Worldbuilding Flashcards
3 Do’s and 2 Dont’s of Worldbuilding
1) Avoid Trope of the hat - Don’t say all people in this culture are exactly the same like this.
2) Give each culture one thing they make that they are really good at and have trading points between the cultured. Things bought from other culture such as porcelain cups from China would be expensive in Rome. Also, in Rome color purple was expensive because to create the dye for it they had to kill an animal to extract from it. So purple got connected with royalty who could afford it. In China, the red color was extracted from the plant that was found there. It was really hard to extract it. Slowly it turned into auspicious color in their culture.
3) Give each culture their own form of entertainment - For example one culture could have fabrics cheap there so they develop a dance where they toss long fabrics. Another culture, fabrics are expensive. So they use it to paint on canvas. But basically, each culture has a form of entertainment.
4) Every region will have their own dailect or their own unique language.
5) Don’t do gender cliche - Women do womenly stuff, men do manly stuff. Also, dont say this was the first woman to step out in their culture. There is always someone who did it first. So you can use that as a history in their world to inspire current characters. Sort of their Joan of Arc in the past.
6 Sources of Magic Power
1) One true source to draw power from like a God - Example Wheel of Time. Different wizards draw different types of power from the one true source.
2) Specific Component - Example mental allomancy in Mistborn series. This way the wizard is restricted by the amount of metal they can carry with themselves.
3) Human or Animal Sacrifice - The sacrifice gives them power
4) Encantations - Wizards use encantations to draw power
5) Celestial Bodies - Wizards can draw power from specific star and planets allignment.
6) They can mix these sources
3 Examples of Communication Methods in Fantasy
1) Use of a bird - Example, use of Raven in Game of Thrones. You can say the bird can only find the person whose blood it has been fed to make it more magical.
2) Tablet Writing - Writing on one table writes on another.
3) Putting Shell in Water allows you to connect.
How can an unintentional theme creep happen in magic system?
If lets say you design a magic system where only people born in a certain group or a certain gender will have magical power. Then you are unintentionally creating a theme which is saying that only a certain previlege people can save others.
How can an unintentional theme creep can happen in building world economy?
If lets say your world doesnt have industrial revolution yet, but basic items like food and clothing are very cheap. Then unintentionally what you are saving is that the society is abusing workers. Making them work for very less. If you want to keep the cost of basic items less you have to introduce automation systems such as spinning wheel. Else, the cost of things like clothes would be high because it was hand made. Lets say you have a peasant character who has a stained glass window. That would unintentionally suggest that in this world artisans are not paid proper due, which is why stained glass are cheap. So in such cases you can change the stained glass window into a wooden shudder window.
What are the major biomes, and in which climate zone are they found?
1) Rainforests are at the equator. Then comes the Savannah. These two are in the TROPICAL climate zone.
2) Then comes the Deserts. Then comes the Grasslands. These two are in the SUBTROPICAL climate zone.
3) Then comes the Temperate (i.e., deciduous) Forests in the TEMPERATE climate zone.
4) Then comes the Coniferous Forests. Then comes the Tundra region. These two are in the POLAR climate zone.
Four tips to make Magic look intrinsic to your Economy
1) How does a mage make a living?
Does a mage work for himself like an independent contractor? Does the mage work for a religious organization like a church and the church makes the money off of his magic and he is giving a service to the church. Or does he work for the government or king? Or does he work for a company as an employee?
2) How does magic in your would affect trade?
Does it have costly magical items? If yes, it must be at a constant risk of getting stolen.
3) How does magic affect health system in your world?
Is there any magic that can instantly cure a disease? If yes, then the mage would become super rich.
4) How does the magic affect food security?
If magic can instantly create food then why would anyone work? Or the person who can make the food instantly can become very rich.
So figure out the balance between all of these.
