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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Greg K" data-source="post: 4341133" data-attributes="member: 5038">I like word building both as a DM and as a player. Assuming the DM is not running a world based upon our own, I, as a player, want to explore a setting.  if the DM isn't running a "canned' setting and has not put any work into designing a world,  I have no interest in playing (I'll also refuse to play if the focus is heavily upon dungeon crawling).  What I want to see from the DM are:1.  A hook that gives me an idea of the setting (without giving away secrets).ex. A harsh, dying desert world  dominated by the sorceror kings, whom rule individual city states. Arcane magic is outlawed and divine power is granted either by the elemental planes, nature, or the sorcerer kings themselves.ex. A world of gothic horror in which denizens are pulled in from other worlds by a mysterious mist.ex., A prehistoric world in which the gods walk the land as dinosaurs.ex. a Renaissance era like world beset upon by horrors from the Far-Realm.ex. a mythical world  of adventure inspired by various Asian countries and their individual mythologies with each country having its own setting counterpart2. The deities of the setting  and their domains (if the setting has deities)3. The available PC Races for the setting and how they differ, if any, from the standard version(s).4. Nations: What are the different nations of the world from which the PC's can start? 5. Cultures:  What distinguishes one culture from another? Have a few paragraphs to provide me some insight into the setting's cultures and help me to make meaningful choices during character creation that immerse my character into the setting, provide me ideas for background and rp hooks.  Things I like to see include are notes on:- Subsistance Patterns  (e.g. hunter/gatherer, horticulture, pastoralism, agriculture)- social/political organization (e.g., band, tribe, chiefdom, state) and, if applicable what type of government (e.g., matriarchy, theocracy, mageocracy, feudal, etc.))- social stratification (e.g., egalitarian or social classes)- kinship and descent (bilateral or unilineal (i.e, matrilineal or patrilineal))- major type of econcomic exchange ( e.g., general reciprocity (sharing), balanced reciprocity, negative reciprocity (barter), redistribution, monetary exchange).  - views on property ownership (e.g., communal, personal ownersihp) - notes about views on law and punishment (e.g, the practicing of  banishment or shunning, cutting off limbs or removing eyes, death penalty, slavery)- religious practices (e.g., animism, shamanism, priesthood)- physical appearance (range of hair and eye color, average heights and build of men and women)- dress- body adornment practices (e.g., tatoos, piercings, jewerly)- naming conventions for the culture.- noteable NPCs of whom PCs in the culture might know or heard of from being a member of a given culture or from organizational ties.- other notes that may be of interest: Gladitorial events, acceptance of slavery practices (and, socially accepted means, if any, to escape)5. Available starting classes and/or  class variants found within the given culture.  Environment (e.g., rural or urban)  or religious practices may limit the availability of certain classes or alter certain class features.6. noteable organizations (e.g., priesthoods, magical academies, thieves guild, bard colleges, noble houses, societies).  These organizations may or may not be cultural specific.  If applicable, the DM should include any noteable features like dress or body adornement, symbols, etc. which visually distinguish members of an organization,  as well as tenets, organizational allies and enemies, etc.7. A few bits of specific knowledge/currrent events  that are culturally and, if applicable, organizational based- knowledge that someone without my character's culture and/or background/affiliations would not have.  This can be knowing a particular monster lives in the nearby forests or mountains, knowing of a particular order or secret society found only among my character's people, the druids whom act as scholars, diplomats and religous leaders of my character's people were attacked my foreign wizards.  8. Be knowledgable enough about the setting to sit with me and ensure the character's background actually works with the setting and, if need be, to tweak the background.  If the DM goes into extras like architecture, the shape and surface impressions of coins, etc. that is fine, but not a necessity.</blockquote>

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