Starter Knowledge (Shard Ne'Vaal Supplement)
From D&D Wiki
One of the things that is always annoying for a DM can sometimes be having players within a world, rather than incorporating them as the story goes. A player's character often has lived in the world before they began adventuring. Why shouldn't they know the name of the country they live in or its king and queen? But DMs may struggle to reveal too little or too much, such that they might ruin a surprise, or a player will feel frustrated at not knowing something they feel their character should know.
I made this page partially for myself using this setting, but also in case anyone else needed a guide bit on what to tell their characters. Obviously, since characters come from all walks of life, many will have different knowledge and history without even needing to make a History check. However, as a bit of a base line, there are some things pretty much anyone who's old enough to adventure would know, having lived in Shard Ne'Vaal:
- Geography:
- Climate:
- Religion:
- Cosmology:
- Hazards:
- Society:
- Demographics:
- Government:
- Culture:
For a campaign involving the Old World pre-Gorge, players might know additional information like:
- Geography:
- Climate:
- Religion:
- Cosmology:
- Hazards:
- Society:
- Demographics:
- Government:
- Culture:
Additional things characters may know can be based on their backstory, making it unique among their party. Even two people with the same background can have very different knowledge regarding a subject based on their race and history. Here are some example backstories and what they might know as a result:
