One way I (as a DM) find a way to let my players in on some lore is by hearing their backstories, and finding ways to incorporate them into the world. Sure, this method often includes the changing of the name of a location or two, but it remains to me a great inlet for my players to learn lore that their characters would know naturally.
Also, ask for History, Religion, and Arcana checks for relevant topics.
Most players are turned off by big lore dumps at the beginning of campaigns, so most DMs have learned not to do them. Instead, we wait to see what parts of our world's lore interests our players, and then we cater to those interests.
Try asking your DM specific questions about the lore if your game world. That will signal to them that you're genuinely interested, so they won't be worried about boring the players, and then you know you're getting the lore that's relevant and useful to your character.
This is my first go as a DM or even a player in 5e. It's been years since I played at all. So I started with LMoP. I only dumped a little bit of info, the first part being my comment above. I'm working on a homebrew world that will only deviate from the canon rules as published a slight bit. I'll be incorporating the classes and sub-classes from a campaign world I pledged on Kickstarter last year or so. I'm working out the lore, and already thought better on the direction I was headed. But, as CharlesThePlant said, info and lore will be dumped in small doses, mostly as rumors and gossip as they go about their daily routines. I'm only going to worry about fleshing out areas of the world that the players move towards, and save us all some headaches.
My advice is take your DM out for a couple beers and ask him to bring a map of the country. Ask him to tell you what your character would already know about the place where they live. He'll keep talking as long as you act interested.
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Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
Ha! I have over 33 pages of DMs notes, with artwork and 8 maps. Excluding the hand drawn first drafts. I rewrote Keep on the Borderlands (80 pages), and had lots of lore clues around for them to just bump into. All my pals wife wants to do is have her rogue assassin kill everything it sees. lol
Ha! I have over 33 pages of DMs notes, with artwork and 8 maps. Excluding the hand drawn first drafts. I rewrote Keep on the Borderlands (80 pages), and had lots of lore clues around for them to just bump into. All my pals wife wants to do is have her rogue assassin kill everything it sees. lol
I have the Goodman Games 5e version, but I'm still going to go in and change it up. Even back in the 70s I thought that the location for all the lairs being right on top of each other was problematic. I'm going to make new maps for each, but place them in different areas of the countryside, but hopefully in a way that makes sense to the story, but also the follow on modules in the B series, in case I want to run those too.
DMing is the art of story telling, whether you are trying to convey the "People, Place, Plot, and Purpose" or if you are after the "Circumstances, Conflict, Crisis, Climax, and Conclusion.
Not everyone starts off as a boss storyteller, but with some practice, and learning the basics, you can really tell some amazing stories!
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I am not sure what my Spirit Animal is. But whatever that thing is, I am pretty sure it has rabies!
Did you ask, either in person or in character? Go to libraries. Ask NPCs for local knowledge. Ask rulers about their pedigree.
Your DM might not improvise a whole political backstory, but they might take the hint that you're interested in this kind of stuff, and have something prepared for future sessions.
On the other hand, if they're not taking the hint, then go to them out of gameplay and tell them you're interested in learning some of the lore of their campaign. How can you kind that out? Is it given freely, or does it have to be earned somehow in-game?
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Does anyone else’s dm not give them any lore on their newest campaign? I find it annoying as I can’t get into character without lore!!
One way I (as a DM) find a way to let my players in on some lore is by hearing their backstories, and finding ways to incorporate them into the world. Sure, this method often includes the changing of the name of a location or two, but it remains to me a great inlet for my players to learn lore that their characters would know naturally.
Also, ask for History, Religion, and Arcana checks for relevant topics.
Come participate in the Competition of the Finest Brews, Edition XXVIII?
My homebrew stuff:
Spells, Monsters, Magic Items, Feats, Subclasses.
I am an Archfey, but nobody seems to notice.
Extended Signature
My players - "What's the lore for this campaign?"
Me - "Standard Forgotten Realms"
Nuff said.
Most players are turned off by big lore dumps at the beginning of campaigns, so most DMs have learned not to do them. Instead, we wait to see what parts of our world's lore interests our players, and then we cater to those interests.
Try asking your DM specific questions about the lore if your game world. That will signal to them that you're genuinely interested, so they won't be worried about boring the players, and then you know you're getting the lore that's relevant and useful to your character.
This is my first go as a DM or even a player in 5e. It's been years since I played at all. So I started with LMoP. I only dumped a little bit of info, the first part being my comment above. I'm working on a homebrew world that will only deviate from the canon rules as published a slight bit. I'll be incorporating the classes and sub-classes from a campaign world I pledged on Kickstarter last year or so. I'm working out the lore, and already thought better on the direction I was headed. But, as CharlesThePlant said, info and lore will be dumped in small doses, mostly as rumors and gossip as they go about their daily routines. I'm only going to worry about fleshing out areas of the world that the players move towards, and save us all some headaches.
My advice is take your DM out for a couple beers and ask him to bring a map of the country. Ask him to tell you what your character would already know about the place where they live. He'll keep talking as long as you act interested.
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
Ha! I have over 33 pages of DMs notes, with artwork and 8 maps. Excluding the hand drawn first drafts. I rewrote Keep on the Borderlands (80 pages), and had lots of lore clues around for them to just bump into. All my pals wife wants to do is have her rogue assassin kill everything it sees. lol
I have the Goodman Games 5e version, but I'm still going to go in and change it up. Even back in the 70s I thought that the location for all the lairs being right on top of each other was problematic. I'm going to make new maps for each, but place them in different areas of the countryside, but hopefully in a way that makes sense to the story, but also the follow on modules in the B series, in case I want to run those too.
DMing is the art of story telling, whether you are trying to convey the "People, Place, Plot, and Purpose" or if you are after the "Circumstances, Conflict, Crisis, Climax, and Conclusion.
Not everyone starts off as a boss storyteller, but with some practice, and learning the basics, you can really tell some amazing stories!
I am not sure what my Spirit Animal is. But whatever that thing is, I am pretty sure it has rabies!
Dudes, we're lucky if we don't end up our friends' referee. ;p
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4KFI6wHTrM
Did you ask, either in person or in character? Go to libraries. Ask NPCs for local knowledge. Ask rulers about their pedigree.
Your DM might not improvise a whole political backstory, but they might take the hint that you're interested in this kind of stuff, and have something prepared for future sessions.
On the other hand, if they're not taking the hint, then go to them out of gameplay and tell them you're interested in learning some of the lore of their campaign. How can you kind that out? Is it given freely, or does it have to be earned somehow in-game?