When creating worlds, I have a lot going in my head that I use to create worlds. Some of this people see, other times not. I have had the problem with other stories I've made where I had too much going on the worldbuilding/lore and history side that it got in the way of telling a story. Right now, I have one campaign completely designed (but not yet being played), and two more that are in the same world, but in different areas. The more I build and include in handouts, the more I'm wondering if its too much, or not enough. I can make a comment in a handout which brings a large backstory to mind for me, but I know players won't get this (and sometimes don't need this), but other times I wonder if I'm giving too much and just need to let things be made up as needed. I'll give some information below on my world and campaigns, and for those who are interested or bored enough to answer, can you give me your thoughts?
Armistice.
The completely designed campaign. While all gods/goddesses listed in the PHB are possible, the Armistice Domain is more beholden to the Norse Pantheon, with the goddess Nott being the main patroness of the country (side note, this world/campaign uses the correct Norse gods/goddesses because Skadi was a goddess- not a god, and Sif wasn't a goddess of war, damnit). This country is more of a confederation between three groups (elves, dwarves, and humans), but other races can be found here. It is sort of a safe haven. Unless you're doing something terrible, you're welcome here. Without getting too much into the story, it is (loosely) based off of the Nibelungenlied and the Hanseatic League, with a few bits here and there of other things. The main (human) city is Hansa, where you can find all common and uncommon items listed in the DMG and a handful of rare items. The story here is pretty self-contained, but there is one part that connects to one of the other campaigns. If the players choose to do so, there is a side quest where they help an academic clear out and inspect some ancient ruins in the mountains. If they look into it deeper, they would find out that this is a location where the drow lived before they were actually drow and they can see the progression of their subrace/culture as they turn to Lolth. This is really only lore that doesn't have much to do with the main campaign at all, but it does have some parallels to the next campaign because it's underwater.
(unnamed underwater campaign)
This one, since its so heavily homebrewed and in an environment that isn't used that often, it will probably need a lot of playtesting before its an actual campaign. This is the main part where the lore overload question comes in. A lot of the lore I already have for this setting is in the race descriptions that I give players. There isn't actually a handout for the campaign story yet, just the PC options. I can't really link you to that, because the sections for Merfolk and Water Genasi are pretty much verbatim from official D&D publications, but here is what I have so far:
Merfolk are exactly as described in the MM, but I gave them a writing system that is made up of knotted, looped, and beaded cord. Sat blocks and racial traits were also made (Amphibious, Quick Learner, Sea Tamer).
Sea Elves (copy and paste from my handout): It is believed that Sea Elves are the closest relatives to the Drow of the Underdark. In ancient times, when the Drow began to call on the favor of the Goddess Loth, a group rebelled against their leaders, but were overpowered and driven into the sea along with their families. There was division between the survivors, some claiming they were righteously punished, others believing their rebellion was righteous. From this dispute, they split themselves. One group going on to become the Sea Elves and the other going on to become the Derceto. Bringing their knowledge with them, the elves brought writing to the people of the seas, allowing their languages to be written down for the first time in the Elvish alphabet. Though they have an ability to craft underwater, most resources used are from their environments, with very little being of wood or metal. Sea Elves are usually devoted to Deep Sashelas, who gave them their current forms in order to survive in the oceans. Their bodies are usually grayish in color, and can have stripes and fins of varying lengths and colors. Some can be born with flippered feet, but it is more common that they have tails and fins from the hips downward. They usually have dark eyes, and are bald or have fins on their heads. They are very concerned with community and alliances, because they see them as a means to survive. Usually this means alliances with merfolk, Cecaelia, or land races, but for some individuals it also means the Derceto. Sea Elves usually make their homes in deeper waters than merfolk. In underwater caves, along the walls of underwater chasms, and deep water kelp forests. (sat block and an extra racial trait- Messenger of the Seas- also given)
Cecaelia (copy and paste from the handout): Originally created by the Derceto, the Cecaelia were formed through magical fusion of octopuses and sea wrecked sailors. After escaping from the Derceto, most Cecaelia live in small communities of their own, alone at the edges of the underwater wilds, or among the merfolk, and rarely with sea elves. A few might occasionally try to contact seafarers or land folk, but most tend to avoid contact with these groups out of shame or out of fear that they will be seen as monsters. As a fledgling race, they have little history or culture of their own. They have a deep hatred for the Derceto. As former slave warriors, Cecaelia are usually fairly well built for defense and adventuring. Cecaelia were primarily of human stock, but a few features of other races, such as half-orc fangs, can sometimes be found. They are stocky, strong, and have actual hair. Hair is often tied back or braided, and can be found in any color. Skin color covers all human ranges on the upper half of a Cecaelia, with the bottom half being a different color entirely. (stat block and racial traits- darkvision, amphibious, Cecaelia Resistance, Relentless Endurance, Constrict- also given)
There's also a load of homebrew monsters (not in the handout) like Coral Blight, Nightmare Seahorse, something that looks like a crab drider, merhag, wreck rot (that I'm sort of 'borrowing' artwork for), Derceto (worshipers of Umberlee), and so on.
