What part of setting design consumes you most?

[Xeviat]

Definitely the crunch: Races and Classes. Aside from that, Religion is a big one for me, because mythology is becoming my area of literary expertise (and I believe that cultures are built on their religion/s).

[EvilElitest]

Cultures, ethnic groups, back ground, societies, deities, the megaverse, characters, structure and races
from
EE

[LordVreeg]

did I mention adding setting specific spells?  this EATS my time whole, I tell you...

[Matt Larkin (author)]

Cultures, ethnic groups, back ground, societies, deities, the megaverse, characters, structure and races
from
EE

So everything except history, then? Or was that covered by background?

[Jharviss]

I've always found myself overly involved in the politics of the world.  All of my worlds end up looking like a 1700s Earth, with too many nations, too much politicking, and a full history of their political development. I'm the type of designer that likes to make up new types of government and try them out, and that shows a lot in my worlds.

Politics aside, I find crunch to be something easy to just whip out and do, so I crunch often.

[Xeviat]

Jharviss, can I get your help with the political side of my setting soon? I'm currently working on my world's budding Theocratic Republic, and I think it's political system will be very interesting (imagine if the U.S.'s legislative and executive branch was entirely the senate and the judicial branch was a powerful church). I'll have a thread up soon.

[Matt Larkin (author)]

Xev, that sounds cool. Just saying.

Something about theocracy, in any form, I find very compelling. Or perhaps it's only the twisted appeal of those things we fear ;)

I often find politics tricky to keep interesting. I suppose on the micro level, as GM, I did it fairly well. On a national level, I often felt things came out too bland.

[Xeviat]

Yeah, I totally want political intrigue to be a possible campaign motivator in my setting. The country's only 60 years old, so there are some elderly people who still remember the dark ages. There's a big "hush-hush" war going on with the people of the northern highlands, and tense dealings with the Triton peoples who are finally coming out of their isolationism.

[Ninja D!]

Ooo, a very alien culture coming out from isolationism? That could be the basis for a campaign in itself.

[Ishmayl-Retired]

Big fan of racial cultures here.

[sparkletwist]

Races and/or cultures for me too, and the way they've interacted and developed over the history. I'm also a fan of weird but (semi-) believable technologies.

[Elemental_Elf]

Once I make a map, I have a very bad habit of staring at it for hours, slowly adjusting political borders, imagining how life has changed down through the ages... I can watch my world grow from creation to post-modern times and beyond... It fascinates me so, and is partly the reason I don't post my settings as much as I should. Why post what you have experienced when the next world is calling for you?

And no, I'm not weird!  :poke:

[SilvercatMoonpaw]

Why post what you have experienced when the next world is calling for you?

And no, I'm not weird!  :poke:

OF COURSE YOU AREN'T! :mad: 'Cause I'm the same way. x. :D

[Ninja D!]

I think that currently, religion has grabbed me the most. I seem to be spending more time on the religion of Natu, particularly in how it explains the current government and can stir up social conflict.

[Blake]

For me, it's magic- I logically explain every step, from the effects all the way through the structure of the universe to the initial cause of everything.  You can call it a magical grand unified field.  Rarely, if ever, do I let the most minute element of magic in a setting go unexplained.

Of course, I usually do that instead of developing characters, and my players rarely if ever understand even a fraction of the entire magic system.

I'm a conworlder at heart, though, so for me building the world is sometimes more important than having people play in it- although I do like to have something to do with it.