If you're familiar with this site, you know that I've spent a lot of time writing about my homebrew setting. At the time of this article's writing, I've penned 29 different descriptions of details of my world, from different rules for gods to a guide to cultural senses of humor and even information on what tattoos look like by culture. And if you've read any of these, it will be obvious that I've borrowed details from the real world--the senses of humor and tattoo styles are depictions of or inspired by real parts of our world. But none of them are direct taken from a real group. In other homebrew articles I've written, such as the architecture profile or the guide to cultural foods, I've taken real world ways of doing things and adopted them with small changes to my cultural groups in the gameworld. But even here, I have not decided that because dwarven architecture is fairly Gothic that they culturally resemble western Europeans in the 1800s. These examples help to illustrate that it is possible to borrow from the real world without entirely taking it. And that possibility deserves exploration.
What a lot of fledgling DMs experience in trying to build gameworlds is a kind of overwhelming. The possibilities are endless, but you have to decide on something. It's like options paralysis, writer's block, and the frustration of not know where to begin, all at once. So the obvious idea occurs: borrow from the real world. It's worked for countless real creatives, including Tolkien, whose works are a fundamental part of D&D history. But as I said above, it needs to be partial borrowing. That leads me to my first tip: when you feel inclined to borrow, ask yourself what part of it inspires you? If you could only take a detail or two about it, what would those be? Once you can answer those questions, you know what you want to adapt. Let's use an example from a campaign I'm playing in: the DM wanted to adapt the classic D&D underground drowish city idea into their campaign, but they didn't want it to be operate like a canon drowish city. But they knew they wanted to use this idea for plot reasons, so they took it to the next step: building in details that fill in the rest. Here, you're asking yourself, how does this idea logically (or illogically) fit into the gameworld? What will make this detail more interesting? In my example, my DM added that the drow had become reformed, peaceful members of another elven society that merged with them. The underground city became a safehaven from biting cold weather and bigoted neighbors. This was a great twist that we're still investigating, and it's far more interesting than it would have been had we simply encountered a dungeon full of drow. So although it can take a while to imagine and decide on these details, it's certainly possible. It can be easy with practice and enthusiasm. And it's rewarding whenever performed.
Another element of problems coming from adapting the real world has to do with predictability. When you draw on information that's well-known enough to be recognizably referenced to an average person, you necessarily rely on their familiarity with it for the reference to make sense. It's entirely possible to run a campaign about something very obscure and get drama out of it because people don't have a reference point for it, but a campaign that was about something in the public consciousness, there isn't going to be a lot of room for surprise. Discovering things about the world you're in can be one of the most exciting things to experience as a player, and you lose that when you adapt from the real world directly. I have heard of DMs basing campaigns on real military campaigns before, and I frankly can't imagine enjoying myself in a game with no mystery except how the dice will roll. I recognize, of course, that some people do enjoy it, but as I've written about before, I think that the height of tabletop games is role-playing. And if you want your players to engage in role-playing, you're going to want them surprised sometimes, meaning it's best to have some details of your own making to keep your players guessing. I personally strive for less than 50% of a detail about my world to be true of a real world counterpart as a rule, and I work for less than 25% when I can as a goal. I would recommend the same rules as you go about crafting your own gameworlds.
An additional consideration with borrowing from the real world is that the real world is not understood by the general public very well. We live in a time in which nearly everyone in the world lives in a place full of lies told by those in power. Cultural stereotypes about others are not accurate by any means. And yet, by my estimation, the most common form of real world adaptation in tabletop games is in making the racial/cultural groups in the world stand-ins for real world national/cultural groups. I would say that the most recognizable case of this is with Dungeons & Dragons dwarves. I have scarcely met a player who doesn't associate a Scottish accent and German culture with dwarves. This is largely due to film adaptations of Lord of the Rings, I suppose, but it's also pretty bizarre. It's seen as somewhat harmless, but I also see lots of DMs who portray elves as very representative of Asian cultures like China and Japan. To me, that's interpreting perceived aloofness on the part of real Asian people and fictional elves as similar and therefore representative. That's a fine line with being xenophobic at best and possibly racist. Equating dwarves with specific western European powers doesn't seem much better. And that's entirely avoidable. My dwarves, for instance, appreciate a paternalistic society with privileges for the wealthy because there's a cultural belief that wealth is attainable with hard work, making them complacent with their lopsided government. I would argue that this is a representation of some real-world problems, but they also make this decision because the interference from their government is very mild, leaving them to focus on their lives as they choose. This is something of an amalgam of modern Western society, but not very representative of any specific people. The other races in my homebrew setting are all quite distinct from this--each is inspired by cultural beliefs from our world, but expressed in distinct ways. And while the dwarves are very of this world, the others except for Daltoners (imperialists inspired by imperial Westerners in real world history) are nothing like what we have in reality. This is because I've used cultural ideas to build the societies rather than specific recognizable traits. But you can see how the risk of conflating real life cultures with fictional depictions is murky territory, best avoided by a DM--especially when the alternative is a more enjoyable, engaging sharing of your own imagination.
One final argument I'll make concerning using real life ideas for your worldbuilding: I have played a lot of tabletop games in my time--I've been playing for over half my life now, longer than any of my students have been alive. And one thing I have learned is that a DM's way of unveiling their worldbuilding tells you a lot about them as a DM. When a DM presents classic D&D materials to run as a module, it tells me they don't yet make the effort to run things without a script. When a DM presents materials that are very closely modeled on the real world, that's one step up the creativity ladder of homebrew, but it's a similar spirit. There's a lack of confidence in one's creativity to entertain one's party. On the other hand, when a DM presents very original worldbuilding, it's a sign that the DM is comfortable with the creative process. And a DM who is comfortable with the creative process is going to do more than worldbuilding well. You can also learn this information before playing with someone. Ask the DM about their world and see what they tell you. They're going to advertise what they think is most attractive about their gameworld. If it doesn't match the style of play you're looking for, then you know without playing; if it does match your playstyle, you can go in knowing what to do as a player. In any case, good worlbuilding isn't just a predictor of enjoyable gaming; it actually builds the skills that a DM needs to do well.
So, do you still want to play a game about something controversial/too close to home/dramatic from the real world? Well, I get it. As a writer, anything and everything is out there, so accepting that something is off-limits (which I'm not arguing--merely that real life as worldbuilding has its limitations) can be really difficult. You're committed, so how do you do it safely? Consideration of your fellow players is your guideline. If you suspect that a storyline or idea might be controversial to someone, ask your players if they're okay with a storyline involving the topic you have in mind. If anyone says no or even is hesitant to answer, accept that this isn't the time for that idea. But if everyone's on-board, you have the green light to make your story ideas work. One thing I learned from a brief beginning of a campaign involving parallels to the Civil Rights Movement of the United States was that dice rolls can meaningful change the course of the history you're referencing, so that's another potential drawback to drawing from real life. Ultimately, tabletop games are a way to make things the way you want them to be--slaying monsters, exploring other lives, being heroes--and DMing should be too.
That's all for now. Coming soon: how to make an in-game newspaper, why I use a combination of 3.5e and 5e, and why most first-time D&D players are more Neutral than Chaotic-Neutral. Until next time, happy gaming!
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