Dungeons and Dankness Part 4: How to Make a Map

We planned out our epics and features, going through each one and voting on priority.  Story is our major focus right now, as the story will either make or break our campaign.  After establishing our basics, delighters, and satifiers, we started creating the map, which is simpler than you might think.

The above is our protoype map, which is split into two continents.

Making fantasy maps is pretty simple, so here's Noah Rotter's patented guide to creating fantasy worlds.

1. Start drawing continental plates
2. Determine where the continents are ramming into each other, that's where your mountains will be.
3. The furthest points from you mountain will be where the oceans are
4. Did your world have an Ice Age?  If so, then your continents are going to be cut up near poles due to glaciers.
5. Rivers always flow downhill and take the path of least resistance, i.e. rivers flow from mountains and always flow into each other.  A river will never split in half.
6. Islands are formed in many ways, the two most common are continental islands and volcanic islands.  Continental islands are formed by glaciers/rising sea level and will occur around the coast.  Volcanic islands are made by rising volcanoes, and occur where continents are splitting apart.
7. Deserts occur in bands around the 30th parallel, that is, above and below the equator.

Use these 7 helpful tips in creating your own world!

Dungeons and Dankness Part 3.5: Content with World Around Me

The more I think about the Hollow World, the less it makes any sense, which I guess is why it's discredited.  How does the day and night cycle work if the the sun is at the center?  Wouldn't it also mean that the inner shell is a completely uninhabitable desert?  How does gravity work if there are two centers of gravity?  Questions that make that make a plausible world impossible.  My best explanation is that some cosmic entity (a god if you will) put a minature sun at the center of the earth for reason, and is maintaining some kind of day/night cycle/gravity so that life can exist there.

I also organized the Content Bible, which gives an outline for creating a realistic world and a guide for creating a basic story outline.

Dungeons and Dankness 3: Hollow Earth

We pitched our D&D mods, mine was based on the Indian Ocean.  I choose the Indian Ocean because it's a collection of some of the most interesting cultures in the world, which are sadly underrepresented in fantasy.  My race were four-armed descendants of gods, and my class was a witch-doctor.  Unfortunately, my mod wasn't picked, but the one that was chosen has elements of my idea.  The winning pitch was about a Hollow World, with the inner sun stealing energy from the sun.

I was made Lead Content designer, and my two assignments for the team were to browse the World Building Subreddit, and a writing challenge to gauge where their skills are at.  The challenge was to write a story about a pink square, a blue circle, and a green rectangle, and to make me care about them.

Dungeons and Dankness 2: The Lich

We continued on our merry adventure, but night soon fell upon us.  As we drifted off to sleep, we were startled by the sound of an attack!  Goblins poured out of the trees, but we bravely stood against them, except for our dragon born paladin, who was tripping in the forest.  I battled the goblins with my kung-fu, and by throwing a dart between the legs of my other dragon born comrade.

After the goblin attack, we settled back into sleep, that is until I sensed a dark presence.  A Lich had arrived, flanked an all sides by skeletons.  Terrified by this dark enemy, we climbed into the trees, hoping to escape his gaze.  However, one of our comrades fell, broke her leg, and was detected by a skeleton.  I leapt out of the tree, grabbed her, and booked it into the forest, with the skeleton close behind.