My D20 Rant

[Sulimo]

Re: Re: "Made for use right in your home campaign!"

Out of curiousity, what are the nuts and bolts of world design? I see countries lodged together half-hazardly on Oerth, but it seems to work just fine. Cities near rivers, ok. North Umber Keep has (rolls random dice) 236 militia. Provocative histories and culture are probably hardest to create, but I don't know what kind of advice would be useful except lots of examples.

Well, basic geographic information for one. Stuff like the placement of mountains (and their effects) as well as all the other geographical features (wastelands, inland water). Same with climate and weather.

Stuff on building cultures and societies...physical resources, subsistence patterns, values, languages (dialects, literacy, etc).

Actually, the old Rolemaster GM guide covered this very well (hell its a brillant system-neutral GM'ing guide (well about 90% of it))

I think a more detailed world design book could sell well beyond the d20 market.

 

[7thlvlDM]

Re: Re: Re: "Made for use right in your home campaign!"

Well, basic geographic information for one. Stuff like the placement of mountains (and their effects) as well as all the other geographical features (wastelands, inland water). Same with climate and weather.

Stuff on building cultures and societies...physical resources, subsistence patterns, values, languages (dialects, literacy, etc).

Actually, the old Rolemaster GM guide covered this very well (hell its a brillant system-neutral GM'ing guide (well about 90% of it))

I think a more detailed world design book could sell well beyond the d20 market.

Maybe this is just me, but I don't see how this adds much value to the game. I learned in grade school that it rains more often near mountains and that it gets colder as you approach the poles. Obviously people living near woodlands would have an abundance of timber, while mountains contain metal ore. Usually things like this don't have much bearing on my game, and when it does I make the setting fit the plot. I guess I've never read a "how to build a campaign/world" that was a real eye openner. The best use I can see something like this serving is a checklist for what to detail, but then I usually fill in details as I go along when they're needed. The real gold, IMO, are the exceptions to the rules. Ideas like a lake in the middle of the desert created by a decanter of endless waters or portal the plane of water. I'm playing a fantasy game, the last thing I care about are mundane issues like where a country's economy is going and what the weather should be at such and such latitude. Oh well, to each his own.

 

[Sulimo]

Re: Re: Re: Re: "Made for use right in your home campaign!"

I'm playing a fantasy game, the last thing I care about are mundane issues like where a country's economy is going and what the weather should be at such and such latitude. Oh well, to each his own.

I guess. I personally like worlds that have a logical base like Kalamar for instance. Rather than worlds that are cobbled together with the excuse that its magic thus it doesnt matter.

Additionally, I like discussions about the economics of fantasy worlds. Especially in regards to the amounts of treasure adventurers find and what impacts they have on fantasy economies. That kind of thing.

 

[der_kluge]

worlds

You know, that's the thing that irked me about "Hollow World". Hollow World, in case you don't know, was a Basic D&D supplement that detailed the center of the Earth.

The premise was a cool one - all these races that were on the verge of going extinct were transported to the center of the planet, and the conditions for survival were created. So, there were all these new races; some of which were very cool. There were even new gods (lame ones), but it was kind of interesting.

But the one thing that always irked me about it was the explanation for how it all worked - magic and "the gods did it". It was so uninspired it was painful. I felt like the designers spent all their time making new races and geography and then 2 days before it was supposed to go to print one of them looked up and said, "Hey, we never did explain where the light comes from, and how the gravity works down here!" And another said, "Don't worry about it, just attribute it all to magic and the gods". Lame.

 

[Suzerain]

***

 

[Davelozzi]

Re: Re: Re: "Made for use right in your home campaign!"

Well, basic geographic information for one. Stuff like the placement of mountains (and their effects) as well as all the other geographical features (wastelands, inland water). Same with climate and weather.

Stuff on building cultures and societies...physical resources, subsistence patterns, values, languages (dialects, literacy, etc).

Actually, the old Rolemaster GM guide covered this very well (hell its a brillant system-neutral GM'ing guide (well about 90% of it))

I think a more detailed world design book could sell well beyond the d20 market.

TSR put out a great product in 1996 that did exactly this. It was the World Builder's Guidebook by Richard Baker. I can't find it at WotC's online store so it probably hasn't been put out as an ESD yet but if you can find it, pick it up. It's well worth the money and should work quite well for any game system even though it was a 2e product.

 

[Q1000]

I also crave a balanced, detailed world. Currently I am looking at Harnworld as the place to develop my next campaign.
As far as most plug and play product goes, they do neither. A city is influenced by its location and its people. Dropping adventure locations, cities, dungeons etc all over a map does not a world make.
What I am looking to run is waht I call a literary campaign. You have a limited base in which to create your character, the adventures stem from a well created environment. The characters "live" in the world, creating wealth, constructing a stronghold, developing a power base, and eventualy ruling the people. Power is based on accomplishment and the ability to maintain control.
The world itself is not so overblown with high fantasy elements and impossibal NPCs wielding magic items galore that the players feel they are unimportent in the grand scheme of thiengs.