D&D General What setting books have you used in your latest campaign.

[Voadam]

So in my current campaign I am running a 5e system game of the Pathfinder 1e Iron Gods adventure path set in my homebrew mash up setting.

The world is mostly the setup of the Holy Lothian Empire from Ptolus (I usually reference the big 3.5 setting book but also the very manageable Free Player's Guide a lot) mixed with Golarion from Paizo's 3.5 setting book and set specifically in the barbarian realm of Numeria.

My setting incorporates other setting stuff too but for this campaign a lot of that other stuff is not really relevant and has not come up.

I own PDFs of the Pathfinder 1e and 2e versions of Golarion, but I read the 1e hardcover years ago and that is the version I know best and use as my go to reference for the big picture world aspects.

Of those four reference books I have mostly been going through the Numeria one having read it cover to cover since I decided to run the adventure path which is set in there specifically. The Golarion book has a few pages on Numeria which is good for an overview. The Ptolus one I looked up their technology stuff and the specifically lost technology secret societies and related elements as those are big themes of Numeria and the adventures.

There is also the short section in the first module on the town setting of the first adventure.

Separately based on player interest I pulled out and delved into stuff from the 2e Draconomicon, the 2e Monster Mythology, and the 3e Draconomicon for elements of a draconic deity to build a cult around as a religious institution that a player wanted to be a part of and I integrated into the setting. Also I pulled out GURPS Werewolf the Apocalypse, Werewolf the Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition, and W20 Changing Breeds for adding Werewolf and Werebear elements and worldview aspects into the game (works pretty well in a barbarian land) to go with two PC concepts. Other aspects like Shadowrun decking, Mage the Ascension Technocracy, Warhammer 40K concepts, Paranoia, and Star Trek elements I have RPG material for, but did not end up pulling out any so far as I considered and used some of them thematically. That might change as the campaign continues.

So what setting type materials have you pulled out to reference in your current campaign?

 

[Zaukrie]

Ptolus, Midgard, Forgotten Realms, Eberron and Arcana of the Ancients .......with some Scarred Lands monsters.....

 

[el-remmen]

Ghosts of Saltmarsh, my old homebrew, Greyhawk boxed set (1E), N1 - Against the Cult of the Reptile God, Greyhawk: The Scarlet Brotherhood (2E), Tome of Magic (2E), 1E DMG

 

[Alzrius]

Unfortunately, my current campaign is on hiatus due to the pandemic (we just can't seem to get into VTTs), but when we get back together I really want to give a Way of the Wicked campaign a shot. (We tried once before, and ran into a hurdle early on in that the party wanted to escape when they started their Prison Break rather than tearing the place apart; next time, I'll have their patron demand that they wreak havoc instead of just escaping as a test of their prowess.)

Please note my use of affiliate links in this post.

 

[R_J_K75]

Only the 5E Forgotten Realms Border Kingdoms supplement from DMs Guild.

 

[Gorg]

It hasn't started- YET. He is DM'ing first. When it's my turn, I intend to run either Storm Giants or Saltmarsh- with my 3E Forgotten Realms CS. book and others, as resources. (Others meaning Magic of Faerun, Races of Faerun, Silver Marches, etc) Or, perhaps one of Necromancer Games'/S&S Studios Excellent adventures- converted to 5E, and ported into the Realms. Or the OG 3E adventure path- since it was so fun the first time- and the group split up after the 2nd module...

Or I may, instead, set it in Kalamar- and use the Campaign setting and players guide for it.

Those were my personal favorite campaign settings for D&D- aside from Mystara, which I haven't played since B/X days. (missed the whole thing, basically) Very well fleshed out, and I've got loads of stuff for both. I like standard general fantasy. Dragonlance and Ravenloft were awesome, too- but we didn't always want to play in that specific of a genre, you know?

Plenty of fluff in both settings, plus history, maps, and other stuff that doesn't need conversion.

 

[Ath-kethin]

I use a bunch of Mystara Gazetteers, 3.x Eberron books, the Complete Necromancer's Handbook, lots of old Al-Qadim ideas and materials, Swords & Wizardry modules, World of Xoth stuff, Basic Fantasy RPG stuff, Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperboria stuff, a map of Avernus I found online that I think dates from 2e, and that's not counting materials I've written and/or published myself, most of which gets a playtest run in my game as I'm working it out.

 

[R_J_K75]

I intend to run either Storm Giants or Saltmarsh- with my 3E Forgotten Realms CS. book and others, as resources. (Others meaning Magic of Faerun, Races of Faerun, Silver Marches

I used to do the same thing. I'd start planning a campaign and next thing I knew I had a stack of 10 books I planned to read. I finally realized that I'm never going to read all of them let alone incorporate it into my game. Even if I did, most of my players wouldn't notice anyway. I came to the conclusion, and rightly so, that the less source material I use the better our games are. I made a conscious decision to set our campaign in the Border Kingdoms as its a small area, and the sourcebook is I believe 120 pages of which I've probably only read 25 of them.

 

[Quickleaf]

Currently running a demon-themed fantasy Egypt campaign, so I'm using...

Hamunaptra: Egyptian Adventures (Green Ronin)
Gary Gygax's Necropolis (Necromancer Games - though a 5e conversion in works by Frog God Games)
GURPS Egypt (Steve Jackson Games)
And a boatload of books/articles from various editions referring to Graz'zt

 

[Bitbrain]

As someone who didn’t like the Guildmaster’s Guide to Ravnica at first, I’ve since come around to using it as a resource for other settings.

EBERRON
I took everything official about House Vadalis, tossed it out and replaced it with the Simic Combine from Ravnica. It’s still House Vadalis in name though.

I also switched out Dyrrn being the creator of the Illithids, to instead have Dyrrn be the creator of the Qlippoths (protodemon monsters, also from Pathfinder).

GOLARION
Dropped the Cult of Rakdos down into Chelliax. A demon cult that takes the form of a circus wandering around a diabolist monarchy was just too much fun.

I put the City of Salt in Wounds in Rahadoum. It helped make the place more interesting.