Dungeons & Dragons campaign settings
Encyclopedia
The flexibility of the Dungeons & Dragons
rules means that Dungeon Master
s are free to create their own fantasy campaign setting
s. 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 Dungeons & Dragons
consist of only three books each: A campaign guide for the Dungeon Master
, 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. In the game's third 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.
Wizards does however have a fan-driven community which has converted the setting to version 3.5 and is currently working on a 4.0 conversion. Birthright.net
, 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.
, 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. In 1999 it was slightly revised and reprinted as a hardcover book. 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.
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 effecting dragon welfare.
Humans are not native to the islands, and those humans who come to the islands are mostly adventurous dragon slayers.
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.
and the Barsoom
series, which was once a lush planet teeming with life, but which has since been stripped of its fertility by uncontrolled use of defiling magic, although a small offshoot of magicians called preservers work to maintain life and ultimately restore the primeval lushness. The world is dominated by psionic
powers rather than magic, giving it 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 Dungeons & Dragons 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.
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.
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.
as his personal campaign and detailed in a long series of articles in Dragon Magazine
, this campaign became the setting most popular with D&D gamers in the 1990s. It is also the setting of a large number of novels, featuring among others the popular characters Drizzt Do'Urden
, Artemis Entreri
, and Elminster. The Forgotten Realms is also the setting of the Baldur's Gate
and Neverwinter Nights
series of computer games. This campaign setting is currently officially supported by Wizards of the Coast.
. Greyhawk is Gygax's original campaign, expanded into an official game supplement and greatly expanded upon with many supplements. Greyhawk is 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. This campaign setting is no longer officially supported.
. Jakandor is an island divided between the native Charonti, a civilization heavily into the use of magic (especially necromancy), and the Knorr, barbarians who despise the vile practice of magic who have been driven from a far away homeland to Jakandor. This campaign setting is no longer officially supported.
The setting was released in the form of three books, as part of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Odyssey line. These books are:
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.
and Southeast Asia
, introduced in the original Oriental Adventures rulebook. The setting was eventually placed on the eastern edge of Toril, in the world of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.
. 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.
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.
, the Mahasarpa Campaign, by James Wyatt
, 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 includes brief descriptions of the seven kingdoms, character options for the setting, new magic items, and new monsters. This campaign setting is no longer officially supported.
.
In the fourth edition of Dungeons & Dragons, Maztica is no longer on Toril
, but was shifted to Abeir.
instead of gods. Mystara was the "default" setting for the non-Advanced editions of D&D, and the Blackmoor
setting was later retconned to exist in Mystara's distant past. This campaign setting is no longer officially supported.
. 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 and 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.
. 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 Dungeon Master
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.
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.
", 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.
, then expanded into an entire series and campaign setting. After years of production by TSR and WotC, Wizards 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 released Expedition to Castle Ravenloft, an updated version of the original module, as a hardcover. In August 2010, Wizards released the Castle Ravenloft board game, and in 2011 will be releasing the Ravenloft Roleplaying Game, which is a standalone game that can double as a 4th Edition Campaign Setting.
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) collectible card game
and Roleplaying Game
, which are 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 Legend of the Five Rings 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) released in 2010.
campaign setting for Dungeons & Dragons
and was later spun off into a campaign setting for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (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 Dungeons & Dragons 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)http://reviews.dnd.starflung.com/select.php?id=92
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 Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (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 Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: 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.
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.
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).
in the 1970s and 1980s including The 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.
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
rules means that Dungeon Master
Dungeon Master
In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, the Dungeon Master is the game organizer and participant in charge of creating the details and challenges of a given adventure, while maintaining a realistic continuity of events...
s are free to create their own fantasy campaign setting
Campaign setting
A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. A campaign is a series of individual adventures, and a campaign setting is the world in which such adventures and campaigns take place...
s. For those who wanted a pre-packaged setting in which to play, TSR
TSR, Inc.
Blume and Gygax, the remaining owners, incorporated a new company called TSR Hobbies, Inc., with Blume and his father, Melvin Blume, owning the larger share. The former assets of the partnership were transferred to TSR Hobbies, Inc....
, Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...
(WotC), and other publishers have created many settings in which D&D games can be based. Some are standard sword and sorcery
Sword and sorcery
Sword and sorcery is a sub-genre of fantasy and historical fantasy, generally characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent conflicts. An element of romance is often present, as is an element of magic and the supernatural...
environments, while others borrow Oriental, Central American, swashbuckling, and even space-travel themes.
