Comet
2015-03-16, 07:49 AM
I've been thinking about running a 5th edition D&D game in the distant future. Really back to basic high fantasy action adventure stuff with as much of the monster manual making an appearance as I can manage.
So I've been thinking about the kind of world I'd like to set this campaign in. I feel the world you choose has a huge impact on the way the players perceive the game and the kind of mood you're trying to create. Some traditional examples I came up with off the top of my head:
The grand open plains dotted with forests. This is my 'standard' fantasy setting. Empty highways, rocky hills, occasional castles and the Lord of the Rings.
The frozen north. Another standard. Biting cold, imposing mountain ranges and angry men in furs.
The foreboding, dark swampland. Grim stories told around campfires, old cottages and ruined castles.
The savage jungle. Serpent cults, ancient temples, dangerous ropebridges.
And so on, I'm sure there's something I'm forgetting.
With the traditional stuff out of the way, what kinds of worlds have you set your game in that weren't perhaps as obvious? Or have you used the above to create something with some kind of twist to it?
At the moment I'm thinking about setting the campaign on a series of tropical islands. Not grim pulp action jungles, necessarily, but bright blue lagoons contrasted against lush green mountains. Could be a world with lots of magic and different races all living side by side in coastal or underwater settlements. These coasts might be relatively safe while the inland areas would be where you'd have your adventures and monster slaying action. I feel this kind of colourful frontier would be a pretty good fit to ease my players into a more overtly magical and exotic world after the gritty dungeon crawling we've been doing for a couple of years now. Just need to be careful not to stray too far into alien territory.
So I've been thinking about the kind of world I'd like to set this campaign in. I feel the world you choose has a huge impact on the way the players perceive the game and the kind of mood you're trying to create. Some traditional examples I came up with off the top of my head:
The grand open plains dotted with forests. This is my 'standard' fantasy setting. Empty highways, rocky hills, occasional castles and the Lord of the Rings.
The frozen north. Another standard. Biting cold, imposing mountain ranges and angry men in furs.
The foreboding, dark swampland. Grim stories told around campfires, old cottages and ruined castles.
The savage jungle. Serpent cults, ancient temples, dangerous ropebridges.
And so on, I'm sure there's something I'm forgetting.
With the traditional stuff out of the way, what kinds of worlds have you set your game in that weren't perhaps as obvious? Or have you used the above to create something with some kind of twist to it?
At the moment I'm thinking about setting the campaign on a series of tropical islands. Not grim pulp action jungles, necessarily, but bright blue lagoons contrasted against lush green mountains. Could be a world with lots of magic and different races all living side by side in coastal or underwater settlements. These coasts might be relatively safe while the inland areas would be where you'd have your adventures and monster slaying action. I feel this kind of colourful frontier would be a pretty good fit to ease my players into a more overtly magical and exotic world after the gritty dungeon crawling we've been doing for a couple of years now. Just need to be careful not to stray too far into alien territory.