I run a heavy story themed game (the players enjoy it more than just kill thing and take stuff) and I include a good deal of backgorund material [often with drawings and handouts].
How much are you doing with STAP? Is it too much to provide the details for things like ethinic backgounds (What does a Suel look like/sound like compared to a Bakaluni or Olman), styles of dress, food types, traditions, etc?
I like it when they can make certain judgement calls based upon my descriptions. I was always told that as a DM I must "SHOW THEM" the story/ game.
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the answer to that question is going to be different for every party and every dm. some parties and dm's tend more toward the hack and slash elements of the game, and excessive backstory will just bore them.
other parties, like yours apparently, tend to be more story driven, and the combat scenes only mean anything to them if they are into the story that explains WHY they have to be fighting these bandits on this ship, not just "so we can nick their stuff and get xp!"
most parties are a mix of various attitudes somewhere in between, in which some people are more combat focused while others are more character development and storyline focused, while still others are into problem solving and so on.
my wife, for example, loves puzzles in her roleplaying games. She's going to love that riddle combination puzzle to get into the Vanderboren's vault in the first adventure. She doesn't care much about combat at all, and is still fuzzy on which dice she's supposed to roll when, and she's been playing D&D for at least 10 years now (altho not regularly, especially now that we have a baby, she's not played a lot lately at all)
anyway, if your party likes the story aspect a lot, then to be honest, there is no such thing as too much. build the background so much that they can almost smell the saltwater. in the end, your job is to cater to the players, and do your best to give them the game they want to play. that's when everybody (including you) has the most fun.
regarding your specific example about the different groups and their cultures, you might simply produce a handout to hand to all of the characters before the game starts, as sort of an addendum to the savage tide players guide, with just a page or two describing all of them. i've done that in games before with good results. that way players that want to immerse themselves into that aspect of it will read and re-read it whenever they feel the need, while others will glance over it and skim for highlights, while still others may not read it at all.
if you feel really creative, and have the time, you might do 2 versions: a version for those who are from the area and know it better, with more detail, and a version for those who don't. sort of an automatic success on an "area knowledge" roll built in.
Great ideas! I tend to go over board with color but the party seems to love it so I continue. Often I create drawings of the different ethnic and cultural groups, weapons, clothing, etc.
Just wondered if I'm the only one.
Jib/Dire Weasel,
my players love their background colour too, some of the most memorable sessions we've had have been heavy on interaction and player knowledge of a campaign setting and light on combat - good to hear:)
Rich
I have some players who enjoy all the background and history and stuff so it is available to them; but some of my players dont want much if any of that so they don't dwelve into it. So is good to have if needed for some; just dont force it on them is probably best.
It's nice to see that I'm not alone. My Players get the flavor of the game so much that they have created background story comic books and created music based upon my settings.
Since I think that I will adapt STAP to my home campaign world this may solve part of my problem (the players know the world very well).