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afroakuma
2009-07-02, 11:14 PM
The ultimate campaign setting, much like the great American novel, is one of those abstracts that by nature can never see the light of day. Mainly because Wizards still holds the rights to Rich Burlew's submission...
However, in my humble opinion, the closest approximation of the ultimate campaign setting, given what we have available, is no less than all of them. Put together.

Rather than have it be a complete mess, cobbled together haphazardly, I've decided to tap into the 2E Spelljammer and Planescape settings for their methods of joining with others (yes, both at once - that's how crazed I am!). Factoring in that the Ethereal Plane and Plane of Shadow allow access to alternate Material Planes, virtually every setting should be possible to connect in some fashion.

Here are the possible categories as I see them. Given Greyhawk/D&D Core as the nexus (or "primest" Prime Material Plane), please name other campaign settings you know of (and provide a link if they are web originals) and suggest where they should belong in this ridiculous scheme.

Original Material Plane
Settings coexisting with or adjacent to Greyhawk
• Greyhawk (Oerth, Greyspace)

Original Material Plane, Alternate Crystal Sphere
Settings connected to Greyhawk and one another via space travel and planar travel
• Birthright (Aebrynis, Bloodspace)
• Dark Sun (Athas, Crimsonspace)
• Dragonlance (Krynn, Krynnspace)
• Forgotten Realms (Abeir-Toril, Realmspace)
○○• Al-Qadim
○○• Kara-Tur
○○• Maztica
• Iron Kingdoms
• Ketemia (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4895371#post4895371)

Alternate Material Plane
Settings connected to Greyhawk and one another via planar travel

Alternate Plane
Settings connected to Greyhawk and one another via planar travel, but existing as self-contained planes
• Ravenloft (Demiplane of Dread)

Alternate Cosmology
Settings connected to Greyhawk and one another via transitive planes only
• Eberron (Eberron)
• Mystara (Urd)
○○• Blackmoor
○○• Hollow World
○○• Savage Coast
• Nehwon (Nehwon)

External/Other
Settings that are connected or interwoven but are excluded from the above
• Planescape (The Great Wheel Cosmology)
• Spelljammer (Wildspace and the Phlogiston Flow)

Inimical
Settings that cannot or should not be connected, for valid reasons (your personal dislike is not a valid reason)

To Be Filed
• Castlemourn
• Dragonmech
• Kalamar
• Khoras
• Legend of the Five Rings (Rokugan)
• Ptolus
• Tekumel

Random832
2009-07-02, 11:25 PM
Don't forget Ravenloft - it has its own way of connecting to other settings. Not sure if it counts as "Alternate Material Plane" or "Alternate Cosmology"

SurlySeraph
2009-07-02, 11:28 PM
The Dustlands (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46752) is a material plane that should go between Dark Sun and the more normal material planes.

Glyde
2009-07-02, 11:30 PM
You could always use the Dark Tower's setting of "Everything."


Buuuut that's probably against the spirit of this.

afroakuma
2009-07-02, 11:33 PM
Don't forget Ravenloft - it has its own way of connecting to other settings. Not sure if it counts as "Alternate Material Plane" or "Alternate Cosmology"

It actually counts as "Alternate Plane," which I really didn't see coming but in retrospect should have. I added the new category and filed it under same.


The Dustlands (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46752) is a material plane that should go between Dark Sun and the more normal material planes.

And where is that? Cosmologically, I mean?

Seems a bit incomplete...

woodenbandman
2009-07-02, 11:38 PM
All of the settings are contained within the vast undefined expanses of the Forgotten Realms setting.

afroakuma
2009-07-02, 11:43 PM
All of the settings are contained within the vast undefined expanses of the Forgotten Realms setting.

*taps fingers against desk in mildly irked fashion*

Mmhmm... and where would we categorize FR?

Canonically, both FR and DL belong in alternate crystal spheres.

Sstoopidtallkid
2009-07-02, 11:48 PM
The Eberron Setting is a very different multiverse from the rest. Planar travel works very differently there, it's much harder to do regularly, and the planes are more connected. It's probably Alternate Cosmology.

