How to Create a Believable Role Playing Game World

Coontpl

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posted on 19 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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With the rise in popularity of role-playing games across multiple and very distinct genres, there are significant challenges in creating a believable world for player characters to interact in. Time periods, religions, history, and other minutiae may be different. Creating a world that is believable is very important for players to get into the game!

Steps

Start by deciding whether your world will share history with the real one. If it does share history, decide where it will diverge and why. If it is a new world of your imagination, tell who lives there and what the history is. Ex: Wars, drastic changes, deadly wildlife.

Map out your world. Geography doesn't seem important at first, but it tends to shape long periods of history. It will define your world's boundaries and shape the psychologies of its people. Which cities are seafaring? Which cities are landlocked? Which people were the first to receive foreigners?

Create a naming style for you world. Will everyone have names like Ulgar and Hemdall? Or will they be named Smith and Thatcher?

Create a "Bible" of your world with all of the important historical characters and events. Who were the big players when your world was created? A farmer who was martyred? An alien race that died out?

Decide who the characters that enter the world as players will be. Are they natives or travelers to a distant land? Decide who the characters they meet are, and how those characters' actions are shaped by their history and culture.

Decide on what the factions will be in your world. Decide why each faction exists, what they believe in, and who the members are.

Create a flow of events. Decide what big events will intervene in your world and when. When will the meteor strike Earth? At what time will Mt. Righteous finally unleash it fatal power?