Developing Homebrews


Homebrew and House Rules

Silver Crusade

I've been attempting to Develop a Homebrew Campaign and setting for awhile now (roughly 3 years) but it seems like there's a LOT you have to plan out and put together in order to give even a semblance of a breathing world. I was curious if those of you who have been successful in this process might have some advice on this particular project. Thus far, I've been using the Pathfinder Campaign Setting as the setting for my home games (that is, before going on deployment), but I'm thinking about developing a world that has my own spin on things, and I'd rather build one from the ground up rather than use a sort of 'template', really.


I think a lot depends on your goal.

1. I want a setting that is complete for anyone to use.

In this case I think you're best off to take three complete settings from other people and make sure that your setting is a) different but b) answers all the questions\demands that they do.

or

2. I want to make an original setting for my games.

This is a different goal and in this case its better to not try and make everything before hand. Let your players influence the world design and you all will have a lot more fun.
Write something to answer the immediate questions\demands that your players have and that you are satisfied with. Repeat when you need more information and let the world develop.

If a setting is done well it is never really finished and is always way too much work to do. Hopefully it is an evocative snap shot of a world from one perspective and complexity. There are always more perspectives and deeper viewpoints even conflicting viewpoints.

Sigurd


There was a wonderful Dragon magazine article that is helped me create my own world. I'll see if I can find it for you.

Silver Crusade

Sigurd wrote:

I think a lot depends on your goal.

1. I want a setting that is complete for anyone to use.

In this case I think you're best off to take three complete settings from other people and make sure that your setting is a) different but b) answers all the questions\demands that they do.

or

2. I want to make an original setting for my games.

This is a different goal and in this case its better to not try and make everything before hand. Let your players influence the world design and you all will have a lot more fun.
Write something to answer the immediate questions\demands that your players have and that you are satisfied with. Repeat when you need more information and let the world develop.

If a setting is done well it is never really finished and is always way too much work to do. Hopefully it is an evocative snap shot of a world from one perspective and complexity. There are always more perspectives and deeper viewpoints even conflicting viewpoints.

Sigurd

Interesting way to think about it. I hadn't considered letting the players themselves flesh out the world, but that actually makes a load of sense, really. That way, I have multiple brains thinking of a setting, rather than just my half.

Basically, the goal is to emulate a world-at-war. Many of the campaigns I've been a part of took place after a large-scale war, and I wanted to set up a world for my players where they could feel part of said war. Each player (or group of players) would represent mercenary factions within the world, hiring and recruiting soldiers and mercenaries (similar to Final Fantasy tactics and Ogre Battle) and take on similarly-sized groups. This sounds a lot like DnD miniatures, I know, but it would be an actual campaign, where you would have to go through the process of recruiting each individual in your 'force' and if they died on the battlefield, they stayed dead (unless you had a powerful caster who could bring them back, but even then, they might be more than a little miffed about dieing).

Liberty's Edge

I always utilize Rich Staat's World Creation guide for all my world building needs. It is pretty thorough and doesn't assume you are using any template while building.


Cheat. Create your basic guidelines (Classes, races, general overview, etc.) and let your players create backstories. They can each do simple one-page on the hows and whys of their toon. Then you can all read and modify with a bit of brainstorming over pizza or spaghetti. Some of my best story threads came from odd tangents that coalesced during bull sessions as we were wrapping up games, including one of the most intense and long lasting adventure sequences. All shamelessly stolen from my players.

Silver Crusade

alleynbard wrote:
I always utilize Rich Staat's World Creation guide for all my world building needs. It is pretty thorough and doesn't assume you are using any template while building.

Excellent, thanks for the link!

Bwang wrote:
Cheat. Create your basic guidelines (Classes, races, general overview, etc.) and let your players create backstories. They can each do simple one-page on the hows and whys of their toon. Then you can all read and modify with a bit of brainstorming over pizza or spaghetti. Some of my best story threads came from odd tangents that coalesced during bull sessions as we were wrapping up games, including one of the most intense and long lasting adventure sequences. All shamelessly stolen from my players.

This is also an excellent way to flesh a world out, thank you!

