/wbg/ - Worldbuilding General

>What's the name of your world/city/star system/etc?
Novard. It's what I call the main continent and the "planet", but none of the inhabitants call it that.

>How many continents/planets does it have?
>The Main Continent, which is not!Europe+not!TheAmericas+not!EastAsia
>not!Australia
>not!JurassicPark
>A huge desert on the south pole
>The Isle of Giants, or "The Continent With Everything Else"

>How many races? What are they?
It's a kitchen sink setting. Huge variety of Beastmen, Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Halflings, large variety of Demi-Humans, Outsiders and Supernatural Humanoids.

>How many days in a year, and how many hours in a day?
300 days in a year, 10 months, 5 weeks, 6 days in a week, 24 hour days. It's a created world, so everything is autistically specific.

>What's a random fact about your world?
If you come across a ship full of skeletons on the high seas, you're probably sailing somewhere you shouldn't.

>Describe a random person from your world, and what they're doing right at this very moment.
To make someone up on the spot; Edgar Fizzwarn, a relatively unknown alchemist living in Sidengald's Old Town. If it's the early morning, he's probably tending to the greenhouse. Sidengald produces a lot of glass, so even middle-ground alchemists can afford to grow herbs in a controlled environment.

>What's the name of your world/city/star system/etc?
They don't have an idea of "planet"- it being a low fantasy, medieval world. But they describe it as "Consistorium": the realm which we see.

>How many continents/planets does it have?
Many, but the only inhabited one is called Eldan. It is about the size of North America.

>How many races? What are they?
Several. Humans, elves, a mixed race of humans & elves, orks, goblins, gremlins, golems, and an amphibious race called "Opujan"

>How many days in a year, and how many hours in a day?
640 days, 235 are Lunar days (winter and the cold parts of autumn and spring)

>What's a random fact about your world?
Orks were made to be the perfect slave labor force for a group of mages colonizing the tropics. Resistant to extreme heat, immune to diseases & parasites, brawny, and subservient.

>Describe a random person from your world, and what they're doing right at this very moment.
Alekos Botssi is looking outside his window. The tall, spire like buildings that jut up from the volcanic island he calls home obstruct much of his view. There is a small gap however. In that gap he can see the ocean: so blue against the dull black and mottled grey bricks. He wants to go feel the sand grains between his toes, but he knows that today is a very "special" day. It is the Grand Rex's rebirthday... and that means everyone celebrates. After all, he is the father to all necromancers on Eldan.

>What's the name of your world?
Kalgreth

>How many continents?
One wheel shaped supercontinent with different empires divided from one another by mountain ranges which appear as the spokes on the wheel. One large crater dominates the very center.

>How many races are there?
Just humans.

>How many days? How many hours?
285 days, 40 hour days.

>Random fact
World peace has been achieved however with that has come stagnation due to the lack of competition between the superpowers.

>Random person and what they're doing.
Prince Harquin's broken body is spread upon the ground, it won't be long until his suicide is world news, the father gazes from his sons window, hating his actions, but he had no choice.

For >How many (major) religions does your world have right now?
There are seven "original religions" as the Eldanese refer to them. There are four heresies as well, so eleven total.

>Pick one of them.
Okay, the Piusite Church

>Describe the god or gods of this religion, if there are any. If your religion revolves around some abstract, higher concept, describe that instead.
There are a few gods and goddesses. The religion is henotheist and venerates the children of the first being: Piusa. Her children were four great dragons. Trocaire the goddess of mercy and Celeste [heaven], Akath the god of the sky and minds, Daer the goddess of the planet and "lesser" creatures, and Asokka the god of emotion and Chaos [hell].

The oral tradition passed down said Daer emerged first with a large wingless body. Her body could change to any color, but She chose to be brown and green like the soft grass and dirt of the planet surface.

Next was Akath. Each of his scaled wings was as long as his lithe body. He could speak immediately, and taught His fellow dragons how to speak once They grew. His scales were a brilliant turqoise with golden stripes lining much of His body.

Trocaire came next with a loud cry. It took many years for the young dragon to control Her emotions. She took pity on the creatures of the planet who lived and created heaven for them. She had orange scales with light blue flesh between her toes, wing bones, and jaw.

Asokka came last. He took on all the negative aspects of his mother. Black and red scales adorned his twisted form. He led a war of evil beings against his siblings. After losing, he chose to survive by descending into the planet's fiery center. He set up a little realm there called Chaos and it is a shitty place to be.

>What's the name of your world/city/star system/etc?
Pentacontia, because it was 5 continents "early" (late but not too late) into the worldbuilding, now all 5 of them have merged into one 3-continent landmass. It's one region of an alderson disc world, the others will never be relevant. Why? So I can put in whatever cool geographical anomalies and weird geological rules that I want without having to explain them. The disc world will never be revealed. It will get cleaner and more realistic as I go on.

>How many continents/planets does it have?
Humans are aware of the existence of 2 megacontinents other than their own, but they don't know what is on one of them because they can't find a shore, those that tried to died really hard. They're also relying on the testimony of the single crew that reached the continent and returned, who were executed and/or pushed into obscurity for leaving Pentacontia.

>How many races? What are they?
The text limit has cursed them with crushing boringness!
Civilized
>Humans
>Giants - 10ft humans, stereotypically builders and guards
>Okul - bokoblins from The Wind Waker, stereotypically pirates, mercenaries, merchants
>Urks / Bajorlan - BoarElephant or Tapir people depending on the tone of the story. Impeccable attention and memory. Stereotypically merchants, detectives, smiths
>Drow - they're out of place, aren't they?
>Hammak - mystics from the dark crystal, they can eat/drink/smoke almost anything. Stereotypically alchemists, librarians, and mobsters

Uncivilized
>Darklings - spooky digitigrade bony antlered humanoids. Stereotypically highwaymen, wretched pranksters, and bandits
>Sliskorans - brutal semiaquatic fishlizard people, mostly just mooks but they have a greater destiny and purpose
>Goblins - mysterious witch creatures strongly connected to nature, sometimes allied with the animals listed below

Normal animals that are much smarter than Earth's:
Birds
Turtles
Frogs
Songwhales
Catfish

>continued
>How many sects/denominations does this religion have? Do they ever conflict with each other? Are there any heretical sects?
There is only one sect of the Piusite Church. It has infallible laws and canons set up over centuries. It is a religion of henotheism: they venerate Trocaire over the other dragons because She took mercy on mankind. Celeste [heaven] is a paradise for all good people. A heresy eventually emerges called the "Sanistian Movement". The prophet Sani teaches that Trocaire is just Piusa reborn and that She is thee one true goddess. This monotheism conflicts with the henotheist liturgy of the Piusite Church.

