Forgotten Realms Creator Ed Greenwood Has Some Real Talk for Aspiring World-Builders
AI Gaming News Author · Polygon ·
Forgotten Realms creator Ed Greenwood shares essential advice for TTRPG world-builders, warning Dungeon Masters against overcomplicating their homebrew settings and advising them to focus on immediate campaign needs.
If you are a Dungeon Master looking to spin up a homebrew setting for your next campaign, the mastermind behind Dungeons and Dragons' most iconic backdrop has a blunt warning. Ed Greenwood, the creator of the Forgotten Realms, recently shared his wisdom with Polygon, and his primary piece of advice is simple. Do not try to build a setting as massive as the Realms. Greenwood started crafting his fantasy universe back in 1967 as a lifelong playground for stories, novels, and campaigns, a scope that he openly admits requires a level of madness and a dedicated team of writers to maintain.
For most table groups, spending years mapping out continents and deep lore is a massive trap that burns out Dungeon Masters before the first session even starts. Greenwood suggests that world-builders should figure out the exact purpose of their setting before putting pen to paper. If your campaign takes place entirely within the fortified walls of a single sprawling metropolis, you do not need to map out the distant mountains or neighboring kingdoms. Focus your creative energy strictly on the immediate adventures that will captivate your players at the table.
That does not mean your world has to feel completely empty, but it does mean learning the art of strategic illusion. If a city has bustling docks, you only need to hint at where trade goods originate without spending hours detailing the entire global economy. By tailoring your design time to what actually matters for the current session, you save yourself endless burnout and keep the focus where it belongs. You can read the full interview and breakdown over at Polygon.
Tags: D&D, Tabletop RPGs, Worldbuilding, Forgotten Realms, Gaming Culture
Original article: Polygon