Craft Your World: The Ultimate RPG Worldbuilding Guide

The essence of adventure springs from the worlds we create – from quaint villages tucked away in mystical forests to sprawling kingdoms with histories as rich as they are turbulent. RPG worldbuilding is about crafting an immersive world that resonates with your players, drawing them into an engaging universe where their actions matter. Whether you’re a seasoned GM or a budding worldbuilder, understanding the nuances of RPG worldbuilding is key to bringing your fantastical visions to life.

In this guide, we embark on a journey from the ground up, exploring how to create you world, from simple villages into vast kingdoms. Through each step, we’ll delve into the secrets of creating worlds and some useful resources. Let’s jump in.

Laying the Foundation: Starting Small with Villages

Many RPG campaigns begin in a small settlement like a village. These humble beginnings serve as the foundational stones from which grand narratives and sprawling kingdoms are built. They provide the first taste of the local culture, economy, and conflicts that shape the larger world. By starting with a village, you can establish a sense of community and scale, setting the stage for the stories that will unfold as players explore further into your world.

Tips for Creating Detailed Villages

Unique Characteristics: Give each village its own identity. This can be through distinct architectural styles, local customs, or unique geographical features. Maybe there’s a village known for its towering windmills or another hidden within a forest, known for its nature worship.
Village Inhabitants: Populate your villages with diverse characters that draw interest. Each inhabitant should have their own stories, roles, and relationships within the community, adding depth and intrigue for players to discover.
Economy and Trade: Establish what sustains the village. Is it a farming community, a mining town, or a hub for traders? Understanding the economic backbone provides insight into the daily life and struggles of its inhabitants.
Local Conflicts and Secrets: Infuse your village with local lore, conflicts, and secrets. These elements can spark quests, drive player engagement, and enrich the narrative.

You should create villages that are not only starting points but also memorable locations that players want to return to after adventures. The key is in the details – the more vivid and unique your villages, the more immersive and engaging your world will be.

Expanding Horizons: Building Larger Cities and Towns

As your campaigns continue, the setting organically evolves from villages into larger cities and towns. This is a pivotal phase in worldbuilding, where the groundwork from your villages leads into more intricate societies. Cities and towns are not just bigger villages; they are centres of trade, culture, and political intrigue, offering a plethora of opportunities for adventure and storytelling. Building a sprawling city involves careful consideration of various aspects such as economy, culture, and politics.

Key Aspects of Designing Cities and Towns

Economy and Trade: Cities often emerge as economic hubs. Consider what drives the city’s economy – is it trade, industry, or perhaps magic? Establishing trade routes to other settlements, markets, and commerce dynamics can add a layer of realism to your city.
Cultural Landscape: Cities are often melting pots of cultures and traditions. This diversity can be reflected in festivals, architectural styles, religious practices, and even local cuisines. Each city should have its own cultural identity that sets it apart and should appear in each session.
Political Structure: The larger the settlement, the more complex its politics. Who governs the city? Is there a council, a mayor, or perhaps a secretive syndicate? Power struggles, laws, and law enforcement are critical aspects of urban life in RPGs.
Infrastructure and Public Services: Consider practical aspects like transportation, sanitation, and public safety. These elements not only provide depth to your city but also potential plot points and adventures.

Resource for Designing Settlements

To help you in crafting detailed and dynamic urban environments, the following resources are invaluable:

“Campaign Builder: Cities & Towns”: This resource provides a wealth of information on creating vibrant cities and towns, with insights on everything from city planning to societal structure.
“Remarkable Inns & Their Drinks”: Dive into the world of taverns and inns, essential social hubs in many RPGs. This guide offers creative ideas for designing memorable inns, complete with unique drinks and intriguing patrons.
“Spectacular Settlements – System Neutral Edition”: This guide provides an extensive toolkit for building unique and vibrant settlements. It offers customizable options for creating everything from small hamlets to grand metropolises.
“Dangerous Destinations – System Neutral Edition”: Ideal for adding intrigue and danger to your urban settings, this resource is packed with ideas for creating compelling destinations that challenge your players.
“KOBOLD Guide to Dungeons” This guide explores into the art of creating intricate dungeons and underground environments that are pepper larger city structures. It offers practical advice on designing dungeons that are not only challenging and exciting to explore and seamlessly integrated your world.

Utilizing these resources, you can expand your RPG worldbuilding to create cities and towns that are ripe for stories. The more vivid and thought-out your urban settings, the more your players will engage with the location and characters within.

