As long as there have been people, there have been stories. Some explain a shared past – wars, plagues, and migrations. Some of these stories speculate about mysteries that surround us. For example, why the seasons change, or how that big smoking mountain came to be. If you’re creating a game or novel setting, the […]

The post Worldbuilding Religion, Mythology, and History appeared first on World Anvil Blog.

You may have crafted an amazing landscape for your tabletop RPG or novel setting. You may have drawn elaborate maps, and created entire cosmologies. But until it has people – not just humans, but any sapient species – it’s a dead world. Stories can’t happen there. Worldbuilding cultures, establishing governments (and pitting them against each […]

The post Populating Your World: Sapient Species, Cultures & Commerce appeared first on World Anvil Blog.

So, you’re thinking of dipping your toes into short story writing for Adventure April? Awesome choice! When you write a short story, it’s like crafting a gourmet appetizer, packed with all the flavor and impact of a novel, but condensed into a single perfect bite. Or if you’re a caffeine junkie, it’s like an espresso […]

The post How to Write a Short Story appeared first on World Anvil Blog.

Many of you will remember our UI Refresh from earlier this year, which received RAVE reviews from the World Anvil community. But that was only the beginning. We’ve continued working to improve World Anvil these last months, resulting in an even more modern, sleek and easy-to-use design! So what’s been updated? This is an update […]

The post More UI updates for a faster and more integrated World Anvil appeared first on World Anvil Blog.

From April 2024, the World Anvil free accounts are changing. Going forward, new and existing free users will have access to features they didn’t have before, and will see restrictions to limits on others. These limits refer to the number of articles and other content a user can have in their account at one time. […]

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Let’s take a deeper look at worldbuilding terrain, climate and maps! Storytellers often ask “where do I start worldbuilding?” We’ve covered abstract ideas like purpose, inspiration and themes. But often, writers and game masters are searching for something more practical. Now, it’s time to get concrete – and it doesn’t get any more concrete than […]

The post Laying the Groundwork: Worldbuilding Terrain, Climate & Maps appeared first on World Anvil Blog.

Gamemasters have unique worldbuilding challenges. Especially when you transition from player to GM, the additional prep can be daunting. You need to learn more rules (or at least, learn to reference them quickly). And if you want to run homebrew adventures, you need to do enough worldbuilding for a one-shot or campaign. It’s a lot […]

The post How to Do the Gygax 75 Challenge in World Anvil appeared first on World Anvil Blog.

It’s April! Or as we call it here on World Anvil, Adventure April! Here’s everything to know about what going on in World Anvil this month. 🎨 Colors for everyone! Changing text color used to be a Guild feature—not anymore! You can now use the [color] tag to change the text color AND background for […]

The post World Anvil News: April 2024 appeared first on World Anvil Blog.

New worldbuilders often struggle with overwhelm. There are too many choices when writing lore for a game or novel setting! You can’t do everything. Focus is the name of the game, especially early on. Be deliberate about which areas of your world you flesh out with deep lore, after getting the basics down. These few […]

The post Writing Lore: Create Depth with Focus Areas appeared first on World Anvil Blog.

There are a few big stumbling blocks every storyteller faces when tackling a worldbuilding project. The first is overcoming overwhelm – and the solution is a worldbuilding checklist to quickly get to  a basic, usable setting. The second is more insidious. It’s maintaining your motivation. Fortunately, we’ve got a powerful weapon to help you hold […]

The post Why Worldbuild? The Secret to Staying Inspired appeared first on World Anvil Blog.