Dungeons & Dragons is a wonderful game… if you play it right. Assuming you are the Dungeon Master (DM), the responsibility for the enjoyment of all participants rests on your shoulders. Of course it is impossible to play a fantasy game without a fantasy world that can host it. So here are some instructions that will help you create your world.
Steps
Method 1 of 1: Create a World of Dungeons & Dragons
Step 1. Get the basic manuals
Don't play D&D if you don't have the main rules manuals (Monster Manual, Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide). This advice may seem trivial to you, but no doubt there will be someone who will read this article and does not have the manuals yet. So, for your own sake and that of the players, purchase a copy of these manuals. You may think that the System Reference Document (SRD) is sufficient, but you will find that you cannot go through it fast enough and relying on it will slow down your gaming sessions a lot.
Step 2. Read the Dungeon Master's Guide
"Chapter 5: Campaigns" will help you create a campaign and the world (in version 3.5). In that section you will find more details on the technical aspects of creating the world in D&D, while this article will focus more on the subjective elements. Read that chapter before you begin.
Step 3. Consider your players
In a nutshell, a Dungeon Master's job is to create a fun game. The best way to do this is to get to know the players; knowing what they like, what they don't like, what they think is "cool", what scares them and so on. If you know this information, you can create a world that catches their attention. If one of your players is an athlete, you could create a nation where a strange fantasy sport is played. If a player is fond of archeology, add some ancient ruins. Choose the elements of the setting, the good guys, the bad guys and the bizarre characters to arouse the interest of the players.
Step 4. Decide whether to start from a specific or global reality
How do you want to design your campaign? Do you want to start from a small remote village or from the creation of the whole world? You can start by establishing the details of a specific place and then expand the world according to your needs; alternatively, you can start with an overview of the whole world, then gradually go into detail in a specific place, add information about the continent, the region, etc. when the characters go on exploration. Each method has its advantages. You will need to consider your needs and the time available to you.
- If you are playing at low levels, the first method is more suitable because your characters will not be able to travel fast. This will give you the ability to expand the game world as your players travel. This way you can correct the mistakes you made in the early stages, when the characters reach new places.
- If the campaign starts at higher levels, and particularly if the characters can teleport, you will need to be ready for anything. This type of campaign requires a lot of preparation. At a high level, your players need a whole world to move in.
Step 5. Create the world details
The more detailed your world is, the more fun it will be for players. Credibility comes from the details. At this point you will need to start taking notes. You will need to draw maps - or at least sketch them. You will need to write lists of important information for cities and non-player characters (NPCs).
Learn not to obsess over details. Players will be bored if every person they meet is described for 10 minutes. A few small elements make a casual character - like a passerby - more interesting, but only dedicate the deeper details to the main characters in the campaign
Step 6. Start creating the campaign
Congratulations, you have a world for your D&D campaign. Now, create a story to give players something to do. Introducing players to a world but not an adventure isn't a great start to a session. And remember, you've already completed half the work.
Step 7. Referring to the previous section, start with the reason why the players are in a group together
Maybe they have been friends for a long time or have all been hired by one person to do a task that requires a group. Be original, unless your players are new to it - the old innkeeper casually talking about the goblin cave where a treasure is found is now a cliché. You could still have your players explore a goblin cave, but make starting the adventure more interesting. For example, have them hired by a mining company whose workers were attacked in that cave and who want to recover their equipment and prisoners.
Step 8. You will also need to use the same set of monsters on the first level that all masters use, but it's the presentation that matters
Don't use classic goblins with a dagger led by a bigger goblin with a bigger sword, but create a goblin leader with a cleric or rogue level and give others weapons, tactics and interesting items, such as spears, nets, boiling water bottles and other things appropriate for the level of the players.
Step 9. Introduce the purpose of the adventure early
For gamers, there is nothing worse than wandering aimlessly looking for something to do. Maybe the mining company is actually a secret excavation team led by a nearby realm trying to find a powerful object rumored to be buried in the area. Maybe in the goblin cave they will discover that they have been hired by an orc chieftain who leads bandits and wants to plunder nearby cities. Be creative! The direction that the campaign will take must be clear even before the end of the initial adventure. Low level campaigns also give you the option to introduce medium and high level enemies that players will have to face later on. If your goal is to have Baron Von Wreck-It defeated at level 20 on the deck of his pirate skyship, introduce him now, have him ransack some cities and suggest that the Baron is looking for wizards skilled at creating portals.
Advice
- A good world can be reused for multiple campaigns.
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Create a list of names and a short description of the characters so you don't have to interrupt the flow of the game when you need it. For instance:
Name: Smilzo; Appearance: tall, thin human with red hair; Other: Slightly stuttering when nervous
- If this is your first time trying to DM, have players start at level 1.
Warnings
- Beware of decisions you can't easily change, like the world's climate. If you decide that the whole world is desert, be prepared for the difficulties that this entails.
- Unexpected things will always happen: the skill of a DM is seen in the way he reacts to the unexpected.