The third campaign isn't really an issue right now since it's in a completely different area, based off of other mythologies, and involves land and sea travel, floating islands, and whatever else. My main question is if the underwater campaign has too much lore already. Besides these PC descriptions, there would also be one coming for the actual campaign. Is that too much lore? It's not an official D&D world, so there's no other resources out there that would help them understand the world, but it still kinda' feels like a lot already.
I don't think it's too much lore for you, but maybe for the PCs? This all seems like stuff you would know, but if the PCs aren't from the area they should be discovering this as they go. I'm having the same trouble with my homebrew world, as there are a lot of really interesting things I want to do but I know most of the PCs aren't going to be interested or not even bother with it. Like, I've created some caveats for classes and done stuff with Tieflings and Aasmiar that are specific to my world because of reasons, but if the PCs aren't going to be that there's little chance of them needing to know that.
For the handouts, I'd give each player a basic 'this is the stuff your character would know' handouts and let them just explore. They don't need to know everything about this world because no one knows everything about the world. Knowing the Gods is pretty basic knowledge, but if a character doesn't care about that in any way then they wouldn't need that handout. For the homebrew races, they should get them to see if they want to be that race, but they shouldn't keep access to the handout if they're not, because the actual characters wouldn't have that info memorized.
As for the writing system of the merfolk, unless a PC knows how to read it it's not important for them to have prior knowledge of it. I've come to understand that less is more when giving info to your characters outside of the actual game, because it makes it feel less real to them if they know a whole bunch of stuff without having to do the work to discover it in situ.
I don't think it's too much lore for you, but maybe for the PCs? This all seems like stuff you would know, but if the PCs aren't from the area they should be discovering this as they go. I'm having the same trouble with my homebrew world, as there are a lot of really interesting things I want to do but I know most of the PCs aren't going to be interested or not even bother with it. Like, I've created some caveats for classes and done stuff with Tieflings and Aasmiar that are specific to my world because of reasons, but if the PCs aren't going to be that there's little chance of them needing to know that.
For the handouts, I'd give each player a basic 'this is the stuff your character would know' handouts and let them just explore. They don't need to know everything about this world because no one knows everything about the world. Knowing the Gods is pretty basic knowledge, but if a character doesn't care about that in any way then they wouldn't need that handout. For the homebrew races, they should get them to see if they want to be that race, but they shouldn't keep access to the handout if they're not, because the actual characters wouldn't have that info memorized.
As for the writing system of the merfolk, unless a PC knows how to read it it's not important for them to have prior knowledge of it. I've come to understand that less is more when giving info to your characters outside of the actual game, because it makes it feel less real to them if they know a whole bunch of stuff without having to do the work to discover it in situ.
Well, it's supposed to be a campaign that takes place entirely underwater. The PCs would have to be one of those 4 races (unless they have good reason for being something different and have the right item to help them stay underwater and not die). Since they interact with one another and often live among one another, they would be able to recognize the cord writing, and maybe even read it. Also, each race isn't a separate handout, but one larger one. It's part of a larger document that also has some homebrew spells, information for an ocean druid in it, moving in 3 dimensions, etc. Sort of like an addendum to the PHB. The idea was that it was the same world, but not the same people across all three campaigns. I just wasn't sure if it was enough for them to get into character, or too much, or what.
It's definitely enough to give them character ideas! I'd still stick with the 'this is what your character would know' and then have them make checks or give them separate handouts based on who their characters are. Good luck with the campaign!
The idea of handing out a one or two page basic history is something I'll have to use in the future. Right now, I'm basically making it up on the fly. I have a busy life, so if we all just waited for me to complete the history and settings of my homebrew world, we'd never play.
