by Mitchel Emley

One of the best parts about being a Dungeon Master is sitting down and crafting out the campaign that your players will partake in. From a pre-stock setting like Ravnica to something wholly original in a Homebrew, there’s a lot of flexibility in how a DM approaches worldbuilding. That said, there are some common pitfalls that can make it a pain for you, your players, or both that should be avoided if possible.

Here’s some tips on what to be on the lookout for and how to avoid them!

Players Are There To Play, Not Get A History Lesson

This can be especially difficult to swallow for the DM who loves to go into uber detail on their world. But for players, this can be a red flag that perhaps this is a table to avoid. If the DM has a super detailed map, knows how each and every faction engages with one another, has a dozen handcrafted languages and so forth what they’ve done is build the premise for a book, not a DND game. I say this because in this sort of world setting the players have minimal or no agency, and DND is fun when players have agency to do things. If you are the type of DM who goes into ludicrous detail on things (I’m guilty of this!), moderate yourself and set some limits. Instead of going crazy on the whole world, just detail out the main hub city, or a single important nation. Build a collection of other ad-hoc details that can be swiftly tossed in as players explore, letting both you and them organically expand the world. The end result is much more interesting and can lead to really unexpected developments that wouldn’t be possible in a rigid game world and keeps the players invested.

The Players Are The Story

An odd thing to say, until you put yourself to task answering this question: if you had no players, what is the point of your world? Dungeon Masters create their world specifically so that players can immerse themselves and enjoy the experience of playing the game, so without them you have effectively nothing. Give your players agency, let them experience the world at their own pace and with their own actions. Let them make mistakes or go off the road and let them choose how and when they do things. The players are the protagonists of this story and you as the DM are the narrator, your job is to enhance the story and the experience. Amplify the reaction towards a natural 20 or double down on the narrative potential of a natural 1. Cheer for their victories and cry at their defeats! If you’re good at improvisation then embrace that skill and combine it with a repertoire of elements that you can quickly pull from when players exert their independence and decide to make that left you warned them would be dangerous. Working with your players can be really rewarding, especially in areas of worldbuilding and something I do is sit down and ask on Day 0 what tropes they enjoy. That way, as they play, I can subtly introduce these elements when the moment presents itself, building up a rewarding sense of engagement.

World vs Plot

A super common mistake is that Dungeon Masters will get too into the idea of “players need to do X, so make them do X to advance the plot”. This isn’t fun for them, as it is railroading and limiting; it prevents any real sense of agency for players, which sucks the enjoyment of exploration out of the entire experience. Avoid the quest checklist syndrome and embrace instead a bit of the chaos that comes naturally from players making decisions on their own. Describe the issue, the reason it's an issue, but don’t force the players to engage with the issue. Is there about to be a deadly plague in the main city? Explain what the consequences are of this plague, offer a bit of a clue via the world on what the players can do about it, then sit back and let them decide if they want to help or not. Letting players say no is a powerful tool - it alters the way the world around them will function (plague decimates main city, shops are now forever closed) and works to change the worldbuilding for you as the DM as well. Is an evil army approaching? What do your players do with that information? You don’t tell them how to defeat it or if they even need to fight it, instead the players come up with the plan which leaves everyone much more invested in the battle. Players who develop their own strategies will be sitting there nail biting as the dice decide their fate compared to players who are forced into an artificial engagement by DM intervention, where they’ll instead sit on their phones waiting to get to the next plot point.

It’s Okay To Not Have An Answer

Your players arrive in the city and as you describe it, one of them asks, “What’s the baker baking?” Assuming you don’t immediately have something scrawled on some note somewhere, it’s okay to say, “You don’t know.” This is a powerful tool for maintaining a sense of mystery in your world - let things remain secret, let things stay hidden. Your players can end up being inspired to discover what this secret is, causing a whole new quest to open up that was unexpected. This style of organic adventure really is the best, it engages players and DM and can lead to some fantastic scenes. Be open to honest mysteries, but don’t rely too much on “no one knows”, especially as a means to try and force players into a different direction. This way, you preserve the excitement and don’t wear out the sense of wonder or curiosity.

Final Thoughts

Worldbuilding is a tricky thing with a lot of different pitfalls, but with these tips in mind it will be easier to navigate. Be aware, however, that these strategies take time and effort to implement - it is a skill like any other, so don’t expect to be able to master everything on your first try. Be open and willing to make mistakes, no game is perfect and it is in the imperfections that we create truly beautiful moments.

Dice Hard: The Caverns & Creatures Blog

Players Are There To Play, Not Get A History Lesson

The Players Are The Story

World vs Plot

It’s Okay To Not Have An Answer

Final Thoughts