January 09, 2023

57 - A World Fit for Wandering

25 minutes

Being GM is not easy. The worlds we create are supposed to ensnare our visitants and draw them in but when our audience have a mind of their own and desire to bring about meaningful change in our settings that can lead to some tricky situations. Greg from Worldbuilding.io joins us today to help us navigate the process of creating a setting that feels grounded but allows for dynamic change when encountering new ideas. Whether you’re into TTRPGs (Tabletop Roleplaying Games) or not, I think this medium has tons to teach us about crafting worlds that feel immersive and yet have vast story potential.

Key Takeaways

Know your audience, Greg’s familiarity with his audience helped him know what artifacts to place in his setting that would draw his visitants in. He uses the example of an Arena. You have players who you know are excited about fighting, put an item in the setting that will draw some fun out of them.

Kill your darlings. You’re going to have great ideas, characters you fleshed out completely, plot hooks or points that were precious and exciting to you that you’ll just have to lay on one side for the sake of creating an experience for your visitants. Another way I think I’d modify this old axiom is this: ‘Adapt your darlings’. Like in the example of the mayor having the key the vault, he might not have it but the girl at the bar who the players are interested in might. It allows you to retain your plot point while funneling your setting through the interests of your visitants.

Your world is founded in its conflicts. Every conflict that exists in your setting provides an opportunity to engross your audience. In this instance the audience are creating some of those conflicts but having the humility to reframe those challenges as a chance to make your world even deeper will yield serious dividends.

Greg's Links

Worldbuilding.io - Check out Greg's ite. It's a great clearing house for worldbuilding advice and a suite of tools to help with lots of different elements of your worldbuilding journey to get you ready for your next game.

Greg on Twitter - Get your daily dose of worldbuilding wisdom here.

Greg on Instagram - Or here.

Greg's LinkTree - This contains links to Greg's Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and a host of other goodies that you can find.

WorldCraft Club

The only link you'll ever need - This is our LinkTree, from here you can get access to our Discord Community (which you definitely need to join) as well as everything else we make including the Worldbuilder's Journal.

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