Dungeon Master Tips, Day 1

Week 1: World Building

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When World Building: Start Small and Expand Later

It doesn’t matter how long your campaign’s been running, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the details. Rather than creating an entire world map or fleshing out every kingdom, start with a small, focused area—just enough to serve the immediate needs of your players. Over time, you can organically expand your world based on player actions, discoveries, and needs.

Here’s how to effectively start small and expand as you go:

1. Focus on a Single Town or Region

Begin with a single, well-defined location. It could be a bustling town, a remote village, or an isolated outpost. Flesh out key aspects like the local economy, the prominent figures (mayor, merchants, clergy), and any ongoing issues (bandit raids, political tension, a local festival). This gives your players a strong starting point with enough depth to keep them engaged.

For example, your town might be known for its iron mines, and players often interact with miners or local blacksmiths. Later, if your players venture further, you can expand on nearby towns and cities by drawing from this initial location—perhaps a rival town competes for control of the mining trade.

2. Develop Key NPCs First

In a small area, the relationships between the players and the NPCs will be critical. Focus on developing a few key NPCs who the players will regularly interact with—an innkeeper who hears all the town gossip, a blacksmith who repairs their weapons, or a wise sage who serves as a quest giver. These NPCs don’t need fully fleshed-out backstories at first—start with a few quirks and motivations, and add depth as players interact with them.

This method allows you to focus on the most relevant characters first, while leaving room to expand NPCs in surrounding areas as the players explore further.

3. Use Player Exploration to Build Outward

As the players naturally explore beyond the starting location, let the world grow with them. When they travel to the next town or region, add details as needed, taking cues from their decisions and interests. Did they show a fascination with the merchant guilds? In the next city, introduce a larger, more complex merchant council with political intrigue. Did they inquire about strange ruins nearby? Use that curiosity to develop a neighboring haunted forest or ancient city.

By building outward based on player exploration, you can ensure that the details you add are relevant and engaging to the story.

4. Layer in History and Culture as You Expand

As your world grows, you can start adding layers of history, culture, and politics. These elements can be introduced naturally over time. For instance, the small town the players started in might have been built on the ruins of a much older civilization. This provides opportunities for players to uncover forgotten lore, ancient relics, or even lost magic.

Similarly, once the players venture to a larger city, you can introduce political factions, different customs, and perhaps even racial tensions, allowing your world to feel deeper as it grows organically.

5. Keep a World Map in Mind, but Don’t Fill It In

It’s tempting to draw an entire world map at the beginning of your campaign, but resist the urge to fill in every single detail. Instead, sketch out a rough outline with major landmasses or key features, but only focus on detailing the area the players are currently in. As they explore, you can add more detail to the map in response to their actions. This method ensures your world remains flexible and can adapt to the evolving story.

For example, the players might hear rumors of a distant kingdom, but you don’t need to know every detail about that kingdom until they actually decide to go there.

6. Expand Based on Story, Not Geography

Rather than expanding your world in a purely geographic sense (moving outward in all directions), let your story drive the expansion. Focus on the locations and regions that matter most to the campaign. If your players are following a quest to find an ancient artifact, they might leap from one distant location to another, with no need to explore every town in between.

By building the world to serve the story, you avoid the trap of wasting effort on places the players will never visit and instead focus on the key areas that enhance the narrative.

7. Allow for Player Contributions

As the players grow invested in your world, invite them to help flesh out certain aspects. They might come from a distant land or belong to an obscure guild. Let them add details to the world that enhance their character backstory. Maybe one of the players hails from a kingdom you haven’t fully developed yet—use their input to define that kingdom’s culture, government, and customs.

This not only takes some of the world-building burden off you but also makes your players feel more connected to the game.

8. Be Ready to Adapt

As you expand your world, be flexible. Player actions and decisions might take the story in directions you didn’t anticipate. Maybe the players unexpectedly make enemies with a local noble or decide to spend weeks exploring a cave system you thought was a minor detail. Stay adaptable and be willing to expand your world in response to these unexpected turns.

By starting small and expanding naturally, you can create a world that feels both rich and responsive, without overwhelming yourself in the process. This approach ensures that every detail you add to the world serves the story and enhances the players’ experience.

That’s it for today.

In tomorrow’s email we’ll Focus on the History of a Place.

Thanks for reading.

-Joe

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