D&D: Five Worlds for Your Next Campaign
A new edition is coming. And with it, a chance to start a new campaign. But what world should you play on? We’re here to help.
One of the biggest decisions you can make when starting a new campaign is which world to set your game in? There are so many options. Horror-filled mist zones. Generic fantasy. Different, somehow more generic fantasy. Or even Eberron. But how do you pick from the myriad options out there?
Well here are some worlds you might try.
Ravenloft
Ravenloft is a mist-filled horror zone of dark fantasy and torment. It’s where you go to find gothic horrors like a good vampire ruling over a village and the dark forest surrounding it. But you can also find zombie worlds or worlds overrun with dark science that reanimates the flesh. There’s a ton of variety present in this book – and each one of these makes for an interesting place to start a campaign. Though rather than buy into the Demiplane of Dread entirely, it may be better to let these worlds exist somewhere wider.
Eberron
Eberron is one of the most inventive worlds that D&D ever dreamed up. It asks the question, what if the world treated the idiosyncrasies of the game mechanics as sort of an everyday thing. Magic is, therefore, much more accessible, and used like technology. Technology also happens. The result is a world that feels different from other D&D settings. It feels more industrial. More postwar.
There’s intrigue between nations, a sense of schemes that are moving in the background. And of course, the highest level being in the world is a tree. Everyone else gets to be lower level, giving shape to a world that is ripe for heroes but also full of creatures vying for their place in it.
Dark Sun
What if you want post-apocalyptic D&D? Dark Sun is a harder world to play on, since there’s no official campaign setting book for the rules. At least not yet. But you can, however, look at the rules for running harsh environments. You can look at old maps, often for free, to get all the locations you need.
Dark Sun is a vibe as much as it is a collection of specific mechanics with gameplay effects.
Planescape
Of course, if you want lots of existing rules, then you could do worse than picking up Planescape as the setting for your next campaign. It’s a very cosmopolitan feel. The heart of Planescape is the idea of the multiverse. And that same idea is carrying forward into the new edition, big time. So get the jump on all that multiversal magic.
Play in a campaign setting where angels and devils might hang out in the same bar, complaining about how those darn Yugoloths keep messing things up for everyone. Or find a shop run by a Rakshasa, or join one of the many factions of the city of Sigil which sits at the center of the multiverse.
Your Own
Of course, for my money, there’s no competing with your own campaign world. It’s something that every DM should try at least once. Make your own world, and go as all in as you want. Have maps, have histories that you’re ready to draw from when players ask details—or just have some vague ideas you’ve started mashing together. Whatever you come up with is going to excite you—the trick is in making sure your players are just as excited about it.
