What if your players had an innate knowledge of your setting?

[Asmor]

Does this sound familiar to anyone?

Player 1: Ok, so we need to go to Addlebrook to get the Golden McGuffin
Player 2: Wait, I thought it was Addleton?
Player 1: No, Addlebrook, I've got it written right... oh, it is Addleton.
Player 3: But isn't Addleton all the way in Moosevania?!?
Flabbergasted DM: YOU'RE IN ADDLETON!

So here's what I propose... Using earth as your setting. But not earth. In fact, for the simplistic sake of discussion, let's call it Not Earth, or NE. Import, wholesale, all the countries, geographies, cities, political climates, etc. Now the players know without even thinking that if they want to get to London from San Francisco, they're gonna be taking at least one boat ride and one cross-continent trek. In addition, they know what the political climate and everything is like too. For example, the king of the United States is hotly contested, many believing him a fool and many others believing him a great and wise leader.

The potential problem I see with this is twofold. First, it might harm suspension of disbelief for obvious reasons. Second, depending on your group's maturity and sensitivities, it might restrict your options. It's a lot more sensitive if you're staging a war between the US and China, even if they are only those countries in names, as opposed to staging a war between two random fantasy countries you made up. Additionally, your choice of racial population could be construed as racism. Not many would think being depicted as orcs to be flattering, after all, but someone's gotta be the orcs.

So what do you think? Good idea, or too much baggage?

 

[Turanil]

So what do you think? Good idea, or too much baggage?

Well, some DMs have created homebrew settings based on Earth, but populated with elves, dragons, etc., so it may appeal to some people. But I think that a majority will reject such a setting for fantasy D&D, while it may be perfect for d20 Modern.

Anyway, what prevents a DM to ask the players that they read the campaign setting book? The last DM I did play with had made a handhout about the setting for the players to read, that he sent us through email. Plus, it's not even necessary to know much about the world. After all, medieval characters may hardly know what lies beyond the hill next to their native village.

 

[Aloïsius]

Anyway, what prevents a DM to ask the players that they read the campaign setting book?

secrets. Some books have bad design, with big secrets everywhere (Eberron... I'm looking at you), even in the player race chapter...

After all, medieval characters may hardly know what lies beyond the hill next to their native village.

If you play Samwise like type of characters, yes. If you play the son of a couple of minstrel, probably no.

 

[frankthedm]

Tis a reason i do not play run the Forgettable Realms

 

[Xaositech]

Does this sound familiar to anyone?

Player 1: Ok, so we need to go to Addlebrook to get the Golden McGuffin
Player 2: Wait, I thought it was Addleton?
Player 1: No, Addlebrook, I've got it written right... oh, it is Addleton.
Player 3: But isn't Addleton all the way in Moosevania?!?
Flabbergasted DM: YOU'RE IN ADDLETON!

So here's what I propose... Using earth as your setting. But not earth. In fact, for the simplistic sake of discussion, let's call it Not Earth, or NE. Import, wholesale, all the countries, geographies, cities, political climates, etc. Now the players know without even thinking that if they want to get to London from San Francisco, they're gonna be taking at least one boat ride and one cross-continent trek. In addition, they know what the political climate and everything is like too. For example, the king of the United States is hotly contested, many believing him a fool and many others believing him a great and wise leader.

The potential problem I see with this is twofold. First, it might harm suspension of disbelief for obvious reasons. Second, depending on your group's maturity and sensitivities, it might restrict your options. It's a lot more sensitive if you're staging a war between the US and China, even if they are only those countries in names, as opposed to staging a war between two random fantasy countries you made up. Additionally, your choice of racial population could be construed as racism. Not many would think being depicted as orcs to be flattering, after all, but someone's gotta be the orcs.

So what do you think? Good idea, or too much baggage?

Interesting to come across this thread, as I'm trying to attempt exactly what you're bringing up purely for the sake of familiarity. I've also been considering coming across some plot ideas how the non-human races would exist in such a parallel world as I plan to use actual history, but hi-jack certain events to turn out as a different result. Mind you, I'm only focusing on a certain part of the world and I'm intending to keep the social climate to eras prior to the industrial revolution (or more importantly, pre-firearms) so the PCs don't have to suspend too much disbelief and can casually accept the existence of other humanoid races and magic.

Right now, it's just a matter of trying to come across the appropriate style map that I can use for my intent and purposes to create the political boundaries and cities / castles that I deem to be in existence.

 

[blargney the second]

I played in a game similar to that. It was cool, but kind of odd as well. I think it would have worked out well if the game had gone on for longer.
-blarg

Edit: Random detail that just returned to me: the orcs were in Edmonton. (I was in Calgary on a work term at the time.)

 

[Dog Moon]

I don't think I'd like this [partly for the same reason I dislike FR] because it is of course much cooler to play a game in Los Angeles or New York or something [than, say Minneapolis ] and people already have preconceived notions of what the place should be like, whether you want to use them as such or not. Some people would know more about a place than you and if you try to have it be one way, there's going to be that person who says 'No, it's not like that, it's like this' and kinda ruin everything.

IME, I've see than though players do get confused at first, with a decent map and slowly repeating names to them long enough, they get to understand the people/places better. In one of my campaigns, it took about 3 weeks, but one of the player's stated correcting another player about what the names truly were [and he wasn't mistaken either, for the most part]. It isn't a quick process and heck, I don't know about you, but I didn't learn the names of many countries in a single day, so I don't expect them to know everything immediately.

It may be frustrating at first, but it's a cool feeling when the player's start calling out the names of places correctly.

 

[Asmor]

Anyway, what prevents a DM to ask the players that they read the campaign setting book? The last DM I did play with had made a handhout about the setting for the players to read, that he sent us through email.

I've got a website (a tiddlywiki) that's heavily crossreferenced and which lists everything about the world that I've come up with so far, which isn't a whole lot beyond what they've encountered in game. Primarily it's just a place to keep track of what they've done. I'm reasonably certain I'm the only person who uses it, too, despite repeated proddings that they should go check it out.

And honestly, I don't think that's particularly wrong. This is supposed to be a fun game, I don't want to force my players to do homework and study.

 

[Asmor]

I don't think I'd like this [partly for the same reason I dislike FR] because it is of course much cooler to play a game in Los Angeles or New York or something [than, say Minneapolis ] and people already have preconceived notions of what the place should be like, whether you want to use them as such or not. Some people would know more about a place than you and if you try to have it be one way, there's going to be that person who says 'No, it's not like that, it's like this' and kinda ruin everything.

Well, you wouldn't be doing things exactly the same. So LA's still a bustling metropilis (by medieval/fantasy standards) whose seedier areas are plagued by gang warfare (heh, the bloods could be gnolls and the crips could be orcs!). That doesn't mean you need to recreate everything down to the street level, just try to get the feel for it.

 

[Turanil]

I don't want to force my players to do homework and study.

But you could give a fair amount of bonus XP to those who do... I guess it would prompt many of them to get a closer look at the campaign world.