Cooperative World Building Rules?

[Skyscraper]

Hello,

I'm slowly starting to plan my next campaign as GM, in a couple years. We're starting a new one with another GM now, so I have time

One aspect that I'd like to introduce is cooperative world building rules where players get to build parts of the world/universe, but at least some rules govern this to make world-building a mini-game at the outset of the campaign. I've tried that in one-shots I played in a couple of RPGs, namely Diaspora and Ragnarok (not sure if it was Fate of the Norns) and liked it.

Have you had any experience doing this with these or other RPGs? What are your thoughts on this concept? What RGPs have you tried that comprise this type of ruleset? Or perhaps have you done this on a more freeform basis in your campaigns?

p.s.: for now the ultimate gameplay ruleset is not determined. If I find good world-building rules in one ruleset, I might tag those to another ruleset for actual gameplay once world building is done.

 

[GlassEye]

I've always wanted to do the collaborative world-building thing melded along with a birth of the gods mini-campaign. Then, once that was finished move to a more typical campaign in that created world.

I've been looking at Dawn of Worlds (pdf) and it seems like a good world-building ruleset. Haven't had the chance to use it yet and I don't know what game I would pair it with. I've currently been playing Pathfinder but it seems a bit rules heavy for what I want and am thinking about 13th age.

So, no experience here but I'm looking forward to seeing what other responses you get.

 

[Skyscraper]

Thanks. The PDF you linked to is interesting, and certainly along the lines of what I'm looking for.

(And I'm also thinking about 13th Age for the gameplay ruleset, but it is much too early to decide.)

 

[Sword of Spirit]

I'm bound and determined to start my D&D 5e uber-campaign in 2015. I'd also love something like this to help out. I'll be including pretty much all published campaign settings, with Spelljammer and Planescape as connecting links. I'd like each character to come from a different setting. Since one of the options is for the player to make their own world (which I'll plop into my spelljammer map), it would be useful to have more guidelines for what they can and can't do from the start, rather than them wasting time running stuff past me that I'm not too keen on.

 

[ThirdWizard]

The Dresden Files RPG has this kind of concept in its City Creation rules. Locations and NPCs are created by the group in set ways. You might want to look into that. In fact, the first session of DFRPG is supposed to be dedicated to City Creation.

Dungeon World has collaborative word generation, but it isn't really defined by rules. Still, there are a lot of concepts in there that would probably be thought provoking.

 

[Halivar]

I came up with some world-building rules that worked pretty amazingly (for my group). Here's the (very short) thread about it:

http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?348702-Collaborative-world-building-exercise

 

[GMMichael]

One aspect that I'd like to introduce is cooperative world building rules where players get to build parts of the world/universe, but at least some rules govern this. I've tried that in one-shots I played in a couple of RPGs, namely Diaspora and Ragnarok (not sure if it was Fate of the Norns) and liked it.

The folks over at Far Away Land have a cooperative world-building book. But what I would do is this:

1) Buy Risk.
2) Get a hex-grid.
3) Play Risk, but each player has to draw and name his own territories. Each player should have his own religion too.
4) Record everything. Turn the conflicts into wars. Make some of the infantry pieces into heroes. Keep playing until you have all the history you need.

 

[Viking Bastard]

The folks over at Far Away Land have a cooperative world-building book. But what I would do is this:

1) Buy Risk.
2) Get a hex-grid.
3) Play Risk, but each player has to draw and name his own territories. Each player should have his own religion too.
4) Record everything. Turn the conflicts into wars. Make some of the infantry pieces into heroes. Keep playing until you have all the history you need.

I love it.

 

[SkidAce]

edit "link removed" no longer valid...

Ray Winninger had a great series of articles on world creation. Titled Dungeoncraft.

Granted, some aspects were secret, so its not totally "collaborative" but the ideas are golden and could be adapted, with the DM developing the secrets based on PC indicators.

 

[howandwhy99]

The Appendices of AD&D DMG are all about generating a world according to the rules.

