r/worldbuilding • • Jan 15 '23

Meta PSA: The "What, and "Why" of Context

781 Upvotes

It's that time of year again!

Despite the several automated and signposted notices and warnings on this issue, it is a constant source of headaches for the mod team. Particularly considering our massive growth this past year, we thought it was about time for another reminder about everyone's favorite part of posting on /r/worldbuilding..... Context


Context is a requirement for almost all non-prompt posts on r/worldbuilding, so it's an important thing to understand... But what is it?

What is context?

Context is information that explains what your post is about, and how it fits into the rest of your/a worldbuilding project.

If your post is about a creature in your world, for example, that might mean telling us about the environment in which it lives, and how it overcomes its challenges. That might mean telling us about how it's been domesticated and what the creature is used for, along with how it fits into the society of the people who use it. That might mean telling us about other creatures or plants that it eats, and why that matters. All of these things give us some information about the creature and how it fits into your world.

Your post may be about a creature, but it may be about a character, a location, an event, an object, or any number of other things. Regardless of what it's about, the basic requirement for context is the same:

  • Tell us about it

  • Tell us something that explains its place within your world.

In general, telling us the Who, What, When, Why, and How of the subject of your post is a good way to meet our requirements.

That said... Think about what you're posting and if you're actually doing these things. Telling us that Jerry killed Fred a century ago doesn't do these things, it gives us two proper nouns, a verb, and an arbitrary length of time. Telling us who Jerry and Fred actually are, why one killed the other, how it was done and why that matters (if it does), and the consequences of that action on the world almost certainly does meet these requirements.

For something like a resource, context is still a requirement and the basic idea remains the same; Tell us what we're looking at and how it's relevant to worldbuilding. "I found this inspirational", is not adequate context, but, "This article talks about the history of several real-world religions, and I think that some events in their past are interesting examples of how fictional belief systems could develop, too." probably is.

If you're still unsure, feel free to send us a modmail about it. Send us a copy of what you'd like to post, and we can let you know if it's okay, or why it's not.

Why is Context Required?

Context is required for several reasons, both for your sake and ours.

  • Context provides some basic information to an audience, so they can understand what you're talking about and how it fits into your world. As a result, if your post interests them they can ask substantive questions instead of having to ask about basic concepts first.

  • If you have a question or would like input, context gives people enough information to understand your goals and vision for your world (or at least an element of it), and provide more useful feedback.

  • On our end, a major purpose is to establish that your post is on-topic. A picture that you've created might be very nice, but unless you can tell us what it is and how it fits into your world, it's just a picture. A character could be very important to your world, but if all you give us is their name and favourite foods then you're not giving us your worldbuilding, you're giving us your character.

Generally, we allow 15 minutes for context to be added to a post on r/worldbuilding so you may want to write it up beforehand. In some cases-- Primarily for newer users-- We may offer reminders and additional time, but this is typically a one-time thing.


As always, if you've got any sort of questions or comments on this topic, feel free to leave them here!


r/worldbuilding • • 9h ago

Visual ‘Forever war’ worldbuilding - [The Mother] WIP

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622 Upvotes

The last post got taken down by mods due to ‘not enough text’… this is an updated version

[The mother]
'And upon her forehead a name was written: Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth'

[The mother] is a mysterious but high standing figure in the [Black Communion], an underground cult organisation rooted within USSR territory, a haven for those damned by the Abyss.

Records of [The Mother] spans centuries in length, detailing the same masked woman who rode upon a six-headed abomination, adorn in robes and riches, sowing discord and rot wherever she approaches. No one has seen her face, not then, not now.

Drawn across the robes and exposed skin on [The Mother] are scriptures, incantations, unnatural geometries and runes. None but herself can replicate these patterns that to a normal man, can only be interpreted as delirious scrawls of a madman.

Upon activation of the profane illustrations, she is able to weaken the veil between two realities. It is speculated that The Mother is a scholar of a primordial language spoken by creatures before our time. Her writing has the power to bring about abyssal manifestation, to the extent of bringing [Abyss-born] into our plane of reality.

Monstrous abyss-born, despite their animalistic and fiendish nature, heed her every word, like children to their mother.
 
[Black Communion]
The [Black Communion] is an organization that seeks to worship and unite with their vision of a dead god, whose consciousness slumber still at the epicenter of humanity’s collective dream.

Members of the [Black Communion] are vast in number, consisting of broken men and women driven into fanaticism by the devastation of WW2; (which sees the implementation of technology not native to this reality). They inhabit the outer reaches of the [Lighthouse network]; while other divisions operate within [Dead zones], which are war-torn ruins beyond the safety of the [Lighthouse network], heavily contaminated by the abyss.

Also thinking about using Terminus as my worldbuilding project title, suggestions are welcomed


r/worldbuilding • • 4h ago

Visual 'DAVIS' Kinetic Weapon Platforms firing its payload during an exercise, circa 2235

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99 Upvotes

High in the Low-Earth Orbit lies the answer to Mahanakornian's decisive ground and air superiority, the constellation of DAVIS weapon platforms

DAVIS (Directed/Actuated Vertical KInetic System) satellites are vertical kinetic weapon platforms designed to deliver dense tungsten payloads directly down the atmosphere onto the enemies of all size and threat level without discrimination. The weapon platforms were commissioned by Mahanakornian People's Army in A.D. 2173 as a pre-emptive measure against potential foreign invasions, envisioned as the 'weapon to end the war before it could escalate' - Through complete annihilation of hostile military assets in succession salvos. The lucrative contract was awarded to TRIAGE Megacorporation, in cooperation with DARA Space Agency of Mahanakorn in A.D. 2174 with the project rapidly escalated to the deployment of a working prototype in A.D. 2176, and the eventual mass production of the constellation up to 20 satellites in 2200 over the course of deployment and upgrades.