Coidzor
2009-07-02, 11:54 PM
I believe the Forgotten Realms are an Alternate Material Plane to Greyhawk due to there having been some crossover events mentioned in its history. Might've moved on to an alternate cosmology by now though.

Alteran
2009-07-03, 12:10 AM
You know, I saw the title of this thread and I considered posting a link to the VUaCS discussion thread. Then I saw who had started this. :smalltongue:

Myrmex
2009-07-03, 12:35 AM
I tend to run most of my games in the Great Wheel cosmology, but just as each plane has a mirror reality, so do the realities. So Eberron, Greyhawk and FR are all sort of bubbles of their own cosmologies, and sometimes, they overlap in places, and it is there you can travel between universes.

Within each universe, there exists worlds, which float in astral seas. So you could have a world (perhaps a moon or whatnot) in the FR universe that isn't anywhere near that big, stupid, super continent.

All these universes float together in the Void, where the vestiges are bound, and this mass of nothingness keeps Reality from being consumed by the madness of the Far Realm, beyond the Void.


The ultimate campaign setting, much like the great American novel, is one of those abstracts that by nature can never see the light of day.

*Ahem* (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_American_Novel)
:smallannoyed:

PrismaticPIA
2009-07-03, 02:41 AM
Let's not forget the World's Largest Dungeon.

BobVosh
2009-07-03, 03:33 AM
Dark sun is Inimical.

It states explicitly that it is locked away from the other planes. Thats why they worship elemental planes for the clerics. IIRC they were different planes, not the regular elemental planes, or one way, something like that.

Krynn (dragonlance) should be inimical, after it got stolen away by Tiamet (or whatever they called her in the setting; it was a different name for Tiamet)

Whelp, thats what I know.

bosssmiley
2009-07-03, 04:09 AM
Dark Sun canon has the world in a sealed sphere and behind nigh-inaccessible planar boundaries.

Birthright fanon says the Aebrynis crystal sphere became inaccessible after the death of the gods at Mt. Deismaar. Canon says it's just a faraway sphere and that no-one goes there.

Mystara used a different planar cosmology than the Great Wheel, and had a different theory of how fantasy space physics worked than did Spelljammer. IIRC gravity worked in only one direction in Mystara-space, so one of the dangers of getting your hull holed was that the void would flood your ship. Odd stuff, it made Grubbian physics look almost sane...

Jakandor and Council of Wyrms are just super-isolated mini-settings in the middle of the ersatz Pacific Ocean.

Newhon has its own cosmology.

Yora
2009-07-03, 04:09 AM
I think one could agree, that all the planes share the same astral plane and plane of shadow.

But what about the elemental planes? Is there just one of each, or are there multiple ones, one for each "planar cluster"?

Coidzor
2009-07-03, 04:23 AM
I'd say there's one set of elemental planes per cosmology. Though I don't see that it really would matter much.

Where does this Crystal Sphere idea come from? :smallconfused: I've never heard of it before...

Yora
2009-07-03, 04:46 AM
That's spelljammer. Basically, a crystal sphere is a solar system, which is enclosed in a shell of crystal like material. Outside of the shells is some sort of fliud which a space ship can ride as a river, to carry it to other places in space very quickly. I think that's how spelljammer handles faster than light travel.

Thane of Fife
2009-07-03, 06:48 AM
*taps fingers against desk in mildly irked fashion*

Mmhmm... and where would we categorize FR?

Canonically, both FR and DL belong in alternate crystal spheres.

So is Greyhawk - it's in Greyspace(?), with FR in Realmspace and Krynn in Krynnspace, as I recall.

But anyway, the Spelljammer idea is that there are no alternate Prime Material Planes, only other worlds in other spheres. I'm not a huge fan of that idea, though.

While I cannot identify all of them, here's (http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=54696457&blogID=224710952&MyToken=145a7a54-d5ed-426a-8f7e-e271aedcfcf9) a map that claims to encompass all of the D&D settings into one world (though it would not surprise me if, say, Ravenloft and Dark Sun were not included.

Coidzor
2009-07-03, 07:55 AM
I don't know how we'd be able to tell... oyve.... I tried to get a better look and the website started having conniptions.

afroakuma
2009-07-03, 08:34 AM
*Ahem* (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_American_Novel)
:smallannoyed:

What do you mean "ahem?"


