Writing Setting Material

[Tornado]

I'm currently in the long process of physically writing up a setting, and I'm approached with the problem of voice. Many RPG supplements use an authorial third person to write about the setting, but is this the best voice? On the one hand, the text is thus clear and unbiased, but on the other hand it results in text that's bland and definite, representing the world through an almanac, without even the barest trace of an author.

 

So now I'm considering other voices. The two primary ideas I have are:

 

• A sort of "college paper" writing style, with interspersed quotes and the author failing to provide any viewpoint of their own (except endless ambivalence). I guess this could also be described as a "wikipedia" writing style. On the one hand, it keeps a lot of information grounded in "reality" and also allows lots of ideas to creep in. On the other hand, it's not a very "clean" writing style.
  
• A document written from the perspective of the status quo superpower of the setting: any flaws of the ruling government are glossed over and phrased in the kindest terms (e.g. "focused on peace and stability rather than humanitarian concerns" instead of "supported dictators as long as they could keep the number of civil wars to a minimum") and/or the focus is on how we are trying as hard as we possibly can to deal with them, seriously you guys. The government is spoken of in glowing terms and anti-government groups are subtly derided by an author who clearly has a low opinion of them. On the one hand, it definitely gives the text a character that implies a real author somewhere in "reality." On the other hand, it can result in a skewed perception for the reader, where the skewed reality that the writer portrays is thought to be unbiased.
  

Thoughts? Your experiences with this?

[Old Man]

Re: Writing Setting Material

 

The latter could work, depending on the setting. But you might want to add in comments by an "editor" from the opposition, so that it's more clear to the reader that the original account must be taken with a grain of salt. This form would also be slightly more work for other GMs who want to use the material, but as far as I'm concerned, this is a lot of writing and if it isn't fun for you you won't finish it.

 

The former approach is a lot more conventional and, done right, can be very successful. I am reminded of the Traveller Starship Operations Manual, which was a typically dry account that had a lot of quotes mixed in from an old crusty starship captain for color. "Why do we dim the lights right before a jump? Well, it used to be that we needed every scrap of power for the jump drive. Now it's just a silly superstition. But I always dim the lights."

[Nothere]

Re: Writing Setting Material

 

Or you could have multiple styles. The main one being bland, but with occasional notes of experts, or comments from people associated with it. For example

 

The tak bird of the planet Gob it 4 and a half grks long and weighs 6 jol. It has many pink feathers with purple being occasoinally seen.- enc

The tak bird is a magestic creature though small to see it's brightly colored feathers flutter through the air as the sunsets, never fails to bring a tear to my eye. And their meodious songs are like sweet music.- Head of the Gob' bird watchers society.

[AlHazred]

Re: Writing Setting Material

 

I favor the idea of "found documents" as setting material. For example, go with number 2 of your choices, but also include post-it notes dispersed throughout the printout that put the lie to what the propagandists are saying within. If you have some photorealistic graphics you wish to use for the game, then printing them out on glossy photo paper and dropping them in there is good, too. Maybe a file folder with edited memos containing hard statistics and raw data.

 

The idea being, this is what the character sees. How the player interprets that information is part of the art of role-playing. Good luck, and please post what you can -- I love to improve my own GMing by seeing what other people do.

[Cancer]

Re: Writing Setting Material

 

You can mix the two styles you mention, keeping the "college paper" style as the frame, but including lengthy attributed block quotes from "government documents". That way you can adopt either "voice" as you see fit; you can also insert block quotes from rival governments or anti-government writers if that seems desirable.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Writing Setting Material

 

In general I favor writing from the third-person perspective when it deals with "factual" material that PCs in the setting would be expected to know. I just try hard not to make it dry. If the NPCs in the setting (or you yourself) think that a given person or thing should be majestic, terrifying, beloved, etc. don't be afraid to describe it that way. Throw in vivid adjectives, flesh out colorful details. This is a game, not history -- how these things might be perceived objectively is less important than the experience the players take from it. If there's a "secret history" at odds with what the players initially believe, keep that in reserve to spring on them when the time is right. The contrast will make the reveal all the more effective. Objectivity be damned!

[Kraven Kor]

Re: Writing Setting Material

 

Why not do both, and then some?

 

A mix of "flavor text" (chapter / topic headers written from the perspective of a random - or not so random - person in the setting, possibly biased) and "encyclopedia entries" (more factual but not exactly omniscient views from professional publications or noted and reasonably unbiased sources), and then the omniscient RPG Text.

 

Just a thought.

[Starcloud]

Re: Writing Setting Material

 

Here's what I'd do.

Decide what parts of the setting are factual, indisputable. Write that in the professional, scholarly, emotionally neutral tone.

Decide what parts of the setting are changeable, and use another voice, or several other voices, to provide different perspectives.

Finally, decide what parts of the setting are "daily life" stuff, and use character stories to illustrate.