World Building 330 - Repercussions

Maybe you don’t get the reference in the title.  This ain’t World Building 101!  If that’s what you’re looking for, there are countless guides out there on the internet.

But if you’re ready to move on to things that are more difficult to do than draw a map, name and place cities, and possibly figure out where the elves live, you are in the right place.  We don’t focus on the most beginner stuff, because both the folks at Board Enterprises and our customers have been at this for some time.  Most of us have been at this for decades.  World Building 101 isn’t for us.

Publisher’s Note:  If WB 101 is for you, then please go find several of them, experiment, learn, and then come back.  Everybody needs to start somewhere, but this article isn’t going to help you unless you have a world that has already established the beginning pieces.

So, what is it we wanted to talk about, now that we’ve scared all the youngsters off?  Repercussions!  Everything in life has repercussions.  This is also true of your game world.  Every decision you make, every city you place, every cultural note you jot down - they all have repercussions.  But here’s the trick:  That’s wonderful!

Here’s why:  Everything that you have figured out for your world is going to naturally lead to other things.  Let’s take what seems to be a reasonably common FRPG world building decision:  There are magical universities.  Seems fairly normal in a game world, right?  OK, but what are the ramifications?  Let’s list out some of them:

• There needs to be support industries for the school(s).  How do they get their books?  Do they need paper of some kind, and how is that done?  Where do the students live while attending school?
• What magic do they teach?  Are their individual schools for different types of magic, or is there just one big school?  If big, is it sub-divided into different colleges or departments?
• Are there magics they don’t teach?  If so, why not?  Are they banned?  Are they so rare that there aren’t enough teachers?  Are they simply not popular in this culture?
• What happens to the dropouts?  Some students won’t be smart enough to cut it.  What happens to them?  Some students cannot afford it.  What happens to them?  These should be two completely different types of people.  The flunkies probably cannot use magic but are not complete idiots (one would assume).  Meanwhile those without the money to continue probably can use magic, but only know the basics.  Are these your adventuring wizards?
• What do the graduates do?  Is there so much work for battle mages that they can all go into the army or navy?  Are they only learning battle magics?  This typically is a game rules issue.  If 95% of the spells in the rule book are there to harm others (OK, 90% cause damage and 5% heal it), then wizards are only good for killing other folks.  That has repercussions as well!

This is just the start, but this is how we think you should be thinking.  You put the dwarves there, why?  Probably because there were mountains.  And the elves went there because of the forests.  OK, that’s actually fine, but there are going to be these repercussions.  Who are the dwarves near?  Do they have good relations or are they typically at war?  Whichever it is will have consequences.

You may have placed a city on a major river because that makes good sense.  Who is upriver and who is downriver?  What consequences do these placements have?  Trade probably goes in both directions, but it is much easier when it flows downriver.  What are these places trading with each other?  If the cattle ranches are upriver, their tanneries are going to cause problems for those downriver.  Or did you think of that, and they drive the cattle downriver to where you placed the tanneries?  That has consequences too, because now the cattle are roaming across certain areas.  Has that caused issues with the local farmers?

Hopefully you see what we’re doing.  It is the seemingly simple “take a step back” method.  But this is incredibly difficult to do with something that you created basically from nothing.  It’s why even seasoned authors leave plot holes.  Looking at something you have created and thinking about it critically is tough!  But this isn’t bad criticism.

We really want you to go into this with the thought of, “This is really cool, and it is really shaping up.  What can I do next?”  If you just go at it working to create more, you will eventually burn out and get writer’s block.  If you look at it from the angle of thinking about certain aspects of what is already there and what is the next logical step, it can be so much easier to continually grow your world.

But we also want to warn you.  This style of looking at what you have created and then determining the logical repercussions of those creations brings the risk of the mundane.  When you think logically, you tend to come up with non-fantastic, non-epic things.  Too many normal things in your fantasy world and it risks not seeming like a fantasy world anymore.

When you are thinking through the logic of it all, remember to focus on the magical consequences too.  If you have a major city and they have therefore required the building of sewers, don’t just put in sewers.  Put in sewers filled with giant rats and mutant alligators.  Have the sewers hide the entrance to a dungeon (OK, we really hate that trope, but ...) or the temple of some death cult.  Maybe that’s the thing - They built the sewers (or more likely paved over something to put the sewers underground) and it caused flooding beneath the city, right into an old crypt where some vampires had lay dormant for centuries.

TheWorld of Fletnern has often escaped being called mundane because it is seen as being “gritty”.  In too many ways it might be a bit mundane because there has always been a focus on reasonableness and economics.  But when thinking of reasonable things, we include plagues and war caused starvation.  When thinking of economics, we make sure that we also figure out the price of unicorn horns and magic swords.

