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View Full Version : Most Important Parts of a Campaign Setting/Game? (need advice)



The Glyphstone
2009-08-23, 10:39 PM
I've hit a bit of a brick wall with my setting-in-progress, mainly because I'm not sure which direction to expand in and develop further. The problem is that what I like to expound on is generally the stuff a group of players couldn't care less about - cosmologies, history, the stuff that makes LotR such a good story but such a poor RPG. (http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=612)

So - what, to you as a player, are the top five (or ten) aspects of any game or campaign setting that you would consider most important? Comparatively, what are the top two or three things you wouldn't give two coppers knowing about, since it won't impact your enjoyment (or lack thereof) of the game at all?

History of the world?
Geography of the world?
Different races and their interactions with each other?
Interactions within races?
Potential political strife?
Available character creation material?
Non-playable beings (gods, etc.) and how they interact with the world?
What sort of monsters go bump in the night?
Whatever else you can think of, this is far from an exhaustive list?

erikun
2009-08-23, 10:46 PM
...the stuff that makes LotR such a good story but such a poor RPG. (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/ggmain/strips/ggmain20090821b.jpg)
I think you gave us the wrong link... unless Girl Genius secretly takes place in Middle-Earth. :smallwink:

As for me, these are immediately important:

That the geography/history allow and fit with my character backstory. (including deities)
The "main" town the party will stay at, and its inhabitants.
What lives in/around the area that we'll encounter.
Worldending history, worldwide cults, and other stuff we'll have to deal with.

...that's the main stuff. I suppose politics becomes important if it starts influencing my party, but otherwise I wouldn't care much.

Woodsman
2009-08-23, 10:53 PM
I enjoy geography, history, religion, most everything except politics (As a DM, that's a different story. :smalltongue:).

It helps me feel like my character is part of the world, because I truly enjoy doing my character's fluff.

The Glyphstone
2009-08-23, 11:05 PM
I think you gave us the wrong link... unless Girl Genius secretly takes place in Middle-Earth. :smallwink:

As for me, these are immediately important:

That the geography/history allow and fit with my character backstory. (including deities)
The "main" town the party will stay at, and its inhabitants.
What lives in/around the area that we'll encounter.
Worldending history, worldwide cults, and other stuff we'll have to deal with.

...that's the main stuff. I suppose politics becomes important if it starts influencing my party, but otherwise I wouldn't care much.

I don't have a clue what you're talking about. :)

Elfin
2009-08-23, 11:15 PM
Top Five Aspects:

1-Geography.
This is first not becasue I think it's the most important, but because I personally need to play in a world that looks aesthetically pleasing; I often throw out entire settings and start again from scratch just because I can't make the geography look good.

2-History/Culture.
And lots of it. In my opinion the most important part of a setting, since it provides depth and sets the tone of the game.

3-Names.
I'm sorry, I know lots of people have no problem with it, but I'm not going to name my character Brent Smith and travel across a world filled with Rogers and Williams.
Nor am I going to retrieve the Lost Amulet of Czky'ryuth'afr'qu'ua-czet in the Ruined Temple of Tyuqr'harzcyr'kjasdig.
Consistent, realistic, and yet still fantastic names are crucial to a good world (although I have no problem with descriptive medieval-ish names).

4-Potential Fodder for Adventures.
No matter how immersive the history of the world, to be a good RPG setting the world needs to have lots of potential for adventures and excitement.

5-Monsters and Races-
Linked closely to history, the different types of creatures in the world have a large impact on the flavor of the setting.

Godskook
2009-08-23, 11:20 PM
Wasn't there another thread on this, like a week ago?(Not complaining, just trying to provoke the link that'll probably answer your question handily)

Nevermind, found it (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=121198).



Where are the people that need killing?
How many people require killing?
Why is the previous number not larger?
How many people can I get away with killing?
Why is the previous number not larger?
How can I increase preceding values?
Are we to kill slowly or efficiently today?
Caffeinated or Decaf?
Will any of the previous decrease my honor?
How many HKs before my Merciless Gladiator's Bat'leth?

The Glyphstone
2009-08-23, 11:27 PM
Thanks, I missed that thread, and it's got some good information. Still, that's specifically looking at one kingdom, and I need some pointers on the bigger picture, so to speak. Plus, if I missed the thread, other people probably did too, and this way I get a larger sample pool to draw from.

