Worldbuilding: Local Area Design

The quickest approach to creating a usable fantasy world is to start with the small, local area where the characters’ initial adventures will occur. Some larger issues must still be considered such as how the local area will fit into the culture, terrain and climate of the surrounding area or some broad points about religion or gods that may be important to some characters, but with this approach the time spent on those issues can be minimized.

However, if you have a great concept for one of these larger issues or one of them will play a major role in the early stages of your campaign, you should consider detailing the other concept first or in depth and in tandem with the local area. An article is available here on designing fantasy religions and an example is also available.

What is needed in the local campaign area? Since this area will usually be used for the first few adventures (the characters may move on to bigger things later) the characters will need:

• A place to rest, somewhat safely.
• A way to train/gain spells/pray/etc.
• A source of adventure hooks.
• Interesting people to run into.
• A place to buy equipment.
• A place to adventure.

There are several home bases that can satisfy these requirements: a village, a town, an outpost, a manor or a city. Each of these options is well suited for a number of different types of stories or campaigns.

Continued…