Resources for World-Building?

[Palanan]

What are some of your favorite resources when you're building a fictional world?

I'm interested in tools or guides for any aspect of the process--anything from geophysics to ecosystems, for building languages or mapping continents. I'm looking for resources which help provide depth and verisimilitude to a richly developed world. I'd be glad to read essays or guides by favorite writers, but I'd also like to hear what resources other world-builders like to rely on for their own projects.

I'm open to just about anything--what would you recommend?

[lylsyly]

Take a look at the Traveller RPG site, found here (http://www.travellerrpg.com)

There also use to be a site called SFRPG.com that often held real science threads and threads that used real science to modify existing world generation systems. The site is not on the web now (at least not with the same name). I haven't tried the wayback machine or asking around to see if it is truly gone or just underwent a facelift.

Good Luck.

[Laylyn]

For mood and setting, use anything you can find that interests you and your players. Don't be afraid to leave a lot of pop culture references you enjoy.


/salute

[Cranelotus]

Good idea with the website! I'm trying to write a book in my spare time and I think the characters and specific locations are good, but the world is ill-defined. Good luck to ye.

[dinovo29]

Well there is A LOT of depth to creating a credible character or storyline. I did learn a few things from this articles thewritelife.com/worldbuilding even though it's not written by a true professional.

[BannedInSchool]

TSR did publish a World Builder's Guidebook last millennium. It had plate tectonics, air and ocean currents, and so forth. Maybe you could find a used copy if they never republished it.

[El'the Ellie]

I like looking at free web courses hosted by colleges (I believe MIT and Harvard offer some). I was never a geographer in school, but even a simple introductory class, while it won't make you an expert, can inspire new ideas and help explain why the land is the way it is. Political science courses might introduce a type of government that would never work in real life, but is something that you can base a nation around.

I hope it doesn't sound like generic advice, but learning from real world classes can do wonders to help you come up with creative ideas.

[Bohandas]

IIRC there were some old Spelljammer resources for custom planets

[Atarax]

TSR did publish a World Builder's Guidebook last millennium. It had plate tectonics, air and ocean currents, and so forth. Maybe you could find a used copy if they never republished it.


The World Builder's guidebook. I totally second that. I started playing when 3e was new. Bought the books. Started building a world. Quickly became overwhelmed. How big are kingdoms? Is there land between them? How far apart should cities be? How do rivers even work? Lol

A couple years ago I got back into the hobby. I kept searching for help on these issues on google (there are SO many more resources available these days, including this here forum) and eventually I saw something about a world builder's guidebook. I thought that sounded right up my alley. Then I found out it was 2e and almost skipped it. I ended up reading it though, and it was exactly what I needed. The rule system doesn't matter so much. It has a lot of really useful, concrete information on HOW to make your OWN world, which strangely seems to have been left out of the later editions.

I still use 3.5. So the above book, and one called Cityscape. The breakdown of cities by districts really helped me a lot.

[ThinkMinty]

r/worldbuilding (https://www.reddit.com/r/worldbuilding/). It's one of the better-moderated sections of Reddit.

Be very careful about where you tread on Reddit, though. You never know which subs are full of snakes until you see some bite your ankles.