Planning Your RPG Campaign – 3 Ways to Start

You’re keen to start a new roleplaying game but you’re not sure where to even start. Do you design your own campaign, choose a pre-generated world to play your game in, or do you homebrew your own world? In today’s video, I talk about the very first step in designing or building your world space which is where to start! We’ll chat about the 3 common approaches to this step – the advantages and the disadvantages of each one and then allow you to make your decision. Where will you begin in creating your next TTRPG campaign?

Where do you start when starting a new game?
There are 3 ways that you can start when thinking of planning your next campaign:

1. Start with a campaign idea
2. Start using a pre-made world
3. Using homebrew
   Here are the pros and cons of each of these when planning a new game.
   • Campaign idea
   • The pros:
   o Got a big idea? A final scene? A line of dialogue?
   o By doing this first, you are now free to start choosing your goals. You can
   choose ANY goals you like.
   o We have unlimited creativity – there are no rules or requirements.
   o We can change anything – no expectations exist in our space yet.
   • The cons:
   o Campaigns limit constraints – you have no constraints to help guide you
   initially.
   o You will eventually need a world space – so you will have to choose
   eventually.

• Pre-made world – using an existing world space or setting/campaign
• The pros:
o Gives us expectations – we get lots of expectations when using a pre-made
world.
o Lots of pre-generated material – there is tons of material available to you.
o We are free to focus – our efforts are on our plans, not on our world space.
• The cons:
o You need to remember it all. You will have to keep it all in your head.
o Players may take advantage if their knowledge is better than yours on the
pre-gen world. You can however rely on your players and their knowledge to
help you make the world better and richer.
• Homebrew – making your own world space
• The pros:
o You can build anything – as you imagine it, you can add to it, expand, destroy
– anything you like.
o You are free to fill it with anything and populate your world space as you like.
o It is easier to apply your tone to your own world than it is in a pre-generated
world.
• The cons:
o You must create everything. It all rests on your shoulders.