Right now, I'd (figuratively) kill to have an hour or two to myself to just riff on ideas, create maps, magic items, spells, history etc.
You will *always* create more than your players can experience. The motivation to keep creating stuff anyway is part of what makes someone a good GM.
Don't worry about creating too much lore for your setting. World building is a hobby all by itself; keep going as long as it's fun for you. As far as "too much" or "too little" lore for your players' tastes is concerned, that's going to change from moment to moment, session to session. I've had GMs tell me long stories that had nothing to do with the game and, despite those stories being interesting, as a player I felt unengaged. What do I care about the king's bloodline ties to the Arch-Fiends when I'm a level 2 Rogue trying to steal a neat +1 sword from a dour merchant? Likewise, if we're about to fight an elder god, and the GM hand-waves the big reveal and says "It's basically Cthulhu" then as a player I feel really unimpressed and disappointed. Gotta strike the right lore balance in each moment.
When creating worlds, I have a lot going in my head that I use to create worlds. Some of this people see, other times not. I have had the problem with other stories I've made where I had too much going on the worldbuilding/lore and history side that it got in the way of telling a story. Right now, I have one campaign completely designed (but not yet being played), and two more that are in the same world, but in different areas. The more I build and include in handouts, the more I'm wondering if its too much, or not enough. I can make a comment in a handout which brings a large backstory to mind for me, but I know players won't get this (and sometimes don't need this), but other times I wonder if I'm giving too much and just need to let things be made up as needed. I'll give some information below on my world and campaigns, and for those who are interested or bored enough to answer, can you give me your thoughts?
Armistice.
The completely designed campaign. While all gods/goddesses listed in the PHB are possible, the Armistice Domain is more beholden to the Norse Pantheon, with the goddess Nott being the main patroness of the country (side note, this world/campaign uses the correct Norse gods/goddesses because Skadi was a goddess- not a god, and Sif wasn't a goddess of war, damnit). This country is more of a confederation between three groups (elves, dwarves, and humans), but other races can be found here. It is sort of a safe haven. Unless you're doing something terrible, you're welcome here. Without getting too much into the story, it is (loosely) based off of the Nibelungenlied and the Hanseatic League, with a few bits here and there of other things. The main (human) city is Hansa, where you can find all common and uncommon items listed in the DMG and a handful of rare items. The story here is pretty self-contained, but there is one part that connects to one of the other campaigns. If the players choose to do so, there is a side quest where they help an academic clear out and inspect some ancient ruins in the mountains. If they look into it deeper, they would find out that this is a location where the drow lived before they were actually drow and they can see the progression of their subrace/culture as they turn to Lolth. This is really only lore that doesn't have much to do with the main campaign at all, but it does have some parallels to the next campaign because it's underwater.
(unnamed underwater campaign)
This one, since its so heavily homebrewed and in an environment that isn't used that often, it will probably need a lot of playtesting before its an actual campaign. This is the main part where the lore overload question comes in. A lot of the lore I already have for this setting is in the race descriptions that I give players. There isn't actually a handout for the campaign story yet, just the PC options. I can't really link you to that, because the sections for Merfolk and Water Genasi are pretty much verbatim from official D&D publications, but here is what I have so far:
Merfolk are exactly as described in the MM, but I gave them a writing system that is made up of knotted, looped, and beaded cord. Sat blocks and racial traits were also made (Amphibious, Quick Learner, Sea Tamer).
