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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Darth Shoju" data-source="post: 3518618" data-attributes="member: 11397">Well IMO, to have a campaign that is *fun* you only need what the players and DM are interested in. That could be almost no setting required. It could be a 200-page gazeteer. Even if you as the DM don't use 95% of the book, what about your players? What if they each use bits and pieces of it in making their characters? Even if they don't use that information in play, if they enjoyed using that info and writing a bit of background about their character, isn't it worth it? Naturally the answer to that will require you to ask "how much did I pay for the setting book or how much time did I spend writing it compared to how much of it got used?". Really, as far as I can see, it is dependent on communication between the DM and the players beforehand. They need to have a consensus on what type of game they are looking for; if the players want tons of setting detail but the DM doesn't want to provide it, someone needs to compromise or there will be a problem. If the players want to stick to straight-forward adventuring, then I hope the DM enjoys designing adventures. If he prefers worldbuilding more and decides to do some after the adventure is made  (assuming his presentation of said information doesn't get in the way of the adventure and thus his players' enjoyment), then I'd say no one has wasted any effort, regardless of how much worldbuilding the DM did. But this seems to be where we disagree: if I understand your position correctly, that worldbuilding the DM did was a useless waste of time and incorporating it into the game did nothing but feed his ego. In *my* opinion, doing so was necessary for that particular DM's enjoyment and allowed the game/adventure to happen (assuming the DM wouldn't run a game he had no enjoyment in). If everyone got what they wanted, then I have a hard time understanding how any effort was wasted and how the DM would be a loutish egotist.As much as required to have fun.</blockquote>

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