Dungeons & Dragons campaign settings
The flexibility of the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) rules means that Dungeon Masters (DM) are free to create their own fantasy campaign settings. For those who wanted a pre-packaged setting in which to play, TSR, Wizards of the Coast (WotC), and other publishers have created many settings in which D&D games can be based. Some are standard sword and sorcery environments, while others borrow Oriental, Central American, swashbuckling, and even space-travel themes.
Campaign settings in the 4th edition of D&D consist of only three books each: A campaign guide for the DM, a player's guide for players and DMs, and a ready-to-play adventure. There will only be these three books for each campaign setting, although a new setting will be released each year, and all settings will receive continuing support in D&D Insider. Forgotten Realms, Eberron and Dark Sun have been released for 4th edition. In D&D's 3rd edition, new Dragonlance material and Ravenloft material were being produced by other companies via licensing.
These are official D&D campaign settings published or licensed by TSR or WotC. Some are no longer published or officially licensed, though all have active fan bases.
Birthright [edit]
A setting in which the players took on the powers of the divinely-empowered rulers of nations, with emphasis on tactical gameplay with a broad scope. This campaign setting is no longer officially supported. However, Wizards of the Coast does have a fan-driven community which has converted the setting to version 3.5 and is currently working on a 4.0 conversion.
Blackmoor [edit]
The original campaign setting played for D&D, created by Dave Arneson, was Blackmoor. Blackmoor was actually created prior to Greyhawk, but was only published later as part of the distant past of Mystara. In 2004, Blackmoor was again published by Arneson and Zeitgeist Games. It is also run as a Massively Mutiplayer Role-Playing Game or MMRPGF (a type of living campaign). This campaign setting is no longer officially supported.
Council of Wyrms [edit]
Council of Wyrms is a D&D boxed set, published in 1994, that includes rules for playing dragon, half dragon, and dragon servant characters. It includes three rule books: one for the base rules, one for dragon family and clan histories, and one for adventure modules.[1] In 1999 it was slightly revised and reprinted as a hardcover book.[2] This campaign setting is no longer officially supported.
The setting of the campaign is a chain of islands called Io's Blood Island Chain. These islands represent all major climates. It is separated from the rest of its fictional world by very large oceans.[1]
The dragons on the islands are described as having a loose democratic government with a caretaker. Each dragon clan with a wyrm level dragon gets a vote on issues before the Council of Wyrms. The caretaker only gets a vote on tie issues. Thus dragonkind cooperates and makes decisions on issues affecting dragon welfare.[1]
Humans are not native to the islands, and those humans who come to the islands are mostly adventurous dragon slayers.[1]
According to the draconic myth described in the setting, the islands were created by the dragon god Io. Seeing his children, the dragons, engulfed in dragon war, Io cried out: "If dragon blood must be spilled, then let it be mine!" He then slashed open his belly with his own claws and spilled his blood into the oceans. The divine blood solidified and became a chain of islands. These islands Io gave to the dragons, hoping that they would be able to live there in peace.[1]
Dark Sun [edit]
Drawing heavy inspiration from novels like Dune and the Barsoom series, this setting based on the harsh desert world of Athas - once a lush planet teeming with life, it has since been stripped of its fertility by uncontrolled use of defiling magic and has become a savage place where civilization has retreated into city-states controlled by god-like Sorcerer-Kings.
Psionics are a dominant aspect of the setting and are as commonplace as magic in other D&D settings - native / latent psionic abilities are commonly found in individuals of all humanoid races and their abilities are respected. Religion and divine magic is based on the worship of elemental forces and spirits or the Sorcerer-Kings themselves - the old gods have long abandoned the world. Wizards, however, are rarer and usually discriminated against, mainly because most of them are "defilers" who drain life force from the environment to power their magic. However, a small underground minority of magicians called "preservers" work to maintain life and ultimately restore the primeval lushness.
Playable humanoid races in Athas include the Thri-Kreen (mantis people) and Half-Giants, as well as warped variants of races found in other conventional fantasy settings: humans, the dominant race in most of known Athas, appear to be tougher than in other worlds; elves are nomadic desert dwellers and long-distance runners; halflings are depicted as savage jungle cannibals.
