As per the subject, how do you go about making your own setting for a new campaign? What's your method and where do you start?
So far I've got a new setting for my home campaign and it's going through a bit of an identity crisis and we haven't even had our first real session yet. Ive got a starting town, a bbeg and some notable npcs but thats really about it. As well as a few games or movies that we, as a group, decided we kind of like so including Warhammer Fantasy, Dragon Age 1 and 2, the Witcher, Diablo II, Greyhawk, and historical folklore. Right now i'm deciding how much real world inspiration i should take versus how much heavy metal I should inject.
A few key points we have so far
-Gods are not active in the world, and there are multiple pantheons and religions. Much like the real world there is no universal truth.
-BBEG is an undead immortal blaming the current kingdom of reynes for the crimes against his people hundreds of years ago under a different king. So the kingdom is being treated as an entity in his philosophy as opposed to individuals
-Magic is dangerous and i'm assuming most people are familiar with the concept of magic but otherwise havn't actually seen it first hand.
-Heavy use of the realm of Faerie, my goblins originally come from Faerie and would normally fall under winter court though some tribes have set themselves up in the material world on a slightly more permanent basis leading to two groups of goblins. Those with strong connections to the fae and those a bit more familiar to your average RPG player.
-Social class and titles of nobility are meaningful and carry a lot of weight.
-Gunpowder is in its early stages, most kingdoms tend to focus on either bows, crossbows or firearms. We are still in bow country.
Anyway this is what i have so far i'd also like any suggestions or maybe what i'm trying to make already fits an existing setting and i should just stick my adventure in one of those
I usually just begin with a starting town, an adventure on the edge of it (or under it, or above it, or at the center of it, whatever), and some notable NPCs, and that's about it. Then expand as necessary, putting in more of what seems interesting. Most of the key points you list would show up either in the NPC description, the town description, or the adventure writeup.
What system are you using?
You mentioned a BBEG, religion, magic, technology, and faerie, but nothing about politics except the name of one kingdom. If you're in a Renaissance-era world, which may be the case with gunpowder and WH reference, trade and political entities might be important, if you want to that to be a focus.
Since you have a BBEG, it sounds like you're going with scripted plot arcs with a relatively defined conclusion instead of a more sandbox approach where the PCs choose their own goals. The question there is how much flexibility do you want the PCs to have?
How are you making magic dangerous? Is this just flavor, or is this part of the mechanics?
Personally, I favor bottom-up sandboxy approaches. I sketch out a starting town and the nearby environs, and then only design a few steps ahead of the PCs, depending where they want to go and their interests. I drop in plot hooks or adventure seeds, and let the players decide which they want to follow, instead of running them along a story arc.
I usually start out with a key list, much like you have, then extrapolate from there. The important point is that not everything on your key list is necessarily set in stone. Some of it is an agreement with the players, potentially, so you don't want a bait and switch by changing those things. At least not without discussing with the players why you think changing it would be a good idea.
However, some of it is in the realm of inspiration. Might turn into something useful or might get dropped. As an example, I had a campaign several years back where the item for me was:
- Gnomes are extinct. (Not really, they are much diminished and corrupted because of a massive memory loss spell they cast on the world that had an unexpected backlash.)
I had intended for it to be kind of a catch-all for "weird stuff happens with magic from time to time" in the game as a reminder to myself to have some consistency. However, early on the players latched onto some of the minor, seeming discrepancies that arose and got really interested. Over the campaign, that item evolved into a vast gnome conspiracy that implicated multiple pantheons and governments. I didn't change anything that was established, but I did build on it gradually.
There were other items on that list that never went anywhere. I stuck them in a drawer to use later. :D
One approach I like, is to draw things out on a large piece of poster board.
The starting town / city / whatever goes in the middle. Then ask yourself; what lies to the north, south, east, and west? What lies to the northeast, northwest, southeast, and southwest? Now; come up with at least a paragraph or two, to describe the contents and history of each of those places.
What is the position / place / purpose / goal you might envision for the player characters, in this setting? If the players decide to go in another direction, I'm fine with that.
Is there an enemy, or enemies? Who or what are they?
What are the names of the city / state / territory / nation / kingdom / people / race / ruler etc.
Quote from: Ocule on July 27, 2021, 10:55:08 AM
As per the subject, how do you go about making your own setting for a new campaign? What's your method and where do you start?
