I'm sure this has come up before, I just couldn't find any threads. So I'm interested, what's your favorite campaign setting? Let's say top five.
For me, I had to think about which ones most inspire me to want to create adventures and I based my order on that. Mine are decidedly D&D settings, but no need to be limited by game.
Mine are:
1. Golarion
2. Eberron
3. Dragonlance
4. Forgotten Realms (pre-blown up - I like the new FR, but I just don't think it's as strong)
5. Ravenloft
1. Planescape
1.5 Greyhawk
2. Golarion
3. Dark Sun
Golarion is climbing up fast... But still needs to get a few more gaming sessions before displacing the other two deeply rooted CS... ;)
1. Greyhawk
2. Forgotten Realms
3. Dark Sun
4. Birthright
5. Kalamar
Golarion will probably move onto the list as it gets older and grows.
1. Planescape
2. Golarion
3. Greyhawk
4. Eberron
1. Greyhawk
2. Planescape
3. Dark Sun
4. Glorantha (early Runequest)
5. Al Qadim
Golarion looks awesome, but it will be a few years before I actually play in it, after wrapping up other campaigns. I'm sure it will be at the top of a revised list at that point.
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1. Birthright
2. Lands of the Diamond Throne (Arcana Unearthed/Evolved)
3. Kingdoms of the Seven Continents (Homebrew)
4. Forgotten Realms (pre 4e)
5. Aldine (Blue Rose)
6. The Darkened Empire (Homebrew)
7. Lyllesium (Homebrew)
8. Grey Havens (Homebrew)
9. Tales of Telemonia (Homebrew)
What? You said "Any".
1. My own homebrew setting (for more than 25 years)
2. A friend's homebrew setting (unfortunately he doesn't GM anymore)
3. Forgotten Realms (even if 4e)
4. Eberron (but still many things i don't like)
5. Golarion (didn't play there yet)
1. Birthright
2. Dresden Files
3. Amber
4. Westeros (A Song of Ice and Fire)
5. David Farland's "The Runelords"
6. Dragonlance
7. Legend of the Five Rings
8. Matrix
9. Terminator
10. Warcraft
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I like elements of all of them, and feel guilty for not putting Eberron, Mystara and Greyhawk on the list, but I had to force myself to stick to my top four core settings.
D&D settings;
Scarred Lands
Al-Qadim
Golarion
Kara-Tur
Other;
Midkemia/Kelewan (Magician books, I believe a game setting as Tekumel: the Empire of the Petal Throne?)
whatever the name of the world is in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series (a d20-ized version is available as a game setting)
Freedom City (Mutants & Masterminds)
the 31st century (Legion of Super-Heroes comic books, made into a game setting by DC)
whatever the name is of the setting of Peter Hamilton's Reality Dysfunction books (not yet a game setting! I'm cheating here!)
the setting of David Brin's Uplift books (made into a game setting for GURPS)
1. Planescape
2. Talislanta
3. Rifts
4. Dune
5. Shadowrun
1. Planescape
2. Creation (Exalted)
3. That's it; everything else feels too limited for my taste.
1. Greyhawk
2. Planescape
3. Dark Sun
4. Glorantha (early Runequest)
5. Al QadimGolarion looks awesome, but it will be a few years before I actually play in it, after wrapping up other campaigns. I'm sure it will be at the top of a revised list at that point.
Gah! Someone reminded me of Monte's great work w/ Arcana Unearthed/Evolved. So I'm going to make that a tie w/...crap, I don't know. The shades of difference are so slight it probably doesn't matter.
1. Forgotten Realms
2. Birthright
3. Dark Sun
4. Kalamar
5. Greyhawk
I never got into Planescape, only because I thought it was merely an extension of the planar rules that have existed in each edition, not really a campaign setting itself, more a campaign "option" for if you wanted more detail in your planar excursions. Someone told me it was more then that, and I guess I'd have to actually read up on it to know, cause all the stuff on the back of the box didn't make it seem like it.
Also, though I've only played a single session in it, I'm surprised no one has mentioned Spelljammer. I thought it was an infinitely interesting D&D concept.
In no particular order:
Planescape (because the planes are cool and the art reinforced that idea of strange and unusual)
Forgotten Realms pre-4E (especially 1st-2E, because the books looked great with that parchment-like appearance and there was a lot of mystique wrapped up in the old gray box)
Rifts Earth, North America (lots of different groups together in one continent, a lot of them scummy, there's always someone to shoot)
Eberron (great pulp feel)
Golarion(looks promising)
Forgotten Realms(pre-4E)
Nehwon(or Lankhmar)
Nile Empire and Core Earth(TORG)
Lawrea(homebrew)
Gaslight Age(Cthulhu by Gaslight)
JB's Earth(JB007)
1. Wilderlands of High Fantasy/Citystate of the Invincible Overlord
2. Golarion
3. Deimos (Homebrew, destroyed in a failed Ascension Campaign.)
4. Greyhawk
5. Bureau 13 1920's (Gurps homebrew)
6. Delta Green
Third Imperium, Traveller
Greyhawk
Golarion
Forgotten Realms 1E
Theah, 7th Sea
Star Wars Rebellion Era
Alpha Complex, Paranoia
CITIZEN, it is treason to not have Alpha Complex as your favorite...report to PZO sector for immediate termination and reassignment
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1. Throal, Earthdawn
2. Golarion
3. Deadlands
4. Eberron
Others
Battlelords Universe! Just pure awesome carnage...Omega Cannon FTW.
Mars, Space 1889
Any Sci-fi
Any Pulp
Forgotten Realms, 2e
Planescape, but probably lower because I never played any games there.