These elements, combined with the post-apocalyptic setting and the alien feel of Athas' native cultures, give Dark Sun a unique flavor among campaign settings. As of fourth edition, Dark Sun is again an officially supported campaign setting. The first three releases for the 4th edition of D&D for the setting were released on August 17, 2010 and include the Dark Sun Campaign Setting, Dark Sun Creature Catalog, and the Marauders of the Dune Sea adventure.[3]
Dragon Fist [edit]
Dragon Fist, released on the Wizards of the Coast website, was promoted as a new role playing game, describing itself in its introduction as an "AD&D variant". With its debut near the end of the lifespan of second edition, the variant rules blended rules found in different editions. For example, the game used the monster template of second edition, but the armor class rules of third edition. The campaign setting, created by Chris Pramas, is an Oriental realm known as Tianguo, "a fictional land based on wuxia films and on Chinese folklore and legend". Beyond the initial release, the product was not supported.[4]
Dragonlance [edit]
The first complete fictional world to be intentionally produced and marketed as an RPG supplement, with product tie-ins (novels, role-playing modules, figurines, etc.) prepared and manufactured when it was first released. The success of the Dragonlance series encouraged role-playing game producers to invent and market additional fictional game worlds. The setting is an epic fantasy campaign, focused on a war between good and evil gods and the return of dragons after centuries of absence. Created by Tracy Hickman and his wife Laura, with heavy tie-ins to the novels by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis. This campaign setting is no longer officially supported.
Time of the Dragon [edit]
This box set introduced gamers to the continent of Taladas, noted for having a large molten sea in its middle, and a nation of minotaurs modeled on the Roman Empire, with its own imperial family, senate, and gladiatorial games.
Eberron [edit]
The newest official D&D setting. Wizards of the Coast held a contest for fans to pen the most creative new setting, the reward being a publishing contract. Keith Baker's setting won, and with additional design by Wizards of the Coast's creative department, the Eberron campaign setting was released in 2004. Straying from the 'standard' Western European flavor used in many other D&D settings (Greyhawk and Forgotten Realms being the most well known) Eberron takes place in a world of pulp action and fantasy noir, where the inhabitants make extensive use of magic in place of technology. Fantasy versions of steam trains, airships, and even robots are common in place of traditional knights in shining armor. This campaign setting is currently officially supported by Wizards of the Coast.
Forgotten Realms [edit]
Created by author and game designer Ed Greenwood as his personal campaign and detailed in a long series of articles in Dragon Magazine, it became the most popular setting with D&D gamers in the 1990s, mainly because of its variety and level of detail. It is a high fantasy world, where magic is powerful, legendary monsters are commonplace, and gods often intervene directly in mortal affairs. Forgotten Realms allows players to indulge in several types of fantasy storylines, ranging from sword and sorcery hack-and-slash and treasure hunting adventures to epic worldwide and inter-dimensional campaigns often involving direct contact with extra-dimensional beings.
The setting's planet, Abeir-Toril, is home to many fantasy cultures that are inspired by real world's - the continent of Faerun contains rough analogues of European, African and Middle-Eastern cultures (including the Al-Qadim campaign), the region of Kara-Tur is a stand-in for the Far East (and the original default setting for Oriental Adventures), and Maztica is a fictional representation of pre-Columbian MesoAmerica. Other regions and realms are more alien in nature and populated by non-human races, including elvish and dwarvish kingdoms and a sprawling underground realm (the Underdark).
This campaign is currently officially supported by Wizards of the Coast and over the years has expanded into a variety of other media, including literature, comics and video games. The highly successful Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, and Neverwinter Nights series of computer games are based on the Forgotten Realms, which is also the setting of a large number of novels, featuring, among others, the popular characters Drizzt Do'Urden, Artemis Entreri, and Elminster.
Al-Qadim [edit]
A fantasy Arabian setting, with genies, elemental wizards, holy assassins, and a land unified by belief in the power of Fate. The land, named Zakhara, is located near the southern border of the continent of Faerûn, the main landmass of the Realms. However, Al-Qadim appeared under its own label, and not the Forgotten Realms label, unlike Kara-Tur and Maztica. This campaign setting is no longer officially supported, however, it is now regarded part of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting as its setting is mentioned in some Forgotten Realms sourcebooks and novels.
