Best Fantasy Settings

[Tvtyrant]

What are your favorite fantasy settings? Specifically in the world of RPG settings, lots of fantasy settings exist which do not translate well.

[Ravian]

Eberron because of the politics. The balance of power there really gives it the feeling of a true cold war, not just a bunch of places were adventures happen.

Dark Sun because of the power. The world is full of things bigger than you, but you're going to take them down anyway, or die trying.

In Eberron you feel like you're tip-toeing through a minefield about to go off, Dark Sun you're charging through that minefield and either dying or achieving glory. Both are feelings that make you feel alive, either because you feel smart enough to get through that minefield unharmed or you're awesome enough to do it without a care in the world.

This is also conversely why I dislike Forgotten Realms. There you also have a minefield, but its essentially setting itself off as chain reactions of explosions happen around you... while you're on a safe road full of clearly visible bear-traps that no one had the time to take apart. It just sets the players a little too far from the action at times.

[Yora]

Star Wars. Star Wars is perfect for RPGs because there are thousands of planets you would never have heard of before, even if they have a large population and highly advanced society. If you are not playing at the highest level of the political metaplot, a GM can add pretty much anything he wants without contradicting the setting. The way it is set up, with thousands of planets and hundreds of species, adding your own creations doesn't even register as a change of the status quo, unless you give it a very big importance. Similarly, you have a metaplot, but what specifically happens over the decades is kept relatively brief, even when you consider the huge amount of supporting material.
If you run a campaign about the personal story of the PCs in Star Wars, I think it's almost impossible that the overdevelopped setting or metaplot gets in your way. Not only are there lots of blank spaces left; since it's a whole galaxy and the metaplot spans 5,200 years the amount of blank spaces if effectively infinite.

Forgotten Realms is too big and unfocused. The North just by itself is a great campaign setting, though. Though it's just a very small fraction of the world or even the continent, it's still a pretty big area full with lots of stuff and distinctive cultures. But even the regional great powers are pretty small and surrounded by huge areas of unclaimed wilderness. It's a complete setting, even if you don't have any clue what lies beyond. And even then it's still pretty well developed.

Dark Sun is possibly one of the greatest RPG settings ever made. You got some city states, a lot of very hostile wilderness, strange and dangerous creatures with big teeth and claws but also magic powers, and magic that is percieved as evil But it's still relatively small. In other fantasy worlds it would just be a single big country.

(While I think Planecape is an amazing fantasy world, it's not a very good campaign setting, as it requires extensive knowledge of the common archetypes of D&D, which it then subverts. I imagine to someone who doesn't know how things are normally supposed to work, Planescape is just weird without any real sense to it. It's wonderful, but not beginner friendly at all.)

[TheCountAlucard]

I'm fond of Creation in the Exalted books (I'm particularly fond of An-Teng, Whitewall, Chiaroscuro, and the West), as well as Autochthonia, Yu-Shan, and Malfeas. The Underworld never really did it for me, as much as my mind tries to romanticize the lands of the dead, and the Wyld of previous editions felt too much like a lava lamp of chaos and not enough like a churning cauldron of myth.

[Arbane]

Exalted's Creation was already mentioned, and that's a good one. It does a decent job of making a gonzo myth-powered world make sense. (Except for the Wyld, which deliberately doesn't make any sense.)

A similar one (that predates it by decades) is Glorantha, which is very similar - a flat world powered more by its creation-myths than any so-called 'laws' of 'physics'. It's a setting that's so deep I'm reluctant to try playing in it, as I don't have a PhD in Gloranthan Studies.

[EccentricCircle]

I think Eberron has to be the best,
When I read a setting book, I generally think, "ooh, thats a nice idea, i'll adapt that or use that in some way!" I treat them as case studies in game design to inform my own world building.

Eberron is the only one that makes me want to use it as written, and develop ideas set in that world.

I'm not really counting things like Planescape and Spelljammer, which in some ways are Ideas as much as settings. I've run many spelljammer games, but I don't think i've ever actually gone to any of the planets detailed in the books, as making up my own is always more fun. The transitive settings are more like ways to shape the focus of a campaign. Likewise I liked the idea of Council of Wyrms but rather than using the setting from the book I built a totally new world using the ideas in it as a starting point.

At the end of the day there are so many more games than there are gaming opertunities that something has to be pretty good to make me want to use it rather than something of my own devising.

