Hey!, if it's alright with you, I'd like to help out a little as well?.

Just want to say I'm a little shy or rather fear others will shoot down or criticize anything i post which is why i tend to send private convo's, probably a bit of both i guess... But everyone on this forum seems pretty friendly & easy going so.... Hi all i guess.  :-)

So yea going with what ulsterwarrior said above: 
[quote]"I think we have two ways we can go about it in two ways. We can either first create an entire map of the world and then start filling in nations accordingly, or we can design the nations first and create a map afterwards."[/quote]
Both are good approaches but i agree with what VarionusNW said about setting basics with the central/initial nations & background lore & build up around that & map from there.

As from what i got from the opening post your wanting to start it from scratch, So having something to build around sounds like a good approach for this situation, you could always make a map around that after & if wanted/needed could easily add or expanded upon it adding in other kingdoms/factions to it afterwards, but that's just my view.


So yea, some possible/rough starter ideas:
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- So causes or reasons for war... say Faction-1 is a large central country on the continent masses of vast fertile fields, forests, expansive plains, many iron, silver, gold mines in its mountains & hills a very prosperous country, has a large powerful standing experienced army with legendary: Cavalry or archers just one something specially specific to them which is renowned even the neighboring factions, and to top it off all trade going east & west passes through them making their markets full with exotic goods & endlessly flowing coin.

However as said their country (Faction-1) is huge it takes time to mobilize its martial force to respond to invasions also the fact the country's so big it boarders 4-5 other factions surrounding it, meaning they have to leave some forces in reserve & on defense elsewhere not allowing them to bring the full brunt of their military against one particular foe in-case another neighboring faction tries to take advantage of the situation, like they have tried in the past so opens up historical lore/hatred for them & other factions, also this plot allows for story continuation for example: they heroically repel invasion from Faction-2 but after the army returns victorious and dismisses it's levy troops & local lords personal forces etc, a month later Faction-3 chooses to launch a harsh campaign from a different direction, this can add story content, people are tired of the constant wars, veterans from different towns villages that served in past campaigns reuniting, taking story through different locations where battle tactics & what-have-ya, would have to change to deal with the new terrain & different military styles used from faction-2.

Then some of faction-1's court are corrupt & power hungry hiding & ultimately blinding the ruling party/king from vital information in hopes of gaining position and/or power in backroom politics/deals while doing so, some lords my harbor Sedition to other lords or to the ruling king sympathizing with enemy factions for betrayal or plotting to assume power themselves. This also opens story for loyal characters or lords to counter, prevent, or try to salvage such occurrences as they appear so there are actions away from the battlefield as well. To which end the country being prosperous would have issues with bandits & so fourth as well for more non-battle related story events.

Faction-2 could be another prosperous economic powerhouse with a huge military but where its governing power is shared between the ruling king & their religious leader making them believe they are fighting for a just & holy cause instead of the ambitious expansionist greed of their rulers. or they want the prosperous farmlands & or mines within faction-1's territory, but they have problems too as they themselves boarder another 2-3 factions with shakey past relations as well, so when wars not going on between them & faction-1, faction-2 is having to hold off... faction-8, so even with all the chaos war still surrounds faction-1 even against opponents they haven't faced before if they ever manage to deal with their immediate threats etc... This allows for traveler or mercenary story content from players.

Faction-3 could be a resurgent nation seeking revenge against those who attacked/exploited/enslaved/colonized them in the past with mostly arid lands and suffering economy they are intent on acquiring fertile lands/wealth/resources though not as well established as other factions their military power could count on expansive numbers of enraged troops with an axe to grind with their opponents. but as such their governing power could be split between internal factions or other warlords wanting overall power from the others.

A quiet Faction-4 that boarders faction-1 & faction-3, could be another large kingdom however the lack of external action is because they are trying to keep quiet the fact they're in the middle of a civil-war (possibly between multiple factions) & fear others seeking to take advantage of them as they wear down their own military capabilities internally.

Faction-5 alternatively could be a really small kingdom stuck between other smaller or the larger factions, having to be very diplomatic & tactful changing alliances regularly to remain standing/neutral. but rich in ores or other rare resources.

Faction-6 could be separated by an inland-sea from faction-1 & the others but has others at it's back, not overly large or powerful with a stable economy however their military is known for being very adaptable & have very complex & devastating military tactics. But large part of their army is made up of indentured servants. opening story content for slave uprisings & the like.
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Yea, i Kinda shortened it as some of the ideas i put down would've made it twice as long lol, So there's just some basic ideas to use or build on for starters, i hope ya like some of them at least?, & please forgive any spelling errors or anything, heh... :-)

Well I'm off for now, will check back later!, Peace!

Regards
- Rebel