The Horde [edit]
Released as a box set, the front cover’s sub-heading to The Horde reads “Barbarian Campaign Setting”. It details a region known as the Endless Waste, which lies between Faerun, and Kara-Tur. The setting is modeled on medieval Mongolia (A Guidebook to the Endless Waste, page 9).
Kara-Tur [edit]
An oriental setting based loosely on mythical and medieval East and Southeast Asia, introduced in the original Oriental Adventures rulebook. It then became part of the Forgotten Realms and was eventually placed on the eastern edge of Toril.
Maztica [edit]
An continent west of Faerûn (in the Forgotten Realms) that parallels Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica.
In the fourth edition of D&D, Maztica is no longer on Toril, but was shifted to Abeir.
Ghostwalk [edit]
The Ghostwalk setting consists of a single campaign book. The central locale for the Ghostwalk setting is a city called Manifest, a mausoleum city built atop a geological feature known as the Well of Souls, a gathering place for ghosts, unique as a place in which ghosts can cross over to the realm of the living. This campaign setting is no longer officially supported.
Greyhawk [edit]
The first published setting for D&D, created by D&D co-creator Gary Gygax. Greyhawk is Gygax's original campaign, that eventually turned into an official game supplement and greatly expanded upon with many supplements. Many of the setting's concepts were based on ideas generated during Gary Gygax's D&D gaming sessions. Several characters in the setting were also based on characters created by Gygax's gaming partners. Oerth (the name of the world where Greyhawk campaigns take place) is a "standard" medieval fantasy setting, similar in many ways to the Forgotten Realms campaign, but overall darker in tone, with a sword and sorcery feel. It was the "default" setting for the 3rd Edition ruleset (that is, the rulebooks are written assuming the players are campaigning in the Greyhawk setting) but supplements are no longer actively published and the campaign setting is no longer officially supported.
Jakandor [edit]
Jakandor, released in 1998, is a self-contained "campaign arena" conceived by Jeff Grubb. Jakandor is an island divided between the native Charonti, a civilization that makes heavy use of magic (especially necromancy), and the Knorr, barbarians who despise the vile practice of magic and have been driven from a far-away homeland to Jakandor.
The setting was released in the form of three books, as part of the AD&D: Odyssey line. These books are:
- Jakandor, Island of War (Feb. 1998 ISBN 0-7869-0371-6) detailed the Knorr barbarians and eastern side of Jakandor.
- Jakandor, Isle of Destiny (June 1998 ISBN 0-7869-1245-6) detailed the Charonti and western side of Jakandor.
- Jakandor, Land of Legend (November 1998 ISBN 0-7869-1246-4) has additional information and adventures for characters from both civilisations.
A fourth book Jakandor: Land of Destiny by Jeff Grubb was planned for January 1999 but never released. This campaign setting is no longer officially supported.
Kingdoms of Kalamar [edit]
A campaign setting designed and produced by Kenzer & Company. The setting was one of the first to take advantage of the Open Gaming License and the D20 System, making it the first official D&D setting not produced by TSR/Wizards of the Coast. The Kalamar setting focuses mainly on six human sub-races on the world of Tellene and its creators pride themselves on grounding the fantasy setting in 'reality' by taking advantage of realistic looking geography and political structures. This campaign setting is no longer officially supported by Wizards of the Coast. Kenzer & Company has released a pdf exclusive 4th edition conversion of the 3rd edition rulebooks.
Lankhmar [edit]
TSR released a setting based on the Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories by Fritz Leiber. The corrupt city of Lankhmar on the planet Nehwon is the starting place of grand adventures filled with mystery and deceit.
Mahasarpa [edit]
Mahasarpa is a South Asian-themed campaign setting featuring seven kingdoms that are the surviving remnants of a great kingdom brought down by its own arrogance. Mahasarpa was designed by James Wyatt, and was offered as a free web enhancement to the Oriental Adventures rulebook for D&D 3rd edition. Mahasarpa includes brief descriptions of the seven kingdoms, character options for the setting, new magic items, and new monsters. The Mahasarpa campaign setting is no longer officially supported.
