Miscellany: A Different Kind of Campaign Trail

Our Dungeon Master's yearlong Eberron campaign has seemingly drawn to a close. We're now in the midst of that uneasy interregnum period where we experiment with different campaigns and different DMs until the eventual release of D&D 4th Edition next year. It's an interesting process, full of false leads and fresh hopes.

I'll probably run some sessions between now and the end of the semester, and I've been looking at other systems besides the basic d20 mechanic, and different settings beyond the stock Eberron template (see my epic CoC post series for more on my GM style). I'm leaning towards sticking with D&D 3.5e, though, mostly because changing game systems shouldn't be done lightly - your players won't appreciate having to learn a whole new set of rules. Then again, having something new to learn does take the monotony out of rolling to hit again and again.

The setting is much easier to fudge, since that's half a DM's job, after all. Right now, I'm picturing something like a Renaissance level of technology (trans-continental sailing, rudimentary firearms, mechanical clocks) and very little magic. I know it's been done before (what hasn't?), but I'm hoping I can put a nice spin on it. I'm wagering that not running into a mummy or wyvern every five hours encourages more roleplaying.