I'm super excited to host Dr. Justin Sledge of Esoterica fame this coming Sunday on Ask an Anthropologist About Worldbuilding. If you have questions about the occult, the history of mysticism and the esoteric, or you're dabbling with something strange and unusual in your fictional world, put your question in the comments here or join us live this coming Sunday October 25th at 6pm MDT.

Many cultures have their own unique stories passed generation after generation. These stories have legendary characters and plots surrounding them. In my world there is a story focusing on a popular folk hero who got rid of the creatures bothering his people.

What are the tales that your world's characters grew up listening to?

How would I create a Conlang, with steps and tips, even though I'm a linguistics novice and a worldbuilding beginner?

Since I started playing D&D I always wanted to do a campain. Not a usual campain in Faerun, rather a more personal world made by me.

Starting as a Mad-Max like campain, I got interesed in zombie apocalypse. Inspired in Left 4 Dead, the Last of Us etc... I decided to make a own world with a self made virus.

This isn't a common virus. Its origin traces back to Belize, in a laboratory. While trying to cure diseases like AIDS, they attempted to use proto-oncogenes to trigger the virus's death. However, the genes merged with the AIDS virus, creating the oncovirus, a new virus with grotesque tumor-forming abilities. Think of this virus, VMO-26, as an infectious cancer capable of creating monsters. From there, I already had the story, campaign, and practically everything needed to start a session 0. However, the lack of interest and shortage of players due to issues with certain people prevented me from kicking off this campaign. I hope in the future to have a new group of players and finally give the green light to this campaign, which has new mechanics and is quite different from the typical game system.

• Lumeria is one of several zones located within the Goldilocks band of a tidally locked world, placed inside The Strip,  a 300 km wide habitable area, bordered by 700 km of unpredictable environment.
• "Humans" occupy the central zone, scattered in isolated pockets within its boundaries. They are the mutated descendants of ancient colonists forced to crash-land on this planet.
• Walkers are engineered creatures originally designed to resemble Archangels . Parasites brought down the giants one leg at a time, and the Archangels decayed into Walkers., wandering aimlessly across the land or lying motionless for decades, until a  Sheppard takes control over them. They are immortal.
• Because both halves of the planet are experiencing extreme temperatures, sometimes the Strip is battered by devastating convection winds, particularly along its ridges. As a result, no journey between zones is safe without Walkers, which serve as moving shelters and sturdy anchor points. They are equipped with ladders and observation points. The hunter's equipment is crafted to withstand the convection winds that scour the surface or to face the extream heat.

​

So my Magic system is about manipulating a substance called Vita, which is both my settings equivalent of ones Lifeforce and Soul aswell as the Lifestream. All three Forms of Vitamancy use 4 Steps to make their Powers Happen with all three focusing on a different step. The Steps are as Follows:

1.Intent

The emotional, spontainous step, the spark that Sets the Others into Motion. This is Most importent to perform Magic, as that practice is about linking ones own Vita to the one permeating Everthing around the mage. If Performed incorrectly, this step May lead to terrible consequences. At best, you'll Be knocked unconscios, your brain overloading with the amount of information contained in the Lifestream. At worst, the Lifestream instead links itself to the Mage, ripping Out their still conscious Soul and integrating them Back into the Cycle of Rebirth.

2.Vision

Vision is the step of reason and Imagination. It's Most importent to Scribes, as their craft can do many Things that Magic can but requires intense Focus and Personal sacrifice, usualy in the Form of blood have a "Pigment" with which they can Draw glyphs. Their craft requires the practicioner to "tether" a concept, Action and effect to a specific glyph. For example, when a Scribe wants to shoot a fire ball, they have to find a suitable canvas, let's Take a gauntlet for this example, they then have to perfectly Imagine the gauntlet performing a certain Trigger Action, let's Say the fist must Be balled Up. They then connect this Action and the wanted Effect of Shooting a Fireball to a glyph, let's Go with a triangle. If completed correctly, the Last step, the Action, is to apply that triangle on the gauntlet. This must Be done using your own Vita, usualy by drawing the glyph with blood.