Sea Elves (copy and paste from my handout): It is believed that Sea Elves are the closest relatives to the Drow of the Underdark. In ancient times, when the Drow began to call on the favor of the Goddess Loth, a group rebelled against their leaders, but were overpowered and driven into the sea along with their families. There was division between the survivors, some claiming they were righteously punished, others believing their rebellion was righteous. From this dispute, they split themselves. One group going on to become the Sea Elves and the other going on to become the Derceto. Bringing their knowledge with them, the elves brought writing to the people of the seas, allowing their languages to be written down for the first time in the Elvish alphabet. Though they have an ability to craft underwater, most resources used are from their environments, with very little being of wood or metal. Sea Elves are usually devoted to Deep Sashelas, who gave them their current forms in order to survive in the oceans. Their bodies are usually grayish in color, and can have stripes and fins of varying lengths and colors. Some can be born with flippered feet, but it is more common that they have tails and fins from the hips downward. They usually have dark eyes, and are bald or have fins on their heads. They are very concerned with community and alliances, because they see them as a means to survive. Usually this means alliances with merfolk, Cecaelia, or land races, but for some individuals it also means the Derceto. Sea Elves usually make their homes in deeper waters than merfolk. In underwater caves, along the walls of underwater chasms, and deep water kelp forests. (sat block and an extra racial trait- Messenger of the Seas- also given)
Cecaelia (copy and paste from the handout): Originally created by the Derceto, the Cecaelia were formed through magical fusion of octopuses and sea wrecked sailors. After escaping from the Derceto, most Cecaelia live in small communities of their own, alone at the edges of the underwater wilds, or among the merfolk, and rarely with sea elves. A few might occasionally try to contact seafarers or land folk, but most tend to avoid contact with these groups out of shame or out of fear that they will be seen as monsters. As a fledgling race, they have little history or culture of their own. They have a deep hatred for the Derceto. As former slave warriors, Cecaelia are usually fairly well built for defense and adventuring. Cecaelia were primarily of human stock, but a few features of other races, such as half-orc fangs, can sometimes be found. They are stocky, strong, and have actual hair. Hair is often tied back or braided, and can be found in any color. Skin color covers all human ranges on the upper half of a Cecaelia, with the bottom half being a different color entirely. (stat block and racial traits- darkvision, amphibious, Cecaelia Resistance, Relentless Endurance, Constrict- also given)
There's also a load of homebrew monsters (not in the handout) like Coral Blight, Nightmare Seahorse, something that looks like a crab drider, merhag, wreck rot (that I'm sort of 'borrowing' artwork for), Derceto (worshipers of Umberlee), and so on.
The third campaign isn't really an issue right now since it's in a completely different area, based off of other mythologies, and involves land and sea travel, floating islands, and whatever else. My main question is if the underwater campaign has too much lore already. Besides these PC descriptions, there would also be one coming for the actual campaign. Is that too much lore? It's not an official D&D world, so there's no other resources out there that would help them understand the world, but it still kinda' feels like a lot already.
I don't think it's too much lore for you, but maybe for the PCs? This all seems like stuff you would know, but if the PCs aren't from the area they should be discovering this as they go. I'm having the same trouble with my homebrew world, as there are a lot of really interesting things I want to do but I know most of the PCs aren't going to be interested or not even bother with it. Like, I've created some caveats for classes and done stuff with Tieflings and Aasmiar that are specific to my world because of reasons, but if the PCs aren't going to be that there's little chance of them needing to know that.
For the handouts, I'd give each player a basic 'this is the stuff your character would know' handouts and let them just explore. They don't need to know everything about this world because no one knows everything about the world. Knowing the Gods is pretty basic knowledge, but if a character doesn't care about that in any way then they wouldn't need that handout. For the homebrew races, they should get them to see if they want to be that race, but they shouldn't keep access to the handout if they're not, because the actual characters wouldn't have that info memorized.
As for the writing system of the merfolk, unless a PC knows how to read it it's not important for them to have prior knowledge of it. I've come to understand that less is more when giving info to your characters outside of the actual game, because it makes it feel less real to them if they know a whole bunch of stuff without having to do the work to discover it in situ.
It's definitely enough to give them character ideas! I'd still stick with the 'this is what your character would know' and then have them make checks or give them separate handouts based on who their characters are. Good luck with the campaign!
The idea of handing out a one or two page basic history is something I'll have to use in the future. Right now, I'm basically making it up on the fly. I have a busy life, so if we all just waited for me to complete the history and settings of my homebrew world, we'd never play.
Right now, I'd (figuratively) kill to have an hour or two to myself to just riff on ideas, create maps, magic items, spells, history etc.
You will *always* create more than your players can experience. The motivation to keep creating stuff anyway is part of what makes someone a good GM.
Don't worry about creating too much lore for your setting. World building is a hobby all by itself; keep going as long as it's fun for you. As far as "too much" or "too little" lore for your players' tastes is concerned, that's going to change from moment to moment, session to session. I've had GMs tell me long stories that had nothing to do with the game and, despite those stories being interesting, as a player I felt unengaged. What do I care about the king's bloodline ties to the Arch-Fiends when I'm a level 2 Rogue trying to steal a neat +1 sword from a dour merchant? Likewise, if we're about to fight an elder god, and the GM hand-waves the big reveal and says "It's basically Cthulhu" then as a player I feel really unimpressed and disappointed. Gotta strike the right lore balance in each moment.
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