RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4; Contributor; Publisher, Legendary Games
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RPGs are about characters, of course, but they're also about fantastic worlds, and all the amazing places to visit in those worlds. In some campaigns, the world is just kind of a backdrop without a lot going on, but four decades of gaming has given us a wealth of published worlds as well. Which one has your favorite country, and what makes that country so cool?
Riedra from Ebberon. And not just because it's the psionics nation (though I'm a big fan of that to). It's a nation controlled by outsiders from the Plane of Dreams who are seeking to expand their territory into the Prime Material Plane. They have great big lie called the "Path of Inspiration" which is a religion created wholesale to keep the essentially communist country in check. Notable in that despite being a big old machievallian evil plot, the people's lives there are pretty peaceful, unlike a lot of other "big evil nations".
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Sigil. If you know of it, you probably agree with me. :)
Favorite fantasy "country" is Amber. Favorite D&D/PF country has to go to Cheliax. You can just make endless stories out of it, since it is orderly enough to have good people within it, but the overarching evil throughout makes it the perfect breeding ground for tragic heroes.
Im gonna go with Ustaluv. Im huge into lovecraft amd horror :-)
Oh, interesting question!
If it's solely fantasy, then I'd have to say Andoran from Pathfinder, though Waterdeep (FR) and Keoland (Greyhawk) are close contenders.
However, if we expand it to mean any fantastical setting, I'd have to say Zeon from Gundam.
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As years went by, I have actually become a big fan of the Abyss in general. There are so many unknown demon lords and so many layers and each layer is molded differently by each Demon Lord. The abyssal layers are literally an unlimited amount of adventures with fickle creatures, betrayal, alliance, making friends and enemies at every corner. Abyssal realms offer everything for the epic conclusion of any adventure or saga.
For the same reason, I do enjoy the World Serpent Inn, a classic but awesome place to meet different people and go anywhere.
Kaldor, on Hârn. If you want a low-magic, genuinely medieval setting, then Hârn is really outstanding.
On Golarion it is a tough call, but I feel that Nex/Geb/Katapesh are the most original countries there. Also Rahadoum.
I'd have to go with Halruaa from the Forgotten Realms, which, in mind mind, was a very well executed and believable magocracy. Aundair from Eberron probably ties for first as well, as its own relationship with arcane magic was equally compelling. I just remember having immediately fallen in love with both countries when first learning of them.
For Golarion, probably Ustalav or Andoran.
I was always fond of the Shire but I'm not sure if that qualifies as a country... :/
The Shire is a country.
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For gaming-derived worlds, it's a toss-up between Cyre and Breland (and as a general world setting-- Eberron)-- because Eberron, so far, has IMO done the best job of portraying a world where magic is integrated into the fabric of life and the nations, political issues, etc, make sense and are consistent-- it's not a mish-mash world trying to jam in something from many diverse historical 'real-world' cultures that don't make sense next to each other.
Being from Cyre provided a superb set of background inspirations and motivations for several of my characters, and I have fond regards for Breland both for doing a good job of portraying a transitional democracy/constitutional monarchy and because I love Sharn. IMO, Sharn is probably the best fantasy-game city I've yet seen and/or played games using it as a setting.
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Ooh, definitely Tiger-Headed Opium Nightmare for me.
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RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4; Contributor; Publisher, Legendary Games
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Ooh, definitely Tiger-Headed Opium Nightmare for me.
Love it, though Volcano Gods Are Dicks is also an appealing vacation spot. :)
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Which one has your favorite country, and what makes that country so cool?
Lankhmar.
I don't need multi-dimensional portals, elementals powering my hot-tub, laser guns, psychics on every street corner or cannibalistic halflings. I like my fantasy gaming old school, classic, where the scope of human drama serves as the stage upon which we play. Where magic is... magical... fringe... misunderstood and feared as are its practitioners. Where the reward for quick steel and a quick tongue might be easy coin, that buxom lass behind the bar or a trip to the dungeons. Sword fights, daring escapes, court intrigue, hearty ales and beautiful women haven't gotten old after 30 years of gaming and I don't expect them to any time soon.
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Sigil, because it's both a metropolis with gateways to everywhere but also a frontier in a sense. There's no central good or bad guys (but there's still room for certifiable Good and Evil). The factions provide lot of room for character options (motivations, goals, philosophies) that aren't necessarily tied to discrete mechanics. There's also a certain atmosphere that comes from the mystery around it (the Lady of Pain, Undersigil, what happens if you go off the edge, the mazes, the various bit players and what their true goals might be, etc.)
