The Campaign Builder's Guild

Things have been a little slow around here. Not as bad as they've been before, as we have a good number of high posting newcomers. I'm part of the problem, as I haven't posted anything for my setting in a while, nor have I reviewed much lately. I am working on stuff that should get my setting rolling again, but in the mean time I wanted to start a little contest.

What's the contest about? It's not a setting contest. It has nothing to do with particular systems. The contest will be to see who can create the best template for presenting a setting. For example, an outline format to represent chapters and sub-headings in a book would be an exceptable submission. I know there are several builders here who would find a template useful (myself included), as it gives a builder questions to answer.

The winner of the contest will get their template chosen by me to use for my setting, and my full endorsement for their template to be used as our community's template (of course, nothing would be required, and veering off the template would be fine too). Please, keep posts here limited to actual proposals, and I'll make a separate thread for discussion, found  HERE .

For example, this is what I'm using currently. It's largely gleaned from the 3rd Edition Forgotten Realms and Eberron campaign settings:

1.   Character Creation and Options
1.1.   Race
1.1.1.   Race 1
1.1.1.1.   ?
1.1.1.2.   ?
1.1.1.3.   ?
1.2.   Classes (if any)
1.2.1.   Class 1
1.2.1.1.   ?
1.2.1.2.   ?
1.2.1.3.   ?
1.3.   Character Options (skills, feats, ect.)
2.   Magic
2.1.   The Elements of Magic
2.2.   Divinity
2.2.1.   The Pantheons
2.2.1.1.   ?
2.2.1.2.   ?
2.3.   The Planes
3.   Life
3.1.   The World
3.1.1.   Time
3.1.2.   Marking the Years
3.1.3.   Typical Life
3.1.3.1.   Government
3.1.3.2.   Rural Life
3.1.3.3.   City Life
3.1.3.4.   Class and Station
3.1.3.5.   Education
3.1.3.6.   Adventurers
3.1.3.7.   Language
3.2.   Geography
3.2.1.   Region 1
3.2.1.1.   General Info
3.2.1.1.1.   Capitol
3.2.1.1.2.   Population (breakdown %)
3.2.1.1.3.   Government
3.2.1.1.4.   Religions
3.2.1.1.5.   Imports/Exports
3.2.1.1.6.   Languages
3.2.1.1.7.   Alignment
3.2.1.2.   Industries
3.2.1.3.   Life and Society
3.2.1.4.   Government and Politics
3.2.1.5.   Power Groups
3.2.1.6.   Religion
3.2.1.7.   Major Settlements
3.2.1.8.   Important Sites
3.2.1.9.   Adventuring
3.3.   Organizations
4.   History
5.   Monsters

There's more expansion to the race and class sections, but that shows what I'm working with now. I'd like to see what other players and GMs think is required information.

I guess this is meant to be a template for the entire setting and thus differing from our not-so-used setting stat-block?
http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Setting_Stat-block
If that's the idea then i think it's a pretty good one :)
I'll look into it another day.

Yeah, something more expansive than the stat-block. The stat-block is good for an overview, which is vastly important, but I'm looking for an entire setting template.

P.1 Premise, Promise and Practise
This sections proceeds others. Set up what your game is called and whats it's about. When describing the setting, give each portion of the game it's own phrase to emphasize it's existence.

Example 1: This is Dungeons and Dragons, the table top miniatures game about breaking into the bastions of evil, stabbing the evil in the face, and running off with the Santa-Sacks full of bling. Singing is optional.

Example 2: Pretty Soldier Adepta Sororitas. A role playing experience in occult mysteries, heretic battling, and lesbian erotica. Parental discretion is advised.


P.2
Tell the people what gaming system you are using. If you're coming up with your own, give a short explanation of the primary resolution mechanics.

1 Character Creation 1: Numerals
Explain the rules for assigning the numbers that represent characters. For D&D, this would be assigning ability scores.