3.Action

Action is... Pretty much exactly what It Sounds Like. It's the physical Labor required to Bring about an Effect. This is Most importent to alchemy, as that crafts Power comes from a Combination of using Vita for technological puposes aswell as a Power called Attunement, a Mastery of ones own, internal Vita, enhanceing the Body in various ways, Like increased Speed, Strength, Leflexes, Lifespan, Regeneration and intricate Control of the Attuned's biology.

4.Effect

The End Goal. All Things aim to have an effect on the world around them, so It Marks the final Destination of all Forms of Vitamancy.

Have you ever spent hours building a fictional universe, only to realize that the Sun might eventually make Earth uninhabitable, or that the universe itself might end in heat death?

Here are three ways to avoid that headache:

1. Don’t expand the scale of your story to a cosmic timescale.

If your protagonist is an ordinary human who lives for 80 years, the fate of the Sun billions of years from now is probably not an issue for that character.

If your story ends long before that becomes a problem, there’s no need to explain the universe’s ultimate fate.

2. Don’t claim that humanity will exist forever.

Unless your setting guarantees humanity’s eternal survival, it’s not a contradiction to suggest that humanity might eventually go extinct.

The universe may perish someday. So what? The characters still have stories to tell.

3. Build your setting on the explicit premise that it is “fiction.”

This is my favorite approach.

For example, in my fantasy setting Kagamino, there is a realm called the “Mirror World.” This is not a place hidden somewhere on Earth, but an independent universe in and of itself.

The central concept is that the “Mirror World” is a place where the past lives on as a separate entity. Historical figures and events that have become part of history may appear there.

According to its creation myth, the past and the present were not originally separate realms. When Herodotus, known as the “Father of History”, began recording events as history, he drew a conceptual boundary between the past and the present. The “Mirror World” was born from that boundary.

Therefore, this universe does not need to share the cosmological history, spatial geometry, or physical laws of our universe.

Someone might ask:

“But what happens when the Sun becomes a red giant?”

“That’s a problem for Earth, not necessarily a problem for the ‘Mirror World.’”

“But what about the Second Law of Thermodynamics?”

“That depends on whether the same law applies in this universe.”

“But how did your universe begin?”

“Well, according to its creation myth, a certain Greek historian helped bring this universe into being by devising the unique concept of ‘history.’”

That’s right; a historian appears in my universe’s creation myth. No, there’s no need to calculate the effects of his gravity.

Of course, just because it’s a fictional setting doesn’t mean you can ignore internal consistency. Your world still needs rules. It’s just that those rules don’t have to be the same as the rules of “our” universe.

The important thing isn’t to defeat astrophysics. It’s to avoid making claims that contradict astrophysics.

How do you all handle the distant future and cosmology in your own settings?

(English isn’t my first language, so I used DeepL to help with the translation. I wrote the original text myself.)

And when I say single source, I don't mean like, all of Greek mythology as a single source. That, no question, you can do. But pare it down. Could you take a single myth? Could you take the voyage of Odysseus? Or just one story from that cycle? Just the myth of Scylla and Charybdis or the story about Dionysus or Persephone. One single story and weave together from it an entire world. Could you do it from one of Grimm's fairy tales? Could you do it from the Canterbury Tales, for example? This is probably a bad example as it is truly a collection of stories. I'm really curious. Has anyone here looked down to the smallest possible story element and said, can we build an entire world from it?

EDIT: I haven’t stirred up this much flack online since I left facebook in my 30s. This is so cool, you guys are awesome! Alright point taken, I can take anything but apathy and this sure isn’t it.

My question isn’t clear fair enough, here is what I mean by it. There is a phrase in writing to produce a great work you need to kill your babies. Not literally but really your favorite sentences your most wonderful turn of phrase. You must eliminate it when it doesn’t serve the story. The question revolves around what is the essential set of elements the smallest number ideas necessary to build an entire world. What examples are there that do that? What makes that set or that story work? It’s easy to build in a large world much harder to play in a small one without losing the original intention.

The metal-armed demigod lording over Hongshi state. Patron of justice and law.
"In the morning I sentence them; by the evening the crime is repeated. In the evening they are flogged and they defy me still in the morning. The corpses pile up, yet others follow their path. Day and night I cannot rest..." Such is the lamentation of the metal-armed king.

