Something I've learned from my (relatively short) time DMing, is that no matter how rich I try to make the world, those dastardly party members will always throw a wrench in things. The well thought out backstories- they'll never see the light of day! That merchant with the rich, detailed personality that I'd been planning on sharing? Of course they don't bother talking to him! The nerve!
And then these "adventurers" want to have a detailed conversation with the one NPC that I didn't think up in advance? Who is this guy!? He's nobody!
This threw me off for a while. At best, I would do a quick random name generator and say the Lord/Lady had no time for them and didn't want to talk; anything to avoid having to pull this unformed character out of the ether. But that's pretty disappointing for the PCs- they show interest in someone and there's nothing there. And it's disappointing to me as a GM, because it made my world look like the Hollywood set that it was, prop buildings and lifeless extras with nothing behind them. But planning out an entirely populated world, where every possible character has its place, is totally impossible. And improving a character on the spot just seemed too hard. I have a whole world to worry about- how can I breathe life into this guy with a moment's notice?!?
So what I've started doing that's made my life much easier, and made the game a whole lot more fun, is sharing that burden with the party. The party rogue wants to know more information about the corrupt guard that I mentioned in passing (and probably by accident)? Awesome! That means that you're invested. Now you tell me what the guard's name is. Tell me about that crime he arrested you for once, and how he shook you down. What did he look like? The cleric wants to know what god the Bullywoog tribe is worshipping? Cool! I want to know that too! Go ahead and tell me. And what kind of unique ritual do they perform? How does your character know about it?
Throwing these kinds of questions out there takes a little bit of a burden off of me as DM, but more importantly it makes it our world that we're playing in, not just my world. By pulling something off of the top of their head, and relating it back to their character, the players just made the universe richer and established their place in it a little more firmly. And not only are they much more likely to be invested in Peasant #453, who I never even considered existed, but we just came up with a reason for him to be there that's far more interesting than something I could have made up alone in the moment without the players' input. The players start to latch onto these characters, it pulls us in weird and fun directions, and they start feeling encouraged to ask even more questions each session. The world keeps getting richer and richer, with no extra work from the poor, overburdened DM.
Do you all do this kind of collaborative world building in your games? What's worked well for you? And if you haven't, I highly recommend giving it a shot!
And then these "adventurers" want to have a detailed conversation with the one NPC that I didn't think up in advance? Who is this guy!? He's nobody!
This threw me off for a while. At best, I would do a quick random name generator and say the Lord/Lady had no time for them and didn't want to talk; anything to avoid having to pull this unformed character out of the ether. But that's pretty disappointing for the PCs- they show interest in someone and there's nothing there. And it's disappointing to me as a GM, because it made my world look like the Hollywood set that it was, prop buildings and lifeless extras with nothing behind them. But planning out an entirely populated world, where every possible character has its place, is totally impossible. And improving a character on the spot just seemed too hard. I have a whole world to worry about- how can I breathe life into this guy with a moment's notice?!?
So what I've started doing that's made my life much easier, and made the game a whole lot more fun, is sharing that burden with the party. The party rogue wants to know more information about the corrupt guard that I mentioned in passing (and probably by accident)? Awesome! That means that you're invested. Now you tell me what the guard's name is. Tell me about that crime he arrested you for once, and how he shook you down. What did he look like? The cleric wants to know what god the Bullywoog tribe is worshipping? Cool! I want to know that too! Go ahead and tell me. And what kind of unique ritual do they perform? How does your character know about it?
Throwing these kinds of questions out there takes a little bit of a burden off of me as DM, but more importantly it makes it our world that we're playing in, not just my world. By pulling something off of the top of their head, and relating it back to their character, the players just made the universe richer and established their place in it a little more firmly. And not only are they much more likely to be invested in Peasant #453, who I never even considered existed, but we just came up with a reason for him to be there that's far more interesting than something I could have made up alone in the moment without the players' input. The players start to latch onto these characters, it pulls us in weird and fun directions, and they start feeling encouraged to ask even more questions each session. The world keeps getting richer and richer, with no extra work from the poor, overburdened DM.
Do you all do this kind of collaborative world building in your games? What's worked well for you? And if you haven't, I highly recommend giving it a shot!
