Developing a setting from a map?

[Deodand]

I was browsing the DeviantArt carteography section and spotted a small, 'Test Map' that for some reason appealed.

Link:

chanimur.deviantart.com /art / Test-Sample-146822740

(I'm not allowed to post links...yet, just remove the spaces to find the page.)

I am not however fully confident in turning this into a setting, any advice would be well accepted.

 

[Scrivener of Doom]

I can post links so here you go.

I like this. The map is clean. The names don't suck. There's a nice mix of terrain types and the rivers seem to be going in the right direction.

But your question is about worldbuilding. There's a tonne of stuff online for worldbuilding, and a few of the D&D DMGs have made a reasonable fist of it. I would also recommend 2E's World Builder's Guidebook. However, the first thing I start to think of is what adventures do I want to run here and what "infrastructure" do I need to run them. After that, it's a matter of fleshing out people, places, and the pantheon... and don't be afraid to plagiarise.

People: Which races live here and where do they live? Are they traditional D&D-like cultures or are your dwarves, for example, seafarers? Think of three key organisations: one good, one bad, and one neutral (like a merchant's guild). Flesh them out a bit.

Places: Start with three: a city, a town, and a village. Decide which one you will start the campaign in.

Pantheon: Steal an existing RPG pantheon and rename if you feel you need to. Focus on three deities: one good, one evil, and one neutral.

And then sketch out a first adventure, choose which place to start it near, and then build your world from there.

 

[Deodand]

Thank you for the advice and the link.

Some thoughts on backstory.

Looking at the map and assuming that Harrandeep is the capital of the Rivermark, then I could be looking at a state founded on a conquest.

It might be worthwhile trying my hand at a close up of Rivermark just to sort out the internal organization and what lies 'off map' to the south (Assuming north is at the top.)

That said I may have found on DeviantArt a map suitable for the town of Boarbridge.

Colour

blaidd--drwg.deviantart.com / art /City-of-Maisandras-coloured-263204740

Black and White

blaidd--drwg.deviantart.com/ art / Maisandras-262891226

Scaling is going to be the next step.

 

[GMMichael]

What genre are you going for?

That map doesn't really speak to me, except to say "the elves are in the west, and the orcs are in the east."

Try this:

1) Brainstorm out some ideas.
2) Drop those ideas into categories: people, places, and things.
3) Don't nix the bad ideas. They can be rewired into interesting ones.
4) Roll some dice to decide where those ideas go.

Hmm. That was off-the-cuff, but I suddenly feel like I should be doing more of this.

And here are some good world-building mistakes to avoid.

 

[Deodand]

Not really sure yet, but I think I'll drop in another piece of advice, don't get distracted. I found another map ("Tasmevana") by the same designer that seems more 'tractable' and I'm finding it hard not to resist switching over to that map and start again.

 

[Scrivener of Doom]

Not really sure yet, but I think I'll drop in another piece of advice, don't get distracted. I found another map ("Tasmevana") by the same designer that seems more 'tractable' and I'm finding it hard not to resist switching over to that map and start again.

Perhaps more accurately you should have written: Don't choose the worst map by an artist because you will find yourself looking at his better maps and making a new choice.

I confess that, after seeing your first post, I "stole" a lot of maps from his gallery.