I don't really know which forum to put this in, but since this one is for general stuff and gets a lot of traffic, I'll put it here for now

So, I have this homebrew world, and I had a thought: instead of writing pages of history for the world, I can let my players write it! The plan is: I write a campaign based on each major point of conflict in the history of the world, and have my players be the people at the center of the conflict. Now, if I'm going to do this, I have to start at the dawn of time on my world.

The pitch is that the PCs are people in a future version of earth that is really f-ed up. Capitalism, nuclear decimation, all that crap. And then there is this guy named Monis who dreams of another, better world. So, he writes a book about a different world, a massive tome of knowledge. So great was Monis’s desire for a place full of wonder, it manifested in the great work he created: the Chronicle of Lorkan. It created a portal to this world he created, known as Lorkan.

The idea is, the PCs are friends of Monis, and he invites them to come look at the portal he's been hiding in his house. Through circumstances (I won't reveal what) they go through the portal and are transported to Lorkan.

Now the question is: should the PCs and Monis all be teenaged friends surviving in the horrible land, or should they be adults?

The idea with the teenagers is that young people often have vivid imaginations, and the PCs being teenagers introduces elements of drama and possibly romance, as well as the whole idea of a bunch of teenagers going on adventures sounds fun and cool.

The idea with the adults is that they live in one of the last good places on earth, a place where the government brought some of the most skilled individuals to live so as to create a mini functioning society, This one is more realistic, as trained adults are more likely to survive.

Answer the poll and provide feedback in the comments to tell me what you think!

Or they could be adults reincarnated and now with teenage bodies in their new lifes, like in the isekai animes.

Ok, I put in the last one on the poll as a joke. Can't believe someone actually voted for it. Trolls on the internet, man. Well, whoever you are, you aren't welcome here. Glad the other people here are actually willing to contribute to the conversation

LuisCarlos17f, I like that idea. I wish I could figure out how to edit the poll to add that option. I plan on when they enter the portal their forms and stuff shift so they become fantasy races, and maybe they would have their memories altered so they think they grew up in this world and are teens but still have all the skills of being an adult.

Quote from Raccoon_Master >>

Ok, I put in the last one on the poll as a joke. Can't believe someone actually voted for it. Trolls on the internet, man. Well, whoever you are, you aren't welcome here. Glad the other people here are actually willing to contribute to the conversation 

As they say don't ask questions you don't want the answer to.

As to the age of the characters, for me it would depend on a few things like

How long will the campaign run(will there be time for them to grow old in it) Or will these characters be used in multiple campaigns and get to age in that way?  

What is the world the campaign like is it written with young players in mind, or is their age going to be a hurdle in the game?

What do the players in your group want to play?

Can their be a mix of age groups where mentoring could be done?

Quote from kayakingpoodle >>

Quote from Raccoon_Master >>

Ok, I put in the last one on the poll as a joke. Can't believe someone actually voted for it. Trolls on the internet, man. Well, whoever you are, you aren't welcome here. Glad the other people here are actually willing to contribute to the conversation 

As they say don't ask questions you don't want the answer to.

As to the age of the characters, for me it would depend on a few things like

How long will the campaign run(will there be time for them to grow old in it) Or will these characters be used in multiple campaigns and get to age in that way?  

What is the world the campaign like is it written with young players in mind, or is their age going to be a hurdle in the game?

What do the players in your group want to play?

Can their be a mix of age groups where mentoring could be done?

 Fair enough. 

I will try to answer your questions as best as I can, but since I only have a basic idea, I

The campaign will not take place over a long stretch of time, aging a year to 5 years at most during its course

Can you elaborate on this one? Did you mean young players or young characters? Did you mean that the characters won't be taken seriously because they're only teens?

I have not chosen a group, as I plan to play this game here as PBP game, so once I have some more details hammered out I'll put up a recruitment thread

The idea would be that they would all be the same age, though if they were adults that would give them a lot more freedom in terms of age ranges, since teen characters would only be like 10 or 15-20, whereas adults could be 20 to like 60 or something. Realism isn't a big focus of my games if it detracts from epic storytelling, so keep that in mind

My first suggestion is to track down and read the comic book DIE, by Kieron Gillen and Stephenie Hans. It's not what you're doing, but it's definitely adjacent. (There's also an RPG, but you may not want the sort of game it's for. But you might, so take a look at that, too.)

Teenagers now in adult bodies with adult capabilities is another way to go. I don't think the teenagers scenario works -- D&D is not a game designed for characters who aren't already somewhat competent. And in the adult scenario, they're still presumably being transformed, since they'll now have magic, so you might as well roll with the transformation.

Quote from Raccoon_Master >>

Quote from kayakingpoodle >>

Quote from Raccoon_Master >>

Ok, I put in the last one on the poll as a joke. Can't believe someone actually voted for it. Trolls on the internet, man. Well, whoever you are, you aren't welcome here. Glad the other people here are actually willing to contribute to the conversation 

As they say don't ask questions you don't want the answer to.

