Sooner or later, most GMs get the urge to create their own settings for their RPG campaigns. I am no different. When I first started in the hobby, 35 years ago, it was what I did with AD&D 2e. I pivoted quickly to the grey box edition of the Forgotten Realms and tended to run most of my D&D campaigns there from then on out. Other RPGs that I loved to play had a setting tied to them (e.g., Pendragon, Shadowrun, WEG Star Wars, and MERP), so I never had the urge to create my own world for any of them. It wasn't until D&D 3.5e and the changes that were made to the Forgotten Realms that I did not like, when I decided to craft my own setting, which I later adapted to D&D 5e.
As I became disenchanted with D&D 5e, I drifted back towards the classic editions of D&D. I then truly discovered Greyhawk, Mystara, as well as my old 1e edition of the Forgotten Realms. I ran campaigns in all of those settings with classic D&D editions (mainly AD&D), retro clones (mainly OSE), as well as my new found love, Castles & Crusades.
It was during a very busy 2024 (moving cross-country to Wisconsin), when I got the urge to once again create my own setting. A setting that reflected my tastes, as well as inspirations from my background as an historian and avid reader of fantasy, mythology, and legendary tales. I wanted a setting that felt "alive" and that I could dive deeply into, even if many of the details won't matter to my players. A setting where I could easily fit any classic edition of D&D, retro clone, Castles & Crusades, Dragonbane, or even Rolemaster 2e into. I wanted to craft a setting where I could share my passions and inspirations with my players, which since a few years includes my kids.
I compiled countless notes on my phone over months, just gathering ideas from all manner of thoughts and inspirations. Then when my weekly group decided we wanted to start a new long-term campaign in 2025 using Castles & Crusades, I knew it was time to bring that setting I have been dreaming of to life: The Realms of Yore.
Themes
When thinking up the Realms of Yore setting, themes that I wanted it to represent were very important to me. As a lover of history, mythology, and folklore, I wanted the setting to be rife with these aspects and I wanted them to relate to our own world. Creating a reference to the real world was important to me, as it helps players quickly identify with a setting. If I use keyword descriptors of a realm as "Arthurian Britain" or "Byzantine" or "Dark Age Saxon", most players have immediate images in mind of how people dress, what buildings look like, and the general aesthetic of a place. Classic RPG settings that borrowed deities and cultures from our own world made them work successfully (e.g., Mystara and Harn) were big inspirations as to the approach I wanted to take.
I also wanted a certain level of grittiness to the world. Not grimy and without hope, but a more visceral "real world" feel that you would see in a TV show like The Last Kingdom. Keeping magic a bit more subdued was also important to me. No magic item shops in my world. Religion would also play a central role, grabbing real world pantheons and molding them to my setting (why can't Wodan be in many worlds at once?).
Finally, I wanted a setting that, although it has shades of grey morality, reflected the classic struggle of good versus evil, law versus chaos as depicted in classic fantasy literature. More JRR Tolkien and less GRR Martin.
Cultures
In developing the cultural outline for the setting, it's important to me to develop distinct human cultures with linguistic differences. Not only would there be no "common" language in the setting, I developed naming tables for different human cultures. Language is such a key part of what makes cultures feel distinct from one another, and adds to the verisimilitude of fantasy world. For the non-human races of elves, dwarves halflings, and gnomes, I relied on the Book of Names published by Troll Lord Games. I also decided to utilize their human naming charts for one core culture group that I will feature in my campaign where I am leaning on themes from Arthurian Britain and very early medieval Franks.
Economics
The beauty of using Castles & Crusades for this setting is the wealth of information found in the Castle Keepers Guide and other supplements published by Troll Lord Games. With the help of these books I can easily develop economic systems that work. Some might think that the economics of a campaign setting do not matter, but they would be sadly mistaken. Knowing the economics helps you develop the aspects of trade in your world, which can lead to conflicts and adventure. Not to mention it can spur on your players to seek out other settlements if they need specific goods.
Beyond the Dungeon
When setting out to develop this world, I wanted to make sure it was a place for generations of PCs to not only adventure, but to leave a mark upon the landscape. For me that means facilitating a landscape and world where "domain play" is possible and leads to more and different adventures. Once again, the Castles Keepers Guide of C&C provides details on domain play with differing tiers of fiefdoms for any level a player might have. No waiting until higher levels needed in Castles & Crusades. The same book also features a mass combat and war rules subset that I consider vital to the domain play in my campaigns, as well as the "on the brink of change" feeling my setting provides.
Focus
Of course if I were to wait until I detailed the entire starting continent before beginning the campaign, I would never start. Therefore I decided to focus on a core conflict region within the world. A place where the Kingdom of Avoy meets the chaotic and turmoil ridden region known as Deraland. Here I will go into detail on each settlement, key NPC, geographic region, and adventure locales. Below is a "work in progress" map that I put together using Inkarnate (please excuse my crude mapmaking skills). Also note that I put a certain Yggsburgh on the northwest edge of the map. I love this product written by Gary Gygax and published by Troll Lord Games and decided to incorporate it into my ongoing campaign.
The Next Steps
I've debated on what I ultimately want this setting to become. I could just develop it for my table and my groups. But I have decided, maybe foolishly, I want to detail and publish this setting region by region in a zine format moving forward. It can certainly be system agnostic, but I will be dedicating my efforts to incorporating the Castles & Crusades system by Troll Lord Games. That will make it perfectly usable with any classic edition of Dungeons & Dragons or "old-school" games such as Old-School Essentials, Swords & Wizardry, OSRIC, etc. I also want to chronicle the development of each location, beginning in Deraland, over on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/realmbuilderguy) where supporters can access the content and also contribute to the development of the setting with feedback.
This is beautiful and I love it.
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