#dminspiration

Understanding the geopolitical forces at play in your fantasy world can transform it from a static backdrop into a dynamic, living entity. By applying real-world principles of geography, climate, and resource distribution, you can create plausible societies, enduring conflicts, and compelling narratives. This guide distills the insights from Baron de Rop's analysis of Faerûn to help you build a robust and believable geopolitical landscape for your own campaign setting.

Phase 1: Laying the Foundation – Climate & Geography

The physical world dictates the possibilities for life and society. Start by sketching out the fundamental geographical features of your world, considering their impact on resources.

Water is Life (and Society):

Identify Major Water Sources: Rivers, lakes, seas, and even massive glaciers are crucial.

Glacial Impact: If you have glaciers, consider their long-term effects:

Mountain Carving: Deep channels and valleys in areas below the ice.

Debris Fields: Scattered boulders and outcrops in lowlands, carried and deposited by glacial movement.

Floodplains/Bogs: Further from glacial foothills, where water accumulates.

Resource Distribution: Glaciers inform where arable land, stone, and metal ores might be easily accessed (e.g., runoff supporting fertile valleys, exposed rock formations).

Sea/Oceanic Influence:

Wind Patterns: Determine prevailing wind directions. Winds carrying moisture from oceans will drop it as rain when they hit elevated terrain.

Rain Shadows: The leeward side of mountain ranges will be arid or barren due to moisture being "wrung out" on the windward side.

Coastal Rainfall: Areas close to the coast will likely receive consistent sea-based rainfall, supporting lush growth.

Rivers and Lakes:

Fertile Land: River valleys and lake basins are often the most fertile areas, ideal for agriculture.

Transportation Arteries: Rivers provide efficient, cost-effective transport routes.

Terrain & Resources:

Mountains: Source of stone and metal ores. Act as natural barriers, influencing population movement and defense.

Forests: Provide timber for construction and fuel. Indicate areas of consistent rainfall.

Grasslands/Steppes:

Rainfall Indicators: Lack of trees or lush grass suggests arid conditions and lower rainfall.

Migratory Fauna: Consider if large herd animals (like bison or wildebeest) exist that prevent tree growth by trampling. If so, this explains why a fertile plain might remain a grassland rather than a forest.

Nomadic Lifestyles: Arid grasslands often support nomadic herding populations.

Swamps/Marshes: Impede movement and trade, making regions harder to access or develop.

Scale Matters:

Define Your Map's Scale: Understand the vastness of your regions. Is a "forest" the size of a national park or a small country? This influences travel times, resource availability, and the scope of conflicts.

Distance & Cost: Remember that overland travel is significantly more expensive than water-based transport (up to 20 times!).

Phase 2: Populating the World – Societies & Interactions

Once your geography is set, think about how different populations would emerge and interact based on these physical realities.

Cities & Settlements:

Harbor & River Mouths: Large cities often arise at defensible natural harbors or at the mouths of wide, navigable rivers, enabling trade.

Resource Access: Settlements thrive where there's easy access to essential resources: water, fertile land, timber, and building materials (stone, metal).

Strategic Locations: Consider choke points, defensible positions (e.g., mountains on two sides, flanked by water), or resource hubs.

Growth Potential: Cities with diverse resource access and good trade routes are poised for greater growth and wealth. If a prime location isn't a major city, ask "Why not?" (e.g., a historical disaster, a powerful magical threat, a societal choice).

Trade & Economy:

Water Dominance: Water-based trade is king. Settlements with river or sea access will naturally become economic hubs.

Overland Trade Routes:

Purpose: If roads exist, especially through difficult terrain, they imply a strong economic incentive (e.g., highly prized rare commodities).

Maintenance: Such roads might be remnants of fallen civilizations, or require significant ongoing investment.

Support Structures: Look for smaller settlements or outposts spaced about a day's travel apart to support caravans (like the Silk Road).

Resource Needs vs. Availability: What resources does one region have in abundance, and what do they need that another region possesses? This drives trade and potential conflict.

Security & Conflict:

Defensibility: Geography plays a massive role in a region's defensibility.

Natural Barriers: Mountains, large rivers, dense forests, or coastal cliffs can provide significant protection (e.g., Northern Italy's defensible position).

