Bottom-up world design – I am a believer!

[weem]

How about we call you captain squishy?

Sold!


Anyway, thanks for the responses all

I'm looking forward to continuing with the setting development and seeing where it goes!

 

[fba827]

As someone who has once worn your shoes, I can completely understand where you are coming from...(no, I don't mean "California" as it says next to your username)...

I would always obssess about detailing out the whole world/geography/history/religion/etc and it would overwhelm me and barely ever get to be even 5% written down. Essentially, I'd overwhelm myself in to intimidation with my obsessiveness to do all the details first.

I have been learning to work more on detailing just the starting spot and rough notes on general things and then expanding as needed. But, wow, it is a huge mental leap, especially for one as obsessive as I am (now I obsess over different things, such as worrying that in my impromtu decisions, I end up contradicting something else... but that's another topic for another time).

So congrats on moving in that direction. It does make things a lot easier and less intimidating.

::hands captain squishy a cookie::

 

[theskyfullofdust]

Do both; work toward the middle.

Get the world in a big vague overview with just enough of an outline that you can make the little picture consistant with the big one if you need to.

Detail one tiny corner of it sufficient to run your adventure.

Grow that tiny corner organicly as needed using a combination of improv and game preparation.

Whenever you improv, document what you created.

That pretty much sums up my approach to my current campaign. Started out with a brief sketch, put some detail into the port town and a rough map, then filled it out and built upon it as the games progressed.

 

[Connorsrpg]

Celebrim for me too.

I do a large table for all the main regions. Fill this in with ideas (most determined randomly from the Realms charts I have developed) and then zoom in to on of them, then again the campaign area.

Not a lot of detail at top level just words in a table, egs: Government, Major and minor races (and relations to one another), major resources, situation/hook, type of land, etc.

Cheers C

 

[Orius]

Do both; work toward the middle.

Get the world in a big vague overview with just enough of an outline that you can make the little picture consistant with the big one if you need to.

Detail one tiny corner of it sufficient to run your adventure.

Grow that tiny corner organicly as needed using a combination of improv and game preparation.

Whenever you improv, document what you created.

And always make sure you have enough shells for Schrodinger's Gun.