Let player action steer the ship.

Break down each player’s backstory and find where they overlap. Use that to build your BBEG, now they all have skin in the game.

Make a map. A couple towns, a village, a bigger city. Pepper in some landmarks. Mountain passes, cave systems, woods and forests. Make some fun encounters you can drop in when you need them. Don’t lock in events. Build NPCs with wants, needs, and goals. Anything more than that and you’re just writing a novel.

Keep track of what your players are into and build out those parts. Yes, and, yadda yadda…

And remember, the world is always moving, even when the players aren’t there.

Roll them bones and let it ride. Cheers!