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Thread: Worldbuilding adwise D&D
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2011-03-08, 04:09 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jan 2011
Worldbuilding adwise D&D
Sooo, if anyone is playing in a neew group in Trondheim, Norway, please get out ;)
Stian: I'm looking at you ;)
I've been both DMing and playing in several groups, where the motto pretty much have been to make the world yourself. So far it has gone well, but ATM I feel like I'm just throwing stuff at the plotrelevant places and all, so I've been spending some time mapping atm., and I feel stuck.
Any advice on worldbuilding? On just throwing out a map? Any books (official or not) to look for, or online homebrew to Steal/get inspired from ? :)
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2011-03-08, 06:45 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jan 2007
Re: Worldbuilding adwise D&D
Just about any fantasy book will have some sort of map at the beginning. If you have the time head to the library or book store. If you don't got to google and do an image search on "fantasy world maps".
Also, for general fantasy imagery, Deviant Art and Elfwood are some good sites to find artwork that can put you in the mood.
I can't remember where I found it at, but I know theres some guides out there that give advice on how to make realistic geography when it comes to placing mountains/rivers.
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2011-03-09, 04:27 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Jun 2007
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- Non Sequitoria
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Re: Worldbuilding adwise D&D
When it comes to map making, I'm not so great there. But what it physically looks like isn't so critical as far as I see. It's all about the specific locations than what's in between them. Map might be a nice touch, but it's not as important as content.
My current DM is going way overboard on his game and I honestly worry. But we get into really intense in character arguments. And this is still just background scenes!
His approach is to make a world, plot out a course of events as they will happen if the PCs do nothing, and then let us wreck it. Also doesn't think much about how to solve the problems, figures the PCs can do that.
I take a bit of a different approach. What is the game going to be about? What do I want the players to get out of it? What is the message? Create places, and characters and events that advance that purpose.
Your setting should have verisimilitude, which is different than realism. You want to draw the characters in, and make them think, "Okay, in the context of this story this makes sense." Less evil cult trying to destroy the world, more devils in disguise giving people a little nudge every now and again so they do it for them.
Basically? Create a complex world, with complex problems. Then set your players in it and let them make a big mess out of things. They might make things better, they might make things worse. But they will have accomplishments.
As far as good themes? I like the Nature of Freedom, team work, ambition(not strictly an evil thing!), and perception. There's lots of good themes that work with fantasy, but because of the nature of the medium those make a lot of sense.Last edited by Xuincherguixe; 2011-03-09 at 04:31 AM.
Spoiler
Rizban: You could be all, "Today's Destruction is brought to you by the color green.... I HATE GREEN!" then fly off mumbling to yourself "Seven... seven bats... mwa ha ha ha..."
Don't mind me. I'm just going to have some post traumatic flashbacks in the corner here and sob uncontrollably.
Millenium Earl by Shmee
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2011-03-09, 04:59 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Jun 2010
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Re: Worldbuilding adwise D&D
I do a similar thing as your DM, Xuincherguixe, I think.
I write up a basic idea of the world. Low magic. Gray morality. Primarily humans and halflings. Elves aren't exactly the tree-hugging dabblers you remember from Races of the Wild. Grey morality. Forest in the north, fertile plains to the south, a big rocky steppe-ish area in the center, and mountains everywhere, for example. I choose what races go where, then add some general countries and big cities and cultures. Did I mention the really fuzzy and poorly defined morality?
Then I add a load of strong characters. The ones who could carry a story by themselves. I draft them in a vacuum. I give them dreams, hopes, fears, desires, flaws, virtues. I take the people and places I write in the character's backstory and add them to the setting. I decide whether their goals are feasible and plausible within the context of the setting. No blowing up the universe in a low magic setting. If yes, and those goals are interesting, I add the tools they'd need to accomplish those goals. Loyal followers for the general, innately magical locations for the sorcerer who wants to change the world, demons for the drow high priestess, dire rats for the kobold armies.
