The Campaign Builder's Guild

(This is going to be a hard one to answer, so if you aren't feeling up to a brain-strainer right now you might want to come back later.)

I'm all over the place trying to create my new setting, and the problem is because I don't know what of it I need to present: I have no structure to keep me focused.

What things about a setting are important to write out for other people to see?

I don't think it really matters what kind of setting it is, so you can say whatever you think answers the question.

Theme/Struggles
(Why it is different. Why should we care. Why should we read it)

1 Paragraph Description

Excellent question.

LD's answer is pretty much what I'd have said off the top of my head. Interesting that you write a "one paragraph description." I just posted a setting without this. Maybe I should go back and edit...

If it's ethocentric, Theme is obviously most important. If it's Divset, then I conflict or differences are most important (to me). I want to know why I should stop and read it, when I could read something else.

A picture's worth a lot, honestly. The first thing I think when I click on Clockwork Jungle, is oh cool, look at the pretty jungle! Then I'm more likely to read on.

Pictures, pictures are the most important thing. Visual representations of anything and everything is always helpful in catching people's attention and holding it. Here's an example:

Quote from: The Planes of Aeolond
The Lehtlands
- The Lehtlands is the plane of eternal day, symbolized by the sun. The Plane is comprised of an unending series of rolling hills covered by a thick carpet of grass. The skies are always clear with a scant number of fluffy clouds floating high above. The plane is inhabited by celestial creatures who guard the many cemeteries that do the landscape. The Lehtlands are ruled over by Lehta, a virtuous warrior goddess often seen in a set of golden full plate. She is the goddess of virtue, honor and battle.


 
The Throslands
- The Throslands is a blasted plane of eternal night, symbolized the moon. The plane is devoid of life, thunderstorms roar overhead, the rain violently strikes the land forming torrents of flash flooding that race across the land. The plane is inhabited by all manner of undead, all of whom worship Thros the Unclean, god of undead and necromancy. When not in his necromantic palace, Thros is often seen as an old emaciated lich, with a crown made of obsidian bejeweled with the eyes of his enemies.

The latter, to me, will definitely hold my attention far more easily, and willingly, than the former.


Beyond that, maps are always good as they help people place everything they are reading. Finally, I prefer to keep things short. This is the Age of the Internet, it is no place for sweeping epics concerning the door that blocked the orcs advance into the throne room. It's a sad fact that people today want faster and faster information flow, (as evidenced by the other poster's 'Give me an into paragraph', 'why should I care'?' etc.). People want to to quickly dive in, immerse themselves, then get out and talk about it. Don't bog them down unless its really, really important. :)

Way to illustrate the point EE ;)

Couldn't resist.

Also, I agreed. Long paragraphs are hard to read on a computer screen, especially when I can easily click and make the pain go away.

Quote from: Light DragonWhy should we care.

This one always trips me up: Why am I the one trying to make you care?  Shouldn't whether or not you care be based on your personal preferences?

Quote from: SilvercatMoonpaw

Quote from: Light DragonWhy should we care.

This one always trips me up: Why am I the one trying to make you care?  Shouldn't whether or not you care be based on your personal preferences?

In a perfect world, yes however this isn't a perfect world. You're fighting for people's attention, competing against every other setting on the site, and everything else on the internet. It is your job as the advocate of your setting to make people interested in your setting and make them want to care about it.

What about that standard Setting Stat-block we came up with a while back... lets see if i can grab a copy of the templet from the WIKI...

Title: [Name]
System: [system + modifications]
Theme/Tone: [What the world is built around, and how it should be read.] (But you were the one who wrote the Guide article about if i remember so you might have a better description)
Inspirations: [Things you have been inspired by]
Technology: [Level of technology]
Religion: [What position religion has]
Magic: [What position magic has in the campaign]
Ecology/Races: [What creatures exist in your campaign (short description)]
Cosmology: [Planes]
Geography: [Basic layout of world]
Points of Interest: [Things you want the readers to look at first]
Links - [relevant links]
[X] Words - [A few adjectives describing your campaign]

Does that cover your question or were you looking for something that conveys different information, or where you looking for something completely different in layout. I hope it works, and i hope to see more of these blocks at the top of some of our old setting threads.

I agree with EE, except the part where he says it's your job to make people interesting. That's kind of unfair, EE. I'd say it's his job to make people interested in his setting, though.

Quote from: PhoenixI agree with EE, except the part where he says it's your job to make people interesting. That's kind of unfair, EE. I'd say it's his job to make people interested in his setting, though.

I edited it after re-reading it,  x.

well, you have to make the people with similar preferences care ^^

@Lath: That's useful.

But unfortunately I'm really talking about my age-old nemesis "not being done".  I do not fight off the feeling of "not being done" very well, and I need the help of others.  I'm asking here which things I should look for to have completed so that I can know I am done with the initial presentation of a setting to others.

@EE and Phoenix: What confuses me is how what I'm saying is supposed to convince people.  What's the difference between making them care and just telling them what's in the setting?

If you have some innovations you are particularly proud of you'll show them off first. People don't have the time to read every single setting, so it's important to catch their attention. So it's not a matter of you remaking your campaign so much as it is a question of making it more accessible.
But what you need is:
A layout of the land (a map would do nicely)
A list of power groups/cities along with a description of their looks, government, and culture (and perhaps history).
A list of the most important historical events.
A list of religions along with their dogma, organization, rituals, and believers.
A description of magic(s) in your world. How they work and how they are used.

Something like that.
Of course, you can start by describing a small area and call that a complete setting and then expand to make bigger settings.

Quote from: SilvercatMoonpaw@Lath: That's useful.

But unfortunately I'm really talking about my age-old nemesis "not being done".  I do not fight off the feeling of "not being done" very well, and I need the help of others.  I'm asking here which things I should look for to have completed so that I can know I am done with the initial presentation of a setting to others.

Ahhh... I get what your saying now! I say when you evaluate your body of work look from the "client/reader/customer" point of view. For a RPG setting i would look at it from the GM's needs and the Players needs.

GM - World Centered
Who - NPC's, Races
What - Verisimilitude (magic, technology, cultures)
Where - Geographic Representation (map, descriptions of locations)
When - What lead up to, created the current situation (What)
Why - Theme, Tone, Atmosphere at the table

Players - Character Centered (less important for a campaign setting)
Who - What makes me unique (Classes, Hero/Adventurer Mentality, Abilities unique to the world)
What - What am I? (Not just list the races, but describe the races)
Where - Culture (where did i come from, how does that define the character)
When - Current Events, Important History, ("Why must the character act NOW")
Why - Motivation (Moral, Social), Obligations

I think if you can answer all of those questions your "Done". Then again any of those questions can be answered and then they can be answered BETTER/MORE, so you can never be "Done" but you know you got your bases covered. I cant see what else a perspective buyer/reader would want answers to.

Quote from: SilvercatMoonpaw@EE and Phoenix: What confuses me is how what I'm saying is supposed to convince people.  What's the difference between making them care and just telling them what's in the setting?

It's the difference between a good salesmen and a bad one. A Bad salesmen will simply say 'this is a vacuum, it sucks stuff up and it has ball bearings that make it twist good.' A Good Salesmen will say 'this is a vacuum, it will make your life a thousand times easier. Its suction power is 2 times that of the leading competitor and it comes with these fancy German-made ball bearings that allow it to twist and turn with ease.'

One method just tells you the info, the other sells you the info.