Favourite Setting Elements

[Wasgo]

I'm looking to start a new game of C&C soon, and I'm currently looking at settings. So far, I've looked at Aihrde, Haunted Highlands, Dark Sun, Spelljammer and Freeport.

As I'm looking them over, I'm having to consider what makes an interesting setting for me. Surprisingly the answer for me seems to be tone, and flavour crunch. I can't say I'd actually make use of the multiple pages of description or NPCs. I do enjoy both in pre-made adventures, but for a setting, I tend to just ignore them, or treat them like a list of names.

I've come to realize, that all I really want is a mini-setting:

• A short paragraph describing the tone and key features of the setting.
• One page covering the history of the settings.
• A map
• A list of cities (with one line descriptions)
• A list of important NPCs (with one line descriptions and a suggested class)
• Any relevant crunch (new races, classes, terrain or setting features)

I'm curious what elements other people pull from settings though. Thoughts?

[Omote]

I like my settings with a little more meat on the bones. In my fomable years of learning this hobby, I never used a setting. My homebrew worlds filtered through every permutation of the fantasy RPG hobby. Then about the late 90s I started to realize that all of my worlds, despite my conscience attempts to differentiate them all, eventually, came back towards a vanilla center. All of my worlds and settings eventually started to become the same. To stay this bad habit, I started playing other settings. I learned to play them differently by holding on to the details of the published work. I learned to take care of the details. As my players and I continued to try different settings, I was astonished that they seemed to remember the games more clearly with greater fondness because they could tell the settings apart.

I don't often pull from settings per se. I stick to the setting for the most part. However, on occasion when sessions turn back to my personal settings, I have taken only the smallest parts to my homebrew. This is usally in the form of adventure modules and ideas.

~O

[kreider204]

I've come to realize, that all I really want is a mini-setting.

That's me too. If it's a city, maybe 20 or 30 pages tops; if it's a world, maybe 200 pages tops. More than that, and I'm just too lazy to ready the whole thing. I like a decent sketch to work with, so I can fill in the rest as I go.

That's part of why I like Savage Worlds settings so much - one book, usually around 150 pages, enough info to spark my imagination, all the extra crunch so I don't have to do that work myself, and I'm good to go.

[Omote]

That being said, a well thought out and interesting micro setting (Eastmark, Haunted Highlands) I do like very much.

~O

[kreider204]

That being said, a well thought out and interesting micro setting (Eastmark, Haunted Highlands) I do like very much.

Ya, I'm more willing to deal with a higher level of detail the smaller the setting.