[Khedrac]

Mystara (or more accurately the Known World that predated it).
I love the style of the maps. In many ways hex maps have advantages over more realistic maps, and the Gazetteers' colour map symbols (especially when they added new ones for things like wooded hills) are for me particularly appealing. A chap called Thorfinn Tait (now doing the maps for Bruce Heard's new setting) developed his own versions of the symbols and I think made them available to people. Also, once most of the Gazetters had come out there was simply more detail published on Mystara than any other D&D setting at that time, it was jst largely unknown/ignored by the wider AD&D community.

Glorantha
Lovely world, well detailed, and I love the concept of a world where two contradictory myths about what happened in the pre-history of the world can both be true... The concept of mortals experimenting with gods (swapping some round, editing them, re-defining them etc.) is also pretty awesome. Also Gloranthan true dragons.
Note: you don't need to know that much of it to play in it - you can learn as you play - we did in the day.

[BWR]

This isn't the first time the subject has come up and I get a bit tired of repeating myself on why I like what so this time around I'll merely list what I like without too much (or any) detail. I'll also leave out any settings based on literature (like SW or the Laundry or CoC)
In no particular order:
Planescape (probably my favorite for the sheer inventiveness and concept and range of what it includes)
Mystara
Dragonstar
Ravenloft
Rokugan (technically it's primarily a CCG setting but it functions mostly as an RPG setting)

[Mr.Moron]

I'd say the Iron Kingdoms is the only RPG setting that makes into my list of favorites. I don't generally really develop a love for RPG settings the way I do settings of other media, like Video Games, TV or Movies.

[Comet]

Glorantha all the way!

I love the way it blends huge cosmic forces with very human struggles. The world is full of magic and everyone knows it, the gods are very much real, but that magic and those gods are always linked to human cultures and are in turn influenced by them. Lowly farmers and immortal kings strive equally to live up to the example set by their icons and can feel and sense their presence in everything they do. It feels very much like mythology in our world, except that it's happening right now. Very dreamlike yet also very immediate and coherent.

And it's huge. So huge that I just can't wrap my head around all of it. People have been expanding the world for decades and it's gotten to, frankly, ridiculous proportions. Dozens of cultures with very different views on how the world works and hundreds of years of very detailed history. And, just like if you were to study real cultures on Wikipedia or your local library, everything is connected. Start with one area, get to know that culture and their view on history, find references to an invading army or trade partner or other important neighbour and dive right in to find out how the two interact. Bit by bit your image of the world becomes clearer and clearer. Googling or reading Glorantha stuff is like browsing wikipedia or tvtropes, there's just no end.

More specifically to my liking, there are cattle thieving barbarians fighting a noble war against a cosmopolitan empire whose prophetess is now the moon, mountain ranges that are sleeping dragons, arrogant wizards who found a way to walk into the world of myths and rewrite history and odd marshland duckpeople who follow the grim tenets of Humakt, god of death and swords. Among other things, even things that might be even more interesting and I just haven't heard of them yet!

[Amphetryon]

D20 Midkemia? Pretty please?

[dream]

Robert E. Howard's Hyborian Age of Conan the Barbarian. Can't wait for the new RPG to release:smallsmile:

[Lord Torath]

Dark Sun: For all the reasons Yora listed. Also, cannibalistic halflings, thri-kreen, and psionics.

I also really enjoy The Known World. Taking my kids to the Isle of Dread, and possibly shoehorning in Against the Giants and The Queen of Spiders.

My favorite setting I've never played in: Spelljammer! More cool things than you can shake a stick at!

[Lord Raziere]

aside from Eberron and Star Wars...

Planescape:
for its crossover, nexus of all worlds thing, and for its um, belief changes the planes thing. you could play anything in it and it would work.

Anima Beyond Fantasy:
its a world that actually feels mystical and interesting to me, capturing this final fantasy vibe without being final fantasy y'know? and has this cool soul thing going on with the Nephilim, while also having this politics thing going on, and the way the game is set up, you can play normal dudes dealing with political matters, to a bunch of Nephilim who all know some form of magic embarking on epic quest to find out what these memories during their sleep are all about.

I used to think Exalted was one of the best in my book, but it has fallen from grace for a few reasons, but I won't go into why, aside from my own stupid assumptions not gelling with it.

