PDA

View Full Version : how to make a campaign setting?



johnswiftwood
2016-01-27, 05:55 PM
I want to try something original

Glimbur
2016-01-27, 09:31 PM
Are you planning to run a game in this setting? If so, think about what kind of game you want to run and make your setting support it.

Omnicrat
2016-01-28, 02:28 AM
Pick some fluffy things that are off the wall and make them intrinsic to your world. Like One True God, or multiple material planes, or no prime material. Something unique that you still feel like you have a full grasp on it.

ThreadNecro5
2016-01-29, 05:25 PM
as someone who as searched for information to do so myself, I have seen two main methods (as personal points show I wound up using a combination for my own setting). however you should begin with some idea of what you want for the setting anyway.

The Methods Are:
From the Outside In:
Develop the setting from the beginning, say for a D&D setting develop the beginning of the universe and the first gods, or whatever. Then develop the creation of the world/Planes, and such, detail the races, the relationships between the gods, and just see where things end up erring towards your basic idea.

From the Inside Out:
Start with your core concept, then develop it starting with the small details an idea for a nation, a race to use, a government you wish to include, start with anything and design the world around that as something plausible while using those details to develop the surrounding things, and soon you will have the beginnings of a nation, then a world, and soon a complete setting. For example in the setting I am making, it began from an idea in a random generator. A nation of several hundred thousand trolls. Thinking of your standard Pathfinder troll I noticed how odd this would be and ran with it.

As another bit of advice, if you need a quirk or detail, use a random generator and tweak the result to the setting, should speed thing up somewhat and occasionally give something weird to run with.

Eldan
2016-01-30, 06:27 AM
Start with the most important question.

What would this offer that no other setting has? Why play this and not [other setting I like]?