A good example of weather being used to drive the story is Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive. On that world, High Storms are so deadly (and common) that the common form of trial by ordeal (read: execution) is to hang someone by their ankles outside during a storm. The next day (or whenever the storm breaks), if the victim still lives they are supposedly innocent. I say supposedly because no one ever survives. If the debris doesn't flay them, the winds usually break them against whatever they were hung from (usually a small building's roof) like a torn kite. The weather drives the entire way the world works, resulting in weird flora and fauna evolved to persevere it as well as informing the cultures of the sentient nations.
''And there are different types of adversaries, let me tell you: ... Well, I AM going to tell you. That's why you're listening to this. ... And focus.''
This is fantastic information! I am currently creating a world where the Planes of Chaos are being opened by the BBEG, as he is trying to cause the elements/elementals to force their way into the Material Plane (his goal is to destroy the material plane in order to have opened a bridge to the feywild or even the upper planes). Each of which are slowly being open while my PC Party is trying to track him down and possibly stop him before he opens too many tears into these Planes of Chaos. As each plane opens, the world begins to change and the pure elements are causing changes or destruction to the world. The Tear in the sky is like an giant eye from one of the planes and randomly an encounter can happen within the world and sometimes my party has to fight these elementals. On top of that, I am working on alliances that his BBEG could have made for his "plan", which, in turn, would confront my party along their adventure trying to stop them from reaching certain key locations. These past few videos have been a great insight on how to develop such a intricate design for my world and they are giving me fantastic ideas of where to place more plot points, small or large. Perhaps even giving my PCs opportunities to create alliances who can help fight off any of the BBEG forces. Thanks again for the wonderful videos! Keep em up!
I like to at least make an effort to incorporate real world climate/geology into my world building. This helps keep environments logical and varied, and helps define political and social boundaries. I can then ignore the environment or use it, depending on the story. I can have players survive a frozen mountain trek, or simply have the ranger make a survival role to get everyone across. I find that stories 'pop out of the map' naturally.
Lovely video series, extremely helpful for a starting dm like myself, not really keen on insulting railroaders though, since if the players have decided with the dm it should be a flaw.
It's a topic that is coming up shortly - railroading versus sandboxing - I'd love to get your thoughts on the video when it drops,. The critical thing and I need to make more of a point on this - if the group approves then anything is good. Whether that's railroading, using cellphones at the table, or anything - if it's got group approval, it's awesome.
"Is that possible? Who cares! It's not important! No one is going to question your geography." Great Game-Master Sempai has spoken. *bows and lies down prostrate*
A continent particularly susceptible to hurricanes? I'm looking at you Sanderson. Good job Sanderson, using geography as would make sense if hurricanes came regularly.
I can't believe that I had not already subscribed to this channel. I've been watching a lot of your videos and you always do a great job. Do you have a series where you actually run a D&D campaign? I know you speak of being a general game master for almost any type of tabletop rpg, but that is the one that I have experience in and would like to watch.
I feel like this series is more useful for the traditional style of game - something fitting D&D or Star Wars. If I want to make a game about a group of criminals attempting a jailbreak to recover their criminal empire, or make a sci-fi game where the player-characters have some kind of power or condition with potentially setting-altering ramifications...how do I apply any of this? Is "glory" even something I should be considering...?
Well to be fair the maker of this series does talk about his(very good)opinions in these videos using his personal vocabulary. The reason I mention this is because I sometimes disagree with his choice of words. The reason I disagree is because...well...the words he uses...make his opinions seem vague enough, that you have to think them over a bit to try and understand what he means in a useful way.
Try not to take his advice too literally. It helps, if you have a good dictionary, to mull over what he says a bit. Personally I've only made it to video 3 so far and have found the majority of what he says to be very insightful.
As far as the specifics of your question go, I think it would help if you looked at your question from different angle. In my experience(despite all the various settings, play-styles, genres, and system mechanics out there)D&D has and continues to contain and embody the core aspects of what a role-playing game is. Other games are just variations of it(and at times very different and interesting variations, but still variations).
Your continent could be a desert with an archipelago with mountains on either side creating a rain shadow crossing over necks of water cutting the continent off from them and it could have had a fire wipe out the vegetation causing there to be spars stuff growing and the water just rins off and away. Or the cats could use their magic to banish it to the depths of the earth, allegedly out of fear but truly to subjugate their vampire servants with their control of the vampire's food, youth adventurers party of humans.
I've had the whole group question my maps due to being mathy geo people who had read every book in 3.5 and knew the rules and creatures by heart. then they got mad cause i changed the sates on the monsters cause thats not what the book said.....needless to say i dropped that group due to to much meta gaming and whining
Really clear and direct, I really do like this series.
Good show Sir i recently took over control form a module in my campaign. as a new Dm you are really helping me get new players into this :D keep it up
A good example of weather being used to drive the story is Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive. On that world, High Storms are so deadly (and common) that the common form of trial by ordeal (read: execution) is to hang someone by their ankles outside during a storm. The next day (or whenever the storm breaks), if the victim still lives they are supposedly innocent. I say supposedly because no one ever survives. If the debris doesn't flay them, the winds usually break them against whatever they were hung from (usually a small building's roof) like a torn kite. The weather drives the entire way the world works, resulting in weird flora and fauna evolved to persevere it as well as informing the cultures of the sentient nations.
coolstorybro.gif XD
''And there are different types of adversaries, let me tell you: ...