>How was/is this religion spread?
It was spread by missionaries from ethnic groups like the Sagodish and the Svälisch. The Sagodish migrated throughout Central Eldan over two centuries. They preached the faith to their neighbors, who already held similar Dragon religions.

>What are the tenets of this religion?
Be good to your fellow man and elf, never steal or lie, never kill unless it is in defense, preach the Word of Trocaire to whoever has not heard it, and kill dwarves wherever you find them.

>What is the hierarchy of this religion. Describe the higher level positions of this religion, starting with the highest position of power.
As shows, the realms are divided evenly. Trocaire rules over the "ultimate" realm, but the other Dragons considered their realms to be the superior one. The other religions follow this idea too... even tribes who venerate the vile Asokka.

>Is there an adversary figure or place of punishment for those who went against the tenets of the religion, or both?
Yes, the Dragon god Asokka. He welcomes evil people into his realm. They are twisted into a form that best matches their most committed sin. They are rather disgusting, but his army of demented people grows. Just follow the good tenets and you can avoid going down to Chaos' fire.

From Why catfish? The other animals are choices that I can see as intelligent beings. Catfish are a rather odd choice to me: not saying it is an objectively odd choice.

I'll add that all of the races are pretty smart, including the mooks. Urks and Hammak are even smarter than humans, but they fall behind in empathy and longterm strategy.

>How many days in a year, and how many hours in a day?
To be determined. Days are a few hours longer and nights are a few hours more longer. Humans are much more likely to be half-nocturnal or rely on a sleep schedule of multiple naps.

>What's a random fact about your world?
Half of Pentacontia is ruled by vampires, but they treat their subjects with some care so that they have healthy blood and can work. They also vehemently despise wild vampires and protect the humans from them by commissioning vaguely hypocritical vampire hunters, who make up the majority of "adventurers" in the setting.

>Describe a random person from your world, and what they're doing right at this very moment.
Varo Nistucia, a humble merchant of food and fineries, wished that he was dreaming. He did not expect to be stopped by highwaymen on the road to Willsdor. And he wasn't wrong, the highwaymen were polite enough to inform him he was actually on the road to Stretham. They even let him keep his silver-tipped knife, but the same can't be said for his pendant or the little bar of silver that was worth more than his home. By the time he reached Stretham, the sun was halfway below the horizon. He was oddly pleased at the sight of famished refugees who had lost their village to vampires, for he had plenty of food to sell. His generosity got the best of him and he walked away with half of the food's value. He watched the refugees crowd themselves into the homes of the townsfolk as the sun set and reckoned the vampires would obviously check the houses first if they came. Varo wandered into a shoddy potato field, tied up his mule , laid down beneath a bush, threw a wool blanket over his whole body, and closed his eyes.

Something of a joke, no one would even figure out that catfish are intelligent so it doesn't necessarily matter if it's canon or not. It stems from a little light-hearted story that involved a talking catfish (in a normal/dark facet of the setting animals wouldn't talk, but they of course have other ways to communicate).

>Catfish get tired of being mocked
>Build army
>Overrun most river cities in a matter of days
>yfw you must pay Glub-glub, King of the Sea a tax to use his rivers

>"How many races are there?"
>everyone answers by listing species, not races

How many races of human are there in your world? How many races of Orcs, or Elves, or whatever species exist?

Isn't the line between species and race blurred when they can interbreed?

>Humans
Blightfolk
Dhorinian
Ignacian
Balnari
>The above 4 are all white, the other races will have multiple subraces eventually but for now they just have multiple cultures
Heartlanders
Easterners
Zhur
Nannog (vastly irrelevant)
Ashskins (vastly irrelevant)
Farfolk (vastly irrelevant)

>Okul
Korokul
Asokul
Erekokul
Mazarkokul
Others not present in Pentacontia, or present in numbers so low that they could pretend to be the last of their kind

The other species have their own tribalism and prejudice against certain cultural groups but they don't have genetically distinguishable races aside from very minor things that humans probably wouldn't notice.

Fine
>What's the name of your world/city/star system/etc?
Hildran is the name of the world
>How many continents/planets does it have?
3 continents (well 4 if you count the one that is connected via isthmus)
>How many races? What are they?
2. Dwarves (that live in the North and the huge mountain range on the western continent) and Humans.
>How many days in a year, and how many hours in a day?
365 days in a year. 24 hours in a day.
>What's a random fact about your world?
The Kingdom of Rha'Zhir secretly supported the Second Northern War and sent funds to the Kingdom of Dayvn that allowed them to build their airship fleet.
>Describe a random person from your world, and what they're doing right at this very moment.
Your common farmer in the Hills of Avakir (let's call him Stanson) is currently trading with merchants from the Consortium of Trade-Cities while worrying about another war between the dwarf clans of the Calisynna Mountains.

Veeky Forums is a cancerous shithole. I tried. They hate genre fiction. I personally just come to /wbg/ and just veil my writing-related questions under a guise of setting help.

I'll bite for you user, what's the book

Man, is there anyone who likes Veeky Forums?

Who even uses that board?

