I’ll go first:

Aethrandir Brevikar is a usurped prince who rejects the call of his birthright in order to pursue the greater prize of tearing down the lies and oppressive gods that keep Humanity tethered to the mortal realm.

For me it's energy and thermodynamic concepts.

In my magic world, magic is an energy, so I put magic under the energy conservation law, which says that energy can't be created, neither destroyed, only transformed and converted. At the same time, magic rules as some type of radioactive energy, it's able to spread and mutate living and non living beings when absorbed.

Still on the same page, I have thermodynamics, which I used for magic flowing and distribution, if there's more magic on an iten and not in the environment, the magic flow will be from the object to it's surroundings and vice versa.

I think that using such things helps me to define more consistent magic world building and laws. Of course, not everything needs to be scientific and shit (my magic also works like a cell, it was some level of conscience but not that much) but I kinda like not having to worry about every single detail when i can use something that already works.

Feited Walker

These guys are caused by magical salt dust corruption. Context and detail below of how who and why.

The feited walker is a noxious undead creature that shambles through the world, seeking dark cold places to slow decomposition. The mind is dead, corrupted by toxic salt dust, and now they are undead, walking still, powered by the molecule itself in a soulless dance. They seek more of the crystal that has infected their mind, and thus get it from living forms, seeking the blood and flesh and attain it by tearing their victims apart. It seems madness pervades them, and they last for a few years before rot renders them imobile and exhausted.

They have no body temperature, and thus when it drops below freezing, they can become frozen in place. It is best to thaw frozen bodies of survivors from a safe distance before checking if they are alive or not. They likewise do not breathe, and can squeeze through unnaturally small cushing spaces, and have no buoyancy, therefore they can walk through ponds and lakes by simply choosing to cross on the bottom. Sometimes they can plague swimmers from below, and this is a terror for children, being drawn down by the white hands of a Feitted Walker.

Since they are controlled by molecules, only burning or freezing them can stop them. They must be completely destroyed or immobilized by cold. SImply removing the head or shooting the brain causes no difference, unlike classical zombies, as the brain serves not to control anymore.

Records Indicate the Feted Walker existed in antiquity and before, appearing wherever the toxic salt dust was found in great quantities, and didn't exist in the Forgelands before vast industrial works. Now they are uncommon,, but not rare, and mostly a hush cover up campaign is attempted. It seems numbers of the Feited Walker grow every day.

When great events of nature, or great items with high Magnusillium come around, like the great rains, high in nutrients and magnustrons, soak the land in the spring, and this excites and frenzies the normally slow Feted Walkers into high speed killers, and when heavy rain is falling, especially rain with that pungent magical metallic scent, it is best to avoid the heavy squalls, for in them, moving fast, and with murderous intent, may be Feited Walkers.

There is no contagion, no way to get the “disease” from another undead, only though high salt exposure does it happen. Some work as slayers, killing the undead their whole life, to rid the world of the cursed forms.

Inspired by this video essay and the premise of a recently released Netflix Show (Goodbye Earth). Also shoutout to the Three Body Problem trilogy by Cixin Liu (also recently adapted to Netflix) and the Horizon video game series (fuck Ted Faro) for being additional good examples of this premise.

Imagine, if you will, your standard heroic tale. A plucky band of adventurers, or perhaps a group of jaded mercenaries, or whatever team up to defeat a bad guy/runaway problem, and the day is saved. But what if the heroes failed? And worse yet, the apocalypse they failed to avert was a slow apocalypse? It’s going to be months, maybe years before the world actually ends, but we’re past the point of no return.

A large number of stories with this premise focus on the post apocalypse. Everyone knows what it is. It’s a world or story set after the world ended. A prior civilization has fallen and life continues in the ruins and shadows of it. But, in some ways, life in the post apocalypse is easy. The world already ended, you can’t reverse that. Everything is blown up but you’re still here and your children will be there after you. You can focus on rebuilding.

