Kaulguard's Player-Involved Worldbuilding Exercise
Dec 26, 2015 21:37:49 GMT
whipstache and daxredhammer like this
Post by kaulguard on Dec 26, 2015 21:37:49 GMT
Hiya Blockheads!
So, this is my favorite way to worldbuild, bar none. It is only really super effective with experienced players, but I'd like to try it sometime with some newbs, just to see. Here's how it works:
Session 0: You, the DM, create the 'Father God'/'Mother God' whatever the head kahuna god will be. You invite your players to create a god or goddess, each with a different sphere of influence. Go crazy, give them a plane to call their own, with whatever physical laws they decide. Give them opportunities to create families, feud with each other, get bored. Design a central Home for the gods, a meeting place if nothing else, and introduce the concept of creation. Let them know that next session, they will be creating a world.
Session 0.1: Let there be a world! Get a big piece of butcher paper and start drawing. "Yes, and..." is critical at this stage. Draw the outlines of a world together. Let your god characters create things: "Here will be the home of my beautiful elves!" "Here is a pit filled with horror and monstrosity" "Here is a desert of needle sand". The more extreme the better. Then let them know, a thousand years have gone by.
Session 0.2: Each player takes command of a civilization. Make up rules for it or just let it b e so, it doesn't matter. Vast Orcish empire, Tribes of halfling cannibals banded under a warlord. Human scavengers around the edges, whatever. Each turn is a hundred years. Let heroes emerge, and have the players describe their adventures, the grander the better. Let the gods affect outcomes, and pepper the land with a bounty of magical artifacts. Then, introduce a cataclysmic event of some kind. A war among the gods, the moon cracks in half, whatever. Let them know that in the next session, a thousand years will have gone by again.
Session 0.3: Take the incredible brainstorming of your group's last three sessions and mold it into something resembling what you want out of your world. Pick a starting point, and build around it. Have your players make 1st level characters, tell them where they will start. Tell your introductory story to get the group together.
Session 1: Your players have a MUCH deeper knowledge of the lore and history of your world than they would otherwise have had, but by no means know ALL of the story. They come to the first session with an investment in the pantheon and the world that can take months or years of roleplaying to achieve in the normal manner of introducing a setting to players.
I've done this twice, and both times it was a big hit. Let me know what you think!
So, this is my favorite way to worldbuild, bar none. It is only really super effective with experienced players, but I'd like to try it sometime with some newbs, just to see. Here's how it works:
Session 0: You, the DM, create the 'Father God'/'Mother God' whatever the head kahuna god will be. You invite your players to create a god or goddess, each with a different sphere of influence. Go crazy, give them a plane to call their own, with whatever physical laws they decide. Give them opportunities to create families, feud with each other, get bored. Design a central Home for the gods, a meeting place if nothing else, and introduce the concept of creation. Let them know that next session, they will be creating a world.
Session 0.1: Let there be a world! Get a big piece of butcher paper and start drawing. "Yes, and..." is critical at this stage. Draw the outlines of a world together. Let your god characters create things: "Here will be the home of my beautiful elves!" "Here is a pit filled with horror and monstrosity" "Here is a desert of needle sand". The more extreme the better. Then let them know, a thousand years have gone by.
Session 0.2: Each player takes command of a civilization. Make up rules for it or just let it b e so, it doesn't matter. Vast Orcish empire, Tribes of halfling cannibals banded under a warlord. Human scavengers around the edges, whatever. Each turn is a hundred years. Let heroes emerge, and have the players describe their adventures, the grander the better. Let the gods affect outcomes, and pepper the land with a bounty of magical artifacts. Then, introduce a cataclysmic event of some kind. A war among the gods, the moon cracks in half, whatever. Let them know that in the next session, a thousand years will have gone by again.
Session 0.3: Take the incredible brainstorming of your group's last three sessions and mold it into something resembling what you want out of your world. Pick a starting point, and build around it. Have your players make 1st level characters, tell them where they will start. Tell your introductory story to get the group together.
Session 1: Your players have a MUCH deeper knowledge of the lore and history of your world than they would otherwise have had, but by no means know ALL of the story. They come to the first session with an investment in the pantheon and the world that can take months or years of roleplaying to achieve in the normal manner of introducing a setting to players.
I've done this twice, and both times it was a big hit. Let me know what you think!
