BlackLiger Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 Does anyone have a setting 'template', as in a document that describes how to lay out their setting? If so, would you be willing to share? I'm always interested to see how others tend to order their writing. Quote OpsCom ROYAL Sigma 6 8 9 9 Sierra Delta Charlie Uniform Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rust Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 I have one, but unfortunately it is in German. In most cases I begin with a description of the physical layout of the territory covered by the setting, including at least one map, and followed by descripti- ons of the important or especially interesting resources, plants and animals. The next chapter describes the population of the setting's territory, the histo- ry and the general politics. I usually add descriptions of the main settlements, wherever possible with maps. Then come the economy, including lists and prices of the available equipment, and the trade and trade routes, often with another map. The next part is the culture and religion of the population of the setting, from everyday life (houses, clothes, food ...) and special occasions (festivals, etc.) to the scientific knowledge and the theology of the society or societies. The last part covers the modifications to the game system used (available and new skills, etc.), the game stats of important personalities of the setting, tem- plates for generic non-player characters (e.g. "peasant" or "town watch mem- ber") and the stats for any unusual animals or creatures. Since I normally do not use magic or psionics in my setting, there is no chapter to cover this, but in the few cases were I use them I add them to the cuture chapter. There is no special reason for the order of the chapters, it is just the way I tend to work through my notes to arrive at a semi-finished setting. The basic framework or "skeleton" of a setting usually is between 20 pages for historical and pseudo-historical settings and 50 pages for science fiction settings (which need a lot of descriptions and explanations of the technology used). Once this framework is finished, I usually put the setting aside until I have a new idea I want to add or have a group of players interested in the setting. In the latter case, we discuss the setting, and I add the details and changes the play- ers consider necessary to have fun with the setting. This tends to expand the setting to between 50 and 100 pages at the start of a campaign. Quote "Mind like parachute, function only when open." (Charlie Chan) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rleduc Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 I posted this some time ago -- I use it to outline settings from a character creation standpoint. It might help, http://basicroleplaying.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=123 Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaot Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 (edited) That's a neat little document Rich. Thanks. BlackLiger, have you ever seen Khoras? I've always liked the way the author streamlined information there. Reminds me of the CIA World Factbook. Edit: Two other sources that aren't quite what you're looking for but may help you design your own are Rich Staats' World Creation Guide and the Worldbuilding wiki. Edited January 2, 2011 by Chaot Quote 70/420 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackLiger Posted January 5, 2011 Author Share Posted January 5, 2011 Hmmmmm. These are all interesting. I must admit, http://sjgames.com/general/guidelines/authors/gurps.html is for an entirely different game, but the basic ideas in it work just fine for BASIC too. Quote OpsCom ROYAL Sigma 6 8 9 9 Sierra Delta Charlie Uniform Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.