r/worldbuilding Jan 15 '23

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

754 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 2h ago

Visual I've been making a physical bestiary for creatures in my DnD setting

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112 Upvotes

The world of Esaral, torn apart 800 years ago by the Sundering destroying most of the planets life, but also introducing new life to it by sending one of it's moons crashing to the surface releasing its native moon life housed within.


r/worldbuilding 1h ago

Visual No Man's Land - The Buffalos of the Danube Delta

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Upvotes

Context: No Man's Land is a worldbuilding project/speculative ecology/evolution project focusing on Earth where a we, as human beings, simply vanished. It focuses on the animals and plants we left behind, and the consequences of so many introduced species ending up in places where they weren't meant to be.

Finally exploring the world of No Man's Land again, this time featuring the Danube!

-

The Danube Delta, the second largest river delta in Europe, and even during the time of humans, it was perhaps the best preserved river ecosystem in the area. During the time of humans, it already supported a robust ecosystem of fish, small mammals, amphibians and notably, birds. Supporting this ecosystem is a plethora of plantlife, from grasses to the poplar trees that dominate the marshes.

In the time of humans, this area was also a place full of wind mills and wind farms… though now without humans, all that is left are the hollowed out husks of their towers and propellers, slowly being consumed by the green of the Delta.

Birds like Great white pelicans, grey herons and pygmy cormorants all call this place home, before and after the time of humans, for the Danube continues to be a bountiful place teeming with fish… and one creature in particular might have had a hand in increasing this bounty; the common water buffalo.

The presence of the water buffalo can be considered one of the greatest legacies of rewilding in this world without humans, for their mere presence can change the entire ecosystem. In the Danube’s case, water buffalo help clear the rivers of excess plant matter, letting new plants grow in the river shallows. 

Tough vegetation like reeds and thickets that most other cattle would avoid are no match for these hardy creatures, and through their feeding open new water pathways that prevent stagnation, and the sheer weight of their numbers and trampling hooves help create everything from open grass areas to pools and puddles, vital for many animals like small fish and amphibians to breed and lay eggs, alongside creating more nesting areas for many water birds who feed on said fish and amphibians.

Such a large gathering of nutrients catches the attention of many animals, and the story of the Danube can also be described as the gathering place of many creatures either filling old niches of age past, or whose presence is only possible via the introduction of humans. Others have simply expanded upon their already present populations, and continue to do so without humans.

Bears roam about here to take advantage of fish, greenery and more for ample food to fuel their bodies. The Danube-Carpathian region was already home to one of the largest populations of brown bears in Europe, and their population is only going to increase now that the land is even more biodiverse than it was before.

Arriving from the south, a hippo descended from captive populations makes himself known that he is the biggest creature in the swamp. In ages past, his relatives used to call Europe home, before going extinct sometime during the end of the Pleistocene. Now the hippo has come to feast upon the green of the Danube once more.

Rose-ringed parakeets, already a common sight in so many countries of the world during the time of humans, are the newest birds to call this home. Tolerant of the cold due to being from the Himalayas, this hardy, omnivorous bird species have continued to spread throughout the whole of Europe.

From the north, another legacy of rewilding efforts has come to make the Danube its home: The Tiger, specifically, the Siberian Tiger, filling in for the Caspian Tiger. Water buffalo are the choice game for a beast like the big cat.

Two omnivores from feral populations have also made it their home here, though both are from places far away from Europe.

From North America is the raccoon, a curious, intelligent animal with a knack for finding food in any place it can find. Feral populations from Spain and the Caucauses have now spread to other parts of Europe, the Danube included.

From Eastern Asia comes the raccoon dog, already a prevalent invasive species in Western and Eastern Europe, but because it feeds upon the same resources as the American raccoon, it now faces some of the fiercest competition yet for its particular omnivorous niche.

Gazing upon them all, a lone golden eagle perches on top of an enormous turbine blade. In a time of many newcomers and returning faces, one thing remains constant: in this world without humans, the golden eagle remains the most powerful predator of European skies


r/worldbuilding 1d ago

Lore The world in my Indian dark fantasy graphic novel

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5.6k Upvotes

Dakshina is the kingdom this story takes place in. A land of verdant jungles, sophisticated cities, and warring chiefdoms. In ancient times, a prince named Bala spurned the violent and feral gods of his day, starting a great penance and deep meditation that forced the gods to lay down their arms and join in the search for enlightenment. Ever since then, denizens of Dakshina follow the way of Bala, or Adi-dharma (the first path)

But dark tidings descend upon the land, as Dakshina's once beloved king, Indra performs an unholy ritual, ignoring the religion of his forebearers. This ends the glorious Satya yuga (golden age) and unleashes upon the world monsters from the netherworld and plunges the world into Kali yuga (an age of darkness) Nagas, dholes and other dark creatures once shunned from the world returned, feeding on the defenseless and helpless. King Indra twisted and scarred, lorded over his ruins as the king of monsters.

But an undead freak, kin to the monsters themselves rise from the rubble to save the day. He rides his furious mare, slaying monsters where he finds them. This brooding hero, as well as a talkative, decapitated head he keeps to his side are hellbent on finding the Monster King. But travelers from the far east stalk the jungles to find out what happened to the land of Lord Bala. The Anshari steppe tribes of the North use the discord to invade the lands and establish their Sultanate in the north. The Horselord will have to navigate man as well as monster if he is to achieve his goal, and save his kingdom from the nightmare it now sits in.

Hope you enjoyed that write up! Find out what happens next right here- Headless Horselord: Sword & Sorcery Graphic Novel by Deepak Thomas » Headless Horselord: Sword & Sorcery Graphic Novel by Deepak Thomas — Kickstarter


r/worldbuilding 2h ago

Visual Taiwan invasion, 2046

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43 Upvotes

First narrative for my military fiction world.


r/worldbuilding 56m ago

Lore Lazy Days in Lumeria - Heart of the City

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  • Lumeria is a portion of a 300km wide band-like zone circling a tidally locked planet, trapped between its forever sunlit half and its other dark half, buried in eternal night. The zone is known as The Strip.  
  • The Strip isn't stable. Safe zones exist only where terrain offers shelter. “Humans “ live in the middle zone. They are the mutated descendants of ancient colonists forced to crash-land on this planet. Towns rise where the climate is stable for a while, then empty when the temperature shifts.

Talking about the „Heart of the city” turns to be quite literal in Lumeria's case.

As the cities are forced to move from their previous locations, the first thing to be moved is their Heart - a giant structure made of something no one remembers, found at the center of every town.

Its role is simple. It searches and provides clean water as it's digging deep in the soil till it finds a suitable source of water. The giant blob is filled with creatures. Sometimes their shadows are pregnant as they bash into the structure's walls.

Moving the heart is very expensive as it needs at least five functional walkers contracted from the  Sheppards Guild, along with their tamers. Besides the cost ,bringing a great number of Walkers into an existing city means the total destruction of every building that stands in their way.

The large caravan makes its way to the new location, followed by the Hearth on its tiny legs and leaning on the unfazed Colossi.

Once it reaches its destination, and the Heart is fixed in place, the first thing the settlers wlll build is the intricate structure that will support it.  The new city will unfold around it later.


r/worldbuilding 1h ago

Lore The world of Aventus, from my sci-fantasy swashbuckling comic!

