Environmental Storytelling in TTRPGs: Building a Lived-In World
Stop pausing the game to explain your world. Learn how to weave lore naturally into your sessions through environmental storytelling.
TYPE
SYSTEM
LANGUAGE
EXPERIENCE
AGE
$30.00
/ Session
Details
Once / Tuesday - 4:00 PM UTC
Sep 15
Session Duration / 1.5–2.5 hours
0 / 5 Seats Filled
Top Game Master
One of StartPlaying's top-rated GMs, a player favorite and highly recommended.
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About the adventure
You have an incredible history prepared for your setting, but delivering it turns int a five-minute monologue that the players can't really take in. The secret to an immersive campaign is how to hide lore in plain sight. __What You Will Learn__ In this interactive workshop, we will break down the mechanics of showing, rather than telling. We will explore three core pillars of worldbuilding: - Visual History: Using the physical environment to showcase past conflicts and the passage of time. - Cultural Clues: Designing local traditions and behavioral quirks that intrigue your players and tell a story about the community. - Superstition and Survival: Not every custom has a pleasant origin. Some stem from the need to protect oneself from what lurks in the night. __How We Work Together__ It's a hands-on session hosted on Discord. You will actively practice turning dry history into engaging mysteries. We will collaborate using voice and text channels, ensuring everyone can participate in the way they find most comfortable. __What You Leave With__ Whether you are preparing for your very first session or your fiftieth, you will walk away with a practical framework to use during your next session prep, alongside a digital reference guide to keep your worldbuilding engaging.
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
4.9
(18)
Less than a year on StartPlaying
50 games hosted
Highly rated for: Creativity, Beginner Friendly, Inclusive
Average response time: 5 hours
Response rate: 100%
About me
One of my favorite things in the world is to experience stories. After over two decades of playing, running, and designing for TTRPGs, I finally decided to quit my software engineering career and do this full-time!
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Creating your character
This is a workshop, not a game. No character creation required.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
To participate, you'll need: - Discord Account (free): Our primary communication hub. Create one at discord.com if you don't have one already. I'll send you a server invite once you're booked. That's it! Everything else happens in our Discord server and during our workshop session.
What Hermann brings to the table
After over two decades of running role-playing games, I've mastered the art of creating a living breathing world that feels like it's ancient and ripe with lore, without exhausting my players with lore dumps. I've asked my past and present players "If I would run a workshop, what topic would you expect from me?" and the answers were very obvious that it would make a lot of sense to run a workshop on Worldbuilding, and especially on how to integrate it. I'm constantly asked for advice and input by other Game Master is my circle, and seem to be good at teaching things. If you want to have a taste of the things I do, you can check out Orbytale on TikTok or Instagram (even though I have more content on TikTok).
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Mobile Phone
Platforms used
Safety
How Hermann creates a safe table
- I'll send you a confidential Lines & Veils form to fill out privately. This covers content you want completely avoided (Lines) and content you're okay with existing in the world but don't want spotlighted (Veils) - All responses are kept confidential and will be respected without question or explanation required
Content warnings
Safety tools used