 

[Hand of Evil]

You may want to check out:

http://www.koboldquarterly.com/kqst...id=197&zenid=08ef56a27ce75e34c73af8434b98172c

 

[Halivar]

The best world-building advice I ever read was in Orson Scott Card's ​How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy. It is a very cheap, very short book. Every DM should have a copy, IMHO.

http://www.amazon.com/How-Write-Science-Fiction-Fantasy/dp/158297103X/

 

[gamerprinter]

Well the Cartographers' Guild has an ongoing Community World Building Project that has been going on for a few years, though it kind of petered out over the last year or so. A world map was generated with some auto-software, and various cartographers/setting developers picked or were assigned a given square of region to specifically map with detail - cities, towns, rivers, lakes, interesting sites, even developing races, governments, societies, histories - once a given area was assigned to one person, that person developed all they wanted to whatever detail level they wanted. Meaning that some areas were more developed than others. I designed a region of four squares on the map fitting the western terminus of a spice road (think Samarkand).

Anyway, new interest with new members of the CG are looking to reinvigorate the project with a CWBP2, and I believe they are going to generate an entire new world and start over.

While I did develop some regions in the first version, I learned that I'd much rather not be involved in a collaboration project for several reasons, its difficult to reach a consensus on many issues. Some people have genre issues of what they want in their version of the world. I think its a "too many cooks will spoil the broth" scenario, so I've opted to not get involved with the CWBP2.

Actually it was a good practice, as I began the development of my published Kaidan setting of Japanese horror, because of the CWBP and my development of one area there. I find I'm better off doing the whole job on my own, rather than sharing design responsibilities.

 

[Jhaelen]

Well, there's also Aria. It has the best world-building 'rules', I've seen so far.

 

[Skyscraper]

Thanks for the replies.

To be clear, since some posters provide links or recommendations for world building in general: I'm looking for rules that make world-building a cooperative game. I'm not simply looking to build a world (I've done that a couple times - and although I'm sure I can still learn a lot, I'm not looking for this presently); and I'm not looking to simply have everyone share an otherwise free-form world-building over a long period of time.

One of the first replies to this thread provides the type of rules that I'm looking for.

Thanks,

Sky

 

[gamerprinter]

I've got the Kobold Press Guide to Worldbuilding which is pretty good, containing articles from a bunch of industry pros on different aspects to world building. I'm sure there are other works like this out there.

 

[Skyscraper]

To quote me:

Thanks for the replies.

To be clear, since some posters provide links or recommendations for world building in general: I'm looking for rules that make world-building a cooperative game. I'm not simply looking to build a world (I've done that a couple times - and although I'm sure I can still learn a lot, I'm not looking for this presently); and I'm not looking to simply have everyone share an otherwise free-form world-building over a long period of time.

One of the first replies to this thread provides the type of rules that I'm looking for.

Thanks,

Sky

(Emphasis mine.)

I've edited my thread title and first post to clarify what I'm looking for, apparently my previous title misguided people to link me to generic world-building tips or resources. I thank all posters nonetheless, but again I'm looking for rules that would allow us to cooperatively build a world in one or a few game sessions, as part of a mini game.

I understand that there is more to building a rich world than spending a few hours deciding where mountains and forests exist, where orcs and dwarves live, and when did a major war or cataclysm occur. I'm just looking for this kind of game experience now, we'll see where it gets us.

 

[gamerprinter]

I'm thinking that rules for a cooperative world building project hasn't been written yet. So it probably doesn't exist. I'm sure those who've run such projects might have an opinion on what should be considered its rules, and perhaps something you can inquire directly. It sounds like something worth writing about, but as stated I doubt it exists now.

 

[Umbran]

I'm thinking that rules for a cooperative world building project hasn't been written yet.

I've seen world building systems - the FATE-based Dresden Files was mentioned above, for example. But that's more world building as a group activity with a prescribed process, which is not the same as a game. Players get to build off one another, but you don't have, say, resources that get spent, or complicated rules about what you may, or may not, put into the setting.

I haven't seen rules for such as a "cooperative game". That phrasing makes it sound like you want something akin to cooperative board games... and, well, those have win and lose conditions. What happens when your group "loses" the cooperative world-building game?

 

[gamerprinter]

Oh, I agree, as the OP agrees there are books on world building, but cooperative world building is the question. I stated that the Cartographers' Guild has a cooperative world building project, but it is in its second iteration and just now they are deciding on the 'rules'. So while they are working on that, they have yet to have rules in place. I'm thinking the rules would pertain to issues like what can participants include that don't step on the toes of other participants or the over-arching concept of the setting. Right now, at the CG, for instance, some people want to make steam-punkish elements and guns, while others want a completely old world setting without Renaissance and post-Renaissance science sticking its foot into it - they don't want steampunk nor guns. How does such a project deal with issues like that. These would fall under cooperative world building rules.