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Message: <blockquote data-quote="squibbles" data-source="post: 8820245" data-attributes="member: 6937590">I have a lot of responses to post. I hope you don't mind if some are meta-resposes.First, I think your tenor is meaningfully different in the first and second red recolored statements. I'm more sympathetic to the second one; things can exist in a homebrew setting and still be subject to change, even if they exist only in the DM's temporary headcannon. I think it's useful for some big picture and background things to have answers, or the appearance of answers, to help maintain verisimilitude and theme. And I'd bet that a lot of things exist in most of your homebrewed settings, unless stated otherwise, due to the assumed world of D&D 5e (or whichever system you use)--i.e. there are multiple gods, there are other dimensions, there were magically potent civilizations in the distant past, supernatural metaphysical evil is a thing, etc., etc.Second, when you say "campaign settings" and "lore" it makes me think of official or 3rd party publications, rather than homebrew settings, and that's a completely different beast. Published material needs to make sense, at least internally, or be so wildly novel or creative that I don't care. If it isn't better thought out than an average homebrew, then why should anyone read it? And, in that sense, I feel logical criticism of world-building is well justified. For one's own homebrew, though, it's very much like optimizing a level 20 PC; it's a way to engage with the game that some people find fun when they're not actively playing, even it it may never impact play.This is probably where most of us land (and where I do). The setting is the DM's PC, there's a natural inclination to give it as much love as the players do their characters.This is a really good point.The OP suggests a sort of dichotomy between 1.) worlbuilding that directly serves players and 2.) worldbuilding detail for it's own sake/for the DM/in case it's needed. Maybe you're suggesting a third type, worldbuilding that directs the type of gameplay that's supposed to happen in a setting--which, potentially, helps the DM keep focus and, even if it doesn't immediately serve the players, could be expected to as a game progresses. This is something I should probably think about to do worldbuilding better.</blockquote>

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