Absolutely agree. I set a game in the real(ish) world once, so it was a setting where everyone knew the base “lore.” It was so nice! I could reference things, name-drop countries, and introduce old grudges without having to exposition it all. People just got things. We’ve since done enough games on the sword coast that that works too, now.

In a high level campaign I ran, I took the design philosophy that the villains were supernatural (e.g, dragon or lich), the average npc was weak (level 3 or less), and the characters were once-in-a-1000-years heros (level 10-20).

Every now and then they would have an obstacle involving regular humanoids or the local government and they had the option of just steamrolling everything (even whole platoons). It provided a great contrast to the magic-boss death matches and let the characters really feel special.

It also drove home that they were the only ones who could save the day.

“I hurt my friend because I took a dumb idea too far” is a very probable story. The part I can’t believe though is ending the game over a dire bite. We finally got the schedule together, we’re going to use the time, darn it!

I’m running my first module campaign ever after being in DnD since my teens. The idea used to seem so foreign to me, but trying it I find that it works well as inspiration. I end up adding a lot and chopping out huge pieces and doing substitutions.

Honestly, I think that’s all modules are good for. Maybe older ones were higher quality, but the one I’m using is mostly fluff and vagaries. Suits me fine though, I know how to tune an encounter, but I’ve burnt through a lot of my major campaign plots already. As this one goes and characters get more involved I may discard the thing altogether.