Testing the Waters

[Shadow_in_the_Mist]

So, um, hi folks. It's been a long, long time since I've ever been here, and, per the title, I feel the need to try and ask around because, despite seeing the homebrewing forum and its world-building sub-forum, I'm still grappling with how to actually make use of them.

I've become very enamored with the 5e mechanics, and so I have a huge array of both completed projects I would like to get reviewed for editing and incomplete ones I would like to discuss before starting on. The bulk of these consist of different races (couple of dozen, at this point) and subclasses for sorcerer, warlock, wizard and artificer. I know these go in the Homebrewing forum with a 5e tag, but I'm trying to get an understanding of what the preferred etiquette for coping with their sheer numbers is; do I just make one thread for all my homebrew and use google-doc links? Do I make a single thread and post my stuff? Or is it best to just make seperate threads as seems appropriate - say, one thread for a particular division of races (I have a LOT of races), one thread for a given subclass, etc?

Secondly, I have been trying to build a homebrew setting for some time. Problem is, my organizational skills are not the best, so I really need to talk with people to keep myself on track. That's not really an issue (I hope), because that's what the World-building forum is all about (I think). My worries stem from the fact that as part of my setting homebrew, there's a lot of crunchy stuff building up as part of that - races, subclasses (although some of both of those do fit under general critique), and I wanna take it further, with monsters, spells, feats and backgrounds. I don't know what the proper etiquette is for world-building; fluff only in World-building and crunch in Homebrew?

Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is... I could really use help. Not just with the things I directly need help with, but with being a properly civil person when asking for help.

I look forward to discussing material with you all, and I thank you for your time.

[Typhon]

Secondly, I have been trying to build a homebrew setting for some time. Problem is, my organizational skills are not the best, so I really need to talk with people to keep myself on track. That's not really an issue (I hope), because that's what the World-building forum is all about (I think). My worries stem from the fact that as part of my setting homebrew, there's a lot of crunchy stuff building up as part of that - races, subclasses (although some of both of those do fit under general critique), and I wanna take it further, with monsters, spells, feats and backgrounds. I don't know what the proper etiquette is for world-building; fluff only in World-building and crunch in Homebrew?

I am sure you are overwhelming/under-estimating yourself. Start small (as in town and local region/s) and progressively build outward. The desire to build most of a world by yourself is admirable, but look around and see what might already exist that can be adapted to YOUR particular world. Establish parameters, such as how does magic function? What are the dieties/religions? So on and so forth. Figure how how big you want your countries and land masses to be down the line. Figure what the cultures in your world are like and figure out if it is regional or greater (especially for your homebrew races) and adjust for flavor (a great example is how many eastern asian cultures there are that share many facets but differ greatly on others).

As far as the forum posting for review, I can not help you much there. I am relatively new myself and mostly taking it all in and learning to be good community citizen.

[Ninja_Prawn]

I know these go in the Homebrewing forum with a 5e tag, but I'm trying to get an understanding of what the preferred etiquette for coping with their sheer numbers is; do I just make one thread for all my homebrew and use google-doc links? Do I make a single thread and post my stuff? Or is it best to just make seperate threads as seems appropriate - say, one thread for a particular division of races (I have a LOT of races), one thread for a given subclass, etc?

Most people would make separate threads for related things (one for races, one or more for subclasses, etc.) and then either make another thread or post in the Homebrewer's Signature (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?60676-The-Homebrewer-s-Extended-Signature) thread for indexing/archiving. People don't like going offsite just to review things, so I'd recommend putting the 'brew in the threads rather than google docs.

Use the acronym PEACH (Please Evaluate And Critique Honestly) if you're looking for comments, in case you didn't know that already.


...because that's what the World-building forum is all about (I think).

That's my understanding.


I don't know what the proper etiquette is for world-building; fluff only in World-building and crunch in Homebrew?

I haven't spent long enough there to be sure, but I imagine people in World Building are okay with crunch as it pertains to the setting. The best thing to do is post and see what you get. Worst that can happen is no one replies, right?

[Sir cryosin]

As someone with the same organization problems. Just like the person has already said. Start small come up with one country just get a idea of it culture, rules, and name. Then your main job is coming up with the starting town/village/city. Then talk to your players about there characters she what they based there characters off of.

