D&D 5E What do I tell players about my overly complex political world?

[Not a Hobbit]

Dear Enworlders:

So I'm about to start DMing a campaign. It's set in a homebrew world which has been designed and revised in my mind for the past 30 years. During that time, the politics and history of the world (even the little part of it that my PCs will inhabit) has grown more and more complex.

So the question is, how much of the backstory (which even common people in this world would know) can I give to the players without overwhelming them? For example, the first mission is pretty much a "save the princess" scenario, but the characters would also be expected to recognize the name of the man attempting to abduct her, and therefore why it's important to keep her safe, which would mean knowing the abductor's history. And they would know that one nation is subjugated to the princesses nation, and chafes under the king's (the princess' grandfather) yoke, and therefore the people may be more or less inclined to help. As you can see, it gets complicated quickly.

I have written up some background, but it runs about two pages, but even then I feel like it might be too much too soon. Especially as there will be more information coming in the future. And I don't really want, and they probably don't want to, have to keep consulting notes to remember who someone is.

Or am I just making a mountain out of a molehill, and underestimating my player's willingness to absorb large amounts of minutia? I was a history major in college, and have a fairly good memory for names and dates, so it's hard for me to judge things like this some times.

Any guidance anyone can give would be appreciated. Thanks.

--Scott

 

[ElderElementalEye]

I think it depends on the level of education of your players.
The son of a nobleman, or a member of the clergy, would be very informed of the history and political implications.
For commoners, it would be Princess' Father = high taxes = bad, and if they don't personnally know the abductor, the he's just another nobleman / rich merchant.

I'm a big fan of individual backgrounds for PCs

 

[Nagol]

Up front? A paragraph. Maybe two. Keep it under 100 words; bullet point is fine. Stay on point for the first adventure. It doesn't matter how the subjugation happened or when, just that the common folk are likely willing to help "freedom fighters". Think about the initial exposition of Star Wars from the perspective that the two droids are the only PCs present..

It's not that people can't read and absorb this stuff. It's just that they are giving a small fraction of their time to play a game and are unlikely to retain anything week-to-week except through repetition and investment which you do not have the luxury of exploiting at the beginning of a campaign.

As things happen, such as when they discover the name of the abductor, give a two to three sentence description letting the players in on the most salient information attached to it. "The kidnapper is Duke Alborn. He is the last in the line of King Beorn, and rightful heir to this kingdom. He is very popular; any public attack on him or his will likely cause a popular uprising."

 

[akr71]

Have a session zero where you discuss things as a group and the players create their characters. Then you can write an 'executive summary' for each player of what a person from those character backgrounds would know about the history and political structure of your world.

If they what or need to know more than that, expand on it at the table during the game. Ask for a History check if you think it is appropriate. Try to not bog down the players with too much background too soon - let it come out naturally as the story progresses.

 

[Bitbrain]

Have a session zero where you discuss things as a group and the players create their characters. Then you can write an 'executive summary' for each player of what a person from those character backgrounds would know about the history and political structure of your world.

If they what or need to know more than that, expand on it at the table during the game. Ask for a History check if you think it is appropriate. Try to not bog down the players with too much background too soon - let it come out naturally as the story progresses.

This is exactly what the second DM for our group did. A session 0 to give us a feel for the world, and for our characters to create connections with various important NPCs.
It really did help a lot.

 

[Giltonio_Santos]

I think it depends on individual character education and starting level. My basic answer would be "not too much", though. I'd let them discover it during play and have their History skills be useful for knowing specifics, as needed.

 

[Gardens & Goblins]

I'd map out the famous/infamous movers and shakers, an overview of each party and the stereotypes surrounding them.

Then ask the players to write up 5-10 questions, give them a few days, read them and reply in a manner that I believed suitable (clues here, hooks there, straight up facts there - tailored to each character's perspective. if possible).

Basically, the bones, and let player's add the meat through their questions.

 

[Michael Silverbane]

Not more than 3-5 sentences at a time, and not unless they (the players) ask about it.

 

[Gardens & Goblins]

Another thing to remember is that complex plots will come crashing to a halt if you rely on your player's piecing the puzzle together - simply because what is obvious to you, the creator of the events, may not be obvious to them. Even if players to find an important NPC/clue/sign, chances are they'll follow it in a totally different direction to the one you would expect them to.

http://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/1118/roleplaying-games/three-clue-rule presents a way of avoiding this problem. In a nutshell, success isn't finding the clues/making the right connections but rather, how quickly - in terms of campaign time frame - they do so. Keeps things moving, and allows you to reveal your political machinations as you wish.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*