It is natural to look at our world and think of how items lead to each other based on those aspects.  What you need to do is both - if this, then what, both in the mundane society and in the magical.  The player characters live in both of those worlds contained within your game world.  They blend, and it’s up to you to make sure that it is both reasonable and supernatural.  That’s why this is WB 330 and not WB 101. 

 

Does this kind of content interest you?  If so, we hope you will consider joining us in our Small Bites project or the full title of How to Build Your Fantasy World in Small Bites!  We continue to build our community of game masters and world builders, and we would love to have you join us!

This post was written as part of The 50^th Edition aka All About More Miscellaneous FRPG Stuff, the latest in our Small Bites editions.  Each Small Bites book looks deeply at one subject, a character archetype, a race/monster, a style of questing, or some other role-playing/world building subject.  However, as an “anniversary” edition, this one is more of a mishmash of items that didn’t quite fit one of our previous themes closely enough and therefore didn’t get published in that book.  This isn’t a “best of” edition!  It’s a kitchen sink edition!

We hope we’re getting you interested.  If you want to see the World Walker edition for FREE!! click the link above.  This is a celebration issue, so this is effectively the full Game Masters’ edition of 76 pages of content.  If you want to be efficient, just click here and join us through Patreon to keep getting the full GMs’ editions every month!

The Power of Women

Many world builders, in trying to show a more “authentic” culture in their fantasy worlds place women as being less important and wielding less power.  There might be some exceptions, typically warrior women, but by and large women at most strata of life will not wield power.

We consider this to be short-sighted and truly silly.  Even assuming that the culture insists that the rule of the land can only be passed through the male heirs, women have always held a place in society, and frequently one of power.

No, we have not just come from our women’s study course.  We are simply trusting to history.  Alexander the Great’s mother Olympias ruled in his name while he was out on campaign.  Gorgo, wife of Leonidas of Sparta, was famed for her intelligence, though she may not have been as political as certain movies have suggested.  Still, several accounts suggest she advised kings.  You might see where we’re going with this.  Even in the manliest of cultures, mothers, wives, mistresses, and sisters will often play the role of power behind the throne.

But holding to only that role is also too stereo-typical and honestly boring.  By most accounts, we live in a patriarchal society today.  Do women have no voice?  no power?  Think about the kids you knew growing up.  Chances are, at least one of their mothers was mean.  You know what we’re talking about!  In different eras she might have been called a hellcat, a shrew, a bitch or whatever, but she ruled her house.  Dad might have brought home the paychecks, but Mom laid down the law.  There was no “Just wait until your father gets home” in that house.

Do women like this hold power?  Hell yeah!  And they aren’t all that uncommon either.  Some might hide their authority better, but many don’t see a reason to.  And just as these women likely rule homes, they rule businesses too.  Check in to the quaint inn in the small town and the mild innkeeper will happily get you a room and have his staff get you seated in the restaurant area.  He’s a pleasant chap, and all smiles and service.  But while you’re eating, you hear the true authority in the inn bellowing from the kitchen.  The innkeeper’s wife is She Who Must Be Obeyed, and from the tone of the conversation, she is!

Admittedly, these are stereo-types, but simply by the fact that these stereo-types exist, seems to show that not all women are meek and sheltered housewives never let out the door.  There will undoubtedly be some of those, but it won’t be all of them.  We do want to leave you with one last idea here.

We assume that every character, whether PC or NPC, has a mother.  Most of them will have known her, though a small percentage may have lost their mothers early on.  How much influence did Mother have on her children?  The mere assumption that mothers hold no power in any society ignores the fact that mothers influence their children, to a great degree.  They teach them the fundamentals of culture and society, and often most of the basic life skills as well.

It is not the goal of this article to have you foster a women’s liberation movement in your game world.  In truth, the vast majority of women in your fantasy world are far too busy raising children, helping on the farm or business, managing the household, and being wives to be bothered with ideas like that.  They aren’t looking for high ideals, though they might appreciate a bit of help cleaning up after dinner.

 

Does this kind of content interest you?  If so, we hope you will consider joining us in our Small Bites project or the full title of How to Build Your Fantasy World in Small Bites!  We continue to build our community of game masters and world builders, and we would love to have you join us!

This post was written as part of The 50^th Edition aka All About More Miscellaneous FRPG Stuff, the latest in our Small Bites editions.  Each Small Bites book looks deeply at one subject, a character archetype, a race/monster, a style of questing, or some other role-playing/world building subject.  However, as an “anniversary” edition, this one is more of a mishmash of items that didn’t quite fit one of our previous themes closely enough and therefore didn’t get published in that book.  This isn’t a “best of” edition!  It’s a kitchen sink edition!

