[GM Question] How much setting background for players?

[Aramax]

As a GM, I have learned that it doesn't really matter what I want to write for the players.
Because I never got anyone to actually read any of it.

Very early in my long game life I decided I HATED reading a lot of background fluff(or crunch for that matter).So as a DM I avoid handouts like the plague.I did for a while make a one sheet'news paper'that the players kinda dug,but over the course of several years I only put out maybe 10-12 of them.
In short,dont bother,the players dont care.

 

[Is_907]

Pretty much this.

I make a lot of information available to the players if they want to explore the game-world, but as far as actually introducing a player and a character to the setting, we talk a little bit about cape-and-sword genre games and stories, run-through a nickel overview of the setting, establish a couple of broad-strokes connections between the characters, and then we're ready to go.

During actual play, either the players will ask or I will offer knowledge about things the character would reasonably expect to know. I don't let them wander into a situation by making bad choices from a lack of information if it's something to which their characters would be exposed as a result of their professions, upbringing, and so on.

Love your Le Ballet D'Alcier wiki! A friend just started running Flashing Blades for our monthly game and told us to check out your wiki a few weeks ago.


I think ultimately I'm going with lightweight, broad brush strokes to get them started. I've considered running a second game in the same world, but with a different type of group who would enjoy lots of background etc, so perhaps the two will balance eachother out.

 

[The Shaman]

Love your Le Ballet D'Alcier wiki!

Thanks!

A friend just started running Flashing Blades for our monthly game and told us to check out your wiki a few weeks ago.

You're in Flambeaux's game? How cool! I wanted to come out for the con, but I'm going to a wedding in Las Vegas this summer and there's only so much vacation time to spread around.

 

[[OMENRPG]Ben]

As others have said, the players should know somewhat close to what their characters know. People start to understand things better as they sort of sink into character, which in my experience, takes at least a full session or more to really get into.

Now, I tend to err on the side of way overboard preparation, and when I am a player I am woefully bored with settings that I can tell the GM has sort of roughly sketched out. The more information I have the better for me personally.

GMing, I have a certain tone of the world that I want the players to understand. If they want to play a certain character or a certain theme I prefer it to match that of the party and the theme of the game. I don't railroad people, but if I want to play a gritty mercenary star wars game, I don't want someone to play as an ex-Jedi Hutt (someone actually tried that before... O__O)

So, in short, I think they need to know everything that they well, need to know. Things about the culture, the races, the beliefs, etc, need to at least be summarized so they don't have to be constantly re-educated during game.

Every group's different, if in doubt, simply ask them.

 

[Is_907]

Thanks!
You're in Flambeaux's game? How cool! I wanted to come out for the con, but I'm going to a wedding in Las Vegas this summer and there's only so much vacation time to spread around.

I'm not in his bi-weekly one, but one he just kicked off.
Very much looking forward to the con and his game there, too!

Sounds like you need a job with "gaming days" as part of your PTO package

 

[Desdichado]

4-10 pages is about 2-5 times the maximum that I recommend. I keep my campaign briefs to about 2 pages.

 

[S'mon]

I wouldn't really expect a player to read more than 500 words of general background info, I do expect them to go over any notes on PC creation.

 

[riotshieldnation]

Fairly novice DM here, but here's my two cents: I don't really prepare things in advance more than 500 words per session, and I do a more fleshed out recap of last session for the next beginning-of-session's 500 words. For example (brace for horrible writing):

Upon speaking with the king and recognizing the child of prophecy, the king informed them of the prophecy said to bring balance to the kingdom, and asked each of the heroes what they though of the war. The old king himself, they learned, was actually against the war, and his advisers were the ones spurring him on to expand his kingdom. Realizing their importance, the king promoted the heroes to his personal guard, and gave them their first task: to escort the dwarf Atlin to the underground city of Wotford.

While traveling with Atlin, they learned that it was Atlin himself that saved Tony and Alauna as babies after the cave in in their hometown. Feeling some sort of debt to him, the heroes strengthened their resolve to protect this man.

While traveling along the road to the underdark, they met some travelers who claimed to be in dire need of help, but were actually members of the black hand there to ambush them. During the battle, the black hand members were shouting something about Atlin being a murderer of women and children. After the fight, the party questioned Atlan, where he revealed that he was once an organizer for protests against the war, where he was blackmailed by the king's agents into revealing the location of the families of the black hand, who were all subsequently murdered.

