Adding Detail To Your Map That Actually Makes Sense

So, as game masters, you have learnt where to start when homebrewing your own RPG world, and you now have your homebrew map all drawn out, but where do you start when you want to fill your map and your world in? Borders, civilizations, kingdoms – there is a lot to consider! In today’s video, I look at step 3 in creating a homebrew world – adding in civilizations and everything that comes with it. We’ll take a look at how you can plan your roads, kingdoms, transport and communication into your TTRPG world and begin to bring it to life – ready for your next D&D, Pathfinder or Star Wars roleplaying game!

Today we are looking at step 3 on our homebrew world creation process, which is filling in
your map and adding in civilisations.

When starting to fill your map in; start with defining your spaces. It gives you some
interesting constraints when it comes to expanding your species.

Then, think about where the civilisations start – it gives us a point from which to work.
How do civilisations start in the first place?

This has to do with food – nations need sustainable food. In order to have a civilisation with
buildings, kingdoms etc. you need to have sustainable food. Food that you can control the
production of and that you can make sure happens on a regular basis so that no one starves
to death.

So, when you are looking at where your first city would be – it needs to be in a place where
there is a lot of food and good access to the food.
Accessibility generally comes form being on the coast or on rivers. This means that you will
be able to get your food in and out quickly but that you can also trade with everyone around
you.

Distance between cities? I will generally place cities about 1-3 days apart form each other,
depending on how big your world is. The reason for this is because of the towns that service
each city – these towns need to be an accessible distance from the city. They also need to
be in useful spot for trade, transport or growing crops. It is up to you how much – more
towns mean more rest points for your PCs, less means more camping.

Transportation – depends on what you decide to use as means of transport. Roads are
important to build in your world.

Communication – how do the people in your nation communicate?
Faster communications usually mean bigger, more expansive nations. Try to make sure that
communication does not take longer than 2-3 weeks to be reached as this can become
unwieldy.

Lastly, use your map to show the uniqueness of the cultures within your world. For example
– pyramid type structures would indicate an Egyptian type of people in that region.