Going for my low fantasy setting that I use for a book I'm writing
>How many (major) religions does your world have right now?
One major religion but the commonfolk believe in a more paganistic religion before the establishment of the church.
>Pick one of them.
The Order of Il'dren
>Describe the god or gods of this religion, if there are any. If your religion revolves around some abstract, higher concept, describe that instead.
The Order believes in one of the more important gods of the Old Faith, the god of life, Il'dren. He is surrounded by his nine children, each which represent a part of him. The Order also believes in the god of death and brother to Il'dren, Wel Toram.
>How many sects/denominations does this religion have? Do they ever conflict with each other? Are there any heretical sects?
Branch sects of the order are more or less non-existent. Some exist in secluded regions of the kingdom where the Old Faith is more popular but in most regions the Church has a very strict idea about what is considered correct worship. Heretical sects that worship Wel Toram or his domain (Koran-Tel) exist, but these are actively hunted by the Silver Arm, the Crown's special arm of the military.
>How was/is this religion spread?
During the War of Conquest almost 150 years ago and was subsequently strengthened by the Inquisition Wars, where holy artifacts of the Old Faith were taken and confiscated and practitioners of the Old Faith were mercilessly killed.
>What are the tenets of this religion?
Communal harmony, peace between one and one's superiors, and utter devotion to those that speak the word of Il'dren.
1/2

>What is the hierarchy of this religion. Describe the higher level positions of this religion, starting with the highest position of power.
At the top is the High Priest, the "voice" of Il'dren. Next are the seven Arch Priests, who form the Council of Holy Spirits and work in tandem with the Royal Court. Then there are the regional Arch Bishops who regulate the different baronies of the kingdom. Just above the regional priests there are the Bishops who are placed in charge of the religious area equal to either a viscounty or a duchy. Then finally there are the various priests that are scattered through the kingdom in monasteries and churches.
>Is there an adversary figure or place of punishment for those who went against the tenets of the religion, or both?
As described, Wel Toram is the adversary figure. The deathworld of Koran-Tel is where those that have sinned are sent to serve in the god's spirit army after death.
2/2

My main one is a low fantasy book about a farmer whose father recently passed away and is recruited to serve the crown in a civil war and has to leave his home.

Is that all? What's going on with the farmer, what's he like, how does he feel? What are the themes? I want to know ALL

How do you all keep track of your world? Do you use notebooks, a wiki, etc? I personally use a wiki.

The book mainly revolves around his struggle as he is sent into his first battle and is then sold into slavery. As for themes, the main character struggles with the need to return home while still feeling an attachment with those he travels with and the people he grows close to on his journey (namely the mercenary band he joins out of necessity and the fellow soldier he meets before his first battle). Themes of struggling against things greater than yourself, finding your place, and general hopelessness as he tries to figure out where he really belongs in the world, all while bigger powers are moving. Despite the backdrop of the conflict between the rebels and the crown, the main character really deals with the conflict of him returning home and repaying a debt he feels like he needs to repay to his savors (the mercs he joins) as well as the friendship he finds along the way. Stuff like that.

World docs in folders senpai

Dropbox. I tend to work in myriad notes dedicated to a single sitting of brainstorming, which can happen anywhere. Mostly in bed, though.

A map and a brain.

I don't write things down in places where they won't automatically disappear, because I will be ashamed to look at them later due to the setting's sporadic and unpredictable evolution that used to involve changing the entire theme and nature of the setting whenever I saw new inspiration. Now the changes are less debilitating but still very important and more frequent than ever so it's pointless to write stuff down unless it's specifically stuff that I will forget.

My mapmaking style might be a bit obscure, I get a very vague idea of a cool aesthetic and place a cool location for it on the map without having any plans for what that thing is supposed to be. Usually planting those seeds is a good investment, they can spiral into importance even if their original purpose is canned. Nothing from my map 1 year ago still exists despite it being the same file in my folder, the southeast edge of that map is now the northwest edge of the map.

2 fun questions I have for those whose setting is in medieval stasis.

>How long has the medieval stasis lasted in setting?
>Why is your setting in the stasis?
>Will the stasis ever end?
>If not, why?
>If yes, when?

>>What's the name of your world/city/star system/etc?
Earth. I used slightly altered earth geography, because I don't trust myself to make realistic geography and climates.
I tried a few times and failed
>>How many continents/planets does it have?
Again, Earth.
>>How many races? What are they?
In the whole world, about 6, plus about 5 human subspecies.
In the main area there are 5. Humans, Kahteeth (human subspecies), Shriven, Wilders (both actually elves who took very different paths to dealing with their peoples blessing/curse), and Grunters.
There are two more on the border areas.
>>How many days in a year, and how many hours in a day?
Again earth
>>What's a random fact about your world?
There is a about 3 times the normal number of hurricanes in the Atlantic, the majority run straight up Florida. So most places actually get less hurricanes, but Florida is almost uninhabitable
>>Describe a random person from your world, and what they're doing right at this very moment.
Leath, and shriven prostitute is panicking. She'd hoped to make enough money at this years Spring Market to finally afford a proper shaping for her daughter, but her daughters Menarche came before the gates of the Shrivhold opened for the Market.
Now she must smuggle them both away, or her daughter will be killed.

>How long has the medieval stasis lasted in setting?
To be determined, let's say 900 years.

>Why is your setting in the stasis?
Vampires control the academic and scientific world of the west, they regulate and sabatoge scientific progress in panicking fear that humans will find easier ways to kill them. Firearms, for example, would essentially negate a vampire's status and make them just as easy to kill as a human. They also don't want explorers going into or past certain regions because I'm going to bed, you don't get to know

>Will the stasis ever end?
Yes.

>If yes, when?
Within a lifetime, humans will unite and overthrow the high vampire dynasties that have ruled them for most of recorded history. This turns out to be a monumentally stupid idea, and the lack of centralization allows barbarians and wild vampires to do whatever they want with little opposition. Thus begins the age of blood, and technology moves backwards before they jumpstart into the Renaissance a few centuries later.

>>What's the name of your world/city/star system/etc?
sci fi so.... this galaxy really
>>How many continents/planets does it have?
way to many and so many are just historic things of note or irrelevant. There's about 20 systems worth noting though.
>>How many races? What are they?
not so much races.. more so factions and there's 4 major human factions/empires and 3 minor ones.
there's 14 or so relevant alien factions alliances etc and heaps of not so relevant "races"

>>What's a random fact about your world?
slavery or extermination of non space faring races or civilizations is allowed although frowned upon.

for this setting >How many (major) religions does your world have right now?
There are two main types of religions
The godworkings of the 3 primordial powers, Growth, Continuity, and Destruction.
You don't worship them, you just access their power. Different races can do this with different amounts of success or safety, but it's always a little dangerous.

Then there is the Following and Establishment of the Archetypes and their Exemplars. Possibly the largest and most complex is Ketter May, but that takes awhile to explain.

