Low Prep DnD Lore: Adding History to your Game without Writing a Novel

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Artist credit: Grzegorz Pedrycz
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Resources I like and use:
Old School Essentials Player's Tome: tinyurl.com/yc...
Old School Essentials Referee's Tome : tinyurl.com/2m...
The Monster Overhaul: tinyurl.com/yk...
Worlds Without Number FREE PDF: tinyurl.com/43...
Worlds Without Number Deluxe PDF/Print: tinyurl.com/4r...
Tome of Adventure Design: tinyurl.com/2p...
Mythic GM Emulator 2nd Edition: tinyurl.com/4b...
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#dnd #osr #ttrpg #dungeonsanddragons
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Copyright Disclaimer: Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statue that might otherwise be infringing.

[@reactionaryprinciplegaming]

Two things to remember: 1) The players don't need to know more than their characters and 2) the characters know what they know about the world because they lived in that world, not because the GM told the players.

[@aidendon4127]

Don't stop posting your content. It's extremely helpful. I'm learning a lot.

[@Earthmote]

Thanks, will do!

[@PirkleAwesome]

This is exactly what I needed! I've just started my sandbox campaign and it feels sort of shallow since i've not put much work into the lore yet. Great video!

[@Earthmote]

Keep it lightweight and add on as needed. Best of luck!

[@fleetcenturion]

Apart from the magic, you literally rolled up Rome.

[@Earthmote]

True! I wasn't even thinking about that when I pieced together the story, but subconscious might have went there.

[@jacobbrown7367]

​@Earthmote All Roads lead to Rome but it's also figurative

[@hallavast]

You kinda recreated the story of Israel in the Old Testament out of randomly generated lore elements for a minute there. If you squint. Great video.

[@Marcus-ki1en]

Consider also the Prophecy as a way to pass this history along. "In a time to come, a group would claim the ancient tome that once caused the fall of many". Searching through some historical books (or hiring a scribe to research) they find clues to go the next step. A Patron hires them to find the tome, telling them the bare minimum needed, lest they claim it themselves. Lore and History is fine, it is the dump load at a time that is bad. Going after the tome could be an entire campaign with a little bit of the lore discovered as they complete each step, which leads to the next step, etc...

[@bread-tan4359]

I like outsourcing the lore and having the players regularly contribute through their skill check results

[@onetruetroy]

Terrific video! I always loved the idea of world building until I read about them in other D&D settings, and in other TTRPG settings. Basically, they are all based on Earth with some changes and tweaks. I collaborated with some players in a shared world building campaign where we each had an area the size of Europe to customize anyway we saw fit. I loved being able to adventure virtually in the mind of a friend. There were lots of wow, no way, and OMG moments as we took turns DMing our creations. In the previous millennium 😳I decided to revisit world building, and knew that if I stayed in my mind then it will still look like Earth with a makeover-even with the best random tables. I then wondered what a world would be like if a monster built it. I chose a monster and the number 12-that die is always underutilized-then began. After a few months of work I introduced the world to my group and four out of five players immediately liked it-well, mostly intrigued. The fifth was certain he would not like it until I provided information about some of the local factions and customized character classes. I asked the players to create two characters and not worry about their backgrounds. City adventures were necessary for the first three sessions, then the players selected their primary characters then fleshed them out. That campaign lasted for a year, and the few mysteries that were solved just generated more questions and opportunities for adventure. That was over 30 years ago and I still work on the world and introduce it to players whom express desires for something new or I feel they would have fun. I handle lore in a way that builds excitement and I don’t have to completely write everything in advance. During the sessions I write notes about the desires of the players, characters and myself. I prepare current events, rumors and common knowledge cards. I hand out two or three to each player, and they can choose to share that information with rest of the group, or not. I expand on what interests them even if it is not directly related to the cards I handed out. I do it this way so that the players don’t feel I’m railroading them. I built the sandbox and they go anywhere and do what they want.

[@iremainteague5653]

Always enjoy a stop on the earthmote. 😊

[@dane3038]

Most of my "Lore" is for the players to use or not. I know the flora and fauna of much of my realm and drop it from time to time for those players for whom that level of consistency helps them to suspend disbelief. The History is only there to justify certain things in the present, like "Dungeons". The Gods exists, depending on who you ask. As does their history and deeds. It all goes up on World Anvil so players who are enriched by it can be enriched, but the characters don't need it. * I do make an article ( handout ) titled "What every adventurer from x knows". And it's just that. But it's also rumors and sandboxy stuff for them to do if they want. *This type of world building is most useful if your game is at least partly a sandbox. It gives the players and GM a structure from which to build a story on the fly and keep it consistent.

[@inu-vu]

Lovely video!! Good job!! Thank you for taking the time to research, write, record, edit and share all this useful stuff

[@Earthmote]

Thank you for the kind words, glad you enjoyed it!

[@KarnodAldhorn]

One thing from life that really helped me: whatever you know comes first. Even irl, Alexander the Twink, Aztecs, Pyramids, Big Bang, the moon forming, all that are stories from the past. Even the big bang leaves many people even more confused than before if you get into it. The present is always first and whatever story you're telling about lore comes second. It can even be just a legend.

[@indus7841]

who the fuck is Alexander the Twink???

[@nathanaelthomas9243]

Thanks for the video!

[@ArielRamone666]

This guy looks like Toby from the office

[@palatablepotato]

I never thought that sandbox is my DM/Campaignstyle but since the very first video of yours I watched I knew: this is what I am looking for also huge world without numbers fan, the chapter on the backdrop with world - region - kingdom scopes helped me to prepare the essential questions for my campaign

[@Earthmote]

WWN is a great resource! Best of luck with your sandbox

[@BRZ3RK3R]

Thank you for this great video! Can you provide a link or ISBN of the Worlds Without Number book you mentioned? I prefer a hard copy over a PDF - even if it's free. :)

[@Earthmote]

If you check the paid pdf link there should be an option for print on demand book. And you can find the offset version of the book in the link below. It is expensive, but I have a copy and it’s good quality. sine-nomine-publishing.myshopify.com/collections/worlds-without-number/products/worlds-without-number-offset-print

[@BRZ3RK3R]

@@Earthmote Perfect, thank you so much!

[@demonazgrael]

I like the topic, some of the info is inspiring, but I can’t seem to fully grasp how he’s saying words. I’ve tried re-listening several times but I kinda lose focus. Is it just me?

[@jacobje00]

I think it is because he is reading of a written paper

[@daveshif2514]

yall might just have adhd

[@wishesandfishes]

He does have a little bit of a low dynamic range, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but can have a hard time capturing some listeners. I am diagnosed with ADHD

[@AshersAesera]

Not sure if I can utilize the lore-building method, but the implementation of cutting lore to only actionable bits is great ^^

[@Earthmote]

Use what works for you and discard the rest!

[@blondesocialist6498]

At 2:40 there seems to be an editing mistake, the video cuts to a different take mid sentence

[@Earthmote]

Good catch, "Already established" was the end there. I cut it a bit short, but its staying up!.

[@mistergoats4380]

Nice video

[@daveshif2514]

another tactic to use along with this is to write out a list of all of the important npcs, rulers, and gods. then give each one a single event that they did that shaped the areas history. afterall to be important you have to have a history