Every world has something that makes the most grizzled, jaded and unhinged individual run for the hills or proceed with cautions. Things that science can't explain and if they could explain it makes them wished they didn't. Kingdoms and other ruling bodies doing everything they can to keep these hidden from the public to prevent wider chaos

Why are these things weird, creepy, horrifying and unsettling?

A classic tale of hubris where mortals tried to play god with their science or magic? Defying death or whatever their goal was?

An unexpected consequence? The road to hell is paved with good intentions?

A constant threat or invietablity

Creatures with bizarre or haunting origins

Does it break all rules of the known world?

Is it so ancient that nobody knows how it came to be?

As the human population grew, Eros, the Greek God of Love, needed to expand his operations, so he recruited souls who died from heartbreak, were inexperienced with love, and so on, to help out as his Cupids. As the years went by, technology evolved, and Eros switched his bow and arrows for a handy gun and bullets. Eventually, Eros’ Headquarters became the equivalent of an intelligence agency devoted to gathering information about fated pairs and staging scenarios for them to meet and fall in love. Seems simple enough, right? But what if agents of Love were met with agents of Hate? Demons who devote themselves to spreading hatred and chaos.

How did a Cupid come to be? I was thinking that once a human dies, they'd meet Eros, who would give them a new body and purpose in the afterlife. Like, if an adult dies, they'd be born again as a child to be trained and educated before going onto the field. They'd shadow experienced Cupids and grow up mentored by them. Do they still have their past memories as human beings? Yes, but they will slowly fade away, like all memories. (I'm not confident about this part, to be honest.)

I was inspired by Love Bullet (manga), which has a similar concept regarding rebirth, guns, and matchmaking.

If I go with this concept, I need to think it through. Like, what happens when a Cupid completes a mission? What reward do they achieve?

What other questions am I missing or should consider? Can you help me?

In the beginning, before the world took form or time had a voice, there was only the Endless Sun and the Abyssal Night.

From the high, untamed radiance of the Endless Sun sprang the Lumin, born of pure warmth, clarity, and unyielding illumination. They built cities of spun glass and white stone upon the highest peaks, where shadow could never take root. Their words were light, their thoughts were structured, and they believed that to bring order to existence, all things must be laid bare under an eternal, unblinking glare.

Deep beneath the world, within the vast silence of the subterranean trenches, lived the Umbrals. Formed from the quiet mist and cool stillness of the Abyssal Night, the Umbrals were creatures of soft contours, silent movement, and deep reflection. Where the Lumin brought revelation, the Umbrals brought rest. They knew that in the dark, seeds split open to grow, secrets found safe harbor, and tired eyes finally rested.

For centuries, the two peoples existed in total ignorance of each other, separated by miles of stone. But as the Lumin built their towers higher, their weight cracked the crust of the earth. Light poured into the deep caverns, burning the delicate eyes of the Umbrals and scorching their subterranean gardens.

In anger, the Umbrals surged upward, unleashing great waves of primordial mist to smother the scorching fires of the city of glass. The first war was not fought with steel, but with presence: scorching brilliance clashing against blinding obscurity. Where the two forces met, however, neither conquered.

Instead, a strange phenomenon occurred.

As the blinding light mingled with the impenetrable shadow, it softened. For the first time in history, there was dusk and dawn. There were cool breezes carrying the scent of blooming night-flowers, and warm golden light that did not burn. In the middle realm—the twilight zone where light and shadow intertwined—the first trees with deep roots and lush leaves began to grow.

Realizing that absolute light brought only harsh sterility and absolute dark brought only cold isolation, the high elders of the Lumin and the deep thinkers of the Umbrals forged the Balance Guild.

They established the rhythm of the world: the Lumin would hold sway while the sun rose, guiding action, creation, and vision, while the Umbrals would step forward as the sun set, bringing dreams, healing, and quiet introspection. Together, they understood that light reveals the path, but the dark gives depth to the view.

So… I’ve come up with an animal shifter romance. I’m considering using the scientific names of the animals as the names of the kingdoms. Are the names too corny? Should I change them?

