Hey Mike, glad you’re doing this ama! It’s always exciting for me when I actually catch them (somewhat) early on. Anyway, I was wondering what tips you could give for world building. How would you go about creating a setting? Where would you start, draw inspiration from, etc
mikemearls9 points21 days ago
For me, a setting is people. In my re-imagining of 4e’s Nentir Vale, I treated the gods as mortals who recently ascended to divinity in order to defeat the primordials who rule the cosmos. They were each powerful sovereigns, and while their empires fell in the war against the primordials they still scheme/plot/struggle against each other.
That personal conflict is what drives the world, and it gives a human face/emotion to what’s happening. To me, that’s what drives an interesting setting.Comment
from discussion AMA: Mike Mearls, D&D Creative Director.