But a pre-apocalypse is tricky. The world will end. 99% of life, including your own progeny, and their creations and legacy will be lost. In a year. You can’t do anything to avert the apocalypse (though some people might try), we’re past the point of no return. Fantasy worlds might find that magic can’t solve this issue, Sci fi worlds might find their technology is not powerful enough to do anything. So how do we cope with that? Some people might fine elaborate ways to run away or survive the apocalypse, but that’s only asking for an eternity of solitude or limited companionship. Some people might continue on with their normal life, unable to do anything different. Some people might give into hedonism and fulfill their desires, even the deranged ones that would deprive others of their desires. Or some might just choose to end it early, the anxiety of waiting a year to die being too much for them. No doubt there will be a sense of melancholy when talking about plans you had for next year, babies who will never be born, teens unable to come of age, adults unable to fulfill their dreams due to societal obligations.

Tell me about your worlds or stories set in the pre-apocalypse. What form is the apocalypse, and how far out is it? How are people coping with the inevitable doom?

Whether this be a Bible quote to describe your faction’s ideas, or a badass statement your character would fit, I want to know what clever quips describe something in your world.

For my own, the Apex Warriors, a faction of wise, religious, humble, wealthy and powerful space-warriors, I feel are best described by a word from Jesus himself (which, Christianity is canon in my world and the Apex follow it): “Let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one.” - Luke 22:36.

Title.

My world is consisted of a whole lot of islands of different sizes but none big enough to be considered a continent. The lack of continents also makes separating the oceans difficult.

Any suggestions on how people could separate the world's regions ?

The Kingdom of Xeng is a collection of archipelagoes full of islands with active volcanos, swamps, tundras and deserts at the edge of the known world. Xeng is comprised of 10,000 archipelagoes with hundreds of thousands of tribes and countless cultures among them. Each archipelago has millions of massive islands. In truth the nation called Xeng in its entirety is as large as any large continent, the hurricanes surrounding it and the harsh dark landscape keeps any invaders away. The total population currently has more than 200 million people.

The islands have different biomes ranging from deserts to tundra, from volcanic lands to swamps. They don't have a lot of good fertile lands, so many people make do by trading with the oasis and swamp tribes or building green houses in places like the tundra. They also farm mushrooms in large amounts underground as well as have massive gardens built in the various oasis in the deserts. They also rely on fishing. They can't fish on boats due to hurricanes, so these people fish underwater using instruments to carry air and supplies under the oceans.

The people are all nomadic tribes. Wars are fought over fertile land. Once a volcano goes active. They just keep moving. Shuffling islands every few years. There are not many permanent ancestral lands as most lands are rife with volcanoes. The people navigate and predict patterns of volcanoes by looking at how much smoke comes out of mountains each year, then they change locations. They also use the crystalline mineral rocks from volcanoes they carry around to help find any sunlight when the skies are covered with smoke called sun stones (More on that later). They have also domesticated birds that act as early alarms by showing signs before an eruption as well as having human observers on mountains who watch and measure the smoke released every day and sea observers watching the clouds. They have scholars studying the frequency of volcanoes and hurricanes every month to predict mathematically and scientifically when such disasters would hit them.

They build big structures out of sand and clay in the deserts at night to cool over and freeze to create ice similar to some ancient civilizations in our world. However these people also use that ice as a trade item with nearby tribes. In most places of Xeng, ice is considered a medium of exchange for its use similar to coins but more practical similar to barley tablet currency in real world Sumeria. This ice currency is a source of fresh water, for keeping themselves cool when traveling and as a balm against fire wounds. It is however but just one of two unique currencies used by the people of Xeng.

The Xengarian people are only nomads out of necessity, not because of choice. In such harsh lands, the swamp and the oasis tribes in the desert islands can afford to have permanent lands. And they are the ones with most wars. The rest of the tribes near volcanic mountains and hurricane ridden seas, they mined and fished, but also crafted what they could. They sold their services as mercenaries, crafters, and scholars. They sold them items, and the farming tribes in turn supplied them with large bushels of grain, meat, dairy and medicinal herbs.

There are multiple tribes with tribal councils chosen among those who are popular among the tribe with a chieftain leading them who is chosen by the council's vote. In times of abundance, the tribes remain divided, but in times of scarcity the tribe chieftains come together and elect a king to unite the people together under one banner during hardships. In this society sons and daughters can inherit wealth and valuables from their fathers and mothers but not elected positions. That is earned one way or the other. Also, all their rulers are called kings, if a woman is chosen she is also called a king by tradition. In this society those married to the ruler has no political power from the marriage, male or female.