So far I've got a new setting for my home campaign and it's going through a bit of an identity crisis and we haven't even had our first real session yet. Ive got a starting town, a bbeg and some notable npcs but thats really about it. As well as a few games or movies that we, as a group, decided we kind of like so including Warhammer Fantasy, Dragon Age 1 and 2, the Witcher, Diablo II, Greyhawk, and historical folklore. Right now i'm deciding how much real world inspiration i should take versus how much heavy metal I should inject.
A few key points we have so far
-Gods are not active in the world, and there are multiple pantheons and religions. Much like the real world there is no universal truth.
-BBEG is an undead immortal blaming the current kingdom of reynes for the crimes against his people hundreds of years ago under a different king. So the kingdom is being treated as an entity in his philosophy as opposed to individuals
-Magic is dangerous and i'm assuming most people are familiar with the concept of magic but otherwise havn't actually seen it first hand.
-Heavy use of the realm of Faerie, my goblins originally come from Faerie and would normally fall under winter court though some tribes have set themselves up in the material world on a slightly more permanent basis leading to two groups of goblins. Those with strong connections to the fae and those a bit more familiar to your average RPG player.
-Social class and titles of nobility are meaningful and carry a lot of weight.
-Gunpowder is in its early stages, most kingdoms tend to focus on either bows, crossbows or firearms. We are still in bow country.
Anyway this is what i have so far i'd also like any suggestions or maybe what i'm trying to make already fits an existing setting and i should just stick my adventure in one of those
>Most people haven't seen magic
>Faeries in the world
Choose one.
On the more general question:
Is this your own world whole cloth?
Seems like it.
I start top to bottom, if gods exist and interact with the world, then how would that world look like? Take the Greek pantheon for example, if it's real then one would expect to see Mons Olympus and maybe even some people have climbed it.
Satyrs would be in the forest seducing nimphs (yes I know this is Roman), etc.
And people would make sacrifices/pray to their gods and get something in return.
Since those gods were jealous and easily offended one would expect to see the results of their bickering around.
For the kind of world you seem to be building I would suggest picking up Pundit's Lion & Dragon for inspiration although in his world God exists and so does magic but it's not your vanilla D&D.
Throw darts at a grid, randomly incorporate or adapt things that I think are amusing or interesting.
I smoke opium, pass out and dream it all up. Then upon awakening, I hasten to write it all down in verse. More often than not, a friend will interrupt me and by the time he leaves I will have forgotten the rest.
This is usually irritating. 8)
Quote from: Semaj Khan on July 27, 2021, 03:08:08 PM
I smoke opium, pass out and dream it all up. Then upon awakening, I hasten to write it all down in verse. More often than not, a friend will interrupt me and by the time he leaves I will have forgotten the rest.
This is usually irritating. 8)
At least you completed the ancient mariner sourcebook.
Quote from: Pat on July 27, 2021, 03:38:00 PM
Quote from: Semaj Khan on July 27, 2021, 03:08:08 PM
I smoke opium, pass out and dream it all up. Then upon awakening, I hasten to write it all down in verse. More often than not, a friend will interrupt me and by the time he leaves I will have forgotten the rest.
This is usually irritating. 8)
At least you completed the ancient mariner sourcebook.
But was time travel and a wayward phone booth involved? Where any sofas stuck in stairwells? :D
For home games where we want an original setting we generally begin with a round of "Dawn of Worlds" (a shared world building game) with the proviso that the GM can change whatever they want from the results afterwards.
This gives them a general roadmap for things the players are and are not interested in. Ex. if no one even thought to have a god create the elves, then odds are no one is interested in plots revolving around elves. If someone spent almost all their points on their turns establishing the existence of dwarves and an intricate history for them, they're obviously interested in seeing campaign elements related to dwarves and their history.
Start with the food people eat, then think about where it comes from.
Then do the same for magic, gods, or robots or whatever.
*edit*
To be a little more serious, populate your world with walls.
You want your world interesting to journey in, and what makes journeys interesting is their obstacles. What's bound to get in the player's way?
Quote from: Ocule on July 27, 2021, 10:55:08 AM
As per the subject, how do you go about making your own setting for a new campaign? What's your method and where do you start?
So far I've got a new setting for my home campaign and it's going through a bit of an identity crisis and we haven't even had our first real session yet. Ive got a starting town, a bbeg and some notable npcs but thats really about it. As well as a few games or movies that we, as a group, decided we kind of like so including Warhammer Fantasy, Dragon Age 1 and 2, the Witcher, Diablo II, Greyhawk, and historical folklore. Right now i'm deciding how much real world inspiration i should take versus how much heavy metal I should inject.
