Yep, in your opinion - which is the best setting created so far this decade and why do you rate it beyond the rest ?
A-State. Pretty much rules-neutral (the system and setting stuff are kept almost entirely separate in the core book), full of adventure opportunities from street-level vigilante activism to high-level corporate intrigue, stuffed to the gills with mysteries but with a strict policy of letting individual GMs decide what the answer to the riddles are rather than having a centrally-decided "truth", and excellently laid-out. I was literally able to improvise an entire campaign straight out of the core book.
JAGS Wonderland. It's like having your skull sawn open and stuffed with live squid.
-clash
Hard of me to draw a bead on one without drawing a distinction between ideas and execution. I liked the ideas behind Scarred Lands, but it suffered a bit from stuttered delivery and rules-shift in the middle of its run. :(
Factoring in execution, I'd probably say Freeport. Nice short initial run, good follow up, and the way that they immunized themselves against system issues was really clever.
Andy Hopp's Low Life beats out pretty much everything else I've seen this side of the millennium.
The setting of Starcluster 2e is really great hard sci-fi.
RPGPundit
Quote from: flyingmiceJAGS Wonderland. It's like having your skull sawn open and stuffed with live squid.
-clash
...Huh.
Y'know? I think that's a real contender, for me. I've seen lots of games that I thought did neater things *with* their setting, but for just straight the-world-is-thus? Wonderland was wicked.
'Course, I also thought
Puppetland was awesome, in the waybackwhen, but still.
Puppetland is awesome!
EDIT: But if it counts as a setting, then most module locales do. So I´d say Diamond Lake is pretty nifty, too.
Does Unknown Armies count?
Regard,
David R
Quote from: David RDoes Unknown Armies count?
Given that it came out in the late 1990s, I'd say "no". Unless we're using a very flexible definition of the "Noughties".
Quote from: SettembriniPuppetland is awesome!
This is my most surreal unexpected-point-of-agreement online
ever.
Scarred Lands, the initial Gazetteer is a superb setting which is both familiar D&D terrain and something entirely new. It suffered from overdevelopment in later supplements and Nightfall the Super Shill, but I very much adore the idea of that first little guidebook. Just enough to get you going, not too much to overwhelm.
Quote from: Levi KornelsenThis is my most surreal unexpected-point-of-agreement online ever.
If we are talking of...
Quote from: John H. Kim's Encyclopedia of Role-Playing GamesPuppetland
1st ed by John Tynes (1999) Hogshead Games
A fantasy/horror mini-RPG, set in a world of puppets where the evil Punch has killed the creator and rules over the other puppets with an iron hand. It uses a minimalist diceless system where players are required to speak out (in puppet-show style) what they are doing as dialogue (i.e. "I hit you with this stick, you evil nutcracker!").
...then I agree.
Sett and Story Game love?
(But even then it does not belong to the potential "best settings of the Noughties", considering that it was published in 1999, and before that in
1997 (http://www.pen-paper.net/rpgdb.php?op=showmagazine&magazineid=194)...)
I've been wracking my brain on this one--I've really liked a lot of settings, from Cold Space to Roma Imperious to Lacuna (gaps and all).
But I think Midnight is very, very well done.
So what are your other contenders besides Wonderland, Levi?
-clash
I like Cyradon, the HARP setting - high swashbuckling fantasy where low-level characters can make a difference. Lots of monstrous monsters and wilderness. Scenario ideas spring from every page.
Vanth.
EDIT: Well, it's my favorite, anyway.
I am biased obviously but Wilderlands of High Fantasy by Necromancer.
Honorable Mention goes to Harn with their recent updates of Kaldor and Kanday. They add a lot of material on important personalities which improves the usefulness of the products immensely.
Quote from: estarI am biased obviously but Wilderlands of High Fantasy by Necromancer.
One might debate whether that's really a setting "written in the 00's".
Quote from: Caesar SlaadOne might debate whether that's really a setting "written in the 00's".
It is because the while there was material drawn from the original. It amounts to a dozen entries out of a thousand. The rest was original work by a half of dozen authors.
