Friday Forum Philosophy - Week 4

[Tillumni]

When designing a new setting, what is the first thing you start with?

How it differ from any other setting in a way that offer something others don't, the reason I should make a new one instead of using a existing setting.


Do you prefer to work top-down or bottom-up? Some other method?

Usually, then I start with a top down, get the basic frame and enough so that I can wing it if the players decides to travel some where unexpected.
After that it's bottum up, with focus on where the players are or will be heading in the foreseen future, plus any thing that might relate or get affected by the players action.
Some of it is stuff that's winged and then incorporated afterward.

How do you decide which ideas fit a setting, and which cannot be adapted?

I basicly see if it makes sense in the context of things and have a certaint amounth of versimilitude. that is, internal consisting to avoid breaking suspension of disbelief.

When presenting your setting for review, how is the best way to organize it? What do you like to read first when reading a new setting? What is the least interesting thing to read in a new setting?

personally then I like a quik introduction of the setting at first, a 5 minute sales pitch so to speak, so that I know what I'm getting my self into. After that I dive into the distinctive points first and then take it from there.
the least interesting stuff is basicly things that seems giving, or does not differ significantly from other settings (not that that's a bad thing by it self, some stuff simple works. heck, pretty much all cars have 4 wheels)

Do you concern yourself most with ideas, or do you think poetic language, assonance, and grammar checking are of high importance? Does a lack of organization bother you when reading someone else's setting?

The idea is basicly the core of things, the rest is just presentation. though I do like it when the presentation itself also shows something about the world, where ever it's qoutes or in-world description of something. but generally, the idea takes precedens so long I'm able to decode how ever it's written

What constitutes a good description? What details do you include? How do you strike a balance between brevity and completeness?

A good description is basicly one that covers all the bases and presents the things people would need to know if they want to use the setting.
Details that I like to include is how something can be used in a game, impact on player, adventure hook, tips for how a dm can use it.
as for striking the balance then lately I've taken to just make use of the spoilor funktion. the non-spoilish bit have all the basic, the thing in spoilor have all the extended tables, example and in depth description.