Region Description Writing

The lord of a region can add a region description to his region, after he has been lord for a while (to prevent region descriptions of regions that are disputed to be changed all the time).

A region description has no in-game effect. It's purpose is to add atmosphere and roleplaying hooks. The best game-experience results if all region descriptions are good writing and follow the same guidelines. Here are a couple guidelines.

Guidelines

A good region description must be:

• Factually correct
  • it should not mention geographical features that aren't present on the map
  • it should not mention region features that the region doesn't have (buildings, bars, etc.)
  • in short, statements about verifiable facts must "check out"
• Neutral and objective
  • it is a description of the region, not a praise of its lord or the realm.
  • it also should be written in an objective style (avoid "we" and "you")
  • it does not assume actions on behalf of the reader - e.g. "as you walk through the city center looking for a tavern you notice..." will sound strange to an invasion force that came to loot the city to the ground. :-)
• Lasting
  • it should focus on unchanging facts, not on short-term news.
• Stylish and fitting
  • it should fit into the BM style (no tourism advertisement language)
  • it should be long enough to create atmosphere, but not so long that it gets tiring.
• Informative
  • it should contain new information, not repeat the information readily available on the region details page (e.g. population numbers, etc.)
  • ideally, it explains those game facts instead of just repeating the numbers.

Hints and Ideas

Here are some ideas to flesh out the region description:

• Add some pure flavour info. Invent a local drink, folklore, custom or other things that add atmosphere
• Explain some of the oddities of the region - why does it border on region X? Why does the woodland region contain a slip of rural? Why does the city expand further than other regions? Why is it marked as a badlands type?
• Explain the origin of the region name -- does it mean something in the old tongue? Is it named after a local landmark or an ancient hero?
• What's the weather like? Does your desert region suffer from dust storms, is your coastal region humid?
• If the phrase "welcome to (regionname)" appears anywhere in your text, you should almost certainly re-write it.

Style

• Use adjectives to liven up the description. "The tall, white spires of..." is a much better description than "The fortress of ..."
• Don't overdo it with the adjectives :-) "tall, white spires" is good, "tall, white, bewildering, grey-marble spires" is almost certainly too much.
• Again, use a descriptive language, as you would expect in an encyclopedia. No "we are also" or "the greatest place on earth".
• Check your spelling and language. In some regions, double-check the spelling of the region name, it's very embarrassing if the region lord can't spell the name of his own region correctly.