DungeonMaester
First Post
A good idea. What do you think about letting the players design stuff for the campiagn setting? What would be the best way to go about doing that?
---Rusty
---Rusty
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D&D campaign bible
- Thread starter DungeonMaester
- Start date
MarauderX
Explorer
DungeonMaester said:
See if you can get them involved in the smaller details. Let them know some things about the setting before going wild with wizard universities and the like, and have them provide a nice character background to help flesh out the neighborhood/town/city. They can piece in some great plot hooks, and instead of catching their character with it, twist the lure to get a different PC involved as well. It helps to motivate the party to resolve side quests instead of some players feeling left out because they couldn't also get involved.
Some of the tasks for ambitious players might be writing the histories of past but significant people/nations/events. Another would be to write parts of political intrigue, such as members of feuding noble families, so that they can help you remember some of the complex details and names. You may want to give out rewards of skill points in Knowledge (local) or Knowledge (nobility) to match their character.
DungeonMaester
First Post
Bump. I should be adding the first fiction today, if i get around to editing it.
---Rusty
---Rusty
TerraDave
5ever, or until 2024
MarauderX said:
Charecter backgrounds have been the main way that players have contributed in my own game. Sometimes they have gone beyond what I really wanted at the time, but in hindsight have made some real contributions.
E.g. a major NPC created by one of my players years ago as part of his background features prominently in a play by post campaing I happened to be planning today.
special organizations: Knigthly organizations, major guilds (thief, wizard, etc.)DungeonMaester said:
Information regarding priesthoods for deities including vestments, symbols, tenets, special holy days (if any).
if you are making changes to magic or specific spells, a section on the changes with regards to how magic works or beliefs on how it works in your campaign.
FoxWander
Adventurer
I have no idea how this will work with YOUR players, but to get them involved in the creation process how about asking them for at least one idea they'd like to see for each of the categories you come up with for your bible. From your original list- each player gives you one government system, a type of city, an NPC or two, an interesting location and a culture. I'd skip any kind of "comprehensive" history input from them but perhaps they have an idea or an isolated incident you could work into your history.
So you might get things like...
Government - a Meritocracy where the council of rulers is selected by a series of mental, physical and moral tests. Performing well in different areas determines what position one takes.
City - a pirate "city" in a fog shrouded sargasso of lashed together shipwrecks hidden somewhere in a vast ocean.
Famous npc - an infamous sage who can always be found at the capitol city's library. He's always there because he's a ghost who died years ago when his obsession to learn EVERYTHING kept him from eating and he just wasted away, but he never left. Nobody has tried to get rid of him because if he can be approached in just the right way he can answer almost ANY question.
Famous location - The forbidden Green Mountains of the elves aren't really mountains- they're a huge grove of trees that have grown so large and so close together that from a distance they seem like a mountain chain. Sunlight never reaches the forest floor and hideous, monstrous things rule there. The elves condemn there worst criminals down into the dark to die- but several of them survived and these are the "dark" elves.
Culture - A society that gave up war in favor of resolving conflicts via gladiatorial combat. Chosen combatants, and sometimes whole squads, fight to determine who is the victor in what used to be a huge bloody war. But the system has become so easy that "wars" are fought for increasingly petty problems.
... and then you work them into your setting, in however a big or small way you choose. They won't be creating your whole world, but they'll have a few touches in it that they'll recognize when they come across them. That will automatically give them some "buy in" and extra interest in what's going on.
So you might get things like...
Government - a Meritocracy where the council of rulers is selected by a series of mental, physical and moral tests. Performing well in different areas determines what position one takes.
City - a pirate "city" in a fog shrouded sargasso of lashed together shipwrecks hidden somewhere in a vast ocean.
Famous npc - an infamous sage who can always be found at the capitol city's library. He's always there because he's a ghost who died years ago when his obsession to learn EVERYTHING kept him from eating and he just wasted away, but he never left. Nobody has tried to get rid of him because if he can be approached in just the right way he can answer almost ANY question.
Famous location - The forbidden Green Mountains of the elves aren't really mountains- they're a huge grove of trees that have grown so large and so close together that from a distance they seem like a mountain chain. Sunlight never reaches the forest floor and hideous, monstrous things rule there. The elves condemn there worst criminals down into the dark to die- but several of them survived and these are the "dark" elves.
Culture - A society that gave up war in favor of resolving conflicts via gladiatorial combat. Chosen combatants, and sometimes whole squads, fight to determine who is the victor in what used to be a huge bloody war. But the system has become so easy that "wars" are fought for increasingly petty problems.
... and then you work them into your setting, in however a big or small way you choose. They won't be creating your whole world, but they'll have a few touches in it that they'll recognize when they come across them. That will automatically give them some "buy in" and extra interest in what's going on.
