How much should New players know?

[Daesumnor]

Okay, to begin, I'm sorry if this is in the wrong part of the forums, but this seemed to be the most likely part to post in.

Bit of a Noob DM question here, but first let me explain:

Okay, so I'm a new DM, and I'm running a group that consists mainly of new players. I've created my own world (for D&D 3.5), and the characters are of course new to it.

Due to an abhorrent lack of roleplaying in the group I asked them all to write a short backstory so they could do a backstory, and provide some stuff to talk about in the tavern (so they aren't making it up on the spot).

{NB: The PC's have done a minor bit of adventuring (usual level 1 quest - pest eradication) from the local town that they started off in, and have travelled a little way north into the local "deep dark forest". }

It was at this point that it hit me - the characters know virtually nothing about the world they're in, and I'm asking them to write a backstory? What kind of loony DM am I?

The way I'm building the party up, the more adventures they do, the more they rise up from the proliteriat, the more they know about political affairs and the like, and why they've been doing the things they're doing. So I'm not ready to drop them in the middle of the continents affairs right now. They aren't the type to strike up a conversation with a local, and they're dismal Cha scores aren't going to help them much either.

Okay, so, to get to the point: Should I inform the players (not the characters) a little about the surrounding towns and the like (that they would ordinarily have gotten from locals), or just leave the RP'ing till later?

Thanks in Advance

 

[Dr Simon]

Probably the best way is to let them write something up in general terms, and then maybe give specific details where required. So, a player says "My character grew up in the seamy underbelly of a rich mercantile town" and you can then suggest a possible town of origin and maybe some criminal organisations that they might have encountered.

You might want to give them some general details to allow a basis (such as which nation is the biggest and richest, where the wilderness is, any major organisations etc. That way they may get some inspiration without getting too much information at once.

 

[Steverooo]

Places within a day's ride should be well known, as most PCs would have gotten there at least once in their lives. Places further away depend upon how common travel and trade are. In most parts of the world, even without transport other than affot, horseback, and wagons, news would come in from other regions monthly, or so (1800s USA news from "back east").

Of course, knowing there's a New York City and seeing it for the first time are two different things. Knowledge skills come into play, here.

Knowing the locals, and where things are is Knowledge (Local). Knowing what Humanoids live nearby is Knowledge (Local), as well. Knowing the quickest way back to town when NOT following a road is Knowledge (Geography). Knowing if Giants or giant insects dwell here or there is Knowledge (Nature)... unless they've attacked the town within "living memory" (the memory of someone still living), in which case it may be common knowledge which everyone knows. Otherwise, it may be Legend Lore or Knowledge (History) material.

So, yes, the PCs should know all about their local small town, a good deal about the surrounding ones, and less and less the further out they go... unless they've spent skill points to advance their knowledge.

 

[philreed]

Okay, so, to get to the point: Should I inform the players (not the characters) a little about the surrounding towns and the like (that they would ordinarily have gotten from locals), or just leave the RP'ing till later?

Give them not only information about the town and the surrounding area but also rumors of secrets and the world outside. Begin hinting early on at the events and locations taking place outside of their area. It will make future adventures and journeys all the more exciting. After all, it's kinda neat to enter a city you've been hearing rumors of since 1st level.

And be sure to start dropping rumors and hints of any major NPCs you expect to enter the campaign in the future. The key is to generate the illusion of depth. You don't need complete stats and descriptions of hundreds of towns, dungeons, and NPCs. Just make stuff up and keep notes that can be fleshed out as you need them.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Circle of knowledge and Information:

10 miles from home - very good knowledge, locations, families, roads, animals, hazzards.
11 to 20 miles from home - fair knowledge, some locations, a few people, heard about stuff.
21 to 50 miles from home - general stuff - well, I know the town is that way about three days travel
Beyond - stories mostly, the great white north, the deep blue sea to the east, the mountains of the gods to the west, the hot swamps to the south​

The question is what is 'home', to starting players it is where they grew up, to adventures I say it is the amount of time they spend in a location, a city or town 1 to 2 weeks will give them very good knowlwdge, ie they will know what is with in that 10 mile radius. If days, fair knowledge, if hours general stuff.

