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<blockquote data-quote="hawkeyefan" data-source="post: 9046310" data-attributes="member: 6785785">I get that... sorry! I just think it's apt as a comparison to RPGs. Imagine reading The Silmarillion if there was no Lord of the Rings. In my opinion, trying to achieve and maintain that for an RPG setting is a misplaced focus of the GM's energy. Yeah, I get that! I just think it's not necessary to do that job. When NPCs die, you can indeed jot it down. That doesn't require anything more than a list of NPCs and a strike through of that one's name. Or, it can just be remembered. I'm not saying don't prep... I'm saying that world building at that scale starts to become another hobby, almost. It's solo time for the GM, and it may be enjoyable... but it doesn't tend to yield the best results at the table for actual play. Again, if we view LotR as &quot;the game&quot; for this analogy, the readers (or viewers) never hear the name Morgoth, they don't need any context beyond what is in the books themselves (or the films). They can remain blissfully unaware of all of the stuff in The Silmarillion. I still remember when my older brother told me that Gandalf wasn't just an old wizard and I was like &quot;psssh yeah right&quot;.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="hawkeyefan, post: 9046310, member: 6785785"] I get that... sorry! I just think it's apt as a comparison to RPGs. Imagine reading The Silmarillion if there was no Lord of the Rings. In my opinion, trying to achieve and maintain that for an RPG setting is a misplaced focus of the GM's energy. Yeah, I get that! I just think it's not necessary to do that job. When NPCs die, you can indeed jot it down. That doesn't require anything more than a list of NPCs and a strike through of that one's name. Or, it can just be remembered. I'm not saying don't prep... I'm saying that world building at that scale starts to become another hobby, almost. It's solo time for the GM, and it may be enjoyable... but it doesn't tend to yield the best results at the table for actual play. Again, if we view LotR as "the game" for this analogy, the readers (or viewers) never hear the name Morgoth, they don't need any context beyond what is in the books themselves (or the films). They can remain blissfully unaware of all of the stuff in The Silmarillion. I still remember when my older brother told me that Gandalf wasn't just an old wizard and I was like "psssh yeah right". [/QUOTE]

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