You're in charge of making a brand new setting for the D&D franchise...

You're in charge of making a brand new setting for the D&D franchise. What sort of setting do you create and what new concepts do you try to introduce or re-introduce into the system through it? Would you try to contain it all in one book or spread it out over multiple books? What other forms of media do you tap to promote your setting?

I'd probably just flesh out, edit and refine the one that was built on the foundation of my group's games. We started with "hey check it generic fantasy land #215" and slowly added countrieds, cultures, religions etc as we went by adding new characters and making on-the-fly decisions based on a loose framework.

As for bringing some new life into things? I'd want to refine the shit out of it but we have experimented with an entirely different magic system. Re-doing classes a bit so each one shows a different approach to combat and a different set of powers, while making non-combat stuff not tied to class and more of a point-buy thing per level. Probably emphasizing the idea that most people with access to it eventually wind up being eldritch knight types, some favoring one element of the puzzle or another sure but basically everyone who spends a lot of time adventuring or soldiering in general is gonna have at least a little skill with melee and ranged weapons, at least one spell and some level of armor specialization. Fluff-wise my setting isn't very astounding in terms of originality, it's just a fun place to do adventures in.

I'd try to contain it, but if I had to I'd make a setting bible and a rulebook side by side. If I was promoting this I'd probably try to get some kind of fiction out that wasn't explicitly sold as being based on or around a D&D game, and release them both at once with very little advertising doing intentional tie-ins.

I write an entirely underwater setting, with accompanying mechanics, races, and monsters. Also tons of fucking pretty art for the book. The book itself also works as an aide for running underwater adventures. It's inspirations are that of things like The Little Mermaid, and the Barsoom series. It reveals the beautiful and weird world that lies underwater, and what sorts of adventures can happen there.

We promote it with a stream of internet celebrities playing a game in that setting, probably DMed by Chris Perkins or Matthew Mercer, but it's also at a pool somewhere in California.

I would be as overtly vague as possible about geography and overworld and just write a set of discrete areas that GMs could use as hubs for their games.

Considering every single setting I've ever DM'd has been entirely of my own creation, it wouldn't be too hard to phase one of them into D&D "canon".

Honestly I'd just redesign Crafting Mechanics and the Encounter system to take into account the existence of Magic Items, then port Eberron to 5e.

Also bring Dark Sun up to date in 5e.

After that... probably a fairly gritty Nobledark setting that at least had enough originality to it to feel fresh, and be interesting to run in, but would probably be ruined because it attracted too many Edgelords.

I'm completely unapologetic in saying that I want a space opera setting. As far as mechanics I would revamp how ranged weapons work and introduce more vehicles as well because I want to play my Paladin with a Motorcycle that is holy and is a living construct as his steed, rangers with cybernetic animals, and wizards with floating orb mechanical familiars along side alien gods and super space monsters that are as big as planets.

As far as other media I would promote an art book and a setting guide that allows you to build worlds or parts of worlds from the main book that would be left vague on purpose so you can fill in the gaps as you want.

ONe in which the pantheons seen in typical D&d are not as much a thing, the nature of the gods is unclear. Clerics are rare but a player class, they tend to be more street prophets or mystics.

So like if they made Spelljammer it's own setting instead of just a glorified plane of travel?

Honestly, the biggest thing I'd change is toning down magic even farther (casters are still wayyyy too versatile) and taking into the account the magic that does exist into how the setting actually functions. If there's magic that can control winds, why aren't all the ships in the world hiring wind mages? If trade by land and caravan is still happening, explain why everyone isn't just using teleportation, is it risky, expensive, imprecise, ect?

In short, standard fantasy with more actual internal logic and limited magic.

Indeed. It would have nothing to do with the Multiverse and be it's own thing. Or, if the need to be tenously apart of the multiverse then some means of connecting it that is not integral to the rest of the setting.

Then again, my whole deal is a change in visiual direction. I myself really like the mix of magic and technology so I like seeing stuff like armor that has hexagon patterns, glowing blades, and sleek sexy organic looking synthetic forms whereas the typical D&D flavor is all about the tried and true bog standard fantasy.

I have no shame in saying a large part of what I like comes from shit like the movie interpretation of John Carter of Mars, Destiny, and Chronicles of Riddick and more then a little bit of 40k because it pulls it off without any of the annoying things like asking why you are carrying swords when your armies field modern day equivalent weapons.

SPELLJAMMER

...

This sounds cool. We should expand on it.

That's Pathfinder. This is for D&D 5e.

spelljammer + planescape + crazy magitech stuff.

Something noblebright, wildernessy, points-of-lights-esque. Generic is fine, but get rid of the worst parts of Forgotten Realms: the dense history of superpowerful individuals and, more importantly, the factions/secret organizations that run fucking everything.

Not so much low magic as low civilization. Countries do not exist, instead peace is found in small pockets and city states. Long distance travel is dangerous and information of far places is lacking. This allows epic shit like griffon riding knights to and floating cities tro exist in one place while not affecting the peasant shit-farmers in another.

