World building is one of the most interesting parts of being a Dungeon Master in 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dungeons & Dragons. It's pretty much where the fun begins; you create the world itself, the people who live in it, and al🐟l the complications your players will run into, and seeing how they'll solve things (or make them worse) is where the game shines.

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It's also a very complicated task for the DM. Creating a whole world requires effort and time, as numerous variables must be considered. Not to mention that you'll definitely forget something and will have to improvise w๊hen this detail becomes relevant, as there's just too much to do. How can you make such a task slightly easier, then?

8 ♈ Make City Temp🎀lates

With A Name And What They're Known For

The city of Waterdeep in DND.
Waterdeep Sunset via Wizards of the Coast

You don't need to have everything prepared right away; it's perfectly fine to develop content only when it becomes relevant. Still, if your players are looking at🐓 a map or discussing people's home🌞towns, having a few names to drop is handy.

Alonꩵg with a list of names, it's also helpful to include small details so you have a basis to develop them later. It can be the type of gov♏ernment, what sort of problems they have, what they're known for, etc.

Fꦡor instance, you can have Diventon, a city that is the center of the nation's church and is currently dealing with revolts because the people think the gods aren't listening to them anymore. If your players ever go there, y𒐪ou add details in between sessions.

7 ꦯ Have Premade NPCs

This Is... Bob, The Innkeeper!

Volo in a tavern in Waterdeep in DND.
Volo via Wizards of the Coast

A list of city names isn't the only list worth having. The same c𓆏an be made for NPCs, and you can also do more than just write down a list of names (thougꦓh that alone is already useful). You can write short descriptions and personality traits, too.

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Thus, whenever your players go somewhere you weren't expecting, such as a store you need to improvise, you can pull any character from this list of yours, and they'll 𒁃already be good to go. You can also divide this list into categories, such as commoners, enemies (where you can write down which monster stat block they use), fantastical cr🦩eatures, nobles, and so on.

6 🐽 Steal From Other So🐻urces

From Other Media To Real Life

Two magic users study a textbok in a dark library in Dungeons & Dragons.
Candlekeep Mysteries art via Wizards of the Coast

Unless you intend to publish your work and sell it, there's nothing wrong with stealing con♎tent from others. If you're a big fan of Game of Thrones and want to create a nation with multip🔴le houses fighting for a throne, just go for it.

168澳洲幸运5开奖网:You can also use real history as a basis for your world🎃, as iꦇt has a lot to offer, too. Even our example, Game of Thrones, is heavily inspired by the War of Roses, a real conflict that took place in England.

5 Use Your Players' Backstories

Make Them Work, Too

A Party Of Adventurers stand on a cliffside poised for battle in Dungeons & Dragons.
The Sword Coast Adventurer's Handbook by Tyler Jacobson

Suppose one of your players is a cleric who left their religious order after discover🥂ing corrupt members within it. Now they want to reform the organization and preach their religion correctly. Not only is that a good plot thread to use in your story, but you can use it to develop your world's church retroactively.

If you⛄r players enjoy writing big backstories, you can use that in your favor to enrich details from your world based on what they wrote. If they added a hometown, you now have a place on the map to use. If they added people, you can add how relevant they are to the world. And your players will love to see how their stories have impacted your world.

4 Don't Explain Everything

Leave Blanks For Them Or For You To Work On Later

The town of Gateway in Ansalon in the Krynn campaign setting in DND.
Gateway via Wizards of the Coast

We mentioned that you can leave some information blank and further develop it later when it becomes relevant. That said, some things just don't matter, and even if they do, they may matter to you but not your players, or they🐓 don't have a way of knowing.

For instance, maybe the gods in your world are gone. You know why, but they don't, and they don't have a source for that🔥 explanation. In this case, you can simply leave this mystery and move on with the story, which may or may not address this issue. You don't need to explain it.

3 😼 Define The Origin Of Important Concepts ♏

Keep Things Consistent

An ancient gold dragon in Dungeons & Dragons.
Ancient Gold Dragon by Alexander Ostrowski

That said, it's okay to think of how things first started in your world ☂so you can work on its consequences. We previously provided an example of gods disappearing, and you🍌 can use this as a starting point to explore your world's entire religion from this aspect.

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Making political characters is easier if your government is already established. Defining the origin of certain monsters helps you further develop♒ them, and so on. From there, you can start a cascade effect, where these initial details will help you further establish other concepts in your world in a consistent manner.

2 What Is The Main Conflict? ꦡ

What Dangers Linger Throughout The World?

Dungeons & Dragons Asmodeus comanding his forces in the Blood War
Via Wizards of the Coast

Speaking of monsters, broader conflicts are also a great topic that helps with world building and the plot your players will experience. Sure, each place should have its own problems, but an o𓂃verall main issue that the whole place faces keeps the story moving.

Along with sense, it gives your campaign its main gist - the plot, as mentioned. Is the story 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:about facing devils, for exam⛦ple? Then, show how devils have been an issue throughout the world, whether they'﷽re appearing in plain sight or controlling things from the shadows.

1 Create Culture𓄧 And𝓡 Nations

What Do People Value And Despise?

Two animalfolk converse in the Cerulean Citadel in Dungeons & Dragons.
The Cerulean Citadel by Olly Lawson

We've already tackled establishing things cities are known for, but 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:what about whole nations? What is common behavior among the humans of your world? Do they value honor above all? Or maybe they're g🎀reat explorers?

Whatever you choose, picking traits a community shares as a whole makes them more believable. Whether because they see a culture being valued constantly, or even by meeting a particular NPC that doesn't abide by th🅰eir culture's norms.

dungeons-and-dragons-series-game-tabletop-franchise

Your Rating

Original Release Date
1974
Player Count
2+
Age Recommendation
12+ (though younger can play and enjoy) ♎
Length per Game
From 60 minutes to hoꦓurs on e🐼nd.
Franchise Name
Dungeons & Dragons 🐻
Publishing Co
ဣWizards of the Coast