A "Fluff" Question

[JoeGKushner]

For those who feel that there is not enough fluff in current products, do you buy outside d20 to alleviate it? I know that Shadow World has a lot of great details in the setting, Gloranthia, and others are also rich in background material.

I personally find it takes too much effort for all but the most causal of uses and stick with d20 material. Not saying I don't buy outside d20 but when I do, it's usually not for the point of stealing from it.

 

[diaglo]

i have a subscription to the New England Journal of Medicine
Journal of Clinical Microbiology
National Geographic...

and dozens of other journals, magazines, and trade materials to generate fluff for my campaigns.

but i'm not refereeing d02, so i guess all of it is non-d02 fluff.

 

[Zappo]

I use lots of Planescape products for fluff. They are 2E and out of print.

 

[Keeper of Secrets]

Some of the outside materials can be the best around. As diaglo said, even some of the non-gaming products.

Run a modern game (whether it is Spycraft, Mutants & Masterminds or Modern)? Get a newspaper subscription.

Run a fantasy game? Pick up picture books of dragons or books that simply talk about things you could create regarding NPCs or if you want to design really nasty villains, take a trip to the library and look up topics on mental disorders or even philosophy.

I think many people have the ability to make colorful and lively campaigns. It comes down to (for some) how much work they want to put into it. Admitedly, the older I get the less time I have and the more often I reach WAY back in time to campaigns I ran before (with different players) but I try to make every gaming session really special.

 

[Desdichado]

I use a lot of Dark•Matter (Alternity system) and Delta Green (BRP Cthulhu system) fluff for d20 Modern and d20 Call of Cthulhu games. But for fantasy, not really. In general, I like some of the d20 settings better than non-d20 alternatives anyway.

 

[Mark]

For those who feel that there is not enough fluff FLAVOR (- ed ) in current products, do you buy outside d20 to alleviate it?

I don't use fiction for flavor, except perhaps in how stuff I read years ago (or the rare bit I read these days) might still influence me. Non-fiction (my main reading staple), however, often helps with naming conventions, the odd plot or sub-plot, and things of that nature. The vast majority of fiction springboards off of actual history, anyway, so why not go to the source and let your own imagination do the work?

 

[Arnwyn]

For those who feel that there is not enough fluff in current products, do you buy outside d20 to alleviate it?

Since I run FR, I do not, since it would not be all that optimal to do so. I want "fluff" in FR products.

For my futuristic game, I don't use d20.

 

[Psion]

Not generally, no. There are enough d20 authors doing it right, if you know where to look.

 

[Jaws]

but i'm not refereeing d02, so i guess all of it is non-d02 fluff.

Troll

 

[Voadam]

I used a 1e Roleaids product _Dwarves_ for the mountain kingdom one of the PCs came from and that they went to.

I've used Shadowrun/Earthdwan explanations of astral space when doing discussions about D&D spells in game.

I've used Robert Jordan Wheel of time descriptions of "the ways" mixed with Shadow travel from the amber series as a basis for describing the shadowwalk spell in action.