In the last post of this series, we explored several ways in which one might use a very bare bones setting to start a campaign, adding detail and depth as the campaign grows and evolves. This is a good way to start off if you are unsure, but it can still be rather intimidating to think of the sheer volume of improvisation necessary to flesh out one’s world or campaign setting. While one can certainly poach towns, factions, etc. from published RPG settings, pulling out say, the city of Waterdeep from the Forgotten Realms and placing it in an Arthurian setting will often lead to various conflicts between the details of the city and the broader setting. For example, in Waterdeep, magic is very widely available to those with enough coin or credit to pay, while in Arthurian settings, usually magic is quite rare, fantastical, and is not something one could simply purchase with even large amounts of cash.

Essentially, while one can poach elements of cities and towns from other settings for their own, it would be best, for both your own sanity and for that of your players, to be able to easily classify your setting. That is to say, in our previous example, you could say that your setting is like the Arthurian settings, but with a large city that serves as a crossroads for traders from the world over. Other examples of this include, Stargate’s setting of “Ancient Egypt, but the gods are aliens,” the setting of Calimshan being, at its simplest, “Arabian Nights but with even more widespread magic,” and Battlestar Galactica’s (2004) setting of the book of Mormon but with added elements of ancient Greek culture and reasonably over-medium Sci-Fi technologies.

I have found that my best campaigns have begun as such combinations of ideas, and that this is, at least for me, the best way of coming up with a custom setting. The setting readers of this blog may already be familiar with, that of the Northmen campaign, referenced in the first prose post on this blog, is a pastiche of the late Iron Age/Viking Age Baltic and elements of Plato’s tale of Atlantis combined with a healthy dose of inspiration from Robert E. Howard’s Conan stories. The general setting of the Baltic in the Viking Age gives players a comfortable setting in which to ground their characters, and generally leads to players knowing that the campaign will likely have something to do with seafaring, raiding, and gathering vast amounts of loot and treasure if they are successful. It also lets players know, generally, what names would be appropriate for PCs, as many people know, even if only from the Muppets’ Swedish chef, what some Baltic names sound like. This general setting also manages player expectations, in that it makes sense that humans would be the only playable race, and that such classes as monk and gunslinger would be made unavailable to players. It is important, however, to ensure that players understand the setting and the consistency with the setting that underpins the limitations upon character creation so that they do not feel put upon, or as if they are being told that their character idea isn’t allowed.

Referencing again the Northmen setting, it is not necessary to tell your players all of the setting’s elements at first, as a custom setting can be leveraged, if some aspects are kept secret, to allow for one or more great reveals, which, so long as they aren’t completely negative, can make players’ faces light up with excitement if their pet theory ends up being correct. In this setting’s case, the aspect of the fall of Atlantis was kept secret up until the end of the campaign, making the climax even more exciting as the players’ actions led to an island (not necessarily their home island, lest you think I’ve spoiled the ending) collapsing and sinking as they tried to escape it.

Now that you have a base set of elements that together make your setting, if you are trying to build an entire world, you will need to populate it with factions. There should be at least two factions, one friendly or neutral to your PCs, and one that can fill the role of antagonist so that there is more to the campaign than randomly looting dungeons and slaying monsters within them. If you want an even more realistic setting, then consider adding sub-factions to one or more of these main factions, so that there is an interplay of groups that each have their own interests and desires. This has the added benefit of allowing more subplots to arise naturally as the party interacts with groups of these sub-factions and chooses to work with them or against them. In a generic fantasy kingdom, this could include the crown and royal army, the nobles, the common folk, and the clergy/religious orders of the land. Of course noble families would not all work together harmoniously, as each family would want to increase their own power and holdings. Similarly, differing religious orders dedicated to different gods, even in cases of multiple good-aligned faiths, would likely have different goals. For example, Chaunteans in a Forgotten Realms setting would likely care more about marriages for the sake of child-bearing, while Sunites might be more concerned with passion and love, and would likely see marriage as more an expression of that passion, with child-bearing and family creation not being a necessary part of the family unit. Indeed, I would expect that Sunites would actually care very little for the family unit at all.

To flesh out your factions and sub-factions, you will need to consider a few things. First, each faction or sub-faction needs a base of power, whether a capitol, a keep, or a hidden encampment, as well as a general territory within which they have influence. Second, each faction or sub-faction will need a leader, and at least a general idea of the hierarchy, whether it be a guild, military unit, church, or a noble or royal family. The third and final bare bones trait each faction with need is a reason for their inclusion in the campaign. This can be historical; perhaps the order of Amber Staves was brought into existence to guard against the ever present threat of orcs from the steppes north of the kingdom. Alternatively, this reason can be a goal, as would be the case for a thieves’ guild which while it has existed for decades, now wishes to expand into a neighboring city and take over the illicit importation business there. This reason, while it can be whatever you might wish, would best serve the campaign by giving the group relevance to the plot line, to the point of including minor, or possibly even major plot hooks through the faction.

Obviously there is a huge amount of detail that one could put into factions and sub-factions, and that will vary by the preferences of each DM. I can only say that you should do what you think you might like to try, as at worst, you will put a lot of detail into the factions which you will then later ignore if there is no time for it, or no one picks into the background to discover those tidbits. The most important takeaway should be this – your setting and factions should exist to facilitate the story your campaign is trying to tell. Keep this in mind, and even if you stumble at times, you will, with your players, create a memorable, fun, and exciting shared story together.

Next time in this series, we will tackle how to make NPCs believable, and something more than just xp for even the most murder-hobo-y players. Until then, may your dice roll well.