#worldbuilding wednesday

[pluttskutt]

mmm whatcha say 🎶 it’s Wednesday and this means that Worldbuilding Wednesday is upon us! Reblog with an emoji for an ask in your inbox:

🐙

🐳

🐚

This week is sea inspired :)

#worldbuilding wednesday #wbw ask

[ettawritesnstudies]

Worldbuilding Wednesday participation post (11/29/23)

WBW is a weekly Writeblr askbox event about your story's setting. Reblogs this post to let people know you're open for questions, and send asks to other writers to start the conversation!

#writeblr #wbw #worldbuilding Wednesday

[thetruearchmagos]

Worldbuilding Wednesday

Hello folks, Arch here, with this week's Prompt!

I'd love to hear about some of the politically meaningful slogans, sayings, and phrases used by people or groups in your Setting. Who coined them, and what message do they send? Do the terms have widespread use, or are they only understood by a few? What events, movements, or issues are these statements about, and what sides do they take in them?

Tagging @athenswrites @hessdalen-globe @theprissythumbelina @caxycreations @thatndginger @nerdexer @avrablake and anyone else who'd like to take part!

#writeblr #worldbuilding #worldbuilding wednesday #writing #writeblr stuff #bit... uneasy about this one #felt a bit complicated and I know not everyone takes this topic too deeply #for some examples think 'the buck stops here' 'MAGA' 'Remember the Main to Hell with Spain' etc. #flashy stuff #or not! if that suits your political culture

[foxfireink]

Worldbuilding and writing religions: some helpful links.

Chaotic Shiny has a wonderfully thorough religion generator. It gives you bare bones of things like "is the religion focused inward or outward" or "how is it passed down," "afterlife," "family size," "prevalence," "how outsiders are viewed," "major taboos," "high virtues," "deadly sins," and more!

You could just take the questions themselves as inspiration for creating your religion! We merged a couple different generated religions and used them to build more detail. Really fun.

I also love how the podcast Writing Excuses talks about various aspects of worldbuilding religions and portraying religions, and even portraying real world religions that are not your own. Check out their stuff here.

I love seeing religions portrayed in a way that makes sense and doesn't follow tired tropes. Whether they're part of the main plot or just represented as part of a character's life, it's soo cool to see it done well!

On a personal note, my religion guides my life, and I am open to respectful asks about stuff like day to day impact/mindset or other insights if you'd like some help with writing religions!

-Inkwell

#writeblr #writing #worldbuilding #writing resources #worldbuilding wednesday #cowriting #inkwell writer #foxfire ink

[aquadestinyswriting]

The War of the Red Hammer, the Purges and the History of the Stonespeaker Clan

Happy Worldbuilding Wednesday everyone. Since I'm going to be covering some quite unpleasant history relating to the Throffite and Moradhir communities in the Modern AU, I thought I'd go over the most relevant parts of the Fantasy history here to make sure everything makes sense. Strap in, this is going to be a bit sordid.

Tags: @druidx, @sparrow-orion-writes, @ashirisu, @thesorcerersapprentice, @blind-the-winds, @philosophika, @the-down-upside-finch

Part of the history of the War of the Redhammer has been covered in the article about Kar'ak Ungor/Wyrmholme as it related to that Hold. However, the ramifications of what happened during that war continued even long after it had ended.

The true origins of the war began when Moradin became the main patron deity of the dwarves of Fangthane over Kherillim. While Fangthane did not, at the time, prevent any worship of the Earth Mother, the dwarves of Kar'ak Ungor felt that Kherillim had been slighted by this act and forbade any of their own people from turning their worship to this Outsider deity, going so far as to insist that those who did leave the mountain and create their own community outside of it. While this clearly rankled, Fangthane maintained a cordial, if cooled, relationship with its sister hold due to the close ties of both royal families of the time, understanding that as Kherillim had Blessed that line, they had every right to disallow Moradin entry to their halls.

The Stonespeaker Clan, a family line of Shapers descended from the greater Redhammer Clan, that lived within Fangthane, were among those clans that refused to convert their worship to Moradin. This was entirely expected, and the decision was honoured by the Goldseeker family, who were happy to worship both Moradin and Kherillim in tandem with one another. Fangthane believed the matter to be settled, and life continued on as normal for some time after.

