"Midgard is not a modern world dressed up in a few medieval bits of armor and weaponry. Midgard makes the mythic real, with a world to explore from edge to edge." - Midgard Worldbook 5E, pg. 9.
I know 70% of groups create their own campaign worlds and never touch a published setting. This is mainly because nobody gives people a reason to care about campaign settings. I have most of the 5E settings, and most third-party ones are not good. Campaign settings have a high bar to cross, and most do not deliver on the basics: strong cartography and solid history.
Other companies rely on you buying campaign settings written for previous game editions, such as Greyhawk, the Forgotten Realms, Eberron, Dragonlance, etc. Wizards has suffered a considerable brain drain in its campaign world creators, and it does not want to craft and support these kinds of settings anymore. A few new ones came out and are coming out, but they are one-shot adventure paths rather than fully supported worlds with product lines.
Midgard delivers on cartography, history, and support, immediately putting it on my "for your consideration" list of settings where I would put my characters and a game. Pathfinder 1e's Golarion was also in this class, though that world was more designed as a theme park where the history was written to fit the world. Midgard is similar in that it has some of the same theme park elements, but it feels much more organic and has that sloppiness of mashed-together cultures that the real world has.
In Golarion, I get the feeling that once you reach the edge of the Egypt area, it all suddenly stops, and we are in the next Disneyland area. Midgard has a considerable cultural blend and overlap between the themed areas, and the areas themselves are not as blatantly obvious and cartoony. You could say Midgard is a mature, more probable, and sensible Golarion. It is a world for those who enjoy the subtle theme park elements and want some new ones in the mix, but don't want park employees in giant-headed costumes waving at park visitors.
New Golarion in Lost Omens is even farther removed from that, with a steampunk monoculture supplanting theme park fantasy. The world feels far too peaceful, happy, cosmopolitan, world cultural, and faux-modern. I used to love this world for its over-the-top, almost Conan-style visuals and savage brutality, but it has fallen into inoffensive touristy cosplay and non-triggering safeness.
Tales of the Valiant would be my choice for a game in this world, even with some of the art that looks like Filmation's He-Man. It is a touch goofy (fighter, please put on pants), but I give it a pass since the rules are far better than either 2014 or 2024 D&D. Besides, I will take the He-Man aesthetic over D&D's cartoon nostalgia or Pathfinder's steampunk cosplay vibe any day. He-Man is Conan for kids, and thus better than most of what we have today in Wall Street fantasy monoculture.
Besides, He-Man and She-Ra were better cartoon fantasy shows than the D&D cartoon. Skeletor could wipe the floor with Venger, Tiamat, and Dungeon Master with snarky quips and evil laughter alone.
ToV does feel like "5E He-Man," with all of the fun abilities rolled forward to the lower levels, making the characters feel like iconic He-Man characters faster than they do in D&D. There is an "action figure" design in this game that is clear if you compare it to others. The game is designed for younger players; it is easier to learn, far better presented, and concentrates the fun where it matters the most. Even the game's iconic Kobolds have that cartoony sidekick look, and they appeal to kids far more than Pathfinder's football-headed goblins.
ToV took shots from the current fantasy gaming crowd because it did not aim itself at the mature player base. But the decision here to market the game to new players was a far better choice, since you will never please the current crowd of anything these days. With ToV, I am a new player again. With any other 5E game, I have been playing this game for over 10 years, and I am grumpy and tired of the system.
Midgard feels as well-constructed as Greyhawk or the Forgotten Realms. When I look for a campaign world, I want something solid. I want to pull from thousands of years of history and find a story there I can bring forward and tell in the current time. If this magic sword belonged to an Elven hero who fought in a battle a thousand years ago in a fight to prevent the Northern Dwarves from taking another southern kingdom, I want to know that. I want players to uncover that story. I want that history to write an adventure around. This makes it easier for me as a referee. Some dwarves may see that sword and react negatively. This is good stuff, built for drama and roleplaying.
With other settings? Uh, this is a steampunk cowboy area. Our group played it in a live stream. Why is it here? Does it have a history? Um, no. This is a theme park! Look, gunslingers! Flashy art! More rules! Here is some steampunk gear! Flash over substance sucks. Today's writers, with no respect for history and canon, are not up to the task of writing for established IP or campaign settings. This is a generational and educational problem that society has, and companies cannot find or hire creatives who can work with established IP, nurture and develop what is there, and continue what fans love.
So, "things are changed," and the company slaps a well-known brand on it, hoping nobody will notice. That always ends up bad, and it gets repeated over and over. There is no talent in these companies to do this sort of work. Please buy the older editions of the setting and play there!
Midgard is the only campaign setting to maintain a high quality level, change just enough to keep it interesting, and move forward without losing quality or the appeal to those who loved the earlier editions. Today, that seems impossible.
But they did it.
Midgard is as viable and compelling as the Forgotten Realms, and I can do more with it, given the depth the world book goes into.
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