A few key points we have so far
-Gods are not active in the world, and there are multiple pantheons and religions. Much like the real world there is no universal truth.
-BBEG is an undead immortal blaming the current kingdom of reynes for the crimes against his people hundreds of years ago under a different king. So the kingdom is being treated as an entity in his philosophy as opposed to individuals
-Magic is dangerous and i'm assuming most people are familiar with the concept of magic but otherwise havn't actually seen it first hand.
-Heavy use of the realm of Faerie, my goblins originally come from Faerie and would normally fall under winter court though some tribes have set themselves up in the material world on a slightly more permanent basis leading to two groups of goblins. Those with strong connections to the fae and those a bit more familiar to your average RPG player.
-Social class and titles of nobility are meaningful and carry a lot of weight.
-Gunpowder is in its early stages, most kingdoms tend to focus on either bows, crossbows or firearms. We are still in bow country.
Anyway this is what i have so far i'd also like any suggestions or maybe what i'm trying to make already fits an existing setting and i should just stick my adventure in one of those
I'd suggest starting small. Just a village and a few hexes around it. goblins could be a threat but the BBEG is just a rumor (or a distant thought) at this point. then, just build as you go, and integrate parts that you like from existing settings (your ideas seems roughly compatible with classic settings).
If you're into Dark Fantasy, I wrote a small PDF with a few ideas on Dark Fantasy Settings:
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/304138/Dark-Fantasy-Settings
I start with what kind of stories do you want to tell. A scruffy merchant/pirate game is going to have different criteria from ruin explorers or courtly intrigue.
Quote from: Steven Mitchell on July 27, 2021, 04:11:04 PM
Quote from: Pat on July 27, 2021, 03:38:00 PM
Quote from: Semaj Khan on July 27, 2021, 03:08:08 PM
I smoke opium, pass out and dream it all up. Then upon awakening, I hasten to write it all down in verse. More often than not, a friend will interrupt me and by the time he leaves I will have forgotten the rest.
This is usually irritating. 8)
At least you completed the ancient mariner sourcebook.
But was time travel and a wayward phone booth involved? Where any sofas stuck in stairwells? :D
There was this music you may or may not have heard.
The last fantasy setting I created started with the gods, and their last war breaking the greatest empire (a god of Good, Evil, Chaos, Order, Death, and Nature/Life). You can read that at the end of my Dungeons Unleashed (http://"https://composedreamgames.com/marketplace/dungeon-unleashed") system (it's in alpha and free.)
At the time I wanted to run 1e AD&D and maybe actually have (partial) alignment languages, and the gods essentially being the alignments helped with that. After that idea, I drew a map of important regional "political" powers. I've used it for a few campaigns now.
For Superheroes campaigns - the base unit is generally a city, and I usually start with time period and sources of superhero powers.
I often run a few different Superhero campaign settings:
New Carthage - a city a short time in the future - where powers are mostly from genetic engineering and mutation, or super-tech and have only been around for 5 years.
Chalice City - 1980's - powers are often magical or training/conviction. Powers have been around forever (legendary characters and magic have always existed).
Artifice City - 1950's - anything goes here, though I often seem to get tech accidents, and dimensional powers for some reason. Public "powers" emerged after WW2
I've run some "heroes by gaslight" games that I've really enjoyed too. Those probably vary more, though unlike the others these are always in the lowest power tier ("vigilante" in Simple Superheroes (http://"https://composedreamgames.com/pages/simplesuperheroes.php").)
I'd be very interested in how other folks come up with their non-fantasy campaign settings?
I always start with what I know, then what I think. For example, Nebraska has the most miles of rivers than any other state in the country. I think that rivers have been the cause/source of Tribes throughout history. Thus, I immediately have a reason to imagine and make a lot of different kinds of people or races in a simple geographical area. Nothing worldwide, just yet, but rather something quite practical. It is entirely possible to put in distinct terrains, adding to the options of what distinguishes one Tribe from another Tribe. Cities, towns and villages follow. Especially after I sprinkle in commerce and religion. Things were start develop once I use my favorite plot device: Borders.
In my opinion, the key to any setting are the borders and why they exist or have meaning.
When I use the borders, rivers and tribes approach, It doesn't take long for it look like an Alt-History situation. The Near-East on Earth Trope is something I can't ever escape. Though, I don't want to derail the thread by talking about that inspirational, yet messy subject!