In modern usage, the term is often figurative and represents a Holy Grail of writing, an ideal to strive towards, and is a source of inspiration. It is, presumably, the greatest American book ever written, or which could ever be written. Thus, "Great American Novel" is a metaphor for identity, a Platonic ideal that is not achieved in any specific texts, but whose aim writers strive to mirror in their work.


Dark sun is Inimical.

It states explicitly that it is locked away from the other planes. Thats why they worship elemental planes for the clerics. IIRC they were different planes, not the regular elemental planes, or one way, something like that.

I seem to recall Spelljammer having a note saying that it had a crystal sphere, but that it was impossible to safely traverse.

Would there be a case to be made for Dark Sun having an Alternate Cosmology?


Krynn (dragonlance) should be inimical, after it got stolen away by Tiamet (or whatever they called her in the setting; it was a different name for Tiamet)

She moved it and the gods found it; that shows that it can be found, so it should fit into one of the accessible categories.


So is Greyhawk - it's in Greyspace(?), with FR in Realmspace and Krynn in Krynnspace, as I recall.

That's correct, but for the purposes of this discussion we're using Greyspace and the Great Wheel as the "hub".


But anyway, the Spelljammer idea is that there are no alternate Prime Material Planes, only other worlds in other spheres. I'm not a huge fan of that idea, though.

The "Planejammer" idea is that there are other worlds in the same sphere, other worlds in other spheres, other worlds in other planes and other worlds in other realities. So, for instance, you can spelljam between FR and Greyhawk, but not even conventional planar travel will get you to Eberron.

SilverClawShift
2009-07-03, 08:47 AM
And where is that? Cosmologically, I mean?

Seems a bit incomplete...

It's a work in progress, yes.

I'd say it WAS once somewhere between Forgotten Realms and Eberron... an 'affiliated' material plane very similar in a lot of ways.
Until the biblical apocalypse occured.
Now it's more like Raveloft. It's a self-contained world, and while you might (maybe) be able to find some way to get TO the dustlands (but not likely), you certainly won't be finding a way out. The Dustlands overdeity has spent millenia looking for a way out. It's not there.

afroakuma
2009-07-03, 08:56 AM
It's a work in progress, yes.

I'd say it WAS once somewhere between Forgotten Realms and Eberron... an 'affiliated' material plane very similar in a lot of ways.
Until the biblical apocalypse occured.

Now it's more like Raveloft. It's a self-contained world, and while you might (maybe) be able to find some way to get TO the dustlands (but not likely), you certainly won't be finding a way out. The Dustlands overdeity has spent millenia looking for a way out. It's not there.

Does it have a cosmology? A Plane of Shadow or Ethereal Plane?

SilverClawShift
2009-07-03, 09:04 AM
Oh, sorry. it didn't hit me that you were after that information, specifically.

We havne't spent a lot of time working on how The Dustlands interact with other planes, mainly because we consider it cut off entirely. To that end, my gut would say "no" to there being a Shadow, Ethereal, or Astral plane. For that matter, I would say the dustlands lacks access to Elemental planes either, it's literally a universe that's collapsing in on itself, sustained only by the presence of its willfull populace.

Any connection would be similar to the Ravenloft mists. If I had to put something down, I'd say you can essentially "Fall" into the dustlands through hairline cracks in reality, but there's no way to crawl back out.

Thane of Fife
2009-07-03, 10:02 AM
Are you looking for only official, TSR/WotC settings?

Only settings published for D&D?

Only settings intended for D&D, but not necessarily published?

Any settings?

If the first, then I think you've got pretty much all the big ones, and Nehwon only got minimal coverage, if I recall correctly. Actually, I think Tekumel (http://www.tekumel.com/) was among the first D&D settings, though I don't know enough about it for classification purposes, on top of which, I'm not entirely sure how much TSR had to do with it.

If the second, then there are lots more settings to add - Castlemourn being the first to spring to mind, though I know that there are more.

If the third, then you're going to have a hard time compiling them all - Khoras (http://www.khoras.net/), for example, is an extensively detailed AD&D setting which you've probably never heard of.

The fourth, obviously, is basically unachievable.

