Hey there, DM Tyler here! Worldbuilding is pretty much half my job here at the Roll Slayers, and I take it very seriously. So, here’s some helpful food for thought! When creating your own world, a few things are very important. Political structure, technology, culture, and magic are all large topics to tackle when creating the foundation of your world. That said, one of the most foundational things your world will need is a map. Maps inform all the aforementioned structures of worldbuilding, because geography plays a major part on all aspects of life within a world. The geography of said map is integral for a few reasons:
Travel: How people get around is important for conveying a basic believable world. If there is a prominent river that runs through your continent, that would be a primary use of travel. If there are mountains running across a stretch of land, consider a mountain pass, a road around it, or perhaps a dwarven tunnel through! Point being travel affects how people get around and what type of people settle where. Heck, some towns might exist solely as a waystation between other prominent towns.
International Territory Lines: Geography can also dictate where governmental entities set up shop. For instance, fertile land or hills rich with ore might be central to a kingdom or empire’s territory. It can also form borders naturally, using rivers, mountain ranges, isthmus’s, or mountains.
Climate: Climate affects much of a culture and society, from food availability, what a settlement looks like, and what is valuable within a culture. For instance in a desert society water might be a staple worth more than gold. In jungles perhaps rare medicinal flowers or coffees grow and are cultivated. With that in mind when developing a world make sure to develop a polar system or some unique equivalent.
Trade: Trade is incredibly important for worldbuilding. Trade is the main way that news, culture, and religion spreads throughout the world. At least, that was the case in OUR world historically. So if you want to have something believable in terms of trade, there are several pertinent geographic questions that you must address. First and foremost, you need to define your Oceans and bodies of water. Trade by boat is likely to be integral to your world, unless you have trains or skyships available. Another thing to consider is road placement. Most roads try and take the most direct route, unless there are significant obstacles such as a desert, marsh, or mountain range. In general treat roads like rivers. Water takes the path of least resistance. Combine that with roads taking as direct route as possible and that will give you a rough vision of how these roads might form. Lastly, consider your coasts. Inlets, bays and harbors are excellent for trade as ships can be protected from the open ocean.
City Placement: Lastly, cities and settlements are dictated by geography. Cities will form near a few places:
- Trade centers such as a central plain, a coast, or a river.
- Centered in a region where the food is plentiful. Food will almost always be brought to a central trade location, unless the farmers or fisherman are only working to subsist themselves.
- In a defensible position such as against a cliff, upon a hill, or deep in a forest where it is difficult for invading armies to muster.
- Near a precious resource, such as metal, precious stones, wood, or luxury items such as ivory, silk, pigments, and spices. Remember salt and pepper is not usually a commodity but a luxury.
- Removed from civilization. Some cities may intentionally be founded in difficult to reach places such as on top of a mountain or deep within a forest.
There is a ton more to break down on how geography affects the world you create, however this should be sufficient for someone looking to get the basics solidified! Let us know if this helped, and if you’d like to see these tips put to use tune in to The Roll Slayers Podcast!