Articulate the big ideas and gather sources.

“Step 1 is something you do in your head. Now, fantasy/swords & sorcery games need not have any fixed basis for the assumptions made by its referee (my own doesn't) except those which embrace the whole of fantasy. This sort of campaign can mix any and all of the various bases which will be mentioned below - and then some. [...] Settings based upon limits (if one can speak of fantasy limits) can be very interesting in themselves providing the scope of the setting will allow the players relative free-reign to their imaginations.” – EGG

Tasks

• [ ] Get/create a notebook. If you are intimidated by nice journals, get a run-of-the-mill spiral notebook or start by throwing your fancy journal down the stairs a few times and spilling coffee on it to teach it who’s boss! Seriously, get something that works for you: fancy or humble, new or used, cheap or pricey, graphed or lined or blank. If you prefer, you can work digitally, of course, keeping a folder of bookmarks, storing docs on a cloud drive, etc.
• [ ] Develop your pitch. Write down 3-7 well-crafted bullet points that will both communicate and “sell” the world to your players. Each bullet should be concise and focused – a few clear sentences is plenty. Emphasize the most essential bits for establishing excitement, expectations, and tone. Your pitch will give players an idea of what they can expect to find (or not find) in your setting and will help them create suitable character concepts.
• [ ] Gather your sources of inspiration. List them and provide a sentence or two explaining what each source brings to the setting. Cull your list so that it has no more than 7 entries. (This can be tough, but I think it’s important to focus the ideas so you aren’t getting dragged in too many directions at first.) Make sure the sources are referenced by your pitch points in some way. Sources are for you; you don’t have to share them with players and players shouldn’t have to be familiar them. In fact, Gygax would tell you not to share them as they might spoil some of the surprises for players or players might expect you to use parts of them you don’t intend to use.

Extra Credit

• [ ] Assemble a mood board. You can use an online resource like Pinterest or create an old school collage of images that put you in the right headspace. A mood board is a great resource for quickly introducing the tone of your setting to players, and it can be a ‘living document’ that you work on over time, possibly together, expanding it as the setting grows. Start with a dozen or two visual references for places, characters, artistic styles, etc. As you work, think about how you decided what fit and what didn’t. Make sure the mood board elements support or inform your bullet points.

• [ ] Practice your pitch! Try explaining your idea out loud – first to yourself and then to some gamer friends (though maybe not the ones you intend to play with just yet).

  

Example