Membership How Much Lore is too Much Lore?

[CovertSphinx 710]

Fandoms are easy in the sense that the material of the board comes at its core from a world already developed - Sure there's still the question of plot or theme, but the background is already set up. Some historical periods probably fall under this too. So my question focuses specifically for boards that are promoting "all original content" in their genres. As a member, what's the middle sweet spot between no detailed lore and a world "too" fleshed out (possibly making it intimidating to join under a feeling of stuffiness)?

 

I personally like the "skeletal" setup where the boundaries are there, with detail, but open to interpretation. When I see like 20 pages of various nuances I start to feel a little overwhelmed and afraid of being "that Newbie" that steps on everyone's toes and assumed not to have read anything. On the flip side, a well-detailed world is more fascinating then just another "xyz genre rp".

[Morrigan 1,826]

I feel that it's between "how much you can glean from a movie" to Harry Potter World.

 

For me if I like the "overview" I will go read things to figure out where to go.

 

The amount of detail doesn't matter so much as how much I have to read to be able to build and interact with characters. I really adore sites that I don't have to read all of the lore in order to create a character and jump in to play. The site I joined the most recently is like that. I actually go back to re-read things to better understand it as needed instead of reading it before hand and expecting myself to retain the knowledge.

 

I like my information to be sorted in a way that I can do this. So:

• Story/Plot (Detailed history here should be separate and only there if I want the detailed gritty history).
• Location/Setting (This needs to be detailed but preferably with an overview and more detailed information in each forum or on the board index.
• Character Races (Brief overview with links to more detailed information per race).
• Character Classes (Brief overview with links to more detailed information per class).
• Any other information that I may want to look into from there should be optional (things like slang words, currency etc).

If you create 10+ mandatory reads I won't read them. Give my simplicity or get me outta here!

[Hysteria 56]

I'm with Morrigan on this one, since I also prefer just about the same level of detail and readability without it becoming a need-to-know every five minutes. Sure, there's things that you should know in the world your character is in, but the other stuff is just add-on and should really be an optional read if anything.

 

Like yourself, I feel that too much information all at once can really kill not only the atmosphere but the motivation to join a roleplay forum. Bite sized chunks and a jump-in-and-party feel give both new players and existing ones a perfect head start into making new characters and adopting wanted ads much quicker than it would be the other way around.

 

So, the original question was "How much lore is too much?" and to this I'll answer; It depends on the player. Personally, I feel that necessity and options are much better ways to go than cramming all the information together, giving too many spices, and then serving it up as a boiling mess to new members. It ends up being overwhelming and even sometimes very sloppy. It just doesn't digest well.

 

...This somehow became an opinion on food. Oops.

[Rune 1,099]

Man, I am so conflicted.

 

I love lore. Like, really love lore. I love writing it, I love figuring it out, I love answering questions about it, I love talking about it. I love learning about it. World building is my shit.

 

However, I feel that it needs to be concise enough that you can read it in a day, between doing other things. You should be able to skim it and have an idea of what is going on. If you have 16 required reading threads that are all 5+ paragraphs long, maybe its time to cut back. If you can read, say, only the race info you want to roll, a plot and some rules, that's enough. CW has a lot of lore. And most of it you can skip until it's applicable to you.

 

TL;DR - Have the lore all you want, but make it so you can survive if you never read it. (And that it doesn't ruin things if it is unread.)