They only have a king when all tribes are united under one banner. Currently, there's a king in Xeng after the last unification war. To lose the king early however would mean many civil wars which would be disastrous during volcanic activity which is why they generally let rulers or ruling families last for at least thirty years, when there are too many active volcanoes to aid the tribes as one kingdom. Once the volcanoes cool down, wars begin again. Wars during volcanoes? That would be considered madness. The common wisdom is that there must be unity at least then. This is why whenever a ruler dies without an heir during a Volcanic Age early they settle things with draws based on luck. In their own words "Let the gods settle the matter". Then, more often than not, the most powerful leader must be king. The one with most support, wealth, and soldiers.

In brief, the chieftains are voted into power by the popularity they get from the people. And these chieftains can act as representatives to elect the king. Generally, there are no kings in a non active Volcanic Age. Most tribes are independent but still trade. A king is only chosen when the times are so desperate they have to unite the people under one banner for survival, like in Volcanic Ages, other disasters or rare instances of foreign invasion.

These people worship volcanoes, hurricanes and the living embodiments of all kinds of disasters as gods so that the people are unharmed as they happen too often in Xeng. They have gods of all manner of disasters, disease, famine, landslides, and so on. Most priests are old soldiers who can no longer fight wars yet still live. They learn these rites and decide to become priests once their time as warriors are over.

They have a 20,000 year long history since the arrival of the first settlers into the archipelagoes (Like all people in this world it was from the ancient space ships of the forgotten Mythical Age). During emergencies they also have underground cities with lots of stored food, water and medicine. The people can't live there all the time so it is but a temporary retreat, during the times they dwell on the surface in tents they use those places to store supplies or make ice.

"Look at the skies all around us. Decades of volcanic smoke have turned day into night. The sun is still there but we can't see it. But... I take the stone and wave it around, and a thin ray of sunlight can be observed on it.This volcanic rock turned crystal has the unique property of magnifying and catching rays of sunlight. So this stone let's us navigate, Sun Stones are not just another currency like gold or diamonds. They have actual tangible value, here in Xeng having a Sun Stone is life or death for the people. And because they may break, the more you have of these rocks, the safer your travels for we are a nomadic people surrounded by volcanoes and hurricanes. But it's only good in Xeng as here the skies are covered by smoke. Outside the archipelagoes that make up Xeng however, other nations that we know off such as yourselves rely on other things. But those same currencies are more symbolic to us, like your copper, silver, and gold coins." (Excerpt from a Xengarian scholar before the foreign delegates during one of the Volcanic Ages.)

They also have unique large wooden crafts with wheels and tracts with large sails or windmill like fans on the front of the vehicle and another on the roof. They call them windcrawlers. These are vehicles they use for transportation over long distances when the winds are fierce, which they are most of the time due to the hurricanes during the Howling Winds Ages. They use them in every island and they only exist in Xeng in this whole world. Aside from this they also have hot air balloons and airships, but those are only used by traders, merchants, and diplomats to travel outside of Xeng, where there are no hurricanes to endanger them. They also have gliders that can be used along with those airships as well as parachutes.

So what are all of your thoughts on this?

What is the single most emotional line or moment in your worlds history?

Marlan is among the first students of Arasemis, recruited together with Garion at Bredahade Academy while Arasemis was a professor there. Arasemis convinced them of the superiority of ancient tribal customs and the unjust and abusive rule of modern kings, and portrayed the Order of the Candlestone as the salvation of all people.

After Arasemis was forced out of the Academy, Marlan and Garion followed him to Thorendor Castle, where Marlan quickly mastered lessons on alchemy, advanced swordcraft, and the tribal secrets of stealth and wall-running. Curious, tireless, and obedient, Marlan proved to be an excellent pupil. He became Arasemis’s top assassin, excelling at increasingly sophisticated and dangerous tasks, and was rewarded with a unique alchemical sword.

With encouragement from Arasemis, Marlan began to see himself as the future leader of the next generation of the Order of the Candlestone, when their efforts to overthrow kings would undoubtedly have caused an era of great upheaval that Arasemis’s old books termed The War of All Kingdoms.

