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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Amal Shukup" data-source="post: 1668376" data-attributes="member: 6291">I think it depends a lot on the 'lives' of the characters. what are they doing and where are they doing it? What's important to them?IMC, things went like this:Levels 1 to 3:  I took the time to describe their local neighborhood in their 'home' city. When they traveled, I established the characteristics of local towns (or other city districts) that they passed through - not exhaustively, usually, but enough to give 'sense of space' and to familiarize themselves with some locals.Levels 4 -  8: Generally LESS detail, because party had already been to most of the places in the region.  I emphasized changes more than anything else - evolving NPCs, changes inspired by World/regional events (threat of war, primarily). The party operated much more freely in their home city as well, and even invested in a local business, so the city was described in much more detail.Level 9 - 10: They went on a VERY long trip (by land, sea, and briefly airship) pursuing some baddies who had very mistakenly kidnapped an employee (and sundry innocents). As I felt they were soon to reach the level where they would start teleporting all over the place, I figured it was my last chance to do any sort of travelogue. So I made the most of it: exposing them to several significant locales and a fair number of cultures (quasi-Euro/feudal towns and cities, ersatz-Berber caravan, semi-Persian Metropolis, air genasi with airships, the external mountainside 'gatetown' of a Dwarven kingdom,  neo-Celtic nomadic herders, etc.). Cities/towns were detailed down to architecture, culture - particularly music (party has a Bard), regional foods/drink, local dress/customs, NPCs of all sorts etc. I prepared descriptions that I would read off as the party approached and entered new locales, and leaned heavily on 'flavor' description in weekly recaps and during roleplaying interactions. These were supplemented by a bunch of supplementary maps and artwork.Levels 11 - 12: Wilderness Travel plus Dungeon Crawl, so limited opportunity for city/town descriptions. Campaign is now on hiatus while I get the opportunity to play (whee!).Incidentally, our other DM has a MASSIVELY detailed 'home town' that he's been working on it for 18 years. He also has it fully mapped out (table size) using Autocad and a plotter... If he didn't use "drive the party nuts" naming conventions*, I'd have SERIOUS town envy.* Wright, Right, Write, and Rite Streets, the Green Dragoon and Green Dragon Inns. Everything in town has a bunch of Homonym counterparts. Blargh.A'Mal</blockquote>

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