Campaign settings in the 4th edition of Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
consist of only three books each: A campaign guide for the Dungeon Master
Dungeon Master
In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, the Dungeon Master is the game organizer and participant in charge of creating the details and challenges of a given adventure, while maintaining a realistic continuity of events...
, 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
D&D Insider
Dungeons & Dragons Insider is Wizards of the Coast's method of digitally delivering periodic content and information about Dungeons & Dragons to the game's players....
. , Forgotten Realms
Forgotten Realms
The Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories...
, Eberron
Eberron
Eberron is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, set in a period after a vast destructive war on the continent of Khorvaire...
and Dark Sun
Dark Sun
Dark Sun is a Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting featuring the fictional desert world of Athas. The original Dark Sun Boxed Set campaign setting was released in 1991....
have been released. In the game's third 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.
Al-Qadim
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.Birthright
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.Wizards does however have a fan-driven community which has converted the setting to version 3.5 and is currently working on a 4.0 conversion. Birthright.net
Blackmoor
The original campaign setting played for D&D, created by Dave ArnesonDave Arneson
David Lance "Dave" Arneson was an American game designer best known for co-developing the first published role-playing game , Dungeons & Dragons, with Gary Gygax, in the early 1970s...
, was Blackmoor
Blackmoor
Blackmoor is a fantasy role-playing game campaign setting generally associated with the game Dungeons & Dragons. It originally evolved in the early 1970s as the personal setting of Dave Arneson, the co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, first as a setting for Arneson's miniature wargames, then as an...
. Blackmoor was actually created prior to Greyhawk, but was only published later as part of the distant past of Mystara
Mystara
Mystara is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role playing game. Although it has officially been dropped from production by its creators, many fans continue to develop and evolve this fantasy setting jointly, continuing its original theme of group development.-Development:It...
. 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
Council of Wyrms is a Dungeons and Dragons boxed set, published in 1994, that includes rules for playing dragonDragon (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game , dragons are an iconic type of monstrous creature used as adversaries or, less commonly, allies of player characters...
, half dragon, and dragon servant characters
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
. It includes three rule books: one for the base rules, one for dragon family and clan histories, and one for adventure modules. In 1999 it was slightly revised and reprinted as a hardcover book. This campaign setting is no longer officially supported.
The setting
Campaign setting
A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. A campaign is a series of individual adventures, and a campaign setting is the world in which such adventures and campaigns take place...
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.
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 effecting dragon welfare.
Humans are not native to the islands, and those humans who come to the islands are mostly adventurous dragon slayers.
According to the draconic myth described in the setting, the islands were created by the dragon god Io
Io (Dungeons & Dragons)
In many campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, Io is the chief deity worshipped by dragons, god of dragonkind, balance, and peace. He is seen by his people as the creator of all things. He is neutral in alignment, but he also contains within him all other alignments...
. 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.
Dark Sun
A setting based on the harsh desert world of Athas, that draws heavy inspiration from novels like DuneDune (novel)
Dune is a science fiction novel written by Frank Herbert, published in 1965. It won the Hugo Award in 1966, and the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel...
and the Barsoom
Barsoom
Barsoom is a fictional representation of the planet Mars created by American pulp fiction author Edgar Rice Burroughs, who wrote close to 100 action adventure stories in various genres in the first half of the 20th century, and is now best known as the creator of the character Tarzan...
series, which was once a lush planet teeming with life, but which has since been stripped of its fertility by uncontrolled use of defiling magic, although a small offshoot of magicians called preservers work to maintain life and ultimately restore the primeval lushness. The world is dominated by psionic
Psionics (role-playing games)
Psionics, in role-playing games, is a broad category of fantastic abilities originating from the mind, similar to the paranormal psionic abilities that some people claim in reality.- Common features :...
powers rather than magic, giving it 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 Dungeons & Dragons 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.
Dragonlance
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. Created by Tracy HickmanTracy Hickman
Tracy Raye Hickman is a best-selling fantasy author, best known for his work on Dragonlance as a game designer and co-author with Margaret Weis, while he worked for TSR...
and his wife Laura, with heavy tie-ins to the novels by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis
Margaret Weis
Margaret Edith Weis is a fantasy novelist who, along with Tracy Hickman, is one of the original creators of the Dragonlance game world and has written numerous novels and short stories set in fantastic worlds.-Early life:Margaret Weis was born in 1948 in Independence, Missouri, and later attended...
. This campaign setting is no longer officially supported.
