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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Smackfish" data-source="post: 3541713" data-attributes="member: 33112">Ok I don't post very often here, and the few times I have, I've tried my best to be respectful and polite and still have somehow rubbed people the wrong way, so I apologize in advance if I offend anyone.  I assure you it is not my intention to do so.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> I've been following this thread from the beginning, and most of it seems to be from the perspective of the dm, which isn't surprizing, since world building is mostly a dm issue.  However, I feel compelled to present this from the point of view of a player, more specifically, me (since my point of view is the only one I can speak to with any authority).Is worldbuilding necessary for a good game? No, not necessarily, and I certainly wouldn't try to tell someone that they are required to do all that work for my enjoyment, that having been said, if they want to do it, I say "Yes, Please"1. World background for me to look at and get an idea of the mood of the game? Yes, Please.2. World background for the party to look at pre-character creation to spark ideas for those of us who have a hard time thinking of them, and to let us all make interesting characters that feel like they all came from the same planet? Yes, Please.3. Interesting places, people and organizations for me to interact with, either in the context of the adventures or in the downtime between adventures? Yes, Please. 4. Knowing what's over the next hill if my character would know because I read the campaign handout, and not having to ask the dm every five minutes "Is there anything I would know about that?"  Yes, Please (keeping in mind that metagaming is bad, I'm not gonna claim to know things I think I have no way of knowing, yadayadayada)Now to answer a few rebuttals to this that I can see coming already.  Is world building necessary for these things to be there? Well, it depends.  It depends on the dm, and it depends on the players.  The players all have to be on board to create a cohesive party for example.  I just find that it's easier when it's spelled out in advance, on paper, what the world is like, that way everyone starts on the same page, and can ask for a change to something they don't like, instead of making a character that they think will fit from the 2 sentence blurb they've received, then finding out 3 sessions in that it doesn't work.Also I'm sure a few people will say they can make up all the people, places and organizations they'll need on the fly if they are necessary.  I won't say they can't, I've seen dm's who can do that and do it very well.  However, what about the times when you don't know they're needed?  I mean, if an organization is already detailed, I as a player may decide to go to them for help and training, or decide that the current adventure/dungeon/macguffin is something they'd be interested in, or come up with some other wierd idea for how they're involved in the current plot that you as a dm hadn't thought of. I could be way off base, I could be wrong, but it'll sure be fun to find out!!  If those organizations aren't pre-existing though, I probably won't come up with any of those ideas.Wow, this is getting long isn't it?  Well, let me just close with saying what I'm not saying.  I'm not saying the pcs shouldn't be able to affect and change the world.  Entirely the opposite in fact, they absolutely should.  I'm just saying that, as a player, I like to have a good bit of the world defined, so that I can make a character  that has a place in it, in a party that has a place in it, and then I can go work on making my place bigger, try to change the things that my character doesn't like, and all in all, interact with the world that is there in ways that were never planned or expected. Smackfish</blockquote>

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