You're in charge of D&D's setting! (here's the catch...)

[catsclaw227]

And, of course, there's the time factor: Some people just don't have the time to create a campaign setting (they're lucky if they don't have to play modules). Others will want to put their time to better use: Only fine tune the campaign setting to suit your own needs, and put the time saved into the area the heroes will be in...

And this pretty much sums up my situation.

 

[Set]

You can't do a Forgotten Hawk or Grey Realms, where the Circle of Eight marries the Seven Sisters and Kelemvor has dates with Wee Jas.

Why not?

'Cause you'd need an eigth sister, silly!

Personally, I'd rather make the settings *less* similar. It seemed to me that about a decade or so into the Realms-reign, Greyhawk started changing to become 'more Realmsy' with metaplot events (Greyhawk Wars), divine shenanigans (Vecna Lives), power creep (the Circle of Eight advancing past archmage status), etc.

Both settings are literally *brimming* with neat stuff. I don't think it would be 'fair' to the fans of either setting to start trimming some of the duplicated stuff. I love a lot of the lesser-used places, like Chessenta or Sunndi or the Lendore Isles, that might get swept under the rug, far more than the 'signature' areas like Greyhawk City or Cormyr or the Dalelands.

If D&D ever came out with a decent set of Epic rules, I think the Realms would be the setting-of-choice, already brimming with Epic NPCs and encounters (remember when all Phaerimm ranged from 20-30th level as Wizards?), whereas Greyhawk would be the setting best suited to character levels 1-20. Some might deride Greyhawk as the 'training wheels' setting, for 'newbs,' but I'd be just as happy seeing the settings' strengths not diluted by the desire to cater to Epic levels of play, for which the Realms is already better suited, thematically.

 

[Herobizkit]

I'd bring back the old Gazetteers and make them core. Then... I'd throw Forgotten Realms right out the window. The only thing I ever enjoyed about the FR is the wide range of deities and "specialty priests" of said deities, and they completely ruined that in 3e. The world itself is simply too "big" to be of any use to me.

Also, near the OP, the whole "teach kids how to make their own worlds" that was so pervasive all over 1e needs to make a comeback.

Example: Ghostwalk. I bought it because I wanted to see what Ghost campaigns would be like, maybe some back information about Ghosts in general, some historical references, maybe a peek into how to run various horror, investigative, etc. games. What I got was exactly the same format you get out of any Player's Manual, plus one completely unnecessarily detailed city... and less than 10 pages about actually MAKING the campaign yourself. This kind of drek is exactly why I buy as little WotC property as possible. I could have gotten more use out of a GURPS Undead or Horror supplement for that.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

I'd bring back the old Gazetteers and make them core. Then... I'd throw Forgotten Realms right out the window.

And that is the reason why I'd prefer ths thread to be about the topic "What would be your favourite situation for the Vanilla D&D Setting". You don't have to keep convincing yourself that if you did something like this as a business decision, you'd go down into the annals of Roleplaying History as the RPG equivalent of the Wachowsky Brothers or George Lucas. You can just say "that's what I'd prefer." You don't have to ignore anything like fans, because your own mind doesn't have fans to begin with.

Why not?

Because they're two different worlds with their own stories, background, and, most importantly, fan bases. The GH fans are already miffed that they have been dumped for what Wizards must consider the Better D&D setting (FR), imagine what they'd say if you suddenly had Red Wizards in Greyhawk. Same goes for FR fans who don't want Fists of Hextor and Olidammaras in their world.

I like the Realms as they are, I want to keep that GH stuff out of it. I guess most FR fans are like that, and most GH fans feel the same.

So again it would not only be quite a hustle in of itself, but also one of those really bad business decisions that turn a sizable part of your customers against you.

 

[Ry]

Thanks Kae'yoss. We get that you hate the idea. We really get it.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Because they're two different worlds with their own stories, background, and, most importantly, fan bases. The GH fans are already miffed that they have been dumped for what Wizards must consider the Better D&D setting (FR), imagine what they'd say if you suddenly had Red Wizards in Greyhawk. Same goes for FR fans who don't want Fists of Hextor and Olidammaras in their world.

Yeah, but the premise of the thread is "nevermind the fans, mash it together!" So poo on the fanbase. What would be cool about a world where you could take the best of GH and the best of FR and have them share a crystal sphere, so to speak?

I like the Realms as they are, I want to keep that GH stuff out of it. I guess most FR fans are like that, and most GH fans feel the same.

So again it would not only be quite a hustle in of itself, but also one of those really bad business decisions that turn a sizable part of your customers against you.

Right, but the fact that you don't have a record player doesn't matter to the "10 albums on an island" question, and the fact that this would cause wailing and gnashing of teeth doesn't matter to the "if you'd cram these two settings together, what would you do?" question.

Make a list about everything you love in FR. Then have a GH fan make a list of everything the love about GH. Now, just close your eyes and imagine there was a world with both those lists on it.

 

[Ry]

I started a new thread . Please... let this one die.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

Thanks Kae'yoss. We get that you hate the idea. We really get it.

Sorry, I somehow got the crazy idea that some people would want to know why I don't like it. I know that I hate those guys who just say "I hate X" and never saying why.

Yeah, but the premise of the thread is "nevermind the fans, mash it together!" So poo on the fanbase.

I'm part of the fanbase. I generally don't defecate on myself.

What would be cool about a world where you could take the best of GH and the best of FR and have them share a crystal sphere, so to speak?

Nothing. I don't want a sampler.

Make a list about everything you love in FR.

1. It's not Greyhawk.

Then have a GH fan make a list of everything the love about GH.

It's not FR

Now, just close your eyes and imagine there was a world with both those lists on it.

You mean, like, Midnight? Or Middle Earth?

That's what you'd get, basically: Something Else.

While I might be persuaded to include some basic premises from one campaign setting into the other (maybe Shadow Magic in GreyHawk or less magic items on the Realms or somethign like that), I want the Realms to be the Realms, and GH to be GH, with their own history and background and map.

I might like things from GH (I know nothing about the setting and don't intend to change it), but I like them to stay there.

Hey, so I like the Danisil Jungle Elves from Midnight, stealth specialists stalking demons in their jungle with their sepi, but I wouldn't want to put them into the FR.