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<blockquote data-quote="Fanaelialae" data-source="post: 8004171" data-attributes="member: 53980"><p>What I'm saying is that if it is irrelevant which version is true, then it's essentially set dressing. There's nothing wrong with spending time on set dressing per se, but there are arguably more useful aspects of your campaign that you could be spending your time on. </p><p></p><p>It's like if you go into a dungeon and the DM describes the walls as being mold covered. If it's just set dressing, you don't really need a taxonomy for the mold. It's just mold on the wall. The DM mentions it for ambiance and the game continues on. There's nothing wrong with working up a detailed write up of the mold if you want to, but it's probably something you only want to spend time on after you've finished everything you need for the game.</p><p></p><p>If on the other hand, the mold has healing properties, or is poisonous, or reproduces by draining heat from anything that gets too close, then it's no longer merely set dressing but is potentially quite pertinent to gameplay. Therefore the DM should have an idea of what it does.</p><p></p><p>The way I run things, I have different groups who believe different things. But I also know the truth (I usually go with none of the groups being 100% correct) and I look for ways to express that through the campaign. Frequently, the hints get overlooked because they tend to be subtle background details, but they are there and some players have deduced a few fundamental truths about the game world as a result, which is a big pay off.</p><p></p><p>In the real world we don't have high level wizards and priests who can answer these questions definitively. That isn't to say that you can't have the questions in the game world. Maybe no one of high enough level has tried to answer them. Maybe they failed. Maybe the truth they learned was so terrible that they never shared it. Maybe they did share it but were dismissed, because people have difficulty letting go of entrenched beliefs even in the face of contrary evidence. Lots of possibilities. </p><p></p><p>However, if the PCs suddenly decide that they have an overwhelming need to answer the question, then you either need to have an answer ready or you need to be able to come up with a satisfactory answer as it becomes relevant.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Fanaelialae, post: 8004171, member: 53980"] What I'm saying is that if it is irrelevant which version is true, then it's essentially set dressing. There's nothing wrong with spending time on set dressing per se, but there are arguably more useful aspects of your campaign that you could be spending your time on. It's like if you go into a dungeon and the DM describes the walls as being mold covered. If it's just set dressing, you don't really need a taxonomy for the mold. It's just mold on the wall. The DM mentions it for ambiance and the game continues on. There's nothing wrong with working up a detailed write up of the mold if you want to, but it's probably something you only want to spend time on after you've finished everything you need for the game. If on the other hand, the mold has healing properties, or is poisonous, or reproduces by draining heat from anything that gets too close, then it's no longer merely set dressing but is potentially quite pertinent to gameplay. Therefore the DM should have an idea of what it does. The way I run things, I have different groups who believe different things. But I also know the truth (I usually go with none of the groups being 100% correct) and I look for ways to express that through the campaign. Frequently, the hints get overlooked because they tend to be subtle background details, but they are there and some players have deduced a few fundamental truths about the game world as a result, which is a big pay off. In the real world we don't have high level wizards and priests who can answer these questions definitively. That isn't to say that you can't have the questions in the game world. Maybe no one of high enough level has tried to answer them. Maybe they failed. Maybe the truth they learned was so terrible that they never shared it. Maybe they did share it but were dismissed, because people have difficulty letting go of entrenched beliefs even in the face of contrary evidence. Lots of possibilities. However, if the PCs suddenly decide that they have an overwhelming need to answer the question, then you either need to have an answer ready or you need to be able to come up with a satisfactory answer as it becomes relevant. [/QUOTE]
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