Marlan’s confidence in his future began to change with the arrival of Fetzer. Although Fetzer was arrogant, violent, and constantly challenged Arasemis’s authority, Marlan began to view Fetzer as a prophesied uniter who would fuel a more powerful Candlestone. Fetzer welcomed praise from Marlan, but Marlan’s belief created significant tension with Arasemis. Torn between loyalty to his master and his belief in Fetzer’s destiny, Marlan must thread the needle while leading the assassination of the king.

---

Context: Marlan is a main character in my epic fantasy novel Lords of Deception. My novels have flavors of historical fiction, adventure, and steampunk. Lords of Deception is about the secretive Order of the Candlestone. Emperors and kings thought it had been buried long ago, the grim deeds of its assassins forgotten and its dangerous alchemy shunned. But Marlan's master, Arasemis, is determined to revive the Order and return the continent to its primitive origins, if he can control his apprentices. More at r/Earthpillar

So, let me explain.

In the past month, I've been working on a worldbuilding project. I came up with things such as maps, countries, animals, gods and so on.

That being said, while I have an overall clear view of my world, I'm finding it difficult to put it on paper in an organized manner.

Is there a good "template" I can use that can help me in writing it down?

What thematic elements that have stood the test of time do you use when making characters? What tropes have you found that tend to stick around and what are some others that didn't strike home?

Title basically- I’ve got a lot of territories, religions, Gods, factions, events, characters, etc, and I’m having a hell of a time actually keeping them together. Organizing on a Google Doc is no good, and I’ve tried things like Campfire before and just found they don’t work as well for me- or at least campfire doesn’t. Is there any website yall have that could help? Any advice would be appreciated :)

This world is for a low-magic fantasy novel. I don't have much of a plot yet; basically it's three teenagers wandering around and learning about the world. I think two of them turn into lore-nerds and start collecting stories like the brothers Grimm.

Out of laziness, the continent where the story takes place is mostly based on USA climates. (If I don't ask a map-nerd to make my map, it will probably annoy some map-nerds.) I'm using modern agriculture data, so they have peanuts and rice growing in the same general region, another region will likely have apples and potatoes. Trade is mostly along horse-drawn canal routes. I don't really have fantasy creatures, though there's the occasional oddball like velociraptors, a few things being typically more intelligent than their Earth-equivalents, and furry elephants the size of a small horse.

Also the technology development (Compared to Earth) is throttled in some cases due to inventors being more concerned with safety. Notably they never got gunpowder-based weapons out of the prototype stage because they were trying to keep the stuff away from the "hold my beer" types and the rest tended to give up.

(My other thing about gun-invention being stalled is that I have a thing for fighting with tools instead of proper weapons, so I decided that "wars" were usually limited to professional mercenaries and properly arming the peasants was a waste even if they did get involved. However, I'm shifting my "royalty" to more of "a guy who managed to get enough thugs together to run a protection racket on nearby communities." Either way, they're not interested in letting it get too bloody. Also mages are honor-bound to either not get involved in conflicts or make everyone regret it.)

I'm waiting on the plot to nail down my magic system, but it is very limited in what it could do. (Also even if something is possible, the mage with MC probably doesn't know how to do it.) Cone of fire is possible, but it requires setting up a portal to a fuel-source. Transmutation is limited to stuff like turning a wineskin full of water into a wineskin full of flammable gas. Magic is very difficult to learn, so many people can't even activate artifacts; even a mage might prefer to carry some sort of lighter rather than using magic to light a candle. (Portals are really expensive to use in order to keep the canals relevant.)

I also wanted to make technological progress relevant. Even if someone could spare the time to try learning magic, the chances of them washing-out means that it might not be worth it. (Also there's the rare case of being completely incapable.) Many mages had parents that could afford the risk or they were born with a physical disability that meant that being sent to someplace with proper schools still increased their prospects over staying someplace where most of the jobs are still physical.

The area with a Mississippi climate developed water-powered mills and cotton is cheap enough to use for grain-sacks. Steam power is still in its infancy due to how donkeys still blow-up. I'm planning for there to be some traveling-around, mostly on the canals.

