About this Video

• Video Title: RPG Worldbuilding Advice SUCKS
• Channel: The Grungeon Master
• Speakers: Tom (The Grungeon Master)
• Duration: 00:23:17

Introduction

This video critiques common RPG worldbuilding advice, arguing against both "starting small" (building a single settlement) and "high concept" (combining pre-existing media properties) approaches. The speaker proposes an alternative method using unrelated rules to foster player agency and emergent storytelling.

Key Takeaways

• Critique of "Starting Small": Building a single starting town often leads to generic or overly detailed settlements that fail to engage players long-term.
• Critique of "High Concept": Combining established media properties creates overly broad concepts, limiting creative potential and resulting in a "planet of hats" effect (a world with a single, superficial quirk).
• Alternative Approach: The speaker suggests starting with 2-3 unrelated rules about the world (e.g., a historical flood, the existence of gift-giving deities, an unusual axial tilt). These rules provide constraints that spark creativity and allow for emergent storytelling driven by player actions.
• Importance of Player Agency: The proposed method prioritizes player agency by leaving significant space for interpretation and exploration within the established rules.
• Aesthetic vs. Rules: The video emphasizes that a setting's aesthetic is subjective and shouldn't be predetermined. Focusing on fundamental rules allows for a more collaborative and flexible worldbuilding process.

Based on the speaker's statements in the transcript, here's a comprehensive set of guidelines and rules for RPG worldbuilding, along with things to avoid:

I. Worldbuilding Methods to AVOID:

• Starting Small (Single Settlement Focus): Avoid beginning with a single settlement (e.g., a small town) as this often leads to either a wildly generic or overly detailed location that fails to sustain player interest beyond a short period. The resulting setting may not scale well or feel cohesive with the larger world.

• High Concept (Combining Media Properties): Avoid starting with a "high concept" approach, such as merging elements from different media properties (e.g., "Lord of the Rings meets Animal Farm"). This often results in an overabundance of conflicting ideas and a superficial "planet of hats" effect (a world defined by a single, shallow quirk). It stifles the creative potential for smaller details and emergent narratives.

II. The Speaker's Recommended Approach:

The core idea is to establish fundamental truths about the world that are unrelated to each other. These rules act as creative constraints, allowing for emergent gameplay and collaborative worldbuilding.

III. Guidelines for Establishing Rules:

1. Rule Selection:

   • Broad Scope: Choose rules that are broadly applicable across your entire world. They should be fundamental aspects of reality within that world, not just localized details.
   • Universally True: The rules should be statements of fact, not opinions or descriptions of individual cultures.
   • Avoid Actionable Rules: Don't choose rules describing what characters do (e.g., "Every culture uses magic"). Focus on rules that establish the conditions within which actions take place.
   • Avoid High Concept Rules: The rules should not be elevator pitches for a story or campaign. They should be foundational statements about the world's mechanics or history.
   • Unrelated Rules: Ideally, your rules should have little to no initial connection to each other. This encourages unexpected interactions and emergent storytelling.

2. Number of Rules: The speaker suggests 2-3 unrelated rules are a good starting point, but more could be added to increase complexity. The key is to create enough constraints to stimulate creativity without being overly restrictive.

3. Rule Examples: The speaker's examples are:

   • A great flood that occurred 2000 years prior, affecting civilizations.
   • A set of deities that gave gifts of civilization to ancient peoples.
   • The world's axial tilt is unstable, causing one side of the planet to be constantly warmer and the other colder.

4. Rule Application: After establishing these rules, use them to extrapolate and speculate on different aspects of your world, such as populations, geographic features, cultures, conflicts, and technologies. Let the rules guide your choices but don't force a predetermined aesthetic.

IV. Post-Rule Establishment:

• Explore Interactions: Once the initial rules are set, spend time exploring how they interact. How do the rules affect each other? What unexpected consequences might arise?
• Populate Your World: Consider how populations (e.g., specific groups of people, creatures) would adapt to and interpret the established rules. Consider their beliefs, technologies, conflicts and daily lives in light of those rules.
• Emergent Storytelling: Let the players' actions and choices drive the story. Don't rigidly adhere to a pre-defined plot, but rather let the world react organically to player choices based on the established rules.

V. Things to Consider:

• Player Buy-in: The success of this approach depends on player buy-in. Ensure that the players understand and are comfortable with the established rules.
• Flexibility: The rules are guidelines, not unbreakable laws. Remain flexible enough to adjust or reinterpret them in response to player choices and unexpected developments.
• Collaboration: This method strongly promotes collaborative worldbuilding, encouraging input from all players and the Game Master.

By following these guidelines, avoiding the pitfalls outlined above, and focusing on establishing fundamental, unrelated rules, you can create a richer, more engaging, and collaborative RPG experience.