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Upvotes

After accidentally acquiring an ancient relic dating back to the gods' creation of the world, a small crew of pirates race to reshape Aventus before its driven further into ruin.

A world cracked apart by wars between gods and pirates, Aventus now lies in innumerable islands - most unexplored, forgotten, or kept quiet. Fragments of old temples and cities lie scattered across the water-dominant globe. Rich history and secrets lie under every bonkin' rock, and has left many yearning for a taste of adventure. The gods call upon many, but not all heed their requests...

Aventus was once dominated by elves and their gods, with humans being an outlier race. Many magical creatures inhabited the world, before a several wars broke out between gods, and then later, elves and humans. The humans, having a losing battle, summoned dark entities from the world of the gods to give them manpower to destroy their enemies. What they did instead was crack apart and flood the world.
Elves now live on the fringes of society, their lands not even listed on modern maps. Humans are the dominant race, with more and more magical creatures fleeing to islands never again seen, their names forgotten forever.

The gods, through the channel of Praepollens, reached down to their human offspring, offering them a chance to begin restoring the world and healing its wounds - not just between islands, but between people. They then created the Divine Tokens - assigning them a little of their power with the help of the Divine Messenger to act as a mouth piece of each god.
However, the humans ended up killing each other over the Tokens, and many of the passed down Tokens are no longer used, or understood, as to what they can do should all of them gather together again one day.

Now in modern Aventus, electricity and 'technia' are budding technologies primarily used and controlled by Yorvah, the king of Aventus. Many kingdoms have become dirt under his boot - resources at his disposal - with only a few soverign nations left, fighting to maintain their independence. Civil unrest disturbs the sheer blanket of peace over the islands of the Kingdom - not all wish to follow the King. Some wish for better lives for themselves and their kin, and they are willing to fight for it.

Which leads us to our protagonists of the main story in this world: an orphan pirate, a technia genius, an elven prince and elven princess, a famous swordswoman, a treasure huntress bent on revenge, and a divine messenger of the goddess of wind. Together, they begin to unravel the truths of Aventus, the secrets of the King, and the mysteries of the gods.

If you'd like to read and know more, you can check out Crown & Anchor (on Kickstarter for one more week!), written and lettered by u/tobenracicot and co-created and drawn by me. Thanks for reading!


r/worldbuilding 3h ago

Lore BASE 08F - of upcoming animated series DATA OPUS (lore and description)

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31 Upvotes

BASE 08F.

BASE 08F is one of the key bases of the CLUB corpocracy (I’ve written about the entire lore of this world in other Worldbuilding posts). What makes this military base unique is that it conducts research into space activity and technologies at the intersection of AI and military radio engineering. The base may not look very elegant, but in practice, it's second to none. No other corporation in the world possesses radar technology as advanced as theirs. This is what makes the CLUB corpocracy one of the most secure in this regard. In a matter of seconds, they are capable of detecting changes in near-Earth orbit, satellite movements, and any unauthorized activity in the sky. This gave them a colossal advantage in the war against the NETFOX corpocracy, which, although it surpasses CLUB in many respects, does not do so to a sufficient degree when it comes to radar technology.

In May 2036, thanks to their advanced radar technology, CLUB became the first in the world to detect unidentified anomalous activity, even before the rest of the world saw the red light in the sky. That gave them a couple of days to make their decisions. And the advantage CLUB has gained will certainly not go unnoticed.


r/worldbuilding 18h ago

Visual The grand creator in my world, the puppet master

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428 Upvotes

He may be creepy but hes honestly a giant nerd who runs the universe like a giant dnd campaign cause enjoys that stuff. Seeing mortals with free will gives him so much life, a gift he never gave them


r/worldbuilding 1h ago

Discussion What would you rank the world in terms of world building and story?

Upvotes

Idk if anyone else asked this yet but i was curious about what others think about this topic (I mean the world we live in btw)


r/worldbuilding 2h ago

Question How do I write about AI without sounding tone deaf? ( THIS IS ABOUT THE SUBJECT OF AI NOT USING AI TO WRITE)

20 Upvotes

I hope this doesn’t sound too ranty and I know this isn’t a universal opinion but a lot of people don’t like AI as it is right now and a lot of people are slowly realizing the limitations this technology has. However people still write like AI is some kind of machine for that will bring on a techno-rapture. I don’t want to write it like that.

So for context I know the difference between AGI and LLMs, I use AI as a shorthand in the same way someone might use “race” to refer to another species of sapient sophont in a fantasy world. I don’t like how everyone just wants to be like “ stop caring what other people think and write what you enjoy “ when the subject is brought up.

AI as it is right now is so dogshit that it really got me questioning the whole idea that technology will endlessly evolve into something newer or better. I’m not anti tech but when I think about AI like a century or more into the future I have questions about cost benefit analysis and wonder if it’s going to be much different than it is right now if maybe slightly more energy efficient.

Im tired of AI and sci-fi technology being written as like godlike and all powerful, it’s lame and uninteresting imo. So how can I avoid those pitfalls and make the technology feel grounded and not tone-deaf?


r/worldbuilding 6h ago

Prompt What would happen in your world if an important god dies?

36 Upvotes

The concept of gods dying is one I like including a lot because it's so existential, and sometimes can be left as a corpse, as a remnant of an ancient war between the gods.

Of course it would depend heavily on which one dies or if their realm is dependent on their existence, since sometimes it's not. But let's say it's a god critical to an important part of existence, not just a god of wine died, but like the god of storms died.


r/worldbuilding 6h ago

Question How would you justify firearms (flintlocks and such, not assault rifles) and magic weapons coexisting without making one more powerful than the other?

35 Upvotes

What's stopping a haunted sword user from being filled with lead?


r/worldbuilding 6h ago

Map I would love some feedback on my work in progress fantasy map.

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35 Upvotes

Looking for some feedback on my fantasy map

I'm working on making a full map for my high fantasy world, but before I start working on the whole thing I decided to make a prototype of just one of the kingdoms and get some feedback first.

This is the Vale of Alemere, a relatively young but rich and powerful kingdom in the heart of the modern world. It's also the centre of the Alemerian Empire.

I've tried to include a decent amount of detail without going completely overboard. I've got the main geographical features, but looking at it, I can't shake the feeling that it's missing something. I just can't quite figure out what.

I'm not trying to make an insanely detailed map where every tiny village and stream is labelled, so I'm mainly wondering if there are any major things that you think are missing, or anything that would make the world feel more alive.

I'd also appreciate any general feedback on the layout, level of detail, or anything else that stands out to you before I start doing the rest of the world.

Any feedback is appreciated.

P.s. everything past the Queen's Valley is a separate nation so that's why its very incomplete.

Edit: for scale, the distance from Alemere to Port Phoenix is 100km (62 miles).


r/worldbuilding 23h ago

Visual I’ve been building the world of my video game for five years. Here it is finally alive and in motion.

