Write your First D&D Campaign Setting!

[@andrewshandle]

The hardest part of building a new world is when players want to make characters not from the local area. It's all well and good to design a small town near a river that is populated with humans and halflings, when a player wants to be an elf, dwarf, half-orc, war forged, etc. you need to then figure out how those all work in your world as well. Things can snowball pretty rapidly from there, especially if one picks a Cleric, now you need to start thinking about what the pantheon of the world is as we'll. I can see how people go down a rabbit hole and end up spending months building a campaign setting that barely gets touched.

[@TheArcturusProject]

You can ask them to go along with your vision and not play a warforged cleric living in a small hamlet with human and half long farmers. You are doing all the work, so it’s not unreasonable to say “hey, try out my creative vision, I have an adventure that should last two sessions. And if it’s not fun for everybody after these two sessions, you can switch it up.

[@iratevagabond204]

It's better to have those answers than not - the game will basically run itself the more thought you've put into your worldbuilding, and you never have to worry about introducing things on the fly that might not make sense in the totality of the setting.

[@andrewshandle]

@@TheArcturusProject if the DM's vision excludes most races and a whole bunch of classes, I think it'd raise the question about why wouldn't you play a game in an established universe? At that point wouldn't it be easier for the DM to just move their vision over to a pre-established world?

[@matthewwinans3068]

That's when you, as the game master needs to tell the player "NO". Its no different than if they were to play a video game. There are set playable character types (classes/races) that can be selected. That's it. If a player is unwilling to respect the lore of the the game setting, they are a terrible person and unworthy to participate in the game.

[@andrewshandle]

@@matthewwinans3068 "Do you want to play D&D with me? I'll DM" "Sure, can I play a Dwarf?" "You area terrible person and unworthy to participate in the game."

[@sauronsrighthandman301]

Man...I tell you what, writing is tough. Currently still writing an ongoing 2-year campaign. Took a couple tries to get it right. But man, I still have yet to finish my darn world map lol. The lore was the trickiest bit, but once I sat down and thought about it, it just flowed naturally. Everything somehow fits; like a massive interconnected web of thoughts. I have no idea how it happened, but it just did. And it is absolutely fantastic.

[@WillyLee23]

If you tend to over-prepare your campaigns, I recommend keeping an idea journal. If you come up with an idea you would really like to see in a game, but it doesn’t fit in the moment- write it down. But try to write it in a single, concise sentence that really nails why it’s interesting. Before the next adventure, always reference these notes to see if anything is useful for planning the next adventure.

[@Derry_A_Deryni]

+1! as a person with 30, 180 page MEAD college ruled "books" of unused ideas that are too novel...gotta break them down to a couple chapters of adventure. =)

[@BillNyeTheBountyGuy]

I know it's outside what you normally do, but I would love to see the political/cultural effect of common spells. Like how WOULD Fireball change the nature of nation on nation combat? Love your videos as always. EDIT: Like one I've been thinking about was how easy Alter Self is to get and how that would shape messengers/dignitaries having a 1 hour holding period to sniff out imposters. Or how the cultural notion to remove one's hat as a sign of respect could be to also subvert those using a Hat of Disguise to deceive.

[@nonya9120]

Geezer here..... Fire, ball or bolt changes everything. Gaming on.

[@DungeonMasterpiece]

This is definitely something interesting to think about for an episode

[@andrewshandle]

One thing you need to understand, the more common a spell is, the more people would be used to it and thus have built counters for them. For example, the bars that lock doors would be over 10lbs to prevent Mage Hand from opening them. Doors to more important rooms would have bars over 30lbs so Unseen Servants would also not be able to lift them. The thing is, most people wouldn't even understand _why_ the bars were as heavy as they were, it's just how things are. One of FR books set in Waterdeep goes way further into this in how even taverns in the wealthy part of town has dispel magic enchants, so strong that even Kelban Blackstaff's (a pretty high level wizard) disguise was dispelled as he tried to meet with someone. So really it's about thinking about what magic is common, then figuring out basic counters for them, a bit like how we have metal detectors at airports. I also suspect that with spells like Circle of Truth and a lack of a 5th amendment in D&D, interrogations would be a lot different too.