Pokemon:
(it features dragons, ghosts, and mice that can shoot lightning, if that isn't fantasy I'm a Skitty)
Why? because it has its own style of its own really. I mean, what other place can you capture a super-cat, a dragon with a flame on its tail, some weird floating thing made of metal, a green-haired psychic, an bunch of other weird monsters, all in little balls, carry them around with you, have them still be completely loyal to you and actually become great friends, battle evil and have it all make sense? and thats not even the point of it, the point is to form a great team of comrades to beat the greatest people in the world at a competition, and everything else is just the journey that happens along the way.

Nobilis:
the only setting where playing a god of a domain is a starting character, you fight the eldritch abominations trying to destroy all of reality....who might range from anything from being guys who believe everything is a lie and just want to show you the truth, to war people who see it as an outright war, while having to deal with an alien being that you made a godlike being in the first place, and you can pretty much go anywhere and do anything...

[Jay R]

The only setting I've ever seen in which all players consistently stay in character is the cartoon world of TOON.

[TheCountAlucard]

the only setting where playing a god of a domain is a starting character...Just because you never used the rules for gods as player characters doesn't mean Exalted doesn't have them, Raziere.

[zinycor]

Old World of Darkness

[aspekt]

I'm quite fond of Faerun for all the reasons people apparently don't like it.

This is a stylistic question of taste really. I tend to run campaigns where what I need is a backdrop for the stage that the characters will play out their story together. I need that scenery to have enough detail so that if I need or want it as part of the player's story it's there. But if it needs to fade into the background I don't need its story to overtake the player's narrative. I feel I can do this best with Faerun.

Eberron, for instance, is already heavily flavored. Player's and DMs are restricted by this flavor. Which can be a good thing! It's just not what we need most of the time.

NB: I currently have several of the Eberron books and it will be playing a role as part of a 4 stage campaign that I am running.

[KoboldCleric]

Arcanis, Dark Sun, Planescape, and Star Wars are my favourite fantasy settings.

Since the other three have been mentioned, I'll plug Arcanis. It's a setting in which political and social intrigue reign supreme, and in which magic actually comes across as, well, other, without being stupidly powerful or ripe for abuse. It's also a setting in which there is rarely a strict "good vs. evil" paradigm. It deals with personalities, goals, means, and motives, and lets the players sort out the morality on their own. It strikes a good balance between presenting a world that lives and breathes without the PCs, while still allowing the PCs to meaningfully affect the world around them.

[Arbane]

Glorantha all the way!

I won't link to it because it's occasionally NSFW, but there's a new (official, I believe) Gloranthan webcomic canned 'Prince of Sartar', which I've been rather enjoying for its look at the world.

[Lord Raziere]

Just because you never used the rules for gods as player characters doesn't mean Exalted doesn't have them, Raziere.

aren't they more like spirits or kami anyways? and I'm pretty sure from my memory that the "rules" for God player characters there consist of something along the lines of an advice thing that says:
"we are not actually making any rules for that, but if you really really want to play them, you kinda sort of adapt the charms here meant for NPC's into something half-way workable with your own creativity and ST approval"

but if you insist, I'll recheck and quote:



SPIRITS AS PLAYERS’ CHARACTERS
*snipped because copyrighted material*


ok, so your right, they do have rules, such as they are, but even playing one is highly dependent on ST approval. an uncertain thing, especially with a character that even the game says you have to be careful about letting in, how do I know that an ST won't deny me because of such uncertainty about the viability of the balance of the god or whatever? I know Exalted fandom. they tend to be very "humanity **** yeah!" type of people and very focused on Exalted protagonism. which makes me unsure of submitting concepts like a god or a Raksha to play. and we're going to get Exigents in 3e anyways, so what would even be the point of making a God character when they'd basically be the same thing, but are supposed to be working in some spiritual office job that would probably be taking up at least some of their time?

I mean, I wish I could submit a dragon or something as a DnD character, but that isn't happening either. level adjustment and all that. I have my individuality, but even I know some things just won't get chosen.

and oh right, should I edit the quote a little or something? is it too much of a quote from the book? let me know, cause I don't.

[Blackhawk748]

Kingdoms of Kalamar, its so sandboxy! Also no metaplot, if you like that, and i kinda do.

Edit: Ok there kinda is a metaplot but its dependent on which Kingdom your in, which is why i like it.