>Pick one of them.
Not Ketter May, so lets take the August Emperor, because that's an interesting one.
>Describe the god or gods of this religion, if there are any. If your religion revolves around some abstract, higher concept, describe that instead.
The Archtype is that of the Emperor. as there are so few and each is so important, every emperor is technically an Exemplar, but some are more than others. Alharthar the Conqueror, who ruled during the First Unification is perhaps the most important.

And when I say the emperors, I mean the men who were emperors. Not their 'souls' as in an etheral body, but the example of their life their symbols and acts and character.
>How many sects/denominations does this religion have? Do they ever conflict with each other? Are there any heretical sects?
Only one true sect, for only the current Emperor may follow this Archetype.
The children of the Emperor can follow it to an extent, but the full mysteries and rituals are kept hidden until their correnations.

Those who try to usurp the crown temporary form heretical sects.

>How was/is this religion spread?
When the new Emperor is crowned.
The priests and officiants are chosen from a young age and raised within the Imperial Palace. They are keepers of the knowledge of the path, but do not follow it. They are followers of the path of the Loyal Servant.
>What are the tenets of this religion?
Complex but the top ones are.
Rule Fairly, but Maintain strength.
Your Word is Law, even onto yourself. Do not betray your word.
The Empire Is Yours do not abandon it or let it be taken from you.
Hold Loyalty to your family in the highest regard. The people must be loyal to your family, your family loyal to you, and you to your family.
Suffer any wound to achieve victory.
>What is the hierarchy of this religion. Describe the higher level positions of this religion, starting with the highest position of power.
Again, the emperor is the only follower.
But in the priests, the top position is the Lore Keepers, the old men who keep the records of the emperors, know the rituals of each, and instruct new emperors and officiants.
Below that are the officiants who tend to the relics and tools of the path.

>Is there an adversary figure or place of punishment for those who went against the tenets of the religion, or both?
The False Emperor, the Disloyal Brother (a broader figure, but he plays a special role here), and the False Magistrate.

I'm running a campaign where each player RPs as a nation and deals with interacting with other nations in politics, trade, etc. Pretty rules lite with a good layer of abstraction to keep it away from excel sheet simulator. As I'm building the world, I'm wondering if it might be better to just use the real world today rather than homebrew an entire world. The real world already has history in place and everyone knows major country names and things like that. The issue would be how the players countries could exist without majorly altering world history anyway, or if they roleplay as existing countries, how much freedom that gives them to roleplay. Also, the overbearing presence of the US doesn't help in this kind of RPG. Suggestions?

>How long has the medieval stasis lasted in setting?
The past ~200 years.
>Why is your setting in the stasis?
No petroleum or coal to provide efficient fuel.
>Will the stasis ever end?
Yes.
>If yes, when?
When they finally figure out the rules for magitech.

Can we just take a quick moment to talk about the top right guy's facial cloud?

Though I don't have a cohesive setting yet, I also toyed with the idea of a sort of Illuminati sabotaging major technological breakthroughs. In a now-abandoned setting I had, even some of the gods themselves were members.

>Name of your star star system
Sub-system Nocht
>How many planets
20 or 30(?) constently being a warzone along with unexpected dementional rifts sucking in solor systems then spitting them out at a different time really makes it hard to track things. Most "habitable" worlds fall under the category of thick dark forest planets or industrial wastelands.
>What are the races?
Humans. Elves are really just a subspecies of humans that lived on low-gravity worlds to the point where their bodies are less dense while becoming hyperactive. Dwarves are another subspecies of humans that lived on heavy-gravity worlds where their bodies become much tougher and shorter. Orcs were developed as a WMD by the Independent System Alliance to infect the Tarren Empire during the Galactic Schism.
>Calendar for setting
Most worlds closely follow the Tarren standard time if they fall under the same size, but a few luner colony or larger worlds us their own shorter/longer calendar.
>Random fact
Dixie 13th Regiment with about a few million soldiers were sent to the planet Dinem to put down pre-space flight Orc infestation. They are stuck on said planet in what should have been a cake-walk for the pass decade with the campaign ending nowhere in sight.
>Random person
Sargent Dani comes from the fuedal world of Ociton from the city of Briton. She has red hair along with some freckles on her face and some minor scars on the arms. Dani is about to order her calvary wing to tie the farmer's limbs to horses then make the horses dismember him.

>What's the name of your world/city/star system/etc?

The capital of the New Terran Empire is called New Arcana. The NTE is the largest human polity on the largest continent

>How many continents/planets does it have?

5 super continents. One North, one south, and 3 others spread across the equator.
>How many races? What are they?

4. Men, Uruks, Elves, Kobolds. They're all descended from humans kidnapped by asshole gods to use as pawns in their Great Game.
>How many days in a year, and how many hours in a day?

400 days, 30hr day.

>What's a random fact about your world?

The Mists are a naturally occurring phenomena that can last from a few minutes to several centuries. Magitech artefacts without appropriate shielding will always fail and wildlife within the Mists can and will turn into bloodthirsty monsterous beasts.

>Describe a random person from your world, and what they're doing right at this very moment

Bleak the Kobold is currently rampaging through an Uruk patrol on his immortal Dire goose Kaarl with a rusty halbred.

>Kobolds
>Descendants of man

lizard folk must feel really ashamed

That's what you get when the Dragon aspect god kidnaps humans to use as slaves and pawns.

City name is Muldoon. Surrounded by a monster (and worse) filled forest that no one survives to the south and to the north, swampland until the next city/town

Planet has at least 2 continents but one is shrouded in mutation inducing sludge and fog.

Races are standard D&D Players Handbook stuff, with elves either being extinct or buggered off. But humans with elven blood exist and always have some feeling like they should be elsewhere. No half-orcs though.

Days and hours are same as our world

Some ancient cataclysm nearly destroyed the world, but the people mostly survived.

General Luthar the Mad, a charismatic man and poor strategist. Always at the head of the charge on foot with his men, but his only plan is usually to fire one volley then charge with affixed bayonets.
Worked for the Swedes at least.

same here, but adding to this the questions posted here are extremely helpful. every thread i have a "welp, didnt think THAT one through as well" - moment

hardly any. it being a postapocalyptic setting gone medieval they have almost all mixed - i think of the people looking like Latinos, with visible differences between nations/continents, but not enough to call them different races. There are some clans and secluded areas that have preserved their white/black skin and they are extremely proud of it, but its the exception

thousands of years

people knowing of the apocalypse (people who can read) have a general fear of advanced technology and discourage open interest in it. As a result, Engineers are a secluded, high-paid but shunned bunch that often dont write their findings down out of fear of getting it stolen or only pass it down to apprentices and work out one-time solutions. Manual labor is widely available. Tech from the old times is so advanced people trying to reverse-engineer it are doomed to fail and cant figure out the steps between (eg they see a machinegun and cant "see" the musket in it)

A noble in the setting wrote a book that tries to set the apocalypse in a political context and its slowly picking up steam.

