On creating elements for a setting

When I saw this as the title for the April RPG Blog Carnival my mind started ticking over campaign and setting planning and how I want to go about it.

Image credit: cosmicgrooveart

It's easy to just start building things that will never get played and I think a solution is:

• to break prep into separate and reusable elements (I've talked about this before)
• to only plan what you need

So, leaping off from that into the void, what sort of elements and what does each need?

Places

TTRPG games generally involve some exploration, and even if they don't the scenes have to be set somewhere.  Places are everywhere from towns to rooms to dungeons to continents and planes!

In my opinion, Places are often containers but I think they need the following themselves:

• Flavour descriptions / scene setting (depending on scope and scale)
• Rumours / things to interact with

As well as being the basic things you need for a dungeon room, these settle nicely with the start of a "three act" story - Set the scene, call to action - so can often lead to setting up a sidequest nicely.  Can we run the full mile and prep some of the rest too?

• Rising action
• A climax
• How the place is left changed

Oh - there's a location based adventure!

Antagonists

TTRPGs are about conflict and resolution, and where would conflict be without antagonists to rub against our protagonists (the party) - these are the factions and moving parts!

One Roll Weapons of Destiny for D&D 5e

Image (cc) Blazbaros

I'm always toying with ways to tie the PCs, the world, and the story together.  These are weapons that can be found and used by starting characters but are in some way destined for the end game, and requiring the completion of a mid-tier quest arc.  Roll a set of polyhedrals (or use the button at the bottom of the post) to discover your destined weapon!

The d20 - Crafted long ago by...

1. Dwarves, from rare minerals and alloys
2. Gnomes, from fine silver woven with spells
3. Elves, from a branch of the oldest tree
4. Drow, from darkness made tangible
5. Angels, from a fragment of a star
6. Elementals, from distilled elemental energy
7. Fey, sung into shape from some organic matter
8. Merfolk, from the horn of a narwhal
9. Slaadi, from the remains of a dead Modron
10. Mind flayers, from psychically infused iron
11. Devils, and was forged in the fires of the Hells
12. Demons, from solidified corruption
13. Centaurs, from finest polished bronze
14. Yuan-Ti, from the bones of a Naga
15. A vampire, and was forged and cooled in blood
16. A lich, by corrupting a hero's weapon
17. A banshee, and lost by her in death
18. Lizardfolk, from the bones of a gargantuan beast
19. A sphinx, from a treasure of the gods
20. Orcs, by melting down the weapons of their foes