SirKazum
2009-07-03, 10:10 AM
2E canon holds that Dark Sun sits squarely in the standard Spelljammer/Planescape cosmology (probably because it seemed their intention at the time was to make everything part of one big, consistent continuity), and is "locked away" / inaccessible whether through planar travel or spelljamming. But it's still not completely inaccessible in either way, since there's material dealing with both spelljamming visitors and planar ones. However, I recall having seen somewhere (citation lacking ATM) a very different cosmology for Dark Sun, one which does not utilize PS and SJ at all, but places DS as the sole material plane in an alternate cosmology. Not sure whether that's canon or fanon, or whether it's 2E or part of the 3E DS project (which would make it "fringe canon" at best).

D&D has changed a lot, especially with 3E and 4E, which actively attempted for the first time to get rid of the PS cosmology and give each setting free reign to use an alternate cosmology. 3E FR has a completely different cosmology from the Great Wheel, IIRC, and it's the only "official" 3E setting I really know, so others might as well. Bottom line is - D&D is starting to rival Marvel Comics on the "convoluted continuity" aspect, especially if you try to put all settings, and both 2E and 3E together. I'm not saying it shouldn't be done (I've been considering the exact same idea as the OP for a good while now), I'm just saying you had better be prepared to untangle a lot of Snarls :smallwink:

And, as for adding to the original list - don't forget those settings that take place in different continents in the same planets. For instance, Toril (the planet from Forgotten Realms) also has Kara-Tur (Oriental Adventures), Zakhara (Al-Qadim) and Maztica (same name). Mystara also sits on the same planet as Blackmoor and the Savage Coast (Red Steel), wherever that fits in the grand scheme of things. Krynn (the planet from Dragonlance) has two "main" continents: Ansalon (where most DL material takes place) and Taladas (not sure if it has its own CS). Don't know if Oerth has more than one continent, I'm not so familiar with Greyhawk. Oh, and on a different note - since you're including Spelljammer, take note of the Astromundi Cluster, which IIRC is in its own crystal sphere (Clusterspace).

afroakuma
2009-07-03, 10:32 AM
Any settings?

That's the one.


If the first, then I think you've got pretty much all the big ones, and Nehwon only got minimal coverage, if I recall correctly.

I'm struggling to not simply call it "Lankhmar" and be done with it.


The fourth, obviously, is basically unachievable.

Well, realize that this is an open-ended listing; as I said, the ultimate campaign setting is "all of them." That doesn't mean having to encounter every single one; it means that if someone says "Hey, let's go to world X!" the DM responds "How?" instead of "No."

SirKazum: I'm ignoring 3E's "retcon" of FR's planes because it's technically immaterial, since they still mesh just fine with the Great Wheel overall, and since books published during 3.5's reign reference the planes of the Great Wheel (most specifically, Elminster in Hell).

As a matter of fact, I could probably shoehorn even Eberron and Mystara in; and canon sources have implied that Mystara is linked to the great wheel. However, I prefer this more organic, 3D multiverse of multiverses.

Thane of Fife
2009-07-03, 10:50 AM
I'm struggling to not simply call it "Lankhmar" and be done with it.

Eh, the only Nehwon book I have is called Tales of Lankhmar, and a fair bit of it takes place outside the city, so I would probably avoid that.


Well, realize that this is an open-ended listing; as I said, the ultimate campaign setting is "all of them." That doesn't mean having to encounter every single one; it means that if someone says "Hey, let's go to world X!" the DM responds "How?" instead of "No."

Well, the easiest way is, of course, planar travel, but here's a giant list of at least somewhat appropriate settings:

Warhammer World - Warhammer - Alternate Cosmology
Discworld - Discworld - Alternate Cosmology
Earth - Obvious - To Be Filed (Earth is canonically accessible from Forgotten Realms, but we lack magic)
Rokugan - Legend of the Five Rings - Alternate Crystal Sphere, Alternate Cosmology? I don't know.
Fighting Fantasy World - Fighting Fantasy Books - Alternate Crystal Sphere
Fabled Lands - Quest Books - Alternate Cosmology
Kingdoms of the West - Belgariad - Alternate Cosmology?
Paksenarrion's World - Alternate Cosmology
Nightfall's World - Alternate Cosmology
Midkemia/Narnia/Middle Earth/Etc/ - Alternate Cosmology
Etc. Etc. Etc.