However, it wasn't long before Ladeurger, a brother deity of sorts of Moradin, a god who delighted in slavery and torture, found Titan and attempted to infiltrate and seduce Kherillim's children to take them as His own. While Fangthane was able to rebuff this deity's initial advances, Kar'ak Ungor proved not to be quite so strong. Despite their best efforts, eventually even the Royal Family of that noble people were turned from Kherillim's light and set about forcing those who remained loyal to convert.

As soon as word reached Fangthane of the situation, and they discovered infiltrators among the clans descended from those native to their sister hold, the then King ordered the discovery and execution of any open Ladeurgerites, which prompted retaliation against the Moradhir community living just outside Kar'ak Ungor by the Redhammers. Partway through the war, the king demanded that all who remained loyal to the crown convert at least part of their worship to Moradin, for fear that they might otherwise be seduced by the Enslaver. The only family who was spared from this decree were the Stonespeakers, due entirely to the Blessing bestowed upon them by Kherillim. However, even after the war ended, there were no small number of people in the other noble houses who were suspicious of this exemption. Rumours spread that the Stonespeakers, being direct descendants of the Redhammer line, were spying on Fangthane for the Enslaver and looking for the next opportunity for the evil god to gain a foothold.

While the rumours were entirely unsubstantiated, more infiltrators of the Enslaver were discovered in Fangthane during the reign of Joldrunn Goldseeker - the great-grandfather of the current Low King, Storri Goldseeker - just under 1,000 years ago. In order to expunge the threat from his kingdom, King Joldrunn ordered that all citizens of Fangthane, no matter what religion they otherwise held, immediately convert to Moradhirism or face execution.

At the time this was happening, the younger son of the king, Prince Ragnar, had recently been betrothed to the latest Shaper to be born into the Stonespeaker clan, Merewin. Merewin, and her family, assumed that -as before - they would be spared from this ridiculous decree as they were ardent followers of Kherillim and had never strayed from that path. And for at least three decades after the Purges began, they were. Until Merewin was caught wandering around the Contemplation Chamber without permission from the then Archlector. Merewin was subsequently arrested, informed that, in order to commute her sentence for Treason and Heresy that she would have to convert her worship to prove her loyalty to Fangthane. Merewin, knowing that the charges were utter nonsense, refused. Believing that her refusal confirmed the Council's suspicions that she was a secret worshipper of Ladeurger, Merewin was executed less than a week after her initial arrest, with the rest of her family arrested on the same suspicions a day later. All of them were executed within the week, thereby ending the Stonespeaker line entirely, and the Blessing of Kherillim with them.

It was not until nearly a millennium later that it was finally discovered that the Blessing lived on, when the youngest daughter of the Ironforge family was found to have, somehow, inherited the ability to Shape. Archlector Vanskleig began an investigation into where the girl's ability had come from, only for the foresight of Merewin's eldest brother, Garuld, to finally come to light with the discovery of the Stonespeaker family records hidden within the depths of the Palace's archives. When the official Ironforge family records were compared to the Stonespeaker records found in the Palace archives, it was discovered that Garuld and Magreit had adopted out their youngest son to the Ironforge family at the start of the Purges that took place during Jotunn's reign. A part of the Stonespeaker clan yet remained, and with it, the Blessing. Below is the new family tree that was drawn up to reflect this discovery, which is now considered the official record of the lineage of the current Ironforge clan:

However, questions yet remained. The Blessing had previously only been inherited directly from the Shaper that had come before. While Ovak had certainly been related to Merewin, the fact remained that he was not a direct descendent. The matter was briefly discussed, then promptly forgotten about. All that mattered was that the Blessing endured, even if it was now found primarily within a low to middle class family.

The question, however, would be raised once more following the trial of Meredith Gruksdottir, the current carrier of the Blessing. Part of the evidence that was brought forth during the trial was the eerie similarity of her situation to that of her ancestor, Merewin. Like the Shaper before her, Meredith had been found wandering within the Contemplation Chamber without permission, and was accused of Treason against the Crown and Heresy, believed to be part of a cult responsible for bringing ruin to the Temple of Moradin within Toreguarde and helping to drive the dwarves from that city.

History seemed doomed to repeat itself until Meredith's friends brought forth evidence that was able to clear her name and prove that High Inquisitor Grimbeard was the one responsible for the atrocities he had accused Meredith of. Following the trial's conclusion, Gruksdottir's lawyer brought up some information that he had discovered while looking up the trial of the Stonespeaker clan. He handed over a book that had, purportedly, been found by Meredith in an antechamber beneath the Contemplation Chamber.

