Cooperative Worldbuilding Challenge #2: Fantasy World

[IsabellaRose]

Let's create a fantasy world together.

I did this once for my D&D group (actually, we ran it in Pathfinder 1, since there was no Pathfinder 2 back then and everyone wanted the added crunch). For the game, I created a base kingdom. As the DM, it was the major power in the area, and sort of defined the world as a whole. 

Then I had each player create their homeland. They got to decide what kind of nation they were from, every and any detail they wanted to create, as much or as little as they were interested in, including who ruled it, what the major religions were, topography, location, major cities, history, what kinds of people lived there, major trade goods, legends and what kind of relationship that nation had with the base kingdom/major power I had outlined for them.

I wove all their lands together into a tapestry, and we created a world together, then played in it. We could do the same thing here, if anyone is interested.

So, interest check - anyone interested?

[Balthier]

I'm fairly time crunched most of the time, but this sounds fun!

[IsabellaRose]

I wonder if I should do the same thing again... post a starting point, then see what everyone creates from there, then get everyone to tie their creation back to the starting point... hmm.

[Balthier]

❤I would be game. Eventually.

[Gangsta Moll Deactivated]

I would love to do this.

I might need guidance if there are rules, and on the mechanics of doing it.

[WritesNaughtyStories]

I'm certainly interested too.

At one point we ran a Microscope game here too.

Edited November 18, 2022 by WritesNaughtyStories

[IsabellaRose]

I've never played Microscope. My real life group is hardcore 5e, so it's hard to get them to think outside the WotC box.

[Cute_Bro]

If, and only if, this offer is still up count me in! I need to start working on world building and the like.

[WritesNaughtyStories]

I had a fabulous experience at Gen Com playing Microscope. My biweekly group is a bit more diverse than yours, but it's pretty much all traditional character and combat RPGs. Lots of Shadow run and 5e. Used to be Pathfinder 1e.

[Cute_Bro]

Ooooh I've always wanted to play Shadowrun! Have learnt Pathfinder but haven't found a group to play with yet to really learn it well

[IsabellaRose]

We were Pathfinder 1e, then D&D 5e, which is where we're stuck. Between campaigns I managed to sneak in a little Shadowrun, Dresden Files, FFG Star Wars, Fiasco, Tales From the Loop, and a few other small press or indie games. But mostly they're hooked on 5e, which honestly bores me to tears these days. I'm just overall done with limiting myself to classes and leveling up. TTRPGs can be so much more than the video game inspiration they started as, and although the more narrative systems sometimes don't feel like there's enough of a framework to build on, I think I prefer them to the more traditional d20 / class-based systems.

...and just like that I'm off on a tangent.

So... it looks like so far we have @Balthier, @Gangsta Moll, @WritesNaughtyStories, and @Cute_Bro interesting in building a fantasy world together. 

We could use Microscope. I even created a free to join game over on Utgar's Chronicles. 

We could freeform it with some basics like geography, climate, government type, etc., then answer focused questions about our nations like "tell us about a rite of passage that every young person must go through in your culture" or "What unique details on clothing/fashion/armor easily identifies someone as being from your nation?" or "describe the most popular sport/contest in your nation". We had a lot of fun coming up with questions for each other last time I did this, and made up some interesting details about the countries we created, then figured out what people from the culture we were creating would think of those from the other nations. But like I said, it was very free form, just making stuff up as we went. The ultimate goal then was to create a world for a Pathfinder game, which we did, and filled in blanks along the way.

What's everyone up for?

[Gangsta Moll Deactivated]

This sounds really fun: but I don't know any of those games, so please be patient with me.

[WritesNaughtyStories]

@Cute_Bro This is in reference to Shadowrun: The rules are kind of a mess. It's a million dice and 5s and and 6s count as hits. The setting is  -well, a thing. My friends LOVE it. Me not so much. The whole cyberpunk elves and orcs looks great on the tin, but the practice is a little funky. Any child can (or maybe only humans - I forget) can become any metatype at puberty, but the "races" have racial identity. I don't get it and no one ever wants to address it.