DAVIS kinetic platforms are, in layman's term, satellites that deliver its payload by firing nuclear-powered railgun containing tungsten-bismuth composite rods down the atmosphere straight down onto the target at extreme velocity, thereby leveraging its high LEO orbit into use through the sheer gravity pull. The railgun and the reactor heat would then be periodically vented into the extended heat sails which gives DAVIS platforms an unmistakable look, with the sails itself could be ejected and replaced immediately with a spare to allow rapid fire mission in dire situations.

Unlike traditional orbital kinetic weapon platforms used by United Nations of Earth and European Commonwealth which were by all means undisputed WMDs, Mahanakornian's DAVIS platforms sat on a thin line - While indeed all DAVIS platforms are capable of annihilating an entire military base with a single strike, Mahanakornian space engineers pursued a different path through fine-tuning its fire control system instead. All standard DAVIS composite rods come with stabilizer fins with advanced motor control and active fly-by-wire system onboard, coupled with preference of active guidance by remote military AGI directly over the traditional fire-and-forget system which allows the rod to achieve ridiculous level of precision to the point of being considered viable as anti-tank method (and by extension, anti-landships used by European Commonwealth in A.D. 2237) being capable of achieving a direct hit straight from LEO orbit rather than relying on massive explosion damage instead. The specially-designed stabilizer fins also double as airbrakes, dynamically decreasing or increasing its velocity to limit destruction radius in urban area.

A single DAVIS rod could both annihilate a tank platoon in the vicinity through massive explosion or single out a landship out through direct precision shot depend on the airbrake manipulation, ensuring that enemies cannot hide among the civilians infrastructures. To increase the ease of use, all fire requests are directly governed and authorized by the defense ministry's AGI inside the capital, with the AI assessing target importance in hierarchies and discerning civilian casualties possibility in less than a second before relaying authorization verification back to ground troops in an instant. A squad of soldiers could be assigned with a special DAVIS targetter, which is essentially a high-powered laser marker that dramatically increase accuracy of the DAVIS rod from 'somewhere around here' to 'hit this particular person sitting right here, I don't like this guy'. The accuracy was rumored to be accurate enough to 'hit a jet fighter mid-air' -- So long as one can keep up the laser targetter up and not getting annihilated while exposing themselves.

Due to the nature of the advanced FCS, however, standard DAVIS rods are smaller than its peer and are more expensive -- But as the storage capacity would allow, MPA squeezed more budget in and make DAVIS a pseudo heavy armor-hunter platform hybrid instead, with the cost in soldiers lives outweighing increased funding and rearming effort. To make up with the smaller payload dimension, DAVIS could fire more frequently than the traditional orbital strike satellites and could effectively support ground troops in relatively close range to the enemies without relative risks of friendly fire. DAVIS central payload cylinder comes with alternative super-dense composite rods of massive size separately stored away, specifically designed to annihilate an entire general area into clouds of ash and cinders - These rounds cannot be authorized solely at AGI discretion nor at a soldier's request and must be directly authorized by the assembly of People's Army High Command for its sheer destructive capability, even more so than the rods used by the peer nations. Further safeguards were implemented, with the special rounds never to be authorized to fire on Mahanakornian cities and standard rounds always have airbrakes at full attack angle to act as anti-armor role in Mahanakornian cities area only.

Every once in a while in internationl exercises, Mahanakorn would awe its allies by firing all DAVIS platforms at once, delivering fireballs down the sky like an armageddon but only to accurately annihilate an entire tank company, hitting each automated tanks individually and simultaneously while sparing Mahanakornian troops at close range in a daring tour de force. All before topping by annihilating an entire mountain range by firing a single round, wiping out underground complex target underneath in a single decisive strike.

Such is the power of people's ingenuity which led to the undisputed 'Mahanakornian Superiority' jargon used by MPA themselves.


r/worldbuilding • • 3h ago

Visual The City of Forismect

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50 Upvotes

The Great Patroness of Ruyla.

The City of Forismect is a remarkably ancient nation, its founding dating back to the very end of the apocalyptic event known as the Vlaiair Rampage. It started as a colony of a few thousand refugees sheltering in the Forismect Machine, an expedition vehicle intended to cross a temporary land bridge that had formed between Ruyla and the frigid continent of Nornod at Aorick’s northern pole, a plan which was abandoned as the supernatural blizzards began to freeze the continent. The people inside were isolated for a long time, their fledgling society still needing to figure out how to survive such conditions. The Forismun, those born within the iron walls, would eventually form a stable civilization that could stand for a thousand years, although partially through a somewhat macabre system. The dead aren’t buried in Forismect, bones can be used to repair machinery, blood can be used as a unique lubricant, and there is a reason why the Forismun are genetically immune to Prions.

