#lore creation

[indignantlemur]

How do you approach worldbuilding? Where do you start and how do you develop a culture/history/customs/ecc. from there?

Hello!

So, my approach to world-building is a little all over the place, upon reflection! 😅 I seem to take multiple approaches to the task.

What I generally lean towards is narrative-driven worldbuilding, for the most part, where the story itself drives the worldbuilding. There's a degree of constructive, top-down world-building involved as well, but that's more to provide a skeleton for a world that I can flesh out as I need to as I write (or as folks ask questions) rather than a step-by-step, minutiae-focused process for every little thing.

When the story itself isn't the driving force for my worldbuilding, I often find that I start with a question and work to create something that feels original, but also not completely unreasonable. It can be something like 'What kinds of foods do they eat, and how?' or it can be 'How does this society function in these conditions, and how have those adaptations affected how they see the rest of the world?'

Other times, ideas come to me after I've gotten distracted by something else - like learning about the dying traditions of fibre crafts and textile arts in the UK and the rest of Europe - and I decide to see if I can incorporate those ideas with the details I've already established. This is how the Artisan Guilds came to be, in part.

For things like culture and history... I don't believe that there's such a thing as a truly new and original story. All the stories that have ever and will ever be told already exist, in fractured bits, in history and in folklore and mythology. So, I turn to those things for inspiration. Often, real world history can serve as a useful framework for how a civilization might develop over time - positively and negatively.

Even just looking at a rough timeline of, say, Western civilization, you can start to modify it to your own writing purposes by asking yourself: what would I change? What would I add? What if X event never happened, or if Y event happened 200 years earlier? Even if you don't end up with anything really usable, it's a good exercise to get into the habit of!

Now, sometimes I draw more obviously on some aspects of real-world culture, such as the Bulreeng Taal festival and its very clear parallels to the Hindu holiday known as Holi, but whenever I do go that route I try to change it to fit my world and make it feel as properly alien as I can in whatever scene it features in. Am I always successful? Probably not - but it's still important to make the effort to make an idea your own rather than ripping it wholesale and just slapping a sticker on it.

To be perfectly honest, though? Sometimes I just go off of vibes. This isn't helpful for anyone hoping to learn from this, I know, but it's true! Sometimes, I'm writing and I'm in the groove. The words are spilling out onto the page, the story is flowing, everything is weaving together, and some random detail will get worked in that works really well with the scene - and suddenly I have a new thing to add to the lore.

It helps that I am, by nature, a lore hound. I love lore. I love learning about the lore behind a world or a character, be it a book or a movie or a game. I consume vast quantities of media in almost all formats and across genres, and my profound desire to learn more about some obscure apocryphal short novella vaguely related to something else I was learning about has led to me to places I wouldn't have gone with a taser, a Maglite, and a very large dog.

In consuming and absorbing so much lore, I think I've also managed to internalise some kind of... world-building wine barrel? Cheese cellar? It's not a perfect comparison, either way, but essentially raw, half-assed ideas go in, they sit and age, and I occasionally revisit them and turn them this way and that, and then I put them back in the barrel, maybe with something new thrown in. This can repeat a dozen times, easily. Vague notions and barely thought out plans slowly become more and more complex the longer I leave them, and then one day I check the barrel and there's a really good idea in there. (Give or take a few duds, but no one's perfect.)

And the thing is, my brain is always doing this. Always.

Regardless of how I come about an idea, I try to make sure all of my ideas are grounded in an imperfect reality, rather than creating something that requires an impossible utopia to exist. Universes like Star Trek tend to present this idealized future where all of humanity's problems are things of the past, even when they demonstrably aren't, and I actually find that distasteful as a writer. The world thrives on conflict. Societies and cultures grow in adversity. If you remove struggle, all you're left with is stagnation, and there's no place for a story in that kind of world.

I think that more or less covers it? Sorry if this got a bit rambling!

[tyhulse]

A quick treatise on using treasure for lore building. https://youtu.be/2wPYtA0SEzo?feature=shared

[maramcgregor]

Would anyone be interested in seeing a completed version of the stories I wrote for my D&D campaign?

