here, is my idea on a related subject:
Accouterments in Game/Campaign design
First a definition-
Accouterments:
1. An accessory item of equipment or dress. Often used in the plural.
I'm also going to use this great thread over on The RPG Site (Started by Clash Bowley) as the main reference for this discussion.
The idea of accouterments in RPG design is that iconic items actually define the setting, system, and what the PC will and won't be able to do in the game. So, as you can see accouterments are quite important to RPG Design.
What exactly are accouterments? Lightsabres, Blasters, Millennium Falcon, The One Great Ring, Magical weapons, Glitter Boy armor and cybernetics are all examples. Basically any items that are essential when defining a game, setting, or story. You cannot accurately describe SW without mentioning lighsabres, blasters, or the Millennium Falcon. These things are the face of the game, the things that give the game it's cool factor. Any item that, if removed, would result in the game less interesting is and accoutrement.
So, how do we use them in the course of RPG design?
Well, first there are different categories of accouterments. There are Iconic, Romantic, and Valance
Iconic Accouterments are items that define a game, but are not a commonly seen,used, or owned item. Among the everyday citizen Iconics are mysterious, legendary,mythic, and sometimes feared. Lightsabres & Glitter Boy Armor are examples.
Romantic Accouterments are items that define a game but not by being legendary or mysterious but by being widely available and accepted. They also have become somewhat romanticized. An example would be the colt revolver during the old west and cybernetics in Cyberpunk 2020.
Valance Accouterments are items that don't have any particular function or direct use in the game other than to add a described element. These items add color and flavor a game but generally don't have any direct mechanical purpose. The clothes the people wear, furniture, some technological items that are convenience items are all examples.
I think you need to use at the least 2 of the three in order to have properly designed game.
So, using Accoutrement to design a game first requires you to come up with the basic concept of the game. Is it sci-fi, is it fantasy, what type of social structure is used, what do PCs do? All of those sorts of questions.
Once you have the basic setting decided and what the players do decided on, then you toss in the accouterments. First I choose two Iconics, then four Romanics, and eight Valance accouterments. Take each one of the accouterments you come up with and write up a description of the item:
1. What they do?
2. How PCs use them?
3. Where they came from?
4. Their role in the setting?
5. How they are made?
6. Who makes them?
7. Who uses them?
8. Possible ideas how to use them mechanically in the game?
9. Do they require a power source? If so, what powers it?
10. What impression does the general public have of the item?
For Valance items less of these questing are important, but should still try to answer as many as apply.
By time you get done doing this process you should have come up with a considerable amount of setting info. You can stop there and go freestyle or you can repeat the process, building on the previous 14 ones.
Once you have sufficiently fleshed out the setting and feel of the game, design the mechanical bits to play on the roles and uses of the most important accouterments in your game. Keep in mind, not all accoutrement require that they have a mechanical effect on the game, just the few most important ones.
An example:
Iconic: Totemic Magic,Light Riders
Romatic: Six-Guns,Winchester boltgun, Enchanted weapons,Mythic stories that come true
Valance: chained cuffs, polysteel dusters, genetically altered horses,float trains, energy magazines,slipwagons, sweat lodges, ghost catchers
there is also
this thread that goes into more discussion ont accouterments.