As to the age of the characters, for me it would depend on a few things like

How long will the campaign run(will there be time for them to grow old in it) Or will these characters be used in multiple campaigns and get to age in that way?  

What is the world the campaign like is it written with young players in mind, or is their age going to be a hurdle in the game?

What do the players in your group want to play?

Can their be a mix of age groups where mentoring could be done?

 Fair enough. 

I will try to answer your questions as best as I can, but since I only have a basic idea, I

The campaign will not take place over a long stretch of time, aging a year to 5 years at most during its course

Can you elaborate on this one? Did you mean young players or young characters? Did you mean that the characters won't be taken seriously because they're only teens?

I have not chosen a group, as I plan to play this game here as PBP game, so once I have some more details hammered out I'll put up a recruitment thread

The idea would be that they would all be the same age, though if they were adults that would give them a lot more freedom in terms of age ranges, since teen characters would only be like 10 or 15-20, whereas adults could be 20 to like 60 or something. Realism isn't a big focus of my games if it detracts from epic storytelling, so keep that in mind

 I was speaking to the pc's age not the people playing.

If it is a short campaign then to me the only issues would be how the campaign is written and who 8s playing. If it is with young adult PC's in mind and they are wise enough to the world they live in it should be fine if the players buy in, but to me if that is the case then PC age isn't really that important, but for a short  campaign would work well.

If it is written more how things really are then there (in my opinion) should be lots of stumbling blocks due to both immaturity, lack of how the world works, overconfidence and everything else that comes with being out in any world at that age. Not to say they can't be mature for their age, it is just that a large portion of the "adults" they come across would likely either not take them seriously,  or try to take advantage of them. These things can lead to some awkward rp, I would recommend a very detailed and good session 0 in a game with young pc's.

That said I can see a game with a young pc party being a lot of fun with the right group, and a nightmare with the wrong player(s). I really believe it will come down to the actual players more than anything else.

I do like the idea, and think it would be lots of fun, I really like the idea of a longer campaign where they "grow up" over the course of it.

Another thought, they could be "prodigies" and slightly op, so they can command respect and deal out retribution when wronged but that may (should) bring social and legal consequences?

Again it is really going to come down to who's playing, how it is written/designed, and, how it is DM'd at least in my mind. I would be very apprehensive about playing a game like this unless I knew everyone faily well, but I would love to be at the session 0 and that would make my mind up ultimately. 

Quote from Druid_Dragon312 >>

I voted for teenagers. I think that it brings a lot of RP opportunities into the game, as the characters have to figure out ways to be taken seriously, navigate the things that come with the teenage years, and many other things.

On a different note, I can't believe multiple people voted for the option that was obviously a joke. That is supremely asinine, and I don't see the point in trying to make someone feel bad just because you have no life and nothing better to do than troll people on the freaking DDB forums. Touch grass, @$$holes.

 

 Those are some great points. I know I put the poll up, but what really helps me with the decision is the replies. I agree with you about those things, and the RP opportunities if people are willing to engage with it could be great. It's kind of fun to see how experienced people handle situations, but it's more fun to see what a bunch of creative, inexperienced people can come up with to solve the problem

And thanks for the kind words. I know my hook is very cliche, but its so dumb that people would do that. I don't really care, since they're just a bunch of mules on the internet. But your support is appreciated. So as not too derail the thread and get reported for off topic, I say we table the discussion for now.

I'm not sure what age group you're referring to when you say "teenagers" and "adults". When the average lifespan was 27, teenagers were considered adults. Even today, 16 or 18 is considered adulthood in a lot of countries. When you refer to them as adults are they in their 20s, barely out of their teens? How many decades of life do they have? Even people in the latter half of their life engage in romance and have their share of drama. 

And I did vote for the third option not only for the above reasons, but because you equated capitalism with nuclear decimation.

In my (never humble) opinion, that's just bad writing. I'll give an example of why. There used to be a show on television called Sliders that dealt with alternate dimensions. In one of the episodes the characters went to a world that was run by women with men not allowed to hold positions of political power. The writers determined that there were no wars on this version of Earth because women were in charge. But anybody that looks at Earth's history knows that the female leaders were just as big of warmongers as the male leaders were. 

Normally, I don't like the idea of playing younger characters in campaigns. It throws me off, but if you communicate the idea clearly when presenting it to your players, I believe this hook is one of the situations where I think this could be done well with teenagers as the primary focus. Just be sure that the group that you're playing with is alright with physical harm coming to minors in your campaigns, because obviously, your PCs are minors. I know that some groups, like my own, are not okay with this and have hardlined it. 

Quote from Rathkryn >>

I'm not sure what age group you're referring to when you say "teenagers" and "adults". When the average lifespan was 27, teenagers were considered adults. Even today, 16 or 18 is considered adulthood in a lot of countries. When you refer to them as adults are they in their 20s, barely out of their teens? How many decades of life do they have? Even people in the latter half of their life engage in romance and have their share of drama. 

And I did vote for the third option not only for the above reasons, but because you equated capitalism with nuclear decimation.

