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<blockquote data-quote="TwoSix" data-source="post: 9142955" data-attributes="member: 205">To my mind, the primary factor for playability when it comes to worldbuilding is &quot;Don't bombard your players with it.&quot;If you've got a 1000 page gazetteer and atlas and histories of the 23 countries on your continent, that's great.&nbsp; No issues.&nbsp; But don't expect your players to learn that stuff before they sit down to make characters.If you've added 10 new subclasses to each class to further flesh out your factions and cultures, that's great, but expect that your players are still going to be playing battle master fighters and evocation wizards.If you want your players to buy into your setting, add mechanical options as rewards, not as starting options.&nbsp; Make those knightly orders and arcane societies you've labored on the source of feats and magic items that are stronger and more compelling than the PHB/DMG options, but are contingent on actually &quot;getting involved&quot;.Another option is to go with an OSR approach, and make only simple character options available at the start, and new races and classes become unlockable as rewards.&nbsp; Completing quests for the Temple of the Mother of Mercy will let your fighter become a paladin of Mercy, with specialized bonuses.&nbsp; And yes, absolutely make them stronger than the starting options.&nbsp; If you want players to live and breathe your setting, you use a big carrot of crunchy goodness to reward them for buying in.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="TwoSix, post: 9142955, member: 205"] To my mind, the primary factor for playability when it comes to worldbuilding is "Don't bombard your players with it." If you've got a 1000 page gazetteer and atlas and histories of the 23 countries on your continent, that's great. No issues. But don't expect your players to learn that stuff before they sit down to make characters. If you've added 10 new subclasses to each class to further flesh out your factions and cultures, that's great, but expect that your players are still going to be playing battle master fighters and evocation wizards. If you want your players to buy into your setting, add mechanical options as rewards, not as starting options. Make those knightly orders and arcane societies you've labored on the source of feats and magic items that are stronger and more compelling than the PHB/DMG options, but are contingent on actually "getting involved". Another option is to go with an OSR approach, and make only simple character options available at the start, and new races and classes become unlockable as rewards. Completing quests for the Temple of the Mother of Mercy will let your fighter become a paladin of Mercy, with specialized bonuses. And yes, absolutely make them stronger than the starting options. If you want players to live and breathe your setting, you use a big carrot of crunchy goodness to reward them for buying in. [/QUOTE]

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