More recently, I've gotten a lot of use from is Darkmoon Vale. (I consider this distinct from much of the rest of Andoran because it's actually a fairly troubled place with lots to do.) The average everyday people are generally good, but perhaps riddled with misconceptions and generally troubled by forces beyond their control. But on the other hand, they're survivors, they don't just buckle under like pathetic kittens so many other fantasy commoners do. (Just look at the woodsmen defense in the undead siege in Hungry are the Dead. Whereas the PCs are still the central heroes, they're not alone in the fight.)
The Guide to the Darkmoon Vale is filled with hooks. Ancient dwarven ruins, dark druids/twisted fey, werewolves, the depredations of man, and general intrigue provide for a lot of options for things to do. (Having a great series of tie modules helps build this stuff up, of course.)
I've found in play the Lumber Consortium adds a general dystopian feel because it's an insitutional evil that couldn't (at least as far as my players reacted) be dealt with by simple bloody violence. Kreed is an insufferable thorn in the players' side, yet he provides a structure and organization to the land that makes getting rid of him problematic in finding a replacement to fill the void his death (and the dismantling of the Consortium) would provide. Although my players seemed to love to hate him (loving the opportunity to bewilder, humiliate, and insult him [the latter behind his back]). They even went so far as to several times talk about assassinating him, but even when encouraged, they never quite followed through with it. Instead they always used indirect means of striking at him (like encouraging popular opinion to get him to pay for the costs associated with paying for a plague cure to be freely dispersed to the public).
Of course, not all that is good about the Vale is darkness. There's also useful/intersting NPCs (such as the frumpy and nerdy but wise alchemist Laurel, the troubled fey queen Syntira, the magic item crafter and pragmatic advisor Karlae Siegefrost, and the whimsical Mayor Amring of Olfden). Even the little things about Darkmoon Vale have added to our experience. (You wouldn't imagine how attached my players got to Jak Crimmy's cinnamon crusted flapjacks.)
Finally, Darkmoon Vale is specific and detailed enough to be highly unique and enjoyable, yet modular enough to be portable into widely different settings. (I easily adapted it into my homebrew, post-apoc steampunk world, a far cry from Golarion)
Kadath in the Cold Wastes hath known them, but what man hath known Kadath? I’m not sure if Lovecraft's Dreamlands really count as a country, but they've always seemed like an interesting setting to me.
I’m surprised more people haven’t mentioned Cheliax. When I want to play a Lawful PC who may or may not be Evil and happens to sound a little like Vincent Price there’s only one country he can be from now. That’s great since being from Barovia might be tough to explain. I’m also a fan of Ustlav and Varisia since I like classic movie monsters and can’t stop thinking about gypsies.
Regarding Sigil, I really enjoyed the one Planescape game we played though my favorite parts weren’t so much the locations as the factions and their philosophies along with the chance to interact socially with creatures which are usually just “monsters”. I think that having a philsophy can help a lot with roleplay. Of course the Sensate tried the firewine from Gehenna!
Riedra from Ebberon. And not just because it's the psionics nation (though I'm a big fan of that to). It's a nation controlled by outsiders from the Plane of Dreams who are seeking to expand their territory into the Prime Material Plane. They have great big lie called the "Path of Inspiration" which is a religion created wholesale to keep the essentially communist country in check. Notable in that despite being a big old machievallian evil plot, the people's lives there are pretty peaceful, unlike a lot of other "big evil nations".
Im another fan of Riedra. I like the fact that the Inpsired are lawful Neutral communist types. The country is peaceful, prosperous and uncorrupt and the inspired dont kill or torture puppies for fun but there no freedom and step out of line and you are going to be brainwashed or otherwise dealt with.
Shows you dont have to be evil to be the bad guy.| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Hmmm... Sigil. Cormyr. Netheril (if you're an arcanist).
I was always fond of the Shire but I'm not sure if that qualifies as a country... :/The Shire is a country.
"The Shire" was a dependency of the Kingdom of Arnor... The Thain being the direct representative of the King.
Even after the fall of the Kingdom of Arthedain (successor to Arnor) the Thain still upheld the Kings Law and as the Rangers (remnants of the north kingdoms) provided military protection.
When Aragon/Elessar claimed the thrones of both Gondor and Arnor, the Shire was his... He just forbade full-grown men from entering.
