Reading homebrew worlds

[Aus_Snow]

PDF.

 

[Agamon]

Seeing as I'd more likely just want to see the bits that interested me and not read it cover to cover, wiki or webpage would be best.

 

[jdrakeh]

No question here. I prefer a PDF because I can read it on-screen or, if I so choose, print it out in an easy-to-read format. Most HTML sites (and, so far as I know, all wikis) are not formatted for printing and those that are print out as awkward, staggered, unfriendly blocks of text.

 

[Mallus]

I voted 'Other'. I prefer reading about people's homebrews in Story Hours/fictional narratives, with some additional notes tacked on throughout.

A plain presentation of setting information is usually too dry to hold my interest.

That said, one day I'll put up a site/wiki for my homebrew, CITY. With any luck it'll be an entertaining read. At the very least, it'll be too kooky and meandering to legitimately qualify as 'dry'.

 

[Ry]

One thing that I find helps is breaking it down into tiny sections; 250 words max apiece. The origin myth of a culture might be cool - but it's better to keep it in a separate section that have it tacked onto the end of a big block of text. Lots of little sections (so it's easy to know what you feel like reading / ignoring) is better than a few big sections.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

PDF but I have a low threshold for homebrews. I have a few pet peeves that make me put something down fast. Disregard for game balance is one, gaps in the game history that span centuries (if not millennia!), and a few others.

My impression is that I'm not alone with being fickle. I've talked to gamers who will put a setting down the second they see that guns are in any way present. Even the old 16th century matchlocks. So that's actually an argument for a wiki, because you can dabble here and there with updates.

 

[Dr Simon]

I wouldn't read someone else's homebrew.

Like, for example, Greyhawk or Forgotten Realms?

I think a nice prepped-for-print PDF is the easiest to read, as kensenata says, on the way home from work. Small web-pages are good, especially if you're only looking at scrolling down one or two pages worth. Endless long blocks of text are for the die-hard only, I think (and I'm pretty sure I'm guilty of that with Conclave).

A few years ago I had the fantabulous idea of taking it upon myself to review online homebrew worlds. I think I did about ten beginning with 'A' before seeing sense. My experience with that, though, was that three things are important:

1) Your basic HTML/page design skills. Go read webpagesthatsuck.com. Learn.
2) Over-volume of information in one block. The web works best if you assume a short attention span on behalf of your reader.
3) Originality of the world. This is highly personal, but if you spend a lot of time checking out homebrew worlds you get very bored, very quickly, of yet another vanilla fantasy setting (or worse, a cheap version of a Midnightesque, bady guys won setting - oo, we're so dark, look, we've got red text on a black background :\ )

Something I've done with Conclave (mainly on PC races so far, but I may take it further) is for short web page entries with an associated PDF for more details. If you have the whole thing on PDF but little/no web content (Aretis D'Arghe and Bostonia went this direction, poor decision IMO), why would someone download your PDF?

 

[Woas]

Like, for example, Greyhawk or Forgotten Realms?

Yes, that is correct.

I agree with Megatron. Not cause I'm a jerk and hate everyone but because I'm spending my time developing my own homebrew. Now, I don't mind hearing about other peoples settings, like Mallus said, through story hours or little tid-bits around the forums. Or even learning and exploring them with a character and playing in one. But a full on .pdf or cross refrences wiki I just don't have the time for. That's why I don't purchase or read Greyhawk/Forgotten Realms/Eberron/Dark Sun/Planescape/DragonLance/etc. setting material either.

 

[Kaladhan]

What I want to see when I read it in either format is "What's refreshing and original and really grabs the players?"

I totally agree with that. I had a phase where I read a lot of homebrews, and I found a lot of them boring for that reason. People should state what is different about their world, what's the core concept.

PDF or wiki, I don't really care. Content is more important than layout.

 

[Flynn]

For printing it out and reading it, I prefer PDF. Wikis are a close second, though.

Enjoy,
Flynn