Just roll it up. Tie it together somehow. I described making some nonsense up here (https://www.therpgsite.com/pen-paper-roleplaying-games-rpgs-discussion/gm-advice-insufficient-steps/msg940288/#msg940288).
Quote from: Prairie Dragon on July 28, 2021, 10:56:10 PM
I always start with what I know, then what I think. For example, Nebraska has the most miles of rivers than any other state in the country.
I had to look that up, I don't know if I'm disappointed or relieved that it's not true
https://www.farmprogress.com/husker-harvest-days/no-nebraska-doesnt-have-most-miles-river (https://www.farmprogress.com/husker-harvest-days/no-nebraska-doesnt-have-most-miles-river)
Quote from: SirFrog on July 30, 2021, 12:28:34 AM
Quote from: Prairie Dragon on July 28, 2021, 10:56:10 PM
I always start with what I know, then what I think. For example, Nebraska has the most miles of rivers than any other state in the country.
I had to look that up, I don't know if I'm disappointed or relieved that it's not true
https://www.farmprogress.com/husker-harvest-days/no-nebraska-doesnt-have-most-miles-river (https://www.farmprogress.com/husker-harvest-days/no-nebraska-doesnt-have-most-miles-river)
Orc Filth! Go back to Alaska and quit using the internet to spread lies! >:(
However, you did demonstrate that the Borders, Rivers and Tribes model can easily generate not just a local region to describe, but also a near-global region to describe. Reread what you've quoted. I didn't say anything about science or proof. A tribe may think they have that-usually in the form of a God, hence a 'setting'. ;)
It's important to start small when dealing with a new and unique setting. The area the players start out in merits some detail, but try to keep everything else loose. I have encountered people who try to conjure a whole world into being overnight, and they're always overwhelmed by the task they set for themselves. Keep a few pages of broad stroke notes with you, be ready to improvise, and then work those improvisations into a more detailed whole. This will also reduce the "my precious setting" thinking that we all feel sometimes when those damned players start tugging at loose threads.
Another important detail is to not push the players too fast when it comes to ideas which you invent or borrow from other cultures. For example, I once ran a DCC game where the characters were offered tax farming licenses over several villages. The players were pretty widely read and were familiar with tax farming, so they eagerly accepted it and the game moved on. A different group of players in a D&D campaign found the concept utterly baffling and it was clear that they wouldn't have handled it well if our DM had given us such privileges.
Quote from: Prairie Dragon on July 30, 2021, 02:32:38 AM
Quote from: SirFrog on July 30, 2021, 12:28:34 AM
Quote from: Prairie Dragon on July 28, 2021, 10:56:10 PM
I always start with what I know, then what I think. For example, Nebraska has the most miles of rivers than any other state in the country.
I had to look that up, I don't know if I'm disappointed or relieved that it's not true
https://www.farmprogress.com/husker-harvest-days/no-nebraska-doesnt-have-most-miles-river (https://www.farmprogress.com/husker-harvest-days/no-nebraska-doesnt-have-most-miles-river)
Orc Filth! Go back to Alaska and quit using the internet to spread lies! >:(
However, you did demonstrate that the Borders, Rivers and Tribes model can easily generate not just a local region to describe, but also a near-global region to describe. Reread what you've quoted. I didn't say anything about science or proof. A tribe may think they have that-usually in the form of a God, hence a 'setting'. ;)
Yeah, you qualified it, but it still made me question what I know of reality. I know all about tribal loyalty, I'm a Texan by God!
Quote from: Prairie Dragon on July 30, 2021, 02:32:38 AM
Quote from: SirFrog on July 30, 2021, 12:28:34 AM
Quote from: Prairie Dragon on July 28, 2021, 10:56:10 PM
I always start with what I know, then what I think. For example, Nebraska has the most miles of rivers than any other state in the country.
I had to look that up, I don't know if I'm disappointed or relieved that it's not true
https://www.farmprogress.com/husker-harvest-days/no-nebraska-doesnt-have-most-miles-river (https://www.farmprogress.com/husker-harvest-days/no-nebraska-doesnt-have-most-miles-river)
Orc Filth! Go back to Alaska and quit using the internet to spread lies! >:(
However, you did demonstrate that the Borders, Rivers and Tribes model can easily generate not just a local region to describe, but also a near-global region to describe. Reread what you've quoted. I didn't say anything about science or proof. A tribe may think they have that-usually in the form of a God, hence a 'setting'. ;)
You have to choose your qualifiers carefully. Alabama has the most miles of
navigable rivers of any state. Assuming you use the technical definition of "navigable". :D A lot of those Alaska rivers are frozen and I'm guessing a lot of those Texas rivers can get dry enough to not technically qualify as navigable for huge stretches, at least part of the year. For that matter, Arizona has a lot of miles of "rivers"--it's just that most of them are gullys that handle flash floods.
