World Building (CSC)

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Every DM approaches world-building in a unique way, governed more by personal interests and preferences than any other definable factor. The temptation is to focus on an aspect of world creation that specifically interests oneself and let the rest kind of, well sort of, you know, just happen like it should. When this sort of haphazard technique is used, true-to-life details prevail in one part of the world design while apparently obvious facets of another are totally ignored. Thus it is possible to visit worlds with exotic, yet realistic geography that are populated by a homogenous population of medieval baronies, all growing wheat and making vast quantities of plate annor, or worlds with incredibly detailed ecosystems built upon terrain not too distantly removed from dungeon floor plans.
It readily becomes apparent that not everyone is a master world designer, regardless of his knowledge of our own world. Still, as in so many things, practice does make perfect. Even if one is an experienced DM and knows how to create a world, it still is a good idea to read through these step-by-step suggestions-there's a good chance that even the most experienced DM may come across something that just hadn't occurred to him before.
Although the goal is to create a fantastic adventuring environment, the steps used to create a good world, fantastic or mundane, remain the same. Follow the steps below, but more importantly, feel free to follow your own instincts when it comes to designing a world for your adventures.
After the initial concepts are in place, world design often depends on a DM's skill at map making. If the DM is unfamiliar with the techniques needed for good map design, he should feel free to flip ahead and read the section on map making before continuing here.
==Choose a Scale==
The first step in world creation is to decide how much area the world map will include. As mentioned earlier, it isn't necessary to create an entire planet, a continent, or even a kingdom at one time. This discussion will deal with an area the size of a continent, but the DM should stick to something that he is comfortable with, regardless of size.
At this stage, it is a good idea to start mapping out ideas. If hex paper (special mapping paper marked off with a hexagonal grid) is used, assign a scale to each hex. Otherwise, use a convenient unit of measurement, such as an inch, to mark distances on the map. The chapter on map making gives more detail on maps and map scale. For our sample continent map, we will assume that the DM is using a blank sheet of paper with a scale of 50 miles to the half inch. Thus, on a standard 8'/2 by 11 inch sheet of paper we can map an area 850 miles by 1,100 miles—just under one million square miles!
If more space is desired, simply fasten two or more sheets of map paper together side by side; or use an even larger scale, such as 75, 100, or even 150 miles to the half inch. Don't worry about losing detail, at this stage all that is important is describing the size and shape of the world and locating its most prominent features. Later on, portions of the map can be scaled down into regional maps for greater detail.
When using a hex grid, remember that the world's outline and any other features need not follow the boundaries between the hexagons—in fact, it's much better if they are not restricted by the hexagons at all. The hexes are there only to regulate the size and distances on the map. The hexes should be assumed to be non-existent when the map is being drawn. Perhaps the best thing to do is draw the map out in rough form on blank paper and transfer it to the hex paper later.
==Start at the Bottom==
Decide whether the world is going to be the size of a continent or just part of one. Pencil in an outline that describes the coastline. Remember that not all coastlines are the same. An area that has been subjected to glacial activity will be substantially different from areas that have always been swamps or deserts.
Now is the time to plan for major islands, long peninsulas, massive bay areas, and isthmuses connecting large land masses and other ultra-large-scale geographic features. Decide now whether the continent is an isolated island itself (like Australia) or connects with other land masses (like Africa, Europe, and Asia or North and South America). Unless there is a reason to create a continent surrounded by water, extend the land mass off one or more edges of the map. This keeps options open for later expansion that can be done without having to redraw existing maps. If the DM eventually decides that the continent is only an island, the map can be extended to incorporate the previously uncharted coastal areas.
At this point, the map shows all the places where the land meets the sea, at least as far as the major land masses are concerned. By definition, these coastal contour lines also show the location of zero elevation, or sea level.
==Work up to the top==
Decide whether the world is going to be the size of a continent or just part of one. Pencil in an outline that describes the coastline. Remember that not all coastlines are the same. An area that has been subjected to glacial activity will be substantially different from areas that have always been swamps or deserts.
Now is the time to plan for major islands, long peninsulas, massive bay areas, and isthmuses connecting large land masses and other ultra-large-scale geographic features. Decide now whether the continent is an isolated island itself (like Australia) or connects with other land masses (like Africa, Europe, and Asia or North and South America). Unless there is a reason to create a continent surrounded by water, extend the land mass off one or more edges of the map. This keeps options open for later expansion that can be done without having to redraw existing maps. If the DM eventually decides that the continent is only an island, the map can be extended to incorporate the previously uncharted coastal areas.