[Zaydos]

Top Place:
Planescape: So much potential. Philosophies which transcend alignment. Wars of Law and Chaos. Whole worlds shaped by belief, each infinite and alien. And then there's the Inner Planes, much less sketched out, but what Monte Cook writes hints at such potential for a DM to carve and explore. Then you have the option of Prime hopping which could be fun, especially with some overarching agenda (helping Law against Chaos in the Blood War at the behest of the Archons of Mount Celestia perhaps).

Below it:
Spelljammer: Doesn't take itself too seriously, but a lot of adventure potential, and magnificent setting to play around in.
Exalted
Dark Sun

And yeah Star Wars is actually a pretty good one even if I don't often think of it as such.

[YossarianLives]

I vote for Starwars and the Song of Ice and Fire world. Arda also probably deserves a shout out but it's definitely not the best.

[mephnick]

I'm not a huge fan of any of them, but they all have stuff I've stolen at some point.

If we're talking fantasy books too, then I choose whatever the world is called in Malazan Book of the Fallen.

*It was originally created as a TTRPG setting so I guess it counts.

[TheCountAlucard]

aren't they more like spirits or kami anyways?"God" is a pretty nebulous term in the first place, and is no less applicable than either of those words unless, and only unless, you're specifically using capital-G-monotheism-God, in which case it doesn't apply to Nobilis characters either, and you know it.


but if you insist, I'll recheck and quote:Would rather you didn't, seeing how that's copyrighted material.


even playing one is highly dependent on ST approval.So is playing a Lunar. Or a heroic mortal. Or a Dragon King.


how do I know that an ST won't deny me because of such uncertainty about the viability of the balance of the god or whatever?They're better balanced (and more likely to be permitted) than a Fair Folk.


and we're going to get Exigents in 3e anyways, so what would even be the point of making a God character when they'd basically be the same thing, but are supposed to be working in some spiritual office job that would probably be taking up at least some of their time?Presumably you'd be making a character who's different because of that difference, but I can't begin to guess at your motives.


I mean, I wish I could submit a dragon or something as a DnD character, but that isn't happening either. level adjustment and all that.Level adjustment just means it's pretty hard to play well. People have played weirder.

[Blackhawk748]

If we're talking fantasy books too, then I choose whatever the world is called in Malazan Book of the Fallen.

*It was originally created as a TTRPG setting so I guess it counts.

This, so this. That setting is awesome and crazy. Oh and the god of death is AWESOME!!!

Sorry, im ok now...

[Lord Raziere]

"God" is a pretty nebulous term in the first place, and is no less applicable than either of those words unless, and only unless, you're specifically using capital-G-monotheism-God, in which case it doesn't apply to Nobilis characters either, and you know it.

Would rather you didn't, seeing how that's copyrighted material.

So is playing a Lunar. Or a heroic mortal. Or a Dragon King.

They're better balanced (and more likely to be permitted) than a Fair Folk.

Presumably you'd be making a character who's different because of that difference, but I can't begin to guess at your motives.

Level adjustment just means it's pretty hard to play well. People have played weirder.

1. I dunno, I just never thought of say, the Greek Gods or the Norse Gods as being as low powered as Creation Gods (Incarnae being the exception of course). To me, such pantheons are really powerful beings that make kami's and such look small and insignificant.

2. kay, snipped.

3. depends on the game, I guess

4. ah. yes, is more likely.

5. You can't guess at my motives? and I'm not even trying to be confusing. very well. imagine that all your life you were never that good at making friends to the point where you weren't even aware that you should've been making them in your early years. imagine that you got lost in fantasy and sci-fi and loved how different they were from the boring world around you that seemed so unexeciting, not just in action and event, but in aesthetic! that buildings, the fields, the very people around you seemingly uninspiring and plain compared to your interests, and that you grew to dislike sameness and mundanity, for it was all around you and still is- same old boring world, no jet packs, no ray guns or whatnot, just...life. so you searched for the weird, the strange, the offbeat, the odd thing out and found that you could relate better to that strangeness than to any normal thing, empathized more with the out of place and the odd, the outcast and the eccentric. and that you realized, that no matter how small the group there would always be an odd one out, that it was fractal. that it was individuality. and that you find beauty in that strangeness no one else even seems to look at, and want to show everyone the beauty they miss! come see the beauty of darkness and night! It doesn't always have to be a thing of dark lords! come see the beauty of pulp science, invention and progress, it doesn't always have to be the domain of villainous mad scientists doomed to fail while heroes of fists and guts perservere! look! see! isn't there beauty in these things? can you not celebrate these things as well? why not celebrate the strange and the odd as well I say?

that is not to say what is normal is bad! but I find it boring and grey in my mind. normal is not my kingdom. I have no stake in it or any power to get within it. my kingdom is strangeness. it always has. I can't imagine my life without it, upsides and downsides all. that is why, the best I can explain for now. its the explanation that leaped into me as I typed, so I guess it will suffice for now. I hope I might come up with a better one someday though. but I guess your right is that its because of the diffference.