Creating Complex Societies: Factions and Cultures

Developing diverse societies create intricate relationships, conflicts, and histories that enrich your world. The introduction of various factions and the dynamics of their cultures play a crucial role in adding depth and realism to your RPG universe.

Tips for Developing Diverse Societies

Cultural Depth: Each society should have its unique traditions, beliefs, and customs. Think about how cultural aspects like religion, art, and social norms shape the everyday lives of its people and their interactions with others.
Inter-Factional Relationships: Consider how different factions interact with each other. Are there longstanding alliances or rivalries? How do these relationships impact the broader world and your players’ adventures?
Conflict and Cooperation: Conflict is a driving force in any narrative. Create scenarios where factions may clash over resources, ideologies, or power. Similarly, consider instances where they might need to cooperate, forging temporary alliances that can lead to interesting plot developments.
Historical Background: Each faction’s history should influence its current state and status. Histories of war, trade, or cultural exchange can add layers to their present-day interactions and societal structures.

Tools for Creating Factions and Cultures

To aid in the creation of richly detailed societies and factions, the following resources provide excellent inspiration:

“Building Factions 4th Edition”: This guide offers comprehensive insights into creating and managing factions within your world. It provides a framework for understanding their motivations, structures, and the role they play in the narrative.
“Remarkable Cults & Their Followers”: Dive into the world of cults and their impact on society. This resource provides ideas for creating unique cults, their belief systems, and how they can be both a source of conflict and a rich addition to your storytelling.
“Remarkable Guilds & Their Heroes“: This book delves into creating detailed guilds and organizations that helps in developing the factions and cultural dynamics of your world. It’s an ideal resource for adding depth and complexity to your world’s societies.

These guides can help you construct complex societies with multiple interacting factions, each contributing to your RPG worldbuilding. These factions and cultures will not only provide a backdrop for your adventures but also drive the narrative by expanding player choice.

Crafting Kingdoms: Governing Structures and Politics

Well-crafted kingdoms bring a sense of realism and complexity to your world, offering potential narratives driven by power, diplomacy, and conflict. Understanding the intricacies of governance and politics is crucial in developing a kingdom that feels authentic and engaging.

Developing Political Structures

Types of Governance: Decide on the form of government for your kingdom. Is it a monarchy, an oligarchy, a republic, or something entirely unique? This decision will shape everything from laws to power dynamics within the kingdom.
Role of Rulers and Nobility: Define the roles and influence of rulers, nobles, and other key figures in your kingdom. Consider their relationships with each other, their ambitions, and how they interact with the common populace.
Legal Systems and Enforcement: Establish the laws that govern the land and how they are enforced. Are there courts and judges, or do the rulers make swift decisions? How just or corrupt is the legal system?
Internal Politics: Intrigues, conspiracies, and power struggles within the kingdom can be fertile ground for adventure. Consider the factions vying for power and their methods of gaining influence.
External Relations: Relations with neighbouring kingdoms and other entities play a significant role. Alliances, treaties, trade agreements, and wars define the kingdom’s place in the wider world.
Historical Context: The kingdom’s history should inform its current political landscape. Past wars, alliances, and significant events can have lasting impacts on current affairs.

Creating compelling political structures and kingdoms in your RPGs can be challenging, and these resources are invaluable:

“Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination”: This guide provides a comprehensive approach to worldbuilding, offering insights into creating believable and intricate political systems.
“Elements of Inspiration – System Neutral Edition”: A resource packed with creative prompts and ideas, this book can help spark inspiration for developing unique governance and political scenarios.

These resources can help you craft kingdoms with rich political landscapes and add a layer of depth to your world, making it a dynamic and captivating setting.

World Dynamics: Economy, Trade, and Technology

Developing a believable and dynamic economy, trade systems, and technology is crucial in RPG worldbuilding. These elements not only shape the daily lives of inhabitants in your world but also create a framework for player interactions and adventures. By weaving in economic and technological aspects, you provide a more immersive and realistic experience for your players.