At this point, the map shows all the places where the land meets the sea, at least as far as the major land masses are concerned. By definition, these coastal contour lines also show the location of zero elevation, or sea level.
==Place It On the Planet==
Decide where the world is located with respect to the poles and equator of the planet of which it is a part (again, this makes a broad assumption that the world is part of a planet and not some exotic plane). Then note some rough boundaries where climatic zones change. The world need not run the gamut /from arctic to tropical climate, but on the other hand, it doesn't need to be the size of Earth's northern or southern hemisphere in order to contain all five climatic regions. At this time, determine the direction of the prevailing winds in each climatic area of the world. The five brief climate descriptions that follow should aid in this.
Most worlds will contain five distinct climatic regions: arctic, subarctic, temperate, subtropical, and tropical. Briefly described, these regions are as follows:
===Arctic===
These climates are most often associated with polar regions, where it is usually frigidly cold. In fact, it is so cold year round that agriculture is generally impossible. Sentient beings live here only if they are equipped to survive in a deep freeze. Gentle to moderate (but very cold!) winds blow from east to west.
===Sub arctic climate===
Winters here are long, harsh, and cold- but daytime temperatures in the summer can reach or exceed 80 degrees. A short agricultural season is possible. Winds are more active here than in the arctic and are generally westerly. As a rule, they blow from the direction of the arctic in the winter and from the opposite direction in the summer months.
===Temperate===
In our own world this essentially encompasses the continental United States of America. It is the area of greatest temperature extremes, from bitterly frigid winters to steamy hot summers. Winds are usually westerly (although eastern coastal breezes are common).
===Subtropical===
This is an area of climatic extremes that are closely tied to terrain features. It can include vast rainless deserts or dense jungles where it rains constantly. Days during the warm months can be uncomfortably hot, while nights during the cooler months can be quite brisk. Winds of variable velocity blow from the east, often coming from the equator.
===Tropical===
These regions are as consistently hot as the arctic is cold. The temperature rarely drops below 70 degrees Fahrenheit, except in high areas or during the cold months when a "cold snap" of 60 to 65 degrees may occur. Summers are unbearably hot—especially in low, flat lands or desert areas. Winds are generally mild and easterly.
Now is also the time to note any glaciations present in the mountain ranges. Most mountain ranges in arctic and sub arctic climates and to a lesser extent, some high mountain ranges in other climatic zones will have glaciers. These great, slowly-moving rivers of ice that flow downward, relentlessly scouring the world in their path. Where possible, they extend until they reach the ocean. At the ocean, pieces of the glacier fragment off to become icebergs, the bane of ships in frigid seas.
==Just Add Water!==
With the low and high regions of the planet determined and the general climatic regions laid out, the DM's next step is to add some rivers and lakes.
Rivers begin at some high elevation and run away from the source, toward an ocean, large lake, or some other place nearer zero elevation. A large river usually has several tributaries (feeder rivers) that flow into it, and extremely large river systems (such as the Mississippi in North America or the Amazon in South America, and all the tributaries that feed them) are rarely found more than once in a continent -sized area. The presence of mountain chains affects this. Precipitation falling on one side of the range feeds one river basin, while precipitation on the other side feeds into another.
Large inland bodies of water (including wide-ranging river systems and huge lakes) are less frequent in sub arctic climates than in warmer areas, but a sub arctic region may be laced with a dense and intricate network of smaller rivers and lakes. Be generous when laying in rivers and lakes, yet don't run streams through every hex unless the world is intended to have no deserts.
Swamps, fens, large marshes, and other wetlands fall into the category of water. Wetlands exist where the movement of water through an area has either been hampered or where low-lying ground has been filled by water from a nearby source, such as a river, lake, or ocean. Place wetlands in lower elevation areas, such as along the seacoast and in areas with many rivers and lakes.
==What's for Desert?==
With water courses and bodies placed, it's time to plan out desert areas. Have an eraser handy for this stage (if one hasn't been used already), because several rivers and lakes may have to "dry up" to make way for desertification.
In our own world, deserts are primarily found in or near the subtropics. The cause is the global wind pattern. Prevailing winds blow east to west around the equator and in the opposite direction in temperate regions. When the opposing winds meet over the subtropics, cool, moisture-bearing air is forced downward where it is wanned by the earth. The warm air retains moisture better and rarely releases it as precipitation.
Farther away from the tropics, deserts are often located on the downwind sides of high mountain ranges. When moist winds strike the slope of a mountain, they are forced upward. The air cools as it rises and since the cool air cannot retain moisture as well, rain falls on the mountain's upwind slopes. By the time the air crosses the mountains, much of its moisture is depleted.
