What are your setting elements?

[Satyr]

I prefer a good mixture of of themes. If a gaming world becomes too dark and realistic, it's frustrating. The real world is often depresing enough, I don't need that as well when I am trying to have some fun. Therefore, I don't like longer campaigns in too desperate settings.
On the other hand, I don't like too optimistic and rainbowy settings as well. I'm to old for adventures in the petting zoo, and if there is too much happinness and harmony around, I feel the urge to introduce manic cat hurlers or fairy wing collectors, just to tip of the scales again.

But severalo of my players have complained that my adventures become somewhat dark quite often, even when I still believe them to be glorious and heroic.

What I really look forward to in a setting are four main elements -  

A Sense of Wonder. Magical or supernatural (opr just breathtaking beautiful or disgusting) story elements come up, and keep this feeling of awe. When magie becomes too normal and a part of daily life, it becomes dull as well. A truly fascinating setting therefore offers sceneries of great spectacle and wonder, but makes them rare as well, so they can be appreciated every time they come up. If I think something like "Not another dragon!" The magic of the dragon has gone. The game world has become banal. I don't like banalty.

Heroism. I want a game where the main characters are heros. That doesn't mean that they have to be morally superior, but I really hate games where the characters alone can wipe out hole civilisations or save the world on a regular basis. To be a hero, you have to be chalenged by your opponent. You are going against the odds. The opposite is stronger than you - and you still fight on, and probably win.

Plausibility. The game worls is not necessarily realistic, but it follow an own inner logic and sticks to it. There are rational (within the gaming world) reasons why things happens or how the different structures and elements came to be.

Ambivalence. I think terms like "good" or "evil" are shortcomings and show a great lack of originality or deeper understandings of how sentient species behave. In a good gaming world, completely opposite positions should be shown as equal acceptable and understandable and even desirable.

[SilvercatMoonpaw]

'¦'¦if there is too much happinness and harmony around, I feel the urge to introduce manic cat hurlers or fairy wing collectors, just to tip of the scales again.

But the introducing of these elements into a world that is too dark wouldn't have the right kind of impact, showing that extremes of the light and dark scale overwhelm the material inside.

A Sense of Wonder. Magical or supernatural (opr just breathtaking beautiful or disgusting) story elements come up, and keep this feeling of awe. When magie becomes too normal and a part of daily life, it becomes dull as well. A truly fascinating setting therefore offers sceneries of great spectacle and wonder, but makes them rare as well, so they can be appreciated every time they come up. If I think something like "Not another dragon!" The magic of the dragon has gone. The game world has become banal. I don't like banalty.

Hmmm.  To me the problem is that this attitude makes people too cautious.  They flinch away from the bold use of something fresh and new and keep giving us the same old tired ideas.  Sometimes I'd rather have dragons start to get too common rather than face another horde of orcs because everyone does orcs.

Heroism. I want a game where the main characters are heros. That doesn't mean that they have to be morally superior, but I really hate games where the characters alone can wipe out hole civilisations or save the world on a regular basis. To be a hero, you have to be chalenged by your opponent. You are going against the odds. The opposite is stronger than you - and you still fight on, and probably win.

I agree so long as "against the odds" isn't code for "and by odds, we mean you can't ever win".  I don't want a setting where no matter how many corrupt officials I take down I can't ever affect any meaningful change.