Ok, so I've been thinking. The other thread with the Markus fellow was a drunken, spur of the moment thing that didn't quite work out like I planned. But hey, keep the ideas flowing there, I like a lot of what I've seen so far and creativity is a good thing.
But, anyway, I've been thinking, and it hurts. So I have to stop now and do some doing. I'm basically working on a 'Roleplayer's Guide to the Flanaess' kinda thing. Y'see, one of the stumbling blocks I've found in the road towards getting people to play in my GH game, aside from the fact that 90% of RPG'ers are morons who I don't want in my game, is that people say to me things like, "But... I don't know anything about Greyhawk..."
Now... sure, handing them the LGG is a step in the right direction, but I think one of the biggest problems in fantasy RPG's isn't just the lack of knowledge about the setting, but of the fundamentals of the time period and region where the character grew up or learned their trade.
What I mean by this, is things like social customs, titles and ranks, and how to greet someone and how not to greet someone, etc. The little things. Most people who come to forums like these are DM's. After you DM for a while, you sorta become a bit of a know-it-all. You have to in order to survive the barrage of questions.
In fact, I think there are certain types of people who are attracted to DM'ing as it requires one to have a thirst of knowledge.
And this is what seperates DM's from players. Most players I know, groan at the thought of having to read through a book like the LGG. Sure, a player may become enraptured with a certain region of Greyhawk and develop all sorts of things, but that's really an 'after the fact' kinda thing. And hey, who can blame them, books like the LGG are daunting for players and I'll even go as far to say, a little dry.
But regardless of that, even once a player has skimmed the LGG or it's equivalent and chosen a region, they still know very little about the culture of that region.
How many of you, as players, have come across a situation where you've gone, "Uhh... what do we do... how do medieval people do this?" You know what I mean?
Not having a solid foundation to work from, we flounder about. I've seen it so many times with so many players, even good ones who know a lot of stuff. Everyone gets stuck because they don't know enough about the times and region. They have no knowledge to fall back on, nothing to spur roleplaying.
So... what all this comes down to, is that I think what needs to be done, is that a basic framework for players to use as a springboard needs to be created. In other words, a 'Roleplayer's Guide to the Flanaess'.
The reason I'm posting this is because I'd like to get feedback on the sortof information I should include in each write-up of each region. Here's what I've got so far:
Magic: how the society views magic. Who can become a magician. How someone becomes a magician. What type of magician someone can become in that society. Who controls magic in that society. What type of controls and laws there are about magic. How common magic is. Who has access to magic.
Races: how the society views the various races. Derogatory names for other races. What level of society other races can climb to.
Social structure: is there a nobility? Fuedal heirarchy? Social mobility. Titles, ranks, honorifics, medals, rewards. Punishments. Laws. Authority figures. Weapons. Taxes.
Social customs: Greetings. Do's, don't's.
Culture: foods. Family. Poetry. Writing. Songs. Tales. Myths. Legends. Sex. Marriage.
Religion: what pantheon is worshiped by that society. Most popular gods. Patron gods of certain cities. Death and the afterlife.
Classes: how to become a fighter/ranger/wizard/etc. Roles in society. Jobs. Social hierarchy. Titles. Ranks, honorifics, organizations, guilds, laws.
Some of the answers to your questions about races, magic, laws, titles, etc. are scattered throughout the many Greyhawk books and articles out there. There's also a recent RPG book about the workings of a magical medieval society that could be useful. Can't remember the title and I don't own it, but it has got good reviews everywhere.
Of course, my favourite setting questions from Greyhawk rookies are ones like: 'I want to play a drow psionicist - which is a good choice for my homeland?' or 'I've rolled up a ninja - which is the best country for ninjas in Greyhawk?'
Originally posted by Grugach
This is a good idea. A few customs, epithets, racial facts, etc. would come in handy. I've been caught on the hop before by players asking me questions like 'What are the favourite sayings of my priesthood?' (answer: 'You make them up!') or 'What are the names of the legendary paladins and priests of Heironeous' (answer: 'Er, I'll have to get back to you on that one').
Y'know, I've been boiling this idea for at least a few years and yet it only just occured to me how useful it would be for DM's as well...
Epithets is another good addition that I hadn't thought of, as well as some 'legendary' as well as contemporary figureheads of religions or regions.
Originally posted by Grugach
Some of the answers to your questions about races, magic, laws, titles, etc. are scattered throughout the many Greyhawk books and articles out there. There's also a recent RPG book about the workings of a magical medieval society that could be useful. Can't remember the title and I don't own it, but it has got good reviews everywhere.
Yeah, I plan to scour the books for these tidbits. The difference between this work and the others, however, is that this is just the bare bones. No long, dry, paragraphs of information laden text. Rather, point-by-point, straight to the point information, as concise as concise can be to make it easy for players to assimilate and DM's to reference.
And yeah, I know the product you're talking about. I was the first person to review it when it came out so I have a review copy. The author is an ass, but the product is as solid as a rock strewn with adamantine ore
Originally posted by Grugach
Of course, my favourite setting questions from Greyhawk rookies are ones like: 'I want to play a drow psionicist - which is a good choice for my homeland?' or 'I've rolled up a ninja - which is the best country for ninjas in Greyhawk?'
Bleh! I've had that before too. Hopefully this will be a step towards showing such people that fun can be had without stupid characters!