Well, I AM going to tell you. That's why you're listening to this.
... And focus.''
Really great stuff, as usual.
This is fantastic information! I am currently creating a world where the Planes of Chaos are being opened by the BBEG, as he is trying to cause the elements/elementals to force their way into the Material Plane (his goal is to destroy the material plane in order to have opened a bridge to the feywild or even the upper planes). Each of which are slowly being open while my PC Party is trying to track him down and possibly stop him before he opens too many tears into these Planes of Chaos. As each plane opens, the world begins to change and the pure elements are causing changes or destruction to the world. The Tear in the sky is like an giant eye from one of the planes and randomly an encounter can happen within the world and sometimes my party has to fight these elementals. On top of that, I am working on alliances that his BBEG could have made for his "plan", which, in turn, would confront my party along their adventure trying to stop them from reaching certain key locations.
These past few videos have been a great insight on how to develop such a intricate design for my world and they are giving me fantastic ideas of where to place more plot points, small or large. Perhaps even giving my PCs opportunities to create alliances who can help fight off any of the BBEG forces.
Thanks again for the wonderful videos! Keep em up!
I very much enjoy these.
I like to at least make an effort to incorporate real world climate/geology into my world building. This helps keep environments logical and varied, and helps define political and social boundaries. I can then ignore the environment or use it, depending on the story. I can have players survive a frozen mountain trek, or simply have the ranger make a survival role to get everyone across. I find that stories 'pop out of the map' naturally.
That's the magic of it. If your map inspires stories, then you've done it correctly!
Very helpful. Thanks!
Lovely video series, extremely helpful for a starting dm like myself, not really keen on insulting railroaders though, since if the players have decided with the dm it should be a flaw.
It's a topic that is coming up shortly - railroading versus sandboxing - I'd love to get your thoughts on the video when it drops,. The critical thing and I need to make more of a point on this - if the group approves then anything is good. Whether that's railroading, using cellphones at the table, or anything - if it's got group approval, it's awesome.
Just started to watch this serie while working on a map of an island with accelerated random geologic and climatic changes.
"Is that possible? Who cares! It's not important! No one is going to question your geography." Great Game-Master Sempai has spoken. *bows and lies down prostrate*
A continent particularly susceptible to hurricanes? I'm looking at you Sanderson. Good job Sanderson, using geography as would make sense if hurricanes came regularly.
Climate? Like adding Forbidden Island to your RPG? Cool. Start your turn with a blizzard check and end it with a sandstorm check, muahahahha!
I can't believe that I had not already subscribed to this channel. I've been watching a lot of your videos and you always do a great job. Do you have a series where you actually run a D&D campaign? I know you speak of being a general game master for almost any type of tabletop rpg, but that is the one that I have experience in and would like to watch.
when is the next one coming out?
I can't wait
+yitzy drebin We are working on a really exciting project that launches mid-Feb. It's for us - the mega project. I think you'll all like it!
Does it urk anyone else that this is Part Three instead of Part 3?
I'm not sure what you mean?
All the other World Building videos have a numeral after "Part" expressed with a digit (1,2,3,4,5) but this one is written out.
ohmygoooooooooooood.gif XD
The inconsistencies in the titles bug me to no end.
@John O Its just that the video title and thumbnail don't use the same format.
"the whole continent is a desert"- that's pretty much Australia
+Martin Smolik I err... ummm... deny inspiration from that wonderful place. :)
whatatwist.gif XD
I feel like this series is more useful for the traditional style of game - something fitting D&D or Star Wars. If I want to make a game about a group of criminals attempting a jailbreak to recover their criminal empire, or make a sci-fi game where the player-characters have some kind of power or condition with potentially setting-altering ramifications...how do I apply any of this? Is "glory" even something I should be considering...?
Well to be fair the maker of this series does talk about his(very good)opinions in these videos using his personal vocabulary. The reason I mention this is because I sometimes disagree with his choice of words. The reason I disagree is because...well...the words he uses...make his opinions seem vague enough, that you have to think them over a bit to try and understand what he means in a useful way.
Try not to take his advice too literally. It helps, if you have a good dictionary, to mull over what he says a bit. Personally I've only made it to video 3 so far and have found the majority of what he says to be very insightful.
As far as the specifics of your question go, I think it would help if you looked at your question from different angle. In my experience(despite all the various settings, play-styles, genres, and system mechanics out there)D&D has and continues to contain and embody the core aspects of what a role-playing game is. Other games are just variations of it(and at times very different and interesting variations, but still variations).
Your continent could be a desert with an archipelago with mountains on either side creating a rain shadow crossing over necks of water cutting the continent off from them and it could have had a fire wipe out the vegetation causing there to be spars stuff growing and the water just rins off and away.
Or the cats could use their magic to banish it to the depths of the earth, allegedly out of fear but truly to subjugate their vampire servants with their control of the vampire's food, youth adventurers party of humans.
I've had the whole group question my maps due to being mathy geo people who had read every book in 3.5 and knew the rules and creatures by heart. then they got mad cause i changed the sates on the monsters cause thats not what the book said.....needless to say i dropped that group due to to much meta gaming and whining
Yeah, thats just boring. Sounds like they wanted to play some kind of strategy game ala Starcraft instead of roleplaying games.
I always question geography