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?
Avoid rivers splitting up unless in a delta, and you’re probably 90% of the way there :D
Honestly though, landscapes are so diverse and theoretically your fault lines/tectonic plates can be anywhere, so that the only thing that really matters to make it look natural is to not repeat anything too much.
You could even have a world that is not a planet, then nothing matters anymore, mine is just ground and if you go too far in one direction you end up in a different plane. Stars and the sun are just portals to the plane of fire, very far away.