Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 traversetravis Oct 01, 2007 15:47:52	I'd like the DMG to give several examples of how the DMs may modify the Core flavor bits to make their own homebrew Campaign Setting. Gamers are often gearheady -- if it's not explicitly laid out that they're supposed to adapt the proper names, many will not do it. Going further...I'd like the DMG to include suggestions for how to name Campaign Settings, with an explanation of the principles behind the names of the various D&D product lines, such as: 1) How the names often have two elements (either with a space or compounded): "Forgotten Realms", "Dragonlance", "Birthright", "Savage Coast", "Blackmoor", "Red Steel", "Ravenloft", "Dark Sun", "Arcane Age", "Hordelands", "Known World", "Hollow World", and "Greyhawk", 2) Or are named for the planet: "Eberron", "Mystara". Include a chart with ideas for how to emulate these names, including: Name elements that can be combined to make the "two-word style" name, such as: Colors ("Black", "Grey", "Red") Weapons ("Lance", "Axe", "Sword") Monsters and animals ("Dragon", "Hawk", "Raven") Astronomical features ("Star", "Sun", "Moon") Geographical features ("World, "Coast", "Lands") Chronological words ("Age", "Times", "Primeval") Common adjectives ("Savage", "Dark", "Unknown"). Fantastic syllables that could be combined to name the planet, including: The three syllable model ("Mystara", "Eberron", "Aebrynis") The two syllable model ("Athas", "Io") The one syllable model ("Krynn", "Oerth"). The Gygaxian-style "alternate Earth" naming scheme ("Oerth", "Yarth", "Uerth", and "Aerth", and Mystara's original name from the Gold Box: "Urt"). The chart could inspire names like: Dragon Moon Savage World Blackspire Bluehame Sutherwold Unknown Coasts Snakelands Arcane Star Tyserris Avellon Orthus Yorth Arth Eyrd Lastly, include a brief section explaining the design choices behind the making of the various Logos of the D&D Campaign Settings, including the redesigned FR and Living GH logos versus the original FR and GH logos. Give suggestions for how to design a homebrew logo. I'd like 4E to start a tradition where DMs draw a Logo for their homebrew Campaign Settings. There could even be a DM "Campaign Sheet" on DDI (like a player's Character Sheet), with a box for the Logo (and a slot to write the planet's name). Include a space on each personal Gleemax page to upload Logos for each of their Campaign Settings. Travis
#2 zombiegleemax Oct 02, 2007 2:03:07	I really hope this isn't taken as meanspirited or flaming...but seriously?! I think you might be missing the primary qualifications that every DM must have, that being creativity and imagination. If you really need help coming up with a name or logo for a campaign, then: a) You probably shouldn't be a DM, b) Think that a really cool sounding name or cool-looking logo will make the game (which it won't) or c) Will develop an ulcer if every single piece of your campaign is so painstakingly questioned, fretted over, and deliberated. Naming a campaign should take half a heartbeat, and as a WotC consumer I really don't want my game designers spending man hours and money on putting in such trivial, page-wasting material such as that in my DMG. I'd kinda like it for rules, ya know? What you ask for, assuming it's the tip of a "create-everything-for-me" Iceberg, is a DMG that's about 10,000 pages long. With tiny font. Again, sorry if it's rude, I'm just a bit flabbergasted.
#3 havard Oct 02, 2007 12:20:38	Interesting analysis of how most D&D names are designed Travis! Alot of players have trouble enough coming up with names for their characters. Some ideas on how to make names for their campaign worlds should be useful. Havard
#4 zombiegleemax Oct 04, 2007 4:41:58
#5 havard Oct 04, 2007 15:08:16	LOL Havard
#6 traversetravis Oct 04, 2007 18:29:02
#7 traversetravis Oct 04, 2007 23:37:17	[CENTER] [color=brown][SIZE="7"][FONT="Impact"]N
#8 Rhydur_Meith Oct 13, 2007 7:37:07	Interesting idea, but maybe better for a DDI Dragon or Dungeon article, or even series of articles. Although, when you read the playtest reports (which I enjoy a lot & find very informative), you can see that the WotC staff either are not very good at naming things (especially PCs), or they don't think of the playtests as serious campaigns, so they just revert back to the use of silly, funny names. Like one of my firsts PCs, from about 1976 "Terridon von Swoopdon, terrible scourge of all evil...." Seriously though, good idea, like to see it as articles, not taking up space in books, though,
#9 cdtalmas Oct 13, 2007 8:05:14	Guidelines! Guidelines are always awesome. I'm sure they could devote an entire DMG chapter to those guidelines alone... but I think it would work best in its own mini-book or article series. I will not berate a single DM/GM for looking for guidelines to help them in world creation, plot ideas, or NPC generation. The possibilities are just so numerous that a person can lose their sanity trying to plan as much as one can so that "on the fly" is a rarely seen event.