The characters finally arrived in Wotford, and regrettably turned Atlin in to the authorities. They then went on to gamble, and after winning big, lost it all (over 2200 gold). After leaving the casino, the heroes were accosted by a man claiming to be an agent of the black hand, wishing to speak to them alone. After taking them outside of the city and getting them to surrender their weapons, he explained to them how the black hand wasn't originally a terrorist organization and all of the horrors they experienced at the hands of the king's legion. After connecting with the PCs, they outlined a plan to rob a caravan bringing war supplies to the port city of Windrise. The party was conflicted as to what to do, as neither side was wrong in the rebellion. Ultimately the party decided to rob the caravan, to gain the trust of the black hand....

I post them all up on my website here if you're interested in reading more. I also had each player write up a paragraph or two, explaining their origins to give me some more to go on about the world. This gives it more of a community built sense, which I think gets players motivated and feeling important. For example:

Dorn was born the fifth child of the Mazriln royal family. He was often overlooked during his childhood and his parents had no real plan for his future. His brothers were being prepared for ruling the family and distinguishing posts in the military. Although his education was good by most standards, Dorn loved the histories of his Dragonborn ancestors and their storied accounts of epic battles and glory and he neglected most other lessons.

During a winter court, a travelling musician stayed at the family's estate and Dorn quickly became enamored with the heroic tales the man could tell on his lute. Almost immediately, Dorn began learning to play. Unbeknownst to him, his father, Zalhan Mazriln, looked down on any of his progeny learning such a "common" skill and demanded his son to quit. Openly, Dorn did so, but continued his lessons in secret. This continued for several weeks until a servant discovered a lute hidden in Dorn's room and inadvertently told Zalhan of it. Not one to be disobeyed, the Patriarch told his oldest son to show Dorn a real noble's hobby by having the two face off in a duel with real weapons. The oldest son, Yorval, was a highly regarded fighter and had been groomed since birth to take the family. He was also a bloodthirsty bully who delighted in tormenting his opponents. During the fight, Yorval had cut and bludgeoned the 12 year old Dorn into submission, taking glee from every ounce of misery his brother displayed. Then, instead of calling an end to it, Zalhan decided to test Yorval of his resolve and loyalty, signalling for him to kill his brother. As Yorval raised his sword for the killing stroke, Dorn used his Dragon breath involuntarily and deeply scarred his brother. Before he could be caught and killed, Dorn ran from him family's home, but to no avail. He was caught and was about to be executed when an army Captain by the name of Kairon intervened and saved him, taking him in and teaching him how to fight.

As Dorn grew, he learned and lived nothing but the military life, and learned how different it was to his beloved childhood stories. It was better! Dorn took to it and soon became a small-unit leader at home on campaign and in the field. He forgot his old life and embraced his new family with the 4th Army's Fire Reavers Brigade. This continued for many years until the grueling war with the King's Army, when the Fire Reavers were thought wiped out in a terrible rearguard against the advancing forces of the King. After the battle, the Dragonborn families surrendered and their armies, what remained of them, were taken into the King's. Dorn, dealing with his loss of another family, travels with the army, looking to bury his sorrow in battle.

So then I had them go visit Dorn's family etc in another session.

I've also answered "Twenty Questions" suggested by Jeff at Jeff's Gameblog about my campaign world that pretty much cut to the chase:

This seems like a great idea which I will incorporate into my campaign. Thank you.

 

[Gilladian]

I run mostly my own campaign world. My two core players have been running characters in that world for 18+ years. So for them, I just tend to mention where the new campaign is and the theme (ie Tallowsland - west of Greenvale in the woods; dungeoneering and banditry).

For new players - the one who is joining us today, for example - I provide links to my wiki - specifically to the character creation section, and to the regiion of the world (Tallowsland and the village of Brindenford). If he reads it, great. If not, he'll have some catching up to do come game day.

I also "drip" lots of campaign world facts into the descriptions I give. If I'm talking about them traveling to the dungeon, I may lace in a sentence or two about some historical event that relates to the dungeon - ie "you reach the ruins of Chordille Keep. As you look out across the fallen stones of the once-fine castle, you realize it is less than a week before the 60th anniversary of the Keep's razing by the townsfolk of Brindenford."

That's enough to keep them reminded of what they've heard in the past. Every now and then someone says something that makes me break out a timeline or a mini-essay and go over some of the important historical points, but not often, and only briefly.

 

[Jhaelen]

I keep my campaign briefs to about 2 pages.

This. If it was more, nobody would bother to read it anyway.

Instead I tell them background details whenever they're relevant to the current situation during play. I provide more details if the pcs are doing actual research, hire sages or make (good) knowledge rolls.