[Shadow_in_the_Mist]

First of all, let me thank you all for the kindness you have shown in the face of my rudeness thus far. I deeply appreciate you taking the time to at least look at this thread, despite its misdeeds.

Secondly, thank you for the advice so far on how to actually bite the bullet and start posting material. I might give it some thought first because, as I said, I really have a huge amount of stuff to go over - 14 subclasses, and 70 races, several of whom are broken into multiple subraces, and that means that balancing "avoiding forum-clutter" with "avoiding wall of text syndrome".

Finally, although I do appreciate the sentiment... talking to my players isn't an option. I don't have players. I will never have players. I'm working on all this stuff because it personally appeals to me, and the setting in particular is a labor of love. Just hard to properly orientate myself because, unless posters here are a lot more interactive than on the other boards I've started a thread about it, I've got nobody to talk to about the matter than myself.

[Shadow_in_the_Mist]

Sorry to double-post, but I just wanted to ask here instead of over in the World-Building forum, where I might be doing something wrong. According to the Giant's "Read This" thread, the various types of thread that should go in World-Building are:



Campaign Setting showcases: Have a great setting that you've been working on? Make a thread, type it up, and show it off. In a this kind of thread, the thread creator is displaying a setting he or she has been working on. The creator may ask for critiques, feedback, or just whether or not you like it. With this kind of single-creator world, we ask that you keep all information to no more than two "active" threads: A Topic thread, containing a single subject under particular discussion and debate, and a main setting thread, containing an overview and an index of all previous Topic threads.
Community World-Building projects: In these threads, members of the community work together to create a setting right here on the board. Decisions are usually made through voting, though the details of how subjects come up for a vote may may vary. When there's a greater number of participants, these projects can span several "active" threads at once. This is permitted as long as no one project "takes over" the front forum page.
World-Building advice: Sometimes, rather than have a fully-realized campaign setting, you'll just want help with one specific aspect. Maybe you're having trouble thinking of interesting ideas for that one city that you put on the map but never thought your players would visit. Or you need some ideas on what sort of government a nation of yakfolk would have. Or you can't figure out how to draw realistic maps. Whatever your question, if it's about your setting, you can ask it here.
Pieces of Fluff: You don't have to show off a complete setting, either. If you have a piece of a setting—a town, an organization, an NPC, a religion—you can show it off, too. Maybe someone will adopt it into their world! All we ask is that threads in this forum stay on the side of discussing the way the people, places, and things fit into the world rather than their stats. If there's, say, a prestige class associated with your organization, that's fine and you can include that, but this forum wouldn't be the place to get feedback on how balanced it is.


Thing is, I can't figure out whether I need to make my post there as a Campaign Setting Showcase thread or as a World-Building Advice thread.

I have a lot figured out for this setting. I've got the Keywords that define what makes this setting itself. I've got the "How We Got Here" history of how this world came to be in its present state. I have a number of "Racial Codexes" - detailed guides to various PC races in the setting, covering how they think, what their culture is like, why they become adventurers, and what common adventuring members of those races are like. I have a fairly wide-spread set of basic notes about the different countries planned for the setting. I have the foundations (as in, prologue and the opening of the first chapter) of an "in-universe" geography write-up, with a style inspired by the Ravenloft Gazetteers.

But, I need help figuring some stuff out. Mostly, I just want to talk to people about ideas for unique cities/landmarks/etc in the countries - I have their bare bones concepts in my head, but filling them out with details is proving harder - and... well, talk in general. Sometimes I just have ideas I want to flesh out, or test out on a prospective audience. Essentially, I'm good at broad strokes, but fine details are not quite my area of expertise.

I think that this mostly qualifies me for a Campaign Setting Showcase, but what do you think?

[Ninja_Prawn]

I think that this mostly qualifies me for a Campaign Setting Showcase, but what do you think?

I think... no one is going to get their panties in a wad trying to figure out what type of thread they're looking at. :smalltongue: The examples from the 'read this' thread are just to give people a general idea of what the subforum is for (and what it's not for - they make it clear that the crunch for your races, even if they're setting-specific, belongs in the main Homebrew forum). You don't have to tailor your stuff to fit into one of four pre-defined categories.

[Sariel Vailo]

some people arent weaing panties. but ya know go and do the trial and error method.