Be it old or new, what is (at present) your preferred D&D/OSR-game setting?
Is this different than your all-time favorite?
The only OSR-anything I have is Dark Albion: The Rose War! So that is my favorite setting.
My favorite D&D setting has been and will always be Ravenloft.
I have always had a soft spot for the Known World/Mystara.
It can be schlocky, hacky, nonsensical, and sometimes very obviously made up of "we need an article/gazatteer to complete our release schedule, get someone to write up a location and a place to throw it," but at least it grew organically. Forgotten Realms or Eberron seem very designed. I kinda prefer the low budget Ren Faire feel where you can tell that the ale stand is a repurposed set piece from a dinner theater rendition of Camelot and King Oberron's outfit is half authentic 10th Century and half ebay make-do depending on his budget the year each piece was purchased.
Hyperborea, from Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea, which should surprise no one here. I've posted about it in other threads and promote their Kickstarters in the News and Adverts forum.
Presentation-wise, I like that the author has not over-detailed the setting. There's plenty of room for me to expand while still having good information about the most notable physical, culture and historical features, but that information does not require tons of time to learn. Most features get just a few sentences, yet they all integrate together well to create an evocative picture and have great adventure hooks built into them that really inspire me to develop them my way.
Content-wise, I like that it's a pulpy vision of humans (no fantasy elfs, dwarves, hobbits, etc) surviving in a dying world against alien, elder, demonic, twisted, mutated or dead things (no dozens of colored dragons etc). The world exists as a flat slice of icey, mountainous land spinning through the void, hacked away from an ancient earth, with its surrounding ocean spilling into infinity. The bloated, dying red sun skirts the horizon, never fully setting or rising. A great plague wiped out almost everything 1,000 years ago and the surviving Amazons, Atlanteans, Esquimaux, Hyperboreans, Ixians, Kelts, Kimmerians, Picts and Vikings, among others, never really recovered, leaving plenty of creature-filled ruins to explore. The gods, drawn largely from Lovecraft, Howard and Smith, all seem vengeful or at best uncaring. Overall, it feels designed to be more episodic than epic, which I love, because I don't like epic high fantasy stuff. Go raid that lost tomb and raise enough money for one last great feast!
Honestly, I think the Gazetteer is worth the price of admission alone here. You could easily jettison the rules and use the world as a lost continent or pocket dimension anywhere. Plus, the new hardback book comes with an awesome, hand-drawn world map.
Probably Arduin... but sometimes Ravenloft.
For D&D, I love Planescape, Ravenloft and Dark Sun.
For OSR, I love Carcosa and Venger's Purple Haunted Putrescence
https://www.amazon.com/Islands-Purple-Haunted-Putrescence-Venger-Satanis/dp/1500121592
All-time favorite would be Greyhawk or Grey Box FR. I could pick up and run a campaign in those tomorrow. Current favorite is probably Hyperborea from AS&SH because, like the old Spelljammer, Planescape, or Ravenloft, it's an interstitial setting, something that can used to link different settings.
Sentimental favorite goes to The Scarred Lands. It's D&D, but brings a more Mythic feel without being "too weird to live" or based on real world mythology. I just love that setting but I need a system for it because I really can't stomach 3e anymore.
The known world. I've read a lot about it, however I've never actually gotten brave enough to run it .
Probably Planescape, specifically Sigil. For city based adventures, you have it all and the Planes too.
Quote from: cranebump;926715The known world. I've read a lot about it, however I've never actually gotten brave enough to run it .
Interesting choice of words. What exactly is giving you pause, if you don't mind my asking for details?
From the TSR era, well, the one I have actual experience with is
Mystara/The Known World. I've considered setting games in both
Greyhawk (1e, World of Greyhawk),
Forgotten Realms (1e, gray box) and
Dark Sun (original boxed set, pre-Prism Pentad), but I have yet to do it.
Tékumel is a long-time favorite, too, but one I don't quite associate with "OSR" systems-wise (partial to BRP and to Dave Morris' Tirikélu ruleset).
Not TSR, but does the
Palladium Fantasy world count? (It damn well should.)