6. hm, indeed.

[TheCountAlucard]

Spoilering increasingly off-topic discussion…
1. I dunno, I just never thought of say, the Greek Gods or the Norse Gods as being as low powered as Creation Gods (Incarnae being the exception of course).First off, don't underestimate the "small gods" of Creation, as that's a category that still has some powerhouses. How do you think Ahlat fares against Ares? Nara-O vs. Juno?

Second, don't overestimate the Greco-Roman and Norse pantheons, especially their "little gods" that are almost beyond number.


[snip]That still doesn't answer my question of why you'd prefer an Exigent to a god.

[Lord Raziere]

Spoilering increasingly off-topic discussion…First off, don't underestimate the "small gods" of Creation, as that's a category that still has some powerhouses. How do you think Ahlat fares against Ares? Nara-O vs. Juno?

Second, don't overestimate the Greco-Roman and Norse pantheons, especially their "little gods" that are almost beyond number.

That still doesn't answer my question of why you'd prefer an Exigent to a god.


*shrug* dude, I don't have any context for how much scale they all have. I just assume by default that when you say "god" you mean something really powerful, its why some villains when they attain Ultimate Power go "YEEEEEEEEEEES, I AM A GOD!" and such. when I think "Mythical" I think something really powerful and extravagant looking....so, pardon me, but I have no context for what power scale this all taking place at, because myths seem bounce back and forth between super-powerful epics that begin or change the world in some way to very small stories about a couple people, so I have nothing consistent to go upon.

I don't prefer it, its just that I would be able to achieve the same concept while still being more acceptable to get into a game. Exigent? acceptable, its a game about Exalts after all. a God? probably unacceptable, because who plays the guys that everyone expects the Exalts to kick the ass and expose their corruption of, so that the Exalts can return with cheering crowds and rule as the true masters of Creation? guys that are by the way, if you haven't noticed, have nowhere near the charm capability of any Exalt, potentially heaping the ol "he is dragging us down with his suboptimal choices" complaint on top of a fandom that seems to already idolize humanity over all other beings, when even playing a Dragon-Blooded is seen as an unwise idea among other Exalts. if I am mistaken about this, please let me know, I only have my experiences of what other people in the Exalted fandom think of such things, and they seem pretty focused on "Solars are the best", while frequently denouncing any other race as "shouldn't be able to be played at all". Particularly Raksha.

[TheCountAlucard]

*shrug* dude, I don't have any context for how much scale they all have. I just assume by default that when you say "god" you mean something really powerful, its why some villains when they attain Ultimate Power go "YEEEEEEEEEEES, I AM A GOD!" and such.You're relying on a poor definition, unfortunately. The definition of "god" (well, the non-monotheistic one anyway) is a superhuman being or spirit worshipped as having power over nature or human fortunes.

That may seem like a pretty low bar for a person raised on comic-book superheroes, fantasy wizards, and Gurren Lagann, but if you've previously been trapped in the paradigm of mortal limitations, that's a pretty damn big upgrade, and is probably worthy of some maniacal laughter and euphoric declarations.

And let's face it: the only reason Superman isn't a god is because people by and large don't worship him as one.


when I think "Mythical" I think something really powerful and extravagant looking....so, pardon me, but I have no context for what power scale this all taking place at, because myths seem bounce back and forth between super-powerful epics that begin or change the world in some way to very small stories about a couple people, so I have nothing consistent to go upon.Life isn't consistent. Even for the most world-changing, history-defining people in the span of human existence, it wasn't all glorious battle, fantastical invention, or revolutionary discoveries - there were lots of days where they made wagers over inconsequential matters, fathered children, or even didn't do anything.

The gods do the same things because the gods are us, writ large.


Exigent? acceptable, its a game about Exalts after all.Unless it's a game about gods. Or heroic mortals. Or Dragon Kings. Or Fair Folk. Or a thousand other things.