In Britain, "shire" is the original term for what is usually known now as a county; the word county having been introduced at the Norman Conquest of England. The two are synonymous. Although in modern British usage counties are referred to as "shires" mainly in poetic contexts, terms such as Shire Hall remain common. Shire also remains a common part of many county names.
The word derives from the Old English scir, itself a derivative of the Proto-Germanic skizo (cf. Old High German scira), meaning care or official charge.
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Sigil, most certainly. Lovecraft's Dreamlands, absolutely.
My contribution of a third one is a bit more small-scale and backwater: The city-state of Hollowfaust from the Scarred Lands campaign setting. It's an enlightened despotism run by and for non-Evil necromancers. It's not actually "my favorite fantasy country," but I felt it deserved mention.
Similarly, the gaijin realms that share a wider planet with Rokugan also interest me from what little I've read, particularly the Senpet Empire.
Zakhara, the Arabian Nights neighbor of Faerun, also looks really cool, and I'm downright annoyed that, for all the FORGOTTEN REALMS material that's come out since then, we've never bothered to head back down there since 2nd Edition. I want to play a Ghul Lord, dammit!
For goodness sake's though, let's not forget Wonderland!
My true, personal, favorite fantasy country? Well, I guess that would have to be a little place called Xeen, wouldn't it?
I vote for The Midnight Isles in the Abyss.
The Dragaeran Empire.
Cormyr (FR) - as others noted, under Azoun IV. I like the Camelot-y / knights / 'traditional' feel.
Sometimes that traditional feel can go a long way...
Runner up:
The (mostly) unified land of Zakhara, under the Grand Caliph in Huzuz. We have no Fate but the Fate we are given!
I'm gonna have to go with Thay.
I don't know what it is, I just love the idea of a nation ruled by a Council of Evil Wizards.
The saturday morning cartoon plus a dollop of red scare... it's just SO COOL.
I think that the similarities between Thay and ancient Thassilon made for some of my favorite parts of Rise of the Runelords.
If we are talking in terms of just one country, Geb. Zombies. Zombies everywhere. For a setting, Heroes of the Jade Oath, for the epic Chinese fantasy.
For gaming-derived worlds, it's a toss-up between Cyre and Breland (and as a general world setting-- Eberron)-- because Eberron, so far, has IMO done the best job of portraying a world where magic is integrated into the fabric of life and the nations, political issues, etc, make sense and are consistent-- it's not a mish-mash world trying to jam in something from many diverse historical 'real-world' cultures that don't make sense next to each other.
I've been trying to do that with my setting, though I found a good way to handle a ton of diverse 'real world' cultures. I base the continent where most of the adventuring takes place on North America, and my favorite nation is based off of California and the Pacific Northwest, with Hawaii as a possession. The Colonial Era is over (It was mostly 'France' versus 'Spain' versus 'China', with 'France' having become dominant in the end), though the scars remain, and immigration is a massive force. Few people here have ancestors that didn't come from across the sea at some point in the last couple centuries. Some ethnic groups are more prevalent, such as 'French', 'Hispanic', 'Chinese', 'Italian', 'Vietnamese', 'Japanese', 'Indian', 'Thai', 'Greek', and various native peoples, but thanks to immigration a.d worldwide communication we have people from everywhere. So, most real world cultures make sense next to each other.
+1 for Dragaera. I mostly want to eat the foods Steven Brust has tantalized us with.
That and I want some of Otik's spiced potatoes from the Inn of the Last Home (Krynn/DragonLance).
... or, ok, maybe it's just lunch time and I should come back to this thread after I eat.
-TimD
Mount Nevermind, from Dragonlance (name given to the place by some Knights of Solamnia who thought the Gnomish name was a bit over the top*).
An entire mountain carved out by insane gnomes who use a complicated system of catapults ("gnomeflingers") to move from floor to floor!
The gnomes thought the Knights of Solamnia, after arriving at their island, wanted to steal the mountain from them, so they created a device to make it invisible. However, it failed, and instead made the whole region smell like rotten eggs.
It's been my favourite fantasy location ever since I first read about it in the early 90's.
Sigil from Planescape is a close second.
Probably the one my Kingmaker players created in our homebrew world. Iomrall, the land where the queen has a clockwork army in her basement, the forest is inhabited by hordes of hand-sized faeries who serve as the personal spy network of the kingdom's mistress of information, the alpha worg of the packs roaming the northern plains is also the kingdom's marshall, an alraune runs a joint bardic college and general university mere miles from a fortress whose gates are spun of spider silk, has an army that includes spider-riding kobold cavalry, and has a level of species diversity that dwarfs pretty much everything else in the setting.
