Topic: Collaborative Setting Redux

[David Johansen]

So, I still like the idea of a collaborative setting.  I'm not sure it works as a product but it still sounds like a lot of fun.

What I propose is to run an on-line kingdoms game using stuff from Castles and Ruins and Gamemaster Law in which each player gets to define their own realm and manage it.  I'll draw up the physical map and each player can select seven consecutive hexes as their realm.  The predominant race and culture can be selected from the RMSS core with more powerful races recieving a smaller population to work with.  I'd allow wood elves to swap out their racial skills for one of the human cultures.

It'll take me a little while to get things figured out, but I'd like to see how much interest there is before I put too much work into it.

If you don't believe it can work or don't want to get involved don't bother posting, I heard it all the last couple times I brought it up.

[ReaperWolf]

So, I still like the idea of a collaborative setting.

We had a similar idea in high school back in the late 80's. Each of us would create a chunk of the world no larger than a single piece of graph paper with a set scale. The rules were pretty soft with no goofy/powerful races, no revising of the core AD&D 1st edition rules such as combat, Monster Manuals, or magic, etc. to make it easier to pull the material together into a cohesive whole.

It didn't last long.

One of the players changed the scale of the map to make a large continent with pieces of ancient earth transported.

One of the players decided to use a map he got from an Odyssey 2 video game.

Another free thinker taped four pieces of graph paper together and thought he was being cute.

One player thought it would be funny to make every magic item charged or had side effects on the user. This same player also loved the Rolemaster monetary systems so we had to deal with tin and iron pieces. He once made a dragon's treasury chocolate wrapped in gold foil. The treasure melted en route to town and we had around 10 gp of wrappers. Even though he made everything the silver standard, weapons, armor, and adventuring gear all cost gold.

Two of the players never produced anything except crumpled pieces of graph paper and shrugs.

I'm guessing the root cause of the problems was we were kids.

Collaboration can work so long as there's a backbone/skeleton upon which to build and someone more or less acting as quality control & reality checker.

>>ReaperWolf

[David Johansen]

That's why I figure I'll lay out the ground rules and do up a map and let folks pick their hexes.

[arakish]

We did a collaborative world creation at realroleplaying.com.

Burning Heavens

It was initiated by samwise7.  Basically, players were allowed to created a species of people.  Then create a character of that species.  It seems to have gone very well.  Since I am a GIST, I offered to create to the initial setting of the world map.  As I told Tim, I did not create the entire world, just a good chunk.

Your idea sounds similar.  Thus, I gave the link above to our game.  Check it out, you might get some more ideas.

rmfr