And then, I let those strong, willful, characters loose, and extrapolate how they'd react to each other. That gives me a story that actively changes based on the PCs actions. It has a tendency to produce a limited Butterfly Effect: because the PCs do action A, character X chooses to do action B instead of action C (what they would have done without the PCs getting involved), which triggers event E three in-game weeks before it occured in my original script (and targets it slightly differently), which in turn causes character Y to scrap his initial plan entirely and leave his alliance with demonic cult Z and city-state V because it is no longer beneficial, which means that coalition U can stomp all over city-state V (instead of coalition U being annihilated), which means that the quest-giver there is dead...
Okay, not necessarily limited.
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2011-03-09, 11:56 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2011
Re: Worldbuilding adwise D&D
Here, this is awesome:
Originally Posted by Ryan Stoughton
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2011-03-09, 01:00 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Sep 2010
Re: Worldbuilding adwise D&D
there's a certain comics creator who has lots of solid advice:
http://www.giantitp.com/articles/YPg...kGjjviJU5.html
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2011-03-09, 02:00 PM (ISO 8601)
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- May 2010
Re: Worldbuilding adwise D&D
As has been pointed out, Mr Burlew's own articles, one of which I read before [shamelessplug]creating my own maps for the campaign setting in my signature[/shamelessplug], are a great start when it comes to world building. I used paintshop pro to create that one, but it took much too long for me to start making a map for someone else.
I would somewhat prefer if you did not steal the maps, by the way. I don't see much harm in using the entire setting if you want to though. I'd have to finish it first, but only a few touches are needed before it is complete (finish the wild animals list and name some of the dramatis personae).Brewing a new setting (3.5 ed D&D). The setting is complete and ready to play.
Indeed, here is the recruitment thread for the first run.
The above post was probably snide, snippy, tongue in cheek and/or opinionated. Consult your sense of humour before vexation. If still vexed, attempt to cease giving a damn. Thank you for reading this public service bulletin.
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2011-03-09, 06:18 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jan 2011
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Re: Worldbuilding adwise D&D
Something I don't often see in campaign settings is culture, especially with regards to region armour and weapon preferences. Have a think about what armours regions prefer, and think about what weapons they would most favour. For example, the greatsword might be an exotic weapon to all but one region in which its martial. As for armours, dwarven nations might favour plate, and maybe one area favours scale and studded leather. In such areas weapons and armour that are unfavoured might be difficult to find and cost twice or more the base price.
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2011-03-11, 09:19 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Jan 2011
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2011-03-11, 09:21 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Jan 2011
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2011-03-11, 09:35 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Jun 2008
Re: Worldbuilding adwise D&D
Also, remember the best part about being a DM: You can fake it.
If a character points out a hole in your setting, instead of scrambling to find an answer, or admitting there's a whole there saying something like "An excellent question, maybe someone knows" and then work out the hole after the session is done and the players are gone.
(All credit to Rutskarn for that particular bit of wisdom, which I learned watching spoiler warning.)You don't want the monster? You don't throw the switch.
Awesome Avatar by Starwoof
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2011-03-15, 09:23 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Jul 2007
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Re: Worldbuilding adwise D&D
Focus on what makes your world special.
Also, themes are a great working tool. Makes inventing stuff and making them unique much easier and faster. The themes don`t have to relate to the entire campaign setting, they could be related to a very specific part (in the bla bla region hats are a sign of political affilation).
I see a lot of people talking about maps, but I think they are not important. Sure, they are nice, but are not realy neccesery.
Which reminds me about clothing. What people wear sounds like an unimportant question, but it will be one of the first things you will need to describe.
Some things that would be nice to add, but not "mandatory":
A. Naming system. http://www.ogmiosproject.org/articles/roses1.html
B. Detailed background.
C. Other planes (unless planes are relevent to the adventure, in which case they are "mandatory")Madly In Science, an RPG in which you play mad scientists, you can get it for free.
Spoiler: Some other things.
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2011-03-15, 09:29 AM (ISO 8601)
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2011-03-18, 02:44 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Jun 2008
Re: Worldbuilding adwise D&D
Focus on fluff, don't worry about crunch - the latter can easily be done afterwards. Oh and make it consistent and believeable - it something is cool but doesn't fit the flavour of your world, it's better to safe the idea for later.
And if you have some time: http://www.imaginaryworlds.net/What can change the nature of a man?