2 Character Creation 2: Traits
Explain the rules for picking the special traits that make a character unique. For a D&D variant, you'll list the available classes, races and lame warrior feats in this section.

3 Character Creation 3: Abilities
Explain the rules for picking the types of actions a character can perform. Magical powers, Kung Fu moves, psychic hijinks, and other gimmicks. If you're making a D&D variant, you'll list all the magical spells and the cool mage only feats here.

3 Character Creation 4: Toys
Explain the rules for acquiring, creating and otherwise using equipment. This section is optional for home brew settings but almost necessary for more ambitious variants. Start with weapons and armour, then follow up with gear and vehicles. Equipment does similar things to the previous three sections, but can be turned on or off by gaining and losing gear.

4 In depth look at the Rules
If you're basing you game off another system, you can just list the variations and tweeks in whatever order you think is appropriate.
If you're making up a game, you'll explain all the rules and the interactions of the character creation choices here.

   4.1 Finding Action
Explain the rules of how characters interact with the world at large, if the came cares about NPCs as more than chunks of XP. Playing the part of detective, influential socialite, or Urist McSuave is explained here.

   4.2 Getting to the Action
Explain the rules for how characters move across the world map, how they move about rooms and whatever else you think is important enough to warrant a referee. Overcoming physical impediments is often an important enough feature that it requires intricate and engaging rules. Finnish the section with the rules for combat movement to get right into the groove of the next section...

   4.3 It's Stabbing Time
Explain the rules for how characters brutally kill each other. Start with how receiving damage is calculated, then list off the methods for handing it out like the sweet candy it is.

   4.4 Living With Yourself
Explain the rules for dealing with the ramifications of achieving goals. If this is a game primarily about violence, hand out the XP, GP, and healing mechanics. Optionally, it's time for more rules about character development and interactions with the world. Include rules for playing a SimCity style minigame, or drag on about wealth by level or something.

5 "Why do we play this game? I don't even like ponies."
While you'll sprinkle the previous sections with fluffy bits, pour your blood, sweat, heart, soul, and a couple of sacrificial lambs into this section. Chocolate pudding helps. This section is about motivating your players to want to be a part of the world.

   5.1 Culture Shock
Talk about the problems of the people, the fixable and unfixable ones. Talk about how the man is bringing everyone down. The more you care, the more your players will. Extended demographics are an excellent demonstration of the setting's erogenous dividends.

   5.2 Bubbly Soul
If it's important, talk about the spirituality of setting. "If you convert fifty souls to your faith, Korn will give you a free chainsword, a cow, and toaster oven."


   5.3 Location Spotlights
Talk about the hot spots. Showcase the architecture of the setting. Expand on the beautiful "Waterclimbs" near the Nymph Pools of the Elclesian Meadows in King McSuave's Palace of Perpendicular Pecans.

6 Adventure Seeds
Give example adventures for the prospective players. Baits the hook, and give the DM inspiration in case writer's block shows up unexpectedly.

7 Encyclopedium Encounterium
Write a bunch of sample entities for the players to deal with. Explain the rules for creating combat and non combat NPCs.

Taken, that's more of a setting+system format. The criteria is looking for a reasonably system free setting format. Though your jabs at 3E were pretty funny.

Ah well, not everyone plays D&D, or even the same D&D. Thought it might important to keep room available for those kinds of things.

Here's my spoilerized version of my TOC, with the links stripped for easy insertion.

[spoiler=Table Of Contents]
Introduction
[spoiler=Chapter 1: Character Races]
Race 1[/link]
[link=]Race 2

[/spoiler][spoiler=Chapter 2: Character Classes]
Class 1[/link]
[link=]Class 2

[/spoiler][spoiler=Chapter 3: Special Rules]
Combat[/link]
[link=]Skills
Other[/link]

[/spoiler][spoiler=Chapter 4: The World]
[link=]Continent 1
Continent 2/link]

[/spoiler][spoiler=Chapter 5: Prestige Classes]
[link=]Class 1
Class 2 [/link]

