There’s more to D&D than just dungeons and dragons!

If I ask you to imagine the world of D&D, what do you picture?

I’m going to guess it involves delving in dungeons, fighting dragons, casting spells, swinging swords, orcs, monsters, wizards, and all the other things usually associated with high-fantasy.

And you’d be right! A lot of D&D adventures take place in the kind of traditional fantasy world that immediately springs to mind. Which is great, because let’s be honest, it’s a lot of fun to fight dragons, and cast spells, etcetera etcetera…

But if you’re bored of the same old fantasy world, or it just never appealed to you in the first place, then you don’t have to write off playing D&D, you just need to find the right setting that excites you!

What is a setting?

In D&D the ‘setting’ is the world or universe where the story takes place.

There are lots of ‘official’ D&D settings that are in books published by Wizards of the Coast, but there are also plenty of other settings to explore which are published by other companies or independent authors.

Lets’ take a look at some of the other settings you could try if you’re looking to play something different to the usual swords and sorcery high-fantasy.

Official Settings

If you want something a little bit different but still want to stick to the officially published D&D books you could try some of these:

Eberron – a world which features a fusion of magic and technology, so you can use magic powered trains and airships, and create a ‘warforged’ character who is a magical and technological construct, (a bit like a robot). The adventures in this setting are inspired by pulp noir adventure books.

Spelljammer – a sci-fi and fantasy fusion where you can sail in great magical ships across the stars of Wildspace to visit different planets. It’s space-pirates, people! What’s not to love?

Theros – Adapted from Magic The Gathering, this is a setting inspired by ancient Greece and Rome, so it’s still fantasy but a bit more historical and mythical than other settings. Lots of fun if you’re into the Classics!

Strixhaven – takes place in a magic school for aspiring wizards... No comparisons to other media needed!

Third Party Settings

There are so many incredible creatives out there producing new settings for D&D, here are just a few that might be of interest.

Neverland, Oz and Wonderland – Andrew Kolb has produced gorgeous D&D setting books which take your game to the familiar worlds of some of your favourite childhood stories. I’m currently running a campaign using the Oz setting book and I cannot tell you how much joy it brings me to be playing a game in the whimsical world of Oz that I’ve loved since reading the books as a child.

Neon Odyssey – This recently became one of the most funded roleplaying games projects on Kickstarter. This is a pure sci-fi setting which totally reimagines all of the D&D classes to fit them into the sci-fi world. So if you love spaceships and laser guns, this one is for you!

Humblewood – If you love cute critters, this setting by Hit Point Press takes you to a world entirely inhabited by woodland creatures. Players can become birds, mice, dogs, otters, and more! They often release new species on their Patreon, so this one is great if you want to continually add new things to it.

Other Systems

If none of those are taking your fancy then you could consider playing a different roleplaying game system entirely. The rules and mechanics will be different to D&D, but there are some brilliant games out there with totally unique worlds, or other games set in very familiar worlds from your favourite TV shows/books/films. Here are just a few to get you thinking:

Doctor Who Role Playing Game – If you want to explore the universe and deal with wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff, this one’s for you!

Cosmere – Fans of Brandon Sanderson’s books will enjoy being able to play as a Mistborn or Knight Radiant on Roshar or Scadrial in this role playing game, which uses a D20 system reminiscent of D&D mechanics.

Avatar the Last Airbender – The hardest decision of all is whether to be an earth, air, fire or water bender… But whichever one you choose you’ll have a lot of fun playing this game inspired by the beloved animated series.

Wildsea – Sail across a vast sea of treetops in this unique post-apocalyptic setting. After massive tree growth, the world is now divided into above the treetops and below it, with strange creatures and poisonous plants to contend with if you venture below.

Call of Cthulhu – A modern-day setting where you’ll play a fairly normal person, to start with at least. As you investigate strange happenings, cults, and discover eldritch horrors beyond comprehension, your character’s sanity might start to slip a little bit…

What are your favourites?

This article contains just a tiny snapshot of the massive variety of game settings that are out there to play, so whether you love, sci-fi, fantasy, the real world, or something from your favourite TV show, it’s safe to say there really is something for everyone!

What are your favourite D&D settings, or other role playing games? We’d love to hear what kinds of worlds you love to play in! Let us know in the comments.

If your child would like to go on their own epic D&D adventures, drop us an email to hello@bristoladventurersguild.co.uk to find out more about joining an online D&D group. Suitable for ages 8+, all of our online groups consist of 2-4 children of a similar age and are run by trained Dungeon Masters. We can also run one-to-one games for children who might struggle with a group environment. Get in touch to find out more!