What Mundane Details Are Important In Your Fantastical Game/World?

[Reynard]

First of all, Star Wars world building is quite deep

I am going to stop you right there.

Any depth in Star Wars world building is in response to the shallow world building Lucas did. It is an intentionally shallow setting so they can throw anything they want in it, from old west gunslingers to kung fu witches to ace bomber pilots. Then, sometimes, some writers come up with a bunch of lore to justify those things -- but even when they do that, they don't tighten up the overall setting world building because they still need to be able to add anything and everything to the setting.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I tried using Forgotten Realms (FR) names for months and 10-day weeks for tracking things back in 2e/3e days. I added moon cycles and holidays and made up things for different gods and had local founder days and such. Problem was that the players did not care. They thought it was cool and all, but it just did not add anything except work to me for no return.

Now, I will add something if it is needed for the story. If I need a festival or full moon or a NPC dresses in a different way than the locals, it happens. The players do not track anything like this so it does not affect them. I track days very roughly and campaigns tend to start in mid-spring when the roads first open and sometimes it is now early summer or cold wind blows in as the first signs of autumn roll in, but generally it only happens if needed.

My players often don't actively care about the level of worldbuilding I prefer either. The "return" I get is my own enjoyment, and a perhaps subconscious feeling of verisimilitude for the players. That's plenty good enough for me.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I am going to stop you right there.

Any depth in Star Wars world building is in response to the shallow world building Lucas did. It is an intentionally shallow setting so they can throw anything they want in it, from old west gunslingers to kung fu witches to ace bomber pilots. Then, sometimes, some writers come up with a bunch of lore to justify those things -- but even when they do that, they don't tighten up the overall setting world building because they still need to be able to add anything and everything to the setting.

I'm not sure what you see as "worldbuilding" then, if decades of lore fleshing out Lucas' initial vision somehow doesn't count.

 

[Reynard]

I'm not sure what you see as "worldbuilding" then, if decades of lore fleshing out Lucas' initial vision somehow doesn't count.

That depth is only in pockets, was my point. There is no depth to the Star Wars universe as a whole, because it is meant to be able to accommodate pretty much any genre trope.

 

[GobHag]

The food that people eat

Religious/general beliefs, their banal ideologies and their values. The stories that they tell

Sayings and slangs are always fun

I'm a big fan of hats/gimmicks for factions/civilizations, novel executions matter a lot to me more than believability.

 

[Micah Sweet]

That depth is only in pockets, was my point. There is no depth to the Star Wars universe as a whole, because it is meant to be able to accommodate pretty much any genre trope.

You can genre-cross with a lot of settings. Being able to do so has nothing to do with depth. I really have no idea what you're talking about.

 

[Reynard]

You can genre-cross with a lot of settings. Being able to do so has nothing to do with depth. I really have no idea what you're talking about.

I don't think we are using the same definition of depth. But, it is a tangent anyway, so who cares?

 

[uzirath]

At a minimum, I usually pick a world language to use for names and a (thin) veneer of linguistic plausibility.

Beyond that, I enjoy knowing a bit about local foodways, religion, holidays, music, and architecture. Decades ago I would spend an inordinate amount of time pre-creating these details. Now I mostly let the players add elements as we play and then I riff off of that.

 

[billd91]

I tried using Forgotten Realms (FR) names for months and 10-day weeks for tracking things back in 2e/3e days. I added moon cycles and holidays and made up things for different gods and had local founder days and such. Problem was that the players did not care. They thought it was cool and all, but it just did not add anything except work to me for no return.

Now, I will add something if it is needed for the story. If I need a festival or full moon or a NPC dresses in a different way than the locals, it happens. The players do not track anything like this so it does not affect them. I track days very roughly and campaigns tend to start in mid-spring when the roads first open and sometimes it is now early summer or cold wind blows in as the first signs of autumn roll in, but generally it only happens if needed.

It may be of secondary (or tertiary) importance to my players, but I still like to do calendars with holidays and so on. If nothing else, it gives me things to base some set dressing and narration on. Plus, I print the calendars out and jot notes on them for weather and tracking events and passage of time.

 

[aco175]

It may be of secondary (or tertiary) importance to my players, but I still like to do calendars with holidays and so on. If nothing else, it gives me things to base some set dressing and narration on. Plus, I print the calendars out and jot notes on them for weather and tracking events and passage of time.

I could use a website that does this and allows me to print it out and make notes. I might use it if it is simple for me.