Going back to the demo game I'm running, I spent quite a lot of time last week creating characters. Each character needed a background, of course, so I dusted of my notes for Terafa, and wrote some. Initially, I used the setting as a source of names, but as I went on, the backgrounds started to reference the history, legends and societies of the setting, providing hints of bigger things under the surface.
All of which got me thinking about the default setting of D&D. Now, part of me wishes they hadn't included the deities in the core rulebook (pretty much the only default setting elements in the books). In hindsight, though, I think perhaps they should have included a very short (about 10 pages, including the map) primer on Greyhawk in the DMG, to provide the DM with context for adventures, and also to provide hooks for building characters from.
Perhaps I'm just crazy, but I do suspect that a newbie is more likely to be fascinated by Ganarin, Knight of Malice, and arrogant last scion of the departed Sol than by Ganarin, half-elven paladin.
No comments:
Post a Comment