Thus far, I've been doing a little solo-brainstorming, and while it's limited, I think I've got a good handle on most of the major races thus far. Essentially, I'd like to use most (but not all) of all the playable (PC-able) races from both the Pathfinder Core Rulebook and the Beastiary. While a system like the one I'm developing above might be easier using WotC 4th Edition, I like the overall flavor presented by a lot of the Pathfinder books, so I'll be sticking to Pathfinder mechanics, though I'll obviously be mixing it up a little bit as far as the fluff goes.

So for major races, we have:
Drow, Duergar, Dwarf, Elf, Gnome, Goblin, Half-Elf, Half-Orc, Halfling, Hobgoblin, Human, Kobold, Merfolk, Orc, and Tengu.

Drow and Elves (including Half-Elves), while having similar populations, would be opposed factions.

Duergar and Dwarves would be opposed factions as well.

Hobgoblins and Humans would be the biggest of the factions and, unlike some of the more popular renditions of them, Hobgoblins would be similar in alignment and behaviour, if a little more martial-motivated. Essentially, both sides are Neutral, leaning more towards Lawful Neutral. Whereas Humans have numbers on their side and are foot-infantry-oriented (only the wealthy and nobility are allowed to use mounts), Hobgoblins are almost exclusively mounted infantry (cavalry) with the exception of the lowest caste warriors.

Gnomes and Halflings would generally be more sided to Humans, but can typically be found on both sides of the conflict.

Goblins are a typical nuisance. While Hobgoblins might conscript them for general militia, they're usually on their own, pirating and raiding.

Orcs and Half-Orcs are usually seen more as a barbaric mercenary force, offering their services to the Hobgoblins in exchange for resources and glory in battle, but a few Orc tribes will occasionally fight for the Humans.

Kobolds are the most numerous of all the races, and unlike some of the other campaign settings, actually have an established faction and civilization. They are generally opposed to both Hobgoblins and Humans, and their alignment is generally Lawful Evil.

Merfolk are rarely involved with the current state of the world, more focused on their underwater holdings and kingdoms. Naval battles are incredibly risky, facing danger not only from rival factions and pirates, but from Merfolk as well, should naval vessels be seen as encroaching on Merfolk territories.

Tengu are the messengers of the skies. They are seen as a neutral society, trading with really any sides of the conflict. They are a means to relay messages not only within factions, but to other factions and armies as well. To slay a Tengu while serving as a messenger, no matter the client, is seen as a gross offense, and Tengu retribution is often swift and deadly. Occasionally, Tengu can be recruited into a military, but such stints are rare and short.

Silver Crusade

As if it wasn't apparent, I'll start using this as a sort of online journal for the steps and directions I'll be taking when developing this homebrew. Suggestions are always welcome.

Current 'Major' Races and their approximate population percentages:

Drow (2%)
Duergar (4%)
Draco (5%) - Race of Half-Dragon/Half-Men, not incredibly dis-similar from Dragonborn.
Dwarf (4%)
Elf (2%)
Gnome (2%)
Goblin (6%)
Half-Elf (1%)
Half-Orc (1%)
Halfling (3%)
Hobgoblin (10%)
Human (19%)
Kobold (30%)
Merfolk (2%)
Orc (4%)
Rakshasa (< 1%) - Variation of Rakshasa, these humanoid Tigers are actually closer to Lawful Neutral (with Good tendencies). While rare, they are an incredibly proud race and sport (in rumor) perhaps the best warriors and spell casters.
Tengu (3%)

Accounts for 17 major races.

There are multiple types of "forces". The first three deal more with the Law vs. Chaos alignments:

Mercenary Force (Which comprises of a wide range of individuals from all walks of life. Those in command of Mercenary forces have access to the 'neutral' recruiting pools and the widest selection of equipment, armor, and weaponry. Their forces are the most varied and are capable of taking on a wide variety of tasks. However, they must pay for ALL of their supplies, and have a natural penalty to Diplomatic Encounters, due to their weak alliances.)

Expeditionary Force (Which comprises of no less than 30% (and no more than 60%) of forces strongly aligned to a particular Faction. This particular kind of force does not have access to the 'neutral' recruiting pools, and their selection of equipment and weaponry is somewhat limited, as they'll likely prefer goods and weapons made by their 'parent' faction. However, they are able to make limited selections from faction-only recruitment pools. They pay 50% less for supplies than Mercenary Forces, and incur fewer penalties during Diplomatic Encounters, however, their forces are less varied, typically adopting the fighting style of the faction they represent the most.)

