Building a Space Opera Setting: Setting Concepts

 Most RPGs are collaborative experiences, the GM and players work together to build a story. Certain things make that easier or harder and they should be carefully considered when building a setting.

• The world should be immersive and detailed enough that the players can quickly understand it.
• Overly detailed and complicated worlds can take people out of the game as they struggle to recall details or figure out how new situations and knowledge fit in.
• NPC's should be diverse and include a mix of ones the players regularly interact with and those that are just background. In very few cases does the GM need an actual stat sheet, even for those frequently interacted with. However the GM should keep notes to maintain consistency and allow the NPCs to grow organically over time.
• The GM should not get stuck on prior decisions. Often the players will inspire new ideas or takes on things and if these things are incorporated the players are likely to feel more invested.  This does not have to be obvious or even known to the players. Keep some mystery, let them wonder if this was the original plan or if it changed! That said I sometimes let players know they changed things but only if it wont disrupt the immersion or feeling.
• The GM and the players should be on the same page as much as possible and working towards a mutually satisfying story arc. Strongly guided campaigns (Railroading) are often less work for the GM but unsatisfying to the players who if they feel have no agency will be less invested. Open stories (Sandbox) leave it up to the players to choose and in my experience are a lot like a business run by committee. The ideal option is something in the middle, my preference is more sandbox than railroad but it takes more work on my part and requires me to leave lots of things the players can pick up on and some improvisation on my part.
• GMs that can better predict the players will typically run more interesting (to the players) campaigns and can save themselves a lot of work. Do not be afraid to recycle ideas. NPCs can often be reused with minor tweeks and the same with many plots.
• Related to the above is anticipating spoken and unspoken desires and goals of the players. If a player is interested in combat then combat should be available. If the player is interested in figuring out mysteries, exploration, advancing the world, or just making a difference these should all be considered and opportunities for them provided. Of course different players may have different priorities so time management is important.

Summary

Much of the above is general GM advise. However, certain things are key when designing a setting.

Place things of interest to your specific players and even broader details should have flavor or fluff material that helps players feel more immersed in the setting.

Designers Notes for GURPS Powers: Nature and Totem Spirits

My first GURPS book!

Its been a long road but this is my first GURPS book, though hopefully not my last.
This was originally part of a much larger book, but Steven Marsh wisely suggested a smaller book for my first time. In my mind shaman and spirits are given short shrift in most RPGs in that spirits are mostly things to fight and shaman are typically just another spell caster. GURPS has the structure to do so much more and we have seen glimpses but I wanted more for my favorite system.

The Totems, there are a decent amount included, I only had to cut one from the playtest draft (rat) which was a nice urban type totem but replaced it with Dragon and Nymph at the request of the play testers who wanted more non animal totems. There a bunch of notes for others that did not get a writeup, just some short notes on their aspects.
The play testers were great, especially William Stoddard and Jon Lang who kept the discussion on the power modifier going a few days after it officially closed. They had specific concerns and because they were willing and able to discuss them objectively we managed to come up with a rewrite that hopefully works for more people than the original.

Going into this I knew I would get requests for additional totems (Octopus was one such), expected to get some recommendations to cut, and was expecting (and received) requests for more detail and lore on certain favorites. However the goal was to get in as many worked examples as possible and cover several professions and character needs.
Overall that part went better than I expected, for those familiar with the subject a lot of this can be very personal.

The Role section was added during the review and let me keep more totems than I expected and do a better job of helping GMs and players make new totems. It adds an extra step but I think keeps complexity to a minimum.

Drafts, I actually did rewrites and sent them out daily the first week.  Most would not do this, but it helped the manuscript was short and it helped me track word count and turn in the final draft faster by editing in virtually real time instead of after the test. The only playtest I have participated in that was similar was GURPS Technical Grappling where it was important to the author we saw changes quickly for improved feedback.
I tried to make it as painless as possible by noting the changes in each draft from the previous one.

Hows the Crunch?

Primarily this is a book of templates and lenses and no new rules. However I created some new modifiers, including one that addressed something I have wanted in GURPS since GURPS Lensmen!

Also added were some skill and advantage clarifications. Overall I think its pretty crunchy but still has plenty of flavor. But that is the authors opinion, whats yours?

What was changed or cut?

In the end the presentation had the most changes, with sections of text being moved around, a few things were deemed redundant and cut, other sections reworded for clarity.

The Power modifier and a few advantages received some feedback and changes but in the end they came out as I wanted but better written due to the feedback. The Role change was a nice addition and saved a lot of repetitiveness. That saved a lot of word count but also makes an easier read. The old way each Totem was a larger wall of text, good for fast reference but not as pleasant to read in my opinion.

Other Reviews

Malinka's Musings

Rogers Review

Creating your own GURPS setting

I like to make settings and thought I would try and share my thoughts on how I do this.

Core or High Level Concept

• Genre: Decide on the genre or even sub genre first, though elements of it may change as you go. Examples include (mix and match as you please) Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Space Opera, Hard Sci-Fi, Horror, Spies vs. Spies, Pulp, Swashbuckler, Modern, Mystery, Secret magic, Intrigue, Romance,
• Inspiration: Part or all of the world can be based on inspiration such as a book, movie, art, or even a dream. This may not give you enough by itself to build a world but inspiration can add a unique flavor.
• Adaptation: Based off some other work, books, games or a movie for example can provide a complete world.  This is easier and may require less time and work.  Also the players will have a better understanding of the setting which saves explanation, though it can also spoil plots.  Another danger is how faithful to the source you are and how others will react to that, especially if it is an ongoing setting (like a movie franchise or book series that is still being published).
• Mechanics: Kind of a dry way to build it but basing the game off rules or game systems that you want to explore or use can set its own tone.  For example if the group wants to explore hacking, invention or detailed martial arts.

Sandbox or Plot Driven?

A sandbox setting is one where the players decide what they want to do and are playing in a giant sandbox (the world) and may take the game in any direction their abilities and desires allow.

Plot drive campaigns are based on an overall story and the players follow along the story.

Sandbox allows a lot more player creativity but requires that creative or motivation from them to make things happen. However a Plot or story based game requires far less work by the players who are mostly going along with the story and events and NPCs provide motivation and direction.  The risk of this type of campaign is stifling player creativity and ownership.

I prefer sandbox with some plot driven elements and I try to pull ideas from player concepts and disadvantages.

How Much to Build?

You need enough of the world built so that the players can do things but the more you build the longer it may take to get the game going in the first place.

The trick is to come up with a good background and concept and improvise as you go along but take notes and stay consistent. Design with a broad brush and fill in details as the game goes along. During a game if you have to improvise something it is easier to be consistent if your working to a framework that you already have in place.

Building it all in advance sounds good but beyond the time this takes you will find that a living world created and adapted as the campaign progresses is richer in detail and more interesting to the players.

Resources

• Elements of world building by Patrica C. Wrede