Homebrew: How-to?

[Kuld]

Think of homebrewing a setting like homebrewing a beer. It makes a perfect analogy.

Be sure that after you make the wort you “pitch the yeast”. That is let your PCs playtest the setting. This is where the fermentation process begins. Allow them to aid you with the overall creativity of it.

Then when you have a “tasty” setting, maybe it’s time to share it with the neighbors.

 

[Haltherrion]

Crothian's got it right: you begin with whatever feels right to you. That's a bit like singing: you've got to find your voice, and after a while, you'll have your own.

As a matter of example, I can speak of the way I do it. Usually, it starts with an idea. Like... Atlantis just before its fall, for instance. I have a start of background in my head.

With all due respect, I really would not start any way you feel like. I think your second paragraph is a much better way to start.

For instance, if you start with the detail (as most budding worldbuilders do), you are apt to wander off in directions that may be fascinating to you but of little use to your campaign. Moreover you may miss a chance to embue your world with a cool theme or concept.

If you start off with the idea as you suggest then you have a core concept to build on, sort of a guiding principle to use. This guiding principle not only is likely to make the setting more memorable but when you are sputtering for ideas, and we all do at times, you can come back to it and mine it for more starting points.

I've made many settings in my time (I tend to do one for each new campaign every couple years or so). The ones that I and the players remember are the ones that worked from a key concept.

I'd do a true brainstorm: true in the sense that you really write down any idea that pops into your head, including ones that you probably would never use as you never know what concept would lead to the really useful ones. Kick it around until you have something that feels really good, maybe weeks if that is what it takes because your core concept is going to define the whole world and you are going to spend many, many hours creating your world. I would also recommend not being afraid about tying your world to a campaign plot, the two together can build top-class gaming experiences. You can brain storm the campaign plot together with the world concept or separately.

Once you have the basic concept from your brainstorming, you can then start fleshing out the world. usually, with foundation in hand, knowing what to work on next will be a lot easier.

On the brainstorming, if you have a creative player or two you could brainstorm the concept with them, brainstorming is a lot more effective in groups because what one person tosses into the mix may get you thinking on a whole new, profitable track. Of course, I wouldn't brainstorm plot ideas with your players for obvious reasons

As an abbreviated example it might go like:

Lord of the rings
underworld
Thirteenth Warrior [got a movie theme going in your head. That's okay, mine it until something else comes up]
Mask of zorro [Antonio bandarras link no doubt, may be useless but put it out there,could go somewhere]
Desparado
Fighting against the corrupt powerful?
mage corruption?
undead good guys [underworld echo?]

World where corrupt wizard kings rule opposed by good-guy vampires [getting a bit more specific but still brainstorming]
World where corrupt wizard kings rule opposed by good-guy lycanthropes? [minor refinement but avoid undead PCs which many players will balk at]

And so on. this is much truncated and you probably want to do this on a big sheet of paper so you can go 2D. Big whiteboard can be nice for this.

But let's say you settle on the last concept. Now the next steps in world creation are obvious:

* need to create a history that leads to the wizard-kings and the underground lycans
* need to flesh out your lycans. Myabe alter the mechanics, add new types
* need to figure out how big the world is and how much time you are going to spend on maps, kingdoms etc. (make it too big and you might feel compelled to spend too much time on making lots of kingdoms. is that necessary? Do you see the game moving into many kingdoms? This could be a rich setting with just one kingdom or a handful)
* need to determine what races are in the world, what monsters. May not need much other than humans and lycans in this sort of world

and so on...

One thing I would watch out for is getting bogged down in minor detail. Yeah, it might be kind of cool writing up a three page history of the halfings. If your campaign relies on halfings great. If none of your players will ever play a halfing and you don't really intend to do much with them in the game, is that really a good use of your time?

This type of deep-detail dive is a symptom of a worldbuilder avoiding the hard problems. It is easy to take refuge in a detail like this but it isn't getting your campaign closer to a start. It is a lot like the budding novelist writing out 50 page character backgrounds and not actually working on the harder part of the problem: his plot. Having a firm world concept (and hopefully some idea of what type of game you will run, a plot is even better) will help you stay focused on relevant details.

 

[Tinker Gnome]

Hehe, thanks for all the help guys. I will definitely use the information presented in this thread to help me make my world.

 

[Lord Ipplepop]

With our Home Brew, we started with the idea of doing a very-low magic world... and started with the history as to why it was that way. Then we did some revision of the magic system using spell points, and giving the mages a chance to use spells above their level (with the chance of very bad effects on the mage). From there, we started looking at how we could- in our mind- improve some of the monsters (such as basing the goblinoids on ancient warring societies such as the Romans, the Turks, the Mongols, etc). Then we looked at each of the classes, and decided where we could base themn on historically accurate societies without changing the game too much... just enough to give it a different flavor.

The big thing to remember is that as you are designing your world, be preepared to make changes to your plan, and be willing to sacrifice decent ideas if they don't fit. Also... don't do it yourself. There are three of us building our home brew, and each brings in his own history with the game, and with their own lives, and their own viewpoints. We don't agree on everything the others do, however we are able to sit and discuss it dis-passionately, and come up with the best solution for the group and the campaign.

Hope it helps

 

[Piratecat]

Just as an opposite point of view - I have always preferred starting at the macro level and then focusing in on small areas to detail and then zooming back out to make whatever changes/additions that inspired and then zooming back into another small area.

