One of my players has been wanting to create lore and such for my world. He mostly wants to create abstract, not particulatly useful stuff like the history of lanuages and religions from certain societies.
I haven't been dming long so don't have a huge amount of the "lore" as such. Mostly the stuff that's applicable to our sessions like the areas and characters they meet and am working on more lore stuff atm.
Should I let him do this? I'm a bit unsure.
Thanks to all those who respond. I really appreciate it.
It's really up to you. If you're okay surrendering or sharing the worldbuilding authority in your universe, then go for it. If you want to retain complete control of what exists in your campaign and why, then don't.
If this person is creating lore that is related to his character (such as making up linguistic history because his PC is a linguist), it makes sense. A lot of DMs will let their players contribute to worldbuilding - fleshing out details of the kingdom their fighter is from, describing the nature of rituals their cleric order is known for, etc. I've let players decide power structures of their hometowns (e.g., monarchy, republic, theocracy), cuisine and culture features, environment descriptions, and NPCs in their backstory. It's a collaborative game, and I enjoy seeing what players will do with certain things, especially if it provides more fullness to their character in the present.
If it's just random worldbuilding stuff unrelated to his character, then that's pretty unusual. I, personally, draw the line at letting players touch cosmology, deities, and lore that either steers the narrative or creates universal facts. No, you do not get to say that shadar-kai and eladrin have a blood feud in my setting. No, you cannot ad-lib a new religion that is worshipped globally. No, you cannot say that the cloud god and the earth goddess got a divorce, and that's why the sky exists. You want there to be a blood feud in your hometown? Go nuts. Does your character want to start a new religion? Go nuts. Does your character believe a divorce created the sky? Go nuts. Just keep things centered on your character, because you have no idea what plans I have in the long term. But again, that's just my reasoning. It's not right or wrong, it's simply my preference as a DM.
I will say that I have had immense success in involving the players in worldbuilding. Typically, I will first ask them "what sort of place are you from?", and when they answer, I will present them with a list of existing places that match, or I will work with them to create a new one. This is how many of my cities have gone from a name thrown on a map to a rich and diverse hub of culture and trade. It is also how two wizard colleges, several families, an ancient forge of the gods, a tavern with a fighting pit (currently on the moon), and a monastic lost city central to at least 2 plotlines have become part of the world. I think that the world is richer for it, and the players are much more invested because of it!
The best way I have found though is to actively create it with them. That way they won't invest huge amounts of time making something that doesn't fit your world, and you won't have to contend with having to tell them that it needs to change after they've spent hours and become attached to it. The best way - and most fun - is to say "ok, let's worldbuild!" and have an hour or so of chatting with them over it! By the end, you'll have loads to work with, and each time a loose end hangs from their lore, you can tie it to a bit of your own, and it becomes an integral part of the weave of your world, instead of just a patch.
If it’s fun for everyone, why not. Just be clear that you will be editing their submissions to fit your world, and you may veto some entirely.
This. Nothing makes me happier when a player is so invested in my world that they want to add to it. As long as they understand that I may not want all contributions and may nix some of it, then I say that they are welcome additions.
Sometimes they think about stuff that I had not really been paying attention to. That tells me the kinds of things they are interested in. It is free idea fodder for the game in addition to world-building.
The only concern I’d have is how much world building the player is doing in place of yourself. It kind of sounds like they’re becoming an assistant DM, and I’d be wondering how long before they might as well be the DM.
The only concern I’d have is how much world building the player is doing in place of yourself. It kind of sounds like they’re becoming an assistant DM, and I’d be wondering how long before they might as well be the DM.
Given how many of us are Forever DM's I'm not sure that's a bad thing....
The only concern I’d have is how much world building the player is doing in place of yourself. It kind of sounds like they’re becoming an assistant DM, and I’d be wondering how long before they might as well be the DM.
Given how many of us are Forever DM's I'm not sure that's a bad thing....
