Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Jerve Wayward 04-28-04, 12:09 PM	I was lying in bed the other night and i was thinking that i should make my own dnd setting. I have tons of really good ideas , as well as really good ideas for some new races and stuff. But when i thought about it , it seems like a lot of work. but i have that time to waste. well anyway, if you guys have any suggestions or some ideas you would'n't mind me using, give me a post. Thanks guys in advance
Sulaco 04-28-04, 12:44 PM	Originally posted by Jerve Wayward I was lying in bed the other night and i was thinking that i should make my own dnd setting. I have tons of really good ideas , as well as really good ideas for some new races and stuff. But when i thought about it , it seems like a lot of work. but i have that time to waste. well anyway, if you guys have any suggestions or some ideas you would'n't mind me using, give me a post. Thanks guys in advance It is a lot of work. First and foremost, track down a copy of the WOrld Builder's Guidebook. It is one of the best supplements released in the 2e period. It covers a lot of the hitty-gritty stuff and is invaluable.
Falstaff the Fighter 04-28-04, 01:04 PM	I second that. World Builder's Guidebook is a must. I also recommend maps and atlases of the real world and also some of the more scholarly work done on Middle Earth as well, if for no other reason than to show how to make a fantasy world seem more realistic.
Abaneth 04-28-04, 01:04 PM	When I was 11 I started writing a "history" of a fantasy realm. I did not have DnD in mind, I was trying to imitate Tolkien and create my own world. For the last three years a have written 80 something pages on Microsoft Word, just on one of the many ages in my world. I am using that history as a campaign setting. I drew world maps, etc., and I can refer to my history whenever I want. Now, I am making a new Campaign Setting. It is more suited for DnD, with more nations and city states. The moral is that if you work hard, you can do it.
Gemstone 04-28-04, 01:19 PM	Acctualy, there is not so much work when you create a setting... For example, I created a pretty dynamic (however, not really huge, perhaps the size of scandinavia or something) during the game... Basicly, I draw up a map of some small area and let the player characters explore stuff from there. Sometimes, I make a map of a huge area and define the political balances and stuff to make it more dynamic and then I start writting about the countries, places etc. Faerūn took a long time to create mostly because it's an ever evolving world and that many differned authors write books about Faerūn and adding things that WOTC then adds into the game. Summary: Creating a setting is not as hard as it seems, especially if you let your character explore a bit of it on their own. However, creating a setting that is finished the day when you start playing, is an entierly other mather. Now for my tips about creating a world... + Make it big (I played several worlds were the size was a huge problem since it took about a month to travel around the globe... + Try to work in something unique. Perhaps magic is a way to change the fate (as in Jantalas that I created) or perhaps it is just a way to bend the physical laws. If you are happy with the weave, add a unique race ^_^ + Try to invent monsters unique to your world as you play, then you don't have to make up advanced stats and stuff... + Politics should be avoided until you have a clear view of the country that you are trying to define. If the country is small and ruled by a emperor, then perhaps the country is isolated and stuff like that... + Why not craft some really fun NPC's? There is nothing like meeting someone memorable
p0cky 04-28-04, 01:32 PM	I love creating settings, it is just a fun thing to do. A few tips: 1. AEG (AGE? Something like that) 's Toobox d20 book is a life saver. Heck, any DM should have it. 2. Maps are a hasstle. See if you can find some premade ones or someone to help you. 3. Make only as much detail as you need, or think you need. IF you make every single house that exists and make then entire inventories for the shops, you are in trouble. You will have too much work and a pile of papers. 4. Have fun. Make this a setting that you and your players will have alot of fun with. Ask them "Hey, what do you guys want?" Unique. Important.
Lilith Darkcrow 04-28-04, 01:35 PM	I heard many say that you should start small with a village then expand from there. Village to surrounding area. Surrounding area to county. County to country, Country to surrounding countries and so on. But I’ve heard it’s a lot of work.
Falstaff the Fighter 04-28-04, 01:40 PM	Creating a "setting" is not so hard. Creating the whole world is extremely hard. It is a process of writing, rewriting, evolving, and re-evolving that can play out over the course of years and take thousands and thousads of pages. It all depends upon your desires and your needs. If you just want a basic D&D world, then the job will be a lot less than if you want a fully breathing secondary existence (MIddle Earth).
Rian Lightblade 04-28-04, 01:49 PM	Originally posted by Sulaco It is a lot of work. First and foremost, track down a copy of the WOrld Builder's Guidebook. It is one of the best supplements released in the 2e period. It covers a lot of the hitty-gritty stuff and is invaluable. Yes it is. And the World Builder's Guidebook is a godsend!! It's not a lot of work if you create as you go. That much is true. But I find that world creation with that method leads to inconsistencies that can and do detract from the believability of the world. I find that for a world to be truly playable and believable one should create, at least, the continent that PCs and going to start on. If they are starting in a coastal region then a few islands would be good as well. Really the World Builder's Guidebook is the key. It will help you create trade winds and water currents, climates and transitional regions, and Kingdoms and political boarders. A fully realized campaign world with varied and interlinking ecological, sociological, anthropological, economical and political features is a daunting task, but is probably the most satisfying task a DM can undertake.
Sulaco 04-28-04, 01:50 PM	A suggestion Modelling cultures on real-world cultures creates a verisimilar setting that seems more "real" to the reader/player. Don't just steal sulture whole-cloth though, find ways to make them your own. For example: The unarmed martial arts fighting of the monk were created by Africanesque tribes who were banned form owning weapons by conquerors. Living in a resource-poor island chain, the Oriental people became, rather than becoming samurai and ninjas, instead are viking-style raiders and pirates. A Celtic people who, rather than living as hundreds of tribes and clans, united under a single ruler and conquered a vast part of the continent creating a massive Roman-style empire that combines their barbaric roots and the high culture of chivalry and knighthood. These cultural hoks give the player soemthing they can immediately identify with, but the differences make them uniquely your own and stand out even moreso because of it.
Rian Lightblade 04-28-04, 01:53 PM	Those are some kick ass ideas Sulaco!! I my have to steal :D a few for my next world!
Sulaco 04-28-04, 01:59 PM	Originally posted by Rian Lightblade Those are some kick ass ideas Sulaco!! I my have to steal :D a few for my next world! Thanks. The last on is what I was going for with the Darakeene stuff that I wrote for Sword & Sorcery's Scarred Lands books. I am still hoping to develop it fully into it's own book but it hasn't happened yet. :(