Your favourite fantasy world?

[Insalius]

I think the setting I've liked the most is Eberron. I like the history and the potential to heal and fix things, and the variety for characters and stories that could come from there.

[AnalogueAddiction]

I'd have to say my OG favourite fantasy setting has got to be Dragonlance.

And the Warhammer Fastasy setting has always been incredibly captivating.

[Naima]

I like fantasy worlds where Magic is mysterious and distant from the normality, I like the morrowind setting too as it was enough alien , but at the same time refreshing fantasy, I like the Game of Thrones setting , but there to be interesting you need a talented writer like JRR Martin I suppose.
Tolkien I like too but its now overabused and you see the clichè of Fantasy genre all around.

[Turambar]

Tolkien I like too but its now overabused and you see the clichè of Fantasy genre all around.

It wasn't cliche when Tolkien wrote it. It's just been overdone by all his imitators ever since.... Tolkien and Middle Earth are still the greatest in my book though, and no other worlds come particularly close imo (though I love Roshar from Stormlight Archive and the Westlands from Wheel of Time).

[wfgWorkshop]

Tolkien's Middle Earth definitely remains the ultimate reference. In my opinion, not only the author's storytelling skills are the reason but also that he kept on developing it for decades. His approach to recalling a history from various sources is pretty unique and reinforces the idea that as years pass, much of what remains is how people remember things as opposed to what they might have accurately been.

In more recent works, Joe Dever's Magnamund setting from his Lone Wolf game book series is fabulous and rich. The Cubicle 7 TTRPG has a fantastic sourcebook that focuses just on the world and its history. Great stuff!

The world of German RPG The Dark Eye, Aventuria is also extremely rich and is unique in that it integrates player experiences and deeds to develop its history over time.

The setting of Numenera has also fascinated me for a while, although I have never played the game.

[Kellerica]

I can't believe I haven't posted in this thread despite being here for so many years.

For me it is, and probably always will be Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea. There is something about the simplicity and the slow pace of the world that really speaks to me. The magic system is fascinating, and I love the philosophical side of it as much as the mechanical. Le Guin had a very effective way of writing powerful forces - the Nameless Ones in Tombs of Atuan just feel... massive, larger than life, I can truly feel the pressure of the Labyrinth whenever I revisit the book, and her dragons really manage to conjure a sense of awe that I've seen few authors do succesfully. Earthsea is just one of those settings that just feels alive to me in a particularly vivid way. I've read the series countless times and never get bored of it.

I'm one of those types who has a lot of trouble learning tons of details, so for me the fact that the setting doesn't come with several volume's worth of lore and history is a treasured feature rather than a bug. I do love Lord of the Rings as much as the next guy, but I always feel like I'm not allowed to enjoy it, unless I'm also interested in reading all of the languages and history and myths and and family trees and every other tidbit that come with the setting. I don't know if that makes me a horrible fake nerd or whatever, but my memory is not that amazing and with my ADHD I really struggle keeping my focus when reading that kind of thing. It ends of feeling like homework, and I'm just not that into it. It's not that I'm not into worldbuilding, but I prefer mine baked into the story rather than as a side-dish to the story. And yeah, as I said, I just always get this sense from hard-core Tolkien nerds that I should be really ashamed of this...

[Ciel]

I would have to say Wizard of Oz first comes to mind, it and its sequels were a big part of my childhood growing up and had been a major inspiration in me desiring to pursue making fantasy universes of my own as well. I just loved the whimsical nature of it while also tackling some serious, perhaps even horrifying concepts [like the woman who changes between many heads in one book and tin man's origin story for example] - that's just charming.

Another fantasy old favorite that was also an inspiration to me I'd have to mention is His Dark Materials, something about questions about one's place in the world, multi universes, and confronting the corrupt and the literal heavens is always a fun time.

[Sirion Tond]

Tolkien's Middle Earth definitely remains the ultimate reference. In my opinion, not only the author's storytelling skills are the reason but also that he kept on developing it for decades. His approach to recalling a history from various sources is pretty unique and reinforces the idea that as years pass, much of what remains is how people remember things as opposed to what they might have accurately been.

I definetly like the Work of Tolkien as well. Its one of the first worlds I immersed into. Also the maps are the style I would like to recreate...

There is also the World of Elan, from Michael J. Sullivan Books. It has a long history in itself as well (of course not as detailed as Tolkien...)

Recently I read books from Elizabeth Moon and her Paladin's Legacy. Its less fantasy like, but still very deep.

[dib288]

I love Middle Earth and GoT! I have a GOT map book called "The Lands of Ice and Fire". It has the complete map of the known world. All maps have great detail to cities, seas, etc.

[danetguys]

OK, My opinion is Faerun in the R.A.Salvatore line etc. He has always been an amazingly discriptive narrarator for the fantasy world. I think I would have to give a tip of the hat to C.S. Lewis and Narnia as would most since between he and JRR Tolkein pretty much started the whole fantasy worlds.