Wik
First Post
One of my favourite RPG supplements is a 2e "World Builder's Guidebook". I still use it, from time to time. Really, it's premise is simple - it's a list of random tables, and you roll and combine factors to create interesting hooks, kingdoms, realms, etc. It even has random tables for races and monsters, that you can use to populate whatever realm you've built.
It can create truly unique campaigns, and I've used it to make nomadic african gnomes, chivalrous lycanthropes fighting against dragons in apocalyptic settings, and jungle-dwelling halflings that are the only survivors of a volcanic eruption five hundred years earlier.
Basically, by looking at weird combinations ("Desert Setting" + "Apocalypse" + "Dwarves" + "Adventures based around Ruins", for example), you start to think outside the box and make fresh campaign decisions. I really love using it when I find that I keep coming back to the same approaches.
But I was thinking - would that work with class ideas?
My idea was simple. I took every base class I had available to me, put them all on a list (42 options!), and used a random number generator to pick eight of them. I would add two or three of my own choices, to fill in roles that hadn't been covered that are necessary in a D&D game. These would be the allowed classes in the game - no other base classes would be allowed!
To be even more fun, I did the same thing with races, but with fewer numbers.
Now, before I give an example of how this all looks, I'll mention the steps it takes.
1. Make a list of all the classes you have available, and would be willing to use in game.
2. Use a random number generator (such as the one at invisiblecastle.com) and pick out a number of classes. I recommend 8 as a good starting point.
3. Look for areas that your class list covers well. There might be a lot of warriors, but few rogue-like characters. Or there may be a lot of arcane characters, but few divine.
4. Add two or three classes to your class list. Select personal favourites, or classes that are necessary to fill a missing role.
5. Make minor tweaks to the classes to fill in necessary abilities - for example, if no class offers Use Magic Device as a skill, you might want to give it to someone.
6. Try to fit these characters into your world, and try to change your world to accomodate this class liste. It's easier than you might think.
You can do the same with races!
If you are making a completely new campaign world, you could even use this list to guide where your world design would be going. For example, if your list had Binder, Dread Necromancer, Artificer, and Paladin, you might start thinking about a steampunk world of dark horror, brooding undead, and evil demons.
Anyways, just food for thought. Has anyone really made a go of making a campaign world that originated through random lists?
[sblock=an Extended Example]
Looking at that list, I'd try to make a world out of it - I rolled a few times on the "hooks" table in my worldbuilder's guidebook, and came up with "Archipelego", "Arabic Setting" and "Slavery" as hooks.
AVAILABLE CLASSES:
Barbarian
Druid
Favoured Soul
Marshall
Ranger
Sorcerer
Swashbuckler
Warblade
My numbers suggested a lot of woodsiness (Ranger, Druid, and Barbarian), and religion was well-covered (Druid and Favoured Soul, plus the Marshall fills in the need for group buffs). I also had some decent melee fighters. I decided to add three classes to the list: Rogue (because it seemed necessary to have a decent skill-user), Soulknife (because a little bit of psionics could be interesting), and Wu Jen (because it seemed more elemental, which fit in well with how magic seemed to be going, and because it was an arcane caster that was different than the sorcerer).
My random races were:
Centaur, Changeling, Elan, Grimlock.
Human would be added to the list, obviously. And I decided to add the "Desert Goblins" from Sandstorm to the list, as well.
I decided to make the game based around sailing, to fit in with the archipelego idea, and made each small chain of islands ruled by very militant caliphs that ruled through strong militaries (both Marshalls and Warblades serve in these militaries; the former as leaders and sergeants, the latter in a private bodyguard/janissary role). Many islands are wild and untamed, home to druids, rangers, and primitive barbarian folk. Centaurs are found in the few larger islands.
Grimlocks are humans that have been exiled below the earth, and are also kept as a slave race. IN fact, one of the problems of the campaign consists of a growing number of people who oppose the enslavement of Grimlocks, even though everyone knows they are a thoroughly evil species.
I decided that protecting the sailing ships would be Mullah-like Wu Jen that follow chaotic whisperings of nature, as well as slightly more structured "Wild Talent" sorcerers. Each wizard would be the primary captain of their ship - I just thought that'd be a neat change. Swashbucklers, obviously, would be quite popular on the ships, as well.
