How to Design a Country in Dungeons and Dragons

Draw a map of your country. Decide if you want it to be an island state, or if you want it to border a pre-existing territory from the D&D universe. Start with a basic outline and add cities, towns, outposts, rivers, lakes and mountains. Keep these basic so the map isn't cluttered, but still have information about each location on hand for when players want to know. For this, make a separate map only for you to see. Mark all the hidden treasures, weapons, spells and NPCs that the players will encounter throughout the game.

Provide artwork which corresponds with your vision of your country. This will help the players visualize each location the same way you have, allowing for a free-flowing game. Communication in a D&D campaign is essential; the DM must maintain an entertaining game without upsetting the players due to a simple miscommunication (See Ref. 1).

Create a detailed country that is not overwhelming or redundant. As the DM, you need to entertain the players, not bore them with 20-minute history lectures. Details are important to set the mood, but if you use them too often, the players may lose interest (See Ref. 2).

Determine what the players want from the campaign. If they want to focus on urban centers, you must then create extra maps for each city or town. Populate the cities with engaging NPCs (Non-Playing Characters) and potential side-quests. As DM, you are guiding the players, not controlling them; give them the freedom to choose the world they will occupy (See Ref. 2).

Use elements from other countries within the world of fantasy, from either books or from previous D&D books. If you want to build a desert country, the Dark Sun setting may provide some inspiration. For a traditional Sword and Sorcery campaign, the Dragonlance series of books have set the benchmark. D&D also has classic horror settings with the Ravenloft campaigns if the players want to battle vampires, werewolves or even Frankenstein's monster (See Ref. 3).