I’m scratching that old world building itch, and I got to thinking “what do other DMs do for workflow when world building...” Now, I’m not talking about Campaign creation, I mean the literal nuts and bolts of making a kingdom.
I have been rewatching Matt Colvilles world building streams, and he has some interesting ideas.
I start with the land. The natural features will often inform the kind of society that forms within them. E.g. if it’s hot, they might not wear as much clothing, someone from a cold climate may end up being scandalized at how everyone walks around half naked. People will be more generous with more plentiful resources — when there’s lots of water, no one thinks about it. When it’s scarce, it might be hoarded by the powerful and doled out as pay for labor.
I start with the land. The natural features will often inform the kind of society that forms within them. E.g. if it’s hot, they might not wear as much clothing, someone from a cold climate may end up being scandalized at how everyone walks around half naked. People will be more generous with more plentiful resources — when there’s lots of water, no one thinks about it. When it’s scarce, it might be hoarded by the powerful and doled out as pay for labor.
This gives me the idea: In a place where it's really cold, clothes and textiles will be in large demand, but not so much in a place where it's really hot. Maybe the cold place would set up a route of commerce with a place that's big on textiles.
I start with the land. The natural features will often inform the kind of society that forms within them. E.g. if it’s hot, they might not wear as much clothing, someone from a cold climate may end up being scandalized at how everyone walks around half naked. People will be more generous with more plentiful resources — when there’s lots of water, no one thinks about it. When it’s scarce, it might be hoarded by the powerful and doled out as pay for labor.
This gives me the idea: In a place where it's really cold, clothes and textiles will be in large demand, but not so much in a place where it's really hot. Maybe the cold place would set up a route of commerce with a place that's big on textiles.
Yes. You’ve invented capitalism. 😁
Or maybe mercantilism depending on how the government responds to the trade.
Whenever I do world building just for fun, I always draw a map. It's just fun to do.
I do this too. I drew the map, and started filling it in with ideas drawn from real places: a pair of mountains inspired by the Grand Tetons, a confluence of two rivers based on the two major rivers in Oregon, a ruined abbey similar to the monasteries raided by the Vikings, a huge old-growth forest such as you often find in the Pacific Northwest, etc.
After specific places comes ecology. Deforestation creates an area of swampland, fertile soil attracts commercial farming enterprises such as vineyards, volcanic activity produces hot springs, and the clean waters in the northern part of the ocean results in an abundance of fish.
Then I thought about how towns and trade would naturally develop in the real world. Bridges would be necessary for caravans crossing the rivers, the natural bay provides the protection necessary for a ship-building industry, natural stops on the trade roads encourage inns and towns, abundant fish gives rise to fishing villages, bountiful harvests of grapes creates a competition between multiple wineries... trade and civilization depend heavily on natural resources and geographical features, just like in real life.
Finally, I considered how the different people and places might interact with one another. The gnome community in the northeastern hills despises the ship-building city, because the latter employs kobolds to dig and maintain sewers. The trade and artisans’ guild maintains a chapter in each major city, which offers lodgings, tools, and training to its members. Relations between the small fishing village and the ship-building city are strained, as the fishing village is suspected to harbor pirates.
Letting the world grow organically makes it easier to imagine what any specific place might be like, while still allowing you to put in whatever interesting features you might be excited about: that ruined, haunted abbey you’ve been counting on can be placed wherever you want.
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I live with several severe autoimmune conditions. If I don’t get back to you right away, it’s probably because I’m not feeling well.
I start with the land. The natural features will often inform the kind of society that forms within them. E.g. if it’s hot, they might not wear as much clothing, someone from a cold climate may end up being scandalized at how everyone walks around half naked. People will be more generous with more plentiful resources — when there’s lots of water, no one thinks about it. When it’s scarce, it might be hoarded by the powerful and doled out as pay for labor.
This gives me the idea: In a place where it's really cold, clothes and textiles will be in large demand, but not so much in a place where it's really hot. Maybe the cold place would set up a route of commerce with a place that's big on textiles.
If it's hot and dry then people will probably still want clothes and textiles since clothes protect you from the sun and heat quite a bit. Hot and humid is a different matter.
But yeah, I usually start with drawing a map and then brainstorming a few basic ideas. "The island of the redhaired giants", perhaps or "the Mountain of the Gods", "The navel of the world", that sort of stuff. What are those places, who lives there, can you get a decent kebab there?
My most recent world started with one image in my head, a large dwarven port at the head of a network of canals, up in the mountains, huge locks taking barges up to it.
