if you could talk about your world building that would be great thank u!
i'm like, writing this mostly in terms of dnd but this can also apply to just, general worldbuilding imo. i'd recommend having a separate document for each one of these points or honestly like, even more, especially if you're using word or google docs. tbh onenote is probably the best way to do this, but i also don't like the layout of onenote so i don't use it lmao
warning: this is long but i don’t want to put it under a readmore bc i actually think these is valuable tips for any dm or worldbuilder.r
1) you need a dump document. mine is called 'ZAEKATA BIG LEVEL LORE' and it's just basically wheree you can put everything that pops into your head that you save for later and just, the big concepts of how the universe works. the sections i have on this doc range from 'big vague lore and ideas for continents and countries', 'here's how the gods work', 'dragon time', to 'times of worship in abeza', 'architectural styles of the world', 'campaign ideas,' and 'random cool fantasy name drop'
tldr, it's a great place to just have ideas on the page and not have to worry about them making sense but just, have a big document where all of your ideas live. it is probably the document you will hunt through the 20 pages of to find that one sentence idea you want to revisit.
2) organizing how the fuck the world and your landmasses and continents work. i think there are a few things on the giant macro continental and country level that are essential to have a vague idea of how they function that you can refer to. i recently created a chart of it to work out for all of my continents but before i put the screenshot of that in i'll explain the segments.
terrain and climate features. you gotta figure out like, how the land works, is it a desert are there forests, where are the mountains, is there a cool fantasy crystal wasteland? knowing what type of biomes and ecosystems are on each continent is important, it's going to be a major touchstone on what monsters live there, what races, and what cultures develop.
pantheon. what the fuck the gods like. are there gods? how are they organized. in my world specifically, i have a lot of different types of gods and then different pantheons for different cultures and on some continents there are even multiple major pantheons. write down what you know about the gods and how they work. it doesn't need to be super detailed just baseline info about it.
civilizations / people. what kinds of people live there. what are the countries or regions and who lives there. again, doesn't really have to be detailed it just has to be names.
conflict. this is the most important thing especially when worldbuilding for dnd in my opinion. you want there to be points of contention and issues going on in every region of the world whether it's a dragon terrorizing townsfolk, or a clandestine organization plotting to kill the king. you always want there to be a problem for a party of heroes to solve should you decide to run a game or a oneshot in that area.
3) regions in depth. this is when you're narrowing in on what a Country or Region is like and can even be applied to cities to a degree. I'll pop my template for it after I explain the sections.
geography. pretty self explanatory and sort of like in the macro-organization phase but go into more depth. name specific landmarks and think about what the weather is like as well.
politics. how is the region run? what's the governmental structure and what are the issues at play. how does society function.
economy & trade. how these bitches livin? are they poor or is it a rich area, what do they trade with other regions, what resources do they have?
history. how did this place come to be. this can be relatively sparknote-y and focus on key events so it doesn't go on forever but that's also your choice.
culture and customs. what is the culture like? architecture? food? entertainment? how do people interact with each other and what makes them unique.
intellectual, arts, military. this also goes into magic a bit too like. how technologically or magically advanced is this place, what styles of art do they like, what do they do for fun? i’d also stick like, universities in this category. and then of course what sort of military force they have and are they willing to use it.
4) god time. i have a few rules for developing gods that i try to stick to but the concepts are sort of based on my interpretation of how dnd gods should work (including my very complicated 5 types of god system) but the part before my little lore template i make that's important to me is that i believe gods shouldn't be explicitly evil. i think it's lazy. i think gods should be just as interesting and multifaceted as other npcs or even pcs and have goals and motivations. they don't just sit around with nothing to do deciding to bless clerics they like. here's what my template for god building looks like
mechanical information. aka what's necessary for this to be a god that functions in dnd. alignment, name, epithets, symbols, the concepts they are the god of, the cleric domains they match with, and how they are worshipped/holy days.
relevance, knowledge, and motivations. how important are they going to be in your game or in the grand scale of the universe. how much do they know about the world and things going on (particularly relevant to a campaign). what do they want and what are their goals.
characteristics. what do they look like and how do they act. important for fleshing out in case you ever actually play them and to help your players decide whether it's a good fit for a god for their cleric.
powers and abilities. this is like. a weird vague one but like. if you actually had to SAY how much they can control about the world and influence what they can do if they really want to. examples include: creating tidal waves, earthquakes, taking people's memories away, etc.
affiliates. who do they know mortal or not. how do they relate with other gods, what mortals do they favor and the nature of their relationship with them.
history. again, more sparknotey but like, the lore and mythos behind the deity.
5) npcs. this is again i just have like, a little chart for how i build out npcs and i'll share the why of it and a screenshot of a template. i don't think you need to be super in depth on npcs but i also think this method does help flesh them out. i'd also recommend making your own document for storing npcs you’ve created, they come in handy later.
role. what's their important and what the fuck are they doing. examples include: shopkeep or the king of a wholeass country. this section just basically explains when you're going to have to use them and what for.
skills / powers / abilities. look. if this npc is a shopkeep maybe u want to give them a higher dc against thievery or even a lower one based on their personality. if they'e a powerful knight you might wanna shove a mini statblock in here (it's possible i've done it)
characteristics. appearance and personality. can be as in depth or brief as you want. also if you think it's necessary a bit of personal history.
knowledge and relevance. this is what they know about the world and why you want to interact with them. what information can they tell your players and are they the essential quest npc or just, fun bonus content in the city.
anyway this is super long but this is probably like. a lot of how i think about worldbuilding and try to organize it for myself! i hope it's reasonably helpful :)
annaxmalina
andulkaphoto
turnnoffyourmind
