How to start a Homebrew?

[Thyrkill]

Hi,

I am thinking about starting my own world/campaign. I have been running a FR campaign for the last 2 years and have grown stale/bored. The characters have reached 12th level and I feel like I'm running a video game rather than an RPG. This has pushed me into the direction of Homebrew.

Like most DM's, I have thought about creating my own world but have lacked the impetus to really do it...laziness and procrastination might have something to do with it too Now my dissatisfaction with my game's current events has got me seriously thinking about my own world again.

My question to everyone is how should I start my Homebrew (or how did you start your homebrew)? Do I start big or small? Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Matt

 

[Brisk-sg]

This really depends on what flavor you want.

I always start with a core idea/concept, even if it is simply generic fantasy (like greyhawk or forgotten realms). Once you have that established I would detail a small area to start the players in, and make broad generalizations about the world around the area such as the major nations and religions.

If you are not already filled with campaign ideas then make your 1st adventure very open to player whim, and then take the campaign in the direction they steer you, detailing their path. Don't be afraid to create new NPCs, nations, myths, religions, bad guys, creatures, on the fly the 1st few adventures. Just remember to write them down. After you have run the campaign for a few sessions, try to make some things consistent to avoid a thrown together feel.

 

[Tonguez]

Yep have to concur with Brisk-sg - that 'Core Ethos Statement' is actually a lynchpin to good Homebrews as it is the vision that guides the creation of the world

so
1 Define your concept - Core Ethos/Game style etc
2 Use Real World (ie Earth) examples and ideas eg How would the Sumerian Empire work in DnD...
3Decide on the 'general' role of PCs - are they wondering adventurers, Village leaders, Imperial Guard, Orc Raiders etc
4 Start with an Island (ie small defined geographic area with set borders). Add topgraphy and ecosystem (Plants, Animals, Monsters)
5 Decide on basic beleifs, culture and history
6. Use the Corebooks and change/drop Races and Classes as desired...
7. Add Sites of Significance (eg cities, temples, ruins, haunted battlefields etc)
8. Add Important NPCs (eg the High Priest, Queen) and Groups (eg the Mages Council, the Church of El, the Imperial Guard)
9. Decide on your Scenario
10. Add stuff as you play

 

[Sam]

The characters have reached 12th level and I feel like I'm running a video game rather than an RPG. This has pushed me into the direction of Homebrew.

As an alternative, you should take a look at Oathbound: Domains of the Forge from Bastion Press. The underlying premise of Oathbound is that there are seven guardians that are essentially jailers of a god (think Tharzidun), assigned their task by other gods. The jailers found a loophole in their oaths and can be replaced if they find someone more powerful than they. They transport powerful characters to the world of the Forge in order to test them and hopefully find someone powerful enough to replace them. The book suggests not even starting characters there until 7th level, and has a nifty feature built in to take away all of the Forgotten Realms magic item overload and bring the game down to a level you want to run. Anyway, I'm really not doing it justice here. Check out the reviews and Bastion Press' website for more info.

It's a great book. I got it a few weeks ago and had to read it cover to cover.

--Sam

 

[Redleg06]

Hi,



My question to everyone is how should I start my Homebrew (or how did you start your homebrew)? Do I start big or small? Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Matt

First, unless you are planning topublish feel free to stea...I mean borrow ideas from anywhere. If there is particular setting, time period, movie, novel etc that you are inspired by feel free to use some elements and adjust them a you see fit.

Second, a general once over the world concept statement will really help too. (The WoTC contest 1-pager guidlines are a good starting point).

Third I would focus on the specific area your PCs will be operating in. Even if it is ye-ol villiage is being raided by Drow...I mean orcs scenario. Flesh out the local area first then build.

Remember your players are likely to ask you a lot of questions about your world that you have not thought of. That will actually help you quite a lot. Be prepared to make up some stuff on the spot, but don't be afraid to say "I don't know I had not thought of that yet, let me get back to you."

The best part is it's your world, you can do whatever you want!

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

First, decide on the "hook" of the setting - the thing that makes it unique. For example, for my setting proposal, I decided that I wanted really big cities, with population in the millions. That's something that isn't too common in fantasy settings.

Then try to figure out this "hook" in practice. To use my setting as an example again, I decided that it was possible to draw upon the life forces of the inhabitants of cities to generate magical energy with the aid of magical architecture - so-called "Nexus Towers". This gives the rulers a big incentive to build and maintain cities that are as large and populous as possible.