We hope we’re getting you interested.  If you want to see the World Walker edition for FREE!! click the link above.  This is a celebration issue, so this is effectively the full Game Masters’ edition of 76 pages of content.  If you want to be efficient, just click here and join us through Patreon to keep getting the full GMs’ editions every month!

Vanishing Armies

The concept of “vanishing armies” is rooted in the crap history we were taught in school vs. the far more accurate history we’ve learned as adults.  On this one, the main example is that we were told the South was defeated in Atlanta and there were no soldiers left to prevent Sherman from marching to Savannah.

Well, now I live in Tennessee, and the folks here know that wasn’t true.  The Army of Tennessee, after being defeated at Atlanta, marched northwest to Nashville, hoping to foul up Sherman’s supply lines.  OK, they didn’t fair too well in doing it, being soundly defeated in Franklin and then crushed trying to lay siege to Nashville, but the important point is that that army still existed.  They were still a threat.  They didn’t simply vanish.

Let’s take something a little more “period” - the Hundred Years War.  During the 100YW, there were frequent periods of truce.  During the truces, the soldiers were often “fired” / let go because they weren’t needed.  Some of these soldiers were left behind in countries that were not their home and didn’t have the means by which to return.  In any case, they either gravitated towards brigandry, or they formed into mercenary companies, often fighting for the various Italian city states.  This was a normal course of the war(s), and when the truces ended, many of them returned to their country’s side and started fighting again.  It is crazy to me that this was “normal”, but it does make sense.  Not only that, but I truly believe this was the origin of the whole idea of “adventuring”.  Just an opinion, no real historic fact for that one.

These “vanished” armies make for perfect adventuring party enemies.  Maybe they’ve gone rogue and are raiding the region or they’ve gone over to the other side and are now fighting as mercenaries.  In either case, they are exactly the kind of group GMs should be sending the party to go “take care of”.  So, at the very least, we’ve just given you next week’s bad guys.

 

Does this kind of content interest you?  If so, we hope you will consider joining us in our Small Bites project or the full title of How to Build Your Fantasy World in Small Bites!  We continue to build our community of game masters and world builders, and we would love to have you join us!

This post was written as part of The Legions of Garnock aka All About Fantasy Military Superpowers, the latest in our Small Bites editions.  Each Small Bites book looks deeply at one subject, a character archetype, a race/monster, a style of questing, or some other role-playing/world building subject.  This one is showcasing one of the most powerful militaries and how they handle their strategies and their various equipment load outs, as well as artillery, armor, officers, and a whole bunch of other things that might give you great ideas for your campaign.

We hope we’re getting you interested.  If you want to see the World Walker edition for FREE!! click the link here.  If we’ve hooked you and you want to get the full 93 pages of content in the Game Masters’ edition, click here.

The Right Army for the Job

Too often in FRPG we have characters that can do it all.  The warrior steps up and whether fighting an army of goblins, a dragon or a god, he does everything in exactly the same fashion.  As with most FRPG elements, I think that is way too simplistic.  You have to use the right army for the right job!

Being able to do this requires something of the PCs - They must know their enemy.  If your archer goes out and spends all his money on the greatest armor piercing arrows available and then faces bare-chested barbarians, then he has wasted his money!  You have to know what you’re going up against if you want to be properly prepared.  We’ll be flipping back and forth between how this affects adventurers and armies, because the lessons are the same:  Don’t bring a catapult to a knife fight.

Depending on your rules, this will change from game world to game world, but there are some clear answers:  If you are going up against fire breathing creatures, get some anti-fire magic.  Does your world allow that on an army scale?  If you are facing armor, you probably want piercing weapons.  (We hope your rules at least cover that much!)  If you know you are facing a major arrow volley - try to get troops who can use their shields to the best effect (like a turtle formation).  If facing cavalry charges, get some pike men.  Many of these things are fairly universal having been practiced on Earth for at least a thousand years.

But this is high fantasy!  We have to be able to go farther.  If facing heavily armored enemies, do you have something that could eliminate their armor instead of just bypassing it?  Do rust monsters exist, and if so, can they survive being catapulted into the enemy?  Is there a lower level spell that will heat up the armor or increase its weight?  We assume that high level spells cannot be cast in army numbers but having a larger number of low level spell casters should be possible.  This doesn’t have to be completely high fantasy either.  In the Battle of Agincourt, the longbowmen famously took out the horses and forced the heavy armored knights to try and slog through the mud.  Not exactly a heavy use of magic there.

