Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Baptor Jan 28, 2015 21:04:15	I've been DMing the Forgotten Realms for a very long time. Since 2001 at least and I think I was messing around with the setting sooner than that (I had the 2e boxset). I've run it in 3rd, a custom game design, and now 5th edition. Anyways, I love the Realms dearly and so do my players, but I've always wanted to try my hand at creating my own custom Campaign Setting. I tried a few times when I was younger and failed, and now that I am middle aged I know this is probably my last shot if I go for it. My question to you all is: is it worth it? I mean I could keep on running Realms games until they bury me, and I wouldn't miss a step. I'm not bored with the setting or anything like that. I just feel that at some point a DM should make his own setting, amiright? Or am I? I look at this blank sheet of paper and think of all the sleepless nights its going to take to realize this dream. If I'm content with the setting I'm in, is this even worth it?
#2 cowleymen Jan 28, 2015 22:16:57	I think with a desire like that, you deffinently should! If you have a regular player base too, get their input. What kind of orginizations they like, so you give them options that they will like when creating characters. You also dont need to make a whole World or even a continent, but just a corner or one region like a peninsula. This can be easier too. Also, a total feel for your campaign. Forgotten realms is what i would consider High Fantasy, while Dark Sun is survialst/horror. Ebberon is just plain weird where anything might exist. Decide what kind of fantasy you like or what kind of genere you want to make. IF you find yourself making a "clone" of FR, perhaps you should try your hand at just creating a new Homebrew contienet or a Kingdom of Islands.
#3 Timpookie Jan 29, 2015 0:17:32	I can not compare a homebrew campaign to a premade campaign, simply because I have never run a premade campaign. I've always found premade campaigns, especially in worlds where there's loads of lore attatched to them, challenging to run because I'd have too many limitations. With a homebrew campaign, you can create everything, from history to gods to geography to language and you can even create your own new races, should you want to.
#4 DM_Craig Jan 29, 2015 8:02:31	As somebody who loves to create, I would answer the question of "Is it worth it?" with a simple and resounding yes!   That being said, it might not be worth it for everyone, depending on how much time you can give to the creation of a from-scratch homebrew setting. So there are a few other questions you can ask yourself: Do you need everything in your homebrew to be completely unique, or are you willing to borrow? (If you're not publishing your campaign, borrow heavily from existing material and mash it up until it looks how you want it!) How much detail do you want/need? Do you have players who are creative enough to work with you in the creation process? Do you have the time to commit (it can take quite a bit!)? How do your players feel about playing in a homebrew setting?   In the end, the only person that can really answer your question is yourself. Personally, I have been crafting my homebrew world for the past 3 (almost 4!) years. It is something that came naturally for me as a writer and creative type, and something that I absolutely love to do. I have no problem spending hours working on mechanics, or politics, or anything else.   Hopefully this helps you with the question. If not, ignore everything I said, haha.
#5 Beoric Jan 29, 2015 15:03:44	If you have to ask, you probaby shouldn't bother.  Most people who do world-building do it because they can't help themselves.  You need to enoy the actual process, otherwise it increases the level of work by an order of magnitude without increasing your level of fun.   If you are game to give it a try, start small.  Back in the day, a lot of us just started with Hommlet, and built from there.
#6 Baptor Jan 29, 2015 22:10:14	Beoric wrote:
(Reply to #6) DM_Craig	Baptor wrote:
#8 Timpookie Jan 30, 2015 18:45:17	DM_Craig wrote:
#9 Imaculata Feb 03, 2015 5:18:51	I highly encourage you to make your own campaign setting Baptor! It is a very rewarding experience, and you'll be able to engage your players much better. I'd recommend having a look at some of the custom campaign settings posted on this subforum for inspiration.   One way that I found was a great way to start, was to pick an unusual theme for the campaign. Mine was "aquatic/pirates". I decided that EVERYTHING in my campaign would be linked to water in some way. Dungeons would make use of swimming and water hazards. I'd have water deities, underwater races, naval combat, diving for treasure and exploring of islands. By staying faithful to a central theme, you can put your players in new and exciting situations, get them out of their comfort zone, and introduce monsters that would otherwise see very little use.
#10 Timpookie Feb 03, 2015 6:58:13	Imaculata wrote:
#11 Imaculata Feb 03, 2015 8:03:29	I've always wanted to try out a campaign setting that revolves around cold. In my current campaign I have an underworld that does just that. I intend it to be an area where the players must also roll endurance checks against the cold, and dress to protect themselves from the freezing temperatures. It will make a nice change from their current tropical environment. And I plan to use ideas from the book Frostburn.   Another idea to check out, is of course a desert setting. There's an excellent book called Sandstorm that deals with desert campaigns.
#12 Timpookie Feb 04, 2015 4:24:33	Imaculata wrote:
#13 Imaculata Feb 04, 2015 5:07:34	Please do! I love reading about other people's homebrew campaigns. And it might give me some cool (pun not intended) ideas for my underworld (aka The Eternal Depths). In fact, I should probably update the Pirates of the Emerald Coast topic regarding that place...
#14 Timpookie Feb 05, 2015 0:09:47	Imaculata wrote:
#15 Imaculata Feb 05, 2015 5:30:35	Timpookie wrote:
#16 Timpookie Feb 05, 2015 6:15:58	Imaculata wrote:
#17 Book5 Feb 09, 2015 10:29:45	Timpookie wrote:
#18 RalofTyr Mar 06, 2015 14:14:54	Beoric already said; build a world only if you like building worlds.  I like to build worlds; when running V:tM, I would usually design the city myself.  I would know every corner of that town because I designed it.