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Settings: Home brew or published?

Started by Nexus, October 01, 2014, 07:43:27 PM

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Nexus

October 01, 2014, 07:43:27 PM
In general do you prefer home brew settings or published settings? I prefer to make my own settings and even when I do use a published on I usually make extensive changes to customize it.
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Just Another Snake Cult

#1
October 01, 2014, 08:52:12 PM
Homebrew. The whole point of this entire hobby IMHO is for people to create and share their own stuff.
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snooggums

#2
October 01, 2014, 08:57:12 PM
Homebrew, as I remember the names of things I come up with far easier than stuff I read.

I do read published settings for inspiration.

danskmacabre

#3
October 01, 2014, 08:58:54 PM
Homebrew, but I rip stuff from published worlds to use in my homebrew campaign.

Gold Roger

#4
October 01, 2014, 09:35:25 PM
Homebrew. I consider worldbuilding to be one of my favorite parts of the hobby. Most of the time I have one side project homebrew I work on just for the fun of it, in addition to the persistent kitchensink I always work on.

Sometimes I use a published Settings. I think its nice to use something with a different "handwriting". Most likely its Planescape, though, for example, I currently have an odd impulse for doing something with the Forgotten Realms.

The Butcher

#5
October 01, 2014, 09:59:36 PM
Homebrew in principle, but some published settings are just too good to pass. That, coupled with increasingly less free time, has pushed me towards published settings for the last few years.

I'm happy that I get to game at all and I love the settings I've been playing in, but I miss sketching out worlds of my own.

jibbajibba

#6
October 01, 2014, 10:07:14 PM
Homebrew for all the reasons other folk gave and because I am way too lazy to read through someonelse's 300  page Opus on the Dutchy of Caran when I can just make it all up myself.

However, I gleefully pinch literary settings whole cloth. So I would play in Westeros, Middle Earth, Gor, the Verse, Discworld etc but on the basis that these are my renditions of these places and so there is no canon to worry about.
In such cases I might make use of a map of such a place but beyond that I wouldn't use any other materials only what was in my head.
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#7
October 01, 2014, 10:12:38 PM
I love settings, but I almost always customize. I haven't ran as many published settings as I want, as there's still so much home brew ideas that demand my attention. Like an itch you just gotta scratch, when you got the world setting fever you gotta create and throw it out there for people.

That said I look forward to setting products as that's my biggest gaming draw. So many ideas to pilfer, and so many ideas inspired. Setting products are better than a good novel or empty page, as it is my constellation of dots with the hint of an outline, versus a finished sketch or blank sheet. I love them so.
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Jacob Marley

#8
October 01, 2014, 10:19:35 PM
Published, but heavily customized. I have limited time, so having someone else lay the foundation is very valuable to me.

Gronan of Simmerya

#9
October 01, 2014, 10:37:55 PM
Homebrew.

Actually, pastiche.  I have no qualms about gluing various bits and bobs together.  My setting includes everything from Ankh-Morpork to Lankhmar to Prester John's Kingdom to Captain Shakespeare and his Lightning Pirates.  (Grr!)
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Arkansan

#10
October 01, 2014, 10:43:13 PM
Homebrew with lots of bits lifted from wherever I feel like, and of course re-skinned to fit the settings intent.

JeremyR

#11
October 02, 2014, 12:24:43 AM
Both. The overall thing is homebrew, but some specific stuff is lifted from published products/places.

For instance, instead of Shadizar, I have Shalizar

And I used a number of d20 towns and such. Westbrook became Westfield, Thumble became Trumble

Novastar

#12
October 02, 2014, 12:56:51 AM
Mix & Match?

For Star Wars, I always set it in an established setting (KOTOR, Clone Wars, Rebellion, etc), but the story and set pieces are my own generally (I think Vader, Calrissian, and Thrawn have been my only regular "Main Cast" to show up beyond a cameo).

For D&D, I'll happily steal a map (sorry, I still love the Dragonlance map!), but it's always been my own homebrew setting, filled with weird dates and magics and nations of Half-elves and Hobgoblins...
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dragoner

#13
October 02, 2014, 01:15:28 AM
Published plus my own work, ruthlessly mining other material for ideas, maps, NPC's, etc..
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David Johansen

#14
October 02, 2014, 01:28:26 AM
Never had money for modules as a kid, spent it all on new games :D  But yeah, I mainly homebrew.  Can't stand running published settings where inevitably someone will start claiming extended universe stuff (like the notes Christopher dug out of his dad's trash can) is official.
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