The point of this is to get you (and the players) thinking of how to use certain troops most effectively instead of just using the same tactics every single time.  Sure, there are tactics that almost always make sense, but there are trickier ways of doing things.  Do you have dwarven sappers who can effectively mine under walls or into the enemy camp?  Do you have elven archers who can run through a forest’s canopy staying out of the reach of the enemy spearmen?  Do you have a ram built for troll-sized soldiers?  But on the other side of things - make your players see how difficult the elven archers are to get into melee and have them use their own tactics to get into the elven camp(s) to minimize those advantages.  Troops with specific uses are really powerful when used properly; maybe the goal is to force them to be used improperly.

 

Does this kind of content interest you?  If so, we hope you will consider joining us in our Small Bites project or the full title of How to Build Your Fantasy World in Small Bites!  We continue to build our community of game masters and world builders, and we would love to have you join us!

This post was written as part of The Legions of Garnock aka All About Fantasy Military Superpowers, the latest in our Small Bites editions.  Each Small Bites book looks deeply at one subject, a character archetype, a race/monster, a style of questing, or some other role-playing/world building subject.  This one is showcasing one of the most powerful militaries and how they handle their strategies and their various equipment load outs, as well as artillery, armor, officers, and a whole bunch of other things that might give you great ideas for your campaign.

We hope we’re getting you interested.  If you want to see the World Walker edition for FREE!! click the link here.  If we’ve hooked you and you want to get the full 93 pages of content in the Game Masters’ edition, click here.

Armies - and their mercenary bands

We’ve touched on this before, but the size of the standing armies in Fletnern is woefully small.  The reason?  An army doing nothing but standing guard is a huge drain on the community.

So how big are the armies?  Well, in theory, Garnock’s army is 60,000 soldiers strong.  That’s for a city with a population of roughly half a million (not including the vast farming regions around the city).  Brinston’s army is far smaller, but they do have an extensive navy.  Still, full numbers of their military personnel are in the 18,000 range for a city of maybe 800K citizens (not including farmlands).  Now this one does not include the armed and armored civilian policing units who often find themselves going to war when the army does.  But honestly - that’s not important.

What?  Knowing the size of an army isn’t important?  Nope!  Not in the least!  What matters is how many soldiers you can get to go attack someone else or how many you can get to defend your lands.  Attackers are tough to come by.  Defenders are relatively easy.

Let’s take the Wembic Empire for example.  Emperor Baratock has bragged that he has a million soldiers, and he might!  But even he cannot field an army of 1,000,000.  First off, he doesn’t trust anyone.  If he leaves with the army, he has no idea if there will be a throne for him to come back to.  He also needs to leave guys at home to guard the borders, so someone doesn’t take advantage of his absent army.  He also has a lot of guys who aren’t loyal enough - they may show up for the march to war, but they’ll be lost in the tree line before they get to the battle.  Lastly, if he wants these guys to go to war, he needs to pay them.  Now Baratock probably doesn’t need to do more than feed them while they are in the field (still an incredible effort), but he needs to offer them a chance to loot enough stuff that will compensate them for leaving their homes.  Prizes that big are few and far between.

Speaking of prizes - remember how the Roman Empire compensated its soldiers?  Typically, it was something like:  twenty years of service and we’ll give you 50 acres in a land that you just helped conquer, so expect constant attacks.  During the 20 years of service, it was more along the lines of:  how many slaves can you capture?  So, if you have an aggressive force of soldiers out in the field, how are they being compensated?  Soldiers may accept that they are paid a certain wage, but if that wage is similar to what a clerk or craftsman (or anyone else who is not risking their life) makes, the soldier is going to expect something more.

That “more” matters!  Both to the soldier and to the world economy.  If there are soldiers capturing slaves, then the cost of slaves is going to stay low.  But you have to factor the idea of slaves being sold in large numbers and then being shipped around the world.  If you bring 800 slaves into a community of 4,000 people, there is going to be an impact on the culture of that community.

 

Does this kind of content interest you?  If so, we hope you will consider joining us in our Small Bites project or the full title of How to Build Your Fantasy World in Small Bites!  We continue to build our community of game masters and world builders, and we would love to have you join us!

This post was written as part of The Legions of Garnock aka All About Fantasy Military Superpowers, the latest in our Small Bites editions.  Each Small Bites book looks deeply at one subject, a character archetype, a race/monster, a style of questing, or some other role-playing/world building subject.  This one is showcasing one of the most powerful militaries and how they handle their strategies and their various equipment load outs, as well as artillery, armor, officers, and a whole bunch of other things that might give you great ideas for your campaign.

We hope we’re getting you interested.  If you want to see the World Walker edition for FREE!! click the link here.  If we’ve hooked you and you want to get the full 93 pages of content in the Game Masters’ edition, click here.