exportaciones y que en el año 2007 se pre- pre-sentó un pico positivo con un crecimiento del
1.3. La productividad del sector textil
After thinking about the general traits and fea- tures of an area, look back at your initial notes and think about any distinguishing landmarks in the area. At this point, you should start work- ing on creating a map. A sheet of graph paper with one square equal to one mile works well for detailed areas, though for regional maps you can increase the scale to 10, 25, or 50 miles. At larger scales, it might be best to avoid going into too many details. At that level, you should focus on general trends
and the very basic details of the continent’s geography.
Mark the location of the key features on your map, blocking off any unoccupied areas as for- est, plains, or whatever terrain feature you want to use. You can also note any variations in traits over the area. For example, the areas at the edge of the desert might be cooler than its cen- tral region. Many of the traits given in Chapters 3 to 11 have three strength ratings you can choose from, allowing you to tailor the danger to the party’s level and to allow threats to become more dangerous as the characters ven- ture deeper into a region.
Key terrain features can include exceptionally tall mountains or hills, caves, ruins, and other notable places. Their primary use in running a game is that they offer memorable sites for the characters to encounter as they travel. Directions and maps in the wilds could rely on such sites as landmarks. The characters might receive instructions to ride three days west of Black Spire Rock to the Rainbow River. From there, they must go south until they find the old imperial road. Landmarks allow you to give distinct flavor to a region of the wilderness. They also give long journeys greater substance. The same description of the wilderness can grow old, but if you can summarize the various sites the characters pass, that variation can make a trip feel longer and more epic.
Civilization
After considering the natural traits that occur within a region, think about the influence of civilization on the area. If there are any cities and towns in the area, mark them on your map. Each settlement should have a logical reason for its location. There should be resources near- by, such as mines, farmland, and similar goods it can harvest for sale. Sometimes, towns arise simply because they are located along trade routes or important roads. Otherwise, a town might occupy a militarily or politically impor- tant area. A mountain pass between two war- ring kingdoms probably has small towns and castles at each end. A village might spring up near an isolated monastery, as the townsfolk provide goods and services to the monks and those who seek to visit them.
In general, a settlement needs access to other towns via trade routes, farmland to produce food, and a source of water. Some folk
might not need access to trade, especially prim- itive humanoids that rely on hunting, subsis- tence farming, and raiding to survive. Otherwise, without food or water creatures cannot survive. In some cases, particularly groups that have many divine casters, magic can mask these shortcomings. An isolated tem- ple might rely on spellcasters to supply food and drink. Since building roads into the wilder- ness is a daunting task, most settlements on the border between wilderness and civilization are built on rivers and lakes, allowing boats to set forth with supplies to an outpost and load up on the raw materials it produces for the return trip. For each town or city, create its basic statistics as per the core rules. In addition, you should list the businesses available in each place the PCs might want to frequent. Taverns, weapon- smiths, wizards who produce and sell magic items, temples that provide healing, and other services could all be important to an adventur- ing party. You should also try to come up with one or two distinguishing characteristics that serve to make a settlement unique. Perhaps its buildings are made with a purple granite unique to the area, or the thieves’ guild has grown so powerful that it now runs the govern- ment. Just as a unique trait or description can make a wilderness region come to life, so too do settlements need a distinct flavor to make your world feel like a living, vivid place. Add roads and pathways between the settle- ments, unless there is a good reason not to. For instance, two towns ruled by competing gov- ernments might not have roads between them, while a settlement populated by bandits or pirates might lack any clear paths to it. Many places might rely on rivers and lakes for travel, with barges and boats bringing in supplies and taking away trade goods.
If you want to add ruins and dungeons to an area, you should look at their history and deter- mine how and why they were built. An aban- doned city might have ancient roads leading to it, while a dungeon built by an archmage might still be marked by the teetering ruins of his ancient tower. You can progress through the region’s history, adding settlements and the roads between them, then converting them into ruins as civilizations rise and fall. This process is a relatively simple, easy way to introduce a lot of noteworthy sites, monster lairs, and adventure locations into a region.