Then try to figure out the basic repercussions of your hook - the ways in which it can be expected to shape the world. Don't forget basic economics.

Then start the brainstorming phase. Read many books about history and other countries and cultures - though pretty much anything can serve as an inspiration. When you get a new idea, make a note! You can work out the details later on your computer.

To be honest, that's the phase I am still in with my setting, so I can't help you beyond that. I have already added 33 sections to my home page, and I've got no plans of slowing down...

 

[Jeph]

IMHO, a Homebrew is not a Homebrew if it consists of a world with clerics, paladins, wiards, and druids, and has elves, gnomes, halflings, dwarves, and humans in it. These are Greyhawk. These are generic. These are borring, steriotypical, overused, burned-out hasbeens. If you want a serius homebrew, you will think of something to make it unique.

For instance, I am running a time-travelling game that uses the Grim 'n Gritty HP rules from Sleeping Imperium, and am gearing up to run a no-magic, all-psionics campaign set in a jungle world (check it out here). There will be three human subraces (canopy dwellers, cave dwellers, and nomads), the Tainted Human (a human with Yuan-Ti lineage), and then the Yuan-Ti, and that's it for sentient races. The available classes are the Ranger (gave it a Smite Favored Enemy ability, and the choice between a bonus feat progression or some limited Psionics), the Martial Artist (a Monk with none of it's ki abilities, a bonus feat progression, and limited psionics), the Fighter, the Barbarian, the Rogue, the Psychic Warrior, and the Psion. It uses the VP / WP system, a base defense bonus, and armor that provides Damage Reduction (and to WP only). It's gearing up to look pretty crouching tiger.

In general, if one cleric-paladin-wizard-elf-dwarf-gnome-halfling-evilscarymonsters setting has gone stale, they all have. There's not much difference between Greyhawk and the Forgotten Realms except the name, if you think about it. Homebrews are different.

-Jeph

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

IMHO, a Homebrew is not a Homebrew if it consists of a world with clerics, paladins, wiards, and druids, and has elves, gnomes, halflings, dwarves, and humans in it. These are Greyhawk. These are generic. These are borring, steriotypical, overused, burned-out hasbeens.

Hey! If you don't want to use them, fine. But they are only boring if you don't find ways to make them interesting.

And as for sterotypes... well, stereotypes too often only look at the surface. You can add all kinds of complexity and exitement to them - and still remain within the realms of the "D&D canon", if that's what you are aiming for...

In general, if one cleric-paladin-wizard-elf-dwarf-gnome-halfling-evilscarymonsters setting has gone stale, they all have. There's not much difference between Greyhawk and the Forgotten Realms except the name, if you think about it. Homebrews are different.
-Jeph

My setting has all the "Core Races" and "Core Classes". But I dare you to take a look at it and claim that it is "just like the Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk!"



Seriously, I agree that FR and GH can seem a bit stale at times. But I'm not one to just discard things just because they seem to be a bit "old-fashioned". And one of my design goals in creating Urbis was creating a world where all the normal D&D rules apply, but which is still fresh and new... I hope I have succeded in that one.

 

[corzican]

Well, first you have to go to the local Homebrew store where you purchase the ingrediants necessary. Some things are easier than other, though I'd recommend just sticking with cheese instead. Making your own is pretty easy, and you don't have to worry about figuring if making your own alcohol has any legal problems in your neck of the woods.

Oh, wait . . . campaign settings. Well, I start off with a Crown and Coke and work on a story or theme for the game. Something simple, such as "Joe Bob, priest of the dread god Cletus, is seeking to transform the people in the world into varmints to satify his evil lord's unending hunger and carnal lusts." After that, I add geography (Hog Wallow is the land where all evil and moonshine flows) and personalities (Boss Roscoe, sheriff of the land of Hazzard, foe of Joe Bob since they cut into his own moonshine sales).
Note that the use of alcohol while forming campaign ideas should only be done by those of legal drinking age, and no varmints should be injured during the brainstorming.

 

[Jeph]

Jürgen, I think I contributed to the thread in which the Focus Towers (or whatever they're called) featured in your campaign setting were featured, and this is definitely one of those distinctive bits that sets it apart from FR and Greyhawk. This is the kind of thing that makes a homebrew, not the lack of paladins etc, although my opinions about steriotyping in DnD definitely surfaced major in that last post.

Take away the towers, and all you have left is a Greyhawk with different geography. Put the towers back, and you've got one distinctive homebrew. (it doesn't hurt that you proseletyze it in your sig either )

-Jeph