Vote Ravenloft

[Jester of the FoS]

Just gonna put this link to ENWorld right here.

[Troile]

Results:

http://www.enworld.org/forum/content.ph ... f-ALL-TIME!

10) Golarion*

11) Spelljammer

9) Birthright

Mystara

7) Dragonlance

6) Ravenloft

5) Eberron

4) Dark Sun

3) Forgotten Realms

2) Greyhawk

1) Planescape

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

Greyhawk? Really? I've always found that setting to be so bland, it's almost a non-setting. (which I guess is how it started, right?) Surprised to see it place so highly.

[alhoon]

I'm not suprised that Greyhawk (the "generic") is so high, as much as I'm suprised Mystara (another "generic") is so low!
Come on people... Thyatis and Alphatia are the stuff of legends.

[Zilfer]

^who? What?

Irony.... 6th.... if it couldn't be first then 6th... yes!

[steveflam]

I can't believe Dark Sun beat out Ravenloft...... or Eberron for that matter.

[Bluebomber4evr]

Greyhawk? Really? I've always found that setting to be so bland, it's almost a non-setting. (which I guess is how it started, right?) Surprised to see it place so highly.

That's not terribly fair, it has a very rich history with the benefit of not having to support a dozen terrible setting-altering novels every year like FR and DL. It was the setting for a very successful RPGA campaign, it is probably the only D&D setting I've seen that comes close to depicting medieval politics without drastically altering how the game is played, and the fact that it's the creation of Gary Gygax and the setting of many classic 1st ed. AD&D modules probably helps as well.

And while we're all here because we love the Ravenloft setting, let's not get caught in an echo chamber. Ravenloft is a niche setting that isn't everyone's cup of tea. 6th place is a damn fine respectable position for such a niche setting.

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

That's not terribly fair, it has a very rich history with the benefit of not having to support a dozen terrible setting-altering novels every year like FR and DL. It was the setting for a very successful RPGA campaign, it is probably the only D&D setting I've seen that comes close to depicting medieval politics without drastically altering how the game is played, and the fact that it's the creation of Gary Gygax and the setting of many classic 1st ed. AD&D modules probably helps as well.

Perhaps so. But at least in my mind it suffers from being the default. It doesn't feel like a setting as it feels like "just D&D". (which isn't a bad thing, it's just like vanilla being someone's favorite ice cream flavor to me. I love vanilla. But if there's an option with more stuff in it, I'll always pass up the vanilla. Just my opinion.) I like a setting to change things up. (on top of that, the few GH novels I've read have been snooze-fests..)

And while we're all here because we love the Ravenloft setting, let's not get caught in an echo chamber. Ravenloft is a niche setting that isn't everyone's cup of tea. 6th place is a damn fine respectable position for such a niche setting.

No doubt. I wasn't expecting Ravenloft to be any higher. Frankly, it's shocking that PS won, but I suppose Torment helped a lot with that. I was just expecting FR and DL to place higher than GH. (and maybe even Eberron, Dark Sun and, yes, Ravenloft. If I had to guess at other people's rankings, I think I'd have put GH in the #7,8, or 9 spot. It's beloved, sure, but as a favorite setting of all time? *shrug* who knew?

[Mortavius]

I can't believe Dark Sun beat out Ravenloft...... or Eberron for that matter.

I can, quite easily.

Eberron, Dark Sun, and Ravenloft are all very different settings. It's very much comparing apples to oranges. Some people just might like the settings of Dark Sun or Eberron better than the fantasy horror option of Ravenloft.

I personally love both of those settings as well as Ravenloft. It doesn't mean I'll choose either of them if I want to run a horror game; Ravenloft is the only one for me for that. But if I want to run a survival game against the elements? It's hard to beat Dark Sun in that respect. Or an Indiana Jones-esque game where the PC's are plundering ancient tombs? Eberron has that in spades.

They all have their strengths and weaknesses.

[Troile]

It's beloved, sure, but as a favorite setting of all time? *shrug* who knew?

Keep in mind that 3 votes were allowed for each person in that poll.

Because so many people are familiar with it, I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people voted for their favourite niche settings and also Greyhawk to finish their choices because they have played in it and liked it well enough.

So if 5 people vote Ravenloft, 5 vote Dark Sun, and 5 vote Spelljammer but they all also vote Greyhawk then GH will have 15 votes vs 5 each.

[alhoon]

Spell Jammer was kinda weird.

[Satyrwyld]

I'm surprised Forgotten Realms didn't place first. Through the years, I've heard waaaaaaay too much about Drizzt Do'Urden.

[Troile]

I'm surprised Forgotten Realms didn't place first. Through the years, I've heard waaaaaaay too much about Drizzt Do'Urden.

I am sure FR and Eberron would have been 1st and 2nd if the poll was done on the wizards forums.

[MichaelTumey]

Spell Jammer was kinda weird.

True, but some people don't care to travel the planes via portals, wanting something more familiar, almost sci-fi by traveling in vehicles through "space" (astral plane) and planet to planet (crystal spheres). It played on sci-fi tropes without actually leaving D&D at all. I played a few games in Spell Jammer. Though I've played in Athas as well, really more because an old DM loved that setting (me, I'm not really a psionics fan, so Darksun was not my thing.) Of the vanilla settings Greyhawk, Mystara, Forgotten Realms and Golarion, while I did play Greyhawk in the earliest days because it was only thing out there, at the time - I've always created my own worlds and never needed someone else's vanilla setting. Really, I preferred rocky road so never touched those other vanilla settings. Though I'm a Pathfinder fan now, Golarion is not for me. And of Eberron, the idea of Eberron never sat right with me. While Spell Jammer played on sci-fi tropes, Eberron played on modernizing a D&D world, well, I can't explain it logically, almost like phobia, Eberron is an anaethma to my D&D concepts. I also despise steampunk, and Eberron seems more Steampunk, I guess. I can say, I've played more Ravenloft than any of the other settings on that list. And of Planescape, Berk, I care for it even less than Eberron.

[Chaot]

Spelljammer had the unfortunate timing to come out just as SnarfQuest went south. I blamed Spelljammer for SnarfQuests space adventures and the ruination of a beautiful comic. In hind sight, SnarfQuest may have just run it's course. It happens.

Nowadays, I wouldn't mind digging into Spelljammer and running something, with some editing of course.