Faction Force (Compsirses completely of individuals strongly aligned with a particular faction. This faction has free access to faction-only recruitment pools, which feature cheaper (if not exactly strong) individuals as it represents a pool of raw and seasoned recruits from actual faction military units. As such, Faction Forces always use the favored war style of their parent faction. They only use weapons and armor manufactured by their parent faction, but their supplies are always free, as they are regularly supplied by their faction. They also suffer no penalties to Diplomatic Encounters.)

There are also forces based off of Good vs. Evil conflicts:

Crusader Force (This particular force comprises of warriors specifically geared and trained to drive a wedge into the darkest places of the world and rout the world of evil. Daemons, Undead, Devils, malevolent monsters, and the like are mere examples of what these individuals will face during the course of their duties. All members of a Crusading Force have to be aligned to a particular Deity, the only exceptions being Paladins (as they must always be Lawful Good). While Crusader Forces are usually comprised of Clerics, Druids, Paladins, and Rangers, any class can join, so long as they are strongly associated with a particular faith.)

Pilgramidge Force (This particular force is generally more 'neutral' than the rest, a group of individuals seeking mutual protection as they fulfill a particular pilgramidge. Typically, such Forces are led by either a single (or group of) Cleric or Paladin (or Druid or Ranger). While they would be generally opposed to the denizens of evil, they do not actively seek out their destruction.)

Cultist Force (This particular force specializes in the use and summoning of Devils or Daemons during their journey for power and control. Meant to be more of an evil version of the Pilgramidge Force, as they do not actively seek out good-aligned forces to vanquish.)

Conquering Force (Meant to be the evil reflection of a Crusader Force, this band of evil Knights and Spellcasters are strongly aligned to a typical deity, and they actively seek out havens and bastions of good and destroy them, mercilessly conquering any in their way.)

Types of engagements:

Standard Engagements (All forces begin with all units on the 'fighting field', unless the unit deploys otherwise)

Escallation Engagements (Skirmish and Scout units begin on the 'fighting field' first. Once alerted, the rest of a Force's units will deploy after 1d4 turns.)

War Engagements (The opposite of Escallation Engagements. Main Combat units deploy first, with Skirmish and Scout units deploying on the side edges of the 'fighting field' to conduct battlefield support.)

Skirmish Engagements (Only Skirmish and Scout units are deployed, period.)

Assault/Defend Engagements (One side must hold a critical location from the assaulting force.)

Diplomatic Engagements (Both sides must conduct a series of opposed diplomacy/bluff/sense motive rolls without destroying/breaking diplomatic ties or degenerating into violence.)

Cloak and Dagger Engagements (Meant for either sneaking into a location and collecting/stealing information, OR conducting reconnaisance on an enemy position. This also deals with assasination scenarios.)

Rescue Engagements (Similar to Assault/Defend engagements, except the assaulting force must rescue a critical ally from enemy control.)

Each 'Recruit/Mercenary' requires an 'upkeep' pay, which equals a number of Silver Pieces per week equal to their Effective Character Level, as well as an intial recruitment fee of:
30sp for Mercenary, Pilgramidge and Cultist recruits
15sp for Expeditionary, Crusader and Conquering recruits
0sp for Faction recruits

These fees are not in addition to equipment fees. Such fees typically represent food, water, and basic pay for each individual.

All Force Commanders have what is called 'influence.' Much like Experience Points and Money, Influence is gained by winning engagements or performing critical tasks. Influence is important, as it allows you to recruit stronger individuals into your force. While Expeditionary, Faction, Crusader, and Conquering Forces pay less for obtaining recruits, they need more Influence in order to bring those recruits into their respective Forces.


I used Patricia C. Wrede's worldbuilder questions to flesh out my world after most of the design work was complete. Granted, I've worked on my world for roughly 20 years now, so I've had plenty of time to hammer things out. Wrede's worldbuilder helped me get a lot of the little nuances done.

You can find Wrede's worldbuilder topics at

http://larseighner.com/world_builder/index.html and

http://www.sfwa.org/2009/08/fantasy-worldbuilding-questions/
I prefer this second entry.

I also use http://www.io.com/~sjohn/demog.htm to work out population numbers.