This turned out to be a diary, kept over the course of around two years, by Merewin. The diary detailed not only Merewin's thoughts and feelings about the ongoing Purges King Jotunn had commanded, but also the revelation that the child her brother had secretly adopted out had been her own son, born very much out of wedlock with the confirmation of Prince Ragnar as the father.

Questions regarding whether King Jotunn, or any other nobility, knew about this grandson, and whether that might have influenced how quickly Merewin had been executed, were quickly put on hold a mere two months after Meredith's trial. In what some might call an ironic twist of fate, the Cult of Khalin had gained an indelible foothold in the nobility that made up most of the Fangthane Council, proclaiming that, in order for Kherillim to take her rightful place as the patron deity of the dwarven people once more, the Demon Prince was the only one capable of ousting Moradin's presence from the Titan altogether. Civil war engulfed Fangthane, even as the rumblings of Ragnarok's arrival began, putting any further discussions about the legacy of the Stonespeaker Clan on hold until Ragnarok was eventually averted and peace returned to Fangthane.

Below is the condensed family tree Head Librarian Starlim Haneskeeper drafted just before the civil war kicked off:

Currently, debates as to whether to update both the Ironforge and Goldseeker family trees to reflect the information uncovered just before the civil war are ongoing. On the one hand, the modern Ironforge clan are clearly directly descended from what would have been one of the High Noble Houses of Fangthane and deserve recognition of such. On the other, Ovak's birth would not have been recognised by the Crown at the time as Merewin and Ragnar had not yet been married. Even if the Purges had not happened, it was very likely that Ovak's birth would have been swept under the rug, and the child adopted by another family within the Stonespeaker Clan. Many argue that this still means that the modern Ironforge clan should be considered minor nobility, as the Stonespeaker clan were one of the Noble Houses before the Purges occurred.

Those nobles that survived the civil war and are a part of the current Fangthane Council, however, have pointed out that, as Ovak was adopted into and raised by a commoner family, the modern Ironforge clan do not have any cultural ties to the nobility and, as such, should maintain their current position. The only exception they have made to this rule being the current High Inquisitor due to both her position in the Church of Moradin, and her marriage to Yoruk Forhoksson (formerly of Clan Copperheart and later adopted into Clan Bloodvein, both of which are ancient noble lineages).

Gruk Ovaksson, and the others of his family have made no comment on the matter, preferring to stay out of it entirely. However, both Gruk and his younger brother Ufgi, have been hired to maintain and repair the armour, weaponry and runic enchantments of the King's Guard and the Hammers of the Moradhir Guard since the end of the civil war. It is unknown whether this is due to services rendered during the war or if this is some sort of compromise to keep everyone happy.

#aquadestinyswriting #worldbuilding #titan fighting fantasy #wbw #worldbuilding wednesday

[sarandipitywrites]

Happy WBW, Saran!

Please pretend it's Wednesday, because I just found a single spoon on the floor and am gonna use it before it's gone: So your DRDW is based on a video game I know absolutely nothing about. How much of the game did you keep? Is it the same setting, same world, or something new?

Happy WBW, Elli!

"I found a single spoon on the floor" is such a mood though (I'll get to your other asks at some point, I promise - this just looked like one I actually had the brainpower to answer lol)

The quick answer to this is that the essentials (characters, setting, magic system, some plot beats) are there, but very heavily changed and expanded upon, to the point that I don't actually think you'd need to know anything about the games to understand what's going on in DRDW. The long answer is... a lot longer lol

(Putting the rest of this under a read more for spoilers for a 20-year-old game and because infodump mode was activated)

The Jak & Daxter game series is - and i say this with all the love in my heart - completely fucking bonkers. In summary: in the first game, Daxter (a human) falls into a pool of Evil Magic (dark eco) and turns into an orange otter-weasel-thing, which sends Jak on a quest to change him back. While they don't succeed at changing Daxter back, they do find a time machine (?!) which they take into the future, where Jak is promptly arrested and subjected to magical mad science experiments and injected with dark eco (this is the start of the second game). This does not, notably, turn him into an orange otter-weasel-thing, but does give him the ability to turn into a demon (and anger issues. It also gives him anger issues). He then uses these powers to overthrow the dystopian future government and save a kid who's destined to save the world because the kid is also Jak (because Jak's originally from the future, of course). He then sends the kid back to the past to repeat the cycle.

I won't get too into the third game (except for how you find out that the otter-weasel-things are actually a race of spacefaring gods, and Daxter has technically been a god all this time because Reasons?!) because DRDW doesn't cover that, but i can assure you that it is also a trip.