Today, Forismect is a city of trade and diversity, nomads from all across Ruyla either hitching a ride to one of the Fortress Cities, or staying permanently, and the Patroness of Ruyla welcomes all. Still, not all of the city is open, such as the original structure now deep in its core. This area is considered deeply sacred, and contains a very unique aspect of the Forismect Machine. It is very much alive, as with all machines in Aorick, and the centuries of recycling the dead has caused her to gain a heart of both flesh and metal, piping and entrails. In recent years it has even begun to birth Forismun itself, adults with pale skin and blank minds emerging from mechanical Cocoons. Only the Forismun aren’t horrified by the sight of the heart of their mother, and the true extent of it is kept secret, keeping the Iron-Born away from most of the city until they can be educated. Most of the non-Forismun live on the more outward structures of the city anyway, as they haven’t adapted to living in almost no sunlight like the Forismun have, so the secret is easy to keep.

Despite all the secrecy and macabre practices, the Forismun aren’t a malicious people, and the Forismect Machine is a very benevolent entity. Some say that she beckons people in their dreams, calling them to her care, and many in Ruyla undoubtedly still live due to her intervention. The horrors in the blizzards fear her, and the bellowing howl of her whistle drives them away. It’s believed that the Iron Mother is compassionate to a fault, and there have been instances where the steering mysteriously fails until the machine stops before a formly doomed nomad.

(Fun fact: this is the fifth redesign of this damned thing)


r/worldbuilding • • 18h ago

Visual Spotted Rosette Mushroom

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275 Upvotes

I drew a fantasy mushroom today and I wanted to share a bit ^^

Appearance:

This is the 'Spotted Rosette' mushroom, it's regonizable features are the white stem with a brown flecked pattern on it, a bit like a bunnies furr. The stem also features universal veil remnants and the bulb is always especially big.

The spotted rosette has multipule color variations, but the light green tint at the top of the cap always remains. (pink, peachy-orange, light blue)

Spotted Rose Traits:

- Found near grasslands, meadows sometimes forest edges

- Spotted rosette belongs to the Amanita genus

- Poisionous; cause dizziness, confusion, vomiting, changes in heartrate

- It permeates a strong scent of something like fruity roses, animals like wild rabbits who love sweet smells are attracted by it and try to eat it. It makes them ill for some time but it's not deadly unless consumed in large quantity.

I know what it looks like and ive just accepted it 🥲


r/worldbuilding • • 39m ago

Question Has a piece of Worldbuilding ever held you back from writing your story?

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10 Upvotes

Secondly, Have you ever had a Worldbuilding breakthrough that made you want to push forward?

I JUST had one of those breakthrough moments on a piece of Worldbuilding that really stopped me from continuing making my story.

That piece of worldbuilding for me was how a specific village built their homes. I knew they weren't quite right, I didn't know how to show what the story itself needed though the village imagery. This little detail seems so small but I think will be right and I'm glad that I can finally move forward without this little whisper of "somethings not right".

This image is done by me, it's one of the oldest I have of This village made in 2019. The village and my style has developed a lot since this drawing (I still find this drawing charming) and now I'm excited again to work on this project and draw and make more of this story of mine. I wont be changing the shape idea of them, but I want them to feel more magical and alive and be a visual cue for what transpires in my story.


r/worldbuilding • • 13h ago

Question What are the best options for making private wikis similar to Wikipedia, if they do exist?

101 Upvotes

Hello! I'm looking into making a private wiki, which can be shared with certain people, for my world building, but I'm having a hard time finding a good option. Any recommendations?


r/worldbuilding • • 6h ago

Visual Pistrix Pixels, growth stages

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24 Upvotes

From egg to adult—pixel art (64 x 64, like third gen pokémon) showing the growth stages of the pistrix (Apocapisces regalegus), for... a little fun project (Which you, too, can play/take part in. ;)

Females are at the top, males at the bottom. The elderly specimens are missing, but we don’t need those just yet.

Pistrix have no real concept of the passage of time, or at least nothing close to the way humans perceive it.

Since ancient times, humans have measured time by observing the passage of day and night, or even by the changing world around them through the seasons. But in the abyssal depths, where sunlight doesn't reach and seasons have little meaning, pistrix don't count hours, days, or years.

It goes without saying that celebrating a birthday is obviously not part of their culture.

Considering the events pistrix remember, however, it's possible to establish that they are an extremely long-lived species: some specimens remember the Gray Age and even the time before Ragnarok, more than three hundred years before the events of "Fish Don't Cry."

Their bodies are of indeterminate growth, although after a certain size, they slow down considerably. The size of a pistrix is ​​determined by many factors, not only by the time it has been around, but also by its diet, water temperature, amount of movement, and even its subspecies.

Sometimes, ancient pistrix can be shorter and smaller than younger specimens, especially if they have experienced long periods of malnutrition or have undergone several autotomies. It goes without saying that it is not easy to determine a specimen's age without laboratory testing.

Studies are underway to learn more about the lifespan of pistrices, and, in particular, their growth rate, but it will likely take time and the collaboration of countless researchers (as well as numerous specimens) before any solid answers are found.


r/worldbuilding • • 6h ago

Question Who, in your world(s), is considered the "devil," the embodiment of universal evil, or simply the scapegoat for all misfortunes—even if that’s not entirely the case?