Eberron
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'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 (GreyhawkGreyhawk
Greyhawk, also known as the World of Greyhawk, is a fictional world designed as a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game...
and Forgotten Realms
Forgotten Realms
The Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories...
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
Created by author and game designer Ed GreenwoodEd Greenwood
Ed Greenwood is a Canadian writer and editor who created the Forgotten Realms. He invented the Forgotten Realms as a child, as a fantasy world in which to set the stories he imagined, and later used this world as a campaign setting for his own personal Dungeons & Dragons playing group...
as his personal campaign and detailed in a long series of articles in Dragon Magazine
Dragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
, this campaign became the setting most popular with D&D gamers in the 1990s. It is also the setting of a large number of novels, featuring among others the popular characters Drizzt Do'Urden
Drizzt Do'Urden
Drizzt Do'Urden is a fictional character in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Drizzt was created by author R. A. Salvatore as a supporting character in the Icewind Dale Trilogy. Salvatore created him on a whim when his publisher needed to...
, Artemis Entreri
Artemis Entreri
Artemis Entreri is a fictional character in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Entreri is depicted as a ruthless assassin and the arch-enemy of Drizzt Do'Urden, the protagonistic dark elf. He is the creation of author R. A...
, and Elminster. The Forgotten Realms is also the setting of the Baldur's Gate
Baldur's Gate
Baldur's Gate is a computer role-playing game developed by BioWare and released in 1998 by Interplay Entertainment. The game takes place in the Forgotten Realms, a high fantasy campaign setting, using modified Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition rules...
and Neverwinter Nights
Neverwinter Nights
Neverwinter Nights , produced by BioWare and published by Infogrames , is a third-person perspective computer role-playing game that is based on third edition Dungeons & Dragons and Forgotten Realms rules. It was originally to be published by Interplay Entertainment, but the publisher's financial...
series of computer games. This campaign setting is currently officially supported by Wizards of the Coast.
Ghostwalk
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
The first published setting for D&D, created by D&D co-creator Gary GygaxGary Gygax
Ernest Gary Gygax was an American writer and game designer best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons with Dave Arneson. Gygax is generally acknowledged as the father of role-playing games....
. Greyhawk is Gygax's original campaign, expanded into an official game supplement and greatly expanded upon with many supplements. Greyhawk is 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. This campaign setting is no longer officially supported.
Jakandor
Jakandor, released in 1998, is a self-contained "campaign arena" conceived by Jeff GrubbJeff Grubb
Jeff Grubb is an author and game designer. He has worked on a number of computer and role-playing games and has written a number of successful novels, short stories and comics...
. Jakandor is an island divided between the native Charonti, a civilization heavily into the use of magic (especially necromancy), and the Knorr, barbarians who despise the vile practice of magic who have been driven from a far away homeland to Jakandor. This campaign setting is no longer officially supported.
The setting was released in the form of three books, as part of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: 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.
Kara-Tur
An oriental setting based loosely on mythical and medieval EastEast Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
and Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
, introduced in the original Oriental Adventures rulebook. The setting was eventually placed on the eastern edge of Toril, in the world of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.
Kingdoms of Kalamar
A campaign setting designed and produced by Kenzer & CompanyKenzer & Company
Kenzer & Company is a Waukegan based publisher of comic books, role-playing games, board games, card games, and miniature games....
. The setting was one of the first to take advantage of the Open Gaming License
Open Gaming License
The Open Game License may be used by game developers to grant permission to modify, copy, and redistribute some of the content designed for their games, notably game mechanics.-Language of the licence:The OGL describes two forms of content:...
and the D20 System
D20 System
The d20 System is a role-playing game system published in 2000 by Wizards of the Coast originally developed for the third edition of Dungeons & Dragons...
, 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
TSR released a setting based on the Fafhrd and the Gray MouserFafhrd and the Gray Mouser
Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are two seminal sword-and-sorcery heroes appearing in stories written by Fritz Leiber . They are the protagonists of what are probably Leiber's best-known stories....
stories by Fritz Leiber
Fritz Leiber
Fritz Reuter Leiber, Jr. was an American writer of fantasy, horror and science fiction. He was also a poet, actor in theatre and films, playwright, expert chess player and a champion fencer. Possibly his greatest chess accomplishment was winning clear first in the 1958 Santa Monica Open.. With...
. The corrupt city of Lankhmar on the planet Nehwon is the starting place of grand adventures filled with mystery and deceit.
