# D&D setting discussion **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 7, 2007, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/d-d-setting-discussion/394941 "2007-03-07T13:35:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![ArizonaTeach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@ArizonaTeach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArizonaTeach)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/d-d-setting-discussion/394941/41 "2007-03-14T17:11:06Z")
[QUOTE=Phase42] I’m DMing an _Age of Worms_ campaign right now 🙂 [/QUOTE] Me, too. Heavily adapted to the Realms. Shackled City and Savage Tide don’t really work for me, but Age of Worms is something else. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/d-d-setting-discussion/394941/42 "2007-03-14T17:39:12Z")
[QUOTE=hotflungwok] Not everyone should be writing their own worlds. I’ve seen dozens of custom worlds, and can count on one hand how many that were any good. It’s way too easy to make a one off (its like X but with Y) or a one shot (this world has X, but thats pretty much it) or just something so wierd it doesnt feel right to play it (in my world everyone is a vampire except cows, which are all holy). I’ve tried to make an original custom world in the past, and realized how hard it really is. It isn’t something you do on a whim. [/QUOTE] World-building requires a particular mindset. It’s very different from creating adventures, and some people just aren’t very good at doing one or the other. I generate world-pieces almost automatically. Characters, nations, chunks of history, and such pop into my mind fully-formed at odd moments, needing little more than to be typed up. On the other hand, I find writing adventures to be really hard work. I haven’t run a game in the D&D version of my current setting yet (though one of my friends has already built several characters for it, playing around with the special feats and skills I devised), but I’m currently using it in some LARP games. It’s a rather nationalistic setting (pushed along by divine influence) and scrambles a lot of the expectations players have based on fantasy clichés. A lot of people you would expect to be bad guys aren’t, and vice versa. Civilization in the core nations I’ve developed so far is closer to modern than medieval in some ways; there are police-drama and mystery type storylines to go along with the more traditional fantasy tropes. In fact, my favorite NPC in the setting so far is the equivalent of a medical examiner. Also, dragons are _very_ different from the standard crayon/jewelry box critters. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/d-d-setting-discussion/394941/43 "2007-03-14T17:57:29Z")
My favorite setting has always been Forgotten Realms. Just like the very in-depth, complete feel of the world. That said, I ran a Dark Sun campaign for five years. Loved the way it turned the traditional D&D archetypes on their ears. I dislike Eberron for it’s technological ways. Same with the Ptolus campaign I’m playing in now, although I still like it enough to play. Having things that I dislike in the world can be an enjoyable challenge. Dragonlance had some cool stuff like the Draconians, but overall, I didn’t get into it. I did read the novels, however. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/d-d-setting-discussion/394941.md?page=2)