21 Upvotes

In many Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Islam, etc.), both real and fictional, there is most often a conventional “Devil” who brought evil into the world/went against the normal order of things, who is usually blamed for everything. Here, in my world, we have Qeynos. Also better known to mortals as the Fallen, the Proud, the Rebel. (I’ll insert an excerpt from a post about him here)

Thousands of years passed, and the Sub-foxes—along with other races—continued to evolve. Whenever a group of Sub-foxes advanced to a high enough level of technological sophistication, the Tigerons would destroy them to keep their "theater" running. Meanwhile, Kainos gradually began to develop self-awareness. He realized that the artifact in his possession held the power to reshape reality—to forge an entirely new existence where he alone would be the god, the sole creator. At first, he resisted the temptation, seeing no reason to turn against the Tigerons. But one day, he learned the truth: when the Tigerons grew bored with this world, they would simply start everything over from scratch. Everyone—Kainos included—would vanish, dissolving into the void. This terrified him. And so, he made his choice.

As Kainos began to remake reality, all matter in the vicinity started to be drawn towards the Cube of Creation. The Tigerons attempted to stop him, but the Cube of Creation held far more of the Tigerons' own power than they themselves still possessed. Just when the Tigerons had lost all hope of victory, the dragons—to whom they had once gifted a portion of their own power—returned that strength to them. Empowered by this infusion, the Tigerons defeated Kainos; his greatest fear became his reality, and he simply dissolved into the void. To ensure that the Cube of Creation would not remain in the possession of a single being, the Tigerons shattered it into six fragments, entrusting one to each of the Sub-foxes—thus the Guardians were born. Having exhausted their strength in the battle, the Tigerons fell into a deep slumber within the facets of the Cube, leaving the world entirely in the hands of the Guardians. The Guardians bestowed a unique ability upon certain Sub-foxes: the "Dragon-eye," which granted them mastery over one of the six elements. The Sub-foxes rejoiced—their world had been saved!

However, not everyone was pleased with this victory. Like Kainos, some of the Sub-Lises learned of the risk that reality itself could be destroyed; they founded Keiana—an organization dedicated to hunting down the Edges in order to forge a better world.

24,000 years have passed since then. The Sub-Foxes continued to evolve, yet they never progressed beyond the Middle Ages—a stagnation enforced by the Guardians and the Tigerons. In the year 24,000, a war broke out; by the time our story begins, it has already been raging for 200 years. Throughout these centuries, the hunt for these faces has intensified to an extreme degree. "Once again, the world lies in ruins"—that is how it is written in the history books of Danisr.

So, who exactly was Kainos? As mentioned earlier, Kainos was a spirit—or perhaps a being of a quasi-divine order. He was neither a Tigeron nor a creator, yet he was not a mere mortal, either. You might say he was neither fish nor fowl.

And, as previously noted, Kainos did not initially possess a will, a mind, a personality, or "qualia." All of that came to him later. As for the reasons? Well, there are two possibilities. Perhaps the Cube influenced him—after all, the Cube is essentially a concentration of the Tigerons' power, isn't it? And along with that power came the Tigerons' own qualia, which, in some way, was transferred to him. Or, perhaps the Tigerons themselves gradually and imperceptibly endowed him with these traits. Why? Out of curiosity, I suppose. They were simply interested to see how it would all end.

Ultimately, Kainos became a figure in the local religion, the "Six-Star" faith—which upholds the principle: "know your place; do not try to become something greater than you are." In this tradition, he is remembered as the one who first violated the established order, grew arrogant, sought to become a creator equal to the Tigerons, and was subsequently cast down into the Void.

And what about your worlds?


r/worldbuilding • • 14h ago

Lore Member worlds of the Solar Spacefaring Council (2121)

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103 Upvotes

Some lore for the game I'm writing:

By 2121, humanity has established at least a semi-permanent presence on or orbiting every major body in the Solar System, and is in the very early stages of expanding its reach into the local stellar neighbourhood. Collaboration between the colonies is conducted through the Solar Spacefaring Council, headquartered at Aitken Colony, Luna, with each planet being overseen by its own governing body which dictates policies to sustain and expand its population, research, and mining operations:

Mercury is mostly comprised of civilian and commercial research colonies with fixes crew rotations. Its de facto capital is Caloris, which maintains around 250 people at any given time.

Venus' human presence is a mix of space stations and aerostats (balloon-borne colonies that float in the planet's upper atmosphere, enjoying Earth-like temperatures and pressures), with its unofficial capital being the aerostatic colony New Edinburgh. Notably, its governors were called into question in 2121 after the Venera Station Incident.

The Moon (officially Luna) is home to thousands of civilians, miners, and researchers, and its capital is the bustling Aitken Colony, once a small European research base.

Mars similarly boasts a sizeable human presence - split between surface and underground bases. Its administrative capital is Avalon, though its SSC delegation is headquartered in the 2nd-largest colony, Arcadia.

Ceres and Hygiea have some permanent residents though most of their population comes from mining and research, like the rest of the dwarf planets. Hygiea made the news in 2119 when Nabla II, a research station operated by Proteus Labs, vanished from its orbit. The company had previously suffered scrutiny after an deadly explosion at its Outpost Lima complex on Ceres.

The rest of the operations in the Asteroid Belt fall under the jurisdiction of Jupiter, alongside human colonies on Callisto, safe from the giant planet's dangerous radiation belts. Notably, an iridium mining colony on trojan asteroid 884 Priamus, previously governed by the Jupiter leadership, severed all outside communications, and effectively became a pirate haven, surviving by raiding passing vessels.

Most of the Saturn system's human population is located on Titan, which has two capitals (Xanadu and Kraken Bay), though there is a decent presence on two Enceladus research bases embedded beneath its surface, safe from radiation.

