In your experience, is play enhanced by a well-developed setting?

[ShinHakkaider]

Hmmm. In theory, sure, a well-developed setting should make play better.

In my experience... I'm not so sure that's really been borne out.

I've been in games with very developed settings that were pretty mediocre, and others which virtually no setting at all that were great.

If it is a factor, I'm inclined to think it's a very minor one at best.

I think many DMs would be better served spending that extra hour working on something else other than developing the setting.


Cheers,
Roger

I'm pretty much in agreement with this post.

My old DM had a setting, but his core idea was about 2-3 paragraphs long. As we explored he / we fleshed it out.

IMHO a good campaign setting isnt one that gets all fleshed out and detailed on the front end. It's the one that you've been playing in for a while that was fleshed out by the DM and the players. The one that after a few months seems familiar to the players and not like the DM assigned them a bunch of homework.

Oh, that and surprises.

 

[w_earle_wheeler]

I answered yes, but the level of "well-developed" that enhances play will vary with each group. It depends on how interested they are in minutia, foliage, time-keeping, geography and canon.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Definetely not. It all depends on the players and how much they want they and their characters to be involved.

 

[airwalkrr]

especially greyhawk

 

[Mycanid]

I would say it is ... there is no guarantee a player will "catch on", of course, but if there are more "hooks" percentage wise and they ARE pretty things, then ...

 

[Crothian]

Yes. At least in my experience the games with a well developed setting have almost always been better then the ones that were not.

 

[Aeric]

For me, well-developed settings are the hook. All too often, however, the game has failed to live up to the expectations created by that hook.

On the other hand, a great story, engaging characters, and clever, enthusiastic DM can turn even the most bland and generic of settings into a fantastic and fun game.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Define "well-developed."

Do you mean reams of history and 356 page setting bibles?

Or do you mean "developed in such a way that enhances the game"?

The question, as it sits, is kind of a tautology. Of COURSE a well-developed setting enhances play. If it didn't it wouldn't be very well developed, ne?

But the AMOUNT of development tells you nothing about the QUALITY of that development.

 

[hong]

My sense of wonder at world-building polls is decreasing.