Mystara [edit]
A campaign setting that evolved from the B and X series modules. Unlike other settings, Mystara had ascended immortal beings instead of gods. This was the default "generic" campaign world for the non-Advanced editions of D&D throughout the 1980s and 1990s, and the Blackmoor setting was later retconned to exist in Mystara's distant past. Most adventures take place in "The Known World", a central continent that includes Medieval Europe-type countries dominated by humans, a wasteland populated by orc tribes, Elvish and Dwarvish kingdoms, two large empires (one inspired by real-world Rome and an empire ruled by wizards), as well as a peculiar underworld sub-setting (the Hollow World), the Savage Coast campaign and other realms which make up a varied patchwork.
Hollow World [edit]
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It has been suggested that Hollow World Campaign Set be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since February 2013. |
Hollow World is a sub-setting for Mystara. The Hollow World details the inner surface contained within the world of Mystara, similar to the real world legends of the Hollow Earth. In the Mystara setting, the Hollow World acts as a living "cultural museum" for the planet, forever preserving cultures and races that are near extinction on the surface world.
This world is lit by an eternal red sun at the center of Mystara. The existence of the Hollow World is not, in general, known to the inhabitants of the outer world. The north and south poles are actually huge, subtly curving holes that allow passage between the outer and inner world, although it is a long, hard trek through a cold, unlit, stormy and anti-magic area. The curvature of the holes is so subtle that explorers from either surface do not notice the transition until after it is already made, causing quite a shock for most.
The Hollow World was originally discovered by Ka the Preserver, an ancient Immortal who began life as a giant carnosaur, who after finding it, decided to use the inner surface of the world as a refuge and preserve for creatures that were on the verge of becoming extinct in the ever-changing outer world. Since that time, the Hollow World has become a vast refuge for cultures, and species that have become extinct on the surface of Mystara.
Within the Hollow World, characters from the surface world are severely limited by the magic used by the Immortals to preserve the stability of the various cultures. The requirements to learn magic are much higher in the Hollow world, and many spells are non-functional or unavailable. The Hollow World also adds several new player races including Beastmen, Brutemen, Kubbits, Krugel Orcs, Malpheggi Lizardmen.
The Hollow World has four major continents; Aercial, Iciria, Jomphur and Suridal. There are three major island groups; The Anathy Archipelago, The Hagvar Islands and The Wintillian Islands.
Dungeons & Dragons: Warriors of the Eternal Sun is a Sega Mega Drive game which depicts a group of adventurers who find their home transported to the Hollow World by an immortal known as the Burrower. This campaign setting is no longer officially supported.
Savage Coast [edit]
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It has been suggested that The Savage Coast be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since February 2013. |
The Savage Coast is part of the Mystara campaign setting for D&D and was later spun off into a campaign setting for AD&D 2nd edition. The area is a 2,000 mile long frontier coastline about 2,000 miles to the west of the Known World of Mystara. The Savage Coast is an area under the Red Curse, which eventually kills its inhabitants by mutating them unless the metal cinnabryl is worn in contact with the body.
The first published information on the area was the module X9 The Savage Coast for D&D Expert Set. The region was later expanded in Dungeon magazine issues 6 and 7 (1987) with the adventure "Tortles of the Purple Sage".
Two series in Dragon Magazine, "The Princess Ark" and the "Known World Grimoire", described the Savage Coast in more detail. These articles were partially reprinted in the D&D game accessory Champions of Mystara (1993)[1]
In 1994 campaign setting for the area was published as a boxed set entitled Red Steel, an expansion Savage Baronies was released the next year. These supplements were for AD&D 2nd edition, all the previous material had been for the non "Advanced" version of D&D.
In 1996 the setting was revised and re-released under the AD&D: Odyssey line as three fully online products available for free download here. This range included the base Savage Coast Campaign Book by Tim Beach and Bruce Heard, a supplement Savage Coast: Orc's Head and a Monstrous Compendium Appendix. This campaign setting is no longer officially supported.