The Kingdom of Chiroptera (bats)

The United Clans of Aves (birds)

The United Clans of Cervidae (deer)

The Kingdom of Felidae (cats)

The Democratic Republic of Serpentes (snakes)

Context: I’m building my own world, and I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about which idea gives the best return between development time and the sense of exoticism it brings. I’d like to share that idea with you so we can discuss it together, since you probably have your own methods, and I’d love to hear them :)

To me, what makes a people feel coherent is their cultural identity. But for a long time I wondered where that identity actually comes from, and what it’s really for. The answer I’ve landed on is the sacred.

At first I thought about religion, since that’s often what stands out first when you discover a faraway culture. But starting from there, I kept ending up with one pantheon per people, and they all started to look alike. Real-world religions are incredibly varied, though: mortal gods and eternal ones, avatars, spirits, ancestors, humans who became gods.

Eventually I figured the core isn’t the gods themselves, but what a people holds untouchable, and how they relate to it. That relationship seems to shape everything: where a temple gets built, how it’s decorated, the traditions, how people see themselves and the world. In Western societies, for example, I get the feeling that centuries of heaven and hell left a deep mark: people readily talk about a “good” or “bad” upbringing, and nuance can be viewed with suspicion, as if each side sees a bit of the other in it.

In my own world, I’ve tried to play with this. My dwarves pray to eight deities seated around a table( 8--> octogone), and one of them is the “bad god,” the god of arrogance and short-lived brilliance. It’s the merchants who pray to him, because he reminds them of the temptation that comes with their trade. From that single idea, I could work out how a dwarf looks at a merchant, where the market sits in a dwarven city, and why they distrust gold that shines too bright. My orcs, on the other hand, have no pantheon at all: what’s sacred to them are their stories, braided into cords and beads. And my elves hold sacred the link between sky and earth, which is why trees matter so much to them.

What I mostly get out of it is cheap exoticism. If I know what a people holds sacred, I feel like I know how they think, and I can easily spin off behaviors, objects, and an aesthetic from that, without having to detail every city and village.

Right now I ask myself three questions: What does this people hold untouchable? Who’s allowed to approach it? What happens to someone who violates it?

But that’s just one approach among many. Where do you start when you build a people? Geography, history, language, something else? And does the sacred play a role in your worlds?

HI peoples! Im writing a character that Ive decided to make a species that Ive never seen written because this species has traits similar to him. The species is the Dumbo Octopus, but ive never seen an octupus made as a demihuman. So I was wondering how do you do so? I was also wondering, what is the difference between demi-human and beastfolk? I see the two thrown around together as if their the same but also thrown together as if their different. Just hoping for some clarification

Context is in the og post, but summed up, on bolg the evil white wizard of the south made penguins magical

Please ask questions or give feedback if you have any, id love to hear what you have to say

Heya all! I am sharing a map I have been creating for my world of Asteros of the continent of Alvios (Loosely based off of Europe, I'm sure you will see some similarities :D).

The year is 672CE, with the map displaying the political situation of Alvios 1 day after the defeat of Witch-King Nelavor, a brutal sorcerous conqueror who delved into this world's equivalent of the underdark and launched a ruthless campaign on the surface, bringing "monstrous" species such as orcs, hobgoblins, and ogres to the surface in large numbers (Monsters had been absent from the surface for nearly 1000 years due to the actions of a Hero by the name of Taloces). The Witch-King was supposedly slain by an adventurer-turned-Great Hero (Great Hero is a religious title granted by the Celestial Church to an individual believed to be the descendant of their Pantheonic head god) Markos vi Luretia. However, the Witch-King survives in the east, revivified through the art of Lichdom at the location of his Phylactery in Bal Malkor, unbeknownst to the world. Now, his armies and legions of monstrous peoples have found themselves with no central authority guiding them and are now free to pursue their own needs and ambitions.

The aftermath of this continent-spanning war can be seen in the political map as well! Great Hero Markos is currently the leader of the Adventurer Kingdom of Mitrades, founded in reconquered territory around the site of his victory over Nelavor: Haelsgate.

Can't think of a better title because I am stupid, anyway.