[@edwardwelsh3202]

Same. A lot of magic items would have *huge* effects as well. One example being Headband of Intelligence. Gives any rich noble a near genius level intellect.

[@andrewshandle]

One more thing, I think it'd be pretty obvious that most "real" world settings would have severe restrictions on magic and magic users. I would suspect that all wizard training would be done by the state where it could be controlled and wizards could be tracked, and all non-wizard casters (warlocks and sorcerers mainly) would be hunted down by the military. Maybe they'd be hunted down and conscripted, but maybe they'd be killed, who knows. All it would take is a paranoid ruler to stir up the populous against anyone who could cast even the simplest cantrip.

[@Mogloth]

Drunk Owlbears is most definitely the name of my next band.

[@Derry_A_Deryni]

ooo, ooo, it's _magic_ when I'm with you...ooo, ooo, it's mushrooms when I'm with you. The Cars...genius discovered: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e2Gup2msrb-qgpo love the Star Trek transporter intro

[@jesternario]

I rarely start the party in town. More often, I have them in the dungeon in some fashion. Usually it's along the lines of "You have been captured and have to escape." This gives the players more emphasis on what they're doing in the dungeon, since survival is the main goal instead of "go in here and get thing for coin."

[@FullMetalXV]

I was thinking about starting mine in a tournament. King hails warriors and wizards alike to celebrate the new peace concordant with the neighboring kingdom. Martial characters can fight each other and show off a bit, meet each other, others can come as apprentice apothecaries selling wares with their teacher or as traveling magicians, It is a big hustle and bustle after all. Then before the final match, evil deeds afoot! The neighboring kingdom invades. TREASON! BETRAYAL! The king is slain, and his son, the prince, now calls for the aid of heroes to help him avenge his father and kingdom!

[@10urion]

The collaborative world making is a major part of the german RPG "Idee". It is designed for attoc oneshots without having anything at the start

[@dubuyajay9964]

Can't find on KZbin. :(

[@10urion]

@@dubuyajay9964 It is a super super small indie game that was only released in German. I have the feeling that I am not leaning out of the window too far if I say that it got sold und 50 000 times

[@kenyonelliott2628]

I like the "who runs this town" bit with a picture of Asmodaus. He has his claws deep in the city I have my players adventuring in now.

[@froggoid]

Love this. Building a setting with the party before the game sounds fantastic. Playing The Quiet Year together is another great tool before a game.

[@VisualArt3D]

Fair point! When I played DnD for the first time, what really hooked me was the reawakening of my imagination. It was like being a child again

[@lordcoreon]

How timely for my next homebrew campaign. Great stuff as always!

[@rippermodean3014]

Thanks for the link "Otus' Gygax 75 Challenge"!

[@tuomasronnberg5244]

All of this is clear, actionable advice, good for GMs old and new! You're pretty good at this kind of geoopolitical analysis, you should make a career out of it :)

[@Stuugie.]

I've been watching pretty much all of your videos and I have to say your DM style is exactly what I've been looking for. I have thought up a handful of your ideas separately but you fleshed them out far better and the majority of your content is purely new and great info. Thanks, I really think you're helping me bring my storytelling up a level or two while running games

[@skullsquad900]

This was the simplest most straightforward, helpful video on these topics that I've seen....and I've seen a lot.

[@zharley11]

As always, top notch content! Thanks, Baron.

[@michaelgunn9883]

I just used this method to develop a campaign setting and I am really happy with the results. I just did a session 0 with my Call of Cthulhu group and we had a great time. I didn't share much of the creation with the players, but I deliberately chose not to develop anything too much so that we can flesh it out when the players decide to go that way. I also used the Pamphlet of Pantheons to create 16 gods and drew icons for them with my high-school-level sketching skills. They thought that was cool, so I also recommend using that zene for the world's pantheon.