1. Forgotten Realms
2. Greyhawk
3. Golarion
4. Dragonlance
-10. Eberron (no thank you)
1. Forgotten Realms
2. Greyhawk
3. Golarion
4. Dragonlance-10. Eberron (no thank you)
Always has to be one. The thread isn't about what you don't like, it's not about ripping other peoples choices. You don't have to like Eberron, but if you want to run it down start your own Hated Campaign Settings thread.
Sheesh.
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CITIZEN, it is treason to not have Alpha Complex as your favorite...report to PZO sector for immediate termination and reassignmentThird Imperium, Traveller
Greyhawk
Golarion
Forgotten Realms 1E
Theah, 7th Sea
Star Wars Rebellion Era
Alpha Complex, Paranoia
Bbbut, friend Computer, please forgive me for being unclear! I saved the best for last! No! Don't send troubleshooters! I'm telling the truth! Noooo!
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CITIZEN, it is treason to not have Alpha Complex as your favorite...report to PZO sector for immediate termination and reassignment
'Please remove all metal objects from your person and report to the food vats for processing. Have a nice day.'
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CITIZEN, it is treason to not have Alpha Complex as your favorite...report to PZO sector for immediate termination and reassignment'Please remove all metal objects from your person and report to the food vats for processing. Have a nice day.'
The epilogue to the Soylent Green affair is even creepier than the tale itself. When the error in the recipie was corrected, consumers noticed, and complained that the flavor, "just wasn't as good as it used to be."
1. Call of Cthulhu
2. Call of Cthulhu
3. Ravenloft
4. Ravenloft
5. Darkmatter (Alternity)
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For D&D Fantasy: Ravenloft
For Sci-Fi: RIFTS (yeah the Palladium system has probs, but the setting is great)
Horror: Call of Cthulhu 1920s, Kult a close second place.
Honorable mention: Mage: The Ascension, oWod. The Technocracy was lots of fun (both to run as villains and later to run a chronicle with players as Technocracy agents). Didn't care much for the other White Wolf stuff (w exception of Wraith) but Mage was great.
Lets see....
1 / Ravenloft
Just LOVED this, I could have my PC's cowering in a corner by just doing a chilling discription!!
2 / Golarion
This has everything, plus paizo make this so beautiful
3 / Dragonlance
There has to be something about good vs evil on a hugh scale
4 / Scarred Lands
Had abit of everything, liked the idea of gods vs titans. Not as polished as Golarion
5 / Forgottern Realms (old)
Started my RPing here 17 years ago! By the end it did get abit samey
Well Thats me. I played Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance and DM/ GM the rest
My favorite setting was for the game .The Marrow Project.
It is set in a Post-Apocalyptic world. Which, I believe, our world will soon become; so it was good practice.
= the module .Prime Base. was possibley the best produced product in this line== Synopsis: Prime Base is the ultimate quest of the Morrow Project. The command and control center for the Project, it was destroyed in the first years after the war. The players must search for the hidden location of Prime Base and, once it is found, must search through the tomblike ruins of what was once a thriving community. But hidden within the depths of Prime Base is the key to unlocking the sleeping potential of the Morrow Project and the link to the rest of the world with the Atlantis Project.
A point of interest that particularly tickled my nether-regions was a PCs ability to access <current technology circa 1987> =
From the RULE BOOK:
The following is a list of programs available for a standard MPV:
* UNIX-like Operating System
* Word Processor
* Spreadsheet
* Graphing Program
* Database Program (and Database Conversion Program)
Programming Languages:
* FORTRAN
* "C"
* PASCAL
rock!
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
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1. Ravenloft 2e version was better than after the Grand Conjunction IMHO
1.5 Masque of the Red Death Love this so much I actually paid AUS$80 for the 3.5 Hardcover only 2 years ago
2. Golarion 'nuff said
3. Shadowrun played 1st and 2nd Edition. Really liked the mix of Fantasy and Technology
4. Old WoD I still play the CCG based of this setting -Vampire the Eternal Struggle- every fortnight on my alternate Friday from D&D
5. Star Wars Being a Star Wars nut I would be remiss if I didn't include this
6. Wars loved this setting, based off a CCG by Deciper... Mongoose please bring it back!!!
7. Forgotten Realms Played a great deal of my 2e D&D in the Realms and I had a large number of 2e Sourcebooks
8. Eberron I like this for it's "not-quite Steampunk but on it's way" feel
9. Warlord I played the CCG for a while and like the setting
10. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Robotech Only played each of these once, but I like both the Cartoons and the RPGs
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Honorable mention: Mage: The Ascension, oWod. The Technocracy was lots of fun (both to run as villains and later to run a chronicle with players as Technocracy agents). Didn't care much for the other White Wolf stuff (w exception of Wraith) but Mage was great.
Ooh, good catch. I didn't remember the World of Darkness, but some of the flavor text for groups like the Sons of Ether, the Euthanatos, the Verbena, the various sub-Orders of Hermes, the Progenitors, the Syndicate and the Men in Black utterly rocked.
Just reading one of their 'splatbooks' left me bursting with characters I wanted to play, particularly in the case of the better-written ones (the first Clanbooks Lasombra, Setite and Nosferatu, for example, all of which were quite superior to the Revised versions, as the company mandate shifted away from 'doing anything with any Clan' to tightening up and restricting options, so that all Lasombra / Tremere / Setites / etc. were eventually clones or else, losing alternate societies and path options).
Even the 'sub-splats' for 'non-core five' groups like the Mummies, Sorcerers, Kuei-Jin, various other Changing Breeds, etc. were incredibly rich with potential.