Discussion "Kingdom Sheet" (Fellow DMs and World Builders requested)

[Notsonoble]

This was a thread I posted at Cartographers Guild that they suggested I cross post here... Since post time (last night) I've had a few replies and started on an idea... but more input is always handy... especially since I think I'm gonna start here for an actual product to either submit to a publishing company or find some way to sell on my own.

Okay, working on world building and some other DM chores (I can no longer purchase copies of the DM Tracker I liked...) I realized something:
I have character sheets
I have NPC focused sheets
I have city sheets
I have lots of horridly organized information about the regions of the world I'm generating
I do not have any organized "Kingdom Sheet"...

So here's the discussion...
What points of interest would you think most useful on a 1-2 page kingdom/realm reference...
Here's things I don't want suggested, because they'd go else where...

Map (obviously a map would take up a page all its own, if not a nice big A3 or poster)
Cities in any great detail... that's what the city sheet is for...

[Nomadic]

Probably would be good to have a general outline of the kingdom.

- Government Type
- Current Ruler(s)
- Population (with percents or numbers if you have multiple races)
- Primary Imports/Exports
- Notes on climate and geography
- Culture
- Etc, etc, and so forth

[Elemental_Elf]

For the Kingdom write up I would prefer:

- A short standardized list that includes the following: Official name, Current Ruler, Capital, Other Cities/Towns of note, Demographics (both racial and religious), major imports/exports (if applicable).

- A brief opening statement about the Kingdom. What differentiates it from other kingdoms? Essentially this is the 'Why should I care' parapgraph.

- A brief history of the realm, say a half page, detailing some of the big events during the Kingdom's life (such as how it was created, any big wars that it won/lost, etc.).

- A short blurb about each of the major settlements of the Kingdom.

- Finally, a Culture section that details some of the unique/interesting traditions and practices the Kingdom may have. Also in this section list off the big holidays/festivals celebrated in the Kingdom and maybe a sentence explanation (such as 'On Telican 1st the People of Snyderia celebrate Hallows Mourn, a time when adults dress in spooky outfits to ward off the evil ghosts from haunting the cemeteries for the year to come).

[Matt Larkin (author)]

You might consider, in addition to the above:
arability of land
population density
technology level
magic level (if appropriate to the setting)
culture/ethnicity breakdowns (for settings where ethnicity may not be the same as location)
wealth
religion

you might find something like our wiki location template helpful: http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Template:Location

[Stargate525]

If this is a player sheet, I'd also suggest a blurb on any unusual laws.

I'd also suggest major power centers, like an overarching mage's guild, a large rebel faction, or similar.

[Kaptn'Lath]

Here is what i use the first is for note takeing/world building the second is how i layout my information in the final version (campaign setting style for RPG use)

Name :

Type : City State / Empire / Culture / Kingdom / Other / Colony / Tribes

Culture type/stereotype :

Racial mix :

Location/Climate/Environment :

Literecy / Languages :

Religions & Churches :

Social Order / Hierechy / Government Type:

Architecture / Art:

Laws (& public violence levels) :

Military Structure:

Soldiers:

Magic/Rituals level and type :

Technological automation :

Communication and Means of Travel :

Borders / Patrols / Roads :

Main Produce / Industry :

Main Import :

Trade / Money / Banking :

Hospital / Medic :

Professions / Services / Guilds :

Sports / Leisure :

Drugs/Black market/Taboo Services:

History , Heroes & Villans :



And the Final Layout:



Legends and Lore: Local History and prominent tales.

Meat and Greet: Diet and Food, as well as how the culture deals with meeting someone.

Dance and Dress: Clothing Styles, materials, songs, music, art, and festivals (usually non-religious)

Hearth and Hammer: Architecture, home construction, guilds, trades, industries

Faith and Blood: Religion, life ceremonies (adulthood, marriage, retirement), family ties/structure.

Crown and Castle: Nobility, Government, Important Officials, Laws, Fortifications, Troops, Military

Land and Sky: Geography and Weather:

Daily Life/Routine: "Day in the life of XXX the farmer/mason/ect"

Major Geographical Locations: Mountains, Lakes, River, ect.

All the Kings Men: Census on the current military roster/forces. (number of archers, knights, pike men)

Towns and Settlements:

[Matt Larkin (author)]

Hey Lath, I like it.

[Snargash Moonclaw]

It's tempting to just place a nation/region in a vacuum without broader context but I would encourage you to summarize: Foreign Affairs - how they get along (or not) with at least their bordering neighbors - cultural, political, military, trade, etc. What kind of influence do they have and/or are affected by. Historical aspects may be relevant.

[Notsonoble]

Well, here goes... someone over at Cartographers Guild suggested I build a blog and post it there... I'm far away from any "finished product" but here it is.