[@Derry_A_Deryni]

here goes: @2:25~~maps. over the last 3+ decades of being the DM primarily, I finally found a great resource for maps...real world maps. 2 "for instances", about 5 years ago I needed a SW desert pretty quickly, so I went to Arizona & screen shotted from Flagstaff to Gold Canyon, using the roads & highways as primary boundaries. Gave me hiking trails, bicycle trails, & rail roads. As well as all populated stops in between. I chose the longest surviving towns, camps, & villages as proto-versions then saw what made them economically viable, changing industrial/tech locales into wizard towers & religious temples. A little research & viola, I had horse travel times from bicycles, hiking times from trails, & a host of very interesting "scenic" encounter stops. Then in 2020, also on the "pressed for time" to make an engaging encounter for a YT buddy that bicycled from Maine to North Carolina (Stealth Camping in graveyards & abandoned this abandoned that & other cool places) who also played D&D, I took the coastline of where he came from turned it upside down & gave him a sail boat to adventure in...when he realized, looking at my map, right side up for him, where he was...was _precious_ ! @3:45~~please make random encounters appropriate to the TERRAIN. & *Roll with it* =) @7:00~~Town: even though we are playing in "early Renaissance/Middle Ages" add Magic & it's really the early 1800's...look for Wild West towns for populations, shops, law, etc. Look for, especially, river side settlements for larger villages, remembering that frontier places, nearly everyone has level 1 skills, and a person over 3rd level is 1 in 1000, level 4 is one in 2000, level 5 is one in 4,000, level 6 is one in 8,000...and your group is 4 higher level people = social parity with mayors or Lt. Colonel, level 7 is one in 16,000 = practically a Warlord/Colonel, level 8 is one in 32,000 = practically a Governmore or Admiral. Unless you are in a city 3x as large, or clump of cities 5x as large, or a metropolis even *Larger*

[@eightballprime420]

I recently created a small campaign world this past week. I started with a lot of random generators like hexroll and donjon. For the map I used worldographer and hexroll, donjon, and my own ideas pretty much populated it

[@grimmpickins2559]

Is that Julia Child's The Way to Cook on your top shelf? Excellent resource and an early influence on my culinary career - never would have gotten through chiffon cakes or homemade puff pastry all those years ago. It's those days in the kitchen that had paved, err paid, my roleplaying hobby (an aside: I used to cook for boarding schools and ran several RPG groups over the year, so maybe it really is both). Great video, enjoy your approach.

[@DungeonMasterpiece]

It is. And I wish learning was done much the same way her cookbook teaches.

[@BigCowProductions]

I've already started my campaign with my players, and they've been to a couple towns and the area, so I have some of the things you mentioned created. I just need to map it out. That hexfriend thing might just be thing to help make this work! Thanks!

[@vaclavmusil1197]

Great video, great tips and great inspiration. It seems I skipped a few steps I should have made, but I'm already too far to fix that. But I can still use some of these. Thanks for the advice.

[@thenecessaryevil2634]

I tend to all out medieval style maps. Much like those maps general locations are sorta right. Size on the map is determined by importance (the capital is the largest city on the map even though its really the third largest city), distances are rough, based more on travel time than actual distance. And there are decorative animals and monsters on the map, some of them have been seen in reality in the area they appear on the map.

[@jeffreyallan1312]

Your geopolitical analysis is always so informative and inspiring in terms of how the different terrain features interact. The problem is that I normally struggle with where to start when placing terrain. I think it might be interesting to see a video of the process in action.

[@Tropicoboy]

I just just cool shapes to make land mases and put mountains where I think they should go or were I just feel like it. Then the creative juices get flowing as you decide hey this area is kinda hot and this area is made of mushrooms etc.

[@ShadRS]

Never watched you before. First thing I see is the second release of the Dark Sun boxed set. Subscribed.

[@squashlord3081]

This helps me all lot i have wacthed so many videos named the same thing and did not help my at all this is a real game building changer

[@DungeonMasterpiece]

Share it with your friends who are also new to D&D too! I'm glad you found it helpful!

[@joel3921]

Great post. And great timing. Looking to start new campaigns before year's end.

[@nathancarroll4954]

Never thought I'd be one of "those guys", but timely advice!