From the actual OSR, I'm a sucker for both
The Auran Empire (from ACKS) and
Hyperborea (from AS&SH, currently kickstarting a 2nd edition (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1806106772/astonishing-swordsmen-and-sorcerers-of-hyperborea-0)). Both draw heavily from classic S&S, with the first accommodating for D&D's sacred cows and the other slaughtering a few.
From assorted modules,
Dwimmermount's surrounding sandbox is not too bad either, and
Anomalous Subsurface Environment reads like an alternate universe Numenera (which it predates by what, five years?) that does not take itself seriously at all; less Gene Wolfe and more Thundarr the Barbarian (including a character class clearly patterned after Ookla the Mok).
DCC #84's Purple Planet is a ton of fun but sadly written up as a detour from a "regular" campaign rather than a fully realized campaign setting.
Quote from: cranebump;926715The known world. I've read a lot about it, however I've never actually gotten brave enough to run it .
Do it piecemeal. Choose a patch of land, start the PCs there, expand upon the map as required. Mystara is like a pizza with a different topping on every slice, try to stuff it all in your mouth and you're gonna have a bad time.
Quote from: The Butcher;926748From the TSR era, well, the one I have actual experience with is Mystara/The Known World.
I like this setting as well. In fact when 5e came out I made this map (http://i415.photobucket.com/albums/pp233/KrimsonGray/Campaign%20Cartographer/PhandelverKarameikosOverland_zps2b86db9a.png) for Mines of Phandelver. And then after buying the Mystara boxed set for 2e on eBay my players decided they wanted to play in FR. So then I made this map (http://i415.photobucket.com/albums/pp233/KrimsonGray/Campaign%20Cartographer/Erthmyst2_zpsx4yg7oim.png) so I could have it all!
For more mundane games I am kind of fond of Gothic Earth from Masque of the Red Death. So I could run something in Victorian London or the Wild West and still run D&D. I blame the 1e DMG for having Boot Hill and Gamma World conversions.
Quote from: Shipyard Locked;926736Interesting choice of words. What exactly is giving you pause, if you don't mind my asking for details?
Feeling confident enough to be consistent with the lore. I'm used to using maps and then winging details. But with KW, I'd want to be true to it. As I figure the world lore would be available to players, and I don't trust that I could run things on the fly without botching historical details. The short answer would be, I like to make things up as I go (within a loose framework) and this wouldn't play to my strength. I think I might suck at it.
If Ravenloft counts, then definitely that. I've also got a longstanding interest in the Known World.
Quote from: The Butcher;926748Do it piecemeal. Choose a patch of land, start the PCs there, expand upon the map as required. Mystara is like a pizza with a different topping on every slice, try to stuff it all in your mouth and you're gonna have a bad time.
I'd have to, for sure. Maybe when I hard reboot--if we do. The current campaign is pretty immersive and developing so far.
Quote from: cranebump;926765Feeling confident enough to be consistent with the lore. I'm used to using maps and then winging details. But with KW, I'd want to be true to it. As I figure the world lore would be available to players, and I don't trust that I could run things on the fly without botching historical details. The short answer would be, I like to make things up as I go (within a loose framework) and this wouldn't play to my strength. I think I might suck at it.
I'd say just pick a place and focus on the lore for that region. With the first 5e game I ran, I had it set in Karakeikos. My resources were the old Gazeteer as well as the 2e boxed set. I made sure to be familiar with cities and towns, important NPCs and organizations as well as the people and their culture. Maybe read up on surrounding areas just to be passingly familiar with it. Odds are the characters are not going to be travelling more than 50 miles for the first little while, which gives you the opportunity to familiarize yourself with other places they may go to. Okay, that can be some work because players are unpredictable and may go anywhere. If they see the Princess Arc be prepared for them to attempt to steal it, and succeed. :D
Really though the best way to go is to keep it local. I used Karameikos because most of the B modules are set there. :D Running them through published adventures save you a lot of trouble to begin with, and if they're crawling around in a dungeon or keep then a political feud between rival Barons isn't something you need to worry about. Until one of them becomes a Baron and gets a rival.
