This article is part of the Instant World Builder series.

Random thoughts

I was thinking about my obsession with reducing prep time before my D&D games. I don’t have that much free time but I really enjoy world creation and campaign building. I always find some time for hobbies I enjoy - and there are a lot of them - so why not indulge and spend a little more time on prep? Well, I’m just lazy. Isn’t great to do nothing? It has to be one of my favorites hobbies!

The inside out technique

This technique is a good way to keep the world building time to a minimum. In a nutshell it consists of working on a small area where the PCs will be adventuring in the first few sessions and then expand outward in all directions.

Establishing the standards

You have to show your players what your world is about. I believe it makes sense for the starting area to be a normal town or village. It’s a lot of work to make your players feel and understand what your new world is like. There’s a risk of information overload if you tell players what the world should be like but the first few sessions are in a completely different environment.

The players will still be thrilled even though they start their adventuring career in a generic hamlet.

Expanding outward in almost all directions

Once you feel confident that the players are immersed in the new world, it’s time to figure out which parts of the world to create next. Introduce rumors, legends or myths about great people, powerful artifacts, and forgotten places. No need to plan anything. Just introduce random rumors and interesting stories and watch your players’ reactions. They’ll always be more enthusiastic about a few of the possibilities you’ve introduced in the game.

Just go for whatever your players feel like doing - expand in these directions. Doesn’t it make sense for them to choose the goal of the campaign they’re playing in?