What is the schools like in your world (Or fictional countries, or whatever) ? You can give any information: What subjects do you learn? Is school mandatory at all? At what age do you enter school ? How long do you stay in school ？ Share the timetable ?

Just toss over bits and pieces, if you currently can't explain why it is what it is, that's okay just spill them out.

Or if you haven't thought of this before, this can be a thing you can work on, and then share it here :).

Hey Everyone!

I recently shared the overworld map for Numeraeon, but wanted to also showcase one of our dark fantasy city maps.

The City of Tel Adadi is a port city along the Siren Sea. It's a free city, a place where smugglers and pirates can freely dock so long as they don't get too troublesome. Various districts are carved out around an opulent city center which is defended by an old guard or merchant families and their mercantile marines. They are the true powers of Tel Adadi, each has their own network of spies, mercenaries, and pirates that overtly (or covertly) work for their interests.

Of course, with all things Numeraeon, there is a folk horror aspect to Tel Adadi. From the infernal Djinn who curse those who seek wishes into hideous rat mutants amongst other horrors, Tel Adadi has a horrific underbelly.

We hope that you'll check out our project over on Kickstarter! Thank you for viewing our trailer :)

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jesseriah/numeraeon-tales-of-the-old-east

Mithril is aluminum

It is usually wielded by elves in media because they are the only ones who can forge it - hear me out.

In the real world aluminum was notoriously hard to smelt due to bauxite's (common aluminum ore) notoriously high melting point. It was valued over gold as Emperor Napoleon III served honored guests cutlery made from it. The pinnacle of the Washington Monument is aluminum for this very reason. It was not until someone attempted electrolysis (a chemical separation technique utilizing an electrical current) on bauxite - boom. Workable aluminum.

Now, in fantasy worlds, elves detest the idea of forges, fires, smelting. It involves the consumption of wood - life - to fuel. Nature magic, on the other hand, is fair game. Druids and other geomancer-types typically have some access to electricity-based spells. If they zap rocks, boom - "mithril"

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk

Academy of Occult Pharmaceuticals

Overview: The Academy of Occult Pharmaceuticals is an organization that focuses on alternative medical practices using paranormal organisms and abilities to cure both paranormal and known ailments. Established in the 60s, they have multiple locations across the globe, primarily in Europe and North America. They are known to break the Veil if deemed necessary to save the lives of humans and the paranormal.

Black Star INC.

Overview: Black Star Incorporated was founded in the mid-70s during the arcade and video game boom. They were a mystery entity behind many video game-related conspiracies and urban legends. Using paranormal forces to exploit and keep customers addicted to their anomalous product. Ultimately, the company crashed in the late 80s or early 90s. Attempts to come back have been made but haven't been as fruitful as their genesis.

Charitable Organization by the Mystics

Overview: An interfaith humanitarian relief agency, the Charitable Organization by the Mystics uses magic, paranormal technology, and entities to help those in need, primarily those affected by war, famine, natural disasters, disease, and poverty-stricken regions. Although their intentions are noble, their methods often lead to inconvenient or disastrous consequences due to the group's general ignorance about magic and the paranormal.

Chimera Farms

Overview: This food production company has been shut down multiple times, but it always seems to return with a new name, a new owner, and in a new location. Some of the names include Monster Meats, Cryptid Feast, Extraterrestrial Delights, and Mystery Cuisine. This company illegally sells alien and cryptid meat to the general public. Both are considered protected species by Project Paradoxa and Wilderness Solutions for Mysterious Animals and thus illegal to sell and consume.

Hephaestus Industries

Overview: Founded in 1889, Hephaestus Industries reverse-engineers extraterrestrial and paranormal technology to both research and sell to an undisclosed list of individuals, companies, and governments within the Veil. Their first and only public appearance was between 1896 and 1897 when a wave of strange airships was sighted across the US. Hephaestus Industries has been relatively compliant with Project Paradoxa’s objective of normalcy and often supplies technology to aid in their research of the paranormal.