#10 caeruleus Oct 13, 2007 12:19:43	I don't see any point to this. When I make up settings, I never bother with a name, and most definitely never even consider making a logo. What difference would any of that make to the campaign itself? And besides, I imagine that the choices in names and logos probably have a lot to do with marketing the setting. Asking WotC for how they name these things is basically asking for their marketing research, if any has been done in this area. I doubt they'll offer it. In any case, I agree with Haman. If you're gonna be creating a whole campaign setting, I don't think the name will be the hard part. EDIT: Actually, I'm not sure how much research is needed. The two-word model is obviously more memorable than using one word (usually), and longer names don't always roll off the tongue as easily. That's probably the reason behind it.
#11 havard Oct 13, 2007 16:44:06	I don't see any point to this. When I make up settings, I never bother with a name, and most definitely never even consider making a logo. What difference would any of that make to the campaign itself? I wouldnt say it is mandatory, but having a campaign name and even a logo (its easy with Photoshop these days) can help "sell" the campaign to your players. My group usually uses names for our campaigns and if homebrew, we definately come up with names for our settings. Its fun! Havard
#12 CCS Oct 18, 2007 13:38:19	Essentially what you want, with an examination of naming & logos, is a look at basic marketing. And this could make for a great series of articles. Just as we ask one another what we want to see in a campaign, how we aproach roll/roleplay, character gen etc, learning what the designers/marketers think of is also interesting. But as interesting as this is? It'd be an awfull waste of space in the DMG. Besides, almost no campaign that I've ever played in has had any real need for either a logo or a name. When names HAVE been applied they've been simple things used to mark paperwork or calander space. Some recent examples; Jen's game(D&D, 3.5) - found on the local shops website under events calander, Corey's game, 2007 - found on my bards character sheet, and (my favorite) "DRAGONLANCE - Sept.2007" - found on the spine of the binder I'm using for the current DL game I'm Dming.
#13 traversetravis Oct 18, 2007 21:09:12	Besides, almost no campaign that I've ever played in has had any real need for either a logo or a name. When names HAVE been applied they've been simple things used to mark paperwork or calander space. Some recent examples; Jen's game(D&D, 3.5) - found on the local shops website under events calander, Corey's game, 2007 - found on my bards character sheet, and (my favorite) "DRAGONLANCE - Sept.2007" - found on the spine of the binder I'm using for the current DL game I'm Dming. Yeah but...I feel sad that your campaigns didn't have names or logos. I say every campaign deserves a name and logo! Travis
#14 Nyarlathotep Oct 22, 2007 14:18:04	Naming a campaign should take half a heartbeat, and as a WotC consumer I really don't want my game designers spending man hours and money on putting in such trivial, page-wasting material such as that in my DMG. I agree. In fact I'll go a step further and say that I don't even take half a heartbeat to name my campaigns, most of the time, I don't name them at all. I'll name things in the campaign (i.e. the name of the village they are in, the continent they are on, etc), but that's different from naming my campaign "Floogle Quest" or what the heck ever. Instead, my campigns tend to end up with informal nicknames; my "Dead World" campaign, my "Magic Tatoos" campaign, etc. But since I am not planning to put it into a nice box set and vie for shelf space in a hobby store, I don't feel inclined to give it some evocative name, I just don't see the point. A logo would be right out and more work than I wish to put into something my players might look at for half a sec, say "nice", then put back in the folder before getting on with the game.
#15 havard Oct 22, 2007 15:44:55	Instead, my campigns tend to end up with informal nicknames; my "Dead World" campaign, my "Magic Tatoos" campaign, etc. But since I am not planning to put it into a nice box set and vie for shelf space in a hobby store, I don't feel inclined to give it some evocative name, I just don't see the point. A logo would be right out and more work than I wish to put into something my players might look at for half a sec, say "nice", then put back in the folder before getting on with the game. If you have to make priorities, I agree with yours. What this is really about is the question "does packaging matter"? Obviously contents are the main thing. Packaging does help however. A name and a logo is part of it. It takes me 5 minutes tops to put together a decent looking logo using Photoshop. I find having a name for the campaign helps strengthen its identity. Ofcourse the players are much more interested in what actually goes on in the game. It doesnt mean my efforts put into packaging doesnt have any effect though BTW: Naming and logo creation are things that could easily be delegated to the players. Some might actually welcome being assigned a task like that. The naming could be a group effort. Havard
#16 MechaPilot Oct 22, 2007 22:39:03	The only time a name and logo, especially the logo, actually matters is if you intend on publishing the campaign. If you do, then bully for you. I hope it works out well. I have a campaign I'd like to try to get published (based on short stories I write). I imagine a lot of DMs/players have homebrew campaigns they'd like to see in print. I don't see WotC providing assistance in this regard. If they do, I'd prefer to find it online rather than crammed into a resource I'm likely to haul to the gaming table every week.