Happy Lazy Sunday, everyone.
Today, I want to talk about a common trap that many Game Masters fall into: trying to build the entire world before the first session even begins. It’s a noble impulse, but it can quickly lead to burnout. Sometimes, the best approach is to think small.
The Power of a Single Hex
When I start a new campaign, I don't draw continents; I draw a single hexagon on a piece of paper. This hex contains the starting location—maybe a small city or a village—and that's it. From there, I only develop the hexes immediately surrounding it. This creates a small, manageable, but detailed starting area for the players.
To put this "start small" approach into perspective, let's think about the scale of some famous video game worlds that felt massive to us as we played them.
- The entire map of Skyrim covers an area of roughly 15 square miles.
- The world of Red Dead Redemption 2 is a bit larger, at around 30 square miles.
If you're using a standard 5-mile hex grid for your campaign map, both of those entire game worlds could fit inside a single hex.
More Than Enough to Explore
Think about that for a moment. Hundreds of hours of content, dozens of locations, and countless memorable adventures from those games all took place in an area smaller than a single D&D hex.
When you start your campaign with a central hex and the six surrounding it, you're creating a play area seven times larger than the world of Skyrim. You would be surprised how much adventure you can pack into such a "small" map, especially for lower-level characters. I know a lot of players like the idea of epic, world-spanning adventures, but the most memorable campaigns often start by exploring a single, well-detailed corner of the world.
So, the next time you feel overwhelmed by world-building, just draw one hex. It’s probably more than enough to get started.
As always,
Michael Garcia a.k.a. TheCrazyGM