Mahasarpa
Offered as a free web enhancement for the 3e Oriental AdventuresOriental Adventures
Oriental Adventures is the title shared by two hardback rulebooks published for different versions of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game...
, the Mahasarpa Campaign, by James Wyatt
James Wyatt (game designer)
James Wyatt is a game designer and a former United Methodist minister. He works for Wizards of the Coast, where he has designed several award-winning supplements and adventures for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game...
, 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 includes brief descriptions of the seven kingdoms, character options for the setting, new magic items, and new monsters. This campaign setting is no longer officially supported.
Maztica
An environment west of Faerûn (in the Forgotten Realms) that parallels Pre-Columbian MesoamericaMesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and...
.
In the fourth edition of Dungeons & Dragons, Maztica is no longer on Toril
Toril
Toril, meaning bullpen in Spanish, can refer to:* Toril - a District in Metro Davao in The Philippines* Toril - a Barangay in Island Garden City of Samal, Metro Davao, The Philippines* Toril y Masegoso, a town in the province of Teruel, Aragón, Spain...
, but was shifted to Abeir.
Mystara
A campaign setting that evolved from the B and X series modules. Unlike other settings, "The Known World" had ascended immortal beingsDungeons & Dragons Immortals Rules
Dungeons & Dragons Immortals Rules is an expansion boxed set for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It was first published in 1986 as an expansion to the Basic Set.-Publication history:...
instead of gods. Mystara was the "default" setting for the non-Advanced editions of D&D, and the Blackmoor
Blackmoor
Blackmoor is a fantasy role-playing game campaign setting generally associated with the game Dungeons & Dragons. It originally evolved in the early 1970s as the personal setting of Dave Arneson, the co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, first as a setting for Arneson's miniature wargames, then as an...
setting was later retconned to exist in Mystara's distant past. This campaign setting is no longer officially supported.
Hollow World
The Hollow World is a sub-setting for MystaraMystara
Mystara is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role playing game. Although it has officially been dropped from production by its creators, many fans continue to develop and evolve this fantasy setting jointly, continuing its original theme of group development.-Development:It...
. The Hollow World details the inner surface contained within the world of Mystara
Mystara
Mystara is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role playing game. Although it has officially been dropped from production by its creators, many fans continue to develop and evolve this fantasy setting jointly, continuing its original theme of group development.-Development:It...
, similar to the real world legends of the Hollow Earth
Hollow Earth
The Hollow Earth hypothesis proposes that the planet Earth is either entirely hollow or otherwise contains a substantial interior space. The hypothesis has been shown to be wrong by observational evidence, as well as by the modern understanding of planet formation; the scientific community has...
. 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
Carnosauria
Carnosauria is a group of large predatory dinosaurs that lived during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. While it originally contained a wide assortment of giant theropods that were not closely related, the group has since been defined to encompass only the allosaurs and their closest kin...
, 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
Lizardfolk
Lizardfolk are a fictional humanoid species in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Publication history:...
.
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 and Dragons: Warriors of the Eternal Sun is a Sega Mega Drive
Sega Mega Drive
The Sega Genesis is a fourth-generation video game console developed and produced by Sega. It was originally released in Japan in 1988 as , then in North America in 1989 as Sega Genesis, and in Europe, Australia and other PAL regions in 1990 as Mega Drive. The reason for the two names is that...
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.
Nentir Vale
Nentir Vale is the sample community provided as a default setting in the 4th Edition Dungeon Master's GuideDungeon Master's Guide
The Dungeon Master's Guide is a book of rules for the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons...
. 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 Dungeon Master
Dungeon Master
In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, the Dungeon Master is the game organizer and participant in charge of creating the details and challenges of a given adventure, while maintaining a realistic continuity of events...
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
Greyhawk
Greyhawk, also known as the World of Greyhawk, is a fictional world designed as a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game...
, Forgotten Realms
Forgotten Realms
The Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories...
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
Pelinore is a lesser-known Dungeons & DragonsDungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
campaign setting that was developed by TSR
TSR, Inc.
Blume and Gygax, the remaining owners, incorporated a new company called TSR Hobbies, Inc., with Blume and his father, Melvin Blume, owning the larger share. The former assets of the partnership were transferred to TSR Hobbies, Inc....
's UK offices in its Imagine
Imagine (AD&D magazine)
Imagine Magazine was a monthly magazine dedicated to the first edition Advanced Dungeons and Dragons and Dungeons and Dragons role playing game systems published by TSR UK Limited.-History:Imagine was published between April 1983 and October 1985...
