The Worldbuilder’s Tavern

The Worldbuilder’s Tavern

By Emma Maione, Allison Alexander, and Christiana JonesArtsBooks
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The Worldbuilder’s Tavern episodes

  • 4.19 Gideon the Ninth

    Join us for a chat about the worldbuilding in the adult science fantasy novel Gideon the Ninth by Tamysn Muir. We discuss having a large cast of characters, necromancy, five-act structure, and more.

    • Visit the Tavern: Website | Discord | TikTok | Bookshop
    • Support us and get bonus episodes by joining our Patreon
    • Next month’s novel: The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones (Disclosure: we are a Bookshop.org affiliate, so if you purchase through these links, we will earn a small commission AND you will support an indie bookstore!)
    • Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
      • 44 min
    • 4.18 Building a Bonded Creature

      5.18 Building a Bonded Creature

      Join us for a hands-on worldbuilding exercise as we create a bonded creature, inspired by Moniquill Blackgoose’s novel To Shape a Dragon’s Breath, by answering these ten questions:

      1. What is the creature?
      2. Is the creature sentient or more animalistic?
      3. Why does the creature bond with human(oid)s?
      4. How does the creature bone with human(oid)s?
      5. How do the creature and humans benefit each other?
      6. How do bonded pairs communicate?
      7. Is the bond permanent, or can it be severed?
      8. How rare is it to bond with a creature?
      9. Do the creature and the human(oid) need some sort of training to work together? If so, how is this training obtained?
      10. How are bonded pairs viewed in society?
        • Visit the Tavern: Website | Discord | TikTok | Bookshop
        • Support us and get bonus episodes by joining our Patreon
        • Next month’s novel: Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (Disclosure: we are a Bookshop.org affiliate, so if you purchase through these links, we will earn a small commission AND you will support an indie bookstore!)
        • Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
          • 41 min
        • 4.17 To Shape a Dragon's Breath

          Join us for a chat about the worldbuilding in the YA fantasy novel To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose. We discuss animalistic dragons, themes of colonialism and racism, romance in YA, and more.

          • Visit the Tavern: Website | Discord | TikTok | Bookshop
          • Support us and get bonus episodes by joining our Patreon
          • Next month’s novel: Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (Disclosure: we are a Bookshop.org affiliate, so if you purchase through these links, we will earn a small commission AND you will support an indie bookstore!)
          • Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
            • 54 min
          • 4.16 Building a University

            Join us for a hands-on worldbuilding exercise as we create a university by answering ten questions:

            1. What does the University teach?
            2. Who is this University for, and who is excluded?
            3. What does the University value the most—profit, knowledge, power, etc.?
            4. What makes the University unique in its world?
            5. How do students physically experience the University?
            6. What are the social dynamics among students?
            7. How is power structured within the institution?
            8. How does the University interact with the outside world?
            9. How do students change by the time they leave the University?
            10. What’s the name of the University?
              • Visit the Tavern: Website | Discord | TikTok | Bookshop
              • Support us and get bonus episodes by joining our Patreon
              • Next month’s novel: To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose (Disclosure: we are a Bookshop.org affiliate, so if you purchase through these links, we will earn a small commission AND you will support an indie bookstore!)
              • Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
                • 44 min
              • 4.15 Binti

                Join us for a chat about the worldbuilding in the sci-fi novella Binti by Nnedi Okorafor. We discuss aliens with tentacles, culture-based worldbuilding, how less is more in novellas, and more.

                • Visit the Tavern: Website | Discord | TikTok | Bookshop
                • Support us and get bonus episodes by joining our Patreon
                • Next month’s novel: To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose (Disclosure: we are a Bookshop.org affiliate, so if you purchase through these links, we will earn a small commission AND you will support an indie bookstore!)
                • Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
                  • 47 min
                • 4.14 Building a Zombie

                  Join us for a hands-on worldbuilding exercise as we create a zombie outbreak by answering these nine questions:

