Characters first or World first?

[Fallen Seraph]

I do a bit of both, I give the players some options on a very, very loose concept for a world. The players go off and make their characters, then I craft it to suit the players.

For example, say a character makes a Eladrin character, but originally I wasn't planning on having Eladrin. I reshape the world to have this Eladrin character make sense. We usually have a second meet-up so can say more of the world/just a bit more how they would integrate their characters. So this Eladrin player for example I would tell him what Eladrin culture is like in this world.

 

[GlaziusF]

We as players could get together and decide amongst ourselves what the world will be and present it to the DM. I am nervous about this option though because I don't want the DM running a world he is not comfortable with. At the same time all of us are worried about designing characters for a world we know nothing about.

Best-case scenario: he's comfortable and you go through with characters already bashed together.

Worst-case scenario: he says "sorry, guys, I can't work with this" and then you can use NINJA INFORMATION GATHERING (seemingly indistinguishable from normal conversation but ninjas are sneaky like that) to pry out the things he wants to work with, then revamp.

Middlin'-case scenario: he has trouble working around a couple of points that aren't too important to your story and that you agree to change.

I say, just go for it.

 

[Walknot]

Our ... DM ... has asked the players to design our characters backgrounds first and then submit them so that he can build the world around the backgrounds.

Right now the campaign is in stall mode as I am not the only one having this problem and the DM is complaining because no-one is submitting anything.

I am nervous about this option though because I don't want the DM running a world he is not comfortable with.

You can let loose and really go for it! Sounds like this DM is very flexible and carrying a large imagination. Suppose you make up a background as a flying man/bird from a cloud city, come to the mundane valley on a quest to save your people from a space menace, by locating a time portal.

Might as well give the DM a challenge? She can always tone you back with some of those guidelines, tho you might be suprised and end up playing a trans-temporal game.

 

[Brown Jenkin]

The least the GM needs to do is present a general theme for you to build around. Does he want Middle Earth, Hyborea, the Young Kingdoms, or Dying Earth? A complete blank slate isn't workable IMO. Get him to provide *something* - even a couple of sentences.

This is what we have been trying to push for and I could work with.

We are gaming again tonight (just the players, not the new DM) and I am sure we will discuss this more then.

 

[apoptosis]

My players generally love this. They can create the countries, areas, customs etc. It really makes them interested in teh world as they helped build it.

My problem is getting them to stop

 

[justanobody]

As a DM I prefer character backgrounds fromt he player first. They may know they are playing in a world that has X regions, but are asked to think in terms of a certain landscape and climate. From that I design the world around what they give to see what I can throw in of their backgrounds for later. Too many game I have seen that have people going all over the world, but the PCs never run across any of their homelands during the game. That sems very odd to me.

So having the backgrounds before fleshing out the world, give me the chance to include their hometowns in appropriate places.

If the players just picked a city to be from or a village they used to live in, then it would tend to offer possible knowledge that the story would not always want them to have.

If the player always lived in Waterdep, or Solamnia then they may have more knowledge of it than the story needs and not offer anything for the other player when they come to that major city.

So having the player backgrounds first, give the chance for adventure there, and allows the other player to not be shadowed by another PC when they arrive at a big place to explore, and one PC already knows much about the area and such.

1-Bit of the world.
2-Player backgrounds
3-Rest of the world is developed.

 

[Serendipity]

When starting up a new campaign in my homebrew, I tend to tinker with the setting a bit depending on what the players want - obviously if the campaign setting doesn't resonate with them, why bother using it.
When I play I need world background stuff too, so I understand the problem.
(Not that any of the above helps....)