Working on my own game world, yet again. It has a lot of background details, yet again. But I don't want to force my players to have to read through all of it when a good chunk my never have any affect on what they do. Most of it is just there to explain how the world got to where it is. But I also have players who love details like that. So that got me thinking.
I'm going to make story cards and rate what level of world lore you need to know what's on a specific card.
Then those who want the details can read them as they want as long as they are within their characters lore rating. Those who don't but suddenly find themselves asking a question or something does have to do with what's going on then you could just hand them the need-to-know cards for a quick read. Again, as long as they within their lore rating.
Example: In my scifi setting there was what's called the 'Big Crash' in computer data that happened around forty years earlier. Since all the currency at the time had gone digital this caused a lot of devastation and huge problems. As a result the government went back to solely physical currency known as 'chips'. Now most players just know that physical currency is a thing and digital is not and don't care about the back story.
Now let's say they find a box full of old Cred Sticks while searching through some old building. I tell them they are pre Big Crash. If they ask what it is I check the card for the Big Crash and it's a Lore Rating 1 so I hand it over so they can read it if they want. Some may not even care and that's fine.
This helps me introduce history and lore as it is necessary or wanted. No handing over a thirty page world bible and telling them to absorb all that in. But it's also there for those who want that explosion of data to read through.
Sort of a physical wiki. Now I guess I'll be picking up some more index cards and a new card holder while at the thrift shops.
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