[@gingerspice231]

of course you post this after i finish my 167 page campaign setting document

[@Derry_A_Deryni]

book sellers buy at 180 pages...only 13 more pages bro! Logan's Run! go for it!

[@Derry_A_Deryni]

Logan's Run is a movie I wasn't allowed to watch as a young teen.

[@boxcarsbilly]

The brainstorming part reminds me of Microscope, but that is more in depth.

[@DungeonMasterpiece]

Microscope is such a great game

[@dubuyajay9964]

Microscope?

[@Tropicoboy]

Ive been writting my campaign setting for 5 years and it started of with a name and a few gods but then i decided to make a whole new map and then I started with a few ideas and now ive just been filling in spots and fleshing out existing lore. Hard lol I only feel like 1 kingdom which is the size of a continent is done and another which needs more work.

[@joshbingham212]

Amazing advice here, I love all of the player inclusion!

[@snobgoblinDK]

I feel like this video requires a big disclaimer - not all players will be interested in world building with the DM. Some might even resent it. I think it’s fine to invite them to join in and see if they are interested, but not all will want to.

[@travisguzman5603]

I am asked my group what they would like to see and I am so excited to start.

[@c.d.dailey8013]

Thanks. I already built my own fantasy world called Lonlarrian. I was wondering about writing this out in short document. I am currently reading the DND DM Guide. It is the one released recently in 2024. I read the caimpain setting of Grayhawk. It blew my mind. There was a good overview of a setting wtitten in about thirty pages or so. A setting can be basic like that. It is surprizingly short, since campaign settings can easily take up a whole book. I was excited to write something like that but for my world. I found this video video helpful. It is really basic, but that is needed. I did recognize the map of Westeros. Game of Thrones is so hardcore. There is intense lore and world buolding. I am surprised this show managed to be massivly popular despite the hardcore nerdy worldbuilding. I don't mean to bash Game of Thrones. I am a fan of it. I am just saying is that it just seem niche instead of mainstream. One doesn't have to go through all of that at once. One just have to start small somewhere. Even Martin started small. Never mind the vast expanses of Westeros. Just have a litter of dire wolf pups in the summer snows. Finding the wolf pups is one adventure all on its own. Heck the New Players Handbook even has a stat block for dire wolf. Maybe that can be used in a DND adventure, if player characters were allowed to have pets. This would be perfect for a beadtmaster ranger. They can use the land pet stat block and reskin that as a dire wolf. It is so tempting to overdo the worldbulting. So it is good that this video wncourages sticking to basics.

[@JessicaMorgani]

Beautiful clothing choice today!

[@GnarledStaff]

I shouldn't have tried to watch this right before bed, I didnt absorb most of it. Will have to watxh again tomorrow. I tried to make a small region map and it come out bigger than I intended. Having a hard time getting enough races and kingdoms in a weeks walk worth of land to feel fleshed out. Might take a smaller area and flesh it out more after I get the local kingdoms done. You're right about not needing a lot of space for some campaigns. My last campaign the players barely made it a couple villages away from the starting town.

[@MemphiStig]

Great advice as always. I think it's important for beginners to start small, to think simply and directly, and try not to include every race and monster in the books right away. Also good for "random" encounters is to make a list, but not always depend on a roll to decide. Choosing the encounter to fit the moment isn't wrong and can often help maintain the flow and engage the players depending on what mood or state they're in. And thanks for the link to Ray Otus. I wasn't aware of him and this looks like a good source for materials for anyone. Do you happen to know if he's related to Erol, the 1e artist extraordinaire?

[@Micsma]

This is such a great channel holy heck

[@TheAlwaysPrepared]

0:46 Simple statements about the game world: Faith - Steel - Gunpowder😊

[@robertj7993]

This is the video I always wanted

[@GnarledStaff]

That idea for getting the players involved is inspired. I noticed a lot of comments from people who didn't understand what you said. Seems to me that that is designed to get the players invested rather than using them to create the world. Players hate telling you what they want. Getting them to accidentally clue you in... that might just work.

