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Campaign/World building advice

Started by Sigmund, April 05, 2006, 02:54:35 PM

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Knightsky

Just chiming in to add my recommendation for WBG, as well.  It's a solid and very useful product, if you can find a copy.
Knightsky's Song Of The Moment - 2112 by Rush

Games for trade (RPG.net link)

Teflon Billy

Pick up A Magical Medieval Society: Ecology and Culture from out good friends at XRP.

It is invaluable to me as a reference.
 

Sigmund

Thanks for the great book suggestions ya'all. I will definitely have to check those out. Also, those are kick-ass links RnR, I appreciate it much...those will definitely help. I'm still really leaning towards starting locally, but with a skeletal framework on the continental level just in case the players go off on a tangent, but also to have the ability to inject npcs of different cultural backgrounds into the mix and have those cultures be consistent. Plus, if it comes up I'd like to present trade info as well....something along the lines of "This wine comes from , bottled in the year of , and aged to perfection.". I think little details like that are what make a world feel alive and kicking, so to speak. If anyone has experiences that differ please share.
- Chris Sigmund

Old Loser

"I\'d rather be a killer than a victim."

Quote from: John Morrow;418271I role-play for the ride, not the destination.

Cyclotron

Quote from: DackeThe times when I've started to make my own setting, I have tended to start by looking at the big picture (say, continental scale) - what makes this world different, what kind of nations are there around, what gods there are, and so on. Then I immediately zoom in on the place where I'm going to start the campaign, and work outward from there.

This is pretty much how i work mine, too...

I start with a rough sketch of the "world"...  Then flesh out in a very vague sense the various regions that make up that world...  Now that I've got a general sense of the world and the boundaries I'm working with, I pick the local spot where the players will be adventure and fill in details, working my way out.

That way, if a player gets interested in a far-off part of the world, I've got something to start from.  But at the same time, I don't waste time on the details of places the PCs will never see.
Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace,
 NFPA 70E, Article 330.4 (F):
"Laser beams shall not be aimed at employees."

Name Lips

You can also have some fun with history and setting.

For example, if it's a high magic world, what's wrong with some unique features?

1) A forest that's constantly walking around ("Within this three mile may you see it coming;/I say, a moving grove!")
2) A spell gone wrong turned an entire mountain range to glass (difficult to travel, shards are sharp, slopes are extremely slippery, especially in the rain)
3) A lake of boiling blood (spilled from the neck of the God of War as his head was hewn off in the Divine War.)

You get the idea.
Next phase, new wave, dance craze, anyways, it's still rock and roll to me.

You can talk all you want about theory, craft, or whatever. But in the end, it's still just new ways of looking at people playing make-believe and having a good time with their friends. Intellectualize or analyze all you want, but we've been playing the same game since we were 2 years old. We just have shinier books, spend more money, and use bigger words now.

Sigmund

Quote from: Name LipsYou can also have some fun with history and setting.

For example, if it's a high magic world, what's wrong with some unique features?

1) A forest that's constantly walking around ("Within this three mile may you see it coming;/I say, a moving grove!")
2) A spell gone wrong turned an entire mountain range to glass (difficult to travel, shards are sharp, slopes are extremely slippery, especially in the rain)
3) A lake of boiling blood (spilled from the neck of the God of War as his head was hewn off in the Divine War.)

You get the idea.

I really like this idea too.....I definitely have some ideas on some unique places. Even if I don't start a campaign near them, I'd like to have at least the basic ideas of these places because they can be used to create legends and stories that the characters might now or hear. This is the trouble though....I start piling on the details and next thing I know I have pages of notes about just one realm/culture before I even start a game. I guess I just like delving into it that deep, but I'm afraid I'll make something too top-heavy and it'll be difficult to work with when it actually comes time to sit down and play.
- Chris Sigmund

Old Loser

"I\'d rather be a killer than a victim."

Quote from: John Morrow;418271I role-play for the ride, not the destination.

Name Lips

Quote from: SigmundI really like this idea too.....I definitely have some ideas on some unique places. Even if I don't start a campaign near them, I'd like to have at least the basic ideas of these places because they can be used to create legends and stories that the characters might now or hear. This is the trouble though....I start piling on the details and next thing I know I have pages of notes about just one realm/culture before I even start a game. I guess I just like delving into it that deep, but I'm afraid I'll make something too top-heavy and it'll be difficult to work with when it actually comes time to sit down and play.
There's no reason you have to unload all this stuff on your players before they start. You can come up with an assload of interesting ideas, but then pace yourself and force yourself to just reveal them at a rate of no more than one per session. They could be incorporated into NPC speech, notes/books the PCs find, the adventure could be set in one of the locations, ancient carvings on the door could reveal a bit of history and require a knowledge/bardic check to pass, the patroling soldiers could be wearing the unique armor of the region and carrying a banner you can describe, whatever.

But whatever you do, don't overload your players. They're there for some good times and fun adventures, not to read through backstory and history. Just enough to add flavor, but not enough to burden them with things they'll feel they have to remember 5 months from now. It's a tough balance.
Next phase, new wave, dance craze, anyways, it's still rock and roll to me.

You can talk all you want about theory, craft, or whatever. But in the end, it's still just new ways of looking at people playing make-believe and having a good time with their friends. Intellectualize or analyze all you want, but we've been playing the same game since we were 2 years old. We just have shinier books, spend more money, and use bigger words now.

