This is tricky to answer as it's difficult to pick my favorite campaign setting.
I could easily go with Star Trek and explain why even after 42 years of running campaigns set in that universe, I still love to do so and probably will for 42 more. Honestly, I feel like I've discussed the subject before or I am very likely to do so in the future. It's also...too easy. Too expected.
Instead, let me tell you why I don't generally like Medieval Fantasy but I do enjoy running my D&D-But-Not setting of Aerth, the world of The Winghorn Guard.
First created in 1982 for a campaign called 'The Winghorn Guard', the main idea behind the game is the same reason it remains special to me. The concept was simple, 'Run a Dungeons and Dragons campaign using the Gamemaster advice from a Superhero game'. Instead of planning to do a Medieval Fantasy game using ideas from the Advanced D&D Dungeon Master's Guide , I based how to go about running the game using what I'd learned from years of reading comic books like Marvel's Avengers and DC's Legion of Superheroes. Eventually, when I purchased Villains and Vigilantes [2nd Edition], I used the Gamemaster advice in that game to supplement what I was already doing.
Giving Dungeons and Dragons 'Four Color' Superhero Comic Book elements allowed the game to have a unique identity and feel. I was able to focus on aspects of world-building and adventure design that emphasized the heroics, ethics, and emotions of the PCs, while de-emphasizing the murderhobo approach. The money, violence, and quest for power normally attributed to traditional D&D PCs are what the bad guys are concerned with on Aerth.
My objective was to inject Medieval Fantasy and Folklore with something I understood a lot better and that, at the time, was Silver to Bronze Age comics. The results were very successful and continue to be four decades later.
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Barking Alien
BONUS FEATURE: Day 14 of the official RPGaDay 2024 Prompts:
What about them, eh? What makes a character compelling?
That's definitely a subject that could take up an entire post (good job official challenge!) and may be too broad a topic for a 'BONUS FEATURE' entry.
I'll say this; it isn't always clear at the onset what will make for a compelling character. Often times players write multi-page backstories for their PCs not thinking about the fact that what they (really the player) might find really interesting is something they hadn't considered or didn't even know about when making up the character.
As an example, my Hogwarts/Wizarding World PC, Frank Pellgrove, was created with an eye toward making him less interested in and effective at casting spells or brewing potions but really good with Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology. These were two things I knew most other players wouldn't give much thought to.
At some point during the campaign he helped birth a Hippocampus (mythological fish tailed horse) in the Hogwarts lake and became especially interested in aquatic beasts thereafter. In follow up sessions he would take an interest in boats, other sea creatures, and it was suggested to him that he might someday get a job as the Wizarding World's equivalent of a Marine Biologist.
These were profund moments for Frankie and ones that intertwined with and challenged his sense of self. Now, after roughly 6 or 7 years playing Frank, he's a much more compelling character than I ever would have expected.
Bottomline is don't limit yourself to what you think would be compelling. Start with a basic concept, an outlook on life, and then through play allow yourself to be compelled. Give it a try!
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