Campaign Setting Reboots?

[LordVreeg]

yes, my friend.  In our own, imperfect way, sit and work out the way things might happen and make sure that the players and you feel some level of congruity....

[Seraph]

One reason I keep working with the main setting is the level of investiture, and that fact that after the second minor reboot, my underpinnings were what I really worked on, and If I have some real solid advice, it is to rework from the bottom-up, at least in part and as an intellectual exercise.

In the context of a campaign setting, what does it mean to you to work "from the bottom-up?"  You mention "underpinnings" but I still don't quite understand your meaning, and I'd like to, because it sounds interesting, and potentially useful.  Where do you consider the "bottom" and conversely, which way is "up?"

There are different ways of looking at it, but what I am speaking about is making sure the foundations of the campaign (cosmology, physics engine) make sense in terms of the next level (history and culture and faith) and that those make sense in terms of the current politics and economy and organizations and religion and attitudes that the players interact with.

Examples are how the system for magic would actually affect the economy, what kind of availability would magical items actually have, etc. 

Thank you for explaining.  And I generally agree, though I think a degree of working from a small place outward (once you have established the big picture in a general sense) can be just as useful.  Once you establish what the cosmology, physics engine, and the basics of at least one culture and faith, building a specific location can sometimes help flesh out a setting that would otherwise be very vague.

[Humabout]

One reason I keep working with the main setting is the level of investiture, and that fact that after the second minor reboot, my underpinnings were what I really worked on, and If I have some real solid advice, it is to rework from the bottom-up, at least in part and as an intellectual exercise.

In the context of a campaign setting, what does it mean to you to work "from the bottom-up?"  You mention "underpinnings" but I still don't quite understand your meaning, and I'd like to, because it sounds interesting, and potentially useful.  Where do you consider the "bottom" and conversely, which way is "up?"

There are different ways of looking at it, but what I am speaking about is making sure the foundations of the campaign (cosmology, physics engine) make sense in terms of the next level (history and culture and faith) and that those make sense in terms of the current politics and economy and organizations and religion and attitudes that the players interact with.

Examples are how the system for magic would actually affect the economy, what kind of availability would magical items actually have, etc. 

Thank you for explaining.  And I generally agree, though I think a degree of working from a small place outward (once you have established the big picture in a general sense) can be just as useful.  Once you establish what the cosmology, physics engine, and the basics of at least one culture and faith, building a specific location can sometimes help flesh out a setting that would otherwise be very vague.

That's a pretty good approach if you want to start gaming in your setting quickly.  Otherwise, I suppose either way works equally well.

[LordVreeg]

No disagreement. big picture, make the layers work and the large pieces, and then start with some fiddly bits.

[Numinous]

No disagreement. big picture, make the layers work and the large pieces, and then start with some fiddly bits.

Another voiceof agreement here.  I tried a totally fiddly-bits beginning recently and the recognition of so many ways things could have gone and the better stories they would have made drives me nuts.  If I had taken a bit more time to lay down foundations, I could have fixed a lot of these regrets pre-session.

[LoA]

No disagreement. big picture, make the layers work and the large pieces, and then start with some fiddly bits.

Another voiceof agreement here.  I tried a totally fiddly-bits beginning recently and the recognition of so many ways things could have gone and the better stories they would have made drives me nuts.  If I had taken a bit more time to lay down foundations, I could have fixed a lot of these regrets pre-session.

So tell me, how does one "lay down foundations" for a setting at the beginning process?

[Numinous]

No disagreement. big picture, make the layers work and the large pieces, and then start with some fiddly bits.

Another voiceof agreement here.  I tried a totally fiddly-bits beginning recently and the recognition of so many ways things could have gone and the better stories they would have made drives me nuts.  If I had taken a bit more time to lay down foundations, I could have fixed a lot of these regrets pre-session.

So tell me, how does one "lay down foundations" for a setting at the beginning process?

My method generally goes game type, then theme, followed by religion, which is bound up with cultures and regions, then an area for play.

To use my current world as an example, I started from D&D Next playtest as my game.  This tells me that I want combat encounters, magic of two types (Arcane and Divine), and a class-based character system.  Then I decided I wanted a Points of Light type world that built on the themes of exploration and the unknown, clash of nature vs. civilization, and a bit of manifest destiny moral struggle.  From there I built the religions, two conflicting entities with one featuring a puritanical kind of modesty and monotheism with the other being a type of animism/pagan thing centered around the Horned God kind of figure.  This leads directly to a conflict between a bastion of civilization sort of centralized authority to provide the heirarchical basis of the monotheistic tradition, a dystopian world of double-think and hunting heretics.  This exists in contrast with border towns rife with lawlessness, struggling to get by in the shadow of another world filled with savage tribes and monstrous terrors in the dark.  So, of course, the area designated for play should feature this conflict by bringing the civilized world into direct competition with the wilderness via a motivating force, in this example the greed inspired by the opportunity for profit that comes from resource exploitation.  From here, I would start work on the specific game-related details of the area in question.

I hope that helps give you an inside look at the foundation-building, at least how I do it.

[Humabout]

I usually start with how supernatural things work and interact - magic, spirits, and so on.  I'll then attack some of the more philosphical questions, like what happens when you die, is there a soul, where do souls come from, etc.  Once I have a grasp on the truth, I start considering how people living in the world would interpret these things - e.g., religions.  Note that the religions rarely get it right.  Beyond that, it's just a matter of choosing things like technological advancement, any world-wide historical events, and an area to zoom in on.

[Lmns Crn]

No disagreement. big picture, make the layers work and the large pieces, and then start with some fiddly bits.

Another voiceof agreement here.  I tried a totally fiddly-bits beginning recently and the recognition of so many ways things could have gone and the better stories they would have made drives me nuts.  If I had taken a bit more time to lay down foundations, I could have fixed a lot of these regrets pre-session.

So tell me, how does one "lay down foundations" for a setting at the beginning process?

Foundations:

1.) What do I want gameplay to be like, when using this material? (i.e., what things should happen during the game?)
1b.) How do I set this material up as a structure that will make possible and encourage that kind of play?

2.) What kind of tone/mood/feel do I want this material to help evoke? (i.e., how does it relate to the senses and cognition of the players?)
2b.) How do I set this material up as a structure that will communicate that tone/mood/feel?