It's silly to keep listing things. Almost all novelized worlds are going to be alternate cosmologies, really.

afroakuma
2009-07-03, 11:05 AM
Eh, the only Nehwon book I have is called Tales of Lankhmar, and a fair bit of it takes place outside the city, so I would probably avoid that.

Ah, see, when bosssmiley wrote it it was "Newhon" and almost impossible to search, hence my frustration.


It's silly to keep listing things. Almost all novelized worlds are going to be alternate cosmologies, really.

Yes, but I'm not looking for novelised worlds - I am looking for extant campaign settings, whether published or homebrewed.

So in retrospect, I answered your question incorrectly. The third option is most accurate.

Thane of Fife
2009-07-03, 11:27 AM
Alright, well Tekumel, Castlemourn, and Khoras all deserve mention, then, and I'd probably Middle-Earth, Warhammer World, and Hyboria as well - though not from D&D. And, as mentioned, Earth is canonically connected to Forgotten Realms.

afroakuma
2009-07-03, 11:30 AM
Alright, well Tekumel, Castlemourn, and Khoras all deserve mention, then

And where do they fall in the classification?


and I'd probably Middle-Earth, Warhammer World, and Hyboria as well - though not from D&D.

...if they're not campaign settings (and that middle one in particular is pretty dubious) then they don't belong.

Coidzor
2009-07-03, 11:35 AM
I believe Earth has been canonically reached via planar travel and accident from Oerth as well, the two planes being alternate material planes within the same cosmology from what I've gathered. It's undesirable to go to due to the whole dead magic/lack of magic/immersion-jarring thing... But it's "there"

Tiki Snakes
2009-07-03, 11:35 AM
technically they are campaign settings, in as much as there are rp products set in all three.

I couldn't say much about classification, however.
Hyboria (The conan age setting?) Is theoretically just Earth, (alternate earth?) and cosmology is not something ever tied down.
Warhammer, as someone mentioned somewhere, once was considered simply a planet in the 40k universe (Cut off by warp storms?) and likewise I doubt it has a dnd type cosmology.
Middle Earth I'm sure someone can tell you more about than me. :)

Worth noting, the Conan RPG, and the Hyborian setting itself, is d20 at least.

tarbrush
2009-07-03, 12:00 PM
There is only one answer to this question.

Sigil Prep (http://www.sigilprep.com/index.htm)

SirKazum
2009-07-03, 12:09 PM
Speaking about Earth, if you wanna get into the D&D version of it, 2E has a good amount of material on various periods of our world. From my own experience there's the very well-done Historical Reference series (7 green books, each set in a different time and place) and Masque of the Red Death (19th-century, mostly Victorian Britain). I know there's more, though. And yes, there are canonical connections with fantasy worlds - MotRD is somehow connected to Ravenloft, and there's been an adventure or novel or something where a time-traveling witch from semi-historical France ends up in Mystara.

Speaking of which, if you want to include Chronomancer / time-travel stuff, then the whole thing can get rather on the tangled side... but potentially very interesting as well ;) Remember there's a "Demiplane of Time", both in 2E (Chronomancer et al.) and 3E (MotP).

Thane of Fife
2009-07-03, 12:52 PM
And where do they fall in the classification?

Khoras appears to qualify as same plane, alternate crystal sphere. Castlemourn probably the same, or perhaps an alternate plane. I don't know much about Tekumel, but a quick look at the website suggests that it's either an alternate cosmology, or the same one as Mystara.

Draz74
2009-07-03, 02:41 PM
Does Azeroth count? You could invoke whole new levels of rage from the "4e is too much like WoW!" anti-fanboys. :smallamused:

Devils_Advocate
2009-07-03, 03:04 PM
There is only one answer to this question.

Sigil Prep (http://www.sigilprep.com/index.htm)
Aw, I wanted to mention that!

More specifically, in SP, each crystal sphere has its own cosmology, and the Phlogiston doesn't connect to any transitive plane. This is about the only way to incorporate Spelljammer into 3.X without changing the settings, since they pretty much decided that each setting has its own cosmology now. (Damn Vecna.)