Open Plains: Flat, expansive terrain is notoriously difficult to defend and often becomes a historical "war-torn region" (e.g., Poland).

Threats from Neighbors:

Nomadic Warriors: Arid steppe regions can breed tough, mobile warriors (like the Mongols) who, when their populations grow too large for their land to support, may invade more fertile, settled areas.

Maritime Threats: Island chains or coastal populations can pose significant threats to mainland trade through piracy, privateering, or controlling sea lanes.

Strategic Control Points: Identify locations whose control gives dominion over larger regions (e.g., islands controlling a coast, or a mountain pass controlling trade).

Societal Development & Culture:

Resource Abundance & Stability: When basic needs (food, clothing, shelter) are easily met, populations can pursue higher levels of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, leading to cultural advancements, art, science, and luxury goods (e.g., Renaissance in Northern Italy).

Resource Scarcity & Isolation: Regions with limited resources and difficult access to broader economies may foster:

Self-Reliance & Mistrust: People are isolated and have to make everything themselves.

Tribalism & Infighting: Poverty and limited opportunities can lead to internal strife.

Lack of Education/Advancement: Without exposure to external ideas, scientific and magical advancements may be slow or non-existent.

Toughness: People from harsh environments are often hardy and formidable.

Phase 3: Refining & Injecting Fantasy

Once you have a plausible baseline, it's time to layer in the magic and fantastical elements of your world.

The "Why Not?" Question:

For every real-world geopolitical expectation you've set up, ask if your world's magic, creatures, or lore provide a compelling reason for it not to happen that way.

Example: If a rich river delta isn't a major city, is it because a powerful dragon lairs there, or a perpetual magical blight makes it uninhabitable?

Example: Are roads through a perilous mountain range maintained by magically enchanted constructs, or by a specific group whose unique abilities make it feasible?

Fantastical Influences on Geography:

Magical Storms/Climate Control: Does a powerful wizard control the weather, influencing rainfall patterns?

Elemental Rifts: Do elemental energies shape terrain in unusual ways, creating impossible mountains or perpetually burning forests?

Divine Intervention: Did a god's act create a unique resource or transform a landscape?

Racial/Creature Geopolitics:

Resource Needs: Do certain races have unique resource requirements (e.g., dwarves needing specific ores, elves needing ancient forests)?

Environmental Preferences: Do they thrive in specific biomes (e.g., drow in underground caverns, minotaurs in labyrinths)?

Natural Defenses/Advantages: Do their innate abilities (flight, burrowing, magical resistance) change their interaction with terrain?

Predatory/Prey Relationships: How do dangerous creatures affect settlement patterns and trade routes?

Historical Layers:

Fallen Civilizations: Use ancient ruins, forgotten roads, or abandoned cities to hint at past geopolitical realities that have shaped the present. What brought them down? How did their fall change the landscape of power?

Long-Term Consequences: Consider the lasting impact of major historical events on the current geopolitical map (e.g., an ancient war that left a region barren, a magical cataclysm that isolated an area).

Phase 4: Testing & Iteration

Your geopolitical map is a living document.

Ask Questions: Constantly challenge your assumptions. Why would people settle here? What would they do? What would they need? Who would they fight?

Interconnectivity: Ensure that the choices you make for one region have logical ripple effects on others. A war in one area might disrupt trade for another; a new magical discovery in a third might shift the balance of power.

Conflict Drivers: Use your geopolitical insights to generate plausible conflicts, alliances, and rivalries. Resource scarcity, trade route control, defensible borders, and historical grudges all make for compelling story hooks.

By systematically applying these geopolitical considerations, you'll create a fantasy world that feels more grounded, dynamic, and ripe for adventure, providing a solid foundation for countless campaigns. Good luck, Dungeon Masters!

The Primary Source for this paper was an amazing video mentioned in the top, linked below.

@invizagoth

Thanks for requesting the topic!

So you’ve made an intriguing plot, designed characters, and have this detailed, beautiful picture in your head of your world and what is happening. And then, you remember...

And then you may have questions such as:

How can I enhance my narrative descriptions for my players? This would include how they look, describing their actions in and out of combat, and scenes in the story.

