How to Make a World Map for D&D

Draw out the main continent or continents of your world on a sheet of paper. Once you have your coastlines and the general shape of the land masses, you can gauge where the other geographic features will be.

Draw the mountain ranges on the land. These regions are very important because they determine where objects like rivers come from. Mountains should be close to the coastal areas if you are trying for a realistic depiction.

Add major rivers, starting up in the mountains and flowing downhill, traveling eventually to the coast where they feed into the sea.

Put in the hazardous areas of your world like deserts and volcanoes. Keep in mind that volcanoes are usually among the tallest mountains, and deserts are usually located near the mountains where the rivers aren't flowing.

Add the remaining geographic features, like forests and swamps. Both of these examples should be centered around the rivers, with swamps located near the mouths of rivers where they meet the oceans.

Mark the spots for your towns; these should generally be along rivers and/or other locations where resources and travel are easily accessible. One good location is along a river near a forest.

Complete the landscape with caves and other dungeon entrances that your player characters are meant to discover. These should be within the mountains, but look for special places, like around volcanoes or where rivers come down from cliffs as waterfalls.