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World building is one of the most interesting parts of being a Dungeon Master in Dungeons & Dragons. It’s pretty much where the fun begins; you create the world itself, the people who live in it, and all the complications your players will run into, and seeing how they’ll solve things (or make them worse) is where the game shines.
It’s also a very complicated task for the DM. Creating a whole world requires effort and time, as numerous variables must be considered. Not to mention that you’ll definitely forget something and will have to improvise when this detail becomes relevant, as there’s just too much to do. How can you make such a task slightly easier, then?
8 Make City Templates
With A Name And What They're Known For
Waterdeep Sunset via Wizards of the Coast
You don’t need to have everything prepared right away; it’s perfectly fine to develop content only when it becomes relevant. Still, if your players are looking at a map or discussing people’s hometowns, having a few names to drop is handy.
Along with a list of names, it’s also helpful to include small details so you have a basis to develop them later. It can be the type of government, what sort of problems they have, what they’re known for, etc.
For instance, you can have Diventon, a city that is the center of the nation’s church and is currently dealing with revolts because the people think the gods aren’t listening to them anymore. If your players ever go there, you add details in between sessions.
7 Have Premade NPCs
This Is… Bob, The Innkeeper!
Volo via Wizards of the Coast
A list of city names isn’t the only list worth having. The same can be made for NPCs, and you can also do more than just write down a list of names (though that alone is already useful). You can write short descriptions and personality traits, too.
Thus, whenever your players go somewhere you weren’t expecting, such as a store you need to improvise, you can pull any character from this list of yours, and they’ll already be good to go. You can also divide this list into categories, such as commoners, enemies (where you can write down which monster stat block they use), fantastical creatures, nobles, and so on.
6 Steal From Other Sources
From Other Media To Real Life
Candlekeep Mysteries art via Wizards of the Coast
Unless you intend to publish your work and sell it, there’s nothing wrong with stealing content from others. If you’re a big fan of Game of Thrones and want to create a nation with multiple houses fighting for a throne, just go for it.
You can also use real history as a basis for your world, as it has a lot to offer, too. Even our example, Game of Thrones, is heavily inspired by the War of Roses, a real conflict that took place in England.
5 Use Your Players' Backstories
Make Them Work, Too
The Sword Coast Adventurer's Handbook by Tyler Jacobson
Suppose one of your players is a cleric who left their religious order after discovering corrupt members within it. Now they want to reform the organization and preach their religion correctly. Not only is that a good plot thread to use in your story, but you can use it to develop your world’s church retroactively.
If your players enjoy writing big backstories, you can use that in your favor to enrich details from your world based on what they wrote. If they added a hometown, you now have a place on the map to use. If they added people, you can add how relevant they are to the world. And your players will love to see how their stories have impacted your world.
4 Don't Explain Everything
Leave Blanks For Them Or For You To Work On Later
Gateway via Wizards of the Coast
We mentioned that you can leave some information blank and further develop it later when it becomes relevant. That said, some things just don’t matter, and even if they do, they may matter to you but not your players, or they don’t have a way of knowing.
For instance, maybe the gods in your world are gone. You know why, but they don’t, and they don’t have a source for that explanation. In this case, you can simply leave this mystery and move on with the story, which may or may not address this issue. You don’t need to explain it.
3 Define The Origin Of Important Concepts
Keep Things Consistent
Ancient Gold Dragon by Alexander Ostrowski
That said, it’s okay to think of how things first started in your world so you can work on its consequences. We previously provided an example of gods disappearing, and you can use this as a starting point to explore your world’s entire religion from this aspect.
Making political characters is easier if your government is already established. Defining the origin of certain monsters helps you further develop them, and so on. From there, you can start a cascade effect, where these initial details will help you further establish other concepts in your world in a consistent manner.
2 What Is The Main Conflict?
What Dangers Linger Throughout The World?
Via Wizards of the Coast
Speaking of monsters, broader conflicts are also a great topic that helps with world building and the plot your players will experience. Sure, each place should have its own problems, but an overall main issue that the whole place faces keeps the story moving.
Along with sense, it gives your campaign its main gist — the plot, as mentioned. Is the story about facing devils, for example? Then, show how devils have been an issue throughout the world, whether they’re appearing in plain sight or controlling things from the shadows.
1 Create Culture And Nations
What Do People Value And Despise?
The Cerulean Citadel by Olly Lawson
We’ve already tackled establishing things cities are known for, but what about whole nations? What is common behavior among the humans of your world? Do they value honor above all? Or maybe they’re great explorers?
Whatever you choose, picking traits a community shares as a whole makes them more believable. Whether because they see a culture being valued constantly, or even by meeting a particular NPC that doesn’t abide by their culture’s norms.
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