[@EpicSongTime]

your content is FIRE

[@Drudenfusz]

2d6 do not create a bell curve, they have the peak but go gradually down to both side, but there simply is no curve.

[@DungeonMasterpiece]

Okay but what if *ancient aliens guy* lines are technically curves with a zero parabolic component? 🤯

[@WeissM89]

0:25 That map looks a lot like the one from the first campaign I played. My GM might have borrowed the overall shape. Where is it from?

[@itsjonesh]

I know I'm a year late to the party, but the method that I use is to just write a single, concise and vague paragraph about something that I want in the game world. After that, I read the paragraph, mark anything I found interesting, and then I write another paragraph about that thing I found interesting. Then I repeat step two: read the paragraph I just wrote, find something interesting, write a paragraph about it. Rince and repeat. In a matter of a night or so, I've managed to create an entire game world full of personalities, history, cataclysmic events, religions, nations, and even citations and quasi-academic articles. It's quite effective and it doesn't need a lot of brain power to do. However, it works a lot better for world building. For creating storylines, plots and plot hooks? Not that great. I've been a newer face on your chanel for a day or so and I love the quality on the comentary that you do on your videos, my man! Subscribed and liked. Excelent job!

[@WeltenbauerClub]

Thanks mate. As always great content

[@seanmulvany7449]

Right on time!

[@captainnolan5062]

It occurred to me as I watched your interview on Modern Myth, that at some time in the past (maybe around 3rd edition?) the professional writers took over the design of D&D (as opposed to the original D&D which was written by a shoe repairman and a security guard) who were wargaming hobbyists. Sometime around then the game became about telling stories (just what you would expect a writer to be interested in) rather than the exploration of maps by PCs and combat with fierce creatures to obtain treasure [in a hexcrawl or a dungeon delve]. Modules began to be written as movement from plot point to plot point, rather than allowing characters to roam around in the sandbox pursuing their own ideas and motivations. It seems like this was around the time that the term "railroading" arose, and was used as a derogatory term by those of us who had grown up playing the the open world/sandbox type of campaign to describe these plot driven 'straightjackets' of adventures. The linked video is a great example of this point of view (which I agree with): kzbin.info/www/bejne/apScc6KnepKdm7s. The story is what happens at [or away from] the table AFTER they game is finished for the evening. When I see you talking in the interview about the three act structure, overlaid by the Shakespearian five act structure, and then talking about the realization moment in screenplays [coming at approximately page 80], and the climax of the story, etc., etc., it is clear that you know a bit about stories and story structure. Back in 1974, when age 12 to 20 year old 'kids' were putting together their D&D worlds and building sandboxes for others to play in, they had little formal education about story structure, but they knew enough to create challenges for players to overcome, which creates the environment for conflict (which is critical to drama), and with their players having created motivated characters who were seeking fame and fortune, and were placed in such a sandbox environment, they organically created story through play. A DM is not a storyteller.

[@jacobvargas1138]

Reminds me of one unique thing from 13th age!

[@smoati9ap309]

I don't really like random encounters, I set up plot encounters in advance and just decide what locations players can face them. So, if they divert too far from one of my plots, they will face a plot encounter anyway - and i will have a good explanation why it was there

[@DungeonMasterpiece]

Sometimes plot encounters happening at a random time can be really cool because they might foreshadow a problem the players will have to contend with later.

[@smoati9ap309]

@@DungeonMasterpiece true that, duly noted)

[@bromossunstarranger8706]

Ray Otus also has a wonderful Podcast Plundergrounds

[@captainnolan5062]

How does this method of creation (starting with regions) fit with the geopolitical analysis method you mention in other videos. Shouldn't we know the larger picture first?

[@dubuyajay9964]

^

[@AgranakStudios]

So good!

[@taiyowest9495]

i wish i could do this sad truth is a lot of times players expect a already made world and then complain when stuff its perfect or they cant fit their characters in coz it aint the vibe of the setting. I find a lot of players dont have the interest or drive (at least a lof of my players) to build stuff along side the DM and i struggle a lot with this :(

[@iratevagabond204]

I feel like involving players in world building is a mistake. Most players know nothing of good world building, which is why they're players. The only exception to this, is when players are interested in GMing, or have GM experience. If they've never been a GM, or have no interest in learning what makes a good GM/what makes good world building, your world is going to be nonsensical and built on whatever crazy crap is rolling around their head in the moment.