Or you could have them go to exotic and isolated locations. Easiest way to do this is to put them on a ship. Have them fight pirates or be pirates and make sure they learn the hard way not to wear heavy armor. *sploosh*
It really depends on what your preference is. One of my old friends and DM liked mass combat and organized warfare, so I ended up playing a Thyatian Centurian. Heh, as I recall for one battle he used Seige of Jerusalem (Avalon Hill game similar to Squad Leader) to resolve it. That was fun, though normally we just used the War Machine. In fact his character in my Karameikos game was Thyatian.
Really though if you pick an area and just work on that odds are pretty good the characters won't wander too far astray. Your mileage may vary. A town like Verge or Threshold could work. Threshold is out of the way enough to be away from most civilization, but it's pretty much designed to be a jump point for adventures. Not to mention, there is a road that goes to Specularum, and the roads in Karameikos are really really nice so if you have to travel along a main road, travel will be quick.
Unless you have players who are Known World sages, I wouldn't worry about knowing the world. Remember in the old days, it was just the Known World, the default setting for D&D. Or run the B modules until you are comfortable enough to do your own thing.
OLD: Tekumel is the crown jewel, indisputably. I also dig the rangy Midwestern 70's geekery of Judges Guild's Wilderlands.
NEW: Carcosa. Vornheim. Planet Algol. Wermspittle.
Quote from: RPGPundit;926433Be it old or new, what is (at present) your preferred D&D/OSR-game setting?
Is this different than your all-time favorite?
The only game line that I've picked up that has an inherent setting that might fit this definition of D&D is Scarlet Heroes. Everything else that I got has nothing actively attached.
I have the various versions of Micro-Lite 74 and Swords and Wizardry, which I admit isn't a big list.
But I like the Scarlet Hero setting.
Definitely the Odd World of Into the Odd (with bits of Fallen London thrown in for good measure).
Old: Tekumel, Planescape, Dragon Warriors' Legend.
New: Red Tide setting, Zongor and Lankhmar if we don't consider the latter cheating, and if Goodman Games finish the work on the boxed set soon.
Only Tekumel is on the shortlist of my all-time favourites, while Zongor, Red Tide, Lankhmar and Planescape are on the expanded list.
Planescape and Dark Sun.
I was only thinking 'old'... if I pick from new stuff... it's probably the implied setting shared by the various LotFP modules, along with Corpathium from the Logan Knight's 'Last Gasp' blog.
I ran a group who were part of a corsair crew in an Al-Quadim game. Really fun setting, unfortunate name.
Oh, if we weren't talking about just the new stuff, then I'll pick Dark Sun, pre-2e reboot.
The only thing of Mystara I remember were the Dragon Mag stories detailing the The Voyages of The Princess Ark, or whatever it was called. And seeing a couple of the Gazetteers in the various other issues from time to time. Greyhawk never felt fully defined. The Realms seemed to be a vehicle for characters that were too cool than any character any other table could create within the provided rules (which was pretty common back in that era, if I remember correctly. WEG's Star Wars had some egregious examples as well.)
The Red Tide setting that Scarlet Heroes is up there, just not as high as Dark Sun.
Ravenloft and Known World.
I tend more towards real world period settings these days usually dipped with gothic horror and light magic, pretty much inspired by Ravenloft. Also homebrew Sword and Sorcery settings.
For pure old school DnDish fantasy though, definitely Known world.
Well, Greyhawk, of course. I've got a fondness for small press stuff, so the weird Aztec setting from High Fantasy. I'll give props to Wizard's Realm for the blank continent map with a single detailed town. Cidri, oh, I know, Cidri was barely a setting but again I love the blank lines. Ralph, Khoset and Kazan, of course, nothing says gonzo like a dragon shaped continent. Never had much setting material, just solitaire adventure stuff like City of Terrors and The Naked Doom with their mad lord and gladiatorial pits. Traveller's Third Imperium. Gamma World. I'll put the Caithness of Steve Jackson's Orkslayer in. Sure Yrth is more of a modern setting but Orkslayer? You live in the peacable kingdom of goodness where even a woman can be a knight when suddenly ORKS ATTACK!
