The Campaign Builder's Guild

Quote from: Elemental_Elf hobbit-sized TARDIS

In fairness to the hobbit-sized TARDIS, it's still bigger on the inside.

Correct me if I'm remembering FATE wrong, but couldn't you implement magic without having any magic stunts at all?

PC with a master architect aspect spends a Fate point:
"I want to use my knowledge of architecture to find a secret passageway that the villain overlooked."

PC with a such-and-such magic aspect spends a Fate point:
"I want to use my such-and-such magic to form a passageway through that wall."

Since magic is essentially just a PC taking narrative control, does it need to be defined any further than that?

The change you want made makes a big difference.

For example, if its something along the lines of, "change that code so your site actually works on my computer," you'll have to go through customer service.

If its more like, "change that content to something that doesn't grossly insult my race and/or religion," you should contact Hasbro corporate headquarters.

Or if it's something like, "change your messageboard permissions so terrorists are no longer using your forums to exchange blueprints for nuclear weapons," you'll need to contact law enforcement immediately.

That bit about the alignment-based moons reminds me of my old Astrological Alignments thread from back in the day. If you like aligned moons, you might also like the astrological alignment system.

Quote from: Nomadic

Quote from: E_E

Quote from: FREAKIN' AWESOME HORSE...I started witnessing a bunch of people proclaim Pathfinder to be this divine solution to their problems in the ENWorld chat. It gave me a really poor impression of Pathfinder because said individuals were very ignorant about the development of the system modification.

So you condemn an entire game because of stupid people?  

If you keep running into stupid people when dealing with a community based on a game you might question how good of an idea it would be to get involved in that game...

To be fair, the main Pathfinder community exists on the Paizo boards, not on ENWorld chat. It's unlikely that a few posters on ENWorld chat are a representative sample.

Quote from: Elemental_Elf4E's monster manuals are superior to 3.5's in every way (save flavor)...

That may be true, but check out the free Pathfinder Bonus Bestiary from the company that published Dungeon and Dragon magazines when they were still in print. Based on that PDF, I suspect that the Pathfinder (edition 3.75) bestiaries are going to be better than either 3.5 or 4e.

Plus, the PDF of the 572-page Pathfinder core rules will be available for only $9.99 when it goes on sale in August. Just based on price alone, it's a 3.75 system worth checking out.

How could I forget gates to Hell and racial strife! Also, I hadn't listed an unexplored frontier yet.

OP updated to add these new suggestions. Keep 'em coming.

EDIT: I think I'm going to have to maintain a list of necessary plot devices in addition to necessary locations. That way, we've got a kitchen sink of specific adventure ideas, not just campaign setting ideas.

Thanks for all the suggestions so far. Any other suggestions for setting elements you need to accommodate various fantasy genres?

I know one we've missed: a coastline prowled by pirates. It's not a kitchen sink setting if it doesn't have an area that's perfect for a pirate-themed campaign.

Quote from: sparkletwistWell, do you want a setting with a little something for everyone, or do you want a setting that's just as many overdone stereotypes as possible?

It seems like you asked for the first and are listing more of the second, but that's just me...

I was hoping people would list things that they think are necessary to tell particular stories from particular genres - steam punk requires a nation with clockwork tech, high fantasy is more familiar to players when you include the classic Tolkenesque stereotypes, gothic horror often works best in a mist-shrouded land of crumbling castles and superstitious peasants - that sort of thing.

But I agree that some of what I am getting are just genre cliches that are not particularly essential.

However, this being a brainstorming thread, I am not pre-judging anyone's input. If someone tells me that a setting that has something for everyone must have a nation resembling, say, Napoleonic France, I'm just going to add it to the list. I'll decide whether a clone of Napoleonic France is actually required to accommodate a particular fantasy genre at some later point in time.

I've added a summary of the suggestions so far in the OP, and included a few suggestions of my own: flying islands, vast underground caverns, powerful artifacts, and a land of steam-punk tech.

Quote from: beejazzGenre cliches (sword and sorcery, cloak and sword, high fantasy, local myths, fairy tales, cosmic horror, gothic horror, pulp, noir, sword and planet, and trippy science fiction are all likely candidates).

[/quote]Sword and sorcery, high fantasy, local myths, fairy tales, cosmic horror, and gothic horror should probably be covered if all of the previous suggestions made in this thread are implemented, but the other genres you list might need some attention.

What are some cliches from the cloak and sword, pulp, noir, sword and planet, and trippy science fiction genres that should appear in a kitchen sink setting?

If I were designing a kitchen sink fantasy setting with "something for everyone," what sort of regions and plot devices should I include? Specifically, what elements are absolutely essential to accommodate various fantasy genres that people like to run?

EDIT: To summarize some of the suggestions made below, a kitchen sink setting should have...

[spoiler=...these setting locations:][spoiler=Analogues of real-world cultures...]...including tribal Africa, the pre-colonial America, pirate-infested Caribbean islands, Imperial China, ancient Egypt, feudal Europe, Bronze-Age Greece, colonial Europe, the haunted Europe of Gothic horror, dynastic India, feudal Japan, Mongolia, Persia, the Roman Empire and its gladiatorial arenas, and Viking lands;[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Tolkien-style humanoid homelands...]...including dwarven mountain strongholds, elven forests guarded against intruders, inexplicably peaceful halfling farmlands, and the treacherous land of the orcs;[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Lands with anachronistic technology...]...including tinker gnomes with gunpowder, steam-punk tech, and clockworks.[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Unspoiled wilderness frontiers...]...including a cold northern land, a sweltering jungle, and a land of prehistoric beasts, at least one of which is on an unexplored continent;[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Fantastic terrain...]...including out-of-place terrain, impossibly opulent palaces of gold and marble, flying islands, vast underground caverns and labyrinths, an undersea kingdom, and sites of cataclysmic magical disasters;[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Otherworldly realms...]...including faerie realms, heavens, hells, mirror dimensions, and gates leading to each of them.[/spoiler][/spoiler]
[spoiler=these plot devices:][spoiler=Military affairs...]...including racial strife, wars of conquest, wars of attrition, shadow wars, nation-building, mercenaries, and bounty hunters;[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Religious organizations...]...including churches that practice human sacrifice, cults devoted to cosmic horrors, good churches that battle ancient evils;[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Secret societies...]...including ancient brotherhoods, crime syndicates and thieves' guilds, spy networks, and manipulative fiends in possession of humanoid hosts;[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Artifacts and relics...]...including powerful singular items and sets of items that can be collected.[/spoiler][/spoiler]

Quote from: Nomadictrue, but what happens if you aren't ash williams and you run out of gas?

That's when you ask yourself, "What would Ash Williams do?"

Quote from: Nomadic...while enough zombies would still overwhelm you, the guy who knows aikido would be the most likely to survive the apocalypse.

Well, that's not entirely true. The guy with a chainsaw for a hand would be the most likely to survive the apocalypse. Especially if he happens to be Ash Williams.

Quote from: V - L0Xhttp://www.theonion.com/content/video/trekkies_bash_new_star_trek_film

If you hadn't posted that link, I would have. Best movie review ever!