Some cosmologies share planes, meaning that e.g. the Abyss is hooked up to Toril's and Oerth's astral planes, so you can plane shift from there to another plane in either cosmology.

Portals can lead anywhere, and in Sigil, they damn well do. Don't ask me to explain how that works. I don't know. Let's just say that at the point where you begin to suspect that Her Serenity is responsible for something, it's probably best to stop talking about it at all.

SurlySeraph
2009-07-03, 03:06 PM
While I cannot identify all of them, here's (http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=54696457&blogID=224710952&MyToken=145a7a54-d5ed-426a-8f7e-e271aedcfcf9) a map that claims to encompass all of the D&D settings into one world (though it would not surprise me if, say, Ravenloft and Dark Sun were not included.

Shall we get started on figuring it out? The farthest continent to the west is Eberron. I'm pretty sure the farthest continent to the east is Toril, since it's huge and has something that looks a lot like the Sword Coast on it. Beyond that, I have no idea.

Devils_Advocate
2009-07-03, 03:21 PM
Thread (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=683655) explaining the ubermap.

afroakuma
2009-07-03, 03:50 PM
Well, being accessible from Sigil is a given regardless - I can think of a few horrendous places that might not be, but otherwise even alternate cosmologies and material planes are linked.

Are there any other campaign settings I should keep an eye on? Published or homebrew, remember.

Thane of Fife
2009-07-03, 04:08 PM
Well, being accessible from Sigil is a given regardless - I can think of a few horrendous places that might not be, but otherwise even alternate cosmologies and material planes are linked.

Are there any other campaign settings I should keep an eye on? Published or homebrew, remember.

Well, I understand that this one here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=114138&page=30) is gathering a crowd. Not quite done, but it will probably be an alternate cosmology - I'm not entirely sure.

Pathfinder's Golarion is probably worth inclusion, though I know nothing about it.

SirKazum
2009-07-03, 06:52 PM
Snooping around the "fitting all D&D settings into a single map" thread at Wizards, I came across this link (http://www.geonomicon.com/chronology/chronology.htm), which might be extremely useful to your purposes. Basically, it links the timelines of Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, Dark Sun, Dragonlance and Ravenloft together into a single timeline, which might be useful for unified reference. As to how they managed to find out what year in one setting corresponded to which year in the other, they used Ravenloft as a common reference, since characters from each of the other worlds ended up travelling to Ravenloft at times that were well-documented in both settings. One interesting conclusion is that Dark Sun campaigns (even ones in the very first campaign setting) take place in the very distant future, compared to the other worlds - more than 1000 years after Forgotten Realms, for example (taking 2E as a reference, when both settings were around). Maybe that's because the Ravenloft folks decided to take an incident documented in DS's distant past and fit it into Ravenloft's rather short timeline.

Anyway, the list doesn't include some very important settings (Eberron, which is too young to be really referenced against the other ones; Mystara/Red Steel; and, of course, Earth). However, it *does* include Spelljammer. In any event, that would be just a matter of taking an arbitrary reference point to fit it all in there. I'd also adjust the Dark Sun timeline (maybe by saying Kalidnay got somehow shunted 1000 years into the future when it was sucked into Ravenloft), unless you want to deal with events in the Dark Sun past (which, I admit, is rather interesting) and/or the other settings' futures.

afroakuma
2009-07-03, 07:58 PM
Well, it seems people are forgetting the original question, so it looks like I'll have to suggest a few more.

Where do Kalamar and Ptolus land?

Devils_Advocate
2009-07-03, 08:57 PM
What about the settings that exist on the same planet as other settings? Maztica (sp?), for example. More broadly, are you looking for a list of every place that's appeared in any edition of D&D?

If you want to know what material to look through in order to put everything together, what you really want is a list of relevant sourcebooks, I think.

afroakuma
2009-07-03, 09:10 PM
What about the settings that exist on the same planet as other settings? Maztica (sp?), for example.

I'd like to know about them, but they qualify as the "core" setting they're derived from.


More broadly, are you looking for a list of every place that's appeared in any edition of D&D?

What do you mean "place?"

I mean campaign setting. Is this really that ambiguous?