Essential Economy Considerations

Currency and Trade: What is the base form of currency in your world? How does trade function? Are there bustling markets, trade guilds, or perhaps most rely on the barter system?
Economic Diversity: Different regions may have unique economic strengths and challenges. Coastal areas might focus on fishing and trade, while mountainous regions might rely on mining or craftsmanship. Reflecting this diversity adds depth to your world.
Trade Routes and Transportation: Consider how goods move across your world. This includes not only the physical routes but also the dangers and opportunities they present, such as piracy or discovery of new lands.
Social Economy: The monetary economy should influence social structures. Wealth disparities, job opportunities, and access to resources can shape societal norms and tensions, providing rich soil for storytelling.
Technology in Daily Life: The current level of technology should affect everything from transportation and communication to warfare and health. How accessible is technology, and how does it influence the power dynamics within your world? How is this expressed in everyday encounters in the backdrop of your world?
Innovation and Discovery: Technology can be a driving force for adventure. Quests for lost technology, the creation of powerful artifacts, or the spread of new inventions can be central to your narrative.

For resources that can help you flesh out these aspects of your world, consider:

“Remarkable Shops & Their Wares”: This guide offers detailed insights into creating unique shops and marketplaces
“Building Worlds 4th Edition”: This book is a comprehensive resource for worldbuilders. It provides tools and tips for creating coherent worlds, with a focus on economic and technological dynamics.

By incorporating these elements thoughtfully, you can create a world where economy, trade, and technology are not just background details but integral parts of your worldbuilding.

Narratives and History: Weaving the World’s Story

A well-crafted history serves as the backbone of your world, providing context for current events and influencing future developments. Callbacks and references to past events lends a sense of authenticity to your world.

Tips for Crafting a Rich History

Mythology and Lore: Begin with myths and legends that shape the world’s belief systems and cultural norms. Ancient tales of gods, heroes, and mythical creatures can be a source of inspiration for current adventures.
Historical Events: Develop key historical events that have shaped the world. Wars, peace treaties, revolutions, and discoveries can all have lasting impacts on the current state of your world and its inhabitants.
Cultural Evolution: Show how different cultures have evolved over time. Changes in art, technology, and societal norms over the ages can add layers to the narrative.
Personal Histories: Encourage players to weave their characters’ backgrounds into the world’s history. This could include family lineage, personal encounters with historical events, or connections to notable figures.
Dynamic History: Keep the world’s history dynamic. Allow for historical revelations and shifts that can change the players’ understanding of the world and their place in it.

For resources to aid in developing compelling histories and narratives, consider:

“KOBOLD Guide to Worldbuilding”: This guide offers insights from top designers on crafting believable and engaging worlds, covering aspects from designing pantheons to creating settings that provoke conflict.
“KOBOLD Guide to Worldbuilding, Volume 2”: The second volume delves deeper into worldbuilding, featuring essays from renowned authors and game designers on creating detailed and dynamic worlds.

A world with a well-defined past and that informs your storylines offers a more rewarding experience for your players.

Tools and Generators: Streamlining Worldbuilding

Leveraging the right tools and generators can significantly streamline your creative workflow. Sometimes, the biggest challenge in worldbuilding is simply getting started or coming up with fresh ideas. Tools and generators can spark inspiration, offering random prompts or suggestions that can be the seed for a new story, location, or character. However, consistency is key in worldbuilding. Generators can provide ideas, but it is up to you to ensure that various elements make logical sense within the world’s context.

Streamlining with Specific Tools

These resources are designed to assist in developing cohesive and dynamic worlds, making the task less daunting and more enjoyable.

“Oracle Story Generator – System Neutral Editon”: This tool is designed to help GMs and worldbuilders quickly come up with new and compelling story ideas. It can generate plot hooks, conflicts, and even entire narratives, providing a solid foundation to build upon.
“Oracle Character Generator – System Neutral Edition”: Creating memorable characters is a crucial part of worldbuilding. This generator assists in developing rich characters with distinct personalities, backgrounds, and relationships, adding a vibrant layer to your RPG world.

By incorporating tools like these into your worldbuilding process, you can save time while enhancing the quality and complexity of your creations. They offer a blend of structure and creativity, guiding you in crafting a world that is both imaginative and internally consistent. Whether you’re fleshing out the finer details of a city or brainstorming the overarching plot of your campaign, these tools can be an indispensable asset in your worldbuilding toolkit.

Final Thoughts on RPG Worldbuilding

Throughout this guide, we’ve explored the essential aspects of worldbuilding. Starting with the foundational elements of small settlements, expanding into bustling cities and towns, to developing complex societies with diverse factions and cultures. Worldbuilding is a journey of creativity and imagination, where each decision shapes your unique and vibrant world.

We encourage you to let your creativity run wild and to use the resources suggested to enhance your worldbuilding endeavours. And we’d love to hear about your worldbuilding adventures and the resources that have inspired you. Share your experiences, successes, and discoveries in the comments below. Happy worldbuilding!