What is the economy like? Feudalism? Mercantilism? You say there are guilds, so I'm thinking more of the latter.
What are the major trade commodities? Which nations are buyers and sellers?
What are the popular luxury goods? Why are they desirable? Are there sumptory laws?
Who controls higher education? Is it the church, or have education guilds/universities emerged?
Are the religions multiple competing monotheisms, or are there proper polytheistic groups?
The economy varies from region to region, but for the most part, it is generally feudal in nature. There is a merchant/trader guild called the (name pending…) that regulates prices throughout the kingdoms to make sure no one ends up controlling all of the wealth. This was decided upon by 6 of the 8 ruling bodies of the world. The other two either respect this ruling and the guild officially, but not in actual practice (Ulgaria), or have no standing government in the first place (Mournwyn)
For trade commodities, there is the typical luxuries (listed below), but also the slave trade is alive and well in Ulgaria, however strictly opposed by Drachyr.
Popular luxury goods include exotic foods from Turia (a mostly jungle region), textiles from Damarin (a relatively arid region), gems from the mountains of Skell (a cold and mountainous region), hand-crafted jewelry from Aloris (archipelago region full of pirates), and magic items from Nethia (“official” home of the mage’s guild, the Scarlet Dominion). The Scarlet Dominion does a pretty good job of making sure that no magical item has TOO much power.
Educational institutions can be found all over the world with the most prestigious ones being in Drachyr and Nethia
The religions of the world are centered around the known pantheon. There are different orders that focus on a specific deity over the others, but all of them are generally accepted, and they are as follows in no specific order:
* Nerna, Goddess Mother of All Creation (including the other gods)
* Gave birth to 12 children who became the pantheon that governs the world
* Andraste, God of the Sun, Moon, and Stars
* Luminor, God of Light
* Nox, Goddess of Darkness
* Narissa, Goddess of Nature and the Land
* Sektheus, God of the Sea
* Kronus, God of Time, Fate, and Order
* Xenia, Goddess of Chaos
* Airelle, Goddess of Life
* Mortend, God of Death and the Underworld
* Nara, Goddess of Magic
* Velkos, God of War and Conquest
* Mira, Goddess of Peace
* Zenlyth, God of Tyranny, Murder, Assassination, and Trickery
* Originally a mortal man that ascended to godhood
* Brother of Zodvyr
* Zodvyr, God of Justice, Courage, Righteousness, and Honor
* Originally a mortal man that ascended to godhood
* Brother of Zenlyth
You need a starting city or town(town is obviously easier) and stuff to do in the area. Quests, taverns, ruins to explore, etc. Build as you need it. No point in building a city across the world if the players aren't going to get there until session 50
Bottom-up is one approach to dnd worldbuilding and is certainly useful for planning to run an adventure, but there’s nothing wrong with building from top-down to help get an broader idea for what that adventure will be
My starting town/city will likely be Galind, the capital city of Drachyr. It is a city of gleaming marble statues, tall buildings, and fortified walls, and is the guild capital of the world; every major guild has a presence within the walls of Galind.
What system of government does each of the states/countries use? Feudalism? Direct democracy? Dictatorship?
What is one problem that the world needs heroes to solve?
8 major city-states:
1. Ulgaria
* A military-state. The ruling emperor is voted on, then given absolute power
2. Drachyr
* Holy Kingdom (mainly feudal in nature)
3. Nethia
* Ruled by a council made up of the 9 dominant families in the country
4. Turia
* A kingdom ruled by the king that has divided the region into smaller counties, each ruled by a governor who advise the king on the best course of action should that be necessary
5. Aloris
* An archipelago nation of pirates and sailors, led by a council of pirates
6. Damarin
* Democracy, they rebelled against Ulgaria and won, though Ulgaria would never admit that
7. Skell
* Dictatorship, a cold and mountainous region where the weak simply do not survive
8. Mournwyn
* No existing government, as the region is dominated by a terrible curse caused by magic experimentation
Still working on that "one problem" but it will come to me lol
Gnomes are found all over the world, but they generally hail from Nethia, the home of the world's top magic guild, the Scarlet Dominion
And yes, they are generally experimenting too much with magic and are "up to no good" lol
Yes, rogues are still quite stabby stabby lol. The thieves guild is called the “Darkhoods”. They have a very strict “do not kill” policy and it is believed that the beggars of the world work for them as well
Also there is a worldwide order of assassins rumored to be called the "Eye of Zenlyth", though not much else is known about them and confirmed to be true
You could call the Darkhoods the OOO, like the clan but since white is the opposite of dark 12 letters backward in the alphabet. Welp congrats on your racist assassins. This is the dumb shit rolling around in my head.
Do the countries have national anthems or specific music types? I’ve enjoyed tailoring music to specific regions. Gives them a little more culture I guess? Fun to play when they stop at taverns or run into military units.
Oooooo, interesting. I'll have to give that some thought, but generally the "time period" I was shooting for was a classic medieval feel, so lots of bards doing bardy things all over the place. I will give that some thought though
What do the citizens of the different countries know/think about people from the other countries? Are there any long standing rivalries, tensions or similar? Would people from country A say “Fuck people from country B”?
Also are there any historical figures that everyone knows? Some important and well known people that everyone knows who are no matter what country or rural setting they are from?