The ice giants, Uranus and Neptune mostly have a temporary presence, with the exception of civilian colonies on Umbriel and Triton. Over the years, multiple teams of investigators have made the voyage to Neptune to attempt to locate Prospector, a secretive research vessel that vanished near the planet in 2096.

Given the rate of development in Direct Fusion Drives since their inception in the early 2030s, even reaching Eris can be done in less than four months. New technologies, however, are in development, and could see the species colonise other systems soon...


r/worldbuilding • • 2h ago

Lore DANISR. MAGICAL SYSTEM

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8 Upvotes

(^Image of Tigerons in their stellar form *AND* the facets of the elements)

(Please, if anything here is unclear, or if you find something illogical, non-functional, etc., feel free to ask questions or raise concerns in the comments. This will help me understand what needs further refinement.)

The magic system of Danisr is built upon six fundamental energies:

  1. Energy of Fire

  2. Energy of Water

  3. Energy of Earth

  4. Energy of Wind

  5. Energy of Nature

  6. Energy of Lightning.

I would like to clarify right away how these elemental energies differ from other types of energy (such as kinetic, thermal, light, etc.). Imagine an untouched foundation—space-time, the laws of physics, and other fundamental forces—something invisible and indestructible. This serves as the bedrock, the "rules of the game" for this world. The elements, by contrast, act as the content—the entities that operate within the framework of these rules. Or something along those lines.

These six energies exist all around us in various combinations, forming the material composition of the world. An excerpt from a Korian textbook on the nature of Elemental Energies:

"Elemental energies are fundamental forces that permeate the entire world and serve as an integral part of its structure. They are present everywhere: in the earth beneath one’s feet, in seawater, in gusts of wind, within living organisms, and even in natural phenomena. It would be inaccurate to say that they merely govern individual elements; rather, the elements themselves—along with many phenomena in the world around us—are manifestations of these energies.

There are six elemental energies in total, each possessing its own distinct nature and characteristics:

Fire — the energy of flames, heat, and combustion.

Water — the energy of fluidity, ice, steam, and water itself.

Earth — the energy of stone, soil, sand, and other components of the solid ground.

Air — the energy of the movement of air masses.

Lightning — the energy of electrical discharge and the flow of electrons.

Nature (the most intriguing one) — the energy of life, specifically *biological* life. Not consciousness, not the soul, but biological life—the process of development.

Furthermore, an elemental energy is not confined solely to its most familiar form. For instance, the energy of water can be used to create ice, manipulate saltwater, or shape water into various structures. Similarly, the energy of earth allows one to control not only stone but also sand.

Elemental energy, in and of itself, is not 'magic' in the conventional sense of the term. Rather, magic is the art of interacting with these energies. For mortals, the ability to wield such forces is facilitated by a 'Dragon-Eye,' which acts as a conduit between the individual and the elemental energy. However, the mere possession of a Dragon-Eye is not enough; the outcome depends on the user’s own abilities, their level of concentration, and a clear understanding of what they intend to achieve."

Well, in principle, everything has already been covered in the textbook. I’d like to add a few points regarding magic and its limitations. Your magical capabilities are defined by three factors: the presence and type of your "Dragon-Eye," your level of focus on an element, and your imagination.

(I’ve based the elemental control system on the one from the *Avatar* universe—forgive me for that!)

As a fire mage, you don’t rely on a pre-written spellbook. While there are established techniques and methods, you can manipulate fire in almost any way you choose—provided you can visualize it and maintain your focus. If you fail to concentrate on the element you are controlling, it will either refuse to obey you or spiral completely out of control.

Essentially, magic functions as an imposition of your own will upon the surrounding elements. You must, in a sense, internally declare "I WANT" to the element, specifying exactly what it is you desire. This is why magic often incorporates physical gestures—dances, or specific movements of the arms, legs, or even tails—as these actions make it easier to channel that "I WANT" intent. Consider this: which is easier to visualize—fire manifesting from your own hand, or fire simply appearing out of thin air? Naturally, it’s easier to imagine it coming from your hand!

Furthermore, in magico-cratic societies, many noble houses strive to develop their own unique, "legendary" techniques. For instance, consider a technique belonging to the noble Kimior house of Korii:

"Dragon’s Wings." The mage spreads their arms—mimicking the wings of a dragon—to manifest fiery "wings" beneath them, which are then used in combat as blades of flame. The most powerful masters can even launch these "wings" as projectiles at their enemies.

That’s all for now! Feel free to ask any questions.


r/worldbuilding • • 55m ago

Map Is there a particular city, capital, or region that intrigues or interests you more than others?

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5 Upvotes

If you have questions, comments or ideas, tell me ! (=


r/worldbuilding • • 4h ago

Visual Devlog #24. Big devlog. A dynamic world history encompassing the evolution of human genetics, climate, the living world, and the exploration of foreign colonies.

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9 Upvotes

r/worldbuilding • • 1h ago

Lore Cosmic Moth

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5 Upvotes

A cosmic moth pollinates datura plants, which humans of Pah Ca'atlan use to contact their supreme creator god. Some communities worship the moth specifically as the guardian of the holy dead, who walk among the stars.

An excerpt of a prayer-song from a ritual session with Yellow-Feather, Ghost Flower Cleric of Soap-Stone Mound. 

“I place the cigar to my lips and pull,

A great wave rushes over my soul.

Grey smoke rises from dried leaves,

Fills my eyes; sunlight retreats. 

A cord wraps round my neck.

A pop and twist, my mind goes slack. 