Nentir Vale [edit]
Nentir Vale is the sample community provided as a default setting in the 4th edition 4th edition Dungeon Master's Guide. Most sourcebooks refer to the cosmology this community exists in as "the D&D world" or "points of light," though these appear to be informal names. The overall setting is one in which great empires of various races, including tieflings and dragonborn, have long ago or recently fallen. Towns and other civilization centers are colloquially referred to as "points of light," with the DM encouraged by the guidebook to leave the rest of the world largely unplanned, vague and unpredictable. The deities presented in the 4th edition Dungeon Master's Guide are a hodge-podge of Greyhawk, Forgotten Realms and newly created gods. What cultural uniformity exists beyond the Nentir Vale, other than the Material Plane-wide worship of some or all of these figures, is little.
Pelinore [edit]
Pelinore is a lesser-known D&D campaign setting that was developed by TSR's UK offices in its Imagine magazine.
Pelinore articles primarily focused on a major urban center, the City League, and the surrounding county. Articles in Imagine detailed small locations within the City League that could also be used in any setting, as they were almost generic in execution.
Imagine presented a slice of this campaign world with each new issue from issue 16, up until its cancellation at issue 30. NPCs were usually numbered with a small printing of their ability statistics and a key number. If a building had code number 25, people within would for instance be 25A onwards.
After the demise of Imagine the former assistant editor, Paul Cockburn, created Game Master Publications. This series of unofficial D&D modules was set in Pelinore with newly drawn maps and some renamed locations (e.g., the "County of Cerwyn" became "Caerns"). Some modules described places beyond the boundaries of the established setting. From issue GM4 onwards Game Master Publications returned to the use of the original names and even reprinted the official maps from Imagine. Game Master Publications was cancelled at issue GM5 in 1987. This campaign setting is no longer officially supported.
Planescape [edit]
A setting that crosses the numerous "planes of existence", as originally developed in the Manual of the Planes. The setting crossed Victorian era trappings with a pseudo-steampunk design and attitude. Planescape won acclaim on its unique visual aspects, products of artist Tony DiTerlizzi. This campaign setting is no longer officially supported, although its city of Sigil has appeared in the 3rd edition in the Planar Handbook and in the Epic Level Handbook and the 4th edition in Dungeon Master's Guide 2.
Ravenloft [edit]
A gothic horror setting originally created for an adventure module, Ravenloft, then expanded into an entire series and campaign setting. After years of production by TSR and WotC, Wizards of the Coast licensed Ravenloft to Arthaus Games, which published its materials through White Wolf, Inc.'s Sword & Sorcery label, but rights returned to Wizards of the Coast in early 2006. In October 2006, Wizards of the Coast released Expedition to Castle Ravenloft, an updated version of the original module, as a hardcover. In August 2010, Wizards of the Coast released the Castle Ravenloft board game, and in 2011 announced the release of the Ravenloft Roleplaying Game, which was a standalone game that can double as a 4th Edition Campaign Setting. This was subsequently canceled.[citation needed]
Masque of the Red Death [edit]
A spin off of Ravenloft set in a fantasy, low magic, version of 1890s Earth. This campaign setting is no longer officially supported.
Rokugan [edit]
When Wizards of the Coast published the latest edition of Oriental Adventures, it included Rokugan as the official "sample setting." Rokugan is best known for being the setting of the Legend of the Five Rings (L5R) themed games: the Legend of the Five Rings collectible card game and the Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying Game, which are all published by The Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG). However, shortly after the publication of Oriental Adventures, AEG obtained all the publishing rights to all L5R properties. For a brief time, AEG published supplements that featured both L5R and D20 based mechanics. However, development of all D20 based Rokugan material has recently ceased, as Oriental Adventures is now out of print, and AEG, has decided to focus solely on L5R based supplements for the next edition of The L5R Roleplaying Game. This campaign setting is no longer officially supported as a D&D setting, but has a large release schedule by AEG. Legend of the Five Rings 4th Edition (not related to D&D 4th Edition) was released in 2010.