Given that OP is a newer DM and this player might start to feel entitled to argue or veto the DM's decisions, the concern is reasonable. Without clear boundaries on worldbuilding authority, it could potentially cause some issues.
As for being an assistant DM, I did it once. It was an awkward position to be in long-term.
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Hello my fellow masters of the dungeons 👋.
One of my players has been wanting to create lore and such for my world. He mostly wants to create abstract, not particulatly useful stuff like the history of lanuages and religions from certain societies.
I haven't been dming long so don't have a huge amount of the "lore" as such. Mostly the stuff that's applicable to our sessions like the areas and characters they meet and am working on more lore stuff atm.
Should I let him do this? I'm a bit unsure.
Thanks to all those who respond. I really appreciate it.
It's really up to you. If you're okay surrendering or sharing the worldbuilding authority in your universe, then go for it. If you want to retain complete control of what exists in your campaign and why, then don't.
If this person is creating lore that is related to his character (such as making up linguistic history because his PC is a linguist), it makes sense. A lot of DMs will let their players contribute to worldbuilding - fleshing out details of the kingdom their fighter is from, describing the nature of rituals their cleric order is known for, etc. I've let players decide power structures of their hometowns (e.g., monarchy, republic, theocracy), cuisine and culture features, environment descriptions, and NPCs in their backstory. It's a collaborative game, and I enjoy seeing what players will do with certain things, especially if it provides more fullness to their character in the present.
If it's just random worldbuilding stuff unrelated to his character, then that's pretty unusual. I, personally, draw the line at letting players touch cosmology, deities, and lore that either steers the narrative or creates universal facts. No, you do not get to say that shadar-kai and eladrin have a blood feud in my setting. No, you cannot ad-lib a new religion that is worshipped globally. No, you cannot say that the cloud god and the earth goddess got a divorce, and that's why the sky exists. You want there to be a blood feud in your hometown? Go nuts. Does your character want to start a new religion? Go nuts. Does your character believe a divorce created the sky? Go nuts. Just keep things centered on your character, because you have no idea what plans I have in the long term. But again, that's just my reasoning. It's not right or wrong, it's simply my preference as a DM.
I will say that I have had immense success in involving the players in worldbuilding. Typically, I will first ask them "what sort of place are you from?", and when they answer, I will present them with a list of existing places that match, or I will work with them to create a new one. This is how many of my cities have gone from a name thrown on a map to a rich and diverse hub of culture and trade. It is also how two wizard colleges, several families, an ancient forge of the gods, a tavern with a fighting pit (currently on the moon), and a monastic lost city central to at least 2 plotlines have become part of the world. I think that the world is richer for it, and the players are much more invested because of it!
The best way I have found though is to actively create it with them. That way they won't invest huge amounts of time making something that doesn't fit your world, and you won't have to contend with having to tell them that it needs to change after they've spent hours and become attached to it. The best way - and most fun - is to say "ok, let's worldbuild!" and have an hour or so of chatting with them over it! By the end, you'll have loads to work with, and each time a loose end hangs from their lore, you can tie it to a bit of your own, and it becomes an integral part of the weave of your world, instead of just a patch.
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If it’s fun for everyone, why not. Just be clear that you will be editing their submissions to fit your world, and you may veto some entirely.
This. Nothing makes me happier when a player is so invested in my world that they want to add to it. As long as they understand that I may not want all contributions and may nix some of it, then I say that they are welcome additions.
Sometimes they think about stuff that I had not really been paying attention to. That tells me the kinds of things they are interested in. It is free idea fodder for the game in addition to world-building.
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The only concern I’d have is how much world building the player is doing in place of yourself. It kind of sounds like they’re becoming an assistant DM, and I’d be wondering how long before they might as well be the DM.
Given how many of us are Forever DM's I'm not sure that's a bad thing....
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Given that OP is a newer DM and this player might start to feel entitled to argue or veto the DM's decisions, the concern is reasonable. Without clear boundaries on worldbuilding authority, it could potentially cause some issues.
As for being an assistant DM, I did it once. It was an awkward position to be in long-term.