With these conditions in mind, place deserts in the world accordingly. Obliterate rivers (or at least change their course) if the map shows water flowing through an area that in all likelihood would be desert.
==Planting Forests==
By placing high mountains (10,000 feet plus), deserts, arctic regions, and lakes, the DM has created a number of places that forests cannot grow. Now decide where they do appear. Mark in the forest areas of the world, remembering that they are more likely to be located near large bodies of water or where rainfall is plentiful (such as the upwind slopes of high mountains). Assume that the world has not been heavily lumbered. Don't go above the tree line on mountains (10,000 feet, where arctic conditions begin) and don't place a forest next to a desert unless there is a specific reason for creating "unearthly" terrain in that area.
==Other Common Features==
Any terrain that has not been designated as seacoast, mountain, swamp, desert, or forest must either be hills or plains (although hills can include ridges, razorbacks, or badlands and plains may mean rolling prairie, arid steppe, or frozen tun~ each of which is a unique type of geographical feature). If it has no distinguishing characteristics, the area adjacent to a mountainous region should be considered as hills (even if it is also desert or forest). Hilly regions can also be spotted into the middle of flat, fea1lrreless areas, just for variety. After this, anything left over is, for now, plains.
==Large-scale Details==
Up to now, the continent has been dealt with on a macro scale—depicting only those major features that would be visible from a vantage point several dozens of miles above the surface. Now is the time to focus in on a few areas and add more specific details. Does that huge desert have an oasis at its heart? Is there a pass that runs through that awe-inspiring mountain range? Do any of the major rivers have waterfalls? Mark these features now and they will be there when the player characters come looking for them.
This is also the time to make any large-scale additions or changes to the terrain features. How about lining that river that runs through the vast plains with a strip of forest? What if that large river splits into a complex delta as it nears the sea? Are there islands in that massive inland lake? Possibly a river should run through the middle of this big desert-but if so, it should be bordered by strips of something else, like prairie. The DM should make as many large scale finishing touches as he likes, stopping only when he is wholly satisfied with the lay of the land.
==Points of Interest==
This refers to natural points of interest. The truly exotic locales are reserved for later. While the design of the world is still at an ultralarge- scale viewpoint, begin to pin down some special isolated features. If the world has features resembling the Grand Canyon, Death Valley, or the Yellowstone area (all in North America), now is the time to place them. It is also time to determine if this world has volcanoes or earthquakes. If so, the DM should place the fault lines and subterranean hot spots.
As with mountains, the theory of plate tectonics also affects the placement of earthquake sensitive areas and volcanoes. The shifting caused by the movement of the Earth's continental plates causes the leading edge of a plate (often where the continent's highest mountains are located and most often near a seacoast) to be earthquake prone as the land relieves pressure by shifting along fault lines. If the world has features that may indicate potential earthquakes or fault lines, mark them in now.
In a like manner, as the slowly moving planetary crust inches over a hot spot deep beneath it, the hot magma thrusts upward through faults and crevices to form a volcano or to superheat subterranean water. In this manner chains of new, dormant, and dead volcanoes are formed (the Hawaiian Islands are an example of this effect).
Individual volcanoes do not need to be included on a map of this very large scale-this would be as difficult a task as locating every individual mountain peak. However, hot spots should be located, usually by marking off one hex (or 30 mile diameter area) in the lower regions of a mountain range or along a major fault line that cuts through those mountains, representing a place where magma lies close to the surface.
Not every fault line produces earthquakes. Nor will every hot spot contain active volcanoes within its boundaries. Be generous with these special features. They don't all have to be active right now, but no one else (in other words, the characters) will have any way of knowing that they exist
==Things Fantastic==
At this point our view of the design narrows a bit further as we once again consider the DM's precreation notes and take a look at locating even more exotic features on the world. As previously discussed, a world filled with mundane features may have its awe-inspiring moments, but otherwise, it remains mundane. It is strongly recommended that the DM place a few large scale, noteworthy pieces of geographic fantasy into his world. The DM will, in all likelihood have his own imaginative features, but samples might include twin volcanoes that constantly belch forth ash and lava, a badlands that dwarfs even the Grand Canyon, fragments of a titanic wall (possibly a construct of the gods?), giant craters, dead areas of salt, ash, and glass, an incredibly deep lake ringed by swamps, or a natural stone bridge of unusual proportions.
Be sparing with them, but don't be afraid to put in such features. As the world develops, they can spur imagination and form key aspects of its mythology and history.