The main reason for this is that the original consisted mainly of one line of travellereque style stats.
Quote from: SeanI like Cyradon, the HARP setting - high swashbuckling fantasy where low-level characters can make a difference. Lots of monstrous monsters and wilderness. Scenario ideas spring from every page.
I agree completely.
A strange thing too, because Cyradon is so quaint and vanilla one ought to throw up on the table. But somehow it all comes together very nicely.
Quote from: SeanI like Cyradon, the HARP setting - high swashbuckling fantasy where low-level characters can make a difference. Lots of monstrous monsters and wilderness. Scenario ideas spring from every page.
Good call.
Pity there's only the one book. A book on the main starting city (Belynor?) would have been
very helpful, along with a few adventures.
But definitely an interesting setting.
aui contráire, mes amis!
Puppetland, as a setting, is totally not a story game. Anyway, it´s an inspiring read, and that´s all that counts.
It´s Tron/Matrix/Aasimov-Robots on strings (pun intended).
I´d gleefully accuse the so called "story-games" of not delivering ANYTHING as inspiring or even picturesque as Puppetland.
Quote from: Caesar SlaadOne might debate whether that's really a setting "written in the 00's".
That was the reason I didn't mention it. But, if allowed (as Rob makes a fine point for), then, hey, it has to be up there.
Quote from: Dr Rotwang!Vanth.
EDIT: Well, it's my favorite, anyway.
Oh, good point! (Although Vanth is more of an implied setting than a realised one - which is fine with me, too.)
I didn't choose the Wilderlands because it is a republished and expanded 1970s world, and because I am biased as hell, too.
Quote from: Settembriniaui contráire, mes amis!
Puppetland, as a setting, is totally not a story game. Anyway, it´s an inspiring read, and that´s all that counts.
It´s Tron/Matrix/Aasimov-Robots on strings (pun intended).
I´d gleefully accuse the so called "story-games" of not delivering ANYTHING as inspiring or even picturesque as Puppetland.
it's nothing like any of those.
Quote from: signoftheserpentit's nothing like any of those.
Doesn't matter, it's still not from the 00's.
Quote from: signoftheserpentit's nothing like any of those.
That is, my friend, in the Eye of the Beholder.
Quote from: SettembriniThat is, my friend, in the Eye of the Beholder.
Which eye? They have like a dozen.
:D
-clahs
Quote from: flyingmiceWhich eye? They have like a dozen.
:D
-clahs
I snorted. Out loud.
Quote from: Dr Rotwang!I snorted. Out loud.
Then my dreams are complete, and I can shuffle my Mortal Coil* off to Buffalo, on a Buffalo wing and a player. Not only that, I can go back to spelling my name properly!
-clash
* A figure of speech - I don't actually own Mortal Coil, so I can't shuffle it off, by definition!
Quote from: SettembriniPuppetland, as a setting, is totally not a story game. Anyway, it´s an inspiring read, and that´s all that counts.
(...)
It´s Tron/Matrix/Aasimov-Robots on strings (pun intended).
To stay in the Tron/Matrix picture - who or where are the Users/real Humans?
Quote from: Dr Rotwang!I snorted. Out loud.
Just as well that you didn't snort silently. Independant reports by didi-men say that this causes irreversible damage to your giggle gland.
Quote from: flyingmice* A figure of speech - I don't actually own Mortal Coil, so I can't shuffle it off, by definition!
here you go. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuxYIUsKDx0) if you want one for yourself, i heartily recommend "Filigree & Shadow (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/105-1664055-7518029?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=this+mortal+coil&x=0&y=0)" :D
Dirk: The users/creators are dead! That´s the scary part!
It´s Tron:Midnight.
Quote from: flyingmiceJAGS Wonderland. It's like having your skull sawn open and stuffed with live squid.
-clash
Definitely, and I think the thread ends with that to be honest. Wonderland is hard to trump.
Have to say, the one Wonderland campaign I played in was a blast. (The GM had the genius idea of incorporating all sorts of elements of House of Leaves...)
For me, it is a tie between Wonderland and the Nobilis setting, which really are not so different as one would at first suppose.