CAMPAIGN WORLD BUILDER'S GUIDE
Step 1 - Map the World
Break out the D20. This will be the shape of your planetary globe. So first off pop into MS WORD ad draw a bunch of Triangles and lay them out like a flat D20. Each of these Triangle Regions is 4000 miles on each side.
So unless you have an idea of how the world is going to be laid out, lets random up a map. First we decide on the ratios that determine how much of out world is covered in Ocean/Sea, Deserts, Forest, Mountains, Swamps, and plains.
ex.
d20.........................Type
1-10........................Water
11-14......................Desert
15-16......................Forest
17-19......................Mountain
20...........................Swamp
Notice no plains on our world. Roll for each section of our globe to see what dominates the landscape. Then you can draw a coastline to take in those you consider part of larger supercontinents, and others you consider mere islands.
Eventually you can go looking for a small area to campaign in. So break a triangle down into smaller and smaller triangles. The scales of reduction are: 4000 - 2000 - 1000 - 500 - 250 - 125. So you can create a triangle of land that is 125 miles on a side and use this as your campaign area. Adventures might take place in a square mile somewhere in this area. Your PCs may never leave the kingdom that dominates this region.
Step 2 - Generate Kingdoms for our Campaign Area
SIZE: Lets start encompassing sections of our Campaign Map with political boundaries of states. How big is our state?
Category..............Area.......................d100...........................pt
Fine.....................1 hex......................1-20..........................-10pt
Diminutive.............9 hex......................21-40.........................-5pt
Tiny.....................81 hex....................41-58.........................0pt
Small....................801 hex..................59-74..........................+5pt
Medium.................8,001 hex................75-85..........................+10pt
Large...................80,001 hex...............86-93.........................+15pt
Huge...................800,001 hex..............94-97.........................+20pt
Gargantuan...........8,000,001 hex...........98-99.........................+25pt
Colossal...............80,000,001 hex..........100............................+30pt
Roll for size and not down the geographical size in the number of 8 mile hexes.
AGE: After that we want to know how old it is. Now we determine age. So 1d20 years x our previous roll.
Range..............Category...............pt
<100 years........young.................+5pt
100-500 yrs.......mature................+10pt
501-1999 yrs.....Old.....................+15pt
2000+...............Ancient...............+20pt
DISADVANTAGES: These will allow us to increase out Base Points which we will use to buy Advantages later.
1d10 + 1d8....................Disadvantage..............pt(+15pt Limit).......Restricted Types
2.................................Minor Curse................+5pt......................N/A*
3.................................Major Curse...............+10pt.....................N/A*
4.................................Decadent Ruler............+5pt.....................Pastoral Homeland
5.................................Despised....................+5pt......................Merchant Power, Pastoral Homeland
6.................................Devastated.................+5pt.....................Pastoral Homeland
7.................................Exposed Location.........+5pt.....................Demihuman Kingdom, Mystical Realm, Pastoral Homeland
8.................................Frontier.....................+5pt......................Ancient Kingdom, Decadent Empire, Pastoral Homeland
9.................................Impoverished...............+10pt...................Barbaric lands, Expanding Kingdom, Merchant Power
10................................Internal Strife..............+10pt..................Desolate Realm, Nation Under Siege, Pastoral Homeland
11................................Metal Poor..................+10pt..................Chivalric Nation, Merchant Power
12................................Mixed Population.........+5pt.....................Ancient Kingdom, Desolate Realm
13................................Monster Infested..........+5pt...................Pastoral Homeland
14................................Occupied....................+10pt..................Pastoral Homeland
15................................Powerful Enemy............+10pt.................N/A*
16................................Bad Reputation..............+5pt..................N/A*
17...............................Minor Resource Dependancy....+5pt............N/A*
18...............................Major Resource Dependancy....+10pt...........N/A*
*(anyone can suffer from this)
TALLY BONUSES: Age(pt) + Size(pt) + Disadvantages(pt) = total (pt)
ADVANTAGES: Now we can buy our Advantages.
Advantage...........................................pt cost.....Restricted Types
Abundant Natural Resources...................-5pt..........Borderland, Desolate Land
Abundant Population..............................-10pt.......Desolate Realm, Mystical Realm, Pastoral Homeland
Minor Alliance (1 nation).........................-5pt.........Desolate Land
Major Alliance (multiple Nations)...............-10pt.......Desolate Land
Blessed................................................-5pt........Conquered Nation, Decadent Empire, Desolate Land
Centre of Learning/Culture.......................-5pt.........Barbaric Land, Desolate Land, Mystical Realm, Pastoral Homeland, Villaious Realm
Exceptional Product.................................-5pt.......Barbaric Land, Desolate Realm, Pastoral Homeland
Feared................................................-10pt........Conquered Nation, Nation Under Siege, Pastoral Homeland
Great Magic.........................................-15pt........Barbaric Lands, Conquered Nation, Desolate Land, Pastoral Homeland
Metal Rich...........................................-10pt.........Pastoral Homeland
Powerful Navy.......................................-10pt.......Conquered Realm, Desolate Nation, Pastoral Homeland
Powerful Army.......................................-10pt.......Borderland, Conquered Nation, Desolate land, Pastoral Homeland. Barbaric Land will have this if unified under one ruler.
