Questions tagged [worldbuilding-process]
For questions about the process of creating a new world or changing and developing an existing one, as opposed to questions about some element of the world being created or changed. NOTE that this is NOT a generic, catch-all tag; this tag should be used to address the process, meaning HOW you world build, not what you are building. See also the extended tag information for when to use this tag.
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When countries combine, how do they pick a new name?
I am writing a story where two countries decide to merge into one larger country, but I am having trouble figuring out what they would actually name the new country.
At first I though that they would ...
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Is there such a thing as "too much detail" in worldbuilding?
I'm currently working on my own world and something I always wonder when worldbuilding is if I'm putting in "too much detail".
One of my favourite parts (and one of the most important in ...
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Litmus Test for whether my worldbuilt cultures are too close to modern America/Britain/etc
I was listening to a video on how to write, and the person giving the lecture said something along the lines of "I'm bored with stories where the setting is supposed to be in the far-flung future,...
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How can I build a successful empire ruled by a malevolent ruler? [closed]
Right now, I'm trying to build an empire (based on byzantine) that is set as the main enemy.
In an empire, does the ruler interact with their people? What is their empire's history?
The empire I'm ...
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Why do my fox people believe in their gods at all?
The gods of my fictional world are Uri, Tempest, Selenite, Iris, and Aylin. Another thing- they're all foxes. (The world is set in an exclusively-fox island, where foxes live on the island and develop ...
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What is a good way to make an abstract board game truly alien?
Necessary background info: So I made a hard(ish, there is FTL but it's fairly restricted and that's about it in terms of scientific implausibility) science fiction worldbuild. There is the "Oval&...
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How would I go about naming a fictional country located on Earth?
I'm having quite a bit of trouble naming a fictional country I've created. So far, I've created its history, inhabitants, laws, government, etc. and I have simply used "the country" as a ...
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Can planet with three moons, have one tidal-locked both on rotation and revolution?
I'm a new D&D 5E Dungeon Master and I've found out recently about tidal locking.
For the first RPG setting I'm preparing with a friend, the planet the players will be on has 3 moons. Me and ...
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What kind of tactical situation/s would be best approached with trained jetpack pilots?
I'm writing a story where there's a civil war fought by people with weapons and technology based on 50s experimentals, kind of like a subtle "What-if" aesthetic.
How can I manipulate what ...
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Magic Systems: Advice for developing opposing forces [closed]
Dumbledore fights Voldemort from the Harry Potter series of films. Nothing says "opposites" like two different colors incapable of overcoming each other and dripping like magma to the floor.
...
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How to explain different spirits and species within them? [closed]
I’m not too sure how to explain this, but I have a universe set in a modern world where basically humans co-exist alongside supernatural beings.
I have the usual creatures and monsters like vampires, ...
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No idea where a current should come from
I was designing a continent and I placed it pretty far south of the equator and far from basically everything (just below 20 degrees south) and have now run into an issue with the ocean currents on ...
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What would be a good way to make a star map? [closed]
Recently, I was working on my fantasy world's zodiac, when I realized that I still hadn't worked out how the constellations were supposed to fit together in the night sky. This caused me a good deal ...
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Algorithm for creating realistic flying (voxel) islands [closed]
I am currently working on a part of a game that has voxel-based terrain, a bit like Minecraft. There are different kinds of „blocks“ like stone, dirt, sand, etc. But the story/setting requires that I ...
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I have scrambled the earth’s landmasses to form the world of Htrea [closed]
There are still mountains in the same spots of their mother continents. Wind directions, orbit, and water temperatures are all exactly that of Earth’s (as well as planet size). The equator runs ...
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How do you come up with various meaningful names from different languages for a multicultural fantasy world?
I want to introduce cultural diversity to my fantasy world, taking inspiration from various cultures in the real world. To make my multicultural fantasy world believable, I need to come up with ...
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How should I build an additional periodic table?
Recently, I was going through the magical materials that existed in one of my fantasy settings. It was all going swimmingly, when a thought occurred to me: "You know, I should figure out how ...
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What would happen if a world is full of mountains? How would it affect the geography, environment, and gravity of the planet?
I was thinking of making a world that is filled to the brim with mountains. I'm not saying that the world is just mountains, but the area or terrain is so difficult that it's hard for land vehicles to ...
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What would be more realistic for a universe where FTL is possible?
I am working on my own project with applying science to Star Wars. I try to meld the fantasy with as much real science as possible, but I am having a problem with the size of the universe. I am ...
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Theoretically, can a real religion exist in a high fantasy world? [closed]
In my world, there are multiple religions, and one of them is Christianity. While it exists in our world, there are some differences, including:
Changing of locations and places
A few characters are ...
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How to reduce the number of designed lifeforms whilst still giving the impression of an endless amount?
I am not sure if this is a worldbuilding or story writing issue but I am wondering how I can show the vast amount of life throughout a volume of space without having to go into full detail.
There is ...
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Is it okay to use real-world literary figures? [closed]
In my world's lore and history, there a mythical figures and heroes in it. My world is not Earth, but rather a different world (think ATLA or skyrim kind of different). I was wondering if I am able to ...
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Can the actions of another entity remain truly inscrutable?
Inscrutable
Impossible to understand or interpret.
Here on Worldbuilding SE, I see quite a few questions and more answers that mention the inscrutability of the actions of intelligent non-human ...
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What do I need to do to define resources and economic exchanges? [closed]
How to define the resources of each country/state and the trade route (road)?
