How much info is too much info?

[Lovable Dark-side]

(Sorry if the post is a bit messy I am typing on my phone.)


I am currently making an rp where I need to give quite a bit of information about the plot and the world of the story of the role play. Which to be honest I am stoked about, but I am scared about one thing. I am afraid of overwhelming people with so much information that they will be to scared to join. So, how much information is too much information? Do people prefer to be well informed about the world they are role playing in, or would they rather the Gm leave some mystery? What is the best way to present large of amounts of information without it seeming overwhelming? 


If this helps at all the information I will be presenting will be about the different noble houses, religions, reputation mechanics, and different magical abilities. 

 

[TPBx]

I say give only as much info as you need to make the RP work and add more as the story goes. Unless its like a Dice or Quest RP, then detailed lore building is essential.

 

[StoneWolf18]

It all depends on a few things.

• How detailed is your RP? - Based upon your description I'm assuming it's rather deep. But if there's nothing there, don't force yourself to expand.
  
• What type of players are you trying to attract? - If your roleplay is more of a semi-literate or more casual instead of more multi-paragraph with dedication, then chances are those players aren't going to want to sift through your precious hours of world building, unfortunately. But if you're going fully detailed with commitment from your players, then give them all of the information you want!
  
• How much time are you willing to spend? - This may consume hours or days of your time trying to get everything perfected. If you aren't willing to spend that much time (if you have that much to write down) then I wouldn't force yourself to do so.
  

This is all from personal experiences as I'm currently working on a project of my own. This is a link to it as I've been building this world for a few weeks now. A few tips:

• Don't shove them all the lore at once. Complete a little a day and gradually ease people into it.
  
• Be patient. People aren't going to understand everything. Trust me when I say that. I've had to go over my lore with people five or six times in multiple languages just so they finally understood. -sarcasm intensifies-
  

If you want any help or have any other questions, lemme know! ^^

 

[laudanum]

I guess it depends on the players you'd want in the game. Detailed background tends to attract players who are as attentive to details for their characters, and even if you choose to present them sparse information in the beginning they might ask for more.

In general, though, presenting players with the general idea of how things work in your world (noble houses, religions, magical abilities) especially when it concerns plot and character creation is, I think, a good idea. Then, if your players ask for more of it, you can give them the details. 

Once I DM'd a futuristic dystopian game. I had the environment/politics/econ mechanics of the world figured out and presented them to the players, thinking that would be enough. The first thing one of my players asked me shortly after I posted it was: "What's considered high fashion in the setting?"

Of all details to ask, it had to be high fashion.

 

[Grey]

Personally, I like it when players ask questions like that. Helps me improve the setting.


I often give my players a whole book, so don't ask me; I only keep the players willing to read it and very few of them are. For me, enough information seems to be too much.


As much as they need to make characters and understand the opening plot hook should be adequate.

 

[Ganryu]

I'm a fairly detailed in my posts, but my rule for info is only as much as needed for the players.


So the question is, what is needed? Well, what pertains to their characters?


How could they have grown up? What events affect their growing up, shaping them? What's the current conflict in the world? What should they be doing right now? 


- If they grew up in a kingdom at war with another for hundreds of years, I should probably detail their kingdom, and whatever kingdom they are fighting. What was the last battle? Would they or their parents have seen it? Are they scared of another fight happening? Do they hate 
- If they are growing up in a slice of life town, what's the town like? Is it big, small, farmland? On fire (I guess that isn't slice of life.)  Has anything happened in the town that everyone talks about?
- Horror - When did the apocalypse happen? What caused it? What was the world like beforehand? 

That's still alot of info, but I never put info that isn't needed. Who was the king 400 years ago? Who cares? 
Unless that king was doing something that effects the current plot, like hiding a vast treasure the party will discover. Otherwise, I don't care, because I don't think the players will either. 
- In the first example, I don't care about a whole marriage scheme in the kingdom unless it effects the current premise. I don't care about every single weapon listed available. I don't care about the blacksmiths name.


- In the second example, I don't care about every store owner in town. I don't care about NPC's at all if they aren't personal. I probably don't care about your super special character.
- In the third example, I don't care about every single danger around, just the next one or the biggest.


So basically, if it doesn't affect players, it's too much detail. If it does affect their players or should, it's just enough. If they have no clue where to start, it's not enough. 

 

[AtlannianSpy]

also keep in mind that good formatting will go a long way towards your players appetite for lore. Try to split things into digestible chunks and order it in with some logic behind it so that people can find what they want when they want it otherwise you'll find yourself answering lots of questions in the OOC that you've already written the answer to.