When it comes to running tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs), there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Some players enjoy diving deep into character creation and exploring complex rules and mechanics, while others prefer a faster, more streamlined experience. That is ok. There is no “right” way to enjoy the hobby, and it is all about finding what works best for you and your group. This post will not be for everyone. I am merely sharing something that works well for the groups that I run games for.
I personally enjoy digging into my games. I see character creation as part of the game and not some chore that must be suffered though. As a GM, working on my campaign world gives me a great deal of joy and is probably just as much fun to me as actively playing.
Creating My Player’s Guide
As I did when I wrote my post about creating a Who’s Who for your campaign, I wanted to share something that I enjoy doing for my campaign settings. When I am in between games and decide that it is about time to start a new campaign, the first thing I will do is start jotting down some notes to create a player’s guide.
It all starts with my original inspiration. Perhaps a new book series or movie caught my attention or possibly I stumbled onto some old property from my youth that I wanted to build on (this was the case with the Land of the Lost influence in my Revisiting the Isle of Dread post.) By this point I will likely know what genre I am picturing and probably also know which game system I want to use.
Next, I will get down to more formally capturing my thoughts. This step usually takes place in a Word doc or spiral notebook. I will tell my players a bit about what to expect from the campaign. For instance, will this be an epic tale of saving the world or a lighthearted romp in a fanciful setting?
Mind you, this is far from complete. I am not proposing mapping out a full campaign here. There is no way I could know what kind of twists and turns will develop. I merely know what kind of game and what kind of setting I want to be playing in.
From there I start to think about the types of cultures that exist in the world. For example, if I want to include a region that is vaguely similar to ancient Greece or the Shire from The Hobbit, I note that. I will create a name for each region and jot down a few facts about it. Again, this is far from complete. I do not force anything but rather list the areas that come to me organically.
I do not go crazy with this but rather provide enough information to remind myself (and my players) “Hey, this place is similar to ancient Greece.” In the case of any unique locations that were purely created by me, I simply strive to give players enough of a feel for the location to allow their imagination to fill in the blanks.
Finally, if I am running with some new players I might also include some information about the various classes or professions that will be available in the campaign. This is largely dependent on the game system we are using and which selections I feel would be a good fit for the campaign.
With all of this information in hand, I will then polish it up a bit. I format things and drop in some pictures to help convey what I am going for. There is no need to go crazy here, though I find that making the player’s guide look sharp goes a long way toward early player buy in. Once everything is in order, I will distribute the document to my players. I ask them to skim through and give me feedback as to where they think they would like their character to come from, as well as what class/profession they would like to play.
The Players
I enjoy the process once my players get hold of the document. Again, if you are the type who prefers to roll up characters in 5 minutes and hit the dungeon, this probably is not going to appeal to you. However, for our games, this really starts to breathe life into the budding campaign.
Over the course of the next week or so, players will reach out to me with questions. Some may immediately relate to certain areas within the campaign world and decide that is where they want their characters to come from. Occasionally a player might not see a locale that calls to them. When this occurs, it is not a problem but rather an opportunity for us to discuss and possibly add something new to the document.
Natural questions develop about certain regions such as “What is the capital city of _____?” or “What deities are worshipped in _______?” I generally do not know the answers to these questions until they are asked but am able to create them once I know that they are of particular interest to my players. As I do, I jot them down and add them into the document. In this way I am not filling in an entire campaign setting from scratch but merely focusing on the parts that are important to my players.
You may have noticed that I did not mention a section on races/ancestries for the game. That is largely because I tend to run games that are lower fantasy and human centric. When I do have nonhumans in my games they would generally be mentioned in the location description. Something like “Westberry Farthing” might be listed as the pastoral home to the Halflings or “Tindu Loren” could be home to the Forest Elves. On the off-chance that a player wants to play something like an anthropomorphic rabbit, they can always discuss with me and we will see whether or not it would make sense in the world.
Closing
That is really all there is to it. As with previous posts, this may all be common sense to you or you may see it as completely unnecessary. If that is the case, that is fine. This is simply a little tool that has been valuable in my home games and has given me a great deal of pleasure outside of our actual game sessions.
Beyond the value for the campaign at hand, I will often resurrect old player’s guides for other campaigns down the road. When reused like this I can often update them with new information, based on all of the adventures that have already taken place. This process saves me a great deal of time and also adds to the richness of the campaign world.
That is all for now. Do you do anything similar to this with your own games or do you have any tips or suggestions to add? Thanks for reading.
If you would like to see some other general posts, you may find them here.
If you would like to see some maps with plot hooks, you may find them here.
Have a great week!
Talaraska 