I haven't figured out how to put Elan into the world yet (though they'll be tied to Soulknives, of course), but I think Changelings will be the "Secret Spies" of the paranoid caliphs. [/sblock]
It can create truly unique campaigns, and I've used it to make nomadic african gnomes, chivalrous lycanthropes fighting against dragons in apocalyptic settings, and jungle-dwelling halflings that are the only survivors of a volcanic eruption five hundred years earlier.
Basically, by looking at weird combinations ("Desert Setting" + "Apocalypse" + "Dwarves" + "Adventures based around Ruins", for example), you start to think outside the box and make fresh campaign decisions. I really love using it when I find that I keep coming back to the same approaches.
But I was thinking - would that work with class ideas?
My idea was simple. I took every base class I had available to me, put them all on a list (42 options!), and used a random number generator to pick eight of them. I would add two or three of my own choices, to fill in roles that hadn't been covered that are necessary in a D&D game. These would be the allowed classes in the game - no other base classes would be allowed!
To be even more fun, I did the same thing with races, but with fewer numbers.
Now, before I give an example of how this all looks, I'll mention the steps it takes.
1. Make a list of all the classes you have available, and would be willing to use in game.
2. Use a random number generator (such as the one at invisiblecastle.com) and pick out a number of classes. I recommend 8 as a good starting point.
3. Look for areas that your class list covers well. There might be a lot of warriors, but few rogue-like characters. Or there may be a lot of arcane characters, but few divine.
4. Add two or three classes to your class list. Select personal favourites, or classes that are necessary to fill a missing role.
5. Make minor tweaks to the classes to fill in necessary abilities - for example, if no class offers Use Magic Device as a skill, you might want to give it to someone.
6. Try to fit these characters into your world, and try to change your world to accomodate this class liste. It's easier than you might think.
You can do the same with races!
If you are making a completely new campaign world, you could even use this list to guide where your world design would be going. For example, if your list had Binder, Dread Necromancer, Artificer, and Paladin, you might start thinking about a steampunk world of dark horror, brooding undead, and evil demons.
Anyways, just food for thought. Has anyone really made a go of making a campaign world that originated through random lists?
[sblock=an Extended Example]
Looking at that list, I'd try to make a world out of it - I rolled a few times on the "hooks" table in my worldbuilder's guidebook, and came up with "Archipelego", "Arabic Setting" and "Slavery" as hooks.
AVAILABLE CLASSES:
Barbarian
Druid
Favoured Soul
Marshall
Ranger
Sorcerer
Swashbuckler
Warblade
My numbers suggested a lot of woodsiness (Ranger, Druid, and Barbarian), and religion was well-covered (Druid and Favoured Soul, plus the Marshall fills in the need for group buffs). I also had some decent melee fighters. I decided to add three classes to the list: Rogue (because it seemed necessary to have a decent skill-user), Soulknife (because a little bit of psionics could be interesting), and Wu Jen (because it seemed more elemental, which fit in well with how magic seemed to be going, and because it was an arcane caster that was different than the sorcerer).
My random races were:
Centaur, Changeling, Elan, Grimlock.
Human would be added to the list, obviously. And I decided to add the "Desert Goblins" from Sandstorm to the list, as well.
I decided to make the game based around sailing, to fit in with the archipelego idea, and made each small chain of islands ruled by very militant caliphs that ruled through strong militaries (both Marshalls and Warblades serve in these militaries; the former as leaders and sergeants, the latter in a private bodyguard/janissary role). Many islands are wild and untamed, home to druids, rangers, and primitive barbarian folk. Centaurs are found in the few larger islands.
Grimlocks are humans that have been exiled below the earth, and are also kept as a slave race. IN fact, one of the problems of the campaign consists of a growing number of people who oppose the enslavement of Grimlocks, even though everyone knows they are a thoroughly evil species.
I decided that protecting the sailing ships would be Mullah-like Wu Jen that follow chaotic whisperings of nature, as well as slightly more structured "Wild Talent" sorcerers. Each wizard would be the primary captain of their ship - I just thought that'd be a neat change. Swashbucklers, obviously, would be quite popular on the ships, as well.
I haven't figured out how to put Elan into the world yet (though they'll be tied to Soulknives, of course), but I think Changelings will be the "Secret Spies" of the paranoid caliphs. [/sblock]