My MC starts in the Michigan climate and the local technology is still more equivalent to Colonial America despite not being colonial. (I'm using Townsends Youtube channel for inspiration. Also because my history classes always seemed focused on the frontiers, I feel like the people I was learning about were always behind the times and living in a simpler way than people who didn't push west.) Any cotton sacks that make it that far are kept as grain-sacks or used to make mattresses because they're too beat-up from reuse for clothing.

MC's town is far-enough away from the canal system that their main trades are in raw materials rather than making finished goods. I'm thinking logging, grazing animals, or they're an iron plantation. The inciting incident is that a freak snow-storm forces him to hide in a haystack (inspired by Zlateh the Goat but also something from an Ingalls-Wilder book about people who died in spring because they weren't dressed for it). He gets frostbite just bad enough that he can't do the task he was raised for; the rest of the apprentices are unwilling to shuffle-around even if there is something he's capable of. A lot of it is pain, but he's also lost some function that will eventually heal with time and physical therapy.

I'm thinking that there's someone in town whose living is gathering magical ingredients; MC was able to take the day off to escort him because that person is getting old and that's why he was caught away. (Old person needed him to carry the tools and a stool because he couldn't crouch anymore?) The person dies, but also wouldn't have been allowed to teach it to MC because of rules. The best thing that the magic system could do for MC is for him to learn a spell to keep his hands warm. It's not the sort of place that would usually attract a full mage.

Places without mages need one to periodically visit. One problem they need to check for is that rarely a child will be born with the potential to start doing magic spontaneously instead of being trained, and the mages want to find them before that happens. MC is willing to become the mage's indentured servant when he visits in exchange for training.

I would like some help in deciding what MC was apprenticed for. Even if he's not doing the main industry of the village, he could be doing a support-task like working in the dairy. Fiddler on the Roof happened to be on TV and I was looking to see what possibilities there were; hide-scraping caught my eye. Gender-roles aren't as strict in my world, but men and women typically gravitate towards different jobs. (As an aside, clothing is also less gendered. Women can wear pants and men in less-physical jobs might wear a dress that is cut for their shape. About the only things that are gendered are things like breast-harnesses and jock-straps.)

Talari

“Born” upon the floating island of palludar. He knew no parent but the tigress who suckled him, there he stayed completely isolated until the age of 22.

The last surviving creation of the long extinct Phadori, he possess the strength of 100 men and winged ankles which enable flight.

Having single handedly ended the deadlock at the battle of Majdi, he won great renown in the powerful empire of Maravali.

Thanks to a recent post by u/Sorsha_OBrien

https://www.reddit.com/r/worldbuilding/s/xZGWeDOu9S

I started thinking about my naming conventions and how I try to fit puns in where I can

My answer to that post was Amber Flint. A blacksmiths daughter who's name obviously comes from ores

I tend to do this mostly with business names however like:

Betts and Bob's General Wares

Stumbled Inn

Rick Rolls Bakery

Sam's Little Boutique

Fork in the Road Café

What are some punny names for your people/places/things?

The Immortals are an army of Monsters that cannot really die. By that I mean, that every time one of them dies, they respawn back in their homeland, leaving behind nothing but a pile of purple dust. At most, death is a setback to them.

Psychal Appearance

Immortals can come in various shapes and sizes but the one thing they all have in common is that they are lava/magma/fire-themed. Most of them appear as if they are made out of Lava but this is untrue. They have been seen interacting with flammable objects and even come in physical contact with Humans without killing them.

Though they are not made of Lava they do have a natural heat to them and are immune to fire in general. Touching their bodies also tends to burn a little but nowhere near as much as touching lava or fire.

Culture

As for their culture, they were originally made by an Evil Wizard as an unkillable army. After he died they have pretty much lurched from master to master following their will. Despite being a sentient species, they were designed to need a master. If their current Master dies, they pretty much just wander their homeland aimlessly until someone comes and takes over.

Aside from, whoever their new master is, they also have a few generals and an advisor. The Advisor pretty much acts as their master's second in command and their leader while in between masters. They also have the job of teaching their new master how their army works.

Tactics

They usually go for a full frontal assault. Usually with little tactics. In most cases this would be a bad idea but, for them, it actually works pretty well. Since they can't permanently die, they can just send endless waves of the same soldiers again and again, learning from each failure.

