D&D 4E 4e World/Setting Building resources?

[S'mon]

Are there any good articles, blogs, or products with DM advice on world-building in 4e D&D?

On the one hand, the 4e DMG pretty much says "don't do it", at least don't take a top-down approach. On the other hand, WoTC themselves released three full campaign settings that did take this approach. Most of the 4e campaign advice in the publish books seems to be plot-based, not setting based. I much prefer a setting-based game, with the plot emergent in play rather than pre-written. I've read 'The World' section in the 4e DMG a few times, and was wondering if there are any other good resources of DM advice?

 

[Trit One-Ear]

Not too long ago I asked a similar question about city building and was given some excellent advice/tools. Here's a link to that thread http://www.enworld.org/forum/d-d-4th-edition-discussion/319784-how-flesh-out-city.html

The one supplement I can recommend offhand is an older one I found from Expeditious Retreat (linked here http://media.dandwiki.com/w/images/1/15/XRP1001.pdf ) Again, focused on city building mostly, but it gives you some good (and very detailed) ideas as to how a fantasy world functions day-to-day. I feel it's much harder to build governments and city structures than it is to make exciting monsters, adventures, etc. but for the players to be immersed, you'll need a realistic sense of how the world -works-.

Oh, and another article/resource I skimmed that seemed pretty detailed and helpful is linked here: Magical World Builder

Hope this helps!
Trit

 

[S'mon]

Thanks Trit - good stuff; I was looking for 4e-rules specific resources though. Looks like there aren't any!

 

[Quickleaf]

Thanks Trit - good stuff; I was looking for 4e-rules specific resources though. Looks like there aren't any!

Actually, I've found a couple resources for world-building in 4e...it's just they're not specifically billed as such.

To start with there was an interesting blog post last summer that wasn't really 4e specific (though the blog generally is), but it did present an interesting way to involve players in world-building....here it is: Player Involvement in World Generation | More Than Dice

The "Horizon" (a mechanic for 'don't rest here') is a great concept discussed over here at Don’t Rest Here : Menace and the Horizon; it has lots of potential to be a mechanic underpinning various environments.

An example of the "Horizon" is over here The Gray Languor Stormin' Da Castle.

When it comes to handling unusual elements of your world like, say, a Border Crossing or Siege, the skill challenge examples over here Skill Challenges : Critical Hits have a few pearls of wisdom.

However if you're looking for things like a list of stats for generic NPCs of varying levels, well, I haven't found an online resources like that. Closest would be MV2.

Most of my world-building resources are system-neutral because I prefer not to think much about the system during initial design (whether it's a world, an adventure, or a single NPC).

 

[LostSoul]

What sort of thing are you looking for?

 

[makeinhell]

Dungeoncraft column from dungeon magazine. It is aimed at Dungeon
Masters who are interested in encounter, campaign, setting, and/or world building.

 

[S'mon]

What sort of thing are you looking for?

NPC demographics, settlement and fortress creation, encounter table design, dominion rulership and income, etc. All the world-simulation stuff that was normal pre-4e, I guess.

 

[Quickleaf]

NPC demographics, settlement and fortress creation, encounter table design, dominion rulership and income, etc. All the world-simulation stuff that was normal pre-4e, I guess.

Yeah 4e doesn't got into near the level of detail as older editions with that stuff. However it's not wholly absent either.

DMG chapter 9 has some good stuff about world-building in there; for example most cities aren't larger than 25,000 inhabitants and typically develop around arable land and navigable waterways. It gives guidelines for mapping a settlement, describes commerce, the magi item economy, organizations, and more.

Fortress creation was introduced in Dragon #395 and is fairly sparse but does the job well enough. AFAIK those rules haven't seen print...unless they're in Mordenkainen's Magnificent Emporium (which I don't own).

With encounter table design again the DMG has decent advice in chapter 10, where you can roll to determine challenge level, encounter template, and unusual features, but are left to your own devices to choose which monsters to include in your table. In the same chapter are also included dungeon geomorphs to randomly create a dungeon.

Dominion management rules are conspicuously absent from 4e. I've seen some novel posts/blogs about how to handle this; one that stood ou was to adapt the artifact rules to simulate how a realm views their feudal lord/lady.

 

[LostSoul]

NPC demographics, settlement and fortress creation, encounter table design, dominion rulership and income, etc. All the world-simulation stuff that was normal pre-4e, I guess.

I have a system that covers most of that (save encounter table design) but I'm not sure it's what you're looking for. It's pretty tied into the rest of the game.

Basically the guiding principle is this: as the PCs adventure "naturally" they come back to town and spend some money. The money they spend changes the town. That way you get a clear relationship between adventure and a change to the setting.

Here are some samples:

Table R-VI: Population and Industry by Settlement Level
Level Population Industries
1 100 10 Lackies, Limners, Porters, or Linkboys
2 300 Fletcher, Tailor, Jeweler, Blacksmith, Carpenter, Tavern, Mason
3 600 Herbalist, Leatherworker, Weaponsmith I, Merchant, Teamster, Inn
4 1500 Barber Surgeon, Weaponsmith II, Ostler
5 2500 Armoursmith I, Priest, Hunter/Scout, Warrior's Guild
6 4000 Alchemist, Sage, Thieves' Guild, Healer
7 6000 Weaponsmith III, Armoursmith II, Spy Guild, Druid, Noble House
8 8000 Bank, Cultists, Temple
9 10000 Assassin's Guild
10 12000 Wizard's Guild

o Barber Surgeon: Sells Healing Potions, makes Healing Salves, and provides minor surgery (the surgical techniques possible depend on tech level). Barber surgeons can make Healing Salves from raw herbs. If the settlement has access to raw herbs, characters can buy Healing Salves from the barber surgeon at a 1:1 exchange rate. There's no limit to the supply of Healing Salves. Barber surgeons have the following available for sale:
Curatives & Rituals Cost
Antivenom 20 gp
Beastbane 160 gp
Clarity Salts 40 gp
Clearsense Powder 20 gp
Delay Affliction 50 gp
Embalm 20 gp
Healing Potion 50 gp
Woundpatch 30 gp

 

[Dr_Ruminahui]

Fortress creation was introduced in Dragon #395 and is fairly sparse but does the job well enough. AFAIK those rules haven't seen print...unless they're in Mordenkainen's Magnificent Emporium (which I don't own).

It doesn't. The only thing MME has other than magic items is rules for henchmen. I guess the appendix it has on how to give magic items their own stories is "world building" at the micro end of the scale, but that appendix is very brief (less than a page) so the book certainly isn't worth picking up for that alone. It does have a lot of neat magic items in it, though... it introduces some much needed quality rare items.

And LostSoul, I understand what you are going for, but to me it doesn't promote verisimilitude. Sure, if the PCs are spending lot of money, it may attract people to them, but said people are more likely to follow the PCs if they change bases than to set up a permanent settlement. Additionally, inflation is a much more likely consequence IMHO than either. Personally, imposing limits on what can be purchased in a given locale that are sensible to the DM and players makes more sense to me than hard and fast rules.