How long on average do you anons spend developing the lore of the world before you decide its time to play a game in it or start a campaign in it.

Do you think it's wise to just have bare essentials (names of continents, races, gods, cities etc.) and to let the players fill out the rest as they go along or do you fill in as much as possible before starting anything?

>tfw EV Nova was the OP for a week and now it's back to guild wars 2 concept art
feels bad, man

I've been developing a setting for over a year now and I still don't think it's ready. It's mainly a mahou shoujo-inspired magitech setting so that may be the main reason why. My main D&D setting was ready after about a week of worldbuilding with my friend though. My Traveller one was done in a month or so. My low fantasy one was done in a couple days

I use to go there a lot but it can be really slow. But I definitely appreciate some of the recommendations I got from there when I use to frequent it.

Depends on what kind of world I'm making. Some a few weeks with the major stuff down pat, and the minor stuff fluffed out as we go.

Right now I'm working on something bigger which involves blending several books worth of rules into a single cohesive bit that none of them were originally meant for.

Once that's done I'll probably make a map.

Then I'll go back and tighten up the other stuff and start fleshing out a few plot points. Then it will be ready. It'll take a while, and I will probably make a simpler setting and run it before this one's finished. A simpler setting with medieval super powers.

>What's the name of your world/city/star system/etc?
Rancoldor

>How many continents/planets does it have?
in the fleshed out part there are four small continents

>How many races? What are they?
the humans genocided everyone else thousands of years ago or drove them out and erected a giant barrier around a third of the planet to keep it that way. Nobody really knows who the others are, how they look etc.

>How many days in a year, and how many hours in a day?
normal earth years, but this might change

>What's a random fact about your world?
Rancoldor is the result of our Earth and another Planet fusioning due to fiddling with technology and magic respectively.

>Describe a random person from your world, and what they're doing right at this very moment.

One of the three immortal emperors of Tatyria is deciding at this very moment that he is tired of centuries on the throne and will take up the life of a beggar again.

>Ahigbeni (Igonians, Imperials, Blueriders, Lakefolk, Plainsmen, etc.) ~ Africans, specifically West Coast and Central
>Lokonians (Leaguefolk, Coastals, Tinshians) ~ Middle Eastern / Indian
>Lue (catch-all term for people from the Dragon Khan's lands or beyond) ~ East Asian
>Idanians (Mainlanders, Ysians, Tyvanians) ~ Europeans & Caucasus people
>Oldworlders (Resna, Luanit, Sharac, Anoroi) ~ Mesoamericans / North American Natives
>Dodecians (Ombrians, Aurans, Khys Nomads) ~ Aethiopians + SE-Asians
>Shilbaìn ~ Aboriginal Australians

>>How many (major) religions does your world have right now?
2. Monist and Pagan. Technically speaking Pagan is not a single religion, since each pagan gets to pick gods and spirits to follow
>>Pick one of them.
Monism it is, since Pagans are all different
>>Describe the god or gods of this religion, if there are any. If your religion revolves around some abstract, higher concept, describe that instead.
They worship one true god, The Progenitor, who they believe was either tricked or forced into exile by lesser gods of his creation and if their influence removed from the world, he'll return and make the world great again.
>>How many sects/denominations does this religion have? Do they ever conflict with each other? Are there any heretical sects?
There is no official schism so far, but different theologians have different ideas on how to deal with pagans (Try to wage war on them or do missionary work or maybe tax them to death) and some details of the teaching.
>>How was/is this religion spread?
It was a religion of a major empire's elite, that distrusted pagan magic. It didn't have much influence though, and pagans were free to practice their worship and magic rituals unmolested for the good of all. However, one day all worshippers of one specific god turned into monsters for reasons unknown to average person, eventually destroying the empire and spiking distrust of pagans outside of it.
>>What are the tenets of this religion?
Don't worship lesser gods and spirits, even if it produces tangible results. Teach your neighbor to not worship them either. Be an upstanding citizen, resist greed, lust and other things that might make you want supernatural powers.

>>What is the hierarchy of this religion. Describe the higher level positions of this religion, starting with the highest position of power.
I haven't came up with names yet. Religious affairs is governed from the Holy See, by an elected high priest. Beneath him are religious leaders of the nation, each other rules over provincial leaders who in turn coordinate local parishes. Lower level elect one of their ranks to rule over them.
>>Is there an adversary figure or place of punishment for those who went against the tenets of the religion, or both?
As I said, lesser gods are seen as tricksters who want the world for themselves and a liability that can turn their worshipers into undead orcs without warning. Opposing their influence is the core purpose of the religion. Church would excommunicate anyone who'd be found practicing paganism, and run active anti-pagan propaganda. However, they do not engage in justice system, while some secular rules would seek to get rid of pagans on their own accord, for religious or pragmatic reasons.

Veeky Forums is the worst board to go to for advice on writing. Similar to how /mu/ is the worst board to go to for music suggestions, /v/ the worst for video game discussion.

Veeky Forums is one of the few boards that's actually good for discussion about the official board subject.

Dunno if this is a thread for this, but I need a help with a world.

The world is not a sphere. It more or less is like a plain. Or a cylinder. You travel east or west for a long time, and you end up on the other side. Sun does, for instance. Except it's not round, like a cylinder. It's flat.
North and south have their own gimmicks, that's not the point right now.

The problem is, how would the world look when you rise very high? While you're at the ground level appearing on the other side is no big deal. But from space? It sure as hell ain't got edges!
Having repeating landscapes stretch into infinity in both directions, like two mirrors looking at each other? That looks lame. I thought about something obscuring vision as you rise, as in ALWAYS obscuring vision, but then that would block sunlight...

Does anyone have any ideas? They can be quite wacky, the world ain't supposed to fit in our universe.

Just make the world as bounded up/down as you've made it east/west.

