World Building Ideas

[arbados]

Looking for your creative help. Not sure if this is the best place to post this but I'd love if any could offer suggestions or thoughts on interesting and out of the ordinary magical, mysterious places for a home bre fantasy world.

I've finished off mapping a new World Map but I'm still fleshing out details in the writing. The land environment and description of its details are all done. I've already fleshed out locations and details of what I call 8 Worldly Wonder, dragons of each Land, cities and bardic academies. Much detail with each and everyone can be an adventure or nights role playing on its own! However, I still feel short with 1 thing.

I'm looking for any suggestions or ideas for some awesome, cool, creative, distinct, out-of-the-ordinary, mysterious, dangerous, friendly, unnatural phenomena that can be added to the world. I'm just looking for a sentence suggestion, not a write up (I'll do that) - unless you want to offer more. Think about things such as an abandoned Ghost Ship off the southern coast that arrives the 1st of the month to either reward or claim lives. Cool things like that I'd like to scatter throughout the world for interest and intrigue. Another could be the endless caves beneath a mountain which are said to go on forever until you reach your death! Rumors which may be true or not! Any thoughts or suggestions greatly appreciated.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Over the past few years, I know there gave been some threads here that talk about unusual RW places that could be inspirational for world-building. Here’s two I know of:

Strange Real World Locales to Inspire You

I came across this very cool article today and instantly my head was spinning with adventure/world-building ideas. Here's one... One of the creepiest places on Earth, Sedlec Ossuary is a Roman Catholic chapel in the Czech Republic. A popular burial site for nearly 1,000 years, the church...

www.enworld.org

Odd Places that Make Decent Locations in Game

 

[Eltab]

A long sloped curved tunnel through a mountain (think abandoned railroad tracks) feels like it is longer going through one direction than going through the other. And you might meet a light coming at you.

A covered bridge that creaks in the rain. Fog forms underneath it near dusk, dissipates at dawn.

A cave complex like Mammoth Cave KY might inspire stories about The Underdark.

Murder Hornets live all along a particular river's course and up its tributaries. This river is a natural boundary between nations. Some of the hornets grow to giant insect size. The locals' favorite insect is a large Preying Mantis.

A complete petrified forest, many of the trees not yet fallen over. This is credited to some legendary magician (like Mordenkainen or Elminster).

Living spells, including Bigby's Hand, guard a village. Your first warning that uninvited visitors are not welcome is when your path is blocked by a Bigby's Obscene Gesture in the road.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

There’s a tunnel running through a dam in Columbia that has a weird rhythmic atmospheric phenomenon.

 

[Fanaelialae]

A troll philosopher has chained himself to a boulder to see whether the universe will take notice of his suffering (so far, it hasn't). He survives by eating the occasional vulture that mistakes him for dead and strays too close.

There is a clear cut former forest which is thought to be haunted. In truth, the Fey have used illusions to hide the grove (which still stands) that was once the heart of this forest, and also use their magic to drive away those who might discover the secret.

There is a valley where the clouds assume the shapes of monsters and dive to attack travelers. Though alarming for those not accustomed to the phenomenon, the clouds are made of mist and are quite harmless.

 

[Nobby-W]

There’s a tunnel running through a dam in Columbia that HSS a weird rhythmic atmospheric phenomenon.

If the air in the tunnel is saturated with 100% humidity then something could generate a standing wave in the tunnel that brings out condensation at the anti-nodes.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

If the air in the tunnel is saturated with 100% humidity then something could generate a standing wave in the tunnel that brings out condensation at the anti-nodes.

That’s the current theory: the vibrations from the dam machinery providing the energy for the instant precipitation.

In a fantasy world, the rhythmic pulse could be the heartbeat of a powerful earth elemental or kaiju (like the tarrasque).

 

[Hand of Evil]

Look to real world places and think how they can be turned to fit into your world.

Odd Places that Make Decent Locations in Game

I'm running a Vampire 5th edition chronicle set in modern day San Francisco. The Malkavian primogen is very religious and I was hoping I could find an abandoned church for him to live in. And I did! Sort of. Thanks to the wonders of the internet I came across the Church of 8 Wheels which is...

www.enworld.org

 

[arbados]

Some great suggestions and links. Much appreciated. Still working on the details. Here are some suggestions from my players which I'm considering. Wanted to post to share ideas.

-I would to see an area on the map, completely infested with undead. Kind of like the walking dead. I know you had that one area before, where the dwarf vampire lived. But I don't really remember us even encountering any while we where there. I would like to see a place where after being there for 5 minutes mindless undead seem to just start attacking people, to eat them. Like in the walking dead show. They dont have to be epic undead. But as we have seen in the show. Numbers can be more deadlier then 1 boss. Maybe even have it, where there is some type of enchantment or divine protection that the undead can not pass through and that's why they only stay in that area.


-I’ve always been a big fan of ‘King Lear’ tragedy. Perhaps you can create an area/region in which King divides power amongst his 3-4 sons/daughters and the one who treated him with the most kindness gets the least because the King knows they are smart enough to grow wealth/power and the ones who disrespected him get the most. It doesn’t necessarily need to be good vs. evil but more outright jealousy amongst the siblings.

-Locate lost gems from powerful sword that make it useless without imbued gems. Sword bearer was killed years ago and sword was located with gems. Each gem offers sword with a different power (blue=invisibility, black=healing etcc..

• Locate waterfall that has hidden cave behind it that houses powerful dragon and incredible treasures.
• Portal guarded by demon or other powerful monster that transports to another world????
• Garden which contains plant/flower cure for …….
• King’s son/daughter imprisoned by …..
• Search for a powerful talisman in ….
• Rumor has it people are going missing in ‘???’ and it only happens during a certain day, time, year etc…

-How about puzzles or riddles . Either tangible puzzles . Like crystals from the land of the lost or anything hands on


-I am thinking of something I encountered here in the real world. The solstice gate This was atop the highest point on the Isle of Sun in Bolivia. It is a legend among the people there that on the winter and summer solstice …. Those who pass through the gate are blessed with an amazing fortune that year.

-Domicile of the Dead - This gem has been dated to 4500 - 3900 BCE …. There are two legends … the first being that you can come here with the belongings of a loved one or ancestor and you can commune with them... which earns you great knowledge and wisdom ... or good fortune. The second was that you can take a recently deceased person here and leave them during a full moon in the morning they will be returned to life….some believe it is the same person … others that it is a demon/devil wearing the body to spread evil ….