Thane of Fife
2009-07-04, 06:08 AM
What do you mean "place?"

I mean campaign setting. Is this really that ambiguous?

Yes, because I've pointed out several, as have others, and you've ignored all of them. We don't know what you're looking for / why you want it.

afroakuma
2009-07-04, 06:23 AM
Yes, because I've pointed out several, as have others, and you've ignored all of them.

What do you mean, I've "ignored" them?

The only ones I've "ignored" are the ones that come from novel series unaffiliated with D&D in any way.


We don't know what you're looking for

Campaign settings.

I'm sorry, but this seems blitheringly obvious to me. I'm glancing at a shelf right now at two books. One of them says "Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting." The other says "Dragonlance Campaign Setting." I'm also looking at an open window with a homebrew campaign setting displayed.

So let me see if I can be as clear as crystal:

I am looking for campaign settings, either those published by Wizards of the Coast, those published by some third party or those homemade by players and available on the web, which are intended for Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 edition or earlier.

Thane of Fife
2009-07-04, 06:57 AM
Khoras appears to qualify as same plane, alternate crystal sphere. Castlemourn probably the same, or perhaps an alternate plane. I don't know much about Tekumel, but a quick look at the website suggests that it's either an alternate cosmology, or the same one as Mystara.

This is what I mean by ignore. These are campaign settings. Since you have done nothing with them, I can only that they are not what you want. Pathfinder's Golarion would be another, though I know little about it.

Is this what you are looking for? Some sort of "hot or cold" would be helpful to those trying to discern precisely what you want.

afroakuma
2009-07-04, 07:12 AM
This is what I mean by ignore. These are campaign settings. Since you have done nothing with them, I can only that they are not what you want.

Incorrect - I am looking into them myself, since you provided no definites on how to classify them. When I've finished reading up on them, I'll file them.


Pathfinder's Golarion would be another, though I know little about it.

See above.

Thane of Fife
2009-07-04, 08:13 AM
Incorrect - I am looking into them myself, since you provided no definites on how to classify them. When I've finished reading up on them, I'll file them.



See above.

My apologies then, but this form of acknowledgment is helpful.

On the subject of Castlemourn, the book contains Estemel, which are described as portals to nobody-knows-where, with suggestions that they can be used to bring in characters from other settings/worlds. There are, of course, no references to Spelljammer or the outer planes, but I don't believe that those are OGL, so no surprise. There is, however, no reason why it could not be an alternate crystal sphere. Spells such as Gate all function normally.

afroakuma
2009-07-04, 11:35 AM
Alright; are there any more campaign settings of note to add?

Bear in mind this is a loaded question - I know there are some I'm not familiar with.

Devils_Advocate
2009-07-04, 12:01 PM
List of campaign settings (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeons_%26_Dragons_campaign_settings). They're on Wikipedia, so they must be notable! :smalltongue:

Let me rephrase my earlier question: Leaving aside the question of whether each of them is or is part of a setting, do you want to include all of the locations that have appeared in D&D? Do you want the Tomb of Horrors and the Temple of Elemental Evil appear somewhere in your multiverse? If so, would it be helpful to list them and how they fit in or may fit in with everything else?

What about settings divided by time rather than space? 4E Forgotten Realms is a different setting from 3E Forgotten Realms, for example, much like the early 21st century United States is a different setting from the early 19th century United States. If you want to include both, that means including time travel. Which I think you're already doing if you include the old Plane of Time or whatever it's called.

DamnedIrishman
2009-07-04, 12:08 PM
Dark Sun can be reached, it's just incredibly hard to as there are extra layers in between Dark Sun and the other planes.
Unless you took a shortcut through the elemental planes, I suppose...

afroakuma
2009-07-04, 12:15 PM
List of campaign settings (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeons_%26_Dragons_campaign_settings). They're on Wikipedia, so they must be notable! :smalltongue:

Saw it, but I know little about many of them, otherwise I would have gone right there.

I need to know which ones players consider notable, and how players feel they should interact with the multiverse at large.

Doc Roc
2009-07-04, 02:29 PM
Arthas, the world of dark sun, is accessible to spelljamming.

afroakuma
2009-07-04, 03:45 PM
Arthas, the world of dark sun, is accessible to spelljamming.