Priest Support......................................-10pt........Borderland, Conquered nation, Decadent Empire, Desolate Nation
Prosperous..........................................-10pt.........Conquered Land, Desolate Nation, Nation under Siege
Protected Location...............................-10pt..........Expanding Kingdom, Merchant Power
Good Reputation....................................-5pt..........Villainous Regime should not have a good reputation
Technological Edge.................................-5pt.........Barbaric Land, Desolate Nation
Wonder of the World..............................-10pt.........Barbaric Land, Pastoral Homeland
NATION TYPE: check off all the nations that are restricted to you because of your Disadvantages and Advantages.
Nation Type
Ancient Kingdom
Barbaric/Savage Land
Borderland
Chivalric Kingdom
Conquered Nation
Decadent Empire
Demihuman/Humanoid Kingdom
Desolate Land
Expanding Kingdom
Merchant Power
Mystical Realm
Nation Under Siege
Pastoral Homeland
Religious Land
Villainous Domain
So draw an outline on your map that covers the size of the Kingdom/nation. Try and use coasts, mountain ranges, and other geographical transitions as borders.
Step 3 - Generate Settlements
A. Location
Site...................................d20
Proximity to Resources
Mineral...............................1
Farmland/forest...................2
Labour................................3
Water (power).....................4
Wind (power).......................5
Boundary of Environmental Transition
Forest - Tundra.....................6
Water - Coast......................7
Desert - Plain........................8
Foothills - Mountains...............9
Swamp - Dry Land.................10
Route Node/Nexus
Cross Road/Rest Stop.............11
Trail/Waterway.....................12
River Crossing/ Fork................13
Defensible Position
Mound.................................15
Hill......................................16
Mountain..............................17
Riverbend.............................18
Gorge/Ravine........................19
Pass.....................................20
B. Purpose
Function..............................d12
Dispersed holdings.....................1
Local market............................2
Industrial.................................3
Commercial...............................4
Mining.....................................5
Administrative...........................6
Culture/education......................7
Ecclesiastical............................8
Primary Residence......................9
Resort......................................10
Port.......................................11
Residential...............................12
Description
Dispersed holdings – isolated independent farms with a selection of skills necessary to support their independent nature. There is little social interaction .
Local market – a centralized community focussed on the collection and distribution of local produce. This type of community can function in isolation while access to a communication network is vital for the export of surplus produce .
Industrial – a community concerned primarily with the processing of raw materials into manufactured goods. Some will specialize in a single end-product. They have access to the resources necessary to process raw materials including labour, power (water for mills). Industrial communities require a communication network to function .
Commercial – a community involved in trade and financial activities (banking and money lending). They do not require traded produce to pass through the town and may be sophisticated enough to deal in document based trade and financial transactions. A communication network is critical to the survival of this community .
Mining – this is involved in the extraction of minerals. It will be located where the minerals are and that can be anywhere. It requires access to a communication network .
Administrative – this is the seat of government, whether the capital city or a local administration. This community will sit at a centre of a provincial or national communication network .
Culture/education – these are centred on universities and colleges. They are centres of learning and have a selection of appropriate crafts to support the development, recording, and storage of information. There is some need for access to a communication network .
Ecclesiastical – religious centres drawing pilgrimage, or housing religious associations or shrines. These require access to a communication network .
Primary Residence – this is the residence of a Ruler (Whether President, Emperor, King, Duke or Baron). It is a palace or castle and requires some access to a communication network .
Resort – baths, recreational districts, retreats. They require a favourable geographical location that provides both safety and healing. Resorts function on a communication network .
Port – located on the coast as a fishing community, a centre of sea trade and travel or located on a river for the movement of goods and people by river. A port requires communication networks that extend over water and land .
Residential – these are designed to provide urban peoples with housing away from polluted, corrupted, or expensive urban centres. This specialization requires a second specialized centre in close proximity .
C. Debris of Previous Settlement
When settlements are abandoned, due to what ever reason, many components are left behind. These components are often the hardest to remove (they are also characteristic of the settlement purpose) and will last centuries beyond the abandonment of the settlement.
d8....Ruins
1......Carved Stone Obelisk, Steele, Monument, and Statue.