Sigmund

Quote from: Name LipsThere's no reason you have to unload all this stuff on your players before they start. You can come up with an assload of interesting ideas, but then pace yourself and force yourself to just reveal them at a rate of no more than one per session. They could be incorporated into NPC speech, notes/books the PCs find, the adventure could be set in one of the locations, ancient carvings on the door could reveal a bit of history and require a knowledge/bardic check to pass, the patroling soldiers could be wearing the unique armor of the region and carrying a banner you can describe, whatever.

But whatever you do, don't overload your players. They're there for some good times and fun adventures, not to read through backstory and history. Just enough to add flavor, but not enough to burden them with things they'll feel they have to remember 5 months from now. It's a tough balance.

Heh, yeah...gotcha there. I'm just afraid I'll even overload myself. I suppose it can't hurt though...I mean as detailed and verbose as I can get with my homebrew, I probably still wont match Tekumel or Harn in sheer size and detail.
- Chris Sigmund

Old Loser

"I\'d rather be a killer than a victim."

Quote from: John Morrow;418271I role-play for the ride, not the destination.

Name Lips

I'm reminded of a cousin of mine who wrote a which-way book.

It started with "In the beginning, there was Nothing." He went on for 20 pages about the creation of the universe, the gods, the history of the world, the empires that rose and fell, a new kingdom, its history, and finally, recent history and your character. Then you're finally presented with your first choice: "You're walking down the road, and meet a phalanx of statues, armed with spears, in the middle of the road. Do you A) go around them, B) walk through them, or C) spend a day watching them?"

If you picked A or B they animated and killed you.

This wouldn't be so bad if he didn't watch you read the thing, and take it away if you died, saying in real life you only had one chance to get things right, so why should you get more chances in a which way book?


I guess that is kind of off topic, but illustrates how frustrating it can be for players to dredge through reading material when all they want to do is play a game.
Next phase, new wave, dance craze, anyways, it's still rock and roll to me.

You can talk all you want about theory, craft, or whatever. But in the end, it's still just new ways of looking at people playing make-believe and having a good time with their friends. Intellectualize or analyze all you want, but we've been playing the same game since we were 2 years old. We just have shinier books, spend more money, and use bigger words now.

Cyclotron

Quote from: SigmundHeh, yeah...gotcha there. I'm just afraid I'll even overload myself. I suppose it can't hurt though...I mean as detailed and verbose as I can get with my homebrew, I probably still wont match Tekumel or Harn in sheer size and detail.

Just remember...  If you cover the basics and you have a good idea in your head what you want the area to be like, you can always fill in details later as the game is being played.

It's an approach I've come to appreciate lately, since it makes it very easy to tie some details of the setting to whatever's happening in the game at that moment.  Far too often, I've loaded up on all the details at the beginning, only to have none of them get used by the PCs in the campaign proper, when they decide to haul off and do something unexpected.

I also kind of like how it creates an "organic" world of a sort...  A setting for which even I don't know exactly how everything's going to turn out.
Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace,
 NFPA 70E, Article 330.4 (F):
"Laser beams shall not be aimed at employees."

Cyclotron

Quote from: Name LipsThis wouldn't be so bad if he didn't watch you read the thing, and take it away if you died, saying in real life you only had one chance to get things right, so why should you get more chances in a which way book?

:heh:
Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace,
 NFPA 70E, Article 330.4 (F):
"Laser beams shall not be aimed at employees."

Sigmund

Quote from: Name LipsI'm reminded of a cousin of mine who wrote a which-way book.

It started with "In the beginning, there was Nothing." He went on for 20 pages about the creation of the universe, the gods, the history of the world, the empires that rose and fell, a new kingdom, its history, and finally, recent history and your character. Then you're finally presented with your first choice: "You're walking down the road, and meet a phalanx of statues, armed with spears, in the middle of the road. Do you A) go around them, B) walk through them, or C) spend a day watching them?"

If you picked A or B they animated and killed you.

This wouldn't be so bad if he didn't watch you read the thing, and take it away if you died, saying in real life you only had one chance to get things right, so why should you get more chances in a which way book?


I guess that is kind of off topic, but illustrates how frustrating it can be for players to dredge through reading material when all they want to do is play a game.


Wow, this is a great point (and a great story making it). Much food for thought here, thanks very much.
- Chris Sigmund

Old Loser

"I\'d rather be a killer than a victim."

Quote from: John Morrow;418271I role-play for the ride, not the destination.

Sigmund

Quote from: CyclotronI also kind of like how it creates an "organic" world of a sort...  A setting for which even I don't know exactly how everything's going to turn out.

This is a very cool point as well....I think I'm sold.
- Chris Sigmund

Old Loser

"I\'d rather be a killer than a victim."

Quote from: John Morrow;418271I role-play for the ride, not the destination.

Algolei

Quote from: Teflon BillyPick up A Magical Medieval Society: Ecology and Culture from out good friends at XRP.

It is invaluable to me as a reference.
Hells, yeah.  I'll second that one.  In fact, there's a second edition of it coming out (or is it out already?  I don't know).
 

Xavier Lang

Quote from: AlgoleiHells, yeah.  I'll second that one.  In fact, there's a second edition of it coming out (or is it out already?  I don't know).

When? Where?  I would be intersted in the second editon.