[Ishmayl-Retired]

Looks good, very nicely detailed.  I especially like the section you built for holidays, months, etcetera - many people never include that stuff, but it's very important for cultural significance.

[Notsonoble]

This thread's old I know, but I'm picking up this project again... This time with some financial and manpower assistance... and I'd still like input.

[Kindling]

Missed this the first time, it seems. Or I just forgot. Either way, this would be my thought;

What you are going for, it seems to me, is not a full description of a nation/kingdom/state/region/whatever. That could take thousands of words to fully achieve - how, for example, could you completely describe the Crusader kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century on one page?

No, I think what you're after is exactly what you've said in the name of the thread - a character sheet for a kingdom. So a DnD character sheet, for example, does not tell you your character's history, hopes, fears, relationships, wants, needs and so on, but rather gives you a load of solid, mostly numerical, data about your character which allows you to game with them. In the same way, your kingdom sheets don't necessarily need to contain details of everything going on in the kingdom and why it's happening and why it's happening to the people it's happening to. Instead, it's going to want to be a very concise, although probably less numerical, mass of game-relevant data.

I mean, you're creative, right? Just as player A could take a full character sheet for Generic DnD Elf Wizard and play him completely differently to the way player B would, but both ways would be super cool, surely GM A can also take a full kingdom sheet for Generic Elven Magocracy and run it completely differently to the way GM B would, with both ways being super cool.

You probably already thought of all that, or maybe it's not what you're aiming for at all, it's just my immediate thoughts. I have no real suggestions on how to put together the kingdom sheet, I'm afraid, I just have the above idea on how it should be, and what it's maybe for.

[Notsonoble]

Missed this the first time, it seems. Or I just forgot. Either way, this would be my thought;

What you are going for, it seems to me, is not a full description of a nation/kingdom/state/region/whatever. That could take thousands of words to fully achieve - how, for example, could you completely describe the Crusader kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century on one page?

No, I think what you're after is exactly what you've said in the name of the thread - a character sheet for a kingdom. So a DnD character sheet, for example, does not tell you your character's history, hopes, fears, relationships, wants, needs and so on, but rather gives you a load of solid, mostly numerical, data about your character which allows you to game with them. In the same way, your kingdom sheets don't necessarily need to contain details of everything going on in the kingdom and why it's happening and why it's happening to the people it's happening to. Instead, it's going to want to be a very concise, although probably less numerical, mass of game-relevant data.

I mean, you're creative, right? Just as player A could take a full character sheet for Generic DnD Elf Wizard and play him completely differently to the way player B would, but both ways would be super cool, surely GM A can also take a full kingdom sheet for Generic Elven Magocracy and run it completely differently to the way GM B would, with both ways being super cool.

You probably already thought of all that, or maybe it's not what you're aiming for at all, it's just my immediate thoughts. I have no real suggestions on how to put together the kingdom sheet, I'm afraid, I just have the above idea on how it should be, and what it's maybe for.

In a way I need both. A 1-2 page sheet for handing someone for a realm would be good for some people, but something to keep all the details straight will be good for the more OCD DMs, or storywriters...

There's a lot of CO-OP DM-ing going on where I'm at as well, and that means lots of disorganized notes for one DM to dig through to not get what the other DM did backwards.

[Steerpike]

If you have the room, 3-5 adventure hooks or plot seeds per entry would probably be a good idea - one paragraph ideas to help GMs.  This especially helps if the PCs have wandered into a kingdom the GM didn't anticipate (fleeing the law, taking a false lead, following goals they set themselves, whatever) and the GM needs to come up with something fast to give them something to do.

[Notsonoble]

Now, This project has officially split into two projects. One will be a simple 2 page "realm worksheet". The other will be a 20+ page "booklet" monstrosity. Since my character and settlement sheets seem to be doing well for their first week, I'm going to try and put the realm worksheet up at paizo very soon.

Here's the sections on each page I've got (not all sections are evenly split in the page so since there are 5 sections to the two pages, they're not super detailed, some are barely a single line to list things on).

PG 1
General Info
Calendar (Lists rise and fall of realm, holidays, and some important events)
Demographics (Population figures, alignment of govt and majority population)
Legal (Laws, Penalties, and Famous Enforcers)
Hooks (Local Superstitions, Riturals, Rumors, Infamous Personalities, and Neighboring Realm Relations)

PG 2
Notable Settlements
Notable NPCs
Groups/Factions
Locations

And PG 3 is a full page map insert image box (as oppose to the half-page one in the settlement sheet)

Any suggestions for something that condensed? Also another project I've already started bouncing around in my brain is a faction worksheet (there's no rules for a building a faction, so I want the fields in the worksheet to be thought inducing) any thoughts would be appreciated...