Very often I see publishers and writers making modular NPCs that DMs can throw into their world with minimal adjustment. And it makes sense! Its an excellent tool. It saves you time, gives you inspiration, and allows you to bring over a cool part of someone else’s imagination into your world. But people don’t do this with settings and environments... And honestly, I don’t really know why. I’d argue it’s just as doable, and can have just as interesting results!

And so, the purpose of this blog post is to teach you exactly that! How to build your own modular Microsetting! This way you’ll be able to reuse it throughout games, and share it with other GMs.

What Is A Microsetting?

A microsetting is a small, self-contained area/region. It can be a demiplane, a town, a valley, a dungeon, or even a small area with a mix of these. The idea is simply to create a backdrop for adventuring while following a few key principles:

• Keep it self-contained. Microsettings are kind of like pre-made NPCs. Ideally, you should be able to place them in your own world with minimal adaptation.
• Keep it micro. Microsettings are meant to provide the players with a backdrop for awesome adventuring for a dozen or so sessions.
• Make it alive. Microsettings are meant to be a bit like a character - it has its own personality, goals and struggles. We want to immerse the players into these as they explore it.

Great examples of microsettings might be the Domains of Dread from Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft, or the individual levels in Undermountain from Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage.

Why Would I Want to Make One?

Simple - they save time and are interesting. Kind of like there are books of NPCs to drop into your world, you can also make Microsettings to drop into your world. Need something for the players to explore as they travel into the frontier of the unknown? Need an interesting backdrop for your shiny new adventure? Microsettings have got you covered.

But How Do We Build One?

Building a Microsetting is much like building a normal setting, but we focus on building only what is necessary to fill our small area. How small, you ask? Well, borrowing from Matt Colville’s excellent video-essay, The Local Area, I usually limit the area’s size so the players can traverse it end-to-end in two in-game weeks.

<aside> 💡 Make this size whatever you think is most adequate, however. As I mentioned, you could make a single dungeon or town a microsetting - the geographical space the area takes up is not really what we’re talking about when we say Micro. We’re really talking about the breadth of content.

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To get started building a Microsetting, we can start asking ourselves a few questions. These are also lifted from The Local Area, but I’ve expanded and modified them a bit to make them more general-use.

Starting Questions

• What is the name of this area?
  • Why did it get this name?
  • How did this name evolve over time?
• How do you get to this area?
  • Are there any roads?
  • Ports?
  • Interdimensional portals?
• What is the area like?
  • What biome is the area located in?
    • What is the weather usually like?
    • What is some of the most dramatic weather the party would need to contend with?
    • Does the area have seasons? What season is it currently in?
    • Are certain sections of the area only accessible during specific times of the year?
  • Are there any rivers?
  • Are there any supernatural or fantastical elements to the area’s geography?
  • Are there any notable landmarks?
  • Are there any ruins?
  • What are some of the more interesting places a battle could take place in?
  • What would the party need to watch out for as they wander through the area?
  • Are there any fauna or flora that is only found in this area?
    • What makes this fauna/flora only show up here?
    • What makes this fauna/flora unique?