[/spoiler][spoiler=Chapter 6: Magic]

[/spoiler][spoiler=Chapter 7: Vehicles, Devices, and Wonders]
[link=]Vehicles
Deviced[/link]
[link=]Wonders

[/spoiler][spoiler=Chapter 8: Life in the World]
Religions[/link]
[link=]Language
Chronology and Cosmology[/link]
[link=]Commerce and Trade
Transportation and Travel[/link]
[link=]Myths and Legends
Holidays and Festivals [/link]

[/spoiler][spoiler=Chapter 9: Governments and Organizations]
[link=]Governments
Organizations[/link]

[/spoiler][spoiler=Chapter 10: Items]
[link=]New Materials and Items   

[/spoiler][spoiler=Chapter 11: Monsters][/spoiler]

[/spoiler]

Quote from: the_takenAh well, not everyone plays D&D, or even the same D&D. Thought it might important to keep room available for those kinds of things.

Yeah, and that's why I wanted the format to not involve rules at all, except possibly in a chapter about characters. But even then, the only part that would be tied to rules in a D&D game would be talking about races and then how classes fit into the world.

That's pretty good Stargate. Could you expand that out more, showing what type of info you have for subheadings within the sections?

Quote from: Kapn Xeviat

Quote from: the_takenAh well, not everyone plays D&D, or even the same D&D. Thought it might important to keep room available for those kinds of things.

Yeah, and that's why I wanted the format to not involve rules at all, except possibly in a chapter about characters. But even then, the only part that would be tied to rules in a D&D game would be talking about races and then how classes fit into the world.

I think the bloated area that's being taken up by rules is skewing your perception. I'll clean that up at some point.

Alright his is my entry into the Template Contest.

Index

Links to all the different sections, in this order. Underline and Bolded is a main section. Italised are minor sections, essentially large sub-sections
*

Overview
*Geography (Map first, then explanations of the separate areas)
*Sentient Races
**Playable Races
**Non-Playable Races
*Classes
**Base Classes
**Specialty Classes
**Other/Misc Classes
*History[/u]
**Ancient Myth/Legend
**Pre-Modern*Modern
*Various Kingdoms/Cultures[/u]
**Geographic Region/Neigbhors
**General Info
**Indepth Stuff
*Metaphysics (all spiritual/divine aspects)[/u]
*Monsters Divided by subtype or ordered alphabetically[/u]
[/list]

Each Section would follow this format

Section 1

This is general information on this section. Has broad strokes of information, gives you some knowledge about this section mentioning most of the sub-sections. An example would be the map and a brief explanation of the various places in the Geography section.

Sub-Section
This is where a lot of the detail comes in. Each Culture and Kingdom would have its own subsection. Each Class and Race is its own sub-section as well.

Appendix A

Crunch stuff would go here if needed.

Appendix B
Anything not covered in the sections or something that doesn't quite can be placed here such as a lexicon.

Quote from: Kapn XeviatThat's pretty good Stargate. Could you expand that out more, showing what type of info you have for subheadings within the sections?

Not really. Beyond that you're free to stick whatever you want.

@Lium: what are your considerations behind separating kingdoms and geography by 2 chapters?

Good job people. We've gotten a few submissions, all very usable.

Quote from: Crippled Crow@Lium: what are your considerations behind separating kingdoms and geography by 2 chapters?

Well the main consideration is Geography is the physical geography of the world. Oceans, mountains, unique geological features (like giant atmosphere piercing volcanoes, craters to the center of the earth or what have you) and other stuff like that. The main thing is that this can take up a large part of the setting, especially if you put a lot of focus into this. Also the map goes here, right at the top.

Kingdoms are more Political Geography, I'll admit they can probably placed higher on the list if you want (even right after Geography) but I stuck it near the end. This is where all the cultural information and little cultural quirks would go. All the human stuff goes here.

I found that the Geography and  Culture were two separate things, so I divided them. Sure there related but I think they still deserve to be separated.

Also its LLum. Not that it really matters :p