One of the frequent reasons for RPG worlds failing is that they have ideas and history, but both seem too flat. Like, kings ruled, something went wrong, wars happened.
When everything in the RPG world exists only to barely justify the current campaign, then when the campaign goes live (and flexible, and moving), the world starts crumbling. Players feel this immediately because they lack context.
What creates believable worlds is not tons and tons of lore, but contradictions, pressure, unfair events, unfinished business, etc., and all these things shape the conditions for the current campaign. A good history must be like real-life history, messy and biased.
In this post, we break down some key ways of building believable RPG worlds.
Start With Consequences, Not Chronology
This is one of the most common mistakes that players make, writing their history forward in proper order – this happened, then this happened – but this is extremely boring.
Instead, start with visible consequences (generally, the more catastrophic, the better) in the present world existing today.
For example, you can start by asking questions: “Why do these two cities hate each other now?” “Why does this noble family overreact to minor conflict?”. And then you push forward from this tragedy or inconvenience.
This approach makes the history revealed, not studies like in a history book. It is easier to come up with reasonable details because they can explain something the players can already observe.
The history of the game should cause friction at the table; if it doesn’t, it feels decorative, and therefore, the lore will be ignored by the players. (This is true for most games; if the theme feels decorative, it doesn’t trigger curiosity; it is very obvious in game reviews at casinoshunter.com.)
History Is Written by Survivors and Liars
Real history, even a proven one, is still not fully objective, and neither should yours be. The real history of humanity was written and rewritten many times; embrace this concept when creating your RPG world.
When constructing major events, go for an official version pushed by the authorities, the whispered version spread by the rumours, and the inconvenient version, suppressed and hidden. This will give you so many more levels of how the game will go, and players will feel conflicted and challenged.
This approach to creating history sparks moral tension and player agency.
Let History Be Incomplete and Wrong
Don’t force yourself to create all the details and all the events; don’t be afraid of gaps. A believable story contains gaps. Take advantage of lost or destroyed records, burned libraries, incorrect legends, people disappearing and never telling the full story, and so on.
Good plot twists thrive on gaps; let players also be creative around them. You don’t have to explain everything, because uncertainty gives you flexibility and tension. Tension is great for really engaging, entertaining, and satisfying games.
Gaps also protect you from failures because you still have space to quickly adapt the story as the campaign evolves.
History Should Create Moral Ambiguity
One of the best things you can do for your campaign is to create and sustain moral ambiguity. Avoid 100% heroes and 100% villains in your history. Make evil characters solve problems, and positive characters lead to problems no one ever expected or foresaw. Create a history of sacrifices, taking advantage of the catastrophe, all those events and actions that are not one-dimensional.
Believable history in the RPG world doesn’t tell players what to think or how to perceive the situation; they have to think and decide on their own, and try to act in the existing circumstances in a way that brings them to the desired result.
Always Tie History to Player Action
And finally, ask yourself this: “Can players exploit history or reopen it and trigger further events? Can they interact with history in a meaningful way?”
If yes, you managed amazingly. If not, reread this post. Good history must provoke enemies, destroy alliances, and cause extreme reactions. The past must still be threatening and dangerous to trigger, and the players must be forced or tempted to trigger it.