More to the point, an Exigent requires just as much ST permission and homebrewing as a god does.


a God? probably unacceptable, because who plays the guys that everyone expects the Exalts to kick the ass and expose their corruption of, so that the Exalts can return with cheering crowds and rule as the true masters of Creation?The game's only about fighting the gods if the game's about fighting the gods, as circular as it sounds. Sometimes it's about fighting the Mask of Winters, or rooting out the Seven-Stranded Vine in An-Teng, or allying with a corrupt god to fight a greater enemy.

Incidentally, most Exalts don't even know how exactly the gods are corrupt, or what a non-corrupt system would even look like. Even the ones who do understand how exactly the machine is broken don't necessarily want to fix it, because a god who's "doing his job" isn't interfering in the mortal world at all, which would make them near useless as allies.

Also, rulership of Creation never passed into the hands of the gods in the first place; since they threw down the enemies of the gods, it's always been in the hands of the Exalted.


guys that are by the way, if you haven't noticed, have nowhere near the charm capability of any Exalt…No native Exalted Charm permits an Exalt to gather scraps of dreams and assemble one from the pieces that would fetch a prince's ransom. No native Exalted Charm lets you grant visions to those who till your fields, to instruct them in the proper care of your land. No native Exalted Charm lets you recover Essence from blood sacrifices, or gives you instant awareness of a murder in your vicinity, or lets mortals subsist on mist, cloud, and color, or permits you to call down a hurricane. No native Exalted Charm lets you build a spirit-sanctum, or teleport you there from anywhere in Creation, or reform there after your death, resurrected by the prayers of your believers. No native Exalted Charm lets you dredge up the uncountable treasures of the earth that have never seen daylight.

The gods are mighty; the Chosen, too, are mighty, but the things they do are not the same.

If you want to be the same, be the same. If you want to bring something different to the table, bring something different to the table, and don't let the fear of a hypothetical white-room combat that'll never happen stop you from having fun with it.


potentially heaping the ol "he is dragging us down with his suboptimal choices" complaint…Less so than if you chose to play a Terrestrial, a god-blood, a Fair Folk, a heroic mortal?


if I am mistaken about this, please let me know, I only have my experiences of what other people in the Exalted fandom think of such things, and they seem pretty focused on "Solars are the best", while frequently denouncing any other race as "shouldn't be able to be played at all". Particularly Raksha.Raksha have their own problems.

If you'd care to discuss it further, I suggest you start a thread for it and leave this one to its original topic. Or Skype me, I'm fine discussing this with you. :smallsmile:

[Leon]

Iron Kingdoms. It has the heavy focus on the aforesaid kingdoms but still enough space to get out and carve your name into the hills (tho if they Druids catch you doing so...) Standard Sword and Sorcery mixed with Magitech and Industrial advancement.

[Jay R]

Chaosium's Pendragon, and FGU's Flashing Blades are both built into a specific literary setting, and both work really well.

Pendragon is based on the literary King Arthur mythos, and many adventures are very much morality tales as often seen in Arthurian mythos.

Flashing Blades is set in 17th century France, in the time of the musketeers. But it is clearly and intentionally the setting of the swashbuckling novels and movies, not a historical setting.

[Amphetryon]

Chaosium's Pendragon, and FGU's Flashing Blades are both built into a specific literary setting, and both work really well.

Pendragon is based on the literary King Arthur mythos, and many adventures are very much morality tales as often seen in Arthurian mythos.

Flashing Blades is set in 17th century France, in the time of the musketeers. But it is clearly and intentionally the setting of the swashbuckling novels and movies, not a historical setting.

Nice. I can't remember the last time I saw a person on here talking about Pendragon. I only played it a couple of times, but it's a fun system with an interesting Character Creation methodology, if memory serves.

[Aedilred]

While arguments could be made until the cows come home about its place relative to other fantasy settings, I'm going to put in a good word for Warhammer, since it hasn't been mentioned yet. That is specifically as a RPG setting, since I think it's in RP that the setting is really at its best - and particularly the Empire and Marienburg, with Kislev getting an honourable mention, which are the most developed parts of it. (Other parts of the world are much less suitable for RPGs, of course).

Strip away all the high-fantasy battlegame silliness and you have a world that feels lived-in and down-to-earth and a ripe backdrop for all sorts of stories. Unfortunately most of the books that actually develop the setting in interesting ways for RP (Sigmar's Heirs, Shades of Empire, Tome of Salvation, Sold Down the River, the Companion) are both OOP and pretty expensive second-hand.