DRDW was originally meant to follow the canon a lot closer than it actually does. As it stands, though, I've scrapped pretty much all the events of the first game (Daxter in DRDW does not turn into a weasel god, although he did get to keep a bit of magic-ability-worldbuilding i gave him as an explanation for why dark eco would turn him into a rodent instead of a rage monster), including the time travel.

For the setting, this means that I smashed together the settings from two different time periods into one map, as well as moving things around and adding new locations where it made sense. As far as time period goes, I went for the Jak 2 time period (a little bit of 'recovered ancient tech,' but mostly modern-futuristic tech).

Without the time travel, the kid being young Jak doesn't make sense, so his story got completely changed. A couple characters didn't have anything to do, anymore, so they've been excluded (although I'm considering bringing them in for other roles in another story). This also affected how the main characters (Jak, Daxter, and Keira) grew up a lot more significantly than I expected, so while the core of their characters is similar, there are significant differences from the canon (plus i wrote them as being more explicitly neurodivergent than they are in the games [although in the games they're already pretty heavily ND-coded, in my opinion]).

In this version, Daxter also takes a bit longer to find and rescue Jak (because. Look. You give me an excuse for prison/experiment/post-whump, I am going to run that shit as far as I can, ok) - because of this, Jak is pretty much stuck in magic demon mode. So plot-wise, there are a lot of parallels to the plot line of the first game as they try to find a way to change Jak back (but it's complicated, because of course it is).

The magic system got a total overhaul - in the game, magic (eco) is very... well, video-gamey. Green heals you, blue makes you go fast, dark turns you into a monster/orange rat, etc. I put a frankly unnecessary amount of work into figuring out what eco *is* - where it comes from, how it forms in different environments, how it interacts with people, how it's used in connection with technology, etc. Tbh I spent so much time on this part that it made me consider spinning this whole story into original fiction. But when I tried, it just Felt Wrong so I put it back 😂 Really though, I think the magic system rewrite is one of the bigger factors in making this fic actually kind of comprehensible without knowledge of the games - I'm really proud of it 😊

Thank you so much for the ask (and the chance to infodump about my favorite games and favorite project 💜)

#writeblr #fanfic #jak and daxter #worldbuilding wednesday #wbw #saran answers #dead roots dark water #i can even burn salad

[mecharose]

smash that mf like if you want worldbuilding wednesday questions

#wbw #worldbuilding wednesday #im gonna be off line for a hot min BUT for when i get back :3

[duskforged]

Worldbuilding Questions

Like what I do? Support me on my ko-fi!

Since it's Worldbuilding Wednesday, I've decided to write up a bunch of questions that might work for participants might work in WBW. Admittedly, much of these are oriented towards fantasy and non-Earth societies and cultures, but! Still useful.

I was heavily inspired by this list by the SFWA.

What is considered a normal family unit in your culture(s)?

What sort of magical creatures exist in your world? (Dragons, fair folk, spirits, etc)

What does a right of passage look like in your culture(s)?

How does someone propose marriage in your culture(s)? How long do they stay engaged, and what marks the marriage?

What weather-based customs exist in your culture(s)?

What customs surround death and burial? Are the people of your culture(s) even buried?

What distinguishes a formal dinner from a casual one?

What foods are considered taboo in your culture(s)?

If your culture is largely unable to get safe, clean water, what is considered a good substitute?

Are any gestures considered rude or vulgar? Why?

What is a way to show respect? To whom is it owed (parents, teachers, rank superiors, etc)?

When a visitor comes by, how are they greeted and treated? Is there special ceremony?

What is something your culture never talks about when talking to an acquaintance (e.x. religion)? What is something they always do (e.x. asking after the health of someone's family)?

What is considered courteous to gift to a visitor, if any?

How are people with magical talent treated?

How intertwined is magic and science, and how does this effect the views of it?

What is the calendar like? What celebrations are there?

What is the best way to get around? What's the cheapest?

Do many people own pets, like cats and dogs? What about magical pets?

How is war declared by a certain culture?

Does your culture have a concept of sin? If so, what do they consider a sin versus virtue?

What's a major historical event that changed the course of the culture forever?

If your world has magic, how did it get there? Was it always there? Or did it come about through other means (science gone wrong, melding of a separate plane of existence, etc)?

What is one major flaw or loophole in the law? Have people taken advantage of it?

How would a state of emergency be declared? Who can do it? Under what circumstances can it be declared?

