Creative Exercise -- NOW LAUNCHED, but moved to rpg.net. URL Inside.

[Khorod]

There is some room to soften negative posts, but step two of creating any setting is deciding what it doesn't include (or what it includes only as a secret). If you allow everything, its really hard to differentiate a D&D-centric setting from every other.

To me, the heaviest D&D-isms in the Eyros thread drop out relatively easily. The way demons and myth is handled, magic, and races are all the main flags. I could convert the whole place to a more AU setting in about ten minutes.

'Getting away from the D&D baggage' is a worthwhile idea. Sometimes when I do world-design and try to write fiction, I purposefully stay away from the RPG books for a week beforehand so game rules don't get subconsciously enforced anywhere. When you really try for that, its sometimes too late to salvage magic systems later on.

I see no reason to specify a game-book. Game-books mean slightly different things to different people. Better yet would be a Theme-Statement at the top of the thread: "Gritty realistic combat, hope, and high magic".

Then I post "Instead of a prevalence of healing magic, the radiance of the sun repairs wounds." And off we go.

 

[Doug McCrae]

These sorts of joint creative efforts work best when no ideas are excluded, I feel. Sure, the end result is a mess, but hopefully a mess with some nuggets of gold in it.

If you're going for a very specific atmosphere, that's much better achieved with either a single creator or a single dictator plus minions. The dictator is free to disallow anything that doesn't fit his vision.

 

[Doug McCrae]

If you allow everything, its really hard to differentiate a D&D-centric setting from every other.

Greyhawk, Forgotten Realms and Eberron all have a distinct flavour. And all are kitchen sink settings. It's really not that hard.

 

[Jdvn1]

WoT is balanced really differently from normal D&D's. I really like it, but Insanity is craaazy.

 

[Desdichado]

These sorts of joint creative efforts work best when no ideas are excluded, I feel. Sure, the end result is a mess, but hopefully a mess with some nuggets of gold in it.

If you're going for a very specific atmosphere, that's much better achieved with either a single creator or a single dictator plus minions. The dictator is free to disallow anything that doesn't fit his vision.

I think a little focus before you start is never a bad thing. Ask anyone who works professionally on any kind of creative endevour. You typically don't get anywhere until you've got some direction to go in, which shouldn't really be any surprise.

 

[Desdichado]

WoT is balanced really differently from normal D&D's. I really like it, but Insanity is craaazy.

Only in the sense that magic items aren't really assumed. I mean, some of the classes are literally almost exactly the same.

But that's beside the point. I only brought up my potential ruleset as a point of interest, and I've also already stated that I'd like a setting wherein just about any fantasy ruleset would do, even D&D, although I'd like to disassociate from some of the D&Disms a bit.

 

[Doug McCrae]

I think a little focus before you start is never a bad thing.

I have no problem with that. I'm not advocating tabula rasa. I'm advocating no negative posts.

 

[Trickstergod]

I have to say I regret not noticing Mouseferatu's thread until it was far too large for me to try keeping up with and contributing to without fear of stepping on someone's toes.

For my part, I'd be interested in something like that; however, I'm not too savvy on the Wheel of Time rules. I've a fair knowledge of the setting, but, well, that's not as helpful.

Of course, if the idea is just to pull away from D&D'isms, that makes things a bit easier.

So, yeah, I'm interested if something else like that pops up.

 

[Desdichado]

I have no problem with that. I'm not advocating tabula rasa. I'm advocating no negative posts.

That works for me.

 

[Rystil Arden]

Doug:

There are no gods in Eyros. True. But look at what we did with religion in Eyros because of this. It is rather fascinating, and more mysterious. We needed the negative post though because otherwise someone could basically pop in and throw everything akilter. We have a very few people who don't really get a sense of the flavour of the setting from the positive posts, and so they are liable to post things against it without negative posts.

There are dragons in Eyros. And our dragons have a very interesting backstory (sacred lizards awakened before their time) and place in the setting. They are legendary creatures though, not of the "Oh boy we killed another dragon and took its hoard" variety.