There’s Too Many Damn Snakes In This Damn City
I am often equal parts amused and aghast when I see other DMs talking about how they’re preparing overly detailed descriptions of government structures, economies, or cultures for locations within their campaigns. These DMs might mean well, but they risk wasting a lot of time. I suggest that when it comes to world building, a DM initially only needs to prep 5% of the potential information about any location while still maintaining a high probability of worthwhile play in that location. You just need to make sure that 5% of potential content is very valuable, memorable, and rich with story opportunity
How do you do that? One simple way is to employ a Rule of Three. For any location, create a bullet list describing just three key facts for any given location. Each bullet is just a single sentence. For example, consider the city of Mji Takatifu within my Restoration campaign. The three key attributes this city are:
Snakes move freely, and killing one intentionally is punishable by death.
Visitors must keep one finger hidden at all times.
Purposeful sound and talking above a whisper is forbidden from sunset to sunrise.
All three of these attributes can easily serve as hooks for encounters or complications to other planned adventures.
The next step with this planning approach is to expand each bullet into a single paragraph that provide a few additional details. 3-4 sentences. That’s it. That’s all you need before actual gameplay set in that location. You can always expand during the session, and player actions might help you come up with cool ideas. Consider such additional detail for the bullets above:
Snakes move freely, and killing one intentionally is punishable by death. The main reason is that the majority city population worships Seva, a giant snake god who supposedly roams within the neighboring desert. Mji Takatifu also does good trade in poisons and medicines derived from snake venoms. When a snake dies naturally or is found dead, the finder will often honor it by cooking and eating it’s flesh.
Visitors must keep one finger hidden at all times. The number nine is considered very lucky while the number ten is considered very unlucky. Locals even amputate a pinky finger and pinky toe of their children shortly after birth. Locals use a Base Nine counting system. Merchants who must also use the standard Base Ten system to trade with outsiders often donate every tenth coin they receive to the temple of the god Mezizi to offset the bad luck of using tens.
Purposeful sound and talking above a whisper is forbidden from sunset to sunrise. The city’s main source of fresh water is a giant crystalline mass of ice called Mezizi’s Gift. According to the priests, the crystal regenerates each night by synchronizing with the vibrations of the universe. Loud sound can interfere with that process.
The key words to this approach are distinct and memorable. Distinct: What makes this city, nation, swamp, forest, etc. different from all the others out there? Memorable: What will the player be likely to experience and remember after a visit. When players are sharing fond memories of gameplay in the future, what will they recall?
You can apply this same approach to developing NPCs, items, legends, and more within your world. The Ninth World Guidebook for Numenera by Monte Cook Games is an excellent example of this general approach to world building. Though the book doesn’t strictly limit entries to three attributes, it definitely shows how less can be more, i.e., you should prioritize quality over quantity.
And remember: if you’re ever found guilty of any crime while visiting Kemas Pôl, you can opt for The Plunge, a hundred foot dive into an ocean area full of deadly tides. If you make it back to shore, you’re free!