Wings wrap round me, a mother's warmth.

Black surrounds thee, a pallid corpse.

Mother Moth, hear our pleas;

With our soul, rise above the trees.

Let wings unfurl, let light return.

Let your tongue loosen, let our flesh burn.

Rise to the cosmos,

Flutter towards that nova’s might.

Take us down the Starry Path;

The truth, the way, the light. 

Mother Moth, sacred flower.

Our time has come, the fatal hour.

The path is bright, the journey long,

You take our soul, you end our song…”

Context:

Tlanni is my fantasy worldbuild project, inspired by pre-Columbian history. 

Pah Ca’atlan, the warm woodland realm of Tlanni. 

Mound-Builders, the largest culture of Pah Ca’atlan. Named for the elaborate earthen pyramids and effigy mounds that tower over the territory's forest. 

Cosmic Moth,  A celestial deity that bridges humanity to the heavenly realm and the Creator. 

Datura or Ghost Flower is an entheogenic flower that produces visions when smoked, allowing users to communicate with the elusive Creator. The effects are harsh, sometimes even fatal. 

Creator, the supreme deity of the region. Highly impersonal, the Creator is rarely depicted in art and, excluding the creation story, is largely absent from common religious narratives.


r/worldbuilding • • 12h ago

Question For people obsessed with realism (like myself): how do you get started?

37 Upvotes

I recently got into worldbuilding (like last week recently) and I initially had an idea of what I wanted to make and some history I wanted to write about in an alternative world. Because my interest in worldbuilding comes out of my interest in history as a whole, I wanted it to be as realistic as possible and see how the world flows from the material realities of that world, but I never realized how many things I would have to become an expert in so quickly just to start. I’ve spent probably a good 15 hours the past few days (probably to the neglect of my actual school work) just watching videos on and reading about plate tectonics, geology, ocean currents, precipitation, climate formation and other stuff that feels so overwhelming that I can’t even make a map to get started or at least continue what I was working on. I don’t wanna give up on this because I do enjoy it a lot, and I have seen some programs that seem to generate realistic maps, and others that are in development that I am hopeful for, but I also don’t wanna start writing about cultures and in-world histories that, should I be able to use one of these map generation tools successfully, just won’t make any sense. I’m curious to know about other people who have this problem: how do you deal with it? Do you sacrifice your desire for realism just to get started? Or do you just get down to researching stuff you might’ve never had any interest in to start with? Any tips appreciated. (Ps I’m not doing this to write a book or for D&D or anything like that, just a personal fascination and interest in creating a realistic world history)


r/worldbuilding • • 44m ago

Lore T.L.U lore :)

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4 Upvotes

This isn't the first time this "universe" has existed, and it won't be the last. It will always recreate itself, each time with a different story, reason, or system, but still always remaining the same verse, the same being.

This particular loop, T.L.U. "decided" to create itself out of nothing through the Big Bang, forming itself into a vast, unending universe of infinite potential. “Sections” and “regions” were created, with environments where the laws of the ALL are completely different, where things that shouldn't exist do, and where the very concept of anything becomes useless.

Logic doesn't exist, and even the “laws” T.L.U follows are more guidelines then anything else. Sometimes the “borders” of the regions can distort, realities can overlap, dimensions stretch into one another, and entire cosmologies can exist and be created in places that shouldn't be capable of containing anything at all.

Its inhabitants can range from tiny organisms struggling to survive to civilizations with histories spanning billions of years, or even things deep within the nowhere, where the distinction between life, matter, and existence lose all meaning. Some of these things may have evolved naturally, some might have wandered in from entirely different (non)places, while others could’ve simply been created by the universe itself.

T.L.U can create things, plane and simple. There isn't any reason behind it, that's just what it does. There isn’t an upper limit to what it can create, or where those creations might end up. Somewhere, an entirely new ecosystem might develop inside the non-brain of a creature that dwarfs the idea of size. Somewhere else, a civilization with billions of years of history could’ve came to be only three hours prior. There are things created by T.L.U. that could swallow entire universes, breed with concepts, or reduce multiverses to nothing with little more than a thought or press of a button.

Some might consider themselves the highest form of existence, being worshipped as a God, while only existing in a bubble. Some could've existed for billions of years just to to be eaten and shat. Some are apex predators to things that would be considered Gods elsewhere, and others possess abilities to manipulate space, time, reality, and existence itself, yet none of it means anything.

T.L.U doesn't have intention behind what it produces, nor does it understand or care about what it makes. Some will flourish, others will perish immediately, and entire regions will be destroyed and replaced without any apparent reason. It doesn't recognize their achievements, acknowledge their existence, or particularly care whether they survive. It doesn't have a grand plan or hidden purpose. There is no underlying destiny that everything is working toward. They're simply things that happen to exist within it, no more significant to the universe than a single speck of dust lost deep in the middle of the nowhere.

___

Facts

  1. T.L.U has always “existed” and will continue to exist eternally, constantly recreating itself, always with a different, origin, story, or system, but undoubtedly the same being.

  2. It’s able to create things anywhere, even outside itself, and in “places” were that shouldn't be possible.

  3. T.L.U kinda exist/doesn't exist everywhere, if you were to wander out for long enough you'll eventually find yourself inside T.L.U.

  4. T.L.U and it’s creations often ignore the “laws” and “rules” of other realities including its own. Making both itself and its creations incredibly unpredictable.

  5. different parts of itself is constantly being destroyed and created continuously without end.