 

[Jupp]

It also depends on where the different characters come from. The bigger the community was where they grew up the larger their knowledge will be about places far away. I think someone in a big city will probably know much more about far away countries and locations because they have contact to outsiders almost every day. But someone that lives on a farm in the coutryside in a small village of 50+ people then their horizon will be much more restricted when it comes to knowledge about everything that is more than a 3 days travel away.
You could also consider what the PCs did for a living before they started adventuring. A farmer does probably have less knowledge about distant places than a tavern keep or a blacksmith that has his shop right to the next merchants road. Also a scribe or a cleric will have more knowledge than, say, a druid or a miller. Also the race of the player could come into play here. Dwarves and elves stick to their kin most of the time and do not know much about what the human society is doing at the moment. On the other hand halflings or gnomes could be much more exposed to humans so they probably know more about the world and what is going on at the moment.

I would also add lots of gossip, rumours and not-so-true stories to their knowledge of the coutry/land/whatever. It makes things interesting. Exagerate a bit when it comes to certain stories or tone it down where needed. What also works very well at the beginning of a new campaign is to give each player different things they know. Distribute the knowledge about the game world evenly on the players. That could make for some cool interaction between the different characters when it comes to figuring out things they need to know for their future adventures. Best would be to write a "world knowledge paper" for each player where you write down what they know. Then tell each player to keep the paper for themselves and that they should only reveal their knowledge when the time is right.

 

[DragonLancer]

Okay, so, to get to the point: Should I inform the players (not the characters) a little about the surrounding towns and the like (that they would ordinarily have gotten from locals), or just leave the RP'ing till later?

Yes, absolutely. Unless you have a reason for keeping even local area knowledge from them, you have to give them (and their characters) information on whats around them. Doesn't have to be true in all cases (rumours and stories about the deep dark woods), but players and characters both need to know some idea of where they are.

Just my thoughts.

 

[Harmon]

General knowledge is good, but I would say- run a lot of the general knowledge on the fly, ask your player to make some of it up.

A local Lord messed with one of the PC's families ten years ago, okay change your notes to reflect the Lord's name, add in a few details to the PC's back story- that Lord you mentioned has had two wives and six children.

A travelling cleric of X settled in next door to one of the PCs home, use that, build on it.

Let your Players help you create the world, so that they find themselves as part of it.

Good luck

 

[Tonguez]

General knowledge is good, but I would say- run a lot of the general knowledge on the fly, ask your player to make some of it up.

A local Lord messed with one of the PC's families ten years ago, okay change your notes to reflect the Lord's name, add in a few details to the PC's back story- that Lord you mentioned has had two wives and six children.

A travelling cleric of X settled in next door to one of the PCs home, use that, build on it.

Let your Players help you create the world, so that they find themselves as part of it.

Good luck

I agree - let the PCs backstory create their local environment. I even go so far as letting the Players describe the place they grew up (village or neighbourhood if urban) and even create NPC relatives (I take their cha-mod + level and make that the level of a NPC ally/patron. So I might say to PC 1 Max (cha +2) you have an NPC Patron who is level 3 = PC 1/NPC 2).

Also take the PC backstories and cross-reference them. In particular have the players themselves decide how they know each other (rather than being strangers who meet in a tavern)- eg say you have a Half-orc who was orphaned when his village was destroyed and a Dwarf mecernary for hire. Discuss with the players the possibility that the two are friends, the Dwarf having discovered a lone half-orc child scavenging in the hills and then taken it under his wing. Then (seperately) discuss with the Dwarf the possibility that he was part of the raiding party that destroyed the orcs village
This then could become the basis of Roleplaying of the tension created by the half-orcs desire for revenge and the dwarfs knowing that he was part of the cause. It could even be the basis of an entire sub-plot.