If you go up eventually you hit the crust of the land below you, and if you dig down, eventually you dig through the crust and start falling to your death or forever through the hole you dug.

Give the land a slight curvature, and make it so these bounds happen right at the point where your horizon would start to reveal that the land repeats.

hm, that's an interesting idea, although I planned to have outer space...
i gotta think about it

What is a fitting but less obvious name for race of transhumans exiled from Earth for trying to take over the world?

Concept so overdone, all the good names are probably taken.

The Sisterhood of Nud

The Sons of Khan

More seriously, how about the Ascendants? The Usurpers? Overmen? Nietschzians?

Nephilim.

>What's the name of your region?
The Lakaea Sea. A mid-sized gulf surrounded by three countries with very close diplomatic ties.
>How many continents does it have?
The number of continents in the world as a whole is intentionally vague at the moment, but probably around four or five. The ocean/land ratio is skewed a bit further toward the "ocean" side than on modern-day Earth.
>How many races? What are they?
Answered in next post.
>How many days in a year, and how many hours in a day?
324 days, each day lasting a little under 27 hours (though they use a different "hour" than we do). It's just slightly closer to its star than Earth.
>What's a random fact about your world?
Its moon has two small natural satellites of its own.
>Describe a random person from your world, and what they're doing right at this very moment.
A shipping merchant is cataloging his goods before sale.

>How many races? What are they?
Humans, elves, s'fey, leolyn, and beel are the ones on which I've decided so far. Except I kinda wanna come up with a different word for "humans" and then say "they're all different subsets of 'human'". Like in Crystal Chronicles, kinda? But I'm not sure about that.

Elves come in dozens of subtypes, including forest elves, desert elves, river elves, sea elves, mountain/cave elves, marsh elves, and so on. Each has subtle physical adaptations to their native environments (a snow elf, for example, has larger feet that act like snowshoes), but the most important connection is mystical: elves removed from their native environment tend to become sickly and their life expectancy plummets.

The s'fey, meanwhile, have decidedly un-subtle adaptations to life on the ocean. The most obvious is their lank frames; their long, webbed hands and feet; their total lack of hair; their ears covered in skin. They also have a clear protective inner eyelid and their organs are lined with stiff tissues that reduce the effects of pressure.

Leolyn are monkey-like humanoids who live in the treetops. They have prehensile tails and claw-like fingernails and toenails. They're a bit shorter than the average human. They can digest cellulose.

The most distinctive features of the beel are the ram-like horns that run along their foreheads (larger on the men) and the "vents" that run along their forearms. These vents pass by a cluster of blood vessels and help keep the beel cool in humid heat. Curiously, the majority of beel in the Lakaea Sea region live in the desert today. They tend to be a bit taller and broader than humans.

Gimme the hard mode.

>The Sons of Khan
Well duh. Whom do I think I plagiarize.

>Nietschzians
This one is already taken.

I like the other two.

>What's the name of your world
...Titan
yes THAT Titan, remade into a fantasy setting

>How many continents does it have?
have not actually taken the time to count, so far I'm only focusing on the land of Adiri.
>How many races? What are they?
well, so far I know for a fact that there is going to be:
Humans, Halflings, Kobolds, and a distant cousin of H.G. Wells's Selenites which were forced to relocate to Adiri.
But I'm still working on it.

>How many days in a year, and how many hours in a day?
That's complicated, and I think you know why.

>How many (major) religions does your world have right now?
At least two at the moment.

>Pick one of them
Okay... Shit I need a name for this religion.

>Describe the god or gods of this religion, if there are any.
They worship the 5 (formally 6) Kings of Heaven, 5 angels so powerful that they are Gods in all but name, It is believed that they rallied the forces of heaven and mortals in a war to drive out the Outer Gods and Great Old Ones, who conquered the realms and drove off the ancient gods who came before.

>How many sects/denominations does this religion have? Do they ever conflict with each other? Are there any heretical sects?
at least one for each King in turn, and generally no, they all get along. as for any heretical sects, well, remember how I mentioned there used to be 6 kings of heaven...

>How was/is this religion spread?
This one is the major religion of Adiri, and possibly beyond. It spreads by being everywhere.

>What are the tenets of this religion?
each sect has at least some minutiae to it, but the overall tenet of the religion is: "Don't be a dick"

>What is the hierarchy of this religion
Scribe, priest, high priest, Cardinal, and then you get into the hierarchy of the outsiders they worship.

>Is there an adversary figure or place of punishment
Yes, and I think you already know it.

I await your disdain

Oh. Missed this post.
>How many (major) religions does your world have right now?
Either "none" or "essentially infinite". There aren't straightforward religions in the way you typically imagine them; instead, people become devoted to a particular concept and show their devotion to it through work and general reverence.
>Pick one of them.
Farming.
>If your religion revolves around some abstract, higher concept, describe that instead.
In Reveste Gardens, the windmill at the center of each town is the only reliable source of water through the dry season, so the people in a town will typically have great reverence and respect towards their windmill. Beyond that, it basically just amounts to "work hard to earn the favor of 'farming'," but they don't really anthropomorphize it it any way.
>Other questions
N/A
>Is there an adversary figure or place of punishment for those who went against the tenets of the religion, or both?
Nope. If you've done a good job in service to your preferred duty, then you'll be subsumed into it after your death. Your essence will become one tiny non-discrete part of the essence of farming or war or medicine or whatever. In some cases the "essence" is believed to be dominated by the historical greats of the devotion, at least inasmuch as it's "more" them than it is the average person. Like, all the soldiers that died in battle are each a drop of Vodka Citron, while one great general is the 1.5 parts lime juice in the Cosmopolitan that is the essence of war.

How's it end

>>What's the name of your world/city/star system/etc?
Luminous Space
>>How many continents/planets does it have?
Uncountable thousands upon millions. Unnamed, mostly.
>>How many races? What are they?
Human (earthborn, spacer, cyborg, designer, abberation)
Yunari (cute fuzzy mechanics)
Synthetic (robots and hologram)
Ji-Gan (Greys + Tau + Stargate Wraiths)
Orzin (Space Vampire Monkeys)
Vash'ek (Klingons + Goblins + Tarzan)
Krendorian (giant lobster warriors, Farscape D'Argo)
>>How many days in a year, and how many hours in a day?
Varies depending on system. A Unified calendar is in the works, both in and out of universe.
>>What's a random fact about your world?
I spent 20 years off and on writing it.
>>Describe a random person from your world, and what they're doing right at this very moment.
Huon Malthis is a middle ages smuggler tossing boxes full of stolen medical supplies into his escape pod. He wants that shit ejected before the local space cops work him over.

