What parts of world-building do you hate most?

[CruelSummerLord]

I simply cannot draw; I have absolutely no artistic talent whatsoever.

I've tried writing out some ideas for a homebrew setting (actually an extension of Greyhawk) but it can't help but seem so horribly artificial, hollow, and contrived without a map of some sort. Without a map, I'm just not satisfied, feeling like I'm writing a horribly pathetic cliche without any sort of originality.

This really annoys me because I have some maps in my head, but I can't get them out on paper/computer screen.

Stupid %*&^#*& poor motor skills...

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

What I hate: You work your tail off for months; you do the big reveal...your players go "Meh."

How I'm currently getting around the "disorder" of worldbuilding: I bought a PDA, and I carry it wherever I go. I get a few minutes of "me" time and I can jot down this tweek or that, or even delete weeks of info with just a few strokes- usually on purpose! Everything about the new campaign is in that PDA (hopefully, I'll synch it up with my Mac before I misplace the doggone thing, or it breaks or whatever)- background, politics, new races, a new magic system, another new magic system- each detail typed or written into its own little file.

I must have about a book's worth. Not all of it is going to be used- some races have more than one version, for instance, and I'm only going to use one of the magic systems- but all of it is useful, and may get recycled.

Which is good, because I've got not one but 4 different campaign designs on that thing...

 

[Priest_Sidran]

It sure would be nice if someone like Keith Baker, and Ed Greenwood wrote a book on World Building for RPG's...
That Said I am rather good, at naming, I have found that a name changes over time, and that as long as I don't get to attached to a name I can always rework it a little over time to get the best name. I like mapping though I am always trying to get better, and currently am looking to hire a Cartographer to make a wall map sized color copy for me.

For me its writing adventures, and making believable dungeoncraft.

 

[WayneLigon]

Pantheons. I love coming up with them and I find it hard to choose one particular one (or set of ones) over another. And the wrestling with what types of gods there are, if they require worship or not, what their general power level is, what the relationships between them are... it's all good but it's a lot of upfront decision making that I feel sets the tone and feel of the entire campaign.

 

[Herobizkit]

In my current setting, I solved the latter problem by just saying that there are no gods (and fitting that into the background of the setting), and I'm currently regretting that decision.

Whyever for? Having a world with no God/desses gives you a lot of freedom to examine other major story subjects without worrying about Good and Evil.

Optionally, if you're regretting the lack of religion in your campaign, why not pull a Ultima IV-esque "Quest of the Avatar" to birth the first God of Light (or whatever)?

Back to the thread, I dislike the mapping process, as well as the inevitable overpreparation of miniutiae that the PC's will never see, hear, read about, or remember without their prompting you for it. I tend to make "kitchen sink" campaigns and my biggest hurdle is leaving OUT stuff rather than wondering where and how to include concepts.

 

[Celebrim]

Literature, languages, art...

Geograpy is easy. Religion is fun. History isn't so bad. Culture is tough, but I can manage. But creating a world with its own literature and languages involves more work than I can manage.

Naming things is a subcategory of the difficulty of developing a language. If you develop a linguistic history for your world, the names come out as a direct outcome of that. But its easier to random up nonsense even though it will never feel as right as doing it the real way.

How many of your are ever frustrated by the fact that so many things are named after things with real world place names? My personal bugaboo is columns. There are four common styles of collumns: Ionic, Doric, Corinthian, and Tuscan. All are proper names! If similar styles evolved in a different world, wouldn't they have different names? But if I actually use different names refering to places in my own world, they won't mean anything to anyone but me!!

Silly, I know. But things like that drive me nuts.

 

[mhacdebhandia]

OMG MAPS.

I just don't care, honestly.

I like everything else - though there is a long list of elements mentioned on this thread which I don't consider necessary or desirable.

 

[Aus_Snow]

Not having time to develop it is what frustrates me the most.

Ayup. Me too.

Otherwise, it's something I enjoy in its totality. The same goes for running sessions, and playing in others.

And, generally speaking, discussing RPGs.

 

[RFisher]

I think these all--or most--have been mentioned...

• Deciding on one of my many ideas for the deities (including whether to just try to include all my ideas as separate traditions or to have something more monolithic.)
• Creating outdoor maps
• Organizing
• That no matter how much I push myself to explore different directions, I often end up with worlds that aren't that different

How many of your are ever frustrated by the fact that so many things are named after things with real world place names? My personal bugaboo is columns. There are four common styles of collumns: Ionic, Doric, Corinthian, and Tuscan. All are proper names! If similar styles evolved in a different world, wouldn't they have different names? But if I actually use different names refering to places in my own world, they won't mean anything to anyone but me!!

Yeah. Even many of our words that aren't (or are no longer) proper nouns are tied to our history. Things like that used to bother me a lot.

These days its easier for me to shrug it off. I do my best to remember that the setting is only there to enhance the game. Is coming up with fantasy names for columns going to improve the game? Maybe for some people. Maybe not for others.

I can keep my simulationist side in check by convincing him that Ionic, &c. are merely "translations" of the native names. (^_^)

 

[Celebrim]

Yeah. Even many of our words that aren't (or are no longer) proper nouns are tied to our history. Things like that used to bother me a lot.

These days its easier for me to shrug it off. I do my best to remember that the setting is only there to enhance the game. Is coming up with fantasy names for columns going to improve the game? Maybe for some people. Maybe not for others.

Mostly not for others. But for me, its still jarring, even though if I say, "down the middle of the hall are a double row of Ionic columns..." most players will never even consider why that's 'wrong'.

I can keep my simulationist side in check by convincing him that Ionic, &c. are merely "translations" of the native names. (^_^)

I keep my simulationist side in check by reminding him that the goal of the game is not to create a simulation.