RPG Settings

[Aus_Snow]

Oops, sorry evildmguy. I didn't see your question until now.

Basically, I don't have anything to add beyond what others have said though. I don't tend to like metaplots in RPG settings (most of the time) for pretty much the usual reasons.

 

[evildmguy]

It's funny.

I think you guys have convinced me against metaplots, unless the writers/designers are willing to state it all up front, with no ambiguity. I do agree, it is *extremely* annoying when you have to read *every* book to get a sense of what is happening in the world.

Again, we all have the option not to do that. When I start a new campaign these days, I say I am starting at time X, using these things and the only things that will change are what we do, not what "canon" does. Otherwise, it gets too difficult to keep up. It also lets me, as the GM, know more about the setting then the players, which is how it should be, imo.

Thanks for the replies!

Have a good one! Take care!

edg

 

[evildmguy]

I don't like the concept. My first experience with a setting was the World of Greyhawk boxed set and I liked the concept of showing a world frozen in one moment of time. Any developments were up to the DM, as the adventures, even the epic ones, such as The Queen of Spiders, did not invalidate the information there.

Subsequent versions of the setting advanced the timeline and created a metaplot moving the events from one direction to another -- probably the result of the work of different design teams along the years. The result is that the original box I like so much is now outdated by newer versions which, despite being very good, don't describe the same setting I liked in the past.

Overall, metaplots are ill thought. They lack consistency in the long run as different designers push it to different directions along the years. Is not much different from what happens with some comic book characters, in which they are very inconsistently drawn and written by different creative teams.

If I am looking for a setting, a prefer a reasonably complete one with interesting information but not bloated with details. If I want to read a story, I would do much better reading a novel. Usually, novelists write better plots than game designers.

I agree that different teams do different things. If they just shared that, anyone picking it up would have to follow their outlines, because it is known. So, that is a big bother.

At the same time, though, FR has been out twenty years now. So, I do like the fact that rulers and people have changed over that time. It gives it a real sense of history to have forward progress during this time.

Again, it's too bad that they don't give a future history, saying what will happen according to them, and then letting GMs do whatever they want with their adventures.

Ah, well.

Thanks for the reply!

Have a good one! Take care!

edg

 

[Ron]

I agree that different teams do different things. If they just shared that, anyone picking it up would have to follow their outlines, because it is known. So, that is a big bother.

At the same time, though, FR has been out twenty years now. So, I do like the fact that rulers and people have changed over that time. It gives it a real sense of history to have forward progress during this time.

Again, it's too bad that they don't give a future history, saying what will happen according to them, and then letting GMs do whatever they want with their adventures.

Ah, well.

Thanks for the reply!

Have a good one! Take care!

edg

In the other hand, if I wanted to run a game in the Realms I would stick with the old grey box, which I found to be very good. However, this would render many of the new books inconsistent with the setting I am running. Without metaplots, new books would be as useful as the old ones.

Ronaldo

 

[frog8986]

well if you want a published setting and no metaplot try out eberron, they have stated that there will be no metaplot, so I kinda feel like I can have my cake and eat it to.

 

[evildmguy]

well if you want a published setting and no metaplot try out eberron, they have stated that there will be no metaplot, so I kinda feel like I can have my cake and eat it to.

That's cool. I haven't read much of Eberron but have to admit that some things about it sound interesting.

Have a good one! Take care!

edg

 

[evildmguy]

In the other hand, if I wanted to run a game in the Realms I would stick with the old grey box, which I found to be very good. However, this would render many of the new books inconsistent with the setting I am running. Without metaplots, new books would be as useful as the old ones.

Ronaldo

And I agree.

However, wouldn't that be shooting themselves in the foot, if they want to be profitable? I mean, I don't begrudge them the need to make money. Unless they make it a huge planet, won't they eventually run out of places to detail?

Or is that the point?

I think what bugs me about the original boxed set, and it is the same for all boxed sets, is that the information is so high level, it's almost worthless. There is no area that I wouldn't have to flesh out or figure out myself. That's against the point of having a ready made setting for myself!

I guess I just expect that, for myself, I will need the main set and five or six books on various areas to have something ready to play. That's probably just me.

Have a good one! Take care!

edg

 

[GrumpyOldMan]

One reason I love Hârn is that, even after 25 years of materials, the publishers have never broken the ‘720’ rule. All of the campaign information is correct for the beginning of the year 720. There are a couple of potential civil wars, a sickly King and a number of other plothooks which have never been ‘officially’ resolved. There are lots of metaplot possibilities, but none have ever been officially resolved. If King Miginath dies, who will be the next King of Kaldor? That’s for me, as referee to decide. If another referee chooses a different successor, we can both be confident that there will be no official version to overrule us both.

 

[RFisher]

I prefer published settings to be static.

Of course, you can treat any setting like this by simply ignoring later products. Though that loses you a bit of the advantage (that I see) in using a published setting: That some players will already be familiar with it. e.g. Joe knows 1e FR; Sam only really knows 2e FR; & Bob only really knows 3e FR. (Although, I've never been conversant enough with FR to know if that's any sort of good example.)

I don't think I mind metaplots. I just think they should only play out in each individual group, not in new products.

 

[masshysteria]

Forget meta-plots. Give me a detailed history and means and motivations for the major players. This way I can see where things may go, even world changing things, but can use them as I see fit in the campaign.