I gave this some thought, and I think before we break down specific stuff for each area, we should talk about general principles for narration and description.

1) You don’t need to describe every small detail. While you may want to highlight certain details, it’s great to let your players use their imagination with the details you have given them. Before the movies came out, I’m sure many people had their own ideas of what Harry Potter looked like. Now, everyone universally imagined him having a bolt-shaped scar on his forehead (which was an important detail relevant to the plot), but I’m sure we did not all envision a young Daniel Radcliffe. Notice I said need - some groups may actually want fuller descriptions, in which case tailor it to their tastes.

2) You need to alternate between describing less and describing more, because when you DO elaborate people will pay attention. People may think that high-quality narration means elaborate descriptions at every point in the game. However, I disagree, especially in the context of tabletop when you have to think about how much time you are taking out of the game, and also away from the player, when describing something to them. If I describe every 5-foot square that the player advances in a dim room of a dungeon, it will end up sounding redundant. However, the contrast is what makes your description (and your overall narration) shine. Once you hit a change, really bring home the description and it will be a major highlight.

“Having made through the 6th floor of this dreary, dark dungeon, with gray and crumbling walls, you are astounded as you enter the next room. The room itself is basked in a golden hue, and as you slowly open the door, your eyes are treated to a feast like no other. The walls are lined with gossamer curtains, that trail to a carpet that feels like silk on the soles of your feet. A large statue of D’wyn, the Elven Matriarch, overbears a varnished wooden dining table. It is awash with a variety of delicacies that you have not seen for a long while, as your journey has been long. The grapes are plentiful and they glisten, engorged with sweetness as if the juice were to burst out of them. A deep red, charred slab of meat is served on a glass plate at every seat, its smell permeating the air, inviting you in. For an adventurer like you, this room is not a dungeon. It is paradise.”

3) In general, make your description of the event or thing proportional to its importance. I have discussed this to some degree in the last two tips, but I really wanted to drive it home. Having a good contrast between what seems regular and mundane, and what isn’t, allows you to highlight both. For example, during a mass combat, you may have a general description for the chaos:

“You look around you and your eyes cannot find a single place of respite. Soldiers and goblins clash with swords and shields, the sounds echoing a cruel cacophony throughout the cave.”

But when the players’ big boss comes in: “The Eastern wall erupts in an amazing crash, with the deep rumbling of Abzug, Abzug, Abzug. A horrific figure emerges, towering over you and your fellow adventurers. His skin is coarse and grotesque, with scars upon scars from numerous battles. Some of them are hidden by the spiked pauldrons and guards on his person. But, proudly displayed for all to see are the severed,horrified heads of many Elven villagers, their expressions immortalized as they were made to take their last breath by this beast. His thick torso is guarded in spikes, which extends to his arms. He wields a massive spiked mace, easily the size of one of you, which he manages to swing with only one hand. He foams at the mouth, his lips unable to contain his crooked teeth. His mithril face mask hides the full extent of deep scars. You can only stare in awe as he roars, baring his fangs, and defeats three of your comrades with only one swing of his mace. Abzug is here.”

The opposite of this advice (i.e. giving less detail even though important) can be useful when you are trying to make it a detail that the player needs to notice or may require a Perception or related check as it bears influence on the outcome. “Heather smiles as she walks next to you. Laughing, she reaches up to fix her hair. You see it glisten briefly in the light.”

In this case, it could be a challenge for the player. What if she’s a thief? They may roll and find out more about what exactly is glistening.

4) Use more than one sense! Smell, sound, taste, touch. Even though we are trying to have our players see everything, part of role-playing is experiencing everything too. So, instead of discussing how delicious the bread looks, talk about: “The smell of the fresh bread is warm, inviting and immediately puts you at ease.” “As you put the bread into your mouth, you notice its initial saltiness, but as you chew through its soft centre, the sweetness subtly swells at the back of your tongue.” “You hear a sounds of strain and tension as you pull the chewy, doughy bread apart, but as the pieces separate the sound dissipates into the air.” “The bread feels rough on the outside as you pick it up from the basket. Giving it a squeeze, you notice its’ soft centre as it compresses easily in your hand. As you cut the bread, you notice flakes from the crust coming onto your hand, warming it.”

