I'm writing up a source book for my 5th ed game. It seems like a great way for my players and I to keep track of lore, knowledge of the world, extra rules, etc.
But I'm not exactly sure how to do it. It seems like a big task all by itself. Are there any guides for this kind of thing? Perhaps a well written out source book I could follow?
Also what's your favourite campaign setting, /tg/?
>>44272777
I've realised how ugly that yellow looks now.
Bumping with map
If you intend it to be for your players, I'd say keep it short and focus on only the most important things. In my experience, a 16-page guide with broad-strokes outlines of the campaign world--geography, politics, setting, religion, races/cultures, any new rules, etc.--is probably the most that most players are willing to wade through and devote their attention to. Think the player's guides to the various Pathfinder APs, if you're familiar with them.
If, on the other hand, you're writing something because you think that other people might like running your campaign setting, or you enjoy creating your world and documenting it for your own sake, go nuts and make it as long as you wish. Just don't expect your players to digest a 300+ page document on the setting, for example.
Nice choice on the Edmund Blair Leighton artwork, by the way!
>>44272791
I like the yellow anon
Is this a joke? Like, is this thread a satire?
>Hay guis my homebrew iz gud imma write a book for my players to read theyl love it
>Dis is a shit photo of my map i scribbled on a napkin its a super original setting cant you tell
>Tell me how i make a good book pls
This has to be a joke. There is no way this can be a real thing.
>>44273579
Thanks, it's more for the players. So I'll try and keep it short and sweet. If I ever get any time between work, I'd probably expand on it for just myself. It'll probably be my default setting.
>>44273615
Don't be such a Negative Nancy and shit up the thread, anon. There, you got a response.
>>44273904
Don't be so hard on Nancy. Her son is on chemo and her husband is in jail. She's doing the best she can, I bet you wouldn't be all sunshine and rainbows if you were in her shoes either.
bump
Final bump since this isn't gathering too much attention. Quite day or too many more interesting threads around I guess.
>>44272777
I've done something similar, Anon. My players and I have been using the same campaign setting for about ten years, and it got cumbersome to keep track of without an easily-referenced guide.
For a 'short and sweet' type of guide, I'd start with making notes. Write some bullet points for yourself and organize them into the most important topics; geography, government, religion, history, and maybe dramatis personae.
Once you've broken it down into bite-size chunks like this, start filling them out with the information that will be useful for the players. Try to keep it limited to things they need to know in order to function well in the setting, and remember to keep some surprises and twists up your sleeve for them to discover when they deal with these things first-hand.
Lastly, operate off of the assumption that you're doing this for your own fun, and no one is ever going to read it. Maybe they will! If your expectations are low, however, then you're unlikely to be disappointed.
I guess I'll bump again with some stuff. I'll try and relate the nations to irl ones for better understanding.
Korrakage: Capitol Nagato. Used to be swamps, deltas, and rainforests. Very Eastern culture. There were edge-lord katanas because the steel was shit. Experiments into magic brought forth a demon lord. War and what ever. Demon's last words were a curse. Everything would wither and die like his festering corpse. Now it's all desert.
Dolg'Daan: Capitol Hack. Mountain dwelling Half/Orks, Goblins, Hobgoblins. Based around ancient Gaul/Mongolians. Small but fiercely defended. The chosen lands of Gruumsh. Savage Orks, highly militaristic Hobs.
Thursgard Hold: Capitol Thurs. Secluded Dwarves living in icy mountains. Their leader I borrowed from that grudge bearer guy from WarHam: Fantasy. Lots of sea trade but always under assault from barbarians. Lives in ruins of a Golden Age.
Reykjavik: Capitol Stuin. Eskimo Snow Elves. Slightly more accepted than Wood Eves by the Nazi High Elves. Very tribal and nomadic, very few permanent cities. Ancestor worship.
Lithri'al: Capitol Elkii'sha. Hoity toity high elves that believe they're better than everyone else. Currently the main bad guys.
The Woodland Realm: Capitol Fel Bernath. savage Wood Elves with horns, Fae stuff, Moth Folk. Hated by most other Elves.
Cont...
>>44278327
Baristium: Capitol Kopesh. Fantasy Byzantium empire. Superior fleets and lots of trade. Holla holla get dolla. Debauchery everywhere. Spain is a main influence as well.
Telhelran: Capitol Samé. Arabs, and Africans (much further down,) with a serious political problem. Centuries ago old king slept around cause wife was barren. Jealous wife killed him and herself. Monarchy turned into squabbling council. Nothing gets done. Lots of trade and assassins.
Tolin: Capitol Tolin. Frogs and knights. I always do the most shitty French accent when portraying them. Bunch of city states allied for protection. Lots of Western monks and Knights roaming around. Fate has always frowned on Tolin and whatever names it has been called. The city itself has always been destroyed, abandoned, ransacked, etc. And then always rebuilt over the ruins.
Mourngard Hold: Capitol Mourn. 25/75 Dwarf and Human. Perhaps one of the most united nations. An empire forged on constant expansion, has now settled down. Not many like them but who cares we're Roman Dwarves.
Lots of other Kingdoms but there are the only ones that have a real say in politics. Humans are the most common, and even have an area called The Thousand Kingdoms."They're all kings and Queens" is usually used as a derogatory term towards humans.
>>44272777
A wiki or setting document should be sufficient. Being concise is key, since your players probably have multiple demands on their time and may not be able to read a whole book. But you still need to convey everything that's important.
Perhaps you could make a tl;dr general overview, then have another section elaborate on it? I wouldn't expect more than... 10? 20 pages for a whole setting document? Also talk to your players about it, make sure that their characters fit in somewhere in the world and have ties to people, places, and/or organizations.
>>44272777
>>44276417
>Around christmas time
>Saturday night
>1am eastern time
>10pm for western US
>5-6am for brits
Maybe because most sane English-speakers are either asleep or about to sleep?
>>44279047
Time zones are shit. I always expect everyone to be awake during Aussie time. It's my downfall.
But thank you, anon. Any help counts.
>>44279099
>I always expect everyone to be awake during Aussie time. It's my downfall.
Don't sweat it. I only started seriously thinking about this stuff when I started staying up past 5am. Hell, I had to look up a timezone map just now to figure out who's probably asleep.
>>44273579
>>44273904
>>44277100
yeah here's a couple examples for a "short and sweet" guide
>>44279428
and my favorite Official published example, taken from the short lived Chainmail Miniatures Game that WOTC briefly published in the early days of 3rd edition
>>44279428
Thanks anon. I'll put all of this to good use.
Unfortunately due to those time zones and work at 6am, I must go to sleep now. Hopefully this thread continues somehow. But anyway, goodnight /tg/
