Quote from: James Gillen;1030812I guess we need a primer.

JG

Grimy implies a dirty sort of setting. A strong criminal element, or poverty, societal breakdown, etc.

Grimdark is about the atmosphere: it's an atmosphere of hopelessness and pessimism.

You can have happy-go-lucky adventures in a grimy setting; you can also have a dystopia setting that's all clean and sleek but is in fact grimdark.

Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;1030928This is yet another reason why the original Arneson/Gygax paradigm of multiple PCs per player, played at different times, is genius.  You can have a myriad of experiences in the single campaign.

Worked well for us in Dark Albion.

Quote from: RPGPundit;1031370Grimy implies a dirty sort of setting. A strong criminal element, or poverty, societal breakdown, etc.

Grimdark is about the atmosphere: it's an atmosphere of hopelessness and pessimism.

You can have happy-go-lucky adventures in a grimy setting; you can also have a dystopia setting that's all clean and sleek but is in fact grimdark.

Totally true. But I think he was asking for a primer of settings that are "all grimy" or "all epic".
Because, let's look at this example.
A city of fallen glories, which was a big center before the gods got angry and destroyed it with fire from the skies. Ancestor spirits roam the streets, demons create their own cults, and the undead are only contained by a line of salt around the nearby place where the Underworld can be accessed each night - and conversely, the beings of the Underworld can access the world of the living. It's a place where many live in crushing poverty, while the trade in slaves, gems and spice makes the rich even richer, and opulent parties are the order of the night. The place attracts many scholars, and one can discover the artefacts of the Golden Age if one consults enough of them.
Grimy? Epic? It's both and you can find adventures in either part of the same city.

I like a mix of both.

My campaigns are set primarily in a set of city states based on the Renaissance Italy city states, but as adventurers the party is often hired to go to exotic places and fetch things or just prove things exist, and those places tend to have epic grandeur.  The cities are grimy and filthy, but out in the wilderness are the ruins of ancient kingdoms that will take your breath away.

There's a mountain visible from the road to the sole Dwarven stronghold that's been carved, Mt. Rushmore style, into the likeness of an ancient Dwarven hero king, except a river has been rerouted so that it pours out in a massive, frothing white waterfall from beneath his nose and cheeks to form his beard.  Everytime I run a campaign for a new group of players and they eventually find a reason to head to Steelguard Citadel, I describe the road up into the mountain and how they come around a bend in a pass and suddenly there before them is this 500 foot tall dwarven face staring down at them, with this great flowing beard of rushing water, and at least one player's jaw drops.

Quote from: AsenRG;1031717Totally true. But I think he was asking for a primer of settings that are "all grimy" or "all epic".
Because, let's look at this example.
A city of fallen glories, which was a big center before the gods got angry and destroyed it with fire from the skies. Ancestor spirits roam the streets, demons create their own cults, and the undead are only contained by a line of salt around the nearby place where the Underworld can be accessed each night - and conversely, the beings of the Underworld can access the world of the living. It's a place where many live in crushing poverty, while the trade in slaves, gems and spice makes the rich even richer, and opulent parties are the order of the night. The place attracts many scholars, and one can discover the artefacts of the Golden Age if one consults enough of them.
Grimy? Epic? It's both and you can find adventures in either part of the same city.

Yes, sure there can be both. And probably most Epic settings have something grimy about them, and most Grimy settings have something epic to be found, but you can typically define a setting by one or the other. Lankhmar has epic bits but it's mostly grimy. Elric has grimy bits but it's mainly Epic.

Quote from: RPGPundit;1032121Yes, sure there can be both. And probably most Epic settings have something grimy about them, and most Grimy settings have something epic to be found, but you can typically define a setting by one or the other. Lankhmar has epic bits but it's mostly grimy. Elric has grimy bits but it's mainly Epic.

Lankhmar is a point in your favour. But Elric's setting is only grimy if you're outside of Melnibone, and not a nobility, so it mostly strikes a balance:).
In Melnibone, Elric's setting is not grimy, "just" gruesome;).

Gritty and realistic. Not much of a fan of Disney Middle Ages, where there is a spell for everything. I prefer this for most genres, not only fantasy. It makes for better roleplaying, because it forces players to think about their actions.

Quote from: jan paparazzi;1033539Gritty and realistic. Not much of a fan of Disney Middle Ages, where there is a spell for everything. I prefer this for most genres, not only fantasy. It makes for better roleplaying, because it forces players to think about their actions.

Have you looked at Lion & Dragon?