5) Use your voice and intonation.

With reference to the previous examples in this post:

I cannot sell how sumptuous and welcome that room with the feast is unless I add an element of excitement, of fulfillment, of hunger to my voice. I need to echo how the players may be feeling/how I am intending them to feel with what is presented before them.

The Abzug intro needs to be dark and menacing, with a component of fear and dread as I narrate. This enhances your description by setting the tone and enhances the vocabulary you choose to describe what is happening.

6) Read and watch! Continue to read posts like this one, read books by your favourite authors and notice how they describe scenes. Also, think of a movie where you actually noticed how well the camera was used to the capture the scene. Go back and watch it, and ask why? This can help with your description. We’ll talk about applying cinematic ideas and approaches to description in each part to come, as they have unique applications in describing people, places, combat and non-combat actions.

On the next part of this Follower Musing, we’re going to discuss tips on describing characters (PCs and NPCs). In later parts we’ll discuss combat and also describing a scene or major story event.

@invizagoth

Thanks for requesting the topic! Today, let’s talk about describing NPCs, and we’ll discuss Player Characters in a following post. We already went through some general principles for narration, but let’s dive deeper with this post. The first thing to consider is: what’s your “camera” doing? Take a look at these pictures and the following examples.

Notice in this clip of Colossus from Deadpool, we first see Colossus through a “low-angle” shot. This makes the character or scene in question appear more intimidating or imposing. For someone like Colossus, who is already, well, colossal, this adds even more to highlight his imposing stature and physical might without actually having any dialogue discussing it to that effect.

So, how might we use this in terms of introducing an NPC?

“Prepare for an audience with none other than Dragoth, Lord of the Giants!” As you and your comrades lay captive, hands tied and knees on the ground, an imposing figure approaches you. Looking up, you see him towering over with his massive, muscular body. His square and bony face, his beard and the glint overwhelm your vision as he maintains eye contact, sternly looking down on your all. Your eyes can’t escape.

In this clip, we see an example of “male gaze”, a technique used to prototypically introduce characters (prototypically females) who are sexually attractive or appealing. However, you could use this technique to describe a character who players should be in awe of, or admire their prowess, or has multiple features you wish to describe about the characters appearance, regardless of gender or sex.

Applied to a roleplaying perspective:

You enter the tavern. The first thing that strikes you is a smooth, red, silky, and seductive leg sprawled over a table. Your eyes follow to reveal the short skirt of Naella, a Tiefling barkeep. Your enchantment is quickly snapped when Naella erupts in laughter and stands on his two feet.

“Never fails. I once thought these hairless legs were a curse, but the customers always seem to order more when I start with this...”

Above we see an example of the Dutch Angle (though actually German in origin!) which tilts the camera in order to evoke a strong emotion or tension - whether it is implying that a character is unstable or aggressive, a situation is dire or in disarray - it all depends on how you use it, but the underlying feeling is tension.

So how do you work this in your game? You could say “the camera tilts” but you can also use words related to tilting, or being unsteady, or being deranged in your general description. As your players are listening, if they have any experience with film they may end up “Dutch Angling” the scene by suggestion alone.

“Die, die, die, die, die...”  Archibald’s fervor and constant repetition is making you and your comrades uneasy. As his mumbling persists, the claustrophobic nature of the space begins to bother you, even as it didn’t before. Archibald’s head tilts while looking over you and the whole world feels deranged. “...Today... is a good day to die!” He exclaims before proceeding to laugh maniacally.

The above pictures detail my last point for this post: Lighting. This can add so much depth in terms of “showing, not telling” about a character. Consider the two examples below.

The sun cascades through the open window of the bakery, glistening the glaze on many of the pastries. It also highlights the cheeks of Jayna, baker and owner of the shop, as she greets you wholeheartedly.

A looming shadow follows Narceus as he enters the room. The only faint light in the room adds to his menace as the shadow obscures his lower face, highlighting the red, malicious glint of his eyes.

That’s it for this post! I apologize for the long break as I had a couple of things I had to attend to in addition to work. Rest assured I will be back with regular content starting this week! On the next post, let’s talk about what your NPC may be carrying on them, their general appearance and what behaviours outside of their dialogue that can further enhance their description.