Gunpowder and dragonborn are right out. Crossbows either do not exist or are exceedingly rare. Plate armour is very expensive. Go more medieval than the typical medieval-renaissance mashup clockwork shit.

honestly what you're suggesting isn't original or interesting at all, there's like dozens of settings out there like it(heck it's basically describing the Implied Setting that OD&D had)

0/10

Edition wasn't specified, just pointing out that an underwater thing exists and that you might want to check it out if you're interested in that sort of thing.

Really play up the fairytale origins of the races. Halflings as shoe-repairing little-folk living in human society, elves as baby-snatching, changeling-leaving, fickle things that always keep their word, dwarves that live in little communes singing working songs, and orcs/ogres/trolls who live under bridges and shit.

Sounds similar to LOTR and I admire its purity

Pretty much. For what it's worth, Soldier 76 would be a Paladin from one side of the planet who could bro it up with a rogue like the Prince from the newest version of Prince of Persia with a ranger like Riddick and a fighter like John Carter and either a psion or wizard and they go and fight !Necromongers and Space dragons.

Start simple, with a setting a lot like the OD&D implied setting of frontier exploration into the territories of a recently fallen empire, but really play up the renaissance end of D&D's medieval-renaissance tech so that guns and ships get a big focus. Give the whole thing a more tangibly "Spanish Conquistadors with magic" feel, with Italian Renaissance ideals about magic and society taking center stage. Probably a lot of city states on the fringes of the untamed wild, rather than kingdoms and empires.

Evil guys try to get DARK BLOOD from the world, this liquid is nasty, but full of energy, other bad guys sell MAGICAL HERBS at high prices and bribe armies to kill anyone that cames with newer and cheaper medicine.

A completly underwater setting.
Mermaids Mermen Merdwarves Merelves...

What sources do you suggest for one like that then?

Any for 5e?

I forget which book it was in but there was a race of lawful mer people called Avernians I believe. Basically humans who suffered some kind of disaster and prayed to their sea god who basically brought them underwater and they've been cool with it since.

They don't have fish tails but are amphibious and in particular can wield swords underwater with special "pearl blades" used by their Paladins.

Another favorite of mine was the Orca people who flew into a rage if they felt threatened or were around Sahagin.

A campaign setting that took elements from HPlove crafts outer realms and the realm of Chaos from Warhammer fantasy, maybe a dash of Sidereal from exalted.
More benevolent factions seek to implant ideas in dreams into faerun for the benefit of mortals.
Malevolent factions would want to dissolve creation itself.
Neutral faction to keep the balance and gain insight about these parallel realities and dreamscapes.

Doesn't matter if shit's original, only thing that matters for an adventure setting is how well it supports adventuring.

Return to Ravnica (before the Implicit Maze ruined muh setting ree) and flesh that out into a D&D ready setting.

Some questions I would need to answer:

Why the fuck would PCs from different Guilds work together?

Will constant Urban areas make things stale?

Why is Jace such a faggot?

I always did like 4E's implied "Points of Light" setting. The cosmology, not so much, but the low-civilization "only a few points of civilization in vast wildernesses dotted with ruins of fallen empires" setting always felt, to me, to be the kind of setting D&D was always meant to be in,
10/10

I have read it, I think it gets too granulated with mechanics, but the art is quite nice.

I'd write a guide on how to build your setting, actually.

Something more akin to the setting of Runescape (newschool, not oldschool. OSRSfags will WAAAHH at me but RS3 has some good-ass lore) wherein younger, less powerful gods have a vested interest in the world for whatever reason.Takes place long after a harsh war that encompassed the whole world as people crusaded for their chosen gods. Nearly destroyed the whole planet several times and left several places scarred, barren, and full of angry spirits who still think the war's going on. The war grinded on and on in a stalemate and finally ended as all of the belligerent gods eventually died/were pacified/gave up and left/decided to just rule from their home planes/ect.

Fast forward a few thousand years and several pieces of shit start hitting the fan at just the right angle to spark another war. The gods return to their old stomping grounds and proceed to DEUS VULT with renewed vigor.

A mainline series of books would focus on the events immediately leading up to the beginning of the godswars, and then a few of them chronicle the exploits of the followers of a few select god factions and the Desu Ex Machinas they have in their possession, but the ultimate outcome of the war is left unresolved so the lorefag players can have campaigns deciding which one faction wins.

How about a Monster World? Humans team up with crafty Goblins, disciplined Hobgoblins, powerful Orcs, and the mystical Mind Flayers in order to survive a harsh world and plunge the depths of dungeons left behind by other races (Elves, dwarves, halflings, etc).

Ogres, Cambions/Tieflings,and intelligent Undead races would be added by splatbooks or online playtest materials, as well as kobolds, warforged, and Aasimar for the token Good players.

Play with the base assumptions from there.

I had an idea for something like that except all the monster races would be exploring ruins left behind by humans.

D&D set in a westward expansion era. Various groups moving from the old world and adapting to life in this new world and learning the magics and supernatural aspects inherent to it.

could be neat

Sci-fi fantasy, like numenera, but society didn't actually collapse as much as it became advanced to the point that humanity has no place in it. But they build civilizations within the worlds of the Gods.

Do you ever feel, in your caves of steel,
A tinge of ancient fear?
Do you ever say, when you walk this way,
A human once walked here

I create essentially Forgotten Realms, but without it's history bloat, lore bloat and superpowerul and superimportant NPCs like Elminster.