I don't like DragonLance. And I even played it once. Much later, I bummed a bunch of DL material from my buddy, thinking I may had been too hasty in my judgement. After reading much of the 2E material, I think I liked it less that I had before.

Settings I haven't played, but don't think I would enjoy them based on reading the material, following discussions on messageboards and fanboy sites: Dark Sun, SpellJammer, FR, and Ebberon. PlaneScape isn't my cup of tea for a long term campaign, but I think I would like a one-shot once in a while with a seasoned PS DM.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Okay, if you two cant can't stop the quibbling or at least be civil to each other, this thread will be locked, and that will be the end of it.

 

[Desdichado]

Okay, if you two cant can't stop the quibbling or at least be civil to each other, this thread will be locked, and that will be the end of it.

1. Please point out where I have been uncivil.
2. Not likely. It's gotta be a lot worse that this relatively friendly (albeit admittedly tangential) discussion to get locked.

 

[fredramsey]

That's nice.

1. I never called animation a genre. I specifically called it a family of related styles. Please read before you react.
2. I have no "western" preconceptions of animation, having watched and enjoyed to a greater or lesser degree all kinds of anime over many years.
3. Attacking statements that I didn't make, and then making sly allusions about me personally that are not only incorrect but also irrelevent may seem like a good strategy once you realise that you can't back up your earlier claims. However, it's not. It's very transparent.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

never mind.

 

[wingsandsword]

My Least Favorite Setting: Eberron
It feels like they were trying too hard. Come up with an excuse for everything from every book to fit somewhere, and power it all up a notch. I loved what one of my friends once called it: "DnD X-treme!!" referring to PC golems, the "Extreme Explorer" prestige class *shudder*, trains, a fantasy version of Coruscant with demographics that make the city about as empty as farmland. Making magic so utterly banal that there is an NPC classes devoted to churning it out, and PC class that does it on an even larger scale, but even though it's that common don't expect to find any NPC's who can cast high level spells for you, by the time you're mid-level you're one of the highest level people in the world! To me it feels like it was designed from the ground-up to be a munchkin's personal, private playground where they get to have lots of neat stuff, be the highest level people in the world, use every trick from every book, beat up every monster in the MM, and "win" D&D.

My Favorite Setting: Forgotten Realms.
I don't use it as a showcase of Uber-NPC's, and I'm not a slave to any metaplot. My PC's hear about the metaplot in passing, as rumors or at best they catch a glimpse of it (I throw out references to metaplot events to remind PCs that they are not the only adventurers in the world). The only "named" NPC the PC's have met in my 7+ month campaign has been Princess Alusair of Cormyr, and that's only because the PC's are based out of Cormyr and decided themselves to go petition the Crown for something. Elminster and the gang have way too much to do to swoop down and save the butts of every adventurer who gets in over their head. He's an archmage, not Superman. At most, an Epic Realms campaign should probably have them at least appear occasionally, but it's a big world, and plenty of arm-room for PC's to adventure without bumping into famous NPC's (unless the DM wants them to).

The actual reason I like the Realms is the depth of the setting. I can point to any place on the map and it has not just a name, but a culture, a history, politics, famous locals, and plenty of adventure hooks. Also, all my players know the Realms very well, having played in it under many DM's for many years and in some cases having read many novels, so when I mention Zzass Tam, or the Church of Helm, or Zhentil Keep my PC's all know exactly what I'm talking about, the reputation of the organization/country/person, and it really gives the feeling of a "shared world" you just don't get in a homebrew or almost any other setting.

 

[TerraDave]

Not to contradict the Founder, but another for Forgotten Realms. Even the 3rd edition version still has that icky sticky FR feel. And Planescape was presented in a way that can only be described as repulsive...I have no problem with either Manual of the Planes, but you know where you can shove your head, berk.

Spelljammer gets the special prize for pure goofiness, and 2nd edition Greyhawk honourary mention for turning a flavourfull setting into something all too bland. Mystarra gets the same prize for what it did to the (B/E) D&D known world.