Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Let's Talk About RPG Worldbuilding
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Norton" data-source="post: 8345747" data-attributes="member: 7031494"><p>Both of these. As someone who has spent lots of time writing fiction, I'm tempted to lay out something gloriously detailed for players to traipse around in and do heroic things. However, I've come to learn that world building isn't a "build it and they will come" – rather, it's "they come and you will build it". Imagine a film written specifically for the interests of the seated audience present in the theater for that day. All my fingers are wet and in the wind. </p><p></p><p>But making stuff is too much fun so I develop the overall hook of the world, envision a big place for things to go at higher levels, start with a interesting locale/city, and implant a number of cultures, conflicts and locales into individual NPCs which work great as inspirations and are usually how PCs learn about those things. Instead of scratching out in-depth lore (despite <em>really</em> wanting to) attaching lore to NPCs leaves a lot open for addition and adjustment based on the mood, input and interests of my players. Otherwise, I'm forcing player-shaped pegs into DM-shaped holes and for me, that can bog things down.</p><p></p><p>TLDR: My players and I write together with my providing the prompts and steering things by small degrees with my "big place to go" in mind.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Norton, post: 8345747, member: 7031494"] Both of these. As someone who has spent lots of time writing fiction, I'm tempted to lay out something gloriously detailed for players to traipse around in and do heroic things. However, I've come to learn that world building isn't a "build it and they will come" – rather, it's "they come and you will build it". Imagine a film written specifically for the interests of the seated audience present in the theater for that day. All my fingers are wet and in the wind. But making stuff is too much fun so I develop the overall hook of the world, envision a big place for things to go at higher levels, start with a interesting locale/city, and implant a number of cultures, conflicts and locales into individual NPCs which work great as inspirations and are usually how PCs learn about those things. Instead of scratching out in-depth lore (despite [I]really[/I] wanting to) attaching lore to NPCs leaves a lot open for addition and adjustment based on the mood, input and interests of my players. Otherwise, I'm forcing player-shaped pegs into DM-shaped holes and for me, that can bog things down. TLDR: My players and I write together with my providing the prompts and steering things by small degrees with my "big place to go" in mind. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Let's Talk About RPG Worldbuilding
Top