Spelljammer [edit]
A setting based in "wildspace", a fantastical version of outer space based on classical notions of the universe in which magic-imbued ships interact with each other and locations in space, including campaign setting planets such as Forgotten Realms or Dragonlance, allowing for inter-campaign interaction. This campaign setting is no longer officially supported as a standalone campaign setting, but elements from the setting (such as spelljammer ships) have been included in 3rd and 4th edition supplement materials.
Astromundi Cluster [edit]
While the Spelljammer product line focused more on game mechanics and adventures taking place in the unusual environment of outer space, it provided less of a detailed overview of actual locations to explore. However, The Astromundi Cluster box set provided enough detail on an entire crystal sphere (known as the Shattered Sphere or Clusterspace), to sustain an ongoing campaign indefinitely, providing details on planets, cultures, empires, races, new gods, etc.
Thunder Rift [edit]
Thunder Rift is a setting created in the 1990s for the "basic" D&D product line. The setting, an alternative to the Known World/Mystara (the standard D&D setting), was conceived as a starting point for beginning game groups and to be gradually expanded by the DM. The Thunder Rift worked as a self-contained setting, but could be inserted in any existing game world as well.
Underdark [edit]
The Underdark is a vast subterranean domain which holds thousands of adventure possibilities and myriad threats, including drow, mind flayers, dragons, among others. Because of its nature of being set entirely underground, the Underdark can easily be added to any other world setting.
As of 4th Edition, The layout of the Underdark consists of four basic sections: The Shallows, The Deeps, The Feydark, and The Shadowdark. Each of these sections contains information on its denizens and hazards, and provides three adventures. There are also three campaign arcs, dealing with "aberrant enemies", the Drow, and with Torog (the god of imprisonment and torture, and the lord of the Underdark).
The 3rd edition of Forgotten Realms had its own Underdark with differently named and populated regions. Since most fans learned of the dark elves through R. A. Salvatore's series of Drizzt Do'Urden novels, and since those are set in the Forgotten Realms, that Underdark has become the standard one to many players.
Deepearth [edit]
This setting was given a 20-page treatment in the 1st edition Dungeoneer's Survival Guide by Douglas Niles (commencing on page 75). It is described "as a setting that you can use for your underground campaign".
Warcraft [edit]
The Warcraft campaign setting, based on the computer gaming franchise Warcraft, was created for third edition, and was a product of White Wolf Publishing (via its imprints Arthaus and Sword & Sorcery). Under a license with Wizards of the Coast, the campaign setting was recognized by them as an official campaign setting, indicated by the inclusion of the official D&D 3rd edition logo on the cover of the initial rule book (“Warcraft The Roleplaying Game”). This product was supported by five other books, before the setting was updated as “World of Warcraft The Role Playing Game”, which was still regarded as a d20 game, but no longer viewed as part of the D&D game.
Wilderlands of High Fantasy [edit]
Wilderlands of High Fantasy grew from the officially licensed D&D material from Judges Guild in the 1970s and 1980s including City State of the Invincible Overlord. It is currently being published for 3rd Edition by Judges Guild through Necromancer Games.
The original edition ran to a total of 18 half-continent sized maps (some dealing with ocean settings), with details of the cities, towns, islands and ruins/lairs to be found. The setting was then used as a locale for a multitude of modules and characters published by Judges Guild.[5]
References [edit]
- ^ a b c d e Slavicsek, Bill (1994). Council of Wyrms. TSR. ISBN 1-56076-857-6.
- ^ Slavicsek, Bill (1999). Campaign Option: Council of Wyrms Setting. Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-1383-5.
- ^ "Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Official Home Page - Product Catalog". wizards.com. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
- ^ "Dragon Fist". RPG.net. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
- ^ "Judges Guild". judgesguild.com. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
External links [edit]
- Wizards of the Coast' D&D page
- Living City
- Odyssey line at TSR Archive
- Myth Weavers adaptation of Jakandorto D&D v3.5
- Jakandor series description at SF Site
- TSR Archive Hollow World product list
- The Savage Coast Campaign Book
- Previous Edition Dungeons & Dragons Downloads (Free TSR download from Wizards of the Coast. Scroll down the page to find the Savage Coast Campaign Setting)
- Red Steel and The Savage Coast at TSR Archive.
- Birthright.net
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