Zendikar: The greatest D&D setting never published

[Asmor]

ack no! It sounds like a horrible setting!

What don't you like about it?

 

[slwoyach]

Too much magic. A lot of gamers would love this, but ones like me would avoid it like the plague. If you like Planescape you'd probably like this world. If you don't you'd probably hate it.

I like down to earth gritty settings. Yes Conan, no Final Fantasy.

 

[Mikaze]

It's pretty disheartening to see how often "not catering to my tastes" quickly equates to "horrible". (Personally, I LOVE Planescape and Conan)

*sidestepping that "failure of imagination" minefield entirely*

Neat stuff, and that is some great art. I've always had a soft spot for "floating island" settings. It's sad to see good stuff like that produced that will likely never see the light of day. Hell, you'd figure it could at least make its way into an artbook.

I'm reminded of some great Kalamar art that was made for books that were never printed.

 

[vagabundo]

Nice stuff, lots of great ideas to mine there.

 

[Eridanis]

I've been thinking the exact same thing. Several Zendikar ideas and landscapes are going to find their way into my new PF homebrew (whenever that gets off the ground).

 

[Storminator]

Looks like my group!

So, there are cracked bones and old blood splattered all over the alcove? I step in!

We have a running joke (stolen from Ren & Stimpy) about "pushing the shiny red button."

In my M&M game one PC busted his way into the control room of the giant robot and asked if there was a big red button to push. Contrary to all my previous plans for said giant robot, I just nodded my head and said "yes. Yes there is."

And awesomeness ensued.

PS

 

[Woas]

Ick. There are about 3 art pieces (all landscapes) that I felt drawn to. Otherwise it was completely not my style. And I especially can't stand Wayne Reynold's and his over-done T posed people.
In the design notes it says 'gear should be practical, utilitarian and rough looking' (maybe not exact quote) yet it's all very impractical, gussied up sharp points, buckles and complex inter working parts. Thumbs down.


On the other hand and going a little off topic, I heard this set of Magic is going to introduce a new card type - something like a trap card. I just can't wait for the chance to yell out, [Yu-Gi-Oh Voice]YOU'VE ACTIVATED MY TRAP CARD![/Yu-Gi-Oh Voice]

 

[RangerWickett]

I personally love the style and aesthetic of the setting. I love stories of adventure and exploration, and the setting is rather novel. It would be fun to just go poking around in the place (and by fun I mean, would lead to great stories but would probably be scary as hell while you're doing it).

 

[The_Gneech]

There's definitely more than a few buckles in there.

Although I disagree that there's such a huge rift between 3e and 4e's artwork to begin with.

It's not huge, but it's there. Mostly a matter of focus. 4E art, presumably because it's all trying to look like WAR, tends to be busy, and often has a lot of superfluous glowy bits, shiny things, or randomly floating stuff. The whole "turned up to 11" thing.

I agree that it looks like Pathfinder as well, because Pathfinder tends to have the same problem in spots. Except instead of being overwrought and shiny, Pathfinder is overwrought and dark.

Note that not all 4E art suffers from these things; the "elf vs. remorhaz" image on the back of the MM2 is terrific, for instance. It's just a trend I've noticed.

It's pretty disheartening to see how often "not catering to my tastes" quickly equates to "horrible".

It's a quirk of the language. To put "in my opinion" at the end of every sentence would be extremely tiresome, not to mention redundant. It's all opinion here ... to say on a message board, "that sounds like a horrible setting" is the same as to say "that sounds like a horrible setting in my opinion."

Too much magic. A lot of gamers would love this, but ones like me would avoid it like the plague. If you like Planescape you'd probably like this world. If you don't you'd probably hate it.

I like down to earth gritty settings. Yes Conan, no Final Fantasy.

Yes, that. The fantastic elements of a fantasy setting, to me, are like a strong spice in cooking. Used sparingly, they are incredible. Thrown all about, and they just ruin it.

-The Gneech

 

[slwoyach]

It's pretty disheartening to see how often "not catering to my tastes" quickly equates to "horrible". (Personally, I LOVE Planescape and Conan)

Well in that case there is no such thing as a horrible setting. An infinitely long hall full of charging kobolds rushing your 20th level fighter one at a time is a great setting if someone wants to roll a d20 and watch something die, but that's a horrible setting as far as I'm concerned.