That then led to me world building an entire continent out of this single idea. The dwarven “lands” are in the mountain range and the nearest port city is the other side of the continent, so a series of locks and canals.
This map then created a story in my head of a great cataclysm that took place thousands of years ago to create the shattered sea, that sea means the dwarfs only hope for trade is across the land to Olissas. Olissas was a large city state that slowly claimed the lands to its West up to the mountains in order to protect the trade routes, they then along with the dwarfs tamed the river network.
From there I created the surrounding nations but most of the work was done once the players came to me with race, class and backstory
Hello,
I’m scratching that old world building itch, and I got to thinking “what do other DMs do for workflow when world building...” Now, I’m not talking about Campaign creation, I mean the literal nuts and bolts of making a kingdom.
I have been rewatching Matt Colvilles world building streams, and he has some interesting ideas.
what do you guys like/prefer?
I start with the land. The natural features will often inform the kind of society that forms within them. E.g. if it’s hot, they might not wear as much clothing, someone from a cold climate may end up being scandalized at how everyone walks around half naked. People will be more generous with more plentiful resources — when there’s lots of water, no one thinks about it. When it’s scarce, it might be hoarded by the powerful and doled out as pay for labor.
This gives me the idea: In a place where it's really cold, clothes and textiles will be in large demand, but not so much in a place where it's really hot. Maybe the cold place would set up a route of commerce with a place that's big on textiles.
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Spells, Monsters, Magic Items, Feats, Subclasses.
I am an Archfey, but nobody seems to notice.
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Yes. You’ve invented capitalism. 😁
Or maybe mercantilism depending on how the government responds to the trade.
Whenever I do world building just for fun, I always draw a map. It's just fun to do.
Wizard (Gandalf) of the Tolkien Club
I do this too. I drew the map, and started filling it in with ideas drawn from real places: a pair of mountains inspired by the Grand Tetons, a confluence of two rivers based on the two major rivers in Oregon, a ruined abbey similar to the monasteries raided by the Vikings, a huge old-growth forest such as you often find in the Pacific Northwest, etc.
After specific places comes ecology. Deforestation creates an area of swampland, fertile soil attracts commercial farming enterprises such as vineyards, volcanic activity produces hot springs, and the clean waters in the northern part of the ocean results in an abundance of fish.
Then I thought about how towns and trade would naturally develop in the real world. Bridges would be necessary for caravans crossing the rivers, the natural bay provides the protection necessary for a ship-building industry, natural stops on the trade roads encourage inns and towns, abundant fish gives rise to fishing villages, bountiful harvests of grapes creates a competition between multiple wineries... trade and civilization depend heavily on natural resources and geographical features, just like in real life.
Finally, I considered how the different people and places might interact with one another. The gnome community in the northeastern hills despises the ship-building city, because the latter employs kobolds to dig and maintain sewers. The trade and artisans’ guild maintains a chapter in each major city, which offers lodgings, tools, and training to its members. Relations between the small fishing village and the ship-building city are strained, as the fishing village is suspected to harbor pirates.
Letting the world grow organically makes it easier to imagine what any specific place might be like, while still allowing you to put in whatever interesting features you might be excited about: that ruined, haunted abbey you’ve been counting on can be placed wherever you want.
I live with several severe autoimmune conditions. If I don’t get back to you right away, it’s probably because I’m not feeling well.
If it's hot and dry then people will probably still want clothes and textiles since clothes protect you from the sun and heat quite a bit. Hot and humid is a different matter.
But yeah, I usually start with drawing a map and then brainstorming a few basic ideas. "The island of the redhaired giants", perhaps or "the Mountain of the Gods", "The navel of the world", that sort of stuff. What are those places, who lives there, can you get a decent kebab there?
My most recent world started with one image in my head, a large dwarven port at the head of a network of canals, up in the mountains, huge locks taking barges up to it.
That then led to me world building an entire continent out of this single idea. The dwarven “lands” are in the mountain range and the nearest port city is the other side of the continent, so a series of locks and canals.
I made a map
https://inkarnate.com/m/Ydkkjv--abolania/
This map then created a story in my head of a great cataclysm that took place thousands of years ago to create the shattered sea, that sea means the dwarfs only hope for trade is across the land to Olissas.
Olissas was a large city state that slowly claimed the lands to its West up to the mountains in order to protect the trade routes, they then along with the dwarfs tamed the river network.
From there I created the surrounding nations but most of the work was done once the players came to me with race, class and backstory