Good luck in getting it worked out!


There are lots of sites out there dedicated to World Building, lots.

One that I go to fairly often is:
Campaign Builders Guild

Some very creative people on this forum, who are a great help. Surprisingly young members too, since most grognards I know are my age - 40+, most of these guys are in their 20's or just now going to college, something I only recently discovered.

Still I think there's a dozen or more online communities to world building, because its such a tough thing to do.

GP


I've been working on mine for 15 years and though it has been played in for all that time I have never considered it done. Worlds are organic in this game. With that advice: Start small. A few towns and a single kingdom could do that resides on an island. That way you know what is and is not in the world to start. It will also make some NPCs that really stand out in the minds of the players. Start Small.


Yerv Kinkash wrote:
I've been working on mine for 15 years and though it has been played in for all that time I have never considered it done. Worlds are organic in this game. With that advice: Start small. A few towns and a single kingdom could do that resides on an island. That way you know what is and is not in the world to start. It will also make some NPCs that really stand out in the minds of the players. Start Small.

What he said. My game is 35 years old. Still a work in progress. Always will be. Just start small, in a fairly self contained area and flesh it out. Have a good reason for this area to be an adventure hub (and keep the PCs located their through their early levels). Have general ideas about what surrounds this core area. It can be detailed as needed later. Low level PCs will generally stay in a fairly small area. They'll expand their range as they go up. The players will push into certain areas depending on thier interests. All you have to do is be one step ahead of them. They'll never know :D

*edit* Oh, and keep a notebook for ideas. Jot stuff down. Leave room to expand on it and detail it. Odd creative moments can really add to a game and give it character and depth.


I have designed and DMed a few worlds in my 26 yrs of gaming. My method always starts with a general concept, which you already have -- a world-at-war.

Next, a good map. Since it is a "world-at-war", you will probably need a world map. A single continent might suffice for your purposes, depending on the kind of scope you want. Start with geographical features, as everything else flows from that.

First, draw the landmasses. Then mountains, because they dictate rivers and lakes; then forests, deserts, glaciers, etc. Now you have the natural features, which dictate civilizations.

Settlements typically develop near drinkable water and other natural resources, so put your towns along rivers, at natural harbors, near mineral-rich hills and mountains, and near forests that can be cut for lumber.

BTW, Pro-fantasy software like Campaign Cartographer make mapmaking alot easier, quicker, and cooler-looking. :)

Develop civilizations out of the settlements. Imagine general histories, which will suggest government types and religions. Go from general (pantheistic dwarven kingdom under mountain range) to specific (pantheistic dwarven kingdom made up of several baronies, king is elected by "Baronial Electorate", exports minerals and metalwork, etc.), making sure to cover all areas that will be involved in the campaign generally first, before going into specifics as needed.

The gods will be important for cleric characters, and also because religion makes a good pretext for war. Make sure to create enough deities for every possible kind of PC to worship, plus a few general deities that NPC commoners would venerate (agricultural and artisan deities). Make a chart or table to help you that cross-references alignments, classes, and maybe even races. For example, you'll want a god for good fighters, a god for neutral fighters, and a god for evil fighters; a god for good wizards, a god for neutral wizards, and a god for evil wizards; etc. Some gods will naturally overlap, so be economical -- no need to create a god for good fighters AND a god for paladins, as the same god will naturally fit for both. Likewise, a neutral wizard god might serve for good and evil wizards alike, depending on said god's goals/dogma/theology.

Once you have basic histories, religions, and governments for each region, come up with a few unique artifacts for your world that tie in to the these other elements. You might even decide one or more of these artifacts will play a role in the wars -- maybe the goal of a high-level adventure could be to recover an artifact to use against an enemy army (cliche, but still fun).

If I think of anything else, I'll post it. Hope this helps!


Michael Johnson 66 wrote:

I have designed and DMed a few worlds in my 26 yrs of gaming. My method always starts with a general concept, which you already have -- a world-at-war.

Next, a good map. Since it is a "world-at-war", you will probably need a world map. A single continent might suffice for your purposes, depending on the kind of scope you want. Start with geographical features, as everything else flows from that.

First, draw the landmasses. Then mountains, because they dictate rivers and lakes; then forests, deserts, glaciers, etc. Now you have the natural features, which dictate civilizations.

