What details do you NEED?

[DethStryke]

I suppose what you're saying is that my setting locale template looks fine, but you'd caution me to create NPC "blurbs", thumbails of personalities, and not bother to "stat" them. I agree with that because I like such information to be somewhat system independant. Let the DM decide on power levels and equipment. I look at it differently for an adventure module.

Exactly. The process of stating and equipping every NPC you make would be a headache and VERY time consuming, even with a stat generator... and I assure you that once you do all of that ahead of time, less than 5% of those NPC will EVER be encountered or sought out by the players... they will inevitably latch on to some random person you throw in as last minute filler. That way, you can "make" the random filler person with instant depth by pulling the cards.

Plus it gives you something to anchor any off-the-cuff Roleplaying moments you may run into... the blurbs spur creativity (well, in me they do) and I end up thinking up better concepts on the fly that way than I ever could by trying to sit and think them up before the game starts.

 

[Arnwyn]

What information in a campaign setting is essential to your games? How important are imports, exports, population numbers (including demi-human percentages), and other demographic information?

Nowadays, I need a whole lot, as time prevents me from detailing a lot of things on my own. I'm most interested in geography and power structures (leaders, etc) within the geography. Along with that, population numbers is the most essential demographic-specific information. Secondary to this, I like population breakdowns (non-human percentage) and basic economics (imports/exports). This is all very valuable information to me.

Do any of you feel that the typical campaign setting presents information that goes unused most of the time?

Never, ever. For me, nothing is too much.

What are the first things you look for when picking up a region of a setting to run adventures in?

I absolutely require maps that are a decent scale (1" = 30 miles is preferable). I also look to see if there are any settlement (city/town/etc) maps included. So, uh, maps are the first thing I for. Without adequate maps, I won't even consider purchasing a region/geographical product.

Is it important to anybody for a setting locale to have all the buildings detailed, and all NPCs listed? I think of the old Volo's guide to Waterdeep.

Well, which is it? 'Cause these are two different things, of course. VGtW certainly did not have all the buildings detailed and all the NPCs listed. But in any case, VGtW is one of my favorite (and well-used) books. Extremely valuable to me.

 

[Ourph]

Does anybody like the list of locale features I compiled based on your suggestions? Please give me some feedback on that?

PLACE NAME (accompanied by a detailed map)

Excellent.

History (how was city started, and what events of historic importance were there?)

Don't need it.

Population and Economy basis (imports and exports, and rough population numbers)

Don't need it.

Distinguishing features and noteworthy places

Need it.

Chief Religious influence

Don't need it.

Important NPCs or legendary monsters

Need it.

Local authorities (from constables to armies)

Need it.

Typical means of transportation

Don't need it.

Adventurers equipment shops

Don't need it.

Places to sell loot

Don't need it.

Guilds or training halls

Don't need it.

adventure hooks/politics

Need the first, not so much the second.

1) Who the PCs should be fighting
2) Why they should be fighting them
3) What happens if they don't fight them
4) Who and what is available to help them

Me too!

 

[Arnwyn]

Does anybody like the list of locale features I compiled based on your suggestions? Please give me some feedback on that?

It's pretty good - close to the old Forgotten Realms Adventures city format/template (which, to this day, is my favorite way of detailing cities - and is what I still use).

 

[DragonLancer]

A question for Dungeon Masters:

What information in a campaign setting is essential to your games? How important are imports, exports, population numbers (including demi-human percentages), and other demographic information?

Imports and Exports? Not interested really. I can decide that for myself.
Population figures? Yes, knowing the population is necessary and racial percentages helps flesh it out.

Do any of you feel that the typical campaign setting presents information that goes unused most of the time?

Yes. I cannot use everything in a setting, for various reasons, bit some other DM may find that particular piece interesting and so everything has a place in the setting info.

What are the first things you look for when picking up a region of a setting to run adventures in?

Local population. If the area is too civilised I don’t see how there can be many monsters roaming around. That’s why I like border domains where there is a few villages, maybe a decent town with a local lord, and lots of wilderness to hide monsters and the occasional dungeon.

Is it important to anybody for a setting locale to have all the buildings detailed, and all NPCs listed? I think of the old Volo's guide to Waterdeep.

No thanks. Waste of space in my book. Name the main NPC’s with their class, alignment, race and level, but unless they are very entwined with the setting don’t worry about stats. As for buildings, list the main ones of importance but there’s no need for real detail.

 

[Mallus]

As a DM, I need lots of incidental detail that helps me create the illusion of a whole, wide world.

Places names, sometimes down to the street address (Cafe Limbo, 117 South Spider St., Saltbend, Eris, CITY), but not neccessarily detailed maps.

Brands, regional products, and companies (Wulong Peace Tea, Parvishatan steel, Bodhisatva Shipping Lines, LTD), but no elaborate import/export tables or schematics of entire economies.

Famous people (Arabia Wainwright, bestselling romance novelist, Spring-Veal Jack, celebrity chef at the Palm d'Whorl), but not the geneology of royal houses for several centuries.

Bascially, instead of the Greyhawk Gazetteer, I need People magazine or Entertainment Weekly...

 

[Nathal]

1) Who the PCs should be fighting
2) Why they should be fighting them
3) What happens if they don't fight them
4) Who and what is available to help them

Those things have more to do with story, right? I guess that's you're point.

 

[Nathal]

Okay, I streamlined my list a bit.

PLACE NAME (accompanied by a detailed map)
Description (brief history, common transportation)
Regional pantheon
Population (sparse, moderate, heavy) and Economy (import, exports)
Important NPCs or legendary monsters
Local authorities (from constables to armies)
Distinguishing features and noteworthy places
Places to buy equipment or sell loot:
Guilds or training halls:
adventure hooks (of whatever kind):

Even better?

 

[DethStryke]

Okay, I streamlined my list a bit.

PLACE NAME (accompanied by a detailed map)
Description (brief history, common transportation)
Regional pantheon
Population (sparse, moderate, heavy) and Economy (import, exports)
Important NPCs or legendary monsters
Local authorities (from constables to armies)
Distinguishing features and noteworthy places
Places to buy equipment or sell loot:
Guilds or training halls:
adventure hooks (of whatever kind):

Even better?

I dig it.

You're going to get a lot of different opinions on what you need and don't need from that list from anyone who posts here. Some groups micromanage and like working economies, however many do not and every store has what is in the PHB. There is nothing wrong with that, but you have to decide how much depth you AND your players want in the game. I like the prospect of being able to allow my character to own property and know local legends (which a good DM can then twine in as side or main storylines).

That is personal preference. You're kind of mixing good prep concepts with highly arbitrary content, which is going to get you a some-what confusing, mixed bag of replies.

 

[RFisher]

The less likely it is to be encountered or cared about by the PCs, the less need for it to be written.

I want a map with locations of interest marked & a key describing those places & the important NPCs therein.

I want encounter charts for different areas.

I love the random building tables in the old AD&D Lankhmar book. (If the PCs ducked into a random building, you roll on some tables based on what part of the city they were in to figure out what kind of building it might be. They also had some generic floorplans that could then be used.)

Some brief history/backstory is nice, but I want it to be brief. The more text I have to absorb in order to decide what to ignore, the least likely I'm going to find your setting worth my time.

Demographics & economics? I don't think you need to detail this stuff. If you've based your design on those things, they will come through without you having to detail them. (If 90% of the population is human, that'll be reflected in your NPCs & encounter charts. If a town depends upon fishing, that will be obvious from its location, the types of businesses, & some key NPCs.)