Dungeon Master Tools – World Building

Let’s first start off by saying, read what I wrote on story arcs. It is here. And that is going to be the framework for this world building discussion going forward. Why, because it breaks it down and keeps it simple.

So let’s keep going with our example from there and let’s just recap it a little bit:

• Find treasure
• Fight Mid-level boss
• Learn about Big Bad
• Search for way to stop Big Bad
• Get information from wizard
• Find artifact
• Confront big bad

We start with find the treasure. And I broke that down even more.

• Find Treasure
  • Get party together and get quest
  • Find where the dungeon is and travel there
  • Explore dungeon

So now we’re down to “Get the party together and get the quest.” That is the point where you start your world building.

What Elements You Build

So, previously to this I talked about Session 1, you can find that here. And that gives a bit more context to this plan. The group gets a quest, they meet with the quest giver, they fight someone trying to stop them from going on the quest and they get more information about the location of the quest from an NPC. That is my plan for Session 1. And this is where I am going to pull out what elements I need to build.

I look at my description of what I want to do, I see two NPC’s in there. First there is the “Quest Giver” then there is the “Information Giver”. So I need to come up with stuff for both of them. I said in the Session 1 article, let’s have it be a bar where they meet the second NPC. So when I decide that location, that’s another thing for world building, what is the name of the bar. And I get a third NPC with the “Bartender”.

Next I want to ask myself some questions. Where do they get the quest? Where do they meet the “Quest Giver”? And finally, who do they fight? If I answer them with adventurers guild, their estate, and street gang, I now know a few more things for my world building, and that’s about it I need to do to get started.

Building The Elements

I’m going to give a couple examples of how to build. But we start at the top level and work down. And every element that I build is going to follow a standard format.

I want everything I do to have a pretty similar format. It doesn’t matter if it’s a location, country, NPC, they all are going to be pretty standard to try and make my life simpler as the Dungeon Master. I want to have name, defining feature, brief description.

Example – Quest Giver

Name: John Jacob Jingleheimer-Schmidt
Defining Feature(s): Snooty Aristocrat with too much time and money, also a triplet – all named the same.
Brief Description: He has a very fancy estate with lots of gaudy artwork, he himself is even more gaudy than his estate. And for a dwarf that looks out of place, but he doesn’t care and he is always talking about and showing off his wealth.

Example – Inn/Bar

Name: The Crooked Turnip
Defining Feature(s): Cheap as can be with a patronage that looks the same.
Brief Description: From the outside The Crooked Turnip looks like it shouldn’t be open and for a bar, it’s not that noisy. From the inside it looks like it’s just locals, people down on their luck, and the alcohol is the cheapest swill that you can get. If you order the pot roast, you’re pretty sure it’s just turnips.

And that is it. So let’s count, we have the quest giver, the information giver, the bar, the bartender, adventurers guild, estate, street gang, town, and country. I count nine total things that you need to come up with details on, and general details. I think a tenth might be the treasure’s location, but again, not in much detail. You don’t need to know what else is in town really. If you suspect your players will go shopping, as players do, then maybe a shop, and a shopkeeper.

Could you do more. Obviously, but the point is to do as little as possible. And to make it as easy for yourself as the Dungeon Master as possible. Plan what you need only and don’t overthink it.

Final Thoughts on World Building

You probably know the theme for these Dungeon Master Tools, keep it simple. And I want to keep on banging that drum. I love drawing out a good map, but is it needed for a town or country, not really. And if you want to draw a map, start the map with a shape of the country the town, and that’s it. As you add to the world each session build out more.

The final bit of advice for world building is let the player help. They decide to set-up their base of operations at an inn. They get to name the inn. Make your life simpler by only planning for what you know you will need. And everyone pitches in for those surprise elements of the game.

So what is coming next for Dungeon Master Tools?

• Combat
• Exploration
• NPCs/Social Interactions
• Meta Game and Players at the Table

And let me know if there are other things to cover as well that you want to know more about, or help with. I think that there are a ton of different things that new Dungeon Masters are curious about or that feel intimidating. So I hope that I can help make them clearer and simpler for you.

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Initial Information for The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era

So what do we know about it this far. Before you decide to get hyped about it, like I am, you probably should know why.

Like Too Many Bones

The first thing that caught my attention is that this is building off of the Too Many Bones system. I need to play my copy of Undertow while I wait for the last crowdfunding campaign to deliver. But the basic idea is that you unlock dice and you improve abilities, stats, etc.

But unlike Too Many Bones, this should offer more story. Too Many Bones tends to be focused on little runs through the game. I fully expect that The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era is going to be much bigger than that. And according to their big graphic, it’s their most ambitious game to date, which is saying something. Too Many Bones, Cloudspire, Hoplomachus Victorum, and Burncycle are all big games.

Player Count

For me, one of the next things that I wanted to see was that it is a cooperative and solo game. I don’t know how’d they’d make it competitive, but also that it’s cooperative with a solo mode. All games don’t need a solo mode, but if you have a cooperative game, try and build it into the game. You’re already going to be dealing with the enemy, so might as well be able to do that as one player.

The Setting

Now, I know a lot of people the setting will be more of a draw than it is for me. But I have Skyrim, which I need to play. I’ve played some Oblivion as well. This is a big sprawling fantasy setting that has been around for a long time. What interests me about it, besides that it’s tied to a game that I like, is that there is so much lore to draw from in Tamriel.

And that the core box, there will be expansions, is 30 main story quests. That is a ton of content. And the you play three of those in kind of a mini campaign is interesting. I wish that they were doing a full campaign, the Too Many Bones mini campaigns seem fine, but I also appreciate that they are trying to balance a game with story and with being able to get it played.

Will I Back It?

This is one of those things, I want to see more. And I want to know the price point. If I were to guess now, yes, I’d back this game because it looks great. I’d back it because it’s Chip Theory Games and it’s iterating on a very successful design with Too Many Bones. Plus it’s a world that I like.

But how much will it cost. That’s the other big question. I got Burncyle and expansions for $200 or so. I think this will cost more. Now, I might try and rush it and grab one of the pledges that gets you future Chip Theory Games pledges for future crowdfunding campaigns. But there aren’t many of those each campaign and they aren’t cheap. But probably worth it.

I do appreciate that thy put this out so far ahead of time. I want to sit down, now, and play some Too Many Bones: Undertow. It is a system that I know, but I’ll need to relearn and I need to see how much I love it. Too Many Bones isn’t easy to get your hands out, at least it isn’t cheap to get your hands on. But if The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era looks interesting, it’s worth trying to play.

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