Essential books for world building

[Eosin the Red]

Sometimes even triple posts are possible.

 

[Eosin the Red]

A quad post really streches into the realm of absurd.

 

[Eosin the Red]

But my magical +5 Quintuplet of post should set me up in some kind of hall of shame.

 

[Believer]

Not D&D books but if your looking to integrate magic into society, and not just have it be combat related... check out

The Darksword Trilogy
By Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman

 

[d4]

---something on mapping if it ain't all in your head---

best thing is to just stare a lot at real world maps. get familiar with topography and the way various parts of the world are "put together."

one thing about most published fantasy worlds is that the geography usually makes me teeth grate... but i'm just a nutjob for realistic landforms.

(not that i'm the greatest at making realistic maps, but i'm trying...)

 

[jgbrowning]

Will it be out as a PDF first? Or both?

It'll come out as a PDF probably a little before the book. It depends on the printer's turn around time and GAMA.

joe b.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Some non-gaming books:
The Ancient Engineers by L. Sprague DeCamp - a really handy book on the history of engineering.

The Golden Bough by Frazier - at 12 volumes a bit of a slog, but great for seeing how religions and mythologies go together.

The Masks of God by Campbell - much like the Golden Bough, but more accessible.

Timeline of History - a good outline of history, broken down by category, when I was creting a fantasy version of the 30 years war I found it indispensible.

And not a book at all: Connections and The Day the Universe Changed, Burke is fantastic. These shows changed the way I view history and technology.

The Auld Grump

 

[Eosin the Red]

best thing is to just stare a lot at real world maps. get familiar with topography and the way various parts of the world are "put together."

one thing about most published fantasy worlds is that the geography usually makes me teeth grate... but i'm just a nutjob for realistic landforms.

(not that i'm the greatest at making realistic maps, but i'm trying...)

I am a bit of a map nut myself and do not keep references so that is why I was not sure what to recommend. I just stare at maps and absorb the info

Here is my latest map - Middea It is large so make sure to open it in a different window

 

[Mark]

Magical Medival Society: Western Europe by Expeditious Retreat Press is top notch!

 

[Greatwyrm]

Once you get past some of the silly, random charts, there was some good stuff in the second edtion World Builder's Guide. You should be able to find it on Ebay or maybe as a .pdf from rpgnow.com for next to nothing.