'Dungeons & Dragons' to Announce New Settings for Fifth Edition Later This Year

[Kane0]

I’d like to ask a question, and I hope it doesn’t end in any kind of flame war. Please understand I ask sincerely and not condescendingly.

Why do people care so much about published settings?

My entire tenure as both player and DM in D&D has been in homebrewed campaigns. Almost every player I personally consort with outside of this campaign ONLY cares about homebrew. I doubt 90% of the players I know personally could even name a setting, including Forgotten Realms.

I understand settings carry a theme, and some of them are radical departures from typical D&D tropes, such as Dark Sun, but rather than waiting for WOTC to give you a limited campaign book or something lame like SCAG, why not do that theme yourself?

It lends variety for official play, as well as the creators that make adventures, novels, videogames, etc.

Imagine if we didn't have Icewind Dale, Planescape, NWN: SoU, DDO, etc because all we had to work with was the Sword Coast. It would probably feel a bit bland and overdone after a bit.