I'm a first time DM (3.5e), and, being a passionate writer, I decided to create the entire campaign and campaign setting myself. It's been good fun, and I have about 12 pages of (elaborated upon) ideas for it. However, I'm starting to worry that I'm becoming too specific. My original plan was to get several dozen pages of ideas for my campaign setting (easy enough), then compile it into a formal "specification" that would basically establish the whole state of the world. (Originally I had planned to write it out normally, but I've been thinking now that I'm gonna use Obsidian Portal or something like that. Not too important.) Following this idea, I set some backstory for the world politics in general, and for the powerful nation that'll be the setting for most of the campaign. I decided it was a good time to draw a map of the continent, so I did. I ended up with about eight countries, including the main one. Within the main country, I drew in fifty districts. Then I look at it again.
At that point I realized that I would have to go through and name fifty districts.
Now, it's not impossible. But I've never done this before, and it doesn't seem necessary. I know that the PCs will need to know the names of three districts within an hour of play, and that's it. The others could come later. Do I need to worry about them now?
This is a bit more general, as well. What level of specificity should I write it at this point, when I haven't even had a game with my players yet? As a first-time DM, I really can't foresee what I'll need. Any suggestions?
Best Answer
I would say that you want to have a sort of reverse-donut shape for the detail-level of your campaign: Lots of detail at the top levels, lots of detail about the areas surrounding the players, and not as much in between.
Think about how the information will be used by the players. Obviously the lowest-level stuff (inside-out) is vitally important... That's what the players are experiencing now. The high level stuff is important too: when a player thinks about the world they're in, they'll be looking for a high-level overview (outside-in).
The stuff in between (the districts in your example), just isn't very important most of the time. There will be a few that are (locations of natural wonders, or important characters). There will be a few that the players need to interact with. Everything else can wait until they're needed.
Leaving this middle-tier somewhat hazy has the added advantage of allowing you room to improvise. If you need a town, you can add it to the blank areas of the map. The same for a forest, or a river, or a lake, or anything else your campaign requires. Role playing campaigns are much more fluid than most other forms of fiction, and having the extra room to improvise can be extremely helpful.