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
Non-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
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
A setting that crosses the numerous "planes of existencePlane (Dungeons & Dragons)
The planes of the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game constitutes the multiverse in which the game takes place.In the earliest versions of Dungeons & Dragons, the concept of the Inner, Ethereal, Prime Material, Astral and Outer Planes was introduced; at the time there were only four Inner Planes...
", as originally developed in the Manual of the Planes. The setting crossed Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
trappings with a pseudo-steampunk
Steampunk
Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s. Steampunk involves a setting where steam power is still widely used—usually Victorian era Britain or "Wild West"-era United...
design and attitude. Planescape won acclaim on its unique visual aspects, products of artist Tony DiTerlizzi
Tony DiTerlizzi
Tony M. DiTerlizzi is an American fantasy artist, children's book creator, and motion picture producer.DiTerlizzi created The Spiderwick Chronicles series with Holly Black, and was an executive producer on the 2008 film adaptation of the series. He won a Caldecott Honor Medal for his adaptation of...
. This campaign setting is no longer officially supported, although its city of Sigil has appeared in the 3rd edition in the Planar Handbook
Planar Handbook
Planar Handbook is an optional supplemental source book for the 3.5 edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game.-Contents:...
and in the Epic Level Handbook
Epic Level Handbook
The Epic Level Handbook is a rulebook by Wizards of the Coast for the 3rd edition of Dungeons & Dragons.-Contents:This books contained rules for Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition characters to attain levels above 20, the limit in the core rulebooks...
and the 4th edition in Dungeon Master's Guide 2.
Ravenloft
A gothic horror setting originally created for an adventure module, RavenloftRavenloft (D&D module)
Ravenloft is an adventure module for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. The American game publishing company TSR, Inc. released it as a standalone adventure booklet in 1983 for use with the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game. It was written by Tracy and Laura Hickman,...
, then expanded into an entire series and campaign setting. After years of production by TSR and WotC, Wizards licensed Ravenloft to Arthaus Games, which published its materials through White Wolf, Inc.
White Wolf, Inc.
White Wolf Publishing is an American gaming and book publisher. The company was founded in 1991 as a merger between Lion Rampant and White Wolf Magazine, and was initially led by Mark Rein·Hagen of the former and Steve and Stewart Wieck of the latter. Since White Wolf Publishing, Inc. merged with...
's Sword & Sorcery
Sword & Sorcery
The Sword and Sorcery imprint is used by White Wolf to publish its d20 & OGL material. It publishes the Scarred Lands and Ravenloft D&D campaign settings, as well as the EverQuest Role-Playing Game and Warcraft the Roleplaying Game pencil and paper game lines...
label, but rights returned to Wizards of the Coast in early 2006. In October 2006, Wizards released Expedition to Castle Ravenloft, an updated version of the original module, as a hardcover. In August 2010, Wizards released the Castle Ravenloft board game, and in 2011 will be releasing the Ravenloft Roleplaying Game, which is a standalone game that can double as a 4th Edition Campaign Setting.
Masque of the Red Death
A spin off of Ravenloft set in a fantasy, low magic, version of 1890s Earth. This campaign setting is no longer officially supported.Rokugan
When Wizards of the CoastWizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...
published the latest edition of Oriental Adventures
Oriental Adventures
Oriental Adventures is the title shared by two hardback rulebooks published for different versions of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game...
, it included Rokugan
Rokugan
Rokugan is the fictional empire which is the main power in the Legend of the Five Rings setting, the basis for the Legend of the Five Rings Collectible Card Game, Legend of the Five Rings Role-Playing Game, the board game Art of War and the now out of print Clan War Miniatures game, all from...
as the official "sample setting." Rokugan
Rokugan
Rokugan is the fictional empire which is the main power in the Legend of the Five Rings setting, the basis for the Legend of the Five Rings Collectible Card Game, Legend of the Five Rings Role-Playing Game, the board game Art of War and the now out of print Clan War Miniatures game, all from...
is best known for being the setting of the Legend of the Five Rings
Legend of the Five Rings
Legend of the Five Rings is a fictional setting created by the John Wick and published by Alderac Entertainment Group in 1995. The setting primarily involves the fictional country of Rokugan, though some additional areas and cultures have been discussed. Rokugan is based roughly on feudal Japan...