                  1. What quintessential parts of zombie lore must be preserved to make it recognizable as a zombie?
                  2. What is causing the zombification? How/where did it originate?
                  3. What are the first symptoms of zombification? What are the later symptoms of zombification? What are the final symptoms of zombification? At what point does the host die?
                  4. What are the zombies’ strengths and weaknesses?
                  5. What motivates the zombies?
                  6. Does the zombification affect only humans, or any animals as well?
                  7. How does zombification spread?
                  8. What do people think is happening before they realize it’s a zombie outbreak?
                  9. What are the impacts on society of the zombie outbreak?
                    • Visit the Tavern: Website | Discord | TikTok | Bookshop
                    • Support us and get bonus episodes by joining our Patreon
                    • Next month’s novel: Binti by Nnedi Okorafor (Disclosure: we are a Bookshop.org affiliate, so if you purchase through these links, we will earn a small commission AND you will support an indie bookstore!)
                    • Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
                      • 38 min
                    • 4.13 What Moves the Dead

                      Join us for a chat about the worldbuilding in the adult horror novel What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher. We discuss gross mushrooms, how the author uses line level techniques to create a sense of dread and deliver worldbuilding information, modern pronouns in a historical fantasy, and more.

                      • Visit the Tavern: Website | Discord | TikTok | Bookshop
                      • Support us and get bonus episodes by joining our Patreon
                      • Next month’s novel: Binti by Nnedi Okorafor (Disclosure: we are a Bookshop.org affiliate, so if you purchase through these links, we will earn a small commission AND you will support an indie bookstore!)
                      • Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
                        • 51 min
                      • 4.12 Building a Space Colony

                        Join us for a hands-on worldbuilding exercise as we create a space colony by answering these six questions:

                        1. Why are people leaving Earth to establish a colony on another planet?
                        2. What planet are they colonizing? Why that one?
                        3. Who is leaving Earth?
                        4. How does the group of people impact the culture of the new colony?
                        5. What kind of government does the colony establish?
                        6. What kind of economy does the colony establish?
                          • Visit the Tavern: Website | Discord | TikTok | Bookshop
                          • Support us and get bonus episodes by joining our Patreon
                          • Next month’s novel: What Moves the Dead by  T. Kingfisher (Disclosure: we are a Bookshop.org affiliate, so if you purchase through these links, we will earn a small commission AND you will support an indie bookstore!)
                          • Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
                            • 35 min
                          • 4.11 Leviathan Wakes

                            Join us for a chat about the worldbuilding in the adult space opera Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse #1) by James S.A. Corey. We discuss the mystery/noir feeling of Miller's chapters, how the two narrators are foils for each other, balancing politics with adventure in a sci-fi novel, and more.

                            • Visit the Tavern: Website | Discord | TikTok | Bookshop
                            • Support us and get bonus episodes by joining our Patreon
                            • Next month’s novel: What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher (Disclosure: we are a Bookshop.org affiliate, so if you purchase through these links, we will earn a small commission AND you will support an indie bookstore!)
                            • Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
                              • 46 min
                            • 4.10 Building a Sea Creature

                              Join us for a hands-on worldbuilding exercise as we create a sea creature by answering these eight questions:

                              1. What type of being is the sea creature—biological, spiritual, celestial, etc.?
                              2. What does its body look like? How is it shaped by the depth, currents, and/or pressure of the water?
                              3. How did the sea creature come into existence? Creation, transformation, evolution, punishment?
                              4. How does the sea creature move, breathe, feed, and survive in its ocean environment?
                              5. What role does the sea creature play in the ocean’s balance?
                              6. What rules, instincts, or laws govern the sea creature’s behavior?
                              7. What powers, if any, does the sea creature possess? What are the costs of using those powers?
                              8. What kind of myths are told about the sea creature? What truths and distortions do those myths contain?
                                • Visit the Tavern: Website | Discord | TikTok | Bookshop
                                • Support us and get bonus episodes by joining our Patreon
                                • Next month’s novel: Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey (Disclosure: we are a Bookshop.org affiliate, so if you purchase through these links, we will earn a small commission AND you will support an indie bookstore!)
                                • Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
                                  • 36 min

                                About The Worldbuilder’s Tavern

                                From the publisher's feed

                                A podcast in which three nerds read sci-fi and fantasy novels, talk about their worldbuilding, and then guide you through building magic systems, monsters, spaceships, and more for your own stories.