I would like to define:
the resources of each country/state in my world;
the trade of goods (economic exchanges) between ...
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Are 4 magic systems too much when it comes to a modern type of world with a lot of moving parts? [closed]
I have four power systems. Superpowers Supertechnology, Magic, and the Charles Atlas Powers. All 4 systems are not original. The systems are pretty generic. The only difference is, im just putting my ...
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How can i make my worldbuilding magical, fun and a little dark, but still maintain realism? [closed]
I'm trying to make a character, and I'm first creating their world, but I'm can't figure out whether I want it to be all magical or more realistic. Helluva Boss did this great. It took place in hell, ...
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What is the process of building a world [closed]
Is there a pattern that can be identified that we could use to build worlds? Is there something currently being used in certain circles?
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Would it be morally right to kill fiends by modern world standards? [closed]
Fiends in my story were usually were once human teenagers, but since then (usually voluntary) have gained power, immortality, and supernatural abilities by submitting themselves to The OtherWorld King....
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Reasonable placement of tectonic plates
Im working on this little hobby project and i've come to the stage where i want an actual world map. So id decided to use one of the mapgens out there untill i found one i was happy with:
Now i have ...
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How do I create a religion unlike greek pantheon?
Most of the religions I see GMs make (& even myself) are basically just rehashed Greek pantheon-esque religions. Several gods, each one governing a specific thing, sometimes different regions have ...
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How would portals that link Earth and a fantasy world work?
I don't exactly want the science on how portals work (though I wouldn't complain if someone did), but I suppose they would work lore-wise. Portals can often be found behind long forgotten entrances, ...
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How is my biomes map?
For a while I've been making a realistic planet that is quite similar to Earth. I've finished the tectonic plates, ocean currents, wind patterns, and a rough height map. Next up is the biome map, ...
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Could multiple sentient humanoids live in the same environment?
In my Fantasy Story there's multiple fantasy species which have achieved human intelligence and many share a close common ancestry with humans (humans also live in the same lands). But I have realized ...
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How could a Fantasy World remain hidden?
This Fantasy World has very large monsters, intelligent humanoids, expansive unique biomes, ect. While I was making my fantasy world I realised how hard it would be to hide all of this from humans. I ...
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Where should I place my Earth-like planet within my binary system?
I am working on a RPG setting which requires my planet having a nearby flare star. I understand from reading through other, similar questions and from doing some research, that flare stars are ...
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Where does most of a sun's energy go?
first post ever here. I've read the guidelines, but please do let me know if I'm breaking any rule or doing something wrong.
So, I am creating a magic system based on the energy of a star. More ...
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Software for simulating a slice of an atmosphere?
For my world, I want to simulate a 2d vertical slice of an atmosphere, to test if my assumptions about it are correct. The software needs to support gas compression via gravity, different gasses used ...
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Can a creature have possible locomotion if the legs are positioned in a x formating to the pelvis or this symbol ><
My alien creatures are arthropods: multiple limbs, segmented bodies, etc. Is it possible for them to walk if their legs are placed in a x formation in thier pelvies or similar to the shape of this ...
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What rituals should be used by oracles? [closed]
I am creating a role-playing game(LARP) where rituals are actually performed in real life.
The spells are probably going to be created in advance because one can imaging that all following systems are ...
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are my rivers and map little realistic
This is my first world map so I just need to know if said rivers are realistically flowing from point to point. And if you have other tips those would be helpful as well. Rivers flow from the ...
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I need help with aquatic arthropods
How would an arthropod (invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton)replace and or evolve into a fish-like animal (using terrestrial fish as an example)the question is how would they recrate a ocean ...
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What could be some limitations to magic to make it less overpowered? [closed]
In many movies and animations, magic is overpowered. Most of the time, magicians could only be countered by other magicians.
I'm building a medieval fantasy world where magic exists. In this world, ...
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Predators in a world of machines
I have this idea for a world where the creatures, though they look organic externally, are actually mechanical in nature and when damaged reveal their mechanical innards, with pipes pumping coolant ...
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How accurate was Azgaar.io about what Biomes my Fantasy Map should have (realistically)?
I'm making a map for the next D&D game I will run, and I would like some second opinions on what Biomes would encompass it (Assume realistic biomes for now; no Mushroom forests or the like). ...
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Naming Continents [closed]
I'm creating continents for my fantasy world but I need help creating names. I still haven't decided how many continents there will be, but I'm already having trouble coming up with names. Does ...
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secret underground tunnel underneath the city that the emperor doesn't know about- is it possible?
in the draft of my story, there is a city which is the capital of an empire. the empire has conquered many territories, but underneath the city, there is underground tunnels.
the enemies infiltrate ...
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Write short stories before your main story to help the worldbuilding process
Is it good worldbuilding practice to write short stories happening in your universe to set a precedent to how your world works and how the common and always unseen characters would find their way ...
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How do you make your worldbuilding less utopian?
I have a tendency to build near-utopian worlds because I find it pleasant to think about them.
Why would I add in to my world things like domestic abuse, alcoholism, war, etc.? But then I wind up with ...
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At what size would a Fairy be biologically viable?
Assume that an external force nudged along the evolution of a mammal and/or insect species towards an appearance mimicking as much of humanity as possible - skin, mouth, language, fingers and thumb, ...
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How advanced should a science fiction setting be in terms of secondary technologies? [closed]
One thing I’ve been thinking about with respect to science fiction settings in the relatively near future is the question of the overall technology level and how much things should advance in fields ...
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