If your want elves and dwarves in your cyberpunk, there's nowhere else to get it, but it's not my thing the way it's done now. I always thought the much maligned Netflix film "Bright" offered a lot of promise, as does "Carnival Row"

@IsabellaRose Utgars seems to be behaving nicely with Tor, so I'm checking that out.

@Gangsta Moll Microscope is pretty easy. On each persons turn the add a thing to the history that is automatically true and permanent. As other players take their turns they add other things that are also equally true and permanent. Eg. If I create a King Gershone the Wise at a point in history, he exists there for the duration of the game, but the next player may create a usurper who replaces them.

There are some more specific rules about scenes and eras, but it's pretty much that simple.

Edited November 18, 2022 by WritesNaughtyStories
Tor being laggy got things out of sequence

[WritesNaughtyStories]

Here's the link to the old Microscope game:

https://ecchidreams.com/clubs/150-microscope-game/

[Cute_Bro]

@IsabellaRose If Pathfinder is the ultimate objective in mind, then I'll be sure to collaborate as best as I can X3 Never played Pathfinder, but know the rules (as I said before). If any other game is on the mind I would be willing to learn; and if it's only to just make a world, well as a DM who plays Minecraft and Empire Earth, I do have a god complex, so creating things is always fun to do >:3 Never used Microscope though, so may have to teach me the ropes there, apologies.

@Gangsta Moll Not to worry, most Tabletop Games are learnt best by playing anyways, so the fact you're already up for this will be a great learning experience! Always up to teach you 5e too if you don't know that, as it is the only game I really have played lots of.

@WritesNaughtyStories Cyberpunk Elves and Orcs...that sounds fun in theory, but the other things you say sure seem restrictive...may be a way to tweak it though  Also, in reference to dice, the character I'm playing now in a West Marches campaign is an Arcane Trickster Rogue / Hunter Ranger with Colossus Slayer. I'm used to rolling like 10d6 for every hit I land X3 It's kind of my objective with the character, roll as many dice as possible for each hit.

[WritesNaughtyStories]

So...

@IsabellaRose Utgar's Chronicles is great! I'm in there for sure.

If everyone wants to do something else here, I'm up for that too. I like Microscope though and Utgar's implementation is far better than how we shoe-horned the forum to play.

[Balthier]

On 18/11/2022 at 17:07, IsabellaRose said:

We could use Microscope. I even created a free to join game over on Utgar's Chronicles. 

 

Not familiar, but I'm down with whatever works for everyone.

 

Is this link working for anyone, I'm getting an error 403 "invalid signature," when I click on it.

[WritesNaughtyStories]

I got that on Tor but closed the window, reclicked the link and input a name pretty quickly - the first time I had waited for half an hour while I did other stuff - and it worked fine. It may be the server isn't especially stable.

[IsabellaRose]

This link might work better https://utgars-chronicles.app/histories/5533

[Balthier]

It is better, got the page up this time. But when I created an account and go to the page it's now telling me, "this action is unauthorized"

[IsabellaRose]

It was acting testy for me, too.

Probably not a lot of money thrown at keeping that server up and running.

[IsabellaRose]

This got lost to me trying to get that site up and running and then the "42^nd Annual Holiday DepressionFest^TM" that seems to stop me from being a productive member of society every year.

Is anyone (@WritesNaughtyStories, @Gangsta Moll, @Cute_Bro, @Balthier) still interested in cooperative worldbuilding? It looks like the site is up and running. Anyone new is welcome, too!

I'll have to run through the Microscope rules again quick as I haven't played in years, but I'd love to resurrect this idea and get it going if anyone else is game.

[Cute_Bro]

First of all, hope you doing better with that mental scenario :c And also yes, I would love to! Always willing to try these types of things out!

[WritesNaughtyStories]

I hope you're as recovered as it sounds.

You know I'm in.

[WritesNaughtyStories]

Seems like, maybe, the old game aged out or is private. It looks like the site may have seen a backend update. Can someone try this link?

https://utgars-chronicles.app/histories/6672/invitation?expires=1682605286&signature=664a5e519a2e52e60834e0f9d4347c59e26e883fea0779e19a6fe0ca6a6ac360

Edited April 26, 2023 by WritesNaughtyStories
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