How to build a fantasy world - Chapter II

Did you choose hooks you like and develop them a little?

Good; you're ready for the next step.

Choose a small area of your world

Earth has 6 continents and around 200 nations. You can spend a life visiting it and still you can have places to see.

You haven't so much time.

Nor your players.

Nor your campaigns and sessions.

As already written, start small, create little, and then develop other things only when need arise.

Take a look at the main D&D settings:

- Toril (Forgotten Realms) has 4 continents but most play only in small area of Faerun.

- Flanaess (Greyhawk) is only a small part of Oerik, just a continent of the world Oerth.

- Birthright is settled in the continent of Cerilia, one of the three of Aebrynis' world, and the boxed set almost only speak about a part of it, Anuire.

- Ansalon (Dragonlance) is a Krynn's continent, and many of its areas are rugged and very lightly inhabitated at best.

They were designed by professionals, and you, as amateur, should do the same.

Begin only with small part of your world.

Choose governments

Who do rule in the continent, or in that part of it?

In what manner do they rule?

What are their relationships?

You can have a lot of ideas and therefore a lot of fun.

Start from your hooks or get new ways.

Create an oligarchic republic like Venice, which rules over a group of islands, a feudal elven monarchy, dwarven communities which vote for delegates at the Council of the United Dwarven Clans.

Again, take what you want from books, comics, movies, videogames or whatever else.

Work on those ideas and write the results but, really, don't draw a map yet.

Your world is still a chaotic magma, a blob, and it doesn't worth a map yet.

Just for the moment, of course.

While waiting for the next post, if you lack ideas for your world area, take these:

Gaya's continent is called by its inhabitants The Unique World, because they had believed for centuries it was the only one.
It's in the Southern Emisphere.
A sea, The Middle Sea, tears it in two parts.
Northern, known as the Lands of Warm Winds, is sandy, with city states on the coast and the backlands virtually unexplored.
On the Southern Coast there are the Dìar Empire, which is falling from centuries when before it controlled almost all the continent, and the Kingdom of Dròtnar, borne some centuries ago by a rebellion against the Empire. It has indide its borders a semi-autonomous dwarven community.
In the continent you can also find:

- The Free Cities of the Middle Sea, along the southern coast  and on islands of the Middle Sea
- The Tormented Lands, wide grassy plains with very few settled communities, ravaged by humanoids and nomadic tribes
- The Ice Men, tribes of barbarian fighters and marauders from deep south, that makes attacks usually by sea
- elven enclave di elfi throughout the continent, with rare contacts with other populations
- a big community of centaurs in a big and deep forest
- Demons' domains, often with rugged terrain and hard climate, with many humanoids that attacks anyother nations.

Bye.

The DM.