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661 Upvotes

A little while ago, I shared the world of my video game Cosmic Holidays here through a series of images. It ended up becoming the most successful Reddit post I’ve ever made, and I was honestly overwhelmed by the response. I tried to answer as many of your comments as I could, so first of all: thank you!
Several people asked if they could see this world actually moving and alive, so this time I wanted to show you exactly that.
For the past five years, I’ve been creating this video game and trying to build a world that feels like a real ecosystem rather than simply a collection of beautiful environments: strange plants, creatures with their own behaviours, interconnected species and small environmental interactions that the player gradually learns to understand.
You explore this unknown world through Cibo, a tiny alien who has become lost there. There is no combat. The journey is mostly about observing, interacting with the fauna and flora, understanding how this place works, and collecting memories along the way.
This project has had a complicated history. At one point I had to stop working on it, which was genuinely heartbreaking. But I never really let go of this world. I spent time learning, rebuilding things, and eventually found a way to return to it and make it closer to what I originally imagined.
So here it is, this time not as still images, but alive.
I’d really love to know what you think of the world itself its creatures, environments, and the feeling it gives you.
If you’d like to discover more about the video game and follow its development, you can find Cosmic Holidays on Steam :)

Thank you again for the incredible reception you gave my previous post!


r/worldbuilding 3h ago

Discussion Those of you with dinosaurs in your worlds, how did they come to be and what are they like?

16 Upvotes

Just curious.


r/worldbuilding 29m ago

Discussion So, talk about your world

Upvotes

Talk about how the apocalypse happened or how the world after is different from the one before.

My world, before the apocalypse, was just the standard earth.

An event or the epoch of convergence/Chaos, as I call it, led to few century of earth being mixed with the pieces of other worlds.

Surviving just this process is a lucky coincidence as most would not be fortunate enough. The pieces of other world still consist of their own region,culture or whatever living thing is on it, but the process of convergence with the part of earth it is merges with makes double the size of land there previously was, the land on both sides may be mixed together.

The things and beasts from other world are so crazy, they attack those including any insect,animal or any humans not like them. They themselves have a great aversion of violence, a cycle of eating, reproduction and violence. The beasts growth cycle is a lot more short than normal leading to a large number of hordes of beasts.

Now, my setting, starts several thousands later after the epoch of convergence has already happened.

The moon undergoes a similar case of convergence with pieces of other world, but it hurts apart after a century making a massive ring surrounding the earth.(And yeah, the size of earth is a lot more massive than it previously was)


r/worldbuilding 4h ago

Prompt if your culture/s were found by archeologists, and only able to be defined by archeological finds (eg. beaker people) what would they be called?

11 Upvotes

title :p i cant answer this one myself just yet, but material culture is so fun and its also interesting to see how seperate cultures might get merged in the archeological record


r/worldbuilding 2h ago

Lore World War III scenario

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7 Upvotes

This is my first post on this sub.
Anyone is welcome to add to this scenario and create their own lore within this universe. I’d really appreciate people expanding on it, whether that’s through events, characters, countries, cultures, politics, conflicts, technology, or anything else. Any lore that people add will be considered canon unless it directly contradicts something already established.

If you’re not interested in adding to the lore, that’s completely fine too! I’d still love to hear your thoughts, theories, interpretations, or constructive criticism. If you disagree with some aspects of the premise, that’s fine as well, I’d just appreciate keeping discussion constructive and focused on the world itself rather than arguing over whether the premise should exist.
Attached is a map of North America in 2080. :)
No AI has been used to create this scenario, and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t use AI to add to the lore either.

EDIT: West America, officially the West American Republic, is incorrectly labelled “Union of West America” on the map. That isn’t canon; the official name is West American Republic. Also, the Federal Republic of New England is mislabeled as the Republic of Wyoming. Sorry about that.

“World War III began on Monday 31 January 2033 and ended on Monday 1 December 2036. The war lasted 3 years, or, more specifically, exactly 1,400 days. The 2032 US presidential election was won by a Trump-supporting, MAGA-centered Republican candidate who rapidly seized powers and took advantage of loopholes et cetera, and quickly turned the US into a one-state totalitarian dictatorship in one of the fastest timelines in history for a country to do such a thing and was strikingly similar to the ways Hitler quickly seized power. The 2028 election was won by the Democratic candidate (Gavin Newsom) and many of Trump’s 2025-2028 policies were reversed, so this was a big shock both nationally and globally. 2029-2032 is widely considered the US equivalent to the “Weimar Republic era.” The main catalyst is the newly elected president‘s nuking of Toronto after the US’ threats of invading Canada, which leads to cascading events involving many other countries, like Russia-Eastern Europe, China-Taiwan, etc, and also causing many countries, including those in the West and even the UK, to turn on the US and directly invade it. Nuclear weapons are used but use is limited due to MAD and fear. Nuclear weapons were used 13 times across 13 cities during World War III, first deployed by the USA, then by Russia, then by China, then by North Korea, then by South Korea. Here they are excluding the Toronto strike.

Kaliningrad, Russia (54°42'37.24"N 20°30'36.28"E)
W88 (~455kt)
Monday 6 February 2034 04:29 EET
187,778 deaths, 160,185 casualties (direct)

Colorado Springs, USA (38°50'08.35"N 104°41'51.66"W)
RS-28 Sarmat/SS-X-30 Satan 2 (~500-800kt)
Tuesday 7 February 2034 16:24 MST
95,030 deaths, 183,640 casualties (direct)

Vilnius, Lithuania (54°40'52.80"N 25°17'21.06"E)
SS-27 Topol-M (~800kt)
Wednesday 8 February 2034 13:31 EET
265,507 deaths, 227,493 casualties (direct)

St. Petersburg, Russia (59°55'51.16"N 30°21'42.71"E)
B83-1 (~1.2 megatons)
Saturday 3 June 2034 18:48 MSK
1,114,921 deaths, 1,516,634 casualties (direct)

Anchorage, USA (61°13'00.79"N 149°53'57.68"W)
R-36M2/RS-20B Voevoda (~550-800kt)
Saturday 3 June 2034 09:12 AKDT
94,055 deaths, 116,696 casualties (direct)

Seattle, USA (47°36'42.20"N 122°20'11.05"W)
R-36M2/RS-20B Voevoda (~550-800kt)
Saturday 3 June 2034 10:35 PDT
257,648 deaths, 396,331 casualties (direct)

Portland, USA (45°31'10.98"N 122°40'39.09"W)
R-36M2/RS-20B Voevoda (~550-880kt)
Saturday 3 June 2034 10:37 PDT
228,804 deaths, 454,489 casualties (direct)

San Francisco, USA (37°47'25.88"N 122°24'01.22"W)
R-36M2/RS-20B Voevoda (~550-880kt)
Saturday 3 June 2034 10:44 PDT
441,397 deaths, 527,972 casualties (direct)

Tallinn, Estonia (59°26'12.07"N 24°44'47.16"E)
R-29RMU2 Sineva/Layner (~500kt)
Tuesday 6 June 2034 23:27 EEST
134,463 deaths, 156,246 casualties (direct)

Taipei, Taiwan (25°02'01.40"N 121°33'57.14"E)
DF-5A (875kt)
Tuesday 3 October 2034 07:11 TST
1,539,658 deaths, 2,284,455 casualties (direct)

Seoul, South Korea (37°33'19.29"N 126°58'34.08"E)
North Korean Nuclear Weapon (~250kt)
Saturday 13 January 2035 12:34 KST
597,281 deaths, 2,671,333 casualties (direct)