But then I read the title again and realized it's OSR stuff not old school stuff. :D
If we're including old stuff, then Greyhawk folio/box. Love it!
Quote from: Christopher Brady;926961The Realms seemed to be a vehicle for characters that were too cool than any character any other table could create within the provided rules (which was pretty common back in that era, if I remember correctly. WEG's Star Wars had some egregious examples as well.)
I think WEG SW played by the rules for NPCs, but you'd have to be playing the rest of your life to approach the xp totals of even minor movie characters. And giving them skills they never showed on screen. Mon Mothma had points in speeder bike operation, despite her not even being in the Endor-bearing movie.
The Realms certainly broke the rules. Elminster I guess was just a dual class fighter-->MU, but then that favored of Mystra thing. Um, okay. Why should I play in this world if these guys are tromping around?
For new stuff- Hyperborea by far.
For old stuff- Forgotten Realms 1st ed gray box.
Gray box Forgotten Realms is my favorite, bar none.
I also really like the Greyhawk setting published in late 2e, after the Wars but before 3e.
Ravenloft is awesome, though I usually use it mixed in with a regular campaign, as a bit of a break.
How come no one mentioned Melan's Fomalhaut?!!?
Quote from: danbuter;927299Ravenloft is awesome, though I usually use it mixed in with a regular campaign, as a bit of a break.
That's why I pretty much drop the Dread Domains into Gothic Earth, so that I can break up the horror with Gaslight Fantasy and Steampunk Western goodness.
Quote from: Zulgyan;927495How come no one mentioned Melan's Fomalhaut?!!?
Bless you?
Quote from: Christopher Brady;927526Bless you?
Fomalhaut was the first star that we found with a visible exoplanet. I had no idea it was an OSR setting.
Quote from: Chainsaw;927018If we're including old stuff, then Greyhawk folio/box. Love it!
+1. I really like "From the Ashes" for Greyhawk as well. I also like Birthright as a setting, as long as you squint your eyes to get past some of the setting details.
Even though I own a lot of OSR rules and adventures, I don't have any OSR settings. I guess I haven't felt the need to search for a new setting. Dark Albion is the only OSR setting that has really caught my interest.
Quote from: Chainsaw;926615Hyperborea, from Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea, which should surprise no one here. I've posted about it in other threads and promote their Kickstarters in the News and Adverts forum.
Presentation-wise, I like that the author has not over-detailed the setting. There's plenty of room for me to expand while still having good information about the most notable physical, culture and historical features, but that information does not require tons of time to learn. Most features get just a few sentences, yet they all integrate together well to create an evocative picture and have great adventure hooks built into them that really inspire me to develop them my way.
Content-wise, I like that it's a pulpy vision of humans (no fantasy elfs, dwarves, hobbits, etc) surviving in a dying world against alien, elder, demonic, twisted, mutated or dead things (no dozens of colored dragons etc). The world exists as a flat slice of icey, mountainous land spinning through the void, hacked away from an ancient earth, with its surrounding ocean spilling into infinity. The bloated, dying red sun skirts the horizon, never fully setting or rising. A great plague wiped out almost everything 1,000 years ago and the surviving Amazons, Atlanteans, Esquimaux, Hyperboreans, Ixians, Kelts, Kimmerians, Picts and Vikings, among others, never really recovered, leaving plenty of creature-filled ruins to explore. The gods, drawn largely from Lovecraft, Howard and Smith, all seem vengeful or at best uncaring. Overall, it feels designed to be more episodic than epic, which I love, because I don't like epic high fantasy stuff. Go raid that lost tomb and raise enough money for one last great feast!
Honestly, I think the Gazetteer is worth the price of admission alone here. You could easily jettison the rules and use the world as a lost continent or pocket dimension anywhere. Plus, the new hardback book comes with an awesome, hand-drawn world map.
Fantastic description sir. You just sold me on this game.
Quote from: Zulgyan;927495How come no one mentioned Melan's Fomalhaut?!!?
Melan's work is indeed excellent.
Did Melan ever create a book for Fomalhaut?
Quote from: Itachi;927564Fantastic description sir. You just sold me on this game.