Is? Groovy. Allocating now.

afroakuma
2009-07-04, 08:38 PM
Anyone else have any homebrew settings to mention?

RebelRogue
2009-07-04, 09:25 PM
Mystara used a different planar cosmology than the Great Wheel, and had a different theory of how fantasy space physics worked than did Spelljammer. IIRC gravity worked in only one direction in Mystara-space, so one of the dangers of getting your hull holed was that the void would flood your ship.
Nah, gravity works (sort of, see below) ordinarily on Mystara. However, the planet is hollow with holes at the poles, so in theory one could sail/walk from the outer to the inner world (or vice verca), but in practice this is nigh impossible because of the elements. Unlike the way normal gravity works, you're pulled down on the inside of the hollow planet shell, and it has its own sun in the middle of the planet. This Hollow World (which was a campaign subsetting of its own) is used by the gods (or Immortals as they were known) as a place to preserve cultures about to be extinct on the outer world.

afroakuma
2009-07-04, 10:16 PM
Tsk. How could I forget Hollow World?

Lert, A.
2009-07-04, 10:21 PM
I suppose that Iron Kingdoms and Dragonmech should get a mention, though it seems that they are trying to get away from the cosmology as much as possible.

Don't know how they would fit into the list.

Thane of Fife
2009-07-05, 07:41 AM
Tsk. How could I forget Hollow World?

Hollow World is the inside of Mystara - there's no reason to include it if you aren't including Kara-tur, Maztica, etc.

afroakuma
2009-07-05, 08:06 AM
Hollow World is the inside of Mystara - there's no reason to include it if you aren't including Kara-tur, Maztica, etc.

...except that I am. I mere;y stated that they don't need classification because they go with whatever world they branch from. Check the chart up front; both FR and Mystara are listed with their sub-settings.

afroakuma
2009-07-05, 09:35 AM
Alright, I went through and added a whole whack of settings to the To Be Filed category. If anyone's familiar with them and has suggestions, please let me know.

Also, if you have a homebrew setting on this or another site, or are a fan of someone else's, let me know about it.

Thane of Fife
2009-07-05, 08:44 PM
Alright, I went through and added a whole whack of settings to the To Be Filed category. If anyone's familiar with them and has suggestions, please let me know.

Also, if you have a homebrew setting on this or another site, or are a fan of someone else's, let me know about it.

Alright, here's my Ketemia (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4895371#post4895371). I like it.

I am almost entirely certain that I would peg it as an Alternate Crystal Sphere.

Doc Roc
2009-07-06, 12:07 AM
I generally make Iron Kingdoms accessible by spelljamming only, and then quite dangerous to do so. Its tech level is high enough to literally destroy a normal campaign in some cases, which I don't mind but some people might.

IK is my single favorite D&D setting other than Planescape itself.

afroakuma
2009-07-06, 02:24 PM
Groovy. Added both to the appropriate locations. More?

Thane of Fife
2009-07-06, 03:46 PM
I believe that there's a setting called Midnight....

Ah, here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midnight_(role-playing_game)) it is.

While I'm not aware of its particulars, it appears to be an Alternate Crystal Sphere, or possibly Alternate Plane (magic works differently, but there are still outsiders).

Heliomance
2009-07-06, 04:38 PM
I have a suggestion for a third mechanism of linking the settings together, especially the ones you can't fit in under Planescape or Spelljammer. Borrow Feist's Hall of Worlds.

Doc Roc
2009-07-06, 04:40 PM
Alternatively, we could be more honest about thangz and use the infinite staircase?
Why no love for the lillends? ;)

afroakuma
2009-07-06, 06:17 PM
I consider both the Infinite Staircase and Yggdrasil, as well as the Styx and the Oceanus, to be components of Planescape.

Doc Roc
2009-07-06, 09:30 PM
As is only right and proper. I'm presuming you have a reasonable knowledge of the full spectrum of 2e planescape?

afroakuma
2009-07-06, 10:06 PM
As is only right and proper. I'm presuming you have a reasonable knowledge of the full spectrum of 2e planescape?

If there was a written test, I would feel comfortable taking it right now without study.