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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Beginning of the End" data-source="post: 5390640" data-attributes="member: 55271">For my last couple or three major campaigns I've followed a three-step process:STEP 1: WORLD BRIEFING1 Page: Regions of the WorldShort, one-paragraph descriptions of the major regions of the campaign world. This is things like the Five Empires, the Topaz Islands, the Dwarf Delves, the Sultanate of the East.1 Page: Region of the CampaignShort, one-paragraph description of the divisions within the region where the campaign is taking place. For example, if it's set in the Topaz Islands you include one-paragraph descriptions of each of the eighteen island city-states.1 Page: Campaign MapIt's pretty.2 Pages: Campaign TimelineA timeline of major events (covering about 2000 years in my current campaign world). Keep it short and keep it focused on major, world-shaping events. The rule of thumb I have is "include the Cold War, but skip the Vietnam War".2 Pages: GodsIt's only two pages because I have graphic hand-out of their holy symbols (which players of clerics like to have).1 Page: Calendar1 Page: Coinage1 Page: LanguagesThese are useful reference sheets, but not really designed to be read.So I'm basically asking for them to read about 5 pages of bullet-pointed text. Which should give them enough context for...STEP 2: CHARACTER CREATIONI ask my players to pitch me a character concept, which can be as vague or as detailed as they like. From most players I'll get something like "I want to play a barbarian from the Ice Caverns of the north". From others I'll get more than that. Occasionally I'll get somebody who'll give me 6 pages of detailed back-story. It's all good.Whatever they give me, I will now incorporate their concept into the campaign world. I'll give the barbarian notes on the hunter clans of the ice warriors; I'll give the knight a detailed listing of the Chivalric Code of the Rose; I'll give the cleric some notes on their church's heirarchy... and so forth. Some of this is pre-existing detail; some of it I'm making up on the fly.This will usually be a back-and-forth process in which we'll tweak, adjust, or radically alter stuff until the character both (a) matches the concept they want to play and (b) is fully integrated into the reality of the campaign world.This usually results in another 2-5 pages of reading material for the player. But it's stuff hooked directly into their character, and they'll often have been responsible for generating a significant portion of it.Occasionally, at this point we'll be finished. But in many cases, there'll be one last step...STEP 3: THE CAMPAIGN HANDOUTOrganized in a fashion similar to the world briefing, this 5-10 page document will be a more detailed look at the immediate starting location/situation of the campaign.Typical contents might be: A map of the city they're starting in with one-paragraph descriptions of the various neighborhoods and/or major landmarks. A more detailed timeline of local/recent history. An organizational chart of the group they all belong to. A list of available bounties (for the campaign where they were playing bounty hunters). Et cetera.So, to sum up: I'm usually giving my players 10-20 pages worth of material, broken up into three small, digestible chunks. IME, it tends to work well with getting them integrated into the campaign world without making it feel as if I'm giving them homework.</blockquote>

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