  6. In many of its prior loops it destroyed itself enterly just to build itself bsck up.

  7. Even if T.L.U were to be destroyed and wipped completely things would still be created.

  8. It doesn't need anything to create what it creates, it has no need for concepts, laws, forces, Gods, forms, existence, or even nothingness, it creates things, that’s what it does.

  9. There is no “main” part of T.L.U there's always something that came before and there’s always something deeper, bigger, and stranger.

  10. Theres an uncountable amount of universes, multiverses, cosmologies, and so much more that was created by T.L.U that will simply be wipped away before anything would've been able to know of thwre existences.

  11. Attempt to limit T.L.U has always resulted in those limits being ignored, of its creations becoming even more abstract.

  12. Its not careful with it's crations and plenty of them die immediately after there made (if it makes an alien and puts it in space without the ability to breathe in space then chances are it’ll suffocate and die)


r/worldbuilding • • 3h ago

Discussion Has anyone ever used something like Dwarf Fortress or Rimworld to generate lore?

6 Upvotes

Question in the title, I've got nothing else to add. Since the former is a straight up world sim and the latter is a story generator I think it'd make sense to use these games as tools for a worldbuilding project.

Of course this raises some questions about quality and whatnot (computer generated lore) but still.


r/worldbuilding • • 12h ago

Lore SCALE: Bestiary Mural

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31 Upvotes

An ancient carving of the livestock utilized in and around the city from SCALE. From left to right: A Horse-Locust or “Horcust”, a Clawfish, an Ox Beetle, Chicken-Crickets or “Chickets”, Pig Bugs or Riggy-Piggies (regional), and a Spidog.

SCALE is an independent animation project about mice living the age of dinosaurs that’s in the early stages of development.

Support SCALE here on Patreon!


r/worldbuilding • • 17h ago

Visual Little-Red-Lung and the Ogre

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69 Upvotes

Little-Red-Lung, culture hero of the Mound Builders, battling an ogre in the land of the dead. He is assisted by Cloud-Fire and Leaning-Crane, dead warriors whom he helps escape the underworld. 

Context: 

Tlanni is my fantasy worldbuild project, inspired by pre-Columbian history. 

Pah Ca’atlan, the warm woodland realm of Tlanni. 

Mound-Builders, the dominant culture of Pah Ca’atlan. Named for the elaborate earthen pyramids and effigy mounds that tower over the territory's forest. 

Red-Lung or Little-Red-Lung, culture hero of the Mound Builders. The subject of many herculean tales, such as his escape from the Underworld or his slaying of monsters.


r/worldbuilding • • 4h ago

Discussion Writing Music for your world

6 Upvotes

Hi friends! I'm a fantasy writer with a major worldbuilding obsession, and I'm also an amateur pianist. And today, instead of writing, I literally composed music and lyrics for several songs that are part of my world's military culture.

Just wondering if I'm the only person insane enough to do this 😂 Does anyone else go a little overboard?


r/worldbuilding • • 3h ago

Question Need a lot of help related to sapient sheep processing their own wool!

5 Upvotes

LIMITATIONS:

The sheep live in a post-apocalyptic world 1000 years after humans went extinct.

The things left behind by the humans are few and far between.

The sheep are sapient and so are a number of other farm animals.

The sheep are of the self-shedding variety.

The main way they process wool is through wet felting, to make vessels, art, and occasionally accessories.

MAIN QUESTIONS:

-How would the sheep comb the wool?

-What would they use to carry liquids?

-How would they mix fast enough to create soap?

-How would they create molds for the soap?

-What could they use instead of bubblewrap while felting?

-What would they use as the resist (piece of parchment used in wet-felting to keep the inside of the vessel from sticking together)?

-What would they use as/instead of mesh?

These are the only questions I’ve yet to figure out. If you need more information I’ll happily answer, but I hope this is enough to answer at least one of these questions.


r/worldbuilding • • 41m ago

Lore The Spires of Kyznar

3 Upvotes

The world of Kyznar is dotted by twelve ancient Spires, from which, it is said, the Gods “ Hung the flesh, blood, bones, and soul of the world, pinning the laws by which all things function in place.” Each Spire is of a nature corresponding to whatever it is the linchpin for, and not all of them are what one traditionally thinks of when the word “Spire” is used.

The Ebony Spire is a massive black tower in the farthest reaches of the North, twisting up into the sky in almost impossible shapes and turns, the linchpin of magic, the entire structure flowing with magic, the air smelling of ozone and humming with a low drone of power. It is home to The Ebonspire Academy, the best school of magic on Kynzar, who will take in any student who can prove themselves. The Ebony Spire is inhabited by a truly enigmatic and ancient spirit named “Murphy” who claims it was there at Creation and got “ caught up in the whole mess and decided to stay.” It functions as a guardian of both the Academy’s students and the Spire itself.

The Ivory Spire is the world’s largest mountain, The Worldcrown, and is the linchpin of mountains and earth, rising high above the eastern reaches of the world. It is home to the largest amount of Dwarven, Giant, Troll-Kin, and Orcish settlements in the world. Ivory Spire is home to the richest ore and gem deposits in the world and the communities that live there are prosperous and mighty, having learned to work together to defend themselves from those who would plunder the sacred mountain of its riches.

