What is important in defining a setting

[Varianor Abroad]

If I'm playing in it, I want to know

1. What's different from the Core Rulebooks?

2. Where do I buy stuff?

3. Where do I come from?

I'd suggest typing up a prototype, handing it to your players, and making a record of the follow up questions they ask, whether it's by email or in person. Then write or transcribe that material. Good luck! Sounds like a fun project.

 

[Khairn]

I love reading the varying opinions that folks have on a topic such as this.

From my point of view it comes down to why you are writing it down in the first place. Is it to organize you notes, to prepare for publication, for player hand-outs or for some other reason. Each of these reasons would probably need a different approach.

If this is for player handouts about your world I would provide a short highlight of the major elements (Dieties, Magic, Nations, Technology etc) and then a more detailed view of how a typical day unfolds in the life of an inhabitant. That way you can introduce everyday (common) cultural or mercantile aspects as well.

 

[Sundragon2012]

I think some of the ideas here are very good, some of which are what I was thinking so I won;t reiterate them. However pay close attention to an element that often gets short shrift....

Naming Conventions - The type of names used on the world either in an overall way or culture by culture (this is what I recommend). Also, the names you, as setting creator, use for the naming of nations, peoples, fortresses, forests, etc. are very important. Fantasy is full of good concepts backed dumb or incongruous names that just scream that no thought was given to this aspect of design.

Solid, right sounding names add a lot to the versimillitude of a setting. If your setting is celtic inspires find some celtic names and tweak them a bit if necessary so they have the sound you want. Use a name generator program to help if you need to.

Avoid cliches...Mount Doom, The Elf Forest, The Dark Dungeon....in other worlds cheesy crap names. However, you may have people colloquially call a forest the Elf Forest, that's fine but use its "proper name" when referring to it most often...Maybe calling the forest Irthyl Valar which might mean, in the elven tongue of your setting the Elven Wood. The local humans may call it that but refer to it by its elven name to give it personality.

Names for people can be culturally based or purely fantasy. Fantasy names like Laurana, Tanthalis, Ariakas, Kitiara, Caramon, etc. are well thought out, good sounding names to the ear. Judging fantasy names is hard but they will sound right intuitively and will not sound like you named the NPC as an afterthought. The benefit of culturally valid names is that they ring true do to linguistics that fantasy names can't have.

Also, if you choose alien or very odd sounding names be consistant across a culture or the entire setting. Athas, Tekumel, and the new Violet Dawn setting have an "alien" and non-traditional quality to their fantasy and their naming conventions are consistantly different but that consistancy leads to a distinct personality.

On the other hand, having two guys in the same culture with one named John the Giantslayer and the other names Illori Dak'thul just IMO indicates that the designer had no idea of the personality of the setting he was trying to create. Or he was just really lazy.


Just a couple thoughts.


Chris

 

[howandwhy99]

My suggestion is not to write your homebrew for others. Generally fantasy is based on exploration. The world in which your players play needs to remain unknown to them (both players and characters) to maintain a sense of mystique. It would be the same as if you let your players read the adventures you run beforehand. They would know all the surprises, the history, the answers to the riddles, who the elusive enemy is, the plans of their enemies, etc. etc.

In the same vein, detailing your homebrew world means laying bare the "facts" of the world they are living in. People might do that in modern day, but the past (fantasy) was all about rumor and myth. Nothing was certain (or as certain as we believe it to be today). By requiring your players to learn about their world as they play they almost necessarily become invested in it (or they'll quickly tell you otherwise).

If you have a very unique world, say not just stereotypical dark ages Europe + undefined, then I would make a short description of the campaign starting point (never more than just a simple locale). It should give the players an idea of what to include in their character's own beliefs, but nothing definitive. (i.e. lizardfolk live side by side with humans, but don't explain why)


PS: I should mention that I don't think Sci-Fi worlds really work this way. True sci-fi is based off the modern world, so nothing more than a primer is needed. Things like Star Wars or Traveller are more science fantasy in my opinion. So they get the same treatment as fantasy.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

My suggestion is not to write your homebrew for others. Generally fantasy is based on exploration. The world in which your players play needs to remain unknown to them (both players and characters) to maintain a sense of mystique. It would be the same as if you let your players read the adventures you run beforehand. They would know all the surprises, the history, the answers to the riddles, who the elusive enemy is, the plans of their enemies, etc. etc.

In the same vein, detailing your homebrew world means laying bare the "facts" of the world they are living in. People might do that in modern day, but the past (fantasy) was all about rumor and myth. Nothing was certain (or as certain as we believe it to be today). By requiring your players to learn about their world as they play they almost necessarily become invested in it (or they'll quickly tell you otherwise).

Don't tell the players the truth, or all of the truth, in your player's guide.

In the Midwood write-up I'm working on, the player's guide will have only the basics of things their characters (who are assumed to be natives of the barony) would know, and that's it. Quite a bit of that is wrong or only a small fraction of the real story. Everyone knows that certain areas have bad reputations, but only I know why ...

 

[rbingham2000]

Ray Winninger in his Dungeoncraft articles once upon a time said that it's important not to force yourself to create more than you need at once, and to include a secret for each major element of the setting that you introduce.

One of the elements that I really liked from the first setting that Ray introduced was deities that had more than one aspect when it comes to alignment. Apart from the regular life-giving aspect of the earth goddess in that setting worshipped by most clerics of that goddess, there's also a dark destructive aspect of that goddess that's worshipped by evil clerics who want to destroy things. I like this approach because it frees me to create deities that are more complex than is suggested by a given alignment, and because it's easy to introduce some controversy between two or more different factions of the same god, each of which focuses on a particular aspect of the deity in question.

 

[Crothian]

A lot of you are conctrating on creating a new setting, I have the setting, ites defined, its already introduced to the players, I just need to organize informtion and make sure I get everything. But there is a lot of good info hear for others.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

A lot of you are conctrating on creating a new setting, I have the setting, ites defined, its already introduced to the players, I just need to organize informtion and make sure I get everything. But there is a lot of good info hear for others.

You'll forget stuff, don't worry about it. That's the advantage of starting small and working out. You can add things in. Even if you personally have the GreatBigEmpire mapped out, don't show it all to the players. Just give it to them bit by bit, so if you can make changes if you have to.

Remember, a good world builder is not an exhibitionist, a good world builder is more of a back-room stripper exotic dancer.

Hope that helps.

-BG

PS don't forget to elminate gnomes.

 

[Crothian]

I did something different with gnomes. There are a few small changes that I amde and it so happened that the most popular NPC so far is the one gnome they've run into.

One problem is the world is shown, its been many years in the making so while the new players don't know what's all out there I do. I am showing it to them a bit at a time, They've only seen 1/8th of the map out parts so far.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

One problem is the world is shown, its been many years in the making so while the new players don't know what's all out there I do. I am showing it to them a bit at a time, They've only seen 1/8th of the map out parts so far.

See, that's good. Start out in that 1/8th if possible.