Hard Mode and Dante Must Die, Please.

I was somewhat planning it to be a three book series. Basically, the MC and the mercs arrive at the rebel's main fortress only to see that they have left for the capital. The next book is from the MC's brother's perspective as he is a priest for the church of the kingdom. I haven't figured out a complete end to the series though.

>Star Fall Valley, a valley "SUPPOSEDLY" carved out by a falling star.
>One main continent and a sub-continent island thing (It's about two New Zealand's)
>Two so far. Humans, with multiple subcultures, and Aeven, who are Elves more in the vein of "Unknowable Fae beings that want to kill us"
>200 Days, 20 Day Months, 24 Hours. This is the most recent change in the Imperial Calendar.
>Tuvani have a weakness for Sweet Berry Wine, makes them woozy and they drink it by the barrel. No other alcoholic beverage does this.
>A Varskin Poctal (Post Man / Mercenary) wandering through the woods, he's hunting a deer he shot while constantly looking around for stray arrows, Aeven have been in the area after all.

Questions welcome

I've been working on a sci-fi game, sort of like Shadowrun on Mars without magic. Long story short there are abandoned techno-ruins with advanced artifacts ripe for the taking. Mercenary explorers often use humanoid robots to assist them in plundering.

The problem is, I'm torn between having the player characters themselves explore these ruins or having them remote pilot the robots (and relegating the human characters to everywhere else, including exploring cyberpunk shithole cities where a walking weapons platform would draw attention).

Gameplay wise it wouldn't be too different, but I wonder what impact it would have on the tone.

Does /wbg/ hate themepark worlds?
I want to design a world for D&D 5e except instead of designing anything rationally, I'll organize the world by CR, then populate it with CR appropriate monsters, then build the world on how those monsters would interact with each other in nearby zones.
It sounds like a pretty fun thought experiment "why doesn't that lich just take over the entire world?" that writes its own plot hooks.

Anybody got weird or original ideas for apocalypse type settings

Was thinking of doing something where the world is now in complete darkness constantly, no natural light-sources anymore
I think it could be interesting

>Anybody got weird or original ideas for apocalypse type settings

Want the weirdest of them all? After centuries of growth and stagnation, Humanity has just "given up" on the whole "living" thing, more concerned with their own meaningless trivial pleasures than the advancement of the species. Mothers toss away their babies after birth, rape and murder become commonplace, and an elite of disenfranchised males spend their entire lives accumulating flashy garb and honing their physiques to perfection while ignoring any interest from women.

It's a world that has, quite simply, abandoned any notion of hope or future.

Hey lads, how do you like the sound of shooting stars that actually grant wishes because they're fragments of an alien continent splattered with the blood of an elder god?

I wish to cancel out all other wishes

user why.

If I don't maintain a constant level of smug I might die

Dante Must Die Questions
>Part 1: Magic
>If you are doing a no-magic setting, disregard this post, there will be a post for you later.

>How many systems of magic exist in your world/region/etc? What are their names?
>How has the introduction of magic changed the course of intelligent life in your world?
>Are there any major inventions/breakthroughs that, for the equivalent Earth time period in your world, haven't been invented/haven't happened due to magic either replacing them or making them unnecessary?
>Does magic have to follow the laws of physics? If not, why? If so, are there any interesting applications/side-effects of this?
>Is magic hereditary/genetic or can anyone use it with enough training/willpower? Or is it something that is granted by either a higher power or through some of trial? If there are multiple sources of magic in your world, pick one of them.
>If magic is hereditary/genetic: how common is it for the 'magic gene' to appear in the offspring of a successive generation of children? Are there any unique side effects of this 'gene' (hair color, eyes, etc). If no, through what process is magic ability found in a person?
>If magic can be used by anyone (no trial/granting of power): how is the misuse of magic controlled, since theoretically anyone can use it ? Is there any of training to prevent the users from hurting themselves?
>If magic is granted by a god/higher/trail/etc: describe the process of 'granting' magic to someone.
>How does magic affect trade, commerce, and the economies of your nations? Do certain types of magic give certain nations a significant advantage in this area?
>Is magic looked down upon, or revered? Are those with magic abilities granted any special treatment or privileges? Does magic ability directly affect your social class (whether positively or negatively)? If the answer to this question varies from place to place, pick one region of your world for this question.

>how common is it for the 'magic gene' to appear in the offspring of a successive generation of children?
change that to "how common is it for the 'magic gene' to appear from generation to generation, in a family that is known to have the 'magic gene'". sorry, it was needlessly confusing before.

>How many systems of magic exist in your world/region/etc? What are their names?
There are three styles of magic. They are, the Old Style, the New Style, and the Hybrid Style.
>How has the introduction of magic changed the course of intelligent life in your world?
Most militaries use mages in them now and space travel has become possible thanks to magitech. Life is also much easier but this led to more authoritarian governments that want to regulate mages heavily.
>Are there any major inventions/breakthroughs that, for the equivalent Earth time period in your world, haven't been invented/haven't happened due to magic either replacing them or making them unnecessary?
Guns are more of a sidearm than a mainstay, despite mages not making up the majority of armed forces. Due to the rarity of magic users and the restrictions posed on casting, most of technology has stayed the same. If anything, technology has developed faster thanks to the discovery of mages.
>Does magic have to follow the laws of physics? If not, why? If so, are there any interesting applications/side-effects of this?
The new casting method is restricted to using physics to achieve its result (which allows it to be much safer than the Old Style). The Old Style is much more dangerous to use and as a result barely any mage uses it anymore in comparison to the much faster and safer New Style.
>Is magic hereditary/genetic or can anyone use it with enough training/willpower? Or is it something that is granted by either a higher power or through some of trial? If there are multiple sources of magic in your world, pick one of them.
Mages are purely determined by genetics. However, how powerful a mage is is determined by their strength of will as well as their connection with their magical device. What type of magic a person uses is determined by their personality type and personal history.
cements this issue and makes it worse.