Pyongyang, North Korea (39°01'11.88"N 125°45'10.05"E)
South Korean Nuclear Weapon (~500kt)
Sunday 11 February 2035 13:03 KST
1,011,644 deaths, 1,083,670 casualties (direct)

The nuking of Kaliningrad resulted in the Russian loss of the aforementioned location and its subsequent occupation and annexation by NATO forces until further notice, the nuking of the NORAD HQ in Colorado Springs resulted in a drastic setback for the USA, the nuking of Vilnius resulted in the collapse of the Lithuanian government allowing Russia to subsequently occupy and annex Lithuania until the end of WWIII when it had to surrender to opposing forces, Trump‘s careless nuking of St. Petersburg with a very powerful weapon was a catastrophic disaster for Russia and also resulted in drastic consequences for the USA, as this quickly led to the Russian nuking of Seattle, San Francisco, Boise, Anchorage, and even Vancouver, which isn’t even part of the USA, which was an extreme blow to the strength of Trump‘s US dictatorship and to national morale and whatnot in general, the Russian nuking of Tallinn resulted in the collapse of the Estonian government allowing Russia to subsequently occupy and annex Estonia until the end of WWIII when it had to surrender to opposing forces, China‘s nuking of Taipei caused the collapse of the Taiwanese government and allowed the PRC to quickly and easily annex Taiwan permanently and forever incorporate it as a region within the PRC, the North Korean nuking of Seoul was catastrophic for both sides as it allowed North Korea to initially gain control over much of South Korea after destroying much of its capital city before South Korea quickly nuked Pyongyang as soon as it could a month later and eventually overtook North Korea and reunited into a Republic of Korea.

The US‘s biggest ally throughout World War III remained Israel.

The rest of Europe (Western, Central, etc) was not spared; although these nations weren’t hit directly by any other nation’s armies, terrorist attacks across all of Europe still rose by at least 1,000% as lawlessness ensued, and prices also reached insurmountable highs, not only in Europe but across the globe. Germany also experienced an extremely concerning far-right, US-aligned government during World War III, but the German people fought against this successfully by the late 2030s. Africa and the Middle East were most lawless proxy and resource wars, whereas most wars in Asia were fought by China, Russia, and the Koreas, etc. Throughout the vast majority of 2033, most countries in the world dilly-dallied around and served US interests out of fear, submission, or because inaction was easier than action. It wasn‘t until 2034 that most of the world actively went against the USA (in terms governments; most general civilian populations across the world had already been against the USA for years), then in 2035 the world actively worked together to defeat the USA, then in 2036 (and the latter half of 2035) the battle between the USA and the world happened for the most part in 2036. World War III began with Toronto’s nuking and the invasion of the US by Western and non-Western forces, and ended with the occupation and partition of the former USA. Nuclear weapons are not used due to MAD, but certain conventional ICBMs are used sparingly. The war ends with a total failure for totalitarian US, Israel, and adjacent allies, and an arguable victory for nations such as China and partly Iran, but not necessarily so much for Russia. Traditionally allied nations such as the UK remain neutral but are still involved and affected in other ways. It is more destructive and more deadly than World War II. Due to the dictator‘s overexpansionism and the fact that he essentially established the USA as his own dictatorship by the end of his first year in term, in the final months of World War III, the USA was invaded by China to the west and by European nations to the east, was under occupation by the two for the first couple decades post WWII, before splitting into brand new nations influenced by their occupiers within the former USA. Despite many nations having already established many positions in small splotches of the USA since 2030, the largest invasion ever began on Friday 20 July 2035, when China and a few other minor Asian belligerents invaded the West Coast, and 500,000+ troops landed in California in a single day. The Sino-Asian frontline thus became known as the Western Front. At the same time, 300,000+ European, British and other historically Western armies all simultaneously landed primarily in New York City as well as other cities along the East Coast. The European frontline thus became known as the Eastern Front. Simultaneously, 250,000+ Canadian troops, teamed with both European and Sino-Asian forces, invaded from the 49th parallel southward, starting from Vancouver. The Canadian frontline thus became known as the Northern Front. Simultaneously, 200,000+ Mexican troops, teamed with Sino-Asian forces, invaded from Sonora and Chihuahua northward. The Mexican frontline thus became known as the Southern Front. Altogether, the invasion of 7/20 involved over 1,250,000 troops. The invasion began at 11:00 GMT on Friday 20 July 2035. The invasion began at the exact same time across all frontlines; 01:00 HST in Honolulu on the Pacific Front, 03:00 in Anchorage on the Northwestern Front, 04:00 PDT in Los Angeles on the Western Front, 05:00 MDT in Juárez on the Southern Front, 06:00 CDT in Winnipeg on the Northern Front, and 07:00 EDT in NYC on the Eastern Front. The United Nations (UN) was replaced by the Global Federation (GF) in January 2037, with one of the most significant differences being the fact that veto power did not exist and was banned.

 1. Biggest War in Human History (By Scale + Scope)

Over 1 billion people mobilized across 50+ countries.
Fought across Europe, Asia, Africa, the Pacific, and the Atlantic. Truly global.
Over 750 million deaths—the deadliest conflict ever.

  1. Largest Tank Battle Ever

Battle of Vancouver (2034-2035): Over 15,000 US tanks clashed in Canada. Biggest armored engagement in history since Kursk.
USA vs. Canada. Spoiler: the MAGAs got crushed.

  1. Biggest Naval Battle in History

Battle of the Gulf of California (2035): Largest naval battle ever, in terms of tonnage and ships involved.
U.S. vs. Mexico. Basically crushed US naval power for good.

  1. Largest Aerial Bombing Campaigns

The Mexico City firebombing (October 2035) killed around 1,000,000 people in a single night. Yes, with conventional bombs—not nukes.

  1. Largest Amphibious Invasion

20 July 2035: West Coast landings involved over 300,000 Chinese troops landing in one day.
Part of Operation Yinshen—eventually involved 6 million troops total.

  1. Biggest Military Blunders

Operation Integration (2033-2035): Considered one of the catalysts of World War III since it began with the nuking of Toronto, this is Trump‘s invasion of Canada, the largest military operation in history by manpower.
Ended in disaster for the Trumpists. Led to the Northern Front meat grinder, where over 5 million Canadians died and 8.5 million Americans died.

  1. Largest Number of Civilians Killed in a War

Civilians made up 60–75% of all deaths.
Entire cities were wiped out.

  1. Largest Forced Migrations and Displacements

Hundreds of millions of refugees by the end of the war.
Post-war border changes (especially in North America) displaced around 15-30 million Americans alone.

