The major disadvantage of this approach is that it’s a lot of work. Naming, designing, and populating an entire continent is a lot of work up front, and some dungeon masters will spend months crafting an entire world. The major advantage of this approach is that your world will feel intricate, real, and rich. When players ask a character a question about the world, you’ll have an answer that will feel real and prepared. It will also be easier to stay consistent, since you’ll have thought through the entire world well in advance of the game. Look online for inspiration. Inkarnate is a popular map-making service, and can be found at https://inkarnate. com/. You can make a randomly-generated map online at https://azgaar. github. io/Fantasy-Map-Generator/.
The major disadvantage of this approach is that you’ll have to improvise a lot. When players venture out into uncharted territory, you’ll be scrambling to figure out who lives there, how long they’ve been there, and what they want. The major advantage of this approach is that your scope will be focused. When players want to know about a new area, they’ll have to put in some effort to go there instead of relying on outlying information. This can make in-game decisions feel heavy and important.
Dungeon masters often unintentionally railroad their players when they really want them to go somewhere. Avoid doing this as often as possible, even if you really want the players to experience something. You can always move an encounter at the last minute! Player choice is essential to creating a fun world. Don’t start your players off in the bottom of a pit with no way to get out. Players will take unexpected routes, and they may not go where you want. You have to be able to improvise and roll with it. Don’t say, “No,” just because you aren’t prepared.
It is not unusual (or bad game management) for a dungeon master to say “hold on a second,” and flip back a few pages to answer a question accurately.
Be careful if you’re trying to make a serious campaign. A dangerous city named “Flufftown” is going to seem ridiculous to your players. You can make mixed-race cities! They tend to be stable and focused on trading in most campaigns. If you need inspiration, visit https://azgaar. github. io/Fantasy-Map-Generator/ or https://donjon. bin. sh/fantasy/town/ for ideas and names.
Other conflicts could include a nation trying to take over the world, political infighting, or social unrest. Draw on real-world events for inspiration! Conflicts are a good way to make locations seem like they’re evolving. If there’s religious persecution taking place in a town, maybe one side won while the players were away! This will give player inaction a sense of consequence and encourage them to get involved in local affairs.
Unique qualities for cities could relate to the architecture, laws, social structure, norms, or demographics. Interesting traits for states could relate to the geography, wildlife, foliage, or weather.
For example, if religion is really important in your world, you’ll need a detailed list of deities. You’ll need to put temples in your towns, and clerics have to pray to specific gods. You can use religion to generate a conflict in your world without relying on player decisions. This can be helpful if you really want something to happen in-game, but don’t have a good reason based on player behavior.
Visit https://watabou. itch. io/medieval-fantasy-city-generator to randomly generate a town map.
Consider how laws are enforced in your town. A totalitarian government is probably going to have secret police and random searches, while a peaceful trading city will likely have open-air markets and lots of shops.
NPC is shorthand for non-player character. It is a general term for any in-game individual that isn’t controlled by the players. NPCs can be friendly, rude, aggressive, or greedy just like any player-character (or PC). For example, a town could have a well-known drunkard who hangs out at the local tavern and does magic. Maybe he gets into arguments with a goofy sheriff who has a handlebar moustache and offers money to people that offer to help track bandits. This gives your party something to get involved in as soon as they get into town! Good motivations include the desire for power, money, or the destruction of a rival. Maybe a character is just trying to have a good time!
You can combine the 2 buildings to create a tavern and inn to make things easy. You absolutely need an inn if the players are going to sleep somewhere. This is important from a game perspective because resting is how players regain hit points and spells. Visit https://donjon. bin. sh/d20/magic/shop. html to randomly generate names and inventories for shops, taverns, and inns. Players need to eat! What’s on the menu at the local tavern? Come up with a few fantasy menu items, like ham soup, Dwarven ale, boar leg, or shrub salad.
Good names for shops might be, “The Treasure Chest,” or, “The Wizard’s Robes. ” Shopkeepers can make for fun NPCs. Give each shop a memorable character running it. You can find a randomly-generated list of store goods at https://www. realmshelps. net/stores/store. shtml. Be careful when creating a shop with too many powerful items. If your players rob the store, they’ll be overpowered.
Major online communities that share homemade maps for others to use include https://www. reddit. com/r/UnearthedArcana/, https://www. dndbeyond. com/forums/dungeons-dragons-discussion/, and https://www. reddit. com/r/d100/. You can find official Dungeons and Dragons maps at https://dnd. wizards. com/ in the “Story” tab.
The gods in Dungeons and Dragons are listed as either “major deities” or “minor deities. ” Minor deities tend to be less powerful, and major deities typically have temples in major cities. Like players and NPCs, gods have their own alignments. A chaotic-evil god may want its followers to attack the innocent, while a god that is lawful good likely wants its followers to build shelters and engage in charity.
Most campaigns are designed for 5th edition, which is a specific ruleset. If you’re playing a different version of the game, you may need to make your own campaigns or look harder for materials. Worlds that are made entirely from scratch are known as “homebrews” in the Dungeons and Dragons community.