2......Mine, Quarry, Smelter Pottery Kiln, and Blacksmith’s Forge, Charcoal Production Furnace.
3......Stone Well, Irrigation Canal, Agricultural Field, and Plantation Crop.
4......Stone Docks, Bridge, Stone Paved Road, Causeway.
5......Cemetery, Barrow Mound, Outdoor Altar Stone, Shrine, Buried or Concealed Temple, Druid Grove, Ancient Tree, Ring of large Stones.
6......Signal Tower, Watch Tower, Lighthouse.
7......Fortified Cave, Bunker, Dungeon, Torture Chamber, Underground Laboratory, City Sewer, Catacombs.
8......Castle Ruin, Foundations, Fitted Stone or Re-used Rock Wall, Chimney, Fireplace, Partially-buried Brickwork.
D. Alignment Spread of Settlement Population
1d6..........Alignment(p)...........Alignment(s)
Roll Twice
1-3...........Lawful...............Good
4-5...........Neutral..............Neutral
6..............Chaotic..............Evil
Leader.................................
50%....................................
25%...................................
12.5%..................................
6.25%...................................
3.125%................................
3.125% Other Alignments
THis allows you to determine which Primary Alignment has Sway, and which Alignment subgroup the Leader represents.
Step 4 - Things to Consider
Ideas to Address when Creating your Campaign Civilization
A - The Civilization at Large
1.....................Multiple Large Urban Centers - This is going to be VILLAGE or better.
2....................A Writing System - It could be simple Pictograms, Marks identifying an individual family, or images describing a larger spoken story.
3....................Specialist Labor - Certain people become valued for their skills in certain areas. They become Artisans, Priests, Leaders, Slaves.
4..................Social Intergration - How do your Slaves get along with the other specialists? Does your ruler even look on them or are they kept out of sight.
5..................Trade Networks - The development of Trade networks linking communities.
6..................Mass Trade -How is surplus produce collected and traded.
7.................Religious and Political Art - What have your Artisans created to prop up the religious and Political Authority of your civilization?
8................Important Structures - The Palace, The Grainaries, The Temples, The Monuments, Mass Irrigation Systems, Water Supply, and Drainage.
9.................Authority Figures -These are your Priests, Your Kings, your Special organizations like the Kings guard, the Merchant Guild.
10...............The Bureaucracy - The rise of Mathematics, Geometry, and Record Keeping.
11...............The Ruling Elite - More than just authority, these are the families of the rulers. They have access to material goods and special education.
12...............A Legal Code - The development of Writing for expressing Laws and rules.
B - The Structures of Authority
1..........................MONARCHICAL ABSOLUTISM. The King or independent Chief enjoys absolute power.
2..........................EMINENT DOMAIN. All land, Livestock, and Game are the property of the monarch providing a right to income.
3..........................DIVINE AUTHORITY. The Ruler is a divine power or has access to divine Power.
4..........................RITUAL ISOLATION. The Monarch resides in physical isolation with a few attendants to do the Monarchs Bidding. Meetings involve acts of isolation by curtains, designated speakers,
5..........................INSIGNIA OF OFFICE. Royal status is displayed through symbolic regalia,
6..........................CAPITAL TOWNS. The Monarch resides in a capital and new rulers establish a new capital or residence.
7..........................ROYAL COURTS. The Monarch maintains a Court with assorted specialized staff. Pages, guards, chamberlains, etc.
8..........................PROTOCOL. Behaviour in the presence almost universally requires conformity to a process of behaviour. Indirect Interaction, Gifts, Abject Prostration, etc.
9........................HAREMS. The ruler has a great many wives and or concubines.
10........................QUEENS. At most royal courts a queen mother, a queen consort, a Queen Sister enjoy prestige sometimes outranking the Monarch. They will likely have their own estates and enjoy some political authority.
11........................TERRITORIAL BUREACRACY. For Administrative purposes, the state is divided into administrative provinces with their own officials tasked with taxation and labour management. Such provinces will be subordinate to a central authority.
12........................MINISTERS. Located in the Capital they work as assistants to the Monarch in the central Bureaucracy.
13........................DUALITY OF ROLES. Ministers function in an assortment of areas of the bureaucracy.
14........................TITLES. Hereditary or Term of Service.
15........................SECURITY. Rivals for the throne are killed, imprisoned, or deported to maintain stability.
16........................ELECTORAL SUCCESSION. Though the Monarch designates an Heir, the final say is in the hands of ministers.
17........................PERIOD OF MOURNING. After the death of the Monarch. A period of social disorder occurs when candidates vie for power.
18........................HECATOMB. Funerary Rites for a Monarch include acts of sacrifice, sometimes large scale slaughter. |