#DnD

I think one of the main flaws of the original #Spelljammer #dnd setting was that it tried to hard to be a sort of "connecting tissue" between other D&D settings, rather than having its own unique developed culture and environment.

While #Planescape also connected the different D&D worlds with each other, it went much further into being a fully-developed setting in its own right, and thus I regard it as the superior line.

If Spelljammer had published a collection of interconnected crystal spheres - a whole "space sector" for the PCs to explore, with different factions and cultures that play off against each other - then it might have been a lot more interesting. To me, at least - others might prefer the "toolkit" approach that Spelljammer ultimately took.

One of my long-running aspirations is to design a (#dnd -style) #fantasy #ttrpg setting that features truly vast cities, of a size comparable to modern-day major metropolitan areas.

As a result, I've accumulated a number of books that try to examine the structure and layout of cities - what makes a modern city a city, instead of just focusing on any single town. This particular book offers layout views of streets and buildings of major cities - without labeling them - so that readers can get a feel for their structure instead of getting bogged down in the details.

While I haven't bought it, I am curious - how did the latest incarnation of #Planescape deal with the Factions?

#dnd #ttrpg

If I had to choose, I'd say that #Eberron is my favorite #DnD setting. The world is simply well designed from the ground up, and not just an agglomeration of tropes. I also like that you can fit pretty much any D&D element into the setting if you put a little thought into it.

And I really like Keith Baker's attitude when it comes to character concepts: "What do these game mechanics mean for your character? How do you interpret this class/subclass/race for your game and this individual person?" This is as it should be. #ttrpg

The #Planescape setting - #DnD at its trippiest, but (largely) in a good way.

Still, the D&D alignment system has not aged particularly well. #ttrpg

Of all the #DnD expansions to the #ForgottenRealms during TSR's "let's slap real world cultures into this world", al-Qadim was the best by far.

Part of the reason was that the player characters were assumed to be locals by default, instead of portraying the region as something to be "conquered" by player characters from the Heartlands of Faerun. #ttrpg

Historical mining has a lot of fascinating complexities which are mostly ignored in fantasy #ttrpg (definitely including #dnd ) - which I think is a shame, since there's so much cool stuff out there.

Take water - you need to get it out of the mines, but on the other hand you also need lots of water to power the pumps that accomplish this feat - as I've learned during my recent vacations to the Harz mountains.

Oh, and if you really want to make your players hate you, read up on the invention of the Man Engine... 😁

The Maztica #dnd setting had so much cringe.

I mean, the concept of a D&D (or fantasy #ttrpg in general) setting based on Mesoamerican cultures is cool as hell. But I suppose TSR ca. 1990s was neither the right time nor the right place nor the right people to write it.

The Iron Kingdoms world is one of those #ttrpg settings which I always feel I should investigate more. Though I wonder if I should start with the old 3.5E #d20 version, or delve into the latest #DnD 5E version...