Static Settings
Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2014 5:14 pm
The problem: New players, especially those playing nobles, either have to wing it, or create their own familial lands (the place where they were born) in terms of agriculture, towns, etc. Since I created it myself, let's take into consideration Avonna, a county in Lithmore that I described basically as a rockier, colder version of the Pacific Northwest (U.S.A.). That setting hadn't existed except as a name before I wrote the helpfile for it. Avonna is a static place, and its traits should be for the most part static (such as weather, agriculture, etc). It provides a much needed background setting from which to draw experiences.
However, whether because players don't like what I've written, or they just don't know about it, a new player could create a character from Avonna and consider it an icy tundra because it is so close to the Tarn, or think that the county is rich because they plunder the mountain for precious resources. These aren't necessarily bad perspectives, but as already established, they are wrong and would cause inconsistencies (I'm using that word a lot lately -.-) with the already established setting, and falsify RP that's already occurred to make that setting concrete.
This personally discourages me from writing more setting helpfiles, because of their fluid nature. It's not that I want what I write to be the only opinion, but because I want a static setting for my background, and after taking the time to write one (in lack of any other), I'd hate to see that work be falsified via someone else's RP - knowingly or unknowingly.
The solution: In character creation, after choosing your race, have a set of prompts like so:
Which Duchy did your character reside in for most of their life?
1. Lithmore
2. Vandago
3. Etc
5. Daravi
4. None (Vagabond)
Ex: Person chooses 2: Vandago
{WIt is suggested that you read{x {RHELP MAP OF VANDAGO{x {Wand learn about the counties therein to find where you want your character to have been raised.{x
Ex: Person chooses 4: None (Vagabond)
{WIt is suggested that you look over{x {RHELP GEOGRAPHY{x {WTo find out more about the places your character might have been.{x
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In line with this, I would gladly continue to flesh out each and every county, like I did with HELP VOSTOCK. Maybe not to that degree though. (I went a little overboard there >.>)
However, whether because players don't like what I've written, or they just don't know about it, a new player could create a character from Avonna and consider it an icy tundra because it is so close to the Tarn, or think that the county is rich because they plunder the mountain for precious resources. These aren't necessarily bad perspectives, but as already established, they are wrong and would cause inconsistencies (I'm using that word a lot lately -.-) with the already established setting, and falsify RP that's already occurred to make that setting concrete.
This personally discourages me from writing more setting helpfiles, because of their fluid nature. It's not that I want what I write to be the only opinion, but because I want a static setting for my background, and after taking the time to write one (in lack of any other), I'd hate to see that work be falsified via someone else's RP - knowingly or unknowingly.
The solution: In character creation, after choosing your race, have a set of prompts like so:
Which Duchy did your character reside in for most of their life?
1. Lithmore
2. Vandago
3. Etc
5. Daravi
4. None (Vagabond)
Ex: Person chooses 2: Vandago
{WIt is suggested that you read{x {RHELP MAP OF VANDAGO{x {Wand learn about the counties therein to find where you want your character to have been raised.{x
Ex: Person chooses 4: None (Vagabond)
{WIt is suggested that you look over{x {RHELP GEOGRAPHY{x {WTo find out more about the places your character might have been.{x
-------------------------------------------------
In line with this, I would gladly continue to flesh out each and every county, like I did with HELP VOSTOCK. Maybe not to that degree though. (I went a little overboard there >.>)