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Question I: What are everyone's thoughts regarding the usage of Homebrew Worlds as opposed to Established Ones?

Question II: What is required to make an entertaining Homebrew World?  

Question III: What are things to be avoided when creating a Homebrew World?
    
 
      

 

1. Greatly prefered whether I am a DM or player.
2. Two things really


1. Consistancy. If you decide a clan is going to be untrustworthy, the DM needs to remember this in future sessions. Nothing makes a homebrew world fall apart like instability. The players will try to learn the world, and if the DM is constantly changing it they will give up and not care. 
2. A hook. You need something that makes your setting interesting when compared to something premade.


3. A few things.


1. Historical, Realistic, Gritty. I've found that any RPG that advertises these concepts never is. In reality its usually a thinley veiled excuse to be sexist, and occasionally racist.
2. More than 2 pages of rules changes. (You can include additional add on rules all you want because they can be ignored.) Anything more than two pages hits the "Annoying to remember" mark and most players won't bother.
3. Restrictive. You need enough variety in the world that all the players can make a character that is interesting to them, and different than another player. An all human samurai game might be fun if you get all the players to buy into it, but more often than not someone isn't interested. Have enough options that they don't have to all by the same thing, but don't stop them if they want to.
4. Generic Fantasy Tolkien Rip Off. FR, Greyhawk, Dragonlance all already exist. Please don't make it again, no one cares.

• I've run campaigns in EVERY world that TSR or WOTC has ever put out (ever).
• FROM experience, I can finally admit that by and large, I'd rather EXPAND existing material than have some pipe-dream that I can create it all myself.  (For example: we wrote a house rulebook for play in the CONAN d20RPG in the northern lands (Vanaheim, Asgard, Cimmeria, etc.) 
• When you write expansions for Published worlds, OTHER PEOPLE CAN USE IT TOO.  Meaning you can be famous (ok, maybe several other people will read it..but some people will give you accolades for sharing.)
• Published worlds have:  Novels, Comics, Forums, Reference Books, Maps, More Maps, Art, Fan Art, Scenarios, Fan Scenarios, Campaigns, integrated rules systems (into the game you're playing).  Your players have a chance to become more immersed in the hobby.
• I used to get a bit turned off that perhaps a player may have read a bit more of the novels or whatever (FR was famous for this back in the day), but then I realized that THAT was what I wanted my players to do.  I'd rather be FLUFF-LAWYERED than rules-lawyered any day!
• If there's something you don't want in a published world, you can always remove it or change it. Don't be absurd thinking this is why you ////cant/// use a published world.  Did a new supplement come out that put out somethign official about an area that you had already developed?  (TSR/WOTC did this with the Scarlet Brotherhood..I wasn't an Idiot Savant about it, I rolled with it..I just updated some stuff and kept what I wanted of my own).  Just note it in your house rulebook.  
• It's much more efficient use of your limited hobby time to expand than to create everything from scratch.
• Your players will need scenarios and a base ruleset more than a homebrew world. 

I think the only time I'd probably create a homebrew world anymore is if there was absolutely nothing about some world I needed detailed for some incredibly obscure game, or if I was working for a game company who hired me to create a world from scratch.

We're currently playing:  Indiana Jones (TSR), Pathfinder (Jade Regent), Warhammer Roleplay (3rd ed), Outbreak Undead.  There are tons of resources for those games, and for that I am thankful.

Lastly, I re-re-reference this piece of artwork and let it sink in for a minute:

What is a more efficient use of your time?  Creating art that only you appreciate, or creating something that can have a larger impact on the gaming communties worldwide?

jh

..

I) I love homebrew, and I also love many published settings. It's really a matter of what scratches your D&D itch best.

II) I consider these three ingredients essential to making an interesting Homebrew World:

0. Free time
1. Players who enjoy exploring and even contributing to the Homebrew World. This doesn't have to be overt. For examplgrimy players heard haunted women singing while traversing haunted fields, and one commented "why is it always women singing? why can't men singing be spooky too?" Lightbulb! Well, now she is going to get a "random encounter" with the Singing Lads of Dunwood. Hehehe.
2. A map. A really well done map would be great, but starting out just a pencil sketch of where all the nations go, with some extra details for wherever the PCs start is sufficient. I've even heard of hexcrawling groups make up the map as they go.
3.  Conservation of energy. Don't do too much work up front, let it evolve with time, player contribution, and greasy fingers staining the maps. Learn how to prioritize planning and to design to what the players are most interested in. That's said, "prepping to improv" (encounter tables, lists of names, etc) is a great time-saving trick (especially for sandbox games) which does require time upfront but saves you in spades down the road.

III) Here are the things I've learned to avoid while making/running a Homebrew World:

1. Don't do too much work. Do "enough" work and make most of it relevant to the players. Every now and then you're going to design something just because the creative bug strikes you, and it may have zero application to your current campaign. *Most* of your design/writing, however, should be relevant to the main quest, interests, classes, themes, prestige paths, and so forth of your players.

2. Don't get stuck on one vision of your world. Don't let it go static. Having a strong guiding vision and hook for a Homebrew Campaign is essential. The key is to let that organically morph and adapt to contact with the players. If you pick up the Homebrew World five years later, the players should have left a mark and things should progress (or devolve).

3. Don't be afraid to steal good ideas! Do give credit where credit is due. Do modify ideas which might feel too familiar to players who know the source material. But do learn to steal shamelessly. Often something original will come out of it.

Nov 23, 2012 -- 9:55AM, Sir-Zalphon wrote:

Question I: What are everyone's thoughts regarding the usage of Homebrew Worlds as opposed to Established Ones?

Depends pretty much purely on the kind of game you want, and if you as the DM enjoy world-building or not.

Nov 23, 2012 -- 9:55AM, Sir-Zalphon wrote:

Question II: What is required to make an entertaining Homebrew World?

Whatever your group finds entertaining. Though, I will say, if you can make the world feel like a "real" place, something alive, rather than just plain and boring, you have created something special. 

Nov 23, 2012 -- 9:55AM, Sir-Zalphon wrote:

Question III: What are things to be avoided when creating a Homebrew World?

    
Inconsistency is a big one. Try to help as much as you can with player suspension of disbelief.

Nov 24, 2012 -- 5:49AM, Krusk wrote:

1. Greatly prefered whether I am a DM or player.
2. Two things really


1. Consistancy. If you decide a clan is going to be untrustworthy, the DM needs to remember this in future sessions. Nothing makes a homebrew world fall apart like instability. The players will try to learn the world, and if the DM is constantly changing it they will give up and not care. 
2. A hook. You need something that makes your setting interesting when compared to something premade.


3. A few things.


1. Historical, Realistic, Gritty. I've found that any RPG that advertises these concepts never is. In reality its usually a thinley veiled excuse to be sexist, and occasionally racist.
2. More than 2 pages of rules changes. (You can include additional add on rules all you want because they can be ignored.) Anything more than two pages hits the "Annoying to remember" mark and most players won't bother.
3. Restrictive. You need enough variety in the world that all the players can make a character that is interesting to them, and different than another player. An all human samurai game might be fun if you get all the players to buy into it, but more often than not someone isn't interested. Have enough options that they don't have to all by the same thing, but don't stop them if they want to.
4. Generic Fantasy Tolkien Rip Off. FR, Greyhawk, Dragonlance all already exist. Please don't make it again, no one cares.

This whole post, really.