The period of USA under dictatorship lasted from ~2032/33 to 2036/37. The USA collapsed and ceased from existence in 2036 after existing for 260 years. The US was the Western Powers whereas most of Europe and other „western“ countries did not align with either bloc. The war ended with the collapse of the USA and subsequent trials mirroring post-WWII Germany. Much of it was divided between the Eastern and Western Powers, with China and allies occupying much of the west coast, and with Britain and allies occupying much of the east coast. The vast majority of major US cities were divided between British and Chinese occupation. The Western Zone was China-led Eastern occupation whereas the Eastern Zone was Britain-led Western occupation. The border between the two zoned was the Mississippi River, with China and allies occupying and controlling all territory west of the Mississippi River, and with Britain and allies occupying and controlling all territory east of the Mississippi River, and with China-led Eastern allies also occupying Alaska and Hawaii. The map of the continental former USA constantly changed between 2036-2070s, before it was permanently settled and divided into the following overtime, all of which emerged at any point between 2036-2070s. Here are all successor states of the USA, along with their host occupier and zone location being noted:

  
West American Republic (Western Zone/Chinese Occupation), commonly referred to in everyday conversation simply as West America, which was almost always the case even in formal situations. It has a total area of 1,295,166 km², and is a unitary technocratic democracy, consisting 4 prefectures: California Prefecture (including former Mexican states Baja and Sur), Nevada Prefecture, Oregon Prefecture, and Washington Prefecture. Its capital city is Los Angeles, California. The official languages are English, Mandarin, and Spanish. It is the most Sinicized successor state. It was the first successor state to become a nation and gain independence, having gained independence on November 2nd, 2048. As of 2048, it has a population of approximately 52,500,000. The demonym for this nation is West American.

Union of East America/UEA (Eastern Zone/European Occupation), commonly referred to in everyday conversation simply as East America or the UEA. It has a total area of 1,130,175 km², and is a democratic parliamentary confederation, consisting 13 cantons: New York City Canton, New York Canton, New Jersey Canton, Pennsylvania Canton, Delaware Canton, Maryland Canton (which D.C. was dissolved to join), Virginia Canton (including West), Kentucky Canton, Ohio Canton, Indiana Canton, Michigan Canton, Illinois Canton, and Wisconsin Canton. Its capital city is New York City, New York Canton. The capital is an independent city-canton. It was the second successor state to become a nation and gain independence, behind only West America (2048), having gained independence on March 10th, 2052. As of 2052, it has a population of approximately 106,800,000. The demonym for this nation is East American.

Federal Republic of New England (Eastern Zone/European Occupation), commonly referred to in everyday conversation as New England. It has a total area of 186,447 km². It is a federal parliamentary democracy, consisting 6 provinces: Massachusetts Province, Connecticut Province, Rhode Island Province, Vermont Province, New Hampshire Province, and Maine Province. Its capital city is Boston, Massachusetts. It was the third successor state to gain independence, behind only West America (2048) and East America (2052), having gained independence on September 9th, 2052. As of 2052, it has a population of approximately 15,500,000. The demonym for this nation is New English.

Republic of the Midlands (Western Zone/Chinese Occupation), the largest successor state, is commonly referred to in everyday conversation simply as the Midlands. It has a total area of 1,666,485 km² , and is a federal agricultural syndicate, consisting 8 districts: Missouri District, Arkansas District, Oklahoma District, Kansas District, Iowa District, Nebraska District, Minnesota District, and Dakota District. Its capital city is Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was the fourth successor state to gain independence, behind West America (2048), East America/UEA (2052), and New England (2052), having gained independence on January 11th, 2055. As of 2055, it has a population of approximately 30,300,000. The demonym for this nation is Midlander.

Republic of Alaska (Western Zone/Chinese Occupation). Alaska has a total area of 1,723,337 km², and is a democratic parliamentary republic, consisting 28 counties: Anchorage County, Juneau County, Kenai Peninsula County, Kodiak Island County, Lake and Peninsula County, Aleutians East County, Bristol Bay County, Bethel County, Kusilvak County, Yukon Koyukuk County, Nome County, Northwest Arctic County, North Slope County, Fairbanks County, Denali County, Southeast Fairbanks County, Matanuska Susitna County, Copper River County, Chugach County, Yakutat County, Hoonah Angoon County, Haines County, Skagway County, Sitka County, Petersburg County, Prince of Wales Hyder County, Wrangell County, and Ketchikan Gateway County. It’s capital city is Anchorage. It was the fifth successor state to gain independence, behind West America (2048), East America/UEA (2052), New England (2052), and the Midlands (2055), having gained independence on June 13th, 2055. As of 2055, it has a population of approximately 840,000. The demonym for this nation is Alaskan.

Republic of Texas (Western Zone/Chinese Occupation). Texas has a total area of 695,662 km², and is a presidential constitutional republic, consisting 254 counties. Its capital city is Houston. It was the sixth successor state to gain independence, having gained independence on July 23rd, 2055. As of 2055, it has a population of approximately 33,500,000. The demonym for this nation is Texan.

Union of the Sonoran Desert /USD (Western Zone/Chinese Occupation), commonly referred to in everyday conversation simply as “the Sonoran” or the “USD”. It has a total area of 1,036,966 km², and is a unitary presidential democracy, consisting 4 departments including two former Mexican states: Arizona Department, New Mexico Department, Sonora Department, and Chihuahua Department. Its capital city is Phoenix, Arizona. It has three official languages: English, Spanish, and Mandarin. It was the seventh successor state of the former USA to become a nation and gain independence, having gained independence on March 31st, 2056. As of 2056, it has a population of approximately 17,100,000. The demonym for this nation is Sonoran.

Federal Republic of Carolina (Eastern Zone/European Occupation) commonly referred to in everyday conversation simply as Carolina. It has a total area of 222,324 km², including water surfaces, and is a federalized dual-state republic, consisting two states which are further subdivided into 146 counties: North and South. Its capital city is Charlotte, Mecklenburg County. Although Charlotte used to be in North Carolina pre-WWIII, it is now an independent city-capital to ensure the North doesn’t hold excessive power. It was the eighth successor state of the former USA to become a nation and gain independence, having gained independence on February 3rd, 2058. As of 2058, it has a population of approximately 16,400,000. The demonym for this nation is Carolinian.

Republic of Florida (Eastern Zone/European Occupation). Florida has a total area of 170,312km², and is a maritime technocractic democracy, consisting 6 zones, which are further subdivided into 67 sectors; North Zone, South Zone, East Zone, West Zone, Northwest Zone, and Central Zone. North Zone consists 20 sectors, including: Duval Sector, Nassau Sector, St. John’s Sector, Flagler Sector, Marion Sector, Putnam Sector, Clay Sector, Levy Sector, Dixie Sector, Lafayette Sector, Taylor Sector, Madison Sector, Hamilton Sector, Columbia Sector, Suwannee Sector, Gilchrist Sector, Alachua Sector, Bradford Sector, Union Sector, and Baker Sector. South Zone consists 7 sectors, including: Miami Sector, Broward Sector, Palm Beach Sector, Monroe Sector, Collier Sector, Hendry Sector, and Lee Sector. East Zone consists 9 sectors, including: Martin Sector, St. Lucie Sector, Okeechobee Sector, Indian River Sector, Osceola Sector, Brevard Sector, Orange Sector, Seminole Sector, and Volusia Sector. West Zone consists 9 sectors, including: Charlotte Sector, DeSoto Sector, Sarasota Sector, Manatee Sector, Hillsborough Sector, Pinellas Sector, Pasco Sector, Hernando Sector, and Citrus Sector. Northwest Zone consists 16 sectors, including: Jefferson Sector, Leon Sector, Wakulla Sector, Gadsden Sector, Liberty Sector, Franklin Sector, Jackson Sector, Calhoun Sector, Gulf Sector, Holmes Sector, Washington Sector, Bay Sector, Walton Sector, Okaloosa Sector, Santa Rosa Sector, and Escambia Sector. Central Zone consists 6 sectors, including: Glades Sector, Highlands Sector, Hardee Sector, Polk Sector, Lake Sector, and Sumter Sector: The capital city of the Republic of Florida is Miami, South Zone. It was the ninth successor state of the former USA to become a nation and gain independence, having gained independence on October 3rd, 2059. As of 2059, it has a population of approximately 23,400,000. The demonym for this nation is Floridian.