In my (never humble) opinion, that's just bad writing. I'll give an example of why. There used to be a show on television called Sliders that dealt with alternate dimensions. In one of the episodes the characters went to a world that was run by women with men not allowed to hold positions of political power. The writers determined that there were no wars on this version of Earth because women were in charge. But anybody that looks at Earth's history knows that the female leaders were just as big of warmongers as the male leaders were. 

 The OP didn't equate capitalism with nuclear war, they listed them as two of the reasons that their future-Earth setting was messed up.  And it's a staple of cyberpunk for the corporations to take over and start waging nuclear war with each other over the chance to earn another half a percent of market share.

Quote from Rathkryn>>

I'm not sure what age group you're referring to when you say "teenagers" and "adults". When the average lifespan was 27, teenagers were considered adults. Even today, 16 or 18 is considered adulthood in a lot of countries. When you refer to them as adults are they in their 20s, barely out of their teens? How many decades of life do they have? Even people in the latter half of their life engage in romance and have their share of drama. 

Quote from 6thLyranGuard>>

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 The OP didn't equate capitalism with nuclear war, they listed them as two of the reasons that their future-Earth setting was messed up.  And it's a staple of cyberpunk for the corporations to take over and start waging nuclear war with each other over the chance to earn another half a percent of market share.

Which means he did, in fact, equate capitalism with nuclear decimation "and all that crap". But I admit I did miss the part where the OP mentioned this was a cyberpunk campaign. 

Quote from jl8e >>

Given the setup, I would think OP meant the ages we consider teenagers and adults.

While late teens are often considered more adult in some cultures than the modern west, there's a bunch of common beliefs that reinforce that that are't true. The average lifespan thing (not that I think it's ever been as low as 27), for instance: that's almost entirely on child and infant mortality. If you made it out of childhood, lifespan wasn't that much behind what it is now. Extremely young marriages are mostly from the upper classes arranging marriages for political reasons. For people who had to support a family, it was rarely below the 20s.

The ages I consider teenagers are 13 through 19. And adults as 18 to at least 65, which is considered around the retirement age. That's a broad spectrum with overlap. 

Why are you trying to argue definitions when they have nothing to do with actually answering the questions? Infant and child mortality rates are part of the average lifespan. The 27 was just an average number I chose. Apparently I was supposed to go into great detail. Fine. In Ancient Greece and Rome the average life expectancy was 28 to 35 years old. Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica (1185 to 1520 AD)  it was 24 to 32 years old. The fictional Romeo and Juliet (late 16th century) were considered to be adults with Juliette being 15 while Romeo is estimated to be 16 to 18 years old. In the Industrial Age (1760 to 1860) the average life expectancy was 18 to 44 years old. 

Now I don't know how bad Raccoon's fictional Earth is with it's nuclear decimation and other problems. But I am assuming, like the rest of post-apocalyptic fiction, the average life expectancy is not what it is now. 

Quote from Rathkryn >>

Quote from 6thLyranGuard>>

. 

 The OP didn't equate capitalism with nuclear war, they listed them as two of the reasons that their future-Earth setting was messed up.  And it's a staple of cyberpunk for the corporations to take over and start waging nuclear war with each other over the chance to earn another half a percent of market share.

 

Which means he did, in fact, equate capitalism with nuclear decimation "and all that crap". But I admit I did miss the part where the OP mentioned this was a cyberpunk campaign. 

 

 So you're complaining about common cyberpunk tropes in a cyberpunk game?

Quote from 6thLyranGuard >>

 

 

 So you're complaining about common cyberpunk tropes in a cyberpunk game?

No, I'm giving my opinion on what the OP asked for opinions on. Then I responded to your post complaining about my explanation for why I chose the third option for the vote. 

But I can see how you could get confused. 

I've never played cyberpunk and have never had plans to do so. I've never played Fallout either which seems to have similar tropes. 

Let’s be clear on a few things:

one: as 6thLyranguard said, I did not mean to equate nuclear decimation with capitalism. I meant that these were two things that happened that made the world messed up: people in power using wealth and influence to subjugate the masses, and also, governments going to war against each other using their nuclear weapons. They were two separate things. This discussion is now finished as it is off topic for the thread and I don’t want it to turn nasty. If you want to continue this discussion, PM me, but don’t clog up my thread with off topic arguments

two: as for the whole lifespan thing, even though it isn’t historically accurate, I see it as teens can be anywhere from 13 to 19, and adults anywhere from say 20-50. The point of the question is: should I with a more Stranger Things style protagonists, ordinary kids thrown into extraordinary situations, or trained adults surviving in experience and skill

MsHijinks, you make a good point, and that is definitely something I’ll have to weigh and consider. I’ll keep thinking more on this, and in the meantime, I’ll let people keep discussing the topic and only the topic respectfully and with constructive care.

and one more thing: the last option on the poll, as stated, was a JOKE. If you seriously voted for that, even though you know nothing about me, leave. This community is supposed to be one of fellowship and togetherness, as cheesy as that sounds, and you are trying to tear that apart. I speak for most of us when I say that tearing others is not welcome here at all.