Agreed. Awesome breakdown Chainsaw!!
Quote from: Itachi;927564Fantastic description sir. You just sold me on this game.
Quote from: Spinachcat;927595Agreed. Awesome breakdown Chainsaw!!
Glad you found it helpful! I enjoy my Greyhawk too, but Hyperborea (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1806106772/astonishing-swordsmen-and-sorcerers-of-hyperborea-0?token=1a43b0a8) offers a nice contrast. :)
Also on the OSR front and even farther from Greyhawk, I should definitely mention Patrick Wetmore's
Anomalous Subsurface Environment (http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/PatW), a kind of Thundarr the Barbarian-inspired gonzo science-fantasy setting organized around a megadungeon. I haven't run it yet, but it's just awesome and oozes with flavor and pure fun. It's on my bucket list. A couple good reviews:
Grognardia on ASE Level 1 (http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2011/06/review-anomalous-subsurface-environment.html?m=1)
bryce0lynch on ASE Level 1 (http://tenfootpole.org/ironspike/?p=63)
bryce0lynch on ASE Levels 2-3 (http://tenfootpole.org/ironspike/?p=2027)
Quote from: Shawn Driscoll;926592The only OSR-anything I have is Dark Albion: The Rose War! So that is my favorite setting.
Well, thanks for that!
Quote from: Madprofessor;927533+1. I really like "From the Ashes" for Greyhawk as well. I also like Birthright as a setting, as long as you squint your eyes to get past some of the setting details.
Even though I own a lot of OSR rules and adventures, I don't have any OSR settings. I guess I haven't felt the need to search for a new setting. Dark Albion is the only OSR setting that has really caught my interest.
Thank you too!
Quote from: AsenRG;926915Old: Tekumel, Planescape, Dragon Warriors' Legend.
New: Red Tide setting, Zongor and Lankhmar if we don't consider the latter cheating, and if Goodman Games finish the work on the boxed set soon.
Only Tekumel is on the shortlist of my all-time favourites, while Zongor, Red Tide, Lankhmar and Planescape are on the expanded list.
I hadn't heard of Zongor before. I couldn't find an English language version. Do you know if there is one?
Quote from: Madprofessor;927533+1. I really like "From the Ashes" for Greyhawk as well. I also like Birthright as a setting, as long as you squint your eyes to get past some of the setting details.
Even though I own a lot of OSR rules and adventures, I don't have any OSR settings. I guess I haven't felt the need to search for a new setting. Dark Albion is the only OSR setting that has really caught my interest.
I like From the Ashes and Birthright as well. For OSR settings I recommend Yoon-Suin and Beyond the Wall's Further Afield. Deep Carbon Observatory isn't a complete setting but it is nicely detailed and evocative.
Quote from: RPGPundit;926433Be it old or new, what is (at present) your preferred D&D/OSR-game setting?
Is this different than your all-time favorite?
If you mean published settings, not many I care for but Dark Albion minus magic and frogs is quite useful. The kingdoms from Arrows of Indra are nice, too. Can't think of any others I'd use. Never cared for The Known World or Greyhawk or any of those TSR magic-heavy ones. Not sure what counts as "OSR" for this. Promise City from Boot Hill? Lake City from Gangbusters?
Quote from: Matt;948398Not sure what counts as "OSR" for this.
From my observation, OSR is a short-hand for "a new game, designed to emulate the incomplete and hand-wavey experience of BECMI D&D in such a way that we'd call it a fantasy heartbreaker if it were made 10+ years ago".
So Boot Hill and Gangbusters don't count, because while they aren't BECMI D&D knock offs, they're also -actually- old. :)
EDIT: To answer the OP, I'm liking the Sine Nomine stuff and -some- of the Lamentations of the Flame Princess offerings, but that has nothing to do with the game mechanics involved.
I'd say for new stuff Arcem, from Godbound is really good.
For older settings I like Forgotten Realms; mostly because there are lots of things to kick over.
Quote from: Narmer;948345I hadn't heard of Zongor before. I couldn't find an English language version. Do you know if there is one?
I suspect there isn't an English-language version and in any case, I've never seen one, sorry:).