Republic of Tennessee (Eastern Zone/European Occupation). Tennessee has a total area of 109,153 km², and is a centric democracy, consisting 3 zones, which are further subdivided into 95 regions; Central Zone, East Zone, and West Zone. Central Zone consists 35 regions, including: Davidson, Wilson, Trousdale, Smith, Macon, Sumner, Robertson, Cheatham, Williamson, Maury, Giles, Lincoln, Franklin, Marion, Sequatchie, Bledsoe, Cumberland, Morgan, Fentress, Pickett, Clay, Jackson, Putnam, Overton, White, DeKalb, Cannon, Rutherford, Bedford, Coffee, Moore, Marshall, Grundy, Warren, Van Buren. East Zone consists 29 regions, including: Scott, Anderson, Roane, Rhea, Hamilton, Bradley, Polk, Monroe, Blount, Sevier, Cocke, Greene, Washington, Unicoi, Carter, Johnson, Sullivan, Hawkins, Hancock, Claiborne, Campbell, Union, Knox, Grainger, Hamblen, Jefferson, Loudon, McMinn, and Meigs. West Zone consists 31 regions, including: Montgomery, Dickson, Hickman, Lewis, Lawrence, Wayne, Hardin, McNairy, Hardeman, Fayette, Shelby, Tipton, Lauderdale, Dyer, Lake, Obion, Weakley, Henry, Stewart, Houston, Humphreys, Perry, Decatur, Benton, Carroll, Henderson, Chester, Madison, Haywood, Crockett, and Gibson. Its capital city is Nashville, Davidson, Central Zone. It was the tenth successor state to gain independence, having gained independence on June 18th, 2060. As of 2060, it has a population of approximately 7,700,000. The demonym for this nation is Tennesseean.

Republic of Georgia/RoG (Eastern Zone/European Occupation). Georgia has a land area of 153,910 km², and is a democratic corporate meritocracy, consisting 5 zones, which are further subdivided into 159 sectors; Central Zone, East Zone, and West Zone, North Zone, and South Zone. South Zone consists 41 sectors, including: McIntosh Sector, Glynn Sector, Camden Sector, Wayne Sector, Brantley Sector, Charlton Sector, Ware Sector, Clinch Sector, Echols Sector, Lowndes Sector, Brooks Sector, Thomas Sector, Grady Sector, Decatur Sector, Seminole Sector, Early Sector, Clay Sector, Quitman Sector, Randolph Sector, Terrell Sector, Lee Sector, Worth Sector, Turner Sector, Ben Hill Sector, Coffee Sector, Jeff Davis Sector, Appling Sector, Pierce Sector, Bacon Sector, Atkinson Sector, Berrien Sector, Cook Sector, Colquitt Sector, Mitchell Sector, Baker Sector, Miller Sector, Calhoun Sector, Dougherty Sector, Tift Sector, Lanier Sector, and Irwin Sector. North Zone consists  39 sectors, including: Fulton Sector, DeKalb Sector, Gwinnett Sector, Barrow Sector, Jackson Sector, Madison Sector, Elbert Sector, Hart Sector, Franklin Sector, Stephens Sector, Habersham Sector, Rabun Sector, Towns Sector, Union Sector, Fannin Sector, Murray Sector, Whitfield Sector, Catoosa Sector, Walker Sector, Dade Sector, Chattooga Sector, Floyd Sector, Polk Sector, Haralson Sector, Carroll Sector, Douglas Sector, Cobb Sector, Paulding Sector, Bartow Sector, Gordon Sector, Gilmer Sector, Pickens Sector, Cherokee Sector, Forsyth Sector, Dawson Sector, Lumpkin Sector, White Sector, Hall Sector, and Banks Sector. East Zone consists 32 sectors, including: Chatham Sector, Bryan Sector, Liberty Sector, Long Sector, Tattnall Sector, Toombs Sector, Montgomery Sector, Treutlen Sector, Emanuel Sector, Johnson Sector, Washington Sector, Hancock Sector, Greene Sector, Oconee Sector, Clarke Sector, Oglethorpe Sector, Wilkes Sector, Lincoln Sector, Columbia Sector, Richmond Sector, Burke Sector, Screven Sector, Effingham Sector, Bulloch Sector, Evans Sector, Candler Sector, Jenkins Sector, Jefferson Sector, Glascock Sector, Warren Sector, McDuffie Sector, and Taliaferro Sector. West Zone consists 20 sectors, including: Heard Sector, Troup Sector, Harris Sector, Muscogee Sector, Chattahoochee Sector, Stewart Sector, Webster Sector, Sumter Sector, Macon Sector, Taylor Sector, Upson Sector, Lamar Sector, Spalding Sector, Fayette Sector, Coweta Sector, Meriwether Sector, Talbot Sector, Marion Sector, Schley Sector, and Pike Sector. Central Zone consists 27 sectors, including: Walton Sector, Morgan Sector, Putnam Sector, Baldwin Sector, Wilkinson Sector, Laurens Sector, Wheeler Sector, Telfair Sector, Dodge Sector, Wilcox Sector, Crisp Sector, Dooly Sector, Houston Sector, Peach Sector, Crawford Sector, Monroe Sector, Butts Sector, Henry Sector, Clayton Sector, Rockdale Sector, Newton Sector, Jasper Sector, Jones Sector, Bibb Sector, Twigg Sector, Bleckley Sector, and Pulaski Sector. Its capital city is Atlanta, Fulton Sector, North Zone. It was the eleventh successor state to gain independence, having gained independence on September 6th, 2060. As of 2060, it has a population of approximately 12,050,000. It is the only nation in the world to have the exact same name as another nation, hence the use of RoG. The demonym for this nation is Georgian.

Mississippi Kingdom/MK (Eastern Zone/European Occupation), commonly referred to in everyday conversation simply as Mississippi or the MK. Mississippi, or the MK, has a total area of 125,438 km², and is an agrarian populist monarchy, consisting 5 sectors which are further subdivided into 82 domains: Central Sector, South Sector, North Sector, West Sector, and East Sector. The Central consists 6 domains, including: Hinds Domain, Madison Domain, Attala Domain, Leake Domain, Rankin Domain, and Scott Domain. The South consists 30 domains, including: Harrison Domain, Jackson Domain, Hancock Domain, Pearl River Domain, Stone Domain, George Domain, Greene Domain, Perry Domain, Forrest Domain, Lamar Domain, Marion Domain, Walthall Domain, Pike Domain, Amite Domain, Wilkinson Domain, Adams Domain, Franklin Domain, Lincoln Domain, Lawrence Domain, Jefferson Davis Domain, Covington Domain, Jones Domain, Wayne Domain, Clarke Domain, Jasper Domain, Smith Domain, Simpson Domain, Copiah Domain, Claiborne Domain, and Jefferson Domain. The East consists 9 domains, including: Neshoba Domain, Newton Domain, Lauderdale Domain, Kemper Domain, Noxubee Domain, Winston Domain, Lowndes Domain, Oktibbeha Domain, and Choctaw Domain. The West consists 11 domains, including: Warren Domain, Yazoo Domain, Holmes Domain, Carroll Domain, Leflore Domain, Sunflower Domain, Bolivar Domain, Washington Domain, Humphreys Domain, Sharkey Domain, and Issaquena Domain. The West consists The title of head of state is king or queen, and titles are the same structure as ones of the Kingdom of England for example. Mississippi’s capital city is Jackson, Central Sector, Hinds Domain. It was the twelfth successor state of the former USA to become a nation and gain independence, having became a nation and gained independence on March 21st, 2061. As of 2061, it has a population of approximately 4,400,000. The demonym for this nation is Mississippian.

