Homebrew – Where did you start?

[Jeph]

I love drawing maps. I draw LOTS of them, mostly unrelated. Some are used for a friend's campaign, some just lie around. When I create one that I end up really liking, I'll copy it into ink (making minor corrections), and then open a document and write a paragraph or two about the major geographical and political features, magic and the supernatural, and so on. The rest of the world is usually developed in play.

And, erm, I also tend to write entire game systems to go with my settings. Time consuming habit, but it's fun!


--Jeff

 

[WayneLigon]

I usually start by one of three routes: a pantheon or spirit cult idea, a map, or the idea of 'I want a campaign based on X or that contains Y'.

 

[SkidAce]

Draw a map of the game world.

Seriously. Everyting comes from that.

/nod

Draw the map.

 

[Wombat]

This varies from campaign to campaign for me.

It almost never starts with a map for me; in fact, I have played with the notion a couple times of having a truly medieval sense of space for the characters where the only map they have is of their (very!) local district -- everything else was vague for them.

My in-the-offing campaign began with the purchase of Monte Cook's AU and a lecture I heard about the Spanish conquest of the New World, how the Spanish took over the Aztecs and Inca through extremely lucky timing as much as anything else -- if they had arrived 20 years earlier or later, the situation might well have been very different, with much stiffer and more organized resistance. From there I worked up the societies, a couple of rough maps, did some reading on Mayan mythology and technology, Spanish colonization efforts, etc. In other words, this is a really intensely researched campaign, but most of the research will strictly be in the background, not particularly important to the characters, only to me as the GM. And I fully admit to this campaign being a bit over-the-top in that department!

One other campaign I had began with my sig line. I had a dream about people going into a hall and seeing a group of statues, very realistically carved, but with smooth ovals for faces. This led to a very creepy fantasty-horror mini-campaign where a group of necromancers had severed the connections between the people in long valley and their gods; the PCs were all locals who knew something was wrong, even though the land had been like this for a generation or more. I created a general map, several "set piece" adventure ideas, and a rough timeline of events-to-come. I also edited spell lists and the like.

The point though is that while my campaigns sound pretty intense in the R&D department, this is because I have been a GM since Day 1 of my gaming, since 1975/6. I have worked in grander and grander scope each time, as far as background material that I must at least develop for myself. BUT a starting GM doesn't need to do nearly so much. Maybe you want a campaign to focuse on dragon-slaying. Fine. Come up with a reason for why they should be killed off, a rough map, and suggestions to the players on what kinds of characters would be most useful. If you want political intrigue, name a few nobles and start from there. There are many ways, in other words, to start designing a campaign; it is mainly a matter of taste.

You don't need a PhD to design a campaign; I don't have one and it never stopped me. All you really need is love for the game, a fun idea, and a group of willing vict ... errr ... players

 

[dren]

I am curiouse where all you Homebrew GM’s started fleshing out your world?

Well, this depends upon why you are doing a campaign. If you are creating one to be different, than literally anything (actually more like dozens of anything) can spark your interest. For some people, obviously it's a map. For others it's differing rules, races, religions, etc...

For me, it was being unable to be able to afford to buy campaign books, and I created a montage of different ideas from various fantasy and sci-fi books. I strived to create a setting that was agaisnt many of the cliches I found in many books and RP games in general. These archtypes are still there, but now, with so many differing publishers, whatever you want (gothic horror, cyberpunk, altrernative reality, cthulu-esque, high fantasy, low fantasy, humerous, gritty, ultra-realistic, anime, etc) can be found.

I would suggest, you looking at what you want in a game, and working from there. You don't need to create the entire world, just the one corner you'll be needing, and then expand from there.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[Angcuru]

Well, not exactly designing a game world, but when I started with mine, I found it easiest to start off where it all started, with the Deities. Everything came after that. Rocks, trees, birds, squirrels, etc. The only thing I forsee myself having trouble with is a map. :\

 

[Zappo]

I've done only one homebrew world, and it was a long time ago when the main reason for doing a homebrew was that I couldn't afford a setting book. It wasn't very good.

I started with the map, but if I wanted to make a homebrew today, I would start with figuring out the core concepts of the world, its main features, the role that PCs would have... well, I would start by filling out WotC's Setting Search form. They designed it to contain all the really important features of a setting, and it does its job nicely.

 

[Umbran]

Each time I've started the work differently. Once, I drew teh map first. Once, I came up with a pantheon and related uberplot first. This time, I'm starting with a big list of things that are neat, but I've never used before.

The best route is the one that inspires you. Start with whatever you feel llike starting with. Whatever grabs you.

 

[Ferret]

I drew a map, made some creatures, made a 'quirk' that made it special.

I honestly think that anything that comes of forced thinking won't be anything compared to random boughts of inspiration.

 

[d4]

i work out what i want the core "theme" or "high concept" of the world to be first, and draw the map second.

i need to know whether this is going to be a desert world, or a tropical archipelago setting, or a world in the grip of an ice age, before i start laying down geography.