D&D 5E I'm writing a setting book. What are your preferences?

[RangerWickett]

I'm editing the manuscript of E.N. Publishing's upcoming 5th edition setting book for ZEITGEIST, and I'm looking for some input.

This is the same setting as our adventure path, but set a few years after the AP so that groups can run their own adventures. It's a world of magic undergoing an industrial revolution. Ironclad industry is reshaping nations, and railroads slice through the wilderness where monsters still roam. Steam and soot darken the skies over cities, whose urban labyrinths seem to have spirits of their own. Fresh frights crawl out of imagination and into the shadows of gaslights, and fiends that the old religions thought they’d banished find novel forms in the new age.

Heroes and scoundrels stroll smoggy streets in top hats and tails, wield pistols or enchanted arcane fusils, and battle over matters of philosophy and geopolitics as often as over treasure and thrones. Every nation and philosophy is vying for influence, and your adventures will determine the shape of things to come.

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That's the quick sales pitch. But how much more information do you like when you buy a setting book?

My plan was to present the world three times. First is a 2-page primer on the setting's standout elements. Then there's a 7-page section where each major region gets a page to talk about recent history, ongoing turmoil, and the sorts of characters that might hail from there. Finally we have the, oy, 90-page section where each country has a few pages detailing its history and how those influence modern struggles, a few pages detailing each major city, and sprinkled throughout sidebars with adventure hooks, mysteries, or random bits of whimsy and local color.

The idea is that you first learn what the world is about, then you can learn about the different regions that your character can hail from, and if you're interested you can go to that section and read more. I hope it's a good set-up.

I'm curious what sorts of RPG setting books you enjoy. Or outside of RPGs, there are things like fan wikis about Game of Thrones and Star Trek. What would you point to as an example of an excellent setting product?

 

[Xaelvaen]

As opposed to give you lengthy descriptions, I can just point out my two all-time favorite layouts for settings:

Numenera (the original core book)
And Ptolus

I list both of these as examples of layout, not necessarily my favorite settings for flavor, etc. - I just really found the books to be really great to reference and thumb through the heaps of material.

 

[aco175]

I would prefer to have more detail on the region of the play and less on the other kingdoms. I would like to have a page or two handout that I can print and give players to read, maybe as a free web thing. I like the several pages on the other regions, but if I will never play there, I just need highlights.

I can see it kind of like FR. I want most on Sword Coast since that is where we are playing and some small stuff on regions that will never come up.

 

[robus]

The problem I find with setting books is they can be awfully dry to read. I remember my eyes glazing over reading the Menzobarrenzen book for 4e for example, and I think that was probably a good one I’m not sure how to make them more palatable. Having a chatty guide just seems corny, but some way to bring them to life would be nice. Perhaps modeled on one of today’s popular travel guides?

 

[Guest 6801328]

The problem I find with setting books is they can be awfully dry to read. I remember my eyes glazing over reading the Menzobarrenzen book for 4e for example, and I think that was probably a good one I’m not sure how to make them more palatable. Having a chatty guide just seems corny, but some way to bring them to life would be nice. Perhaps modeled on one of today’s popular travel guides?

This.

My ideal setting book consists of abbreviated text, key descriptors, one-liners about motivations, alliances, and the like. And a lot less long-winded prose.

 

[GrahamWills]

Instead of descriptions, I'd suggest that in each section you provide actionable gaming content, such as:

• Important people and organizations, focusing on how they might impact players
• Fun locations that players will want to go to to have adventures
• Mini-plots and areas of player investigation.

 

[Fenris-77]

Something that a lot of setting books don't do is talk about factions in terms of their zones of influence. Most cities have pretty disparate zones, socioeconomically speaking, and most factions wouldn't be evenly influential across all of them. Those differing zones of influence is a key way to explain faction conflict in a given part of the city. If you zoom out this is also true of faction influence withing regions, and also between regions. So for a given area which factions are powerful, which are waning, who's trying to muscle in - that sort of thing.

 

[THEMNGMNT]

For a traditional setting book, I agree that Ptolus is the pinnacle. However, of late I'm more interested in setting books that provide possibilities rather than truths, such as the Neverwinter Campaign Setting. Give GMs inspiration for their campaigns and a toolbox for their own adventures, rather than a description of what the designer believes the experience should be.

 

[THEMNGMNT]

Something that a lot of setting books don't do is talk about factions in terms of their zones of influence. Most cities have pretty disparate zones, socioeconomically speaking, and most factions wouldn't be evenly influential across all of them. Those differing zones of influence is a key way to explain faction conflict in a given part of the city. If you zoom out this is also true of faction influence withing regions, and also between regions. So for a given area which factions are powerful, which are waning, who's trying to muscle in - that sort of thing.

I'm a big fan of factions, fronts/agendas, and light mechanical benefits for being allied with or opposed to factions.

 

[TiwazTyrsfist]

I like this. I'd say my favorite setting books were the 3.x Eberron books, but that's at least partially because it's still my favorite setting.

One thing I have always wanted for any setting other than Forgotten Realms or Greyhawk is a Pamphlet or booklet that I can hand to the players to introduce them to the setting. Like a Travel Brochure. No more than 4 pages including the cover. Something that calls out the things that make the setting unique, and sets Tone and Flavor. Your 2 page introduction sounds like the right content.