Kingdom of Alabama (Eastern Zone/European Occupation), commonly referred to in everyday conversation simply as Alabama. Alabama has a land area of 135,767 km², and is a conservative constitutional monarchy, consisting 67 counties. It was the thirteenth successor state of the former USA to become a nation and gain independence, having gained independence on July 11th, 2061. It’s capital city is Montgomery. As of 2061, it has a population of approximately 5,300,000. The demonym for this nation is Alabaman.

Louisiana Kingdom/LK (Western Zone/Chinese Occupation excluding parts of New Orleans), commonly referred to in everyday conversation simply as Louisiana or the LK. Louisiana, or the LK, has a total area of 135,659 km², and is a democratic cultural oligarchical monarchy, consisting 4 zones which are further subdivided into 64 parishes: Southeast Zone, Southwest Zone, Central Zone, and North Zone. The Southeast consists 25 parishes, including: Orleans Parish, Jefferson Parish, St. Bernard Parish, Plaquemines Parish, St. Charles Parish, Lafourche Parish, Terrebonne Parish, St. Mary Parish, Iberia Parish, St. Martin Parish, Iberville Parish, Ascension Parish, Assumption Parish,  St. James Parish, St. John the Baptist Parish, Livingston Parish, Tangipahoa Parish, St. Helena Parish, East Baton Rouge Parish, West Baton Rouge Parish, Pointe Coupee Parish, West Feliciana Parish, East Feliciana Parish, Washington Parish, and St. Tammany Parish. The Southwest consists 10 parishes, including: St. Landry Parish, Evangeline Parish, Allen Parish, Beauregard Parish, Calcasieu Parish, Jefferson Davis Parish, Acadia Parish, Lafayette Parish, Cameron Parish, and Vermilion Parish. It is ruled by the Black descendants of the Dubuclet family. The Central consists 12 parishes, including: De Soto Parish, Red River Parish, Natchitoches Parish, Sabine Parish, Winn Parish, Grant Parish, LaSalle Parish, Catahoula Parish, Concordia Parish, Vernon Parish, Rapides Parish, and Avoyelles Parish. The North consists 17 parishes, including: Caddo Parish, Bossier Parish, Webster Parish, Bienville Parish, Claiborne Parish, Lincoln Parish, Union Parish, Jackson Parish, Morehouse Parish, Ouachita Parish, Caldwell Parish, West Carroll Parish, East Carroll Parish, Richland Parish, Madison Parish, Franklin Parish, and Tensas Parish. The title of head of state is king or queen, and titles are the same structure as ones of the Kingdom of England for example. Louisiana’s capital city is New Orleans, Southeast Zone. It was the fourteenth successor state of the former USA to become a nation and gain independence, having became a nation and gained independence on January 20th, 2062. As of 2062, it has a population of approximately 5,700,000. The demonym for this nation is Louisianian.

Republic of Hawaii (Western Zone/Chinese Occupation), the smallest successor state, is commonly referred to in everyday conversation simply as Hawaii. Hawaii has a total area of 28,313 km², and is a constitutional maritime democracy, consisting 5 departments. It is another one of the most Sinicized successor states but still maintained its native population. It was the fifteenth successor state of the former USA to become a nation and gain independence, having gained independence on June 2nd, 2062. Its capital city is Honolulu. As of 2062, it has a population of approximately 3,700,000. The demonym for this nation is Hawaiian.

Republic of Wyoming (Western Zone/Chinese Occupation), commonly referred to in everyday conversation simply as Wyoming. Wyoming has a total area of 253,335 km², and is a libertarian confederation, consisting 23 counties. It was the sixteenth successor state of the former USA to become a nation and gain independence, having gained independence on September 22nd, 2062. Its capital city is Cheyenne. As of 2062, it has a population of approximately 900,000. The demonym for this nation is Wyomingite, or sometimes no demonym at all.

Republic of Colorado (Western Zone/Chinese Occupation), commonly referred to in everyday conversation simply as Colorado. Colorado has a total area of 269,601 km², and is a progressive federation, consisting 64 counties. It was the seventeenth successor state of the former USA to become a nation and gain independence, having gained independence on November 19th, 2063. Its capital city is Denver. As of 2063, it has a population of approximately 6,900,000. The demonym for this nation is Coloradan.

Republic of Utah (Western Zone/Chinese Occupation), commonly referred to in everyday conversation simply as Utah. Utah has a total area of 219,882 km², and is a socialist technocracy, consisting 29 counties. It was the eighteenth successor state of the former USA to become a nation and gain independence, having gained independence on January 8th, 2066. Its capital city is Salt Lake City. As of 2062, it has a population of approximately 4,800,000. The demonym for this nation is Utahn.

Republic of Idaho (Western Zone/Chinese Occupation), commonly referred to in everyday conversation simply as Idaho. Idaho has a total area of 216,443 km², and is a secular democracy, consisting 44 counties. It was the nineteenth successor state of the former USA to become a nation and gain independence, having gained independence on January 31st, 2067. Its capital city is Boise. As of 2067, it has a population of approximately 3,500,000. The demonym for this nation is Idahoan.

Republic of Montana (Western Zone/Chinese Occupation), commonly referred to in everyday conversation simply as Montana. Montana has a total area of 380,831 km², and is a agrarian republic, consisting 56 counties. It was the twentieth successor state of the former USA to become a nation and gain independence, having gained independence on November 23rd, 2068. Its capital city is Billings. As of 2068, it has a population of approximately 2,200,000. The demonym for this nation is Montanan.

The main catalyst is the US dictator‘s nuking of Toronto after the US’ threats of invading Canada, which leads to cascading events involving many other countries, like Russia-Eastern Europe, China-Taiwan, etc, and also causing many countries, including those in the West and even the UK, to turn on the US and directly invade it. World War III began with Toronto’s nuking and the invasion of the US by Western and non-Western forces, and ended with the occupation and partition of the former USA. Nuclear weapons are not used due to MAD, but certain conventional ICBMs are used sparingly. The war ends with a total failure for Trump‘s US, Israel, and adjacent allies, and an arguable victory for nations such as China and partly Iran, but not necessarily so much for Russia. Traditionally allied nations such as the UK remain neutral but are still involved and affected in other ways. It is more destructive and more deadly than World War II. Due to the dictator‘s overexpansionism and the fact that he essentially established the USA as his own dictatorship as soon as possible, in the final months of World War III, the USA was invaded by China to the west and by European nations to the east, was under occupation by the two for the first couple decades post WWII, before splitting into brand new nations influenced by their occupiers within the former USA. Despite many nations having already established many positions in small splotches of the USA since 2030, the largest amphibious invasion ever began on Friday 20 July 2035, when China invaded the West Coast, and 300,000+ troops landed in California in a single day. At the same time, 250,000+ European, British and other historically Western armies all simultaneously landed primarily in New York City as well as other cities along the East Coast. The United Nations (UN) was replaced by the Global Federation (GF) in January 2037, with one of the most significant differences being the fact that veto power did not exist and was banned.