Man, I can't do this. Every time I try, it always seems boring and generic to me. I think I have an intrinsic need to associate stories with places in my campaign world, and so I just can't breath life into anything unless I can think of something cool that differentiates it from other places. I'm jealous of people who can.

-- o --

For instance? Right now I want to create a unique-feeling city in my game that the PCs have never even heard of. I have a name - "Tikritt" - and a feel. I want it to be a big dark city, someplace that they can have chases across huge sooty ziggurats while temple bells toll the time (and the upcoming sacrifices of the heathen infidels.)

So what might this place be like? Let's say that the buildings tend to have tall arched ceilings, and we'll put in lots and lots of gems, crystal windows and huge crystal sculptures outside that catch the light. Maybe the crystal sculptures are also monuments to the Gods - we'll have to see. But if there is crystal there should be both sand and light, so we'll set the city at the edge of a desert in the southweest of my main continent (far from the PCs' home.) Probably a big river connects the city with the sea, and much of their income comes from slavery and the glassworks that belch filth into the sky.

Belch filth into the sky? That means that there are probably a whole lot of druids who have declared vendetta against the city. We'll make them desert druids, and this means that the only people who go into the desert are well-armed hunting parties. Being a druid is a capital crime here; that extends to worshipping a nature god. Perhaps these are the "infidels" who are occasionally sacrificed. And if I'm going to have a lot of gems, maybe the main slave population is gnomes who are forced to mine tirelessly in the gem mines outside the city. I should pick the city's patron God(s), though - they'll really define a lot of the architecture and the city's feel. If I don't have a God of industry, for instance, I can create one as an aspect of an existing God.

I want clearly defined social classes, so we'll borrow a page from India's culture and create thinly disguised versions of the Unclean, who handle the dead and sewage, as opposed to the many ranks of middle and upper classes. There will be groups of beggars, of thieves, but also glittering balls full of high class citizens who dance the nights away. Drug use will be rampant, liquor will be unique and spicy. A doomsday cult wearing white robes fills the streets, each member prophesizing the end of the world, and strange animals - shall we say big beetles? - drag carts and sledges through the city streets.

Okay, fine. With this I can easily fake it if the PCs come a-calling, and I could set an adventure here with brand new PCs with no problem whatsoever. If the city were going to be a major center of my game, I'd specify certain ruling families and their neighboring countries. I probably won't need to do that, though. When I need Tikritt I'll just think "ziggurats, beetles, glass" and I'll have a shorthand that will allow my players to easily remember this place.

 

[Eternalknight]

I'll put in another recommendation to use Dungeoncraft. Even for old hands, it is a great tool to use to develop campaign settings. The author is very clear and gives plenty of examples on how to use his work.

 

[el-remmen]

Man, I can't do this. Every time I try, it always seems boring and generic to me. I think I have an intrinsic need to associate stories with places in my campaign world, and so I just can't breath life into anything unless I can think of something cool that differentiates it from other places. I'm jealous of people who can.

See, I do have stories associated with all my places - it is just that they are usually stories independent of the PCs - so then when the PCs come along they can become involved in them (either directly or peripherally) or when a player asks me for suggestions for hooks to include in their character background I can give them some tidbits from one of those places and then be able to involve them that much more easily when they go there (or perhaps the reason why they go there is b/c they are already involved).

It might also be a matter that Aquerra is a small place - it is no Realms and not even Greyhawk in size - so if a city just appeared out of nowhere my players who have been playing in the setting for 12 years would be like "where the heck did that come from?" - basically, they would have heard of most places of decent size and heard something about it

I also like to have static places in my setting - the infamous Vaults of Draconis is going to have the same nasty undead if you decide to explore it at 1st level as it would at 12th - the place and its stories are indepedent of the campaign.

One cool thing about your method though I can apply to my setting is the Empire of Oolam - which are generally called The Hellish Isles - no PCs have ever been there - and in each campaign they hear a different version of what it is like - what is it really like? I honestly do not know yet (aside from being an amalgam of afro-asian/mezo-american cultural aspects) - since it is far away I feel like I have a lot more room to much around with things and change it as time goes on until some PCs get there - then again, I am thinking my next Aquerra campaign will begin there.

 

[Haltherrion]

The big thing to remember is that as you are designing your world, be preepared to make changes to your plan, and be willing to sacrifice decent ideas if they don't fit. Also... don't do it yourself. There are three of us building our home brew, and each brings in his own history with the game, and with their own lives, and their own viewpoints. We don't agree on everything the others do, however we are able to sit and discuss it dis-passionately, and come up with the best solution for the group and the campaign.

I wouldn't make doing it with someone a requirement. Never done a poll but I think most here have done it solo. Splitting it up can certainly split the workload but it can also make for a more generic setting since things tend to be smoothed out by the co-refs.

That's been my experience with mulitple refs working in the same world, anyway. It works, the game was entertaining but it was one of the least memorable settings we've had in years.

 

[the Jester]

Well, I have some ideas in my head for a homebrew setting that I want to make, but I am unsure how to begin putting them down. Do I start with a map first? Or do I open up Word and begin typing down my ideas for how the different races cultures and how they interact with each other first?

It's up to you. Whatever works for you.

I almost always start with a map, personally.

 

[Greylock]

Many thanks to Galeros for posting this thread. I have learned much from it.

Question for myself... I have a world setting in mind, and have been working on it on and off for a year or so. Scribbled notes and maps everywhere. But I get really bogged down sometimes with the macro view. I wonder, how many of you started your worlds with only small parts worked out, and major plot arcs, factions, histories, etc, then let the pieces fall into place over time?