(L5R) collectible card game
Legend of the Five Rings (collectible card game)
The Legend of the Five Rings collectible card game is a collectible card game created by Alderac Entertainment Group, in 1995. L5R takes place in the fictional empire of Rokugan from the Legend of the Five Rings setting, where several clans and factions vie for domination over the empire.The card...
and Roleplaying Game
Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying Game
The Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying Game is a role-playing game originally written by John Wick and published by Alderac Entertainment Group, under license from Five Rings Publishing Group, in 1997...
, which are published by The Alderac Entertainment Group
Alderac Entertainment Group
Alderac Entertainment Group, or AEG, is a publisher of role-playing game and collectible card game products. AEG was formed by Jolly Blackburn in 1993 and is based in the city of Ontario, California...
(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
Alderac Entertainment Group
Alderac Entertainment Group, or AEG, is a publisher of role-playing game and collectible card game products. AEG was formed by Jolly Blackburn in 1993 and is based in the city of Ontario, California...
, has decided to focus solely on L5R based supplements for the next edition of The Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying Game
Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying Game
The Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying Game is a role-playing game originally written by John Wick and published by Alderac Entertainment Group, under license from Five Rings Publishing Group, in 1997...
. 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) released in 2010.
Savage Coast
The Savage Coast is part of the MystaraMystara
Mystara is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role playing game. Although it has officially been dropped from production by its creators, many fans continue to develop and evolve this fantasy setting jointly, continuing its original theme of group development.-Development:It...
campaign setting for Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
and was later spun off into a campaign setting for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (2nd Edition). The area is a 2,000 mile long frontier coastline about 2,000 miles to the west of the Known World
Known world
The known world may refer to:*the extent of geographic knowledge of a given culture at a given historical period, see history of geography.**Early world maps lists a number of maps showing the known world from the perspective of various historical periods....
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
Adventure (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, an adventure or module is a pre-packaged book or box set that helps the Dungeon Master manage the plot or story of a game...
X9 The Savage Coast for Dungeons & Dragons Expert Set
Dungeons & Dragons Expert Set
The Expert Set is an expansion boxed set for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It was first published in 1981 as an expansion to the Basic Set.-1981 printing:The D&D Basic Set saw a major revision in 1981 by Tom Moldvay...
. The region was later expanded in Dungeon magazine
Dungeon (magazine)
Dungeon Adventures, or simply Dungeon, was a magazine targeting consumers of role-playing games, particularly Dungeons & Dragons. It was first published by TSR, Inc. in 1986 as a bimonthly periodical. It went monthly in May 2003 and ceased print publication altogether in September 2007 with Issue 150...
issues 6 and 7 (1987) with the adventure "Tortles of the Purple Sage".
Two series in Dragon Magazine
Dragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
, "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
Champions of Mystara
Champions of Mystara is an accessory for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, published in 1993....
(1993)http://reviews.dnd.starflung.com/select.php?id=92
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 Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (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 Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: 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
Bruce Heard
Bruce Heard is a game designer, and an author of several products for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game from TSR.-Early life:...
, a supplement Savage Coast: Orc's Head and a Monstrous Compendium Appendix. This campaign setting is no longer officially supported.
Spelljammer
A setting based in "wildspace", a fantasticalFantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
version of outer space
Outer space
Outer space is the void that exists between celestial bodies, including the Earth. It is not completely empty, but consists of a hard vacuum containing a low density of particles: predominantly a plasma of hydrogen and helium, as well as electromagnetic radiation, magnetic fields, and neutrinos....
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
Forgotten Realms
The Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories...
or Dragonlance
Dragonlance
Dragonlance is a shared universe created by Laura and Tracy Hickman, and expanded by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis under the direction of TSR, Inc. into a series of popular fantasy novels. The Hickmans conceived Dragonlance while driving in their car on the way to TSR for a job application...
, 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.
Thunder Rift
Thunder Rift is a setting created in the 90's for the "basic" Dungeons & Dragons 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
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.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).
Wilderlands of High Fantasy
Wilderlands of High Fantasy grew from the officially licensed D&D material from Judges GuildJudges Guild
Judges Guild is a small game publisher in the business of creating and selling role-playing game supplements, periodicals and related material, most notable as one of the leading publishers in the late 1970s and early 1980s of Dungeons & Dragons-related materials...
in the 1970s and 1980s including The City State of the Invincible Overlord. It is currently being published for 3rd Edition by Judges Guild through Necromancer Games
Necromancer Games
Necromancer Games was an American publisher of role-playing games. With offices in Seattle, Washington and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, the company specialized in material for the d20 System, with most of its products being released under the Open Game License of Wizards of the Coast.The company's...
.
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.
External links
- Wizards' 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.