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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Finster" data-source="post: 3025009" data-attributes="member: 17572">Very interesting thread.I agree with pretty much all of what has been posted thus far. Beginning in the middle of the action, having the environment react to the PCs actions, and involving the players in the creation of setting pieces are all great ideas!I am one of those DMs that has a pet setting of my own, that I have poured much work and creativity into over the years. I am fond of the setting, but how to make my players feel the same way was an issue as our games tend to be of the hacking and slashing variety. In addition to the above, here is another idea that I came up with.I envisioned my setting as just that, a setting or stage for the actions of the players' characters. I see the game as somewhat of a play, performed by a group of people for their own personal enjoyment. As a stage it is analogous to an actual stage created for theatre. An interesting stage is one that the audience becomes involved with. In the case of an RPG the audience and the actors are one and the same. Therefore the stage must allow the actors to become involved with it, and interact with it in a tangeable manner.By placing elements in the setting that are necessary and/or desireable to interact with, the players are enticed into learning more about the setting in order to reap the benefits of interaction. By starting small and working my way into the larger setting as the game progresses, (I know they are there, but the players do not) I can introduce these elements in small bite-sized chunks. The players then get a sense that there is more of these elements out there to be discovered, and finding them becomes a goal in itself.It is important to note that at least one of these elements must be made painfully obvious to the players early in the game, hence starting out in the middle of the action is a great way to go about things.Examples of elements for interaction include things like magical sites that allow certain spells or incantations (UA) to be performed, NPCs and organizations that give the PCs an edge over an obstacle or provide tangable benefits (training in an optional class or feat, information, unique items, etc), and adversarial conditions or organizations that mirror these same elements. These are just a small list of ideas that come to mind. I'm sure a comprehensive list could fill many volumes. Just make sure that these elements are easy and/or necessary to interact with early on in your game, and make it obvious that the PCs are expected (or told) to do so.Happy gaming</blockquote>

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