General Question

[lrojas]

Hi all,

I am designing a setting and mechanics to match but so far i am concentrating on getting the setting right. I woudl liek to ask for help/review of the setting per se but i am not sure if this is the right place ( i used to visit The Forge a long time ago  and it seemed the place then, now it looks more pro so i am not sure ).

If i am in the wrong place, seeing that you guys are all pro or semi-pro, i am just a hobbyist and so not sure worth of your time but perhaps this question can be asked, where can i go for help and discussion of my setting?

Thanks in advance,

Luis R. Rojas

[Jasper]

Hi Luis, and welcome.

First, we're all hobbyists here. Some of us have published games, yes, and some of them fairly successful too. But we're all "indie." We're all small press. So don't worry about the great gods of the Forge deigning to help you -- we're all in the same boat.

As for discussing setting...it depends on what you want to discuss. If you have a huge ream of information describing a fictional world, and you just want to show that to someone as fiction, then the Forge is probably not the place to do it -- though if you post in Publishing, you might ask for people willing to look it over for you. If, on the other hand, you want to talk about how your setting is going to make a great game, then that's fine. Really, setting isn't separate from rules. Both "mechanics" (as traditionally understood) and setting inform play. They both tell players what to do. So, if you want to talk about what players will do in your game, and how your setting will affect that, then go for it.

[Andrew Morris]

Keep in mind, though, that any advice is going to be of limited use unless you clearly explain what your design goals are. If you do that, then people can look over your work and see if it supports your goals or not.

[lrojas]

Thanks for the answers guys,

Well, i have set up a web forum to gather all the material i will be making for my setting, so i can direct you guys over there. You can find it here Zansara bulleting board.

In orther to explain my ideas better, the purpose of my setting is two fold, first i want to provide a more gritty Sword and Sorcery feel, Low Magic, High Adventure. A more pulp feel perhaps, so to speak. Second i want to have a background to write fiction, since i am no writer, ( i am doing things backwards, i know ), i am detailign the best i can the background world so it is easier for me to write fiction or adventures.

Armed with those goals i set forth to make my world and my system. I am not claiming to have realized a brand new mechanics, is more like a derivative work in that aspect, a hybrid betwen d20 and White-Wolf d10. I bet you guys are wondering "What does he need help with?" well, the answer is this, i need help organizing my ideas, refining the setting and figuring out if i shoulg forge ahead with my derviative mechanics or define new ones.

thnaks for the time you took reading this, waiting yoru reply to continue this thread.

Luis R. Rojas

[lrojas]

giving this a slight bump to see if anybody can chime in.

Luis

[Jasper]

Luis,

Just so you know, things like "bumping," while common elsewhere, are considered ill-mannered at The Forge. People don't always respond immediately, do don't worry if there's a bit of a delay. (Check out the sticky threads for mroe information.)

Organizing ideas...yeah, we can maybe help with that, insofar as there's something substantive to talk about. Talking about mechanics, and whether your existing ones will do what you want, we can definitely help with. And that can include discussion of how they work with the setting.

Does that answer your question?

[lrojas]

yes it does, sorry for the bump it wont happen again...

now, how do i go about explaining my setting so that i can get help? do i just reply to this thread with the info? create a new one with the piece of discussion? Just point me in the direction i should be aiming for.

[Jasper]

You can post here, sure, or start a new thread. If you start a new one, just label it with the name of your game (or something descriptive) and the topic you want to discuss.