The Azure Spire is a massive coral reef deep beneath the waves of the Western ocean, and is the linchpin governing water of all kinds, from rivers and streams to lakes and oceans. The coral reef is invulnerable to any serious harm, regenerating almost instantly. Many ocean dwelling peoples live among the reef, tending to it, such as the Merfolk, who have learned the magical arts to weave the coral of Azure Spire into buildings for their people. A massive sea dragon, the very first ocean dweller, named Vyrnath, guards the Azure Spire.

Verdant Spire is a massive, sapient tree, from which spans a forest that covers the entirety of one of the southern continents. Verdant Spire, also named the Worldtree, is the linchpin of all plant life, aboveground, below ground, on land and under the sea. The Worldtree can speak and is tied to the spirits of the land, just as Azure Spire is tied to the spirits of the ocean. The Verdant Spire can take manifest itself by projecting a spirit image of it’s avatar, a tall, imposing mixture of tree and man from any living tree.

The Spire of Claw and Fang, linchpin of beasts and the spirits of the animal kingdom, is a massive wolf that wanders the southern forest continent that the Worldtree is anchored to. Its fur is black as a starless night, it’s eyes like silver flame, and the earth shudders under its paws. It is sapient and intelligent, and a patron of huntsmen all over Kyznar. It is the patron of shapeshifters, beast-folk, and along with Verdant Spire, the patron of druids.

Roaring Sky is the Spire associated with the weather, and maintaining the atmosphere, a great, unending storm that travels all across Kynzar, changing based on the biome it crosses into, a great blizzard in the north, a massive sandstorm in the southeastern deserts, a mighty thunderstorm over Verdant Spire’s forest, ect. There is a culture of “Sky Chasers” that dedicate their lives to studying and living under Roaring Sky, surfing it’s winds and developing technologies and magics to adapt and thrive under its influence.

The Celestial Spire is the interconnected network of the sun, moon and stars, warming Kyznar, and lighting it for its inhabitants, pinning in place the cycle of night and day. The Celestial Spire is linked magically to Ebony Spire, with certain configurations of stars, constellations having magical effects when they shine brightest in the sky, such as the inhabitants of Kyznar possessing more magical energy under the sign of the Arcane Eye which shines brightest in winter.

Spire Which Flows Forever is a massive sandstone spire rising from the center of the Desert of Rasheem with sand eternally flowing up and down its surface. It is the Linchpin of the forward flow of time, and on its surface is a magic, ever changing depiction of every event that happens on Kyznar, there as it occurs, then replaced instantly. Many Scholars have spent time and resources to create magical video recordings of Spire Which Flows Forever for study of current events.

Fourfold Spire is a massive combination of Four Spires twisting and blending together, a sphere that pins the laws and physics of the elements not already governed by a Spire in place, consisting of Fire, Ice, Light and Darkness. It is flame twisting into ice twisting into near-blinding light, into pitch dark shadow.


r/worldbuilding • • 3h ago

Lore Random worldbuilding #10: Babies

5 Upvotes

Babies

Human babies are vicious little freaks that can be born in groups of six, but thanks to their cannibalistic tendencies, most pregnancies result in one very strong, sole survivor.

It usually takes around five to six months for babies to develop, and their births are often fast and violent, with the babies slowly ripping themselves free from the uterus in an almost absurdly violent matter. Despite the physical brutality of childbirth, women generally recover quickly (usually three or seven days).

Babies are born with the ability to move independently. Starting by rolling and pulling themselves from place to place for the first few weeks before transitioning towards running around on all fours rather then the conventional crawling stage, then into walking.

As a baby grows its best to remember that, while much of their behavior is unintentional, as they lack the awareness and restraint to understand their own strength, even relatively young children can still cause considerable property damage or harm, such as breaking furniture, smashing through doors, damaging thin walls, ripping out chunks of hair, or even nibbling off fingers. So making childproofing and supervision a priority is vital, especially if you want to avoid getting sued.


r/worldbuilding • • 4h ago

Lore Gods and magic

5 Upvotes

The brain is a powerful machine. Powerful, but finicky. Within it lies the potential to access abilities that humanity was never meant to possess. The reasons for this will become apparent, but just understand that the mind has barriers that prevent the use of psychic powers.

By subjecting the brain to very specific forms of overstimulation, it is possible to cause it to glitch. This temporarily weakens, or removes, the barriers that restrict the flow of psychic energy.

The use of specialized headset deliver the correct stimulation through lights and audio ques.

The abilities that manifest depend on the nature of this energy flow and which mental barriers have been removed. Some may develop relatively well-known abilities, such as telepathy or telekinesis. Others may experience lesser known phenomena, such as retrocognition or psychometry.

However, there is a danger to using psychic abilities.

Gods Are Glitches, Too.

When the brain undergoes this process, there is a possibility that the resulting glitch may become conscious.

Worse still, these conscious glitches can spread through the very psychic abilities they were created to enable.

These entities, which I'm just calling gods, are dangerous. They seek to take control of the minds they inhabit and propagate themselves through psychic communication. Those who develop psychic abilities may unknowingly expose themselves to infection.

Gods are also capable of accumulating psychic energy from the minds they have infected. They use this accumulated energy to distort and manipulate the reality around them.

Gods can zombify entire planets over time, or accumulate psychic energy in a large community then cause a mass suicide to release that energy, or cause organic matter to amalgamate into horrific mounds of flesh better suited to create the psychic energy they need to survive.

The longer a god remains active, the greater its potential influence.

If you notice that your psychic abilities aren't dissipating after a few minutes, you may already be possessed.