[GungHo]

I enjoyed Midnight

[Blackhawk748]

While arguments could be made until the cows come home about its place relative to other fantasy settings, I'm going to put in a good word for Warhammer, since it hasn't been mentioned yet. That is specifically as a RPG setting, since I think it's in RP that the setting is really at its best - and particularly the Empire and Marienburg, with Kislev getting an honourable mention, which are the most developed parts of it. (Other parts of the world are much less suitable for RPGs, of course).

Strip away all the high-fantasy battlegame silliness and you have a world that feels lived-in and down-to-earth and a ripe backdrop for all sorts of stories. Unfortunately most of the books that actually develop the setting in interesting ways for RP (Sigmar's Heirs, Shades of Empire, Tome of Salvation, Sold Down the River, the Companion) are both OOP and pretty expensive second-hand.

Warhammer is great, i believe they have an RPG for it actually. Dont know how good it is.

Also ya, Midnight is awesome.

[Yora]

That would be Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay.

[Knaight]

Pendragon is excellent, as has already been stated. More on the pulp end than fantasy per se, there's Terra Incognita. It has a timeline of major events, a secret society of pulp heroes, and a lot of other genre trappings that fit into that. Then there's the setting of REIGN, which is deliberately odd in a lot of ways, and ends up working beautifully.

[Aedilred]

Warhammer is great, i believe they have an RPG for it actually. Dont know how good it is.

Also ya, Midnight is awesome.

They do (the books I mentioned in my above posts are specifically supplements for the RPG). It's now in its third edition; the first edition was cool but mechanically wonky, the second much like the first with much of the wonkiness taken out and then a bit added back in for the lolz, and the third had a radical overhaul which looks kind of interesting but isn't really the same game.

The good background material was all for first or second edition, though: the third-ed stuff is fine but doesn't go into the same level of detail, exploration or really add anything all that new over what those familiar with the battlegame know or can easily extrapolate.

[Garimeth]

I like elements from most settings, but ultimately I end up homebrewing a new setting every single time.

[hiryuu]

aside from Eberron and Star Wars...

Planescape:
for its crossover, nexus of all worlds thing, and for its um, belief changes the planes thing. you could play anything in it and it would work.[QUote]

PLANESCAPE IS AWESOME

Also it was steampunk before steampunk was cool - the books were full of ads, flyers, and penny dreadful pages. I love slang dictionaries.

[quote]Pokemon:
(it features dragons, ghosts, and mice that can shoot lightning, if that isn't fantasy I'm a Skitty)
Why? because it has its own style of its own really. I mean, what other place can you capture a super-cat, a dragon with a flame on its tail, some weird floating thing made of metal, a green-haired psychic, an bunch of other weird monsters, all in little balls, carry them around with you, have them still be completely loyal to you and actually become great friends, battle evil and have it all make sense? and thats not even the point of it, the point is to form a great team of comrades to beat the greatest people in the world at a competition, and everything else is just the journey that happens along the way.

Pokémon is totally the modern era of an old fashioned high magic AD&D Mystara-like fantasy setting where people gave up on learning to do wizardry and just trained beholders from birth to beat up other monsters.

As for individual WoD settings I love the heck out of Demon: the Descent - it dovetails very nicely with Changeling and Geist if you jigger it right.

Aesca
The combination of dieselpunk and animistic/dreamtime physics and philosophy is awesome. Plus you can be a raptor that shoots lightning or a giant rotifer who's a little -too- into her gun collection.

[Blackhawk748]

They do (the books I mentioned in my above posts are specifically supplements for the RPG). It's now in its third edition; the first edition was cool but mechanically wonky, the second much like the first with much of the wonkiness taken out and then a bit added back in for the lolz, and the third had a radical overhaul which looks kind of interesting but isn't really the same game.

The good background material was all for first or second edition, though: the third-ed stuff is fine but doesn't go into the same level of detail, exploration or really add anything all that new over what those familiar with the battlegame know or can easily extrapolate.

Ooooh, guess i learned something today.

[Jay R]

Nice. I can't remember the last time I saw a person on here talking about Pendragon. I only played it a couple of times, but it's a fun system with an interesting Character Creation methodology, if memory serves.

Agreed. The best part about it is that aspects that more-or-less fill the alignment niche (Virtues/Vices and Passions) change according to the character's actions, according to a straightforward mechanic.