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Message: <blockquote data-quote="steenan" data-source="post: 5381709" data-attributes="member: 23240">It is both too much and too little.In the race descriptions there are a precious few sentences that tell me how to play given race. One race is arrogant, another always keeps its words. And that's all, in the long text with multiple paragraphs about each race. I get heights, histories, politics (as in "what these kingdoms do"). But I still have no idea how to play my character so that it's clear that I'm a Grinlian and not a Tankuan when I'm not in my country.A great example of race description done right is a Polish game Crystalicum. Each race gets a few paragraphs, but, what is most important, each also gets three short sidebars - and these three sidebars are enough to play. First one contains five reasons for a member of this race to join an adventuring party. Second one gives five guidelines for roleplaying (like "Never speak lies. Lies are a tool of the weak." or "Underestimate your own strength. Be surprised by how much stronger you are than people you meet."). The last one lists five interesting character concepts that use this race.The places in the other post are described better than the races, IMO, but still not very well. Towerton is good - the description focuses on an important trait that nobody visiting the town could miss; a trait that defines the style of the place. On the other hand, Bluside and East Embrar have nothing interesting in their two paragraphs, nothing that would make me place an adventure there and nothing that would be memorable if I did.Once again, an example of description done right: look how the cities are described in Exalted core book. For me, the descriptions could be shorter. But what is important is that it describes interesting places. Halta, where everybody lives in and on the trees, because whatever and whoever touches ground is lost to the fair folk. Chiorascuro, built on ancient ruins, with towers of unbreakable glass. Gem, built in a volcano, with its central market in an underground cavern. I may improvise an unlimited number of typical cities and villages - the setting book gives me what I could not think about.</blockquote>

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