I used an existing multiverse. I used an existing pantheon. I am using the default PHB races. Here is where I get creative! Well, kinda-sorta.

I could create a map from scratch, but I am starting the lazy way by using southern Europe as the base structure for the starting region in my world. When I actually draw it up, it will look a little different, and it won't be the same scale at all, but it's a good visualization to start as I describe what I have in mind. I also plan to encourage my players to help develop the landmarks as part of character creation.

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The Geography of the Fractured Realms

The Hisbern Peninsula is the largest settled region. Life for the Hisbernians is largely peaceful, although there are often attacks by pirates along its coasts. There are some large port cities and many small fishing villages along the coast. The interior is dotted with small farming villages, and trade towns have grown at many major road crossings. Rivers are also used for long-distance transportation via barges towed by mules or oxen.

Obviously, this is a combination of Hispanic (Spanish) and Iberia, (Greek for what is now Spain), but you already knew that, right?

To the north of Hisbernia stand the Dwemerhame Mountains, running roughly east to west as a natural boundary across a narrow isthmus. Dwarven settlements there are centers of mining and manufacturing. The passes were fortified during the Mage War, and remain a bastion against invasion by more mundane forces. The city of Newcastle grew during the construction of the citadel at Hammerhall Pass, and the proximity to mining industry has led to its rebirth as a center of technological innovation.

The Dwemer were the dwarves of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, although they were a distinct elf tribe rather than the stocky D&D dwarf. TES3 is still highly recommended for its depth even if the graphics and mechanics are severely dated.

All that remains to the north of the Dwemerhame Mountains now is Desert of Amanth. Nothing is known to live there except hardy lizards and insects, vicious monsters, and desperate bandits. Once upon a time, this was a lush forest filled with elven cities. The Mage War utterly destroyed it.

One of the players wants to be an elf druid, and so I have decided that there is definitely one small shrine with a grove of trees that were spared, and some elf druids have been working to slowly expand the sacred grove and regrow the forest acre by acre.

East of Hisbernia is the Sea of Teeth, named for the many tall, jagged, fang-like spires of rock rising from an inhospitable archipelago. Legend says a far older conflict with the gods themselves sank an island empire beneath the waves. Today, it is a hazard to sailors and a home to pirates. None have yet been able to explore the depths to discover what may lie beneath the waves.

To the north of the Sea of Teeth, and east past the Desert of Amanth, lie the rolling plains of Hale. Once a prosperous breadbasket of farmlands and herds of livestock, it is now home to nomadic men and orcs. There are few permanent settlements of any size, and the roads here have become dangerous due to tribes of human bandits and hostile orcs.

East of Hale, the coast turns south again and rises to a plateau surrounded by sheer cliffs. The only coastal settlement here is the city of Cliffport, built vertically around the perimeter of a large protective harbor facing westward into the Sea of Teeth. Its cave warehouses were carved directly into the face of the cliffs high above the waterline, and are sheltered from the crashing waves of even the worst storms. The local economy now revolves around fishing, but the harbor has been a boon as trade between the other points of light has increased again over the past years. The docks along the base of the cliff are overseen by numerous cranes and hoists leading to the warehouses caverns far above, many of which still remain abandoned. At the top of the cliff, there are more traditional structures for overland travelers, but the bulk of the population live in narrow homes carved out of the rock, usually with just a single window open to the sea at one end. Precarious stairs carved into the rock or suspended from its face are the usual means of ascent, although elevator hoists for passengers and bulky cargo are available for a small fee further inside the complex. The region around Cliffport is almost entirely inaccessible other than by way of the harbor to the west or a clifftop settlement facing the Trade Road to the east. The harbor entrance is guarded by massive towers carved from the living rock, perforated by arrow slits and larger siege weapon apertures. Chains can be raised across the mouth of the harbor should a hostile navy approach. The Trade Road approaches Cliffport by way of many winding switchbacks, and more mundane fortifications also guard it against invasion guard it well.

The Trade Road descends a series of switchbacks from Cliffport before swinging north. Many other roads branch off toward other communities.

The walled city of Dragonvale in the far north is at the other end of the Trade Road. Its ancient walls are older than the records in its libraries, and have been repaired and expanded over uncountable generations. It stands on a plateau at the head of the Dragon Valley where legend says Bahamut first brought the race of dragons into existence. A temple to Bahamut stands at the center of the city, and the Dragon Knights headquartered there are an order of paladins who swear to fight evil in his name. The monks of the Order of Bahamut are often asked to mediate disputes from all of the points of light, and their order upholds the principle of law as a matter of worship. Kobolds beneath the city tend to take a degree of civic pride in their own way, and are seen as members of society if they choose to join the abovegrounders.

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Next: The Technology of the Fractured Realms