[@Simonbergot]

It also breaks the immersion for me. I like world building but if I am a player I don't want my powers to reach outside my character (and maybe its followers).

[@iratevagabond204]

@@Simonbergot That's exactly how it should be. Maybe I'm just a dinosaur from some bygone era, but all this new-fangled "collaborative worldbuilding" stuff is just foreign to me. It's stealing the thing that interests me in the hobby - I like world building more than GMing, with the latter being a testing ground for my ideas. I'm a "forever-GM", and if it becomes common practice to have players stepping on my toes, or possessing some sort of veto-power over what I do, then I'm going to lose interest quickly. As it stands, I refuse to run game as my local shop, when in the past I used to donate my time to help the owners draw people in. This was for D&D campaigns, despite finding the systems horrible. I just couldn't handle being expected to deal with everyone's hurt feelings and personal desires.

[@miguelvillaruel7667]

Your gonna make everyone a DM

[@Derry_A_Deryni]

the goal to win D&D is DM, the allto win D&D is publish, then suck ass of players, then tAke wonder blocker blockers & becoomwthehte wainbowlkjtw kill everything with rocks not swords

[@Derry_A_Deryni]

not my pc

[@getpaidblackman9859]

I like this video keep it going.

[@kalleendo7577]

Awesome!

[@conflictt3224]

your last geopolitics video that you premiered is still MIA, idk if thats on purpose or what. I had it in my watch later list because I wasnt gonna be home for the steam and its 'hidden' or deleted.

[@DungeonMasterpiece]

It was a stream that was a blunder for technical issues. The wifi at my hotel is totally dog ass. I'll try and do another stream of it later.

[@markstanley4836]

@@DungeonMasterpiece Well don't forget! You had a list of the 7 pillars of geopolitics and I could tell it was going to give awesome D&D lessons.

[@DungeonMasterpiece]

@@markstanley4836 don't worry I won't forget

[@Abelhawk]

Also, don’t come up with an “origin story” for your world. One of my pet peeves is “First there was chaos, then the gods came” stories. No one knows for sure how the world was created, so why spend time coming up with it? Just focus on what people believe now and what influence the current gods have right now.

[@DungeonMasterpiece]

Those origin stories might have direct impact on how people perceive thier histories and how they interact with each other. Ask the sunni and shia muslims about their disagreement over if it was Isaac or Ishmael and how that shapes modern dialogue between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

[@Abelhawk]

Exactly. Coming up with what people _believe_ is much more important and interesting than what actually happened in canon, according to the DM.

[@GnarledStaff]

Hate to be that guy, but if the gods that came first are still around, the creation myth might be pretty relevant. Of course, it depends on how much the gods will be interacting with the party and how much they influence the setting. It may not be the best place to start for most people, but sometimes you have a campaign that will need that info.

[@Abelhawk]

Why would they need to know how the world was created? Why would the gods even tell anyone? Would they even trust mortals with valuing the truth? The gods probably have goals and just want to move them along as efficiently as possible. I just can't think of a situation where they would even care what mortals thought about the origins of the world. It's like telling a kid in detail how they were conceived and birthed. They won't understand it and the specifics don't matter. So if they believe a stork delivered them or they've just always existed, so what?

[@bad-people6510]

Why am I getting DMing advice from Alan Tudyk?

[@TheTYMONGER]

Sounds like something that FATE has been doing for years.

[@matteorossi1172]

Either I can pay my fried which studies art in school to draw the map

[@mathiasseverin5673]

I think there is a good argument to be had that you should not let your players decide what the gameworld will be. Design by committee is bad practice. Instead you should strive to give them an experience they didn't know they wanted. Also, you need to make sure the world you are building is something you love! If you do not love what you are making, it will go stale.

[@geoDB.]

What's the point? I have no friends to play with.

[@dane3038]

300xp

[@mikeymannmade]

First