It should be no secret to anyone, I like most published settings. I think that the default 4e D&D "Points of Light" setting in the Nentir Vale is fresh with ideas. In fact, my on-going campaign that I DM is set in my own custom take on the Vale and its factions and problems. It resonates with me, a world that isn't clearly defined and is still "roughing it" on the frontier of the fantasy genre. I also quite like Dark Sun and Ravenloft for similar reasons, that "fear of the unknown" really resonates with me, but that is a totally Romantic ideology and that's a tale for another post.
I've never been able to get into some very established settings with a rich history and lore. Being a historian, you would think that these settings would be right up my alley, but I find that the very steep learning curve to be knowledgeable in these settings is asking far too much from the average player. The Forgotten Realms and even Eberron come to mind because of this. To really get and enjoy these settings, one has to do the time and research. For a serious group of like-minded players that is great, but it's not an easy sell to someone who wants to play some D&D to forget about the mundane busyness of their "real life."
My point here is pretty simple: this richness in history and lore make these settings amazing. But how can a group get there, as a player and DM, without having to spend a month researching the setting? Enter: Collaborative World-Building!
I've had this idea for awhile now, but it requires a few things, namely a dedicated player-base. This deep history and rich lore is vital to a real, living, breathing world. Seasons and years come and go, characters and NPCs age, empires fall and rise over generations. I want this sense of a real world and epic-ness in my games and it can be rather hard to come by, especially in D&D. Other games like Pendragon, for example, have rules lined up for multi-generational tales. D&D is a bit different, and as much as I love it, short-sighted, in this regard. We can do this, we just have to wing it a little.
My idea is pretty simple (and at the same time complex, strangely enough.)
Gather a dedicated group of players and DMs to spend a session or two creating your world. Everyone contributes to the history of the world. Perhaps one person will take a race or culture or two and track their progress throughout a generation or seven or what have you. This is all entirely up to your group. Maybe your world has a long recorded history, maybe recorded history has just begun? Again, this is something you decide at the table.
Create empires, cultures, races (if needed), clashes, wars, everything that makes history interesting and fun. (I am biased here, as I stated before I am a historian, so this stuff is my wheelhouse.) Create ruins and keeps and castles and cities and towns and everything in between.
I know this sounds complex, but in an informal situation where you and your group are sitting down and just chatting about these things, you'd be surprised how many great ideas pop up with frequency. You definitely need a good scribe to collect these ideas and then put them in some sort of discernible order or timeline. From what I've read online, Microscope seems particularly geared for this type of world-building. It's a turn-based game, and throughout the game you create much of these ideas. While I cannot personally attest to its effectiveness, it should serve as a jumping-off point at the very least.
But where does this leave us? This seems pretty normal for world-building, right? Yeah, it does, actually.
So this is where uniqueness and continual world-building come in based on play. You have a set world and setting and rules and history now. Let's say you have a group total of 6 people. One person takes the reigns as DM for an adventure and the other 5 play. Once the adventure is over, a different person takes the reigns as DM and the old DM jumps in as a player. This continues in a cycle over and over and over again. These characters persist between DMs (save for the occasional one-shot or mini-campaign, of course.) Not only this, but the world is shaped between DMs. Perhaps a set amount of months change between stories, or even years. The world moves on between the tales and adventures and so do the characters and their personal stories. This requires lots of work from both the players and DM, but the desired effect is acheived: the world lives and breathes. Seasons and years come and go.
And here is the most fun part: you choose a year to begin all of these adventures and you get to watch as your characters age and develop relationships and ties and connections. People live and die and the world changes around them and through them.
Now, how does this tie into Legend4ry play? Simply, it doesn't have to. BUT, it can. Adventuring is dangerous. Protecting cities from armies and fighting wars is dangerous. Living isn't assured or guaranteed. This is where, if you so choose, one can use the Legend4ry play rules found on this site and from the most recent pdf (found in the upper right hand corner.) Hirelings and resting rules and monster design can all lend themselves to a rough world on the frontier that is tamed over generations. Fair Warning: Legend4ry play isn't for everyone.
Until next time,
-blob
You can follow me on Twitter @Sorcerer_Blob or via the hash-tag #legend4ry. You can also find my blog and others at the Fourthcore Hub and at the RPG Blog Alliance.
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