Trying to run a DND campaign for the first time but I don’t know anything about map making, geography, or geology. I want the physical features of the land to mostly make sense from a geological perspective and then conform the borders of my city-states and empire to their natural geographic constraints. How do I even begin with this?
draw a vague shape, run rivers at feel good distances, put some mountains.
earth is like tectonics colliding, creating mountains which (with distance) arrive to 0 at sea level in height (obv), and then river basins scattered across the land. lakes should have a river going in. the older the place, the flatter it is, and the bigger river basins become. mines and minerals are likely in place of eroded old mountains. but i mean making up bullshit and then sanding off nonsensical situations seems simpler. (there is also procgenesis if you want plausibly accurate map for some reason, but don’t want to think too much)
cities can only sit on rivers or lakes, with plausible trade flows. powerful city will likely aim to capture its river basin first, and then its partners until mountain ranges