Tamalin

I decided to start the players out in Tamalin, a bustling port trade city located on the eastern shores of the Dragon Sea. The city is actually based on Tarmalune, a setting published by Wizards, but I changed the name to one that rolls off my tongue more easily. I kept most of the details the same though - Tamalin is fiercely independent, governed by a council, and is dedicated to commerce. All races are welcome here, as long as they have coin to spend, goods to trade, or services to render. I view it as a sort of D&D-ised Ankh-Morpork.

This melting pot idea is particularly important to the players of my campaign as they are all non-human races. In fact, not a single one of them is even one of the more "mundane" races, like elves or dwarves. So by setting up a city which simply want as much commerce as possible from its citizens, I set up a city where the players would be welcome with open arms. I thought this would be an easier beginning to a campaign than throwing my poor inexperienced players into a city where they are reviled by all for their otherness and unable to find help or information simply.

I don't have a specific "world" that I'm setting this campaign in, like Faerun or Eberron. Instead, I'm just setting it in a generic D&D world. I toyed with using an established setting, as I could give the players a map and allow them to go anywhere their hearts desired, and have some sort of area information no matter their choice. Ultimately, however, I decided I preferred the flexibility that creating my own world allows. This way I can pick and choose bits from all types of published adventures, and modify them only slightly to make them fit my campaign. Also, while I have told the players that Tamalin is located on the eastern seaboard of the Dragon Sea, I haven't given them much information yet about what else there is around, giving myself more flexibility in the future.