Some other parts of our homebrew would come in second.
Of already published things, gotta be another vote for Sigil and the World Serpent.
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World Serpent Inn has to get my nod. Always find myself going back to it even years after I first encountered it. Even now I'm running a Roll20 campaign in it and the players are really loving it.
Im Gonna have to go with Ferelden from dragon age.
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RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4; Contributor; Publisher, Legendary Games
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Big thumbs-up for Zakhara here as well. Long-time Al-Qadim lover here, and the setting was so beautifully rendered. Finally got to run a 3.5 campaign there some years back as well. Lots of fun.Where did you happen to go for 3.5 material for it? I've found a few things, but it's all kind of so-so.
Made my own. I've got tons of material, which may yet see the light of day in the pages of Legendary Games in either a set of Legacy of Fire AP Plug-Ins or maybe something for Kobold's Southlands.
One of the things I wouldn't necessarily be able to do professionally, though, is work with the IP of Zakhara, which is something I really enjoyed about doing it, because I had set up not only entire sections of racial and regional feats for each section of Zakhara but also separate magical traditions that were more or less popular in different areas. That is, certain spells and feats were commonly known in certain parts of Zakhara and rare elsewhere. You could learn them by traveling to those areas or learning about that area with natives, etc.
I pulled a lot of stuff from the various 3.5 terrain books (Sandstorm, obviously, but also Stormwrack and even a bit from Frostburn) and wove that together with updated adventure boxes. We ran a number of sections of "Caravans" and "A Dozen and One Adventures" and "Cities of Bone." I think "Ruined Kingdoms" was my favorite of all those boxes, but I ran everything in that box in an old campaign back in 2nd Ed already. :)
Neverwinter from FR is my favorite, I spent SO MUCH time there I feel like a citizen.
Cyre from Eberron holds many special memories. ~Aranna raises a glass to her fallen countrymen~
As does Ferelden in Dragon Age.
Vive le Galt!
The Lunar Empire, from Glorantha. Where the Emperor is a reincarnating son of their goddess; his sister keeps the largest private army in the empire to keep the public granaries safe from looters; the largest slave rebellion in history was defeated by talking it out with the leaders; where the philosophy of "We are all Us" is practised even with enemies; where the Penal Legions enforce celibacy through magic; where protection against foreign magical devastation is a responsibility; where the Vampire Legion is still in training; where the maize crop is always awesome because of volunteer human sacrifice; where there are army units devoted to pulling bits of the Moon out of the sky to hurl at their enemies; which is going to heal the world whether the world likes it or not.
For Runequest , I must disagree . The Clanking City and its cyborg zombies get my vote. Not to mention its huge construct straight out of a Godzilla movie built to defend it.
Forrest of Margreve in Midgard. It's like living in a Grimm fairy tale.
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Hmm...
actually, speaking of RuneQuest (I mostly played 1st/2nd ed RQ, btw), I did like the Lunar Empire (and all its internal conflicts and political/social inconsistencies-- "inconsistencies" in this sense being ones that actually happen in real societies where one is suddenly struck by the hypocrisies of life-- not inconsistent as in bad world design)-- one of my favorite RQ characters was a daughter of senior Lunar military personnel, who'd been orphaned because her parents were assassinated by Sartarite rebels, who had then been raised by the same Sartarite rebels to hate the Empire her parents had served... Over the course of a very long campaign, she started off as virulently anti-Empire and came all the way around to making her own peace with the Red Goddess and becoming a good servant of the Lunar Empire. I don't know of too many game worlds (especially not back in the '80s) that you could draw out that kind of story from the material that was already there in the existing official campaign materials.
But there is another...
Tsolyanu. The Empire of the Petal Throne... and anywhere else on Tekumel, for that matter. I'd rate it much higher if I'd gotten to play in more campaigns set there, but it is a very highly developed, very intricately detailed, campaign setting-- one that I don't think has gotten as much recognition and appreciation as it deserves. The fact that it's a crazy blend of science fiction and fantasy, with linguistic and mythological roots being drawn from South-Central Asia (India, Pakistan, maybe Thailand and Malaysia; but not a whole lot of Japanese or Chinese influences) and the Americas (South & Central-- from what is now Mexico down to the tip of what is now Argentina-- pre-Spanish arrival) has probably helped to keep it away from the mainstream, unfortunately.
The Empire of the Petal Throne... and anywhere else on Tekumel, for that matter.
I've never played a game set here, but everything I've read about it has impressed me.