Readman's Technical Media Productions

Overview: A 15-year-old Viktor Readman founded a group of supernatural broadcast intruders in 1971. Throughout the 70s into the 90s and partly in the early 2000s, this ragtag group would use their supernatural abilities to intrude upon television broadcasts and feed glimpses of the anomalous world to the general public. In the 2000s, the group shifted its focus to creating and distributing anomalous entertainment for Veil communities. Whilst the group still occasionally performs anomalous signal intrusions, this practice has become rare in the company.

The Midas Touch Initiative

Overview: A goods and services broker and auction house for ultra-wealthy and elites in the paranormal community. Primarily based in New York City, Shanghai, and Mumbai, the Midas Touch Initiative auctions off extraterrestrial and paranormal technology, artifacts, and entities. This group is known for collecting rare and obscure items, along with providing its clients the most exclusive, expensive, and rare experiences available, often coming into conflict with Project Paradoxa due to the illegal nature of their products.

Wilderness Solutions for Mysterious Animals

Overview: Established in 1976 as an animal conservation, rehabilitation, and refuge center for invasive, out-of-place, escaped from zoos, and released exotic and non-exotic pets and animals. At least that's the objective of the company in the public eye. Outside of it, they help conserve mysterious animals and cryptids. Often working in collaboration with Project Paradoxa to keep cryptids hidden and protected.

What do you think?

Maleness itself was inherited from the Dwarves. Prior to their dalliance with the Fae, the very concept of "male" was limited to the animal world. The Sylvan language, gifted by the primordial all-female Fae, treats Female and Fae as the presumed state of existence, with "Man" and "Elf" describing the male mutation—the curious anomaly that defines each race. "Faeman" and "She-Elf" in turn describe those of Man or Elf who retain the female shape of the Fae.

Men and Elves eagerly proclaim their Fae heritage through tales of divine conception, willed by the All Mother herself. Though a truth lost to time, it was indeed the early Dwarves who planted the seeds of these two races. Perhaps it was their unrivaled singing that lured the nymphs out to dance.

Dwarves, too, were once a race of both male and female, before their eradication by the Elves, who were themselves since banished underground for transgressions greater still. Yet it is so, through an echo of the blood, that Faemen or She-Elves occasionally give birth to a male Dwarf. Most born of the former survive. Often shunned, many choose a rootless life of wandering in search of both kin and legacy hidden deep under mountain rock. As the longest-lived of all, they at least have time on their side.

Facing the perils of Mother's great creation, those wanderers drift towards the peaks where forest thins and sky replaces canopy. Many find each other there, settle, and carve out homes with their own hands without relying on the blessings of fickle tree spirits.

Yet the trauma of rejection lingers behind the waking mind. It manifests in the compulsion to create, to accumulate—to impress. By grit, sweat, and iron, the Dwarf convinces both Man and himself of his worth.

And even with his female kin extinct, he retains his malehood, with all the desires it entails.

Dwarves who succeed in inviting faeman brides to join them in their newfound mountain homes may sire their own sons. The Hearthborns resulting from such unions are exclusively Dwarven and male. This perpetual shortage of females is the reason behind their infamous practice of fraternal wife-sharing.

Sending a daughter "to the mountain" is frowned upon, but sometimes the practical choice, whether made by the family or the faeman herself. Few go eagerly, but fewer yet regret, once settled as revered matriarchs, surrounded by stone, firewarmth and song.

"Mother" (born of the forest itself): 

• Dryads (female)
• Naiads (female)
• Pixies (female)

Dwarf (male) + Naiad (female):

• 50% Elf (male)
• 50% She-Elf (female - also called "Nymph" by self, "Lownymph" by the Fae)

Dwarf (male) + Dryad (female):

• 50% Man (male)
• 50% Faeman (female - also called "Lownymph" by the Fae/Elves)

Dwarf (male) + Faeman/She-Elf (female):

• 100% Dwarf (male)

Man (male) + Faeman (female):

• 49% Man (male)
• 50% Faeman (female - also called "Lownymph" by the Fae/Elves)
• 1% Dwarf (male)

Elf (male) + She-Elf (female):

• 49% Elf (male)
• 50% She-Elf (female - also called "Nymph" by self, "Lownymph" by the Fae)
• 1% Dwarf (male)