D&D 5E New born hatchling of a DM starting his first campaign in epic proportions! XD

[Oofta]

Wow, I am honored by the tips and advice you have given. I give you honor
I shall definitely take all you have mentioned and consider how it will apply to this particular campaign.
May it be a success! But however it turns out, as long as it is fun and entices the imaginations, it will be.
Much appreciated.

No problem. People on these message boards are full of it. Advice and opinions I mean. Sometimes even good advice.

 

[dave2008]

I'm going to jump in as a long time DM who has pretty much only run my own homebrew worlds.

1) Making your own world can be lots of fun, but time consuming. If you enjoy the work - go for it! However,...

2) Do not get overly invested into the World as a personal project. D&D at its best is a cooperative game. If you have a group already, as [MENTION=20323]Quickleaf[/MENTION] suggested, have them over for a session 0 about 1-2 months before you start the game. Get their thoughts and ideas and weave them into the World.

3) Be willing to adjust "your" world on the fly to make it "the" world - one that includes the rest of the groups input

4) Mystery is fun - don't try to figure everything out, or least don't tell the players everything. Maybe their World map is only half of the story.

5) It is quicker to just start small and simple, but don't think you have to start big, just because you have a big world. It is still a good idea to start small / regional and simple.

 

[aco175]

Overall great advise throughout the thread. If you are intent on making your own world and not using an existing one you should write down some sort of outline and fair to average map. Have a plan on the overall theme and maybe a diagram on how to get there. Don't write anything extensive on the big things, but focus on the first few adventures like others have said.

One thing I like to do is provide the players with a sheet describing the world and basic overlay as how it is different from what the books say or how you may have played before. If magic or elves are hunted like witches rather than what the PHB says, players need to know. Do thin in one page since players do not want to read much and do not care about your world as much as you do. I also like to make a 2nd sheet that is tailored for each character with maybe a map and a few contacts or NPCs they know. I change the map a bit or some of the rumors and knowledge to give each character a feel for the region a bit more. It took the players several sessions to figure this out and the players were impressed when they did. Not all the information came up over the campaign, but several times the sheet proved useful.