Designing worlds for fun and... well, fun

[sniffles]

I don't DM, but I do love designing world settings, though I've never gotten very far since I don't have any real motivation to finish what I'm working on. A GM I regularly play with is thinking of designing his own setting in which to run his D&D campaigns. He's preoccupied with creating a world map, which I don't think is essential - I feel that all he really needs is a map of the area in which the campaign will begin. I know a lot of folks on here have designed their own settings. I'm wondering what everyone thinks are the essentials that you need to have in place before you start a campaign in a homebrew setting.

Here are some of my thoughts:
1. What races are present, and do they differ from those in the PHB/MM?
2. What are the relations like between the races?
3. How prevalent is magic?
4. What level of technology has been reached by the dominant civilization(s)?

 

[LostSoul]

5. What do the PCs do?

 

[The Lost Muse]

Which God/gods are worshipped? By whom/how devoutly?
How has history shaped the present societies?

 

[painandgreed]

I like to start with the history and work my way to the present with a good idea what the view of the big picture is like. This includes the gods, what races are present, their relations, what empires or big threats have been in the past, and whatever it is that I think sets this world apart from others.

From there I sketch out the large world map and refine the history, countries, capitals, trade routes, racial territories, and other general traits of the world while altering the map as I need to.

Then I figure out where I want the PCs to start at and start fleshing out the starting point and initial adventure.

As soon as I have the initial adventure ready to go, I start a game and drop PCs into my world. They ask questions and I make up stuff on the fly and take notes to incorporate them later. They adventure and the world fleshes out around them as I prep the area ahead of time. Meanwhile, I drop other bits and pieces in other places as I come up with ideas so there are more solid places if they happen into them or I send them there.

 

[helium3]

The steps that others have already posted are important, but I've always felt that the first question to be answered is, "How do I want players to feel after they've interacted with my game?" After all, campaign worlds are basically just imaginary interactive art installations.

So answer that question first. It'll help you to figure out a lot of other stuff, and prevents your game (sometimes) from having that "everything but the kitchen sink" feeling.

 

[jdrakeh]

I usually start with an interesting premise (e.g., dungeon and economic system) and reverse engineer it from there.

 

[Dog Moon]

Actually, the first thing I did was draw the main continent of my world, though it has been modified a little here and there as I go. One of the things I wanted to create was different human cultures as opposed to just different races. [I guess take your number one and two and changes races to types of humans/nations]. However, this is aiming towards the idea of adding a little bit of politics and whatnot into my campaign and that what goes on in one nation will affect parts of the entire world, so obviously creating nations is important and to be able to do so with coherency requires a general idea of where the nations stand, thus the map.

Also, an important thing to determine is what sort of world you want, which is somewhat similar to your 3 and 4, but not entirely. For example, my world is based in a time shortly after a ginormous war, so there are plenty of ruins and nations are fairly poor at the moment. Between the destruction and thefts, no one seems to really know where the money is. This will definitely influence the adventures and the campaign as a whole. Determining this is necessary to help determine 3 and 4, and a whole slew of other questions.

Then, I've begun determining other things, like deities, religions, histories, etc.

 

[Woas]

I always follow the guidelines set up in (the old) Rules of Dungeoncraft articles. This includes: An environment that the players start in. A religion system. Opponents and places to explore in the area. A map with whatever details are needed (I usually go over board on the map department cause i LOVE maps and making maps though).

 

[EdL]

He's got the right idea. Draw the map first, then decide where everything goes. Of course, he may have to redraw it if he decides that a kingdom or something needs to be isolated or whatever. I always draw a rough world or major continent map first and stew about where the big stuff will be (kingdoms, races, etc.), and then do up a nice one when I'm satisfied that I know what's what.

 

[Glyfair]

He's preoccupied with creating a world map, which I don't think is essential - I feel that all he really needs is a map of the area in which the campaign will begin. I know a lot of folks on here have designed their own settings. I'm wondering what everyone thinks are the essentials that you need to have in place before you start a campaign in a homebrew setting.

What's "necessary" depends on the approach your expect to use on your campaign world. Obviously the only thing that you must have is the area the players will be interacting with.

However, I personally like to get an idea of the big picture. I like to foreshadow a lot of things that will eventually be encountered, and that requires at least a sketch of the big picture. For example, while a detailed world map wouldn't be needed, I would want a rough outline of the area and notes on what sorts of things than can found in which areas.