If I had to pick a campaign world that I've used in my campaigns - in other words, a world I've actually experienced at the game table - I would have to say the Forgotten Realms. Yes, warts, baggage, and all. Say what you will about the Realms, but it's got a lot of good stuff to it, a richness and depth from decades of existence. I know, Drizzt is a Mary Sue, the Time of Troubles was a bit ridiculous, etc. But I love the Realms in all it's iterations.
Well, perhaps the recent Spellplague iteration is where I draw the line.
But, I'm hoping for some Realms "redemption" with the new Sundering "reboot" coming out in the (near?) future.
I never owned the legendary "Grey Box" version, but when I ran my recent Realms campaign I used the 3E version. And I consider that campaign to be my most successful effort, at least when it comes to my return to the table-top within the last few years.
However...all that said, I have some of the old TSR materials for Fritz Leiber's Nehwon that I've been dying to use for the longest time! It is very intriguing to me when I think about running a campaign set in the city of Lankhmar and the world beyond! That's definitely on my RPG bucket list.
It's really hard to not pick FR for me, too...although in the end I realize I know the FR more for the books than the setting as a game. The best games I've gotten to be a player in have all been set in various areas of the Forgotten Realms, though...so it's definitely one of my faves.
ReplyDeleteFR is also my pick for favorite gameworld.
ReplyDeleteI put Mystara in my posts. I actually have only ever gamed in the Forgotten Realms once, for a high-level "evil" one-shot where I played a Githyanki Psion (pre-gen from the DM), and since it was a one-shot I didn't get a lot of feel for the setting.
ReplyDeleteI have the 3E campaign setting book and I actually still love that one even though I never used the setting. I thought it was just a really well put-together campaign setting book that set the standard for many of the other d20 settings that followed.
So I was going back through a bunch of your older posts a few days ago and read, to my shock and horror, that you HATE the "Known World" (aka "Mystara")!
ReplyDeleteSeriously. I thought we were friends.
Hmph.
Sorry Martin! Hate is actually way too strong a word. I don't HATE it...there's just a lot of things I don't like about it, and think it gets more hype than it should.
ReplyDeleteSorry!!! ;-)