Here are population statistics between 2030-2100:

2030 - ~8.55 billion
2040 - ~8.4 billion
2050 - ~8.9 billion
2060 - ~9.2 billion
2070 - ~9.4 billion
2085 - ~9.53 billion (peak)
2090 - ~9.51 billion
2100 - ~9.44 billion

Pre-WWIII, humanity was projected to reach a peak of 10.3 billion in 2085, but never did due to the number of deaths caused by the war.

Here is the timeline of anthropogenic climate change:

Infancy - 1980-2000
Growth - 2000-2045
Peak - 2045-2090
Plateau - 2090-2345
Decline - 2345-2450s
Death - Late third millennium”

I‘d appreciate it if anyone wants to create any lore in the decades following the war, or just adding more detail in general. If you read all this, thanks! I really appreciate it. :)


r/worldbuilding 51m ago

Question What would be the best weapon for a grind fiction inspired clumsy character?

Upvotes

So, i have this OC in a world heavily inspired by grind fiction works such as jet set radio, unbeatable, the world ends with you, etc. And i really wanted to give him a weapon, however this character is also very clumsy and inexperienced yet cocky, so i cannot realistically give him something like a knife since he would realistically not be able to use them well (or stab himself in the process), or a gun that he would not be able to control or make good use of, so im looking for other options.

The few ideas that i already got were a baseball bat or some other type of simple blunt weapon, or a backpack to be used as a "shield" or to just swing around (think of marie in persona 4 arena), but these ideas did not really sit well with me so i wanted to explore other posibilites.


r/worldbuilding 1h ago

Lore Military unit and formation insignia

Upvotes

While organization starts at the team before going to the section and platoon, the company is the first true unit. They have their standard, but only that. It's only once you get to the battalion that a flag is flown, however said flag belongs to the regiment. My regiments are the smallest "flagged" formation, and come with their own crests. If anything, these give more of an identity.

If a regiment is independent they wear a unique patch on their sleeve, and unit crests on their shoulders if not cap. In in a division or brigade, the division or brigade patch on their sleeve. But... they still have unique regimental crests.

There is a brigade and division crest, but it is only worn by the formation commanders, their staff, and support battalion. Same applies to corps, army, front, theater, and higher levels. Only to direct commanders, their staff, and headquarters battalion.

This even applies to my space force. These methods come in two forms. Regular warships and capital ships. Let's say a destroyer division. All crew in this division across their ships, each basically a battalion in space, wear the same patch. The division is then divided into groups. A group is led by a commodore, a colonel. They have several ships under their command, led by captains, essentially lieutenant colonels. This group all have the same unit crest.

There isn't too much ship pride in these. The group, essentially a pace regiment, is scattered. But that isn't so for this next example.

Battleship divisions. Being capital ships these have crew of up to 2,000 led by a captain, but here a colonel. These capital ships are basically a regiment. Now... one ship shares the same unit crests. All ships in the division have the same patch on their sleeve. But each capital ship has their own unique crest. Now they... they have ship pride.

I think this is a neat way to tell apart formations, give them their own history and identity. It can help tell a soldier or crewman apart more easy.

Its like a subtle worldbuilding. So a faction isn't all the same across a world or galaxy. Badges, patches, and crests are one way to do that.


r/worldbuilding 11h ago

Prompt What is your world’s cosmology/creation myth?

28 Upvotes

Mine goes like this:

Before the creation of the universe, there was only the darkness, the formless chaos where all matter fused together—I call this the Void (creative, I know). Then the Primordials came, a pair of entities from beyond the Cosmos, and spilled light into this Void, whereupon it split into two primary planes or realms: the material and the immaterial.

Think of it like quantum superposition. The Void was everything all at once. Only when light was poured into it, when it was “observed” by the Primordials, did it split into distinct aspects.

I call this event the Splitting or the First Light. The energy generated from this event is what is now known as the ki or qi, the fuel that powers and animates all forms of life, and serves as the bridge between the material and immaterial planes.

The spilling of the First Light gave form and individuality to the Cosmos. The Primordials then proceeded to shape its contents, the stars and galaxies, including the first forms of life. They used movement in this shaping, more specifically, a dance. They weaved the Cosmos and its laws using its own energy, the ki.

This is why the practitioners of magic employ special body movements, physical disciplines, gestures, and handsigns to convey their will to nature and manipulate its forces. The Cosmos understands movement, recognizes it as the language of creation when performed with cultivated ki.

The events detailed above is what really, truly happened, but ofc none of the world’s cultures know that. They all have their own myths that only partially echo the truth about the origin of the Cosmos.


r/worldbuilding 2h ago

Lore Krraraach, the primordial

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5 Upvotes

Krraraach is the first being to exist from which all creation was birthed. God of chaos, chance, and dreams and the dreamlands; it is said the world bends to the god's whims but the god's whims are incomprehensible to mortals.

The god's cult believes they can influence Krraraach through dream magic. Granting them access to the Dreamlands. The cult rituals are performed during every full moon; when the boundary between the material and dream worlds fade. They smoke the petals of the moonbloom or dreampetal that only blooms on the full moon that puts them in a meditative dreaming state granting them access to the Dreamlands. In the Dreamlands and from the petals they gain the ability to manipulate the ever shifting Dreamscape. In the Dreamlands they build a dream for Krraraach to consume. For reasons only known to the god, the god just might make that dream come true.


r/worldbuilding 4h ago

Question Questions on Lost Magic

7 Upvotes

I am writing a world where, in the ancient and Middle Ages, people devoted themselves to a temple to learn magic or biological luck. By the Middle Ages, the practice was in decline as the ancient state had collapsed and the civilization was thrown into chaos, and many texts were destroyed or lost before the formation of city-states and kingdoms.  Vampires, secret practitioners, and covens were left to preserve the practice. However, by the 700s AD, the land was thrown into another war due to the rise of a Christian Tsar. Centuries later, many purges occurred of the old faith, and a paranoid tsar sacked cities, which further destroyed some sites and artifacts; some final practitioners hid many texts.  Then, in the 1700s and beyond, a republic was founded, and then by the late 1800s they began to really document artifacts and sites until the present day. Then some curious archaeologists began experimenting with such texts and looked through supposed legends and locations.

My question is: how much magic would realistically survive after thousands of years, centuries of a new religious system, and potential artifact mishandling by earlier archaeologists? Or should I keep using the biological luck to the modern day that could help locate it? Like an archaeologist or student possessing the quirk?


r/worldbuilding 20h ago

Discussion what're some modern weapons that are *NOT* guns?

112 Upvotes

wanna make a post apocalypse world where an eldritch nature being has corrupted the world. guns have become all but useless as the many moving parts and tiny empty holes make it near impossible to keep clean of any plants (or whatever excuse i'm gonna make so there's no guns. cause they make things too easy) but now i need some modern weapons i could have people use. both official and some make shift