Quote from: Old GeezerFor the same reason that when I'm creating software, I find an existing piece of software that provides a basic framework, and modify it.

Quote from: RPGPunditYes! Precisely right.

That works, however if there isn't a piece of software that does what you want to do. Then you have to write your own or make a compromise or do without. Some what software doesn't do can be very minimal for a person and is enough to propel them to make their own. Making Settings is the same way.

Software programming can be taught to a broad range of people. But like anything else people differ in their abilities even after they have been taught. And some people would be happier if they use software (or a setting) that is well made even if involves some compromises.

Also like Software building a setting benefits from reuse. Just as I use different libraries and add-ons as building blocks with my own code. You can use elements from various RPGs products to make a better homebrew.

For me the release of GURPS: Vampire the Masquerade made for some memorable plots in my campaign world. Suddenly Vampires became interesting antagonists.

I enjoy worldbuilding. My players enjoy gaming in the worlds I've written.

That's reason enough.

Personally, I write the books for a living and I am still mystified as to why people buy RPGs at all. I was writing my own shortly after playing Palladium and Basic DND. I assume it is the same motivation as to reading a novel vs daydreaming. You want to see what someone else dreamt up.

Bill

Quote from: HinterWeltPersonally, I write the books for a living and I am still mystified as to why people buy RPGs at all. I was writing my own shortly after playing Palladium and Basic DND. I assume it is the same motivation as to reading a novel vs daydreaming. You want to see what someone else dreamt up.

Bill

Well, it is for me! I like seeing what other designers have come up with. It's interesting and inspiring. Especially when the designer is really good at his job, like certain squirrel fanciers.

-clash

One of my future goals is to publish my setting. I was talking to my friends about how to make it as a quality product that will sell. I mentioned a couple of ideas none of which involved a "setting book" when one of them pipes up.

 "But Rob you need a setting book."

To which I answered

"a) it is what everyone else does
 b) unless I writing really good, it is a mass of exposition that people will need to read"

To wit he answered

"Yeah but if written well, I like to read that stuff."

Afterwards he pointed out all the RPG books that he enough just as a book reading about the worlds they described. Then rattled off why each was good and why others sucked.

So I guess there are people who enjoy reading a setting book for its own sake.

Rob

P.S. Most of my ideas revolved on how to present a setting where each part is usable as a drop into some GM's fantasy game but when combined makes for a entire consistent setting.

Because you can get exactly what you want with a homebrew setting, exercise your creativity and combine exactly what has inspired you.  Also if you need to do "heavy modifications" it's not much different than doing it yourself without the creative reward, but I guess you use the map.

It may be that a commercial setting has 90% of what you want and you can modify easily, for me not.  Or more precisely, I'd been DMing for many years before any commercial setting was available, and then it wasn't much by today's standards (although cool) so I "grew-up" with having to do it yourself.  

I think the original question also makes some assumptions about what is required for a "good setting."  I think it is easy to get one with plenty of opportunities for adventure and that makes sense.  

Commercial settings have a description maybe for every nation because they don't know what will interest a buyer, but in a home game do you really need that?  A good homebrew setting doesn't need a 300 page source book with every religion, people and nation detailed by pages of text.  Your players will never read it and as long as you are consistent, not having such an opus works fine.  

What it really comes down to for me, do you feel that professional setting designers are inherently more creative or insightful on putting together a setting with opportunities for adventure that makes sense?  In my experience they are not.  What they have are large volumes of well edited text (hopefully) and lots of formulaic entries that anyone given time can create.  I also haven't seen many settings that seem more than a hodge-podge of a bunch of "cool" stuff crammed together.  Few seem to provide a well imagined world that draws me in the way REH or other writers can.  Even when they are well imagined (e.g. Tukemel) it may not be my cup of tea.

Your homebrew, IMHO, just needs to have that "professional text" for a few regions around the prime locals(s) of adventure to be as good as a commercial product.   You as a GM having notes (one to two lines) on the nature, motives and relations on all the other nations, peoples, etc. is enough for me.  Add a spiffy world map and your set.  Even then, depending on your setting, only the GM may know what the world looks like so you may never in game be able to show them that lovely map.

When it comes to saving time, I'll borrow from history and authors I love, a little reading into geo-politics can go a long way to adding believability to your setting and you can learn a bit of history along the way.

Quote from: Melan"Game-designery" is an overblown concept

W3rd.

Personally, I think "campaign world" is an overblown concept.  ;-)

It may not be as bright and shiny as someone who can afford to visualize their text with art and other visuals like maps, etc.  Plus, there are printing costs if you are homebrewing on your PC and opportunity costs in terms of what you could have done with your time instead of writing up a homebrew.
I won't go into all the possible nuances since other people have already picked up on them.

I started my most recent homebrew on an isolated island that has had no real contact with the outside world for a couple hundred years. I drew the map up in  an hour, wrote the text that needed to be written and fired the thing up that night. We're on another island now, and things are going strong, but aside from these two islands I have only the vaugest idea of what the rest of the world is like.

Reason for homebrew - Only you know exactly what you want. (Maybe)

Reason for not homebrew - Don't you like to check out how others dealt with the problems of game creation?  I do.

I like both.  I think both are rather important.  They are to me.

I personally think that almost every game world I've ever seen sucks. I've only ever used Glorantha.

On the other hand, I'm not interested in the whole worldbuilding schtick. So I have three options:

1. Use Glorantha.
2. Use the real world, or a suitably changed version.
3. Collaborative creation.

Quote from: HaffrungSo to reach the Steading of the Hill Giant Chief, you have to cross 140 miles of Keoland. Overland adventure time!

Let's take a look at the gazeteer. Okay... Keoland... 600 heavy cavalry... light infantry... trade cloth...

Uh, you come across a cloth caravan guarded by, uh, heavy cavalry.

Sums up EGG's Greyhawk accurately, Haffrung. Also, fictional trees!

QuoteWe didn't use the Wilderlands when we were kids. But we should have.

When we were kieds, we based our worlds on TITAN, the Fighting Fantasy setting. I maintain that you can't get much better than that. Well, except if we were using the Wilderlands, but fat chance for that in early 90s Hungary.

Quote from: HaffrungThat too.

So to reach the Steading of the Hill Giant Chief, you have to cross 140 miles of Keoland. Overland adventure time!

Let's take a look at the gazeteer. Okay... Keoland... 600 heavy cavalry... light infantry... trade cloth...

Uh, you come across a cloth caravan guarded by, uh, heavy cavalry.
...

Hmmm.  When we ran Greyhawk campaigns in the early 1980s, we always rolled for wandering monsters when on long overland treks.  There were some cool tables in the box set for random encounters.  

(Indeed, some days, when we were feeling lazy, we'd wander around Greyhawk, rolling for random encounters, with no DM at all.  And then we'd declare that we 'found a dungeon' and would use the random dungeon generator in the DMG for more fun!  Ah, innocent days ...)

Normally, the DM rolled for encounters for every 30-mile hex (which we deemed to be one day's travel).  That seems a bit strange now (why weren't merchants being slaughtered on a regular basis?  how did nations trade at all?), but we loved it.

In retrospect, the Judges Guild Wilderlands would have been a far more appropriate setting for that kind of play.  But we were kids, and preferred the shiny TSR products over the paper JG stuff.

There was nothing wrong with Greyhawk that the awesome map couldn't fix.

JG stuff a) looked like shit; b) was shrinkwrapped. Two strikes!

What, no love for shield maidens? :haw: