Just a place for comments about fantasy gaming settings.
First off - Eberron.
Eberron departs drom the standard D&D medieval setting, being more 1930ish in feel, in spite of swords, armor, and the like.

Mostly this is because they apply Niven's Corollary to Clarke's Law - Any sufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from science. Things that are too useful to ignore - rapid communication and transport, as an example, gets several different approaches, from railroads (Lightning Rail) to aircraft (skyships). Communication by magic is expensive, but keeps the blood of commerce flowing.

Magic is not weird and wonderful, it is something that you see everyday. One of the cities, reaching up into the sky, and building along a massive cliff, has a standing reward for spellcasters who save folks from falling with Featherfall and the like. As a result it is not unknown for a person to be targeted by as many as six featherfall spells following a mishap on one of the many bridges. Silly, but understandable.

Not a setting that I am likely to ever run, but seems like fun.

Next?

The Auld Grump

While I've flipped thourgh some Eberron material before and saw a few things I liked as a whole I don't care much for the setting. While it is different and seams well thought out I am more partial to low magic campaigns (preferably with a grim overtone) or midlevel such as the clasic Greyhawk and Forgotten Realms (my personall favorite for many years).

As for a good fantasy campaign I also like Kingdoms of Kalamar, and Sovereign Stone campaign settings (I actually have the Sovereign stone game system and D20 setting). My favorite aspect of the soverign stone setting is how each race is given a magical apittude where they excel in their spellcasting and the actual casting of a spell. In both systems spells are given a difficulty and you roll dice based on your aptitude each round untill you have gained enough points to cast the spell.

Richard

KoK was a setting that I really wanted to like. Detailed, fully fleshed out history, nice map...

But somehow it never thrilled me. For no reason that I can put my finger on. I don't hate it, or even dislike it, I just have no urge to game in it.

I suspect that part of what I like about Eberron is just what you don't like - it does not pretend to be a true medieval world, but instead has 'technological' development following another path.

Which brings me to a setting that I have run games in - The Iron Kingdoms, where technology and magic are blending. Steam powered golems rule the battlefield, and railroads are beginning to stretch between the cities.

Gunpowder (of a sort) is in use, though too expensive for most people to use. (A major setting change I made - gunpowder should be cheap, this was part of the reason that guns replaced the crossbow, cheaper to manufacture ammunition for, and faster to load.

While the setting is anything but 'low magic' the use of spells can be limited and/or dangerous, and the crafting of magic items can permanently harm the creator. And no easily available resurrection magic, the dead tend to either stay dead or become undead rather than being raised for the price of a 5000 gp diamond.

I have made a fair amount o terrain for games in this setting, either for the RPG or the miniatures game WARMACHINE.

The Auld Grump

Midnight: A LotR world where Sauron won... and the survivors try to do what they can to take back the realm... It's quite diferent and I'm not still sure if is posible to be run as a campaign... but is worth give a try in the future... And another option is to make them the bad boys... fighting the resistance...

Anybody remember Harn?



I have almost everything they make, but due to a lack of D20 conversions and an even greater lack of interest in the Harn system I have never been able to put together a game.[/img]

Oh yeah, Harn! I've played a few times in the past. I enjoyed it but I don't remember any particulars of the system. What I was impressed with was how developed the setting was; tons of source material. Too bad you live on the other side of the country, RangerJim. I would have been down to play.

The Known World.

Can't be purchaesd. Contains elements from Greyhawk, Forgetten Realms, Ebberon, Scarred Lands (which totally rocks on history), Demon Wars, Al-Qadim, Arelas, Arborlaria, Blackmoor, Council of Wyrms, Cyradon, Dark Sun, DragonMech, Diablo universe, Earthdawn, Glorantha, Hârn, Kara-Tur, Wilderlands of High Fantasy, Lankmar, Midgard, Mystara, Planescape, Shadow World, Spelljammer, Thunder Rift, Warcraft, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, Iron Kingdoms, many different novels, and the sick demented mind of the Cerebral Cortex of the Damned.....

CCotD'

Honestly, the fantasy genre is going to be murdered by Uwe Boll and his movie of Dungeon Siege which is out soon. Nothing could be worse. Burt Reynolds is the king. Yes, Stoker Ace...is a fantasy king.

I have to say I'm kinda looking forward to the Midnight movie, though I too thought it was a bit sterile I think it's much better than average, especially considering how it is being made.

Dungeon Siege on the other hand...

For those of you that havn't seen the trailer yet, it is kicking about on Youtube, this will give you an idea of how horrible this movie is looking.

First I have played Dungeon Siege I & II and this movie has nothing to do with the game. Second, the actors, some I can't believe took on the role as they are quite good actors and usually smarter than this, others, well, they obviously think this will make them famous again. The helmet on Burt Reynolds was the only thing I found funny in the entire trailer.

I will say it has everything to attract a gamer crowd, at least comedy wise, big fights, matrix style slo-mo effects, chick from Terminator III, ninjas, undead, ninjas fighting undead, LotR ripoff (obvious from the four guys walking along the ridge in the beginning of the trailer), kungfu farmers, shaggy, hellboy, krug that move like power rangers putty patrol, ninjas, Burt Reynolds trying to be Sean Connery (possibly why the armor doesn't fit). I will end up seeing it but I'll be damned if I pay one cent that goes to the director or anyone involved with this film. I think one of the biggest things that stunned me was that John Rhys-Davies is actually a part of this after being in the LotR trilogy.

This is one movie that may just actually give me nightmares. Uwe Boll needs to quietly disappear, any volunteers?

has an entire bit about that boxing match, and some pretty bad information otherwise in general about Uwe Boll. It is sad really, I'm glad that there are other production companies out there bringing video games to the big screen, though some are still pretty bad.

I'm dieing for MechWarriors to be put on the big screen. The rights where bought four or five years ago then got hung up in hollywood limbo.

As for fantasy I'm working on a High Fantasy GURPS campaign. I feel fantasy has become to norm, so I'm developing my world to hit the extremes in fantasy.

High Magic that can shatter worlds
Fighters with Wuxia abilities (Wuxia is a genre of martial arts books in china. It is their equivalent to our weseterns or comic book heroes)
Steam Punk in the magic dead areas.
Constant contact with other planes, mainly the Elemental Planes and the Undead World.

Still working on the frame work. Hoping to start playing with a group or online soon.

Sounds a bit like Exalted, sorta.

I love that game, the rest of White Wolf I can take or leave, but Exalted just fires up the mind.

Redhurst Academy for Magic is one of the best 'mini' settings that I am likely to never run. A free player's guide can be found (Warning, this is a 35 MB free player's guide. Be prepared to read a book if you are on dial-up.)

If you like Harry Potter or similar books then you are likely to like this. If it fit into any of my settings I would use it, if I ever run an Eberron game I will use it. But it just doesn't fit any of my current campaign worlds.

The Auld Grump