#wbw #worldbuilding #worldbuilding wednesday #fantasy worldbuilding #world building

[pluttskutt]

Worldbuilding Wednesday

mm whatcha say, it's WBW! Pick an emoji for an ask in your inbox:

🏛️

💀

🃏

#worldbuilding wednesday #wbw #ask game #emoj ask game

[tildeathiwillwrite]

Happy Worldbuilding Wednesday! Are there any mythological creatures you like to write about?

Hmmmm...

I like writing about dragons, for one. I only really have one dragon oc, Arcturus, but it's pretty cool writing him! I also write about shapeshifters, specifically skinwalkers (like Octavian!!! He's a skinwalker in principle, and his other form is a wolf!), and also werewolves.

Also, specifically on Rymn, there's a species known as Guardians, who are mysterious, sort of ghost-like, and rarely interact with humans.

#thanks for the ask! #worldbuilding wednesday #my wips #tales from valeria #arcturus #changing of the guard #dragon #shapeshifter #mythical creatures #skinwalker #octavian de silv #rymn #trials of the six #tfv

[angie-j-kay]

We have zine prints of What You Cast Out!!!!!!!

I got prints of the first two chapters, and I AM SO FREAKING HAPPY RIGHT NOW!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! The illustrations are made by me, a combination of watercolor, ink, and collage, while the covers themselves are mostly designed digitally. The printable files will be on Patreon and Ko-Fi for subscribers on Thursday, February 1. That's just a bit over a week away!

There are even summaries on the back.

Chapter 1:

Aaaaaaand Chapter 2:

------------------------------------------

What You Cast Out is a Midwestern Gothic fantasy novel written by me, through my small business: Squee Squared! I'll be publishing chapters in zine format, with chapter art, every two weeks on my Ko-Fi and Gumroad starting in March.

My Patreon supporters will be able to start reading chapters at the beginning of February!

If you like this post, I'd love it if you shared it so more folks could see it. And if you'd like to join my taglist, let me know!

The current taglist: @wedgie-of-destiny, @nightacquainted, @storminmywake, @brokenandlonelysouls, @tattur, @theamazingchickenman, @solstice-muse-collective, @axl-ul, @tucsonhorse

I'm gonna tag @orangezines in this too, because you guys are just awesome like that.

#what you cast out #indie author #horror #fantasy #romance #slow-burn... very slow burn... #writeblr #artblr #writers of tumblr #artists of tumblr #midwestern gothic #punk #memes #worldbuilding wednesday #wbw #zine #zines #zinester

[thetruearchmagos]

Worldbuilding Wednesday

Hey folks, Arch here! Back with another Prompt for the week, in what's almost become a continuing mini series.

Tell us how a society in your setting produces and distributes its food! What kinds of crops or livestock have become staples, and has the answer to that changed over time? Do specific groups or organisations specialise in making food, or does everyone? How do people within that society get produce for themselves? Is this society entirely self sufficient, or does it rely on imports?

Tagging @athenswrites @theprissythumbelina @hessdalen-globe @thatndginger @caxycreations @nerdexer @avrablake and anyone who'd like to take part! And, if you'd like to be added to this tag list, let me know!

#worldbuilding #worldbuilding wednesday #writing #writeblr #writeblr stuff

[ettawritesnstudies]

Worldbuilding Wednesday 12/13/23!

Reblog this post to let people know you're participating, and send asks to the other writers in the notes!

#etta rambles #writeblr #worldbuilding #worldbuilding wednesday #wbw

[pen-of-roses]

Hey writeblr, happy worldbuilding wednesday! I have an open question to anyone who wants to answer:

Are there any local holidays/festivals/regular town-wide events specific to the main town your story takes place in? What’s it celebrating? What are the traditions for it? How long has it been going on?

#wbw #worldbuilding wednesday #writeblr come back #i miss you

[writingamongther0ses]

Happy WBW, Charlie! What is the culture in your wip around tattoos?

Hi! Sorry for answering this a little later, but I've been working on Bride of Loki, so I hopefully have an answer.

It mostly depends on the planet, but most of society don't really care about tattoos. At first, there was more important things to care about and that attitude is present in the current time.

Most of the time, they're fashion statements. The rich who get tattoos will get them done in gold or silver or even have chips embedded in their skin to create moving tattoos. Sailors will get huge tattoos and the most common tattoo to get is a ship made of fingernails.

#Worldbuilding Wednesday #writeblr #wip #Stars Answers