Worldbuilding From Life
What is "DMing the World"?
At its core, “DMing the World” is the art of borrowing from the real world and using it in your own fantasy RPG setting. This does not mean running a historically accurate tabletop simulation. It means looking at the world with an appreciative (and respectful) eye and borrowing something that is unique, beautiful, or quite simply fantastic. Our own world is so complex and diverse that there are new discoveries around every corner.
Why Am I the DM?
I've played Dungeons & Dragons and other tabletop roleplaying games for over 30 years. The vast majority of that time, I have been the Dungeon Master, Game Master, Storyteller (whatever your preferred term is). I love to DM! I get such joy and satisfaction when my players defeat the monster, solve the puzzle, or uncover the secret that I have laid out before them. I love telling stories and hearing my players say "Great game!" at the end of a session.
Dungeon Mastering or DMing is not as hard as it looks. A good DM is flexible, adaptable, and improvisational. Our goal is to tell a good story with our players - not to them. That being said, a good story needs a good setting and that is something that we as DMs are responsible for. This doesn't mean that only we can work on the setting. Collaborative worldbuilding can be quite productive. But, in my opinion, you as the DM are the caretaker of that world.
The Characters Could Leave the Graph Paper!
I started out playing D&D when the game mostly consisted of moving square to square on a piece of graph paper and fighting whatever monsters were in the next room. It was a lot of fun and I would (and sometimes still do!) sit and draw out dungeon after dungeon.
But, I “grew out” of D&D and discovered other RPGs that took place outside the dungeon. I played Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness, Marvel Superheroes, and the Star Wars Roleplaying Game. These took place in cities or in space. The closest any of them ever got to a dungeon was the sewers that the Turtles lived in!
I didn't come back around to Dungeons and Dragons until high school when I found Dragonlance. Specifically, the Dragonlance Chronicles by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. This trilogy of novels was set in that medieval fantasy setting that I had started with in D&D but the characters journeyed. Yes, they still fought monsters in dungeons but they also climbed mountains, sailed oceans and explored forests. The characters could leave the graph paper!
In 1998, I started a new D&D campaign in college. Like so many times before, it started with a dungeon drawn out on graph paper. A few of those starting players came and went. Some of their characters died epic deaths! Eventually new players took their spots, but they weren't prepared for this dungeon any more. They had to retreat! Where would they retreat to? I suddenly had to think about the world around this dungeon. That is when the world that would eventually be known as Elimet was born. Elimet has been my D&D setting for 20+ years. I have run five campaigns and dozens of one-off games set in the world. It is the setting for my comic, Chronicle (the name is an homage to Weis & Hickman) and has been updated through three editions of D&D.
DMing the World - In Practice
Each time I write a new adventure, I add a piece to the world. Sometimes it's small - a new character or monster. Other times, it's huge - the calendar, a mountain range, a city! But over those years, the world has grown and evolved. When I know I will be adding something permanent on a large scale, it is never out of the blue. It is researched and contemplated over quite a bit. I look for examples and inspirations. Sometimes it is from other fictional works, but much more often it comes from the real world.
I find the real world more inspiring than another author or artist's work. My ideas come from the history, nature, and culture I discover when I research and travel. Pulling the elements from these sources that make them unique in turn makes my world unique. As caretakers of the RPG's setting, we as DMs must breathe life into it and help it bloom. But, we must do so with a discerning eye. Stereotypes and tropes breed stagnation and disbelief.
A recent example of this was in my one-on-one campaign with my wife. Her character has been traveling along the coast from the capital city to a monastery town in the south. The kingdom, Belanthia, is predominantly human and wide-ranging. There are many distinct cultures within Belanthia given its size but for the "Royal Coast" there is a distinct Mediterranean flair to it. Traveling by carriage, she had to stop at each post town along the way. I could have planned for the adventure to bypass these places, but I wanted to evoke a sense of growing intrigue and danger as the journey progressed. Each of these towns were built on the rocky cliffs by the sea. Each one had its own distinct style like colorfully painted buildings or a watchtower sitting on a sea cliff over the town. Each one had its own culture. One town's people took evening strolls while another was known for its goat cheese. They are full of life and interesting characters. I borrowed the look and feel of them from the Cinque Terre, a beautiful string of fishing towns along the Italian Riviera. Our first session of this journey was as much about exploring these little towns as it was about the intrigue of the story.
This is what I mean by "DMing the World" - not just worldbuilding, but worldbuilding by using our own world. Try it for yourself! The next time you need to add something to your game world, look around and find an example in the real world and manipulate it to use as your own.
20 Worldbuilding Research Prompts
Here are 20 Worldbuilding Research Prompts to get you started! As you think through these compare them to your own campaign world. Do you have anything like that in your world? If so, how could further reading help flesh those elements out? If not, what are the core elements that you can introduce and build on?
What is your favorite region, country, city on Earth?
Why is it your favorite?
Who are the people that live there? What is their history? What is their folklore?
What does it look like? What is the geography? What are the architectural styles?
What does it sound like? Is it noisy or quiet? What does the folk/traditional music sound like?
What does it taste like? What are some of the best foods from that region? What do those flavors tell you about that region?
What is your favorite period in human history?
Why is it your favorite?
What were the major events during that time period? What were some of the minor ones?
What was life like for the common person at that time? How was that different from the ruling class?
Who were the ruling class? Were they royalty, religious, or military?
How did that time period begin? How did it end?
What are some of the customs from that place or that time that fascinate you? Read up on those customs.
What is the history of those customs?
Are there beliefs (religious or secular) that are tied to them?
Has the custom changed over time? Why?
How have major events like wars, famine, and natural disasters affected those customs?
Are there festivals or holy days associated with those customs?
Now, do the same for a region or time period that you know very little about!
Why do you know so little about that topic? Start with an easy source like Wikipedia and learn a few facts.
Who are the people of that place or time?
What are their beliefs? What is their folklore?
What were the major and minor events of that time and place? How did those affect those people?
What are the customs, food, music, and festivals of that time and place?
