A homebrew campaign has two crucial components: the world and the story. At this point in the series, we’ve already built a beautiful, vibrant, living world that is populated with unique characters and filled with civilizations and stories waiting to be encountered. We’ve written one arc, the first arc of the campaign, and I’ve talked about one-shots. Now, however, it’s time to look at the most critical part of the story: the central arc, or the arc that covers the entirety of the campaign. Sure, there will be other stories and some detours along the way, but this is the trunk of the tree from which all of the branches extend. In fact, that’s how I want you to think of this session: we’re building the trunk of the tree.

This week we’re going to take a look at one of the darker things in the creation of a campaign setting… politics.

Your players may have given you the names and a few details of some people they may know who could be part of your story’s first arc. I know mine did! If that’s the case, take time to note down everything your players told you about those characters. It’ll be important for this lesson! Once you’ve got that, you’re ready to dive into creating the shops and notable inhabitants for the setting of our first arc. I’ll be creating some NPCs and stores for the town of Kessit, where the first arc of my homebrew campaign will be taking place.

This series will, from start to finish, showcase me creating my own homebrew campaign from scratch. We'll make maps, cities, and story arcs. By the end of it, you should have everything that you need (and more) to sit down for the first session of your long-lasting tabletop campaign. Below, I'm going to break down what each entry into this fifteen-part series will cover.