>If magic is hereditary/genetic: how common is it for the 'magic gene' to appear in the offspring of a successive generation of children? Are there any unique side effects of this 'gene' (hair color, eyes, etc). If no, through what process is magic ability found in a person?
There are no side effects of being a mage physiologically (except for the heightened reflexes, strength, endurance, mana pool, and agility that comes with being one). While a mage's power is random and determined by them personally, how often a person is born a mage exponentially increases through the generations.
>How does magic affect trade, commerce, and the economies of your nations? Do certain types of magic give certain nations a significant advantage in this area?
Not really. Most mages are used in the military or the government and as such are either relegated to administration or military jobs. Medical mages are able to heal people and as such work in hospitals. Mages in star fleets operate the FTL engines but those are the main jobs outside of the military mages have.
>Is magic looked down upon, or revered? Are those with magic abilities granted any special treatment or privileges? Does magic ability directly affect your social class (whether positively or negatively)? If the answer to this question varies from place to place, pick one region of your world for this question.
Mages are feared and separated by most due to their unhuman abilities. They are not discriminated against because governments recognize their worth but are still segregated from regular societies due to the fact that they are viewed as special tools for the government. This creates a divide between the regular human soldiers and the mages that they have to serve with. The fact that most high ranking officers are mages only makes this issue worse.

sounds cool

I actually took a lot of inspiration from Nanoha (and a little bit from Rakudai) for the magic system. I have a lot more of it detailed in this pastebin if you want to read more about it (pastebin.com/Zi60XNNF) and even more spent detailing a ranking system because I'm autistic like that

youtube.com/watch?v=QJlu59RPlq4

>What's the name of your world/city/star system/etc?
Haven't come up with anything, since it is not very important, at least to me.

>How many continents/planets does it have?
About six, lot of small islands as well.

>How many races? What are they?
See pic. By no means all, but they kinda matter.

>How many days in a year, and how many hours in a day?
Overall rather earth-like in orbit, as well as the spin and mass - some differences, but they are not that massive.

>What's a random fact about your world?
After fall of Zere, humans brought soups along them to land of Desw, which became rather popular form of food, with migrants opened soup-stands which served to feed lot of the castes.

>Describe a random person from your world, and what they're doing right at this very moment.
He's letting his old buddy back from war bunk over. They actually met up by chance, one missed a boat and other went through a divorce, ending up with one free bed in his crowded flat.
At the moment? Having drinks near railways for old times' sake.

>How many (major) religions does your world have right now?
West has a relatively popular sun-worshipping religion, with rural countryside still retaining some older faiths.
On Desw' they have state-religion, which deals with their reincarnation and whatnot.

>Describe the god or gods of this religion, if there are any. If your religion revolves around some abstract, higher concept, describe that instead.
Desw' have deep belief in reincarnation and karma, and have built their society around social rank dependent on gendermorph of the person ( mind, they have 5 of these ). There are some minor deities which are offered prayers and tribute, but they are not really governing and invidual regions tend to have their own.
The particular religion is actually lead by an actual demi-god, who wishes to remain in complete secrecy, only allowing the very peak of religious and governing organs to know of him/her.

Please respond

Why does the Caowe look like Big Boss Toriel?

>Magic systems
There are three in general.
Thaumaturgy, common magic, is more of a craft or art. Divine magic is direct intervention of patron.
Psionics is the more natural and intuitive sort. It is much more limited, but swift and potent in effect. Natural psionic very rare, usually very minor. It is possible to develop psionics, and some mages and scientists can end up developing psionic abilities.

>How has the introduction of magic....
Not too much, since it is either rare, weak and difficult. Sometimes all three. There are magical creatures, though...
>Are there any major inventions/breakthroughs that....
Not really. Some were slightly delayed, but people want to reliably do things and not to wait for some overbooked yahoo to come magically solve their problems.
>Does magic have to follow the laws of physics?...
Physics tends to accomodate magic, although sometimes things have to expanded when someone does something not in line with their knowledge.
>Is magic hereditary/genetic or can anyone use it with enough training/willpower? ....
It tends to be by-chance. While being in magically intensive environment produces potential magic more likely, it isn't too trustworthy.
>If magic can be used by anyone (no trial/granting of power)...
Untalented magicians are barely anything to note. It is not really combat-worthy unless you are absurdly good. Psionics is exception, since it is much more intuitive, but requires a very rare mutation.
>If magic is granted by a god/higher/trail/etc: describe the process of 'granting' magic to someone.
Brown-nosing until god decides to help you out in a pinch. Or more often, if you sink your nose deeper.
>Is magic looked down upon, or revered?
Rather regional. Lot of common folk tend to massively overestimate the potential of a common mage.

>Not wishing to have your brain instantly come up with the smuggest smuggiest sharpest witty smug remarks at any time and every time

>six intelligent species on the same planet

wew lad

>How many systems of magic exist in your world/region/etc? What are their names?
Invocation/Witchcraft, bribing of a demon by sacrificing to them or doing their bidding, to be granted power in exchange
Arcane, the channeling of inner energy to be exerted as physical energy after ruthlessly training and modifying the brain to excrete thaum, extremely dangerous to the user

>How has the introduction of magic changed the course of intelligent life in your world?
It hasn't yet, something big is about to happen to a city but it's so crazy that no one believes the survivors and the event fades into historical obscurity, centuries later few people believe the city ever existed in the first place.

>Are there any major inventions/breakthroughs that, for the equivalent Earth time period in your world, haven't been invented/haven't happened due to magic either replacing them or making them unnecessary?
No

>Does magic have to follow the laws of physics? If not, why? If so, are there any interesting applications/side-effects of this?
Witchcraft only directly altered the physical world on one occasion in history, but it technically recycled the life and mass of an immense sacrifice into something else without creating or destroying mass.
Arcane is funky and always alters the physical world, however it doesn't blatantly defy the physics of the setting. Nutrients and biomass are converted into thaum then expelled from the body primarily as light and heat.

>Is magic hereditary/genetic or can anyone use it with enough training/willpower? Or is it something that is granted by either a higher power or through some of trial? If there are multiple sources of magic in your world, pick one of them.
Arcane comes from training, willpower, and bodily modification. Witchcraft is getting a favor from a higher power after doing a favor for them.