How much detail should a setting and it's history have? What is your favorite (un)detailed setting and why?

I like detailed settings, but I don't like NPC's taking over the lead roles from the players. Some settings that I like, because they are very detailed, are Fading Suns and Godlike/Wild Talents. I am also interested in Hellfrost and that seems to be detailed, but not as detailed as Forgotten Realms. I am always a bit struggling with the new world of darkness settings, because of their lack of detail.

So that's where I stand. How about you?

It depends on the perceived utility/quality of the setting details to me.  I basically ignored the setting details in Cyperpunk 2020, but borrowed corporation write-ups, gear, npcs, and everything else.  OTOH, I cherished Shadowrun 1e and 2e setting details during the Dowd-era.  

Fading Suns had wonderful setting details -- but I could never bring myself to care about Traveller's various eras.  I loved the OWoD for the most part, but ditched a lot of the NWoD.  I never was able to get a lot of use out of Deadlands' setting stuff, but stole the stuff I did like for my own Weird West.  

I think for me, a lot of what it comes down to is groups, NPCs, gadgets -- things I can put to immediate use are more useful to me than your alternate history or what have you, your geography, unless it's done really well, so well that the details spur me on imaginatively.  If they don't, I'd much rather come up with stuff I like.

Interestingly, I found that since I started using Eclipse Phase for literary and social science-fiction, I've gotten a lot more mileage out of the details of that setting.

Quote from: jan paparazzi;734601How much detail should a setting and it's history have? What is your favorite (un)detailed setting and why?

I like detailed settings, but I don't like NPC's taking over the lead roles from the players. Some settings that I like, because they are very detailed, are Fading Suns and Godlike/Wild Talents. I am also interested in Hellfrost and that seems to be detailed, but not as detailed as Forgotten Realms. I am always a bit struggling with the new world of darkness settings, because of their lack of detail.

So that's where I stand. How about you?

You should avoid my games, not that you weren't already!

I believe the player groups should be the ones who make the detail, so I prefer implied settings with flavor in the group's setup, and tools for the group's use to generate whatever detail they like. Yeah - WTF am I doing in a place like this? ;P

-clash

Quote from: flyingmice;734606You should avoid my games, not that you weren't already!

I believe the player groups should be the ones who make the detail, so I prefer implied settings with flavor in the group's setup, and tools for the group's use to generate whatever detail they like. Yeah - WTF am I doing in a place like this? ;P

-clash

You mean with implied setting something like D&D? And if you use the Forgotten Realms it isn't implied anymore but a stated setting?

Quote from: Future Villain Band;734605It depends on the perceived utility/quality of the setting details to me.  I basically ignored the setting details in Cyperpunk 2020, but borrowed corporation write-ups, gear, npcs, and everything else.  OTOH, I cherished Shadowrun 1e and 2e setting details during the Dowd-era.  

Fading Suns had wonderful setting details -- but I could never bring myself to care about Traveller's various eras.  I loved the OWoD for the most part, but ditched a lot of the NWoD.  I never was able to get a lot of use out of Deadlands' setting stuff, but stole the stuff I did like for my own Weird West.  

I think for me, a lot of what it comes down to is groups, NPCs, gadgets -- things I can put to immediate use are more useful to me than your alternate history or what have you, your geography, unless it's done really well, so well that the details spur me on imaginatively.  If they don't, I'd much rather come up with stuff I like.

Interestingly, I found that since I started using Eclipse Phase for literary and social science-fiction, I've gotten a lot more mileage out of the details of that setting.

Funny you used a lot of the oWoD, which has a lot of setting. And didn't use a lot of the nWoD, which is an 'implied' setting, I think. Just races and factions and the world itself is a little shady with a lot left open or given multiple interpretation. I see nWoD more as an unfinished painting on which you have to add something to make it work. Instead of just picking out something you like, as the oWoD did.

As long as setting detail isn't confused with rules complexity, I'm fine with that; more detail the better.

Certainly the most memorable settings had lots of detail - RIFTS and Star Wars are great examples.

I do not want any historical detail.  Just explain the here and now.

Quote from: jan paparazzi;734621Funny you used a lot of the oWoD, which has a lot of setting. And didn't use a lot of the nWoD, which is an 'implied' setting, I think. Just races and factions and the world itself is a little shady with a lot left open or given multiple interpretation. I see nWoD more as an unfinished painting on which you have to add something to make it work. Instead of just picking out something you like, as the oWoD did.

Old WoD, for the most part, had interesting stuff, and where it wasn't interesting, the core setting elements tended to allow me to overwrite what I didn't like.  I found NWoD to be pretty bland until late in life -- Changeling, Hunter, etc.  Even then, some of the later stuff suffered from trying to be everything to everybody, like the Book of the Dead.

Quote from: jan paparazzi;734618You mean with implied setting something like D&D? And if you use the Forgotten Realms it isn't implied anymore but a stated setting?

Exactly, or Classic Traveller before the Third Imperium.

Classic Traveller annoyed me, mapping out the entire galaxy, basically, and what few areas remained got licensed out to third parties.

Something like Star Wars, although there is a huge amount of detail, there's also a lot of room to make stuff up (which a lot of EU authors would do).

Quote from: Future Villain Band;734642Old WoD, for the most part, had interesting stuff, and where it wasn't interesting, the core setting elements tended to allow me to overwrite what I didn't like.  I found NWoD to be pretty bland until late in life -- Changeling, Hunter, etc.  Even then, some of the later stuff suffered from trying to be everything to everybody, like the Book of the Dead.

I agree, the umbrella covenants is another example of that. I believe the fans like that aspect of the setting, but I don't. I rather have them choose the most awesome variant and work it out for me. Does this make the nWoD an implied setting? Or is this just another word for a ruleset only setting?

Quote from: JeremyR;734653Classic Traveller annoyed me, mapping out the entire galaxy ...

Not even close, charted space is a tiny part of one arm; go scroll out on travellermap.

I am a fan of rich detail, but enough play room should one want to delve in to it. Enjoying W40k as much as I do, you can get away with a lot of making things up yourself to fit. There are plenty of locations and a huge history to show off to your players, but the galaxy is huge. One could go as far in the universe to play ship battles and taking worlds all the way down to a Cthulhu-esque romp through a hive or low-tech world.

Setting detail is great metaplot is crap.
great history legends and organisations are great uber NPCs are crap, unless they are antagonistic to the party.

So I don't play rpg settings. I will play settigns from books, movies etc that I can tweak.
I don't find it fun for players to have to read pages of backstory to know how the world works or who these guys are but something like Starwars that the majority of people know already is great.

The setting I have used most is Amber. I always keep its core tropes but in a campaign as opposed to a con one off, I will remove all the standard Amberites apart from Oberon and Dworkin who I will usually absent or modify.  The players understand how the univer works, if I talk about the goldern circle the courts of chaos they understand but I don't want a pantheon of NPCs that can save the party or wreck their plans.
I would use star wars, keep the Emperor and Vader and maybe Yoda and get rid of Solo, Luke, Liea etc etc. I generally want the PC's story to be the story.

There are 3 fantasy settings I would currently like to play in Lamora, Westeros and The Union/Gurkish Empire. These are all from excellent fantasy novels and if I played them the protagonists of those novels wouldn't feature well I might add a couple for colour but NIne Fingers wouldn't turn up leading an army and Jean wouldn't save the party from pirates.
The settings are great, and detailed, but the protagonists would just clutter up the game and get in the way.