Immortals are not smart, but they do understand a basic learning curve. If they keep facing the same problem again and again, they will eventually learn to get around it. Especially if the Generals are involved as they are supposed to be the best and brightest of their kind.

Though, they can be defeated as a whole pretty easily but assassinating their master. Since their Masters are mortal and do not respawn, their enemies can just kill them and they'll likely completely break down. At least until they find someone to take that place.

Example:

Spells - a wizard casts firebolt through study and meditation.

Supernatural abilities - this child was bestowed with the ability to throw fire bolts because he was blessed by the god Hot McSpotty.

Magical Phenomena - Demon toads possesses the natural ability to conjure fire bolts.

Magical “science” - the artificer built a fire bolt staff , don’t fuck with them

I am putting together a world that I’m basing off of IRL geography and IRL lore and myth. The section I’m currently basing a map on is the connecting the Black, Caspian and Adriatic seas into one major “inland ocean” like the Mediterranean. The Caucuses being someone the only major elevation, would it make sense to have them as a Volcanic mtn chain? Also, what other regions shouldn’t be under water? I’ve tried to use google terrain but there’s not a lot of detail until you zoom in.

Hi. I'm working on a world where nation-states at roughly a 1930s level of technology have air forces that engage in dogfight combat with each other. However, the air battles are semi-ritualized with spectators on the ground, so ranged weapons can't be used. They can't shoot at each other or fire missiles, etc. Nothing that could hurt anyone on the ground (I'm aware that falling airplane chunks could hurt someone on the ground). These are propeller planes going at mid-1930s speeds. Planes do have metal skins, however, these aren't WWI canvas airplanes.

I'm envision the aircraft being adapted for ramming other planes, which IRL happened only as a last resort, so no real life airplane has ever been built for specifically this purpose. What might a warplane designed for ramming other aircraft look like? I'm imagining a very heavy duty propeller for "shredding" attacks. Maybe a long "lance" attached to the plane that can damage an enemy and then break off. Or non-ramming: fly over your opponent at close range and drop a net like device to destroy their propeller.

Any other ideas? Thanks!

Im talking about both an actual world map with continents and oceans and the places of interest inside that map, i already have a few cities but im only convinced with 3 of the cities, how do i add more and give it more life?

For me, the two advance somewhat in lockstep. While magic is a lot more subtle than in many fantasy worlds I’ve read about, it can be more common as well, like a basic understanding of science. Farmers can carve runes into their tools, merchants and craftsman can perform small spells or blessings to ensure good fortune, etc.

As a result, it’s quite common to know a little about it, or about as much as a common man might know of a craft. The nature of the supernatural does have some major side effects on the world, however. Most religions have less power, as one can do some spells on their own rather than having to pray, so despite gods being evident, they don’t hold a monopoly on supernatural powers. Those that hold a great deal of power through their priests and rituals are often heavily intertwined with the government not just as another political player, but a resource. But the question still remains of why you’d need to give money to an institution and attend rituals to ensure your soul goes to a good afterlife when many gods don’t care or since your family can simply perform a few charms to safeguard your journey. On a related note, burial rites are very important so as to prevent angering the dead…

Another is that technological development is hampered in many areas while advanced in many others. Lighting rods and fireproofing were discovered rather early on, since you can attack someone with lighting or with fireballs. However, the development itself was longer. When lighting strikes a house, you might ask if some houses get hit more than others - at least irl. In this world, you’d have to wonder if you were cursed by a neighbor, or if the gods just didn’t like you in particular. And there’s a chance that both could be right.

This also means that entire fields or revolutionary innovations simply didn’t happen. Why invent something new when an improved version of the old performs much better? It sure doesn’t seem like a dead end… Take the steam engine. That was developed to pump water out of coal mines, which were needed since Britain was mostly deforested and so wood wasn’t a common thing to burn anymore. It was very inefficient, and it could only be so because it was helping to pull up its own fuel source. If it was wood powered, or used for gold mines, it wouldn’t have seen much use - just like how the textile industry allowed it to find rapid application outside its original use.

That, and since magic and technology are kinda intertwined, disasters can be a lot more dangerous, as in demonic invasions kinda dangerous.

But that’s just an example of how this could go. How does it go with your world?