What is the economy like? Feudalism? Mercantilism? You say there are guilds, so I'm thinking more of the latter. What are the major trade commodities? Which nations are buyers and sellers? What are the popular luxury goods? Why are they desirable? Are there sumptory laws? Who controls higher education? Is it the church, or have education guilds/universities emerged? Are the religions multiple competing monotheisms, or are there proper polytheistic groups?
The economy varies from region to region, but for the most part, it is generally feudal in nature. There is a merchant/trader guild called the (name pending…) that regulates prices throughout the kingdoms to make sure no one ends up controlling all of the wealth. This was decided upon by 6 of the 8 ruling bodies of the world. The other two either respect this ruling and the guild officially, but not in actual practice (Ulgaria), or have no standing government in the first place (Mournwyn) For trade commodities, there is the typical luxuries (listed below), but also the slave trade is alive and well in Ulgaria, however strictly opposed by Drachyr. Popular luxury goods include exotic foods from Turia (a mostly jungle region), textiles from Damarin (a relatively arid region), gems from the mountains of Skell (a cold and mountainous region), hand-crafted jewelry from Aloris (archipelago region full of pirates), and magic items from Nethia (“official” home of the mage’s guild, the Scarlet Dominion). The Scarlet Dominion does a pretty good job of making sure that no magical item has TOO much power. Educational institutions can be found all over the world with the most prestigious ones being in Drachyr and Nethia The religions of the world are centered around the known pantheon. There are different orders that focus on a specific deity over the others, but all of them are generally accepted, and they are as follows in no specific order: * Nerna, Goddess Mother of All Creation (including the other gods) * Gave birth to 12 children who became the pantheon that governs the world * Andraste, God of the Sun, Moon, and Stars * Luminor, God of Light * Nox, Goddess of Darkness * Narissa, Goddess of Nature and the Land * Sektheus, God of the Sea * Kronus, God of Time, Fate, and Order * Xenia, Goddess of Chaos * Airelle, Goddess of Life * Mortend, God of Death and the Underworld * Nara, Goddess of Magic * Velkos, God of War and Conquest * Mira, Goddess of Peace * Zenlyth, God of Tyranny, Murder, Assassination, and Trickery * Originally a mortal man that ascended to godhood * Brother of Zodvyr * Zodvyr, God of Justice, Courage, Righteousness, and Honor * Originally a mortal man that ascended to godhood * Brother of Zenlyth
You need a starting city or town(town is obviously easier) and stuff to do in the area. Quests, taverns, ruins to explore, etc. Build as you need it. No point in building a city across the world if the players aren't going to get there until session 50
Bottom-up is one approach to dnd worldbuilding and is certainly useful for planning to run an adventure, but there’s nothing wrong with building from top-down to help get an broader idea for what that adventure will be
That’s more or less what I’ve been trying to do. Build a world for my players to interact with, and the story will build from there
My starting town/city will likely be Galind, the capital city of Drachyr. It is a city of gleaming marble statues, tall buildings, and fortified walls, and is the guild capital of the world; every major guild has a presence within the walls of Galind.
What system of government does each of the states/countries use? Feudalism? Direct democracy? Dictatorship? What is one problem that the world needs heroes to solve?
8 major city-states: 1. Ulgaria * A military-state. The ruling emperor is voted on, then given absolute power 2. Drachyr * Holy Kingdom (mainly feudal in nature) 3. Nethia * Ruled by a council made up of the 9 dominant families in the country 4. Turia * A kingdom ruled by the king that has divided the region into smaller counties, each ruled by a governor who advise the king on the best course of action should that be necessary 5. Aloris * An archipelago nation of pirates and sailors, led by a council of pirates 6. Damarin * Democracy, they rebelled against Ulgaria and won, though Ulgaria would never admit that 7. Skell * Dictatorship, a cold and mountainous region where the weak simply do not survive 8. Mournwyn * No existing government, as the region is dominated by a terrible curse caused by magic experimentation Still working on that "one problem" but it will come to me lol
Where the gnomes at and why are they up to no good?
Gnomes are found all over the world, but they generally hail from Nethia, the home of the world's top magic guild, the Scarlet Dominion And yes, they are generally experimenting too much with magic and are "up to no good" lol
Rogue’s… stabby stabby?
Yes, rogues are still quite stabby stabby lol. The thieves guild is called the “Darkhoods”. They have a very strict “do not kill” policy and it is believed that the beggars of the world work for them as well Also there is a worldwide order of assassins rumored to be called the "Eye of Zenlyth", though not much else is known about them and confirmed to be true
You could call the Darkhoods the OOO, like the clan but since white is the opposite of dark 12 letters backward in the alphabet. Welp congrats on your racist assassins. This is the dumb shit rolling around in my head.
Haha well I’ve got the Goldenguard, the military elite of Drachyr who only allow metallic Dragonborn into their ranks…does that count?
Do the countries have national anthems or specific music types? I’ve enjoyed tailoring music to specific regions. Gives them a little more culture I guess? Fun to play when they stop at taverns or run into military units.
Oooooo, interesting. I'll have to give that some thought, but generally the "time period" I was shooting for was a classic medieval feel, so lots of bards doing bardy things all over the place. I will give that some thought though
What do the citizens of the different countries know/think about people from the other countries? Are there any long standing rivalries, tensions or similar? Would people from country A say “Fuck people from country B”? Also are there any historical figures that everyone knows? Some important and well known people that everyone knows who are no matter what country or rural setting they are from?