Editing Campaign setting (section)

== Early history of genres (1970s-1990s) ==
{{See also|Tabletop role-playing game#Campaign settings}}

===Fantasy===
{{See also|Category:Fantasy role-playing games}}
The first role-playing settings from the early 1970s (such as ''[[World of Greyhawk]]'' and ''[[Blackmoor (campaign setting)|Blackmoor]]'') were based on works in the fantasy [[literary genre]] by authors such as [[J. R. R. Tolkien]] and [[C. S. Lewis]]. As a result, common fantasy elements in campaign settings include [[magic (gaming)|magic]] and supernatural/mythological creatures, such as [[dragon]]s, [[elf|elves]], [[dwarf (folklore)|dwarves]] and [[orc]]s.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ewalt |first=David M. |author-link=David M. Ewalt |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NTtoAAAAQBAJ |title=Of Dice and Men: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and the People Who Play It |publisher=Scribner |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-4516-4050-2 |location=New York |pages=103–104 |oclc=800031925}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Gary Gygax - Creator of Dungeons & Dragons |url=http://archives.theonering.net/features/interviews/gary_gygax.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206212135/http://archives.theonering.net/features/interviews/gary_gygax.html |archive-date=December 6, 2013 |access-date=January 10, 2014 |work=TheOneRing}}</ref> The worlds in these games usually have a level of technology similar to that of [[Middle Ages|medieval Europe]]. Over the decades since, fantasy role-playing has evolved and expanded tremendously, developing sub-genres such as [[:Category:Dark fantasy role-playing games|dark fantasy]], [[High Fantasy (role-playing game)|high fantasy]], and [[:Category:Science fantasy role-playing games|science fantasy]].

Games such as ''[[Ars Magica]]'' popularized fantasy set within elements of real-world history.<ref name="reason">[http://www.redcap.org/page/World_of_Darkness "World of Darkness"] section of the ''Ars Magica'' FAQ. Retrieved 16 June 2013.</ref> Subsequent games updated this concept further, bringing fantasy gaming into the present day with [[urban fantasy]] (such as ''[[Mage: The Ascension]]'') or into the future with [[cyberpunk]] (e.g. ''[[Shadowrun]]'').

===Science fiction===
{{See also|Category:Science fiction role-playing games}}
'''Science fiction''' settings typically take place in the future. Common elements involve futuristic technology, contact with alien life forms, experimental societies, and space travel. [[Psionics (role-playing games)|Psionic]] abilities (i.e. [[Extrasensory perception|ESP]] and [[telekinesis]]) often take the place of magic. Similar to [[science fiction]] literature and film, the game genre contains sub-genres such as [[:Category:Cyberpunk role-playing games|cyberpunk]], [[:Category:Space opera role-playing games|space opera]], and [[:Category:Steampunk role-playing games|steampunk]].

Science fiction settings for role playing were introduced with ''[[Metamorphosis Alpha]]'' in 1976—dungeon adventuring on a "lost starship"<ref>{{cite web |date=12 April 2024 |title=Para Bellum Consulting Purchases James M. Ward's Metamorphosis Alpha |url=https://www.enworld.org/threads/para-bellum-consulting-purchases-james-m-ward%E2%80%99s-metamorphosis-alpha.703613/ |website=www.enworld.org}}</ref>—and in 1977 soon followed with ''[[Traveller (role-playing game)|Traveller]]'', a [[space opera]] game. Its ''[[Imperium (Traveller)|Third Imperium]]'' setting covered multiple worlds and [[Extraterrestrials in fiction|alien]] races.<ref name="appelcline2016">{{Cite book |last=Appelcline |first=Shannon |title=The Science Fiction in Traveller |date=2016 |publisher=Far Future Enterprises |isbn=978-1-55878-049-1 |location=USA}}</ref> ''[[Gamma World]]'', introduced in 1978, explored the replacement of traditional elements of fantasy settings with the [[Pseudoscience|pseudo-scientific]] elements of [[Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction|post-apocalyptic fiction]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Brief History of the Future |url=http://www.think-magazine.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=264:a-brief-history-of-the-future&catid=49:doomsday&Itemid=34 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101120133141/http://www.think-magazine.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=264%3Aa-brief-history-of-the-future&catid=49%3Adoomsday&Itemid=34 |archive-date=2010-11-20 |access-date=7 November 2017 |website=Think Magazine}}</ref> Due to the success of ''[[Star Wars]]'', and the franchise's impact on popular culture, many science fiction settings were introduced or adapted during the 1980s. Such settings often involved detailed accounts of military and/or trading operations and organizations.

===Historical===
{{See also|Category:Historical role-playing games}}
'''Historical''' games are set in the past of Earth. Historical settings explored in 1980s-1990s roleplaying games include [[Pendragon (role-playing game)|Pendragon]] ([[Matter of Britain|Arthurian]]), [[Sengoku (role-playing game)|Sengoku]] ([[Sengoku period|Japanese warring states]]), [[Recon (role-playing game)|Recon]] ([[Vietnam War]]), and [[Tibet: The Roleplaying Game|Tibet]] (historical [[Tibet]]).

===Horror===
{{See also|Category:Horror role-playing games}}
Horror settings such as ''[[Call of Cthulhu (role-playing game)|Call of Cthulhu]]'' were first introduced in the early 1980s, creating a hybrid of fantasy horror and modern thrillers. These settings tended to focus on organizations and societies in which generally normal people fight against malevolent [[supernatural]] entities. Another style of horror game reversed the roles, with player characters acting as supernatural creatures, such as [[vampires]] and [[werewolves]]. This style was popularized in the 1990s by [[White Wolf, Inc.|White Wolf]]'s [[Vampire: The Masquerade]] and [[World of Darkness]].<ref name="appelcineWW1">{{cite web |last=Appelcline |first=Shannon |date=2007 |title=A Brief History of Game #11: White Wolf, Part One: 1986-1995 |url=http://www.rpg.net/columns/briefhistory/briefhistory11.phtml |access-date=September 17, 2015 |publisher=RPG.net}}</ref> Early campaign settings that combine horror and fantasy elements include the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' settings ''[[Ravenloft]]'' and ''[[Ghostwalk]]''. The D&D ''[[Heroes of Horror]]'' sourcebook also provided ways to emphasize horror elements within a more typical fantasy milieu.