The world is full of different measurement systems. Some are old, some new, some obvious, some obscure. Each one is important enough to some group of people to be codified and passed down through the years. These are the ones that might be useful for gamers.
Systems of measurement might not sound like the most interesting of things, but they can be used to good effect in a role play campaign. There are three main ways I can think of: 1) Adding colour; 2) Culture shock and 3) Archaic systems.
Of all the published roleplaying games, we have a huge number of fantasy games, a good number of sci-fi games, a smattering of modern and modern variation games, but very few of anything else. The Western is an Epic Genre in the bookstore. There are shelves and shelves of them, nearly as many as the science fiction section (minus Star Trek and Star Wars books). You would think it would be popular. There are only a piddling number of western games, and none are very successful.
Religions. Sigh. Can’t live with them, can’t live without them. They have been such an intergral part of Human existance, that ignoring them is something you do at your own peril. A lack of religion (even hidden away in the background) can completely destroy the verisimiltude that a world designer desperately works so hard to achieve. So here is brief outline of various kinds of theisms.
Yesterday, new magic appeared upon your world. What happens next.
Magic should be just another form of technology, a means to do things. In most games, it is nothing more than another weapon. Others utilize it as a tool of everyday life.
The desire for immortality is a common one, given our innate fear of death. We share the same desire for immortality of our characters. Potions of immortality are often fakes, while spells of unending life invariably turn the caster into a vampire, or a liche or some other evil creature.
... some invaders come full-force, and are a previous unknown to the current inhabitants. Either way, the world will change.
Imagine a blight that killed off the grasses and grains. This is not an unheard off event. Mutant spores, molds, and diseases have killed off a wide variety, even who classes, of plants in the real world. Something that kills off grasses, sounds like science fiction (and the premise has been used in many “end of the world” movies and stories), but it is very applicable to a fantasy world… especially because they are mostly agrarian.
“Mass Produced Books” was one of the most important shift points in history. This one invention profoundly effected all aspects of life, not only locally, but eventually the entire world.
What would my world be if…. This is a question that many GMs should ask. It will help them flesh out their world. This is a series of articles to expand upon the idea.
CodexBut I don’t have that book! Have you heard this before? You want to run this great new game (new setting) but your players are balking partly because they don’t want to buy the game you are so enchanted with “this week”. There is a solution.
Getting a campaign setting sourcebook published is for many game masters the ultimate dream.
Starships, Laser Beams, Computers, and Aliens do not Science Fiction make!
The research reported on in this essay seeks to understand more about the judgment that there is “the time for war” in the belief that only such understanding will enable us to more effectively constrain the use of warfare.
Quote: Alec_Shadowkin I am very much interested in learning how to go about getting something rp-oriented published. I know there are a few of you here who have been and I would be appreciative if you could explain what type of stuff has been published and how you went about getting involved with it, i.e. finding a publisher, etc…
Thinking about my game world and what should happen in it in the not so close future, I came to a simple decision: WAR. This is an article on the topic of war.
If you are a new member who found this thread by providence, read the advice, take it to heart, and post. These are collected posts that will help you understand the Citadel AND be more effective and efficient here.
Codex[VO: Vincent Price ]
There are things that go bump in the night. Things that will unnerve you. Things you should never meet. These are the things you are gaming.
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"There is something about the outside of a horse…that is good for the inside of a man."
Winston Churchill