Group setting

[Lost Soul]

Would anyone here be interested in developping a setting as a cooperative project (not for publication, just for personnal use?) I'd like to have something more detailed than what I usually have in my next campaign, but the amount of work it takes is usually staggering, so I'd like to share the workload.

[Origen]

I'll be lazy and unsystematic, and I'll sue you to make a quick buck if you or anyone else sells it, but sure. Why not?

[Starhawk]

er... what system? genre?

[Parzival]

Sure. <grin> I'm always up for some world-building.

The downside is that these things tend to fall apart. <shrug> I've got my write-up for two such projects sitting on my HD. I'll post one or both of them here in the near future.
Maybe you can snag some insprations or ideas from them.

[Detritus]

er... what system? genre?
These are important questions as need answering. I'm up for something, but my input might wary wildly depending on the answers to the quoted questions.

[Cranky Dog]

I'll be lazy and unsystematic, and I'll sue you to make a quick buck if you or anyone else sells it, but sure. Why not?
What he said, but without the suing part (I ain't crazy enough to sue a lawyer who lives in the same province as I do) and more lazy and unsystematic.:sagrin:

Though it could be quite an interesting project. Though different world building philosophies will clash. Including divine pantheons unless we go like the real world where pantheons were "regional" and where everyone had their own world creation legends.


Cranky Dog
"I have a world building opinion, international!"

[Cranky Dog]

Now that I think of it, it could be an occasion for me to take a crack again at Fractal Mapper 7. I was becomming pretty adept with it a while ago and I still have the town map I made with it and the basic description of the town.


Cranky Dog
"I have a map making opinion, international!"

[Lost Soul]

er... what system? genre?

Well, we need a system that every can at least understand, and a genre that everyone can use. IMO, this almost certainly means something fantasy-ish, and probably D20.

What I'd like to try would be a swashbuckling fantasy world using the Iron Heroes ruleset (we'd need to change some class names, but that's pretty much it) with an alternate magic system that effectively removes in-encounter spellcasting. But that's merely my personnal desires. I'd like to hear other peoples' thoughts on this.

We also need to figure out the scope of the project. I think we'd be better off starting small, as I suggested to Cattie when she asked for help. I'd rather have one detailed kingdom than a huge world filled with blank spaces.

[Parzival]

I've found class/level systems extremely difficult to worldbuild with. The geometric progression is a serious PITA to apply to society in any coherant fashion. (And world-warping abilities are common. Especially at higher levels.)

I'm not familiar with Iron Heroes. If we go this route, my input will most likely be limited.

[Cranky Dog]

Well, we need a system that every can at least understand, and a genre that everyone can use. IMO, this almost certainly means something fantasy-ish, and probably D20.
Well this just shows how single-mindedly biased I am. It didn't even occur to me that it could be something else than D&D.

Yet I'm still game. If the D&D multiverses could survive several editions, then any world can be adapted to whatever we design. A dragon is still a big lizard no matter what game system is used.


Cranky Dog
"I have a generic fantasy world opinion, international!"

[Lost Soul]

Just a thought: we could probably avoid some pitfalls by focusing more on the color and less on the stat blocks: if we agree the Grand Vizier of Metropolis City is a wise, powerful wizard, we don't need to specify how many fireballs he can cast or whether he has Magery 1, 2 or 3.

[Origen]

Just a thought: we could probably avoid some pitfalls by focusing more on the color and less on the stat blocks: if we agree the Grand Vizier of Metropolis City is a wise, powerful wizard, we don't need to specify how many fireballs he can cast or whether he has Magery 1, 2 or 3.

Pfft. If he's the Grand Vizier and the worst he can cast is a fireball, then who cares if he's wise?

:D

[Magnus Bergqvist]

Pfft. If he's the Grand Vizier and the worst he can cast is a fireball, then who cares if he's wise?

:D

He might not need to be that powerful wizard. That's what he has the pet Djinns for. They do the heavy magic. =^_^=

/Magnus

[Parzival]

Fireball isn't really a gamebreaker. <shrug> Especially if possessed by someone unlikely to put themselves at risk.

But scrying abilities, fast-travel abilities (fly, teleport, etc), long-distance communication abilities, and charm/compel abilities will all have a *major* impact on the world.
(And I shudder to think about the "epic" sh*t Org and **** can pull out of their collective *ss*s.)

I'm more than fine making a world without stat blocks. <shrug> But it's going to be hard to adapt into a class/level system.

[Hitcher]

Get a general idea then stat it out for specific systems.

Starting with one country's a good idea. When you're done with it, you can then move on to the neighbors (trade and someone to fight/make jokes about).

Something to look at (but this gets really in-depth) is Patrica C. Wrede's Worldbuilder Questions (http://www.larseighner.com/world_builder/).

[Hitcher]

Here's (http://www.roleplayingtips.com/readissue.php?number=272) a nicer way to get started I think. Or you can try looking for some old Dragon article on Countrycraft.

[Cranky Dog]

In my case I've made use of some random generators and other tools to kickstart some of my designs:

http://www.aarg.net/~minam/towns.cgi
http://www.rdinn.com/town_generator.php
http://www.irony.com/othertools.html
http://www.io.com/~sjohn/demog.htm

And of course random name generators for every occasions! (http://seventhsanctum.com/)


Cranky Dog
"I have a randomized opinion, international!"

[Hitcher]

Ice Elves - nomadic tribes of wild elves living in the far north. Known for herding reindeer, which they use for meat, milk, hides and transportation; and for their tiny but powerful laminated composite recurve bows of bone, wood and sinew.

[Hitcher]

so are we making this world or not? Is there a name for it?

[Detritus]

As I see it, this is kind of Lost Soul's show until we figure out who is working on what.

[David Argall]

While you will want some ideas, you should leave most of the world building until later. Right now town building is what you should consider. Stuff the party in some hick village to play around in until they gain a few levels, and you gain a better of idea of what you want and what works. One advantage of this is that if the whole thing falls apart you didn't spend weeks on stuff that will never be used.

But the ability to test is not small. Orcs don't really work? Well, the tribe near the village are the only ones in the kingdom. A class is too strong or weak. It just doesn't exist elsewhere.

No in-encounter magic? that is just not fantasy in my view.