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<blockquote data-quote="Mercurius" data-source="post: 7421041" data-attributes="member: 59082">Bawylie gave good advice on how to actually bring this stuff into game play. But assuming you are asking for your own enjoyment of worldbuilding and/or as background for game play, I think it really depends upon what sort of feeling you want to evoke.A longer history allows for a feeling of age - that there have been waves of civilization, many of which are forgotten. I personally like this feeling in a fantasy setting. On the other hand, then there's a setting like Dawnforge, which takes place in the &quot;elder days&quot; when civilization was just getting started. This evokes a different feel, perhaps one that is more mythic.I personally like to give myself wiggle room, with gaps that I intentionally don't fill. Why? Because it helps me feel that sense of mystery and the unknown that I would want my players to experience. This is similar to map-making: if you detail every continent and island, there is no Terra Incognita - everything is known, mapped. To me this takes away from that tingling feeling that I so enjoy when I'm world-building: it feels like I am not making something, but rather discovering a world that already exists and is forever beyond my full comprehension.So if you want that feeling, I would leave parts undefined. You could still give time periods times, like the &quot;Lost Ages,&quot; but perhaps scholars in your world argue over the length of time.That's another thing. RPG worlds tend towards an unquestioned objectivist assumption. The reality of our world is that there are different views on just about everything, including history and the origins of civilization. Sure, we have the scientific timeline which is as close to &quot;objective truth&quot; as we have, but even that is in question and always changing and any good scientist knows it is just a best estimate. The point being, it could be interesting to have different timelines, or rather different cultural takes on your world's back-story. In this approach you wouldn't need to define the &quot;true history of the world&quot; - just outline the views of different cultures. More work, yes, but also more interesting (imo).</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Mercurius, post: 7421041, member: 59082"] Bawylie gave good advice on how to actually bring this stuff into game play. But assuming you are asking for your own enjoyment of worldbuilding and/or as background for game play, I think it really depends upon what sort of feeling you want to evoke. A longer history allows for a feeling of age - that there have been waves of civilization, many of which are forgotten. I personally like this feeling in a fantasy setting. On the other hand, then there's a setting like Dawnforge, which takes place in the "elder days" when civilization was just getting started. This evokes a different feel, perhaps one that is more mythic. I personally like to give myself wiggle room, with gaps that I intentionally don't fill. Why? Because it helps me feel that sense of mystery and the unknown that I would want my players to experience. This is similar to map-making: if you detail every continent and island, there is no Terra Incognita - everything is known, mapped. To me this takes away from that tingling feeling that I so enjoy when I'm world-building: it feels like I am not making something, but rather discovering a world that already exists and is forever beyond my full comprehension. So if you want that feeling, I would leave parts undefined. You could still give time periods times, like the "Lost Ages," but perhaps scholars in your world argue over the length of time. That's another thing. RPG worlds tend towards an unquestioned objectivist assumption. The reality of our world is that there are different views on just about everything, including history and the origins of civilization. Sure, we have the scientific timeline which is as close to "objective truth" as we have, but even that is in question and always changing and any good scientist knows it is just a best estimate. The point being, it could be interesting to have different timelines, or rather different cultural takes on your world's back-story. In this approach you wouldn't need to define the "true history of the world" - just outline the views of different cultures. More work, yes, but also more interesting (imo). [/QUOTE]

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