New worlds to plunder

I've been considering what kind of RPG I'd like to run next and I'm definitely doing a fantasy game. My recent Game of Thrones readings, and the D20 book I have, makes me want to get into something creative but grounded in some form of reality.

This got me thinking about what game worlds I enjoy playing in the most, and I came up with this list:

1: The Old World (Warhammer FRP) – one of my favourite settings period, but I love gaming in this world as it has so many different ways you can come at it there’s always something fresh to do. Horror, mystery, high-fantasy adventure, you can run them all with this game. I’m a huge lover of the 1st Edition, dodgy magic rules and all, so I’m looking forward to seeing what Cubicle 7 do with this.

2: The Lands of Legend (Dragon Warriors) – This is really grounded in our own history and just oozes atmosphere. It’s a great world and quite dangerous to play in, making the players think twice before getting into a scuffle. I keep my magic users low-key in this, just to add to the mystery.

3: Allansia (Fighting Fantasy) – I like the world of Titan as a whole, but Allansia is my favourite. Although it has a high-fantasy feel to it, and some of the monsters are a little peculiar, it’s always been a fun place to explore in the gamebooks and the RPG.

4: Forgotten Realms (D&D) – Although high-fantasy isn’t really my thing, the Forgotten Realms is great fun to play in, even for nostalgic reasons. Some of the best D&D games I’ve been in have been here, and the Underdark is one of my favourite places to explore, both as a player and a DM.

My favourite fantasy setting is Middle-earth, but I find it a nightmare to run adventures in. Every player has a defined idea of the world and the kind of game they want to be in, but it doesn’t always marry up and Middle-earth is one of those settings where people ideas of what kind of game they want to be in conflicts. In my experience, anyway.

tl;dr – I like playing games in made-up worlds. Yay.