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Message: <blockquote data-quote="discosoc" data-source="post: 6833126" data-attributes="member: 6801554">There are two main ways of building a world.  Top-down and bottom-up.Top-down:  Basically start by detailing all kinds of lore and maps, as well as the geography of the continent or entire world.  You write up information about each race, create elaborate pantheons, etc..  This approach is highly detailed, and takes a lot of time to make into a workable setting that you can start playing in, because you're spending so much effort on stuff that won't have a direct impact on your immediate games.Bottom-up:  This is where you start by writing details of the region you will be playing in (perhaps a small town and the surrounding countryside), quick notes about mechanics-related lore (deity names and associated domains, etc), and then some very broad descriptions about how major forces in the world interact.  You can also quickly describe the unique or core feature of the world, without getting into too much detail (most potential mages are rounded up and taken to the capital for training, but in reality are used in labor camps where they create magic weapons and defenses for The Secret Shadow War, which is largely unknown to the general population).  With this approach, you want to focus your details on the places where the group is adventuring, and only worry about expanding the world lore when the players actually start going to new places.I think most players gravitate towards the top-down approach and never really get anywhere after the initial burst of inspiration.  The settings that seem to be the most successful for homebrew stuff usually start small and grow over time.</blockquote>

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