Bring it back on topic, the different nature of rivers--from region to region and even upstream to downstream--is one of those little details you can use to great effect in a setting. It's a very quick way to rationalize the location and nature of many settlements.
Quote from: SirFrog on July 30, 2021, 07:11:54 AM
Quote from: Prairie Dragon on July 30, 2021, 02:32:38 AM
Quote from: SirFrog on July 30, 2021, 12:28:34 AM
Quote from: Prairie Dragon on July 28, 2021, 10:56:10 PM
I always start with what I know, then what I think. For example, Nebraska has the most miles of rivers than any other state in the country.
I had to look that up, I don't know if I'm disappointed or relieved that it's not true
https://www.farmprogress.com/husker-harvest-days/no-nebraska-doesnt-have-most-miles-river (https://www.farmprogress.com/husker-harvest-days/no-nebraska-doesnt-have-most-miles-river)
Orc Filth! Go back to Alaska and quit using the internet to spread lies! >:(
However, you did demonstrate that the Borders, Rivers and Tribes model can easily generate not just a local region to describe, but also a near-global region to describe. Reread what you've quoted. I didn't say anything about science or proof. A tribe may think they have that-usually in the form of a God, hence a 'setting'. ;)
Yeah, you qualified it, but it still made me question what I know of reality. I know all about tribal loyalty, I'm a Texan by God!
And you probably know a heck of a lot about Borders too! And a certain River...
Quote from: Steven Mitchell on July 30, 2021, 07:45:27 AM
Quote from: Prairie Dragon on July 30, 2021, 02:32:38 AM
Quote from: SirFrog on July 30, 2021, 12:28:34 AM
Quote from: Prairie Dragon on July 28, 2021, 10:56:10 PM
I always start with what I know, then what I think. For example, Nebraska has the most miles of rivers than any other state in the country.
I had to look that up, I don't know if I'm disappointed or relieved that it's not true
https://www.farmprogress.com/husker-harvest-days/no-nebraska-doesnt-have-most-miles-river (https://www.farmprogress.com/husker-harvest-days/no-nebraska-doesnt-have-most-miles-river)
Orc Filth! Go back to Alaska and quit using the internet to spread lies! >:(
However, you did demonstrate that the Borders, Rivers and Tribes model can easily generate not just a local region to describe, but also a near-global region to describe. Reread what you've quoted. I didn't say anything about science or proof. A tribe may think they have that-usually in the form of a God, hence a 'setting'. ;)
You have to choose your qualifiers carefully. Alabama has the most miles of navigable rivers of any state. Assuming you use the technical definition of "navigable". :D A lot of those Alaska rivers are frozen and I'm guessing a lot of those Texas rivers can get dry enough to not technically qualify as navigable for huge stretches, at least part of the year. For that matter, Arizona has a lot of miles of "rivers"--it's just that most of them are gullys that handle flash floods.
Bring it back on topic, the different nature of rivers--from region to region and even upstream to downstream--is one of those little details you can use to great effect in a setting. It's a very quick way to rationalize the location and nature of many settlements.
Good points! And yes, rationalizing the location and nature of the settlements makes the process I use more enjoyable.
I created a DC/Marvel Mashup setting once for Mutants and Masterminds, I always planned to use it.
The basics of it were:
-Lower level power (less superheroes over all- so PCs have something to do)
-Superman is dead (again... so PCs have something to do!) (Doomsday killed him, only this time, he didn't come back...)
-Only iconic and/or story necessary heroes with no duplication (Only one Spider-Man ...no Spider-Girl, no Scarlet Spider, etc. unless that story plays out in the game, only one Flash, one Green Lantern in the sector, No Nova Corps [too similar to GL], no expys, i.e. only Catwoman or Black Cat [not both!], etc.)
-Rogues Gallery prioritized over Heroes
-Come up with a story (which I did... too long to post here!)
So the idea was, I could have the PCs fighting Magneto one week, and Lex Luthor the next, in a coherent narrative. And I made it work too ;)