Settlements typically develop near drinkable water and other natural resources, so put your towns along rivers, at natural harbors, near mineral-rich hills and mountains, and near forests that can be cut for lumber.

BTW, Pro-fantasy software like Campaign Cartographer make mapmaking alot easier, quicker, and cooler-looking. :)

Develop civilizations out of the settlements. Imagine general histories, which will suggest government types and religions. Go from general (pantheistic dwarven kingdom under mountain range) to specific
(pantheistic dwarven kingdom made up of several baronies, king is elected by "Baronial Electorate", exports minerals and metalwork, etc.), making sure to cover all areas that will be involved in the campaign generally first, before going into specifics as needed.

The gods will be important for cleric characters, and also because religion makes a good pretext for war. Make sure to create enough deities for every possible kind of PC to worship, plus a few general deities that NPC commoners would venerate (agricultural and artisan deities). Make a chart or table to help you that cross-references alignments, classes, and maybe even races. For example, you'll want a god for good fighters, a god for neutral fighters, and a god for evil fighters; a god for good wizards, a god for neutral wizards, and a god for evil wizards; etc. Some gods will naturally overlap, so be economical -- no need to create a...

all good advice


Good to see this thread! This could be another place I could come to hang my hat. I've been working on my homebrew for more years than I'd like to count(since 2nd ed), and its nice to meet other people who are doing the same. There's a link to what I've done so far in my profile, please visit and e-mail me your thoughts. I'd like to see this thread grow, so please post wherever you all have your stuff up at.

Thanks for the links, especially the world creation one. Twelve pages! Elegant in its simplicity!


How could the Campaign Builder's Guild have existed for so long without me running into it by accident? This place is amazing?!


I'm glad you found the link useful. If its good links you like then consider another major aspect of setting design involves creating a map. Both I and Sigurd, near the top of this thread are both members, long standing the Cartographers' Guild.

I know that a map is a great tool to building a setting - one of the basic building blocks in my opinion.

It is without a doubt the best place to learn fantasy cartography, read tuts on bunches of mapping and graphics applications, finding free map objects. And if you post a map (no matter how bad you think it is) using hand-drawn or software created methods, experts will flock down and with tips and critiques get you to creating a masterful map for your setting. Many industry professionals, illustrators, mapping software developers, pro cartographers and publishers are members of that site.

Plus, it is one of the friendliest and most well behaved online forums you'll ever find - no offense Paizo Messageboards :P

If you were already aware, nevermind...

GP

Silver Crusade

First off, I absolutely love the suggestions everyone has made thus far. I've already gone and ordered the Campaign Cartographer 3 program, just so I can utilize those tools to help me in building this particular setting I have in mind.

Secondly, I would love to hear about other settings people have put together for their own campaigns and gaming groups.


DarkKnightCuron wrote:

First off, I absolutely love the suggestions everyone has made thus far. I've already gone and ordered the Campaign Cartographer 3 program, just so I can utilize those tools to help me in building this particular setting I have in mind.

Secondly, I would love to hear about other settings people have put together for their own campaigns and gaming groups.

I'm working on a Pathfinder-compatible post-apocalyptic RPG (a la Gamma World), and developing a setting for it called Eukay. I've made a few changes to it since I posted this, but if you want to, check it out and let me know what you think.


Freehold DM wrote:
How could the Campaign Builder's Guild have existed for so long without me running into it by accident? This place is amazing?!

threadjack:
tried to go to your profile for e-mail, but only got your blog; no e-mail contact at all anywhere. you're locked tight, sir!

Urizen wrote:
Freehold DM wrote:
How could the Campaign Builder's Guild have existed for so long without me running into it by accident? This place is amazing?!
** spoiler omitted **

Whoops! Fixing that now...


Or take some of those dusty old 2.0 books fire up the photocopier and instant cities, maps, etc....

It will take a crafty player to notice that map is from the FR hardcover...

Save time...


Freddy Honeycutt wrote:

Or take some of those dusty old 2.0 books fire up the photocopier and instant cities, maps, etc....

It will take a crafty player to notice that map is from the FR hardcover...

Save time...

Ah, but I'm a pro fantasy cartographer, and doing it the "time saving" way would be against my grain. Besides I can create most maps in an hour, depending on my needs or the needs of a publisher.

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