Godskook
2009-08-23, 11:55 PM
Thanks, I missed that thread, and it's got some good information. Still, that's specifically looking at one kingdom, and I need some pointers on the bigger picture, so to speak. Plus, if I missed the thread, other people probably did too, and this way I get a larger sample pool to draw from.

Ugh, those weasel words where there for your protection! (http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20080501.html)

Terraoblivion
2009-08-24, 12:15 AM
While i am loathe to make a clear ranking the most important things to me, as a player, are the basic things to get me into the mindset of an inhabitant of this world and into the expectations of the story. So above all general flavor of the setting, just what is it like? Is it a realistic setting with a great emphasis on complex trade patterns and the intricate dynamics between various socioeconomic power blocs or is it a post-modern take on wuxia?

Secondly it is the very basic information relating to daily life. Questions such as what people do for a living and what their religious beliefs are obviously springs to mind here, but also such things as customs and modes of dress and architecture really matters. Though absolutes and silly little customs are mostly to be avoided, it is the things like how a wedding or a funeral is conducted that i care about as customs goes and a fairly wide set of options for architectural styles. Similarly recent history, the political landscape and the flow of goods has genuine interest to me.

All of this is in addition to the things you cannot get around, such as basic geography and the general climate of the place. It is hard to describe an area if you don't give at least basic mention to these things.

The other option in this regard is to focus on very high level stuff and leave all details up to the players at character creation, while still giving them a fairly long leash in making stuff up after play has started. And when i say very high level stuff i mean refraining from describing actual religions and any but the most fundamental political distinctions and instead focusing solely on issues of cosmology and physical realities.

If i were to give examples of settings that exemplify what works well for me there are four that springs to mind, those being Exalted, Weapons of the Gods, New World of Darkness and the Kargatane version of Ravenloft. Exalted is pretty odd in this regard. In some ways it is very detailed, while in others it is very open-ended. However, large parts of the world only has the sketchiest description and allows the player and GM to create their own material. Even so the high level material and the areas used as examples are so detailed and exhaustive that the setting doesn't come off as indistinct or weak, but rather as one where you are encouraged to make your own additions. It also helps that the setting elements that you cannot get around, such as the dominant religion, are described with an eye towards actual beliefs, rituals and interactions with common believers.

Weapons of the Gods on the other hand focuses on the general themes of the setting and the intellectual and ideological landscape of the setting to such a degree that specifics are barely needed. Of course you will need to learn the specifics of the actual area the game will take place in for it to make any sense, but it is not what matters. What matters is the understanding of the phase space of belief a person who grew up in the setting would have, as well as the style the story will take. That the one supplement published for the system also has an excellent description of the city that is the suggested starting point for a new GM is only a bonus.

The Kargatane version of Ravenloft is the purest example of a setting that goes into great detail of what life in it means, though it never loses sight of the theme and flavor of the setting. Over the course of the five volumes of Ravenloft Gazetteers, it goes into intimate detail with the facts of life and beliefs of all of the domains of the Core, including such things as mode of dress and typical forms of food. It just does a great job of presenting the minutiae that makes the setting come to life, which is what won this version of the setting over for me, though i certainly appreciates its handling of the metaphysical realities of the Domains of Dread as well.

Finally the New World of Darkness goes into great detail with the beliefs and customs and typical political conflicts found among the various groups of supernatural beings. This of course is partly made possible by the setting being an overlay to modern society, meaning that a lot of the rituals and customs, as well as philosophy and religion, is intimately familiar to us. However, the information about the beliefs of various supernatural groups and even possible schisms within them is detailed and useful, without ever tying it up to any specific characters or locations and rather leaving it up to the GM and players how to utilize this.

So i guess that overall what i like is something that gives a clear image and mindset while still allowing room for personal touches. This is largely in contrast to how i feel many DnD settings are written, which seems to focus almost exclusively on things that can serve as plothooks while leaving the actual guts of the setting bare. There are exceptions to this, however, such as Sharn: City of Towers and Faiths of Eberron. They are rare, however, and seemingly mostly confined to Eberron and that specific version of Ravenloft.

PinkysBrain
2009-08-24, 02:31 AM
Presence or absence of unbeatable railroads (mainly gods, but also oWoD apocalypse etc).

Sophistication of the world (technological/magical/social).

Whether there is room to create your own destiny (Dark Heresy vs. D&D).