I've been getting all the background lore typed up and put into Homebrewery. It is a series of childrens books called The Adventures of Captain Kalim. It takes place in the homebrew world I created, but I'm sure you could modify it to whichever campaign you like. Or take it as a full fantasy series for fleshing out your worlds.

[ditzybat]

tim drake is the type of guy to drop random lore then walk away.

tim: ugh i hate baseball, it’s like, when you have to play it in order to save a whole planet once, every game after seem boring

dick: that’s not…

tim: only downside to that was how we almost totaled barts brand new spaceship

dick: what spaceship??

—

tim: oh, hi mom

shiva: hello timothy, how are you? still keeping up with your training i take it?

bruce: mother? she’s not your —

shiva: let’s spar then timothy, let’s leave it strictly non lasting injuries, i don’t rather feel like dying by your hand again today

tim: of course!! ^-^

bruce: again?

—

tim: man i forgot to take my meds again

duke: your meds for what?

tim: i have no spleen, so i have to take probiotics, it really is manageable but i dont know where those pills went

duke: i’m almost scared to ask, tim, how did you lose your spleen?

tim: weird spider dude, it was a whole thing

—

tim: you talk a lot of shit for someone who got replaced as heir to your immortal grandfathers empire by me

damian: you what!?

tim: i regularly beat his ass at online chess every week too, and i don’t think you’ve seen him since he stole your corpse

—

tim: here

jason: what’s this?

tim: a box of all the photos i took when i obsessively stalked you for your entire tenure as robin

jason: thanks?

tim: you’re welcome, bye!

jason: … creepy ass kid…

—

steph: so how did you to get together?

bernard: well —

tim: i saved him from a getting cut open by chaos monster cult members

bernard: yep, i was rescued from being a vessel for a greek god, and we just really clicked afterwards

steph: well, it’s better than the brick

[yourocdoeswhat]

Tag your OC's

[canisalbus]

hii i'm so fascinated with the anthro dog worldbuilding and had a question about it !!! if domesticated canines exist in the world, do undomesticated canines (wolves, foxes, coyotes, maned wolves, etc) also exist? if so, what role do they play in society? ^_^

Domestic dogs are the only anthropomorphic species, they exist in place of humans.

Wild canines exist, but they're just regular wolves, foxes, coyotes and so on. Anthro dogs view them the same way humans view apes and other primates. They recognize that wolves are superficially similar to them in some uncanny ways, but have no gualms about hunting them. To a dog living in the pre-Darwin era, a wolf isn't a distant relative, it's a wild beast that will eat their livestock.

Actual pet dogs are entirely absent.

Other domesticated animals exist as normal. Anthro dogs keep cats as pets, raise chickens and ride horses.

[brainworms-all-night-long]

So, that one official Tails art huh

[filurig]

sekuuti and akestur, deities of the rau-kakse and crakam

LONG ASS CREATION/ORIGIN STORY OF THE RAU KAKSE AND CRAKAM HERE

the sun and moon both have important roles in northern basilisk religion, and are interpreted as two deities: sekuuti (sun) and akestur (moon).

both seen as patron deities of their respective people (rau-kakse aka basilisks and crakam aka harpies). their eggs were originally stars in the sky that fell and hatched in the world below.

at first, there was only pure spirit. something known as "tukaarti" (which is an unconscious but all powerful driver of all things) - the "natural force", arose, and began create shapes from this spirit, polarities, warmth, energy eventually the forces shaped this spirit into The World, which was barren at first, amorphous, but this shaped energy began to solidify, first into mountains, then into lakes, rivers, flora etc etc. but the water did not stay liquid long for after the formation of these things, and a brief flourishing period, the World cooled down, and fell under a great winter, as it had no sun. the sky is basically where tukaarti resides in its rawest form still, and stars are "concerntrations" of it, and the only light source. the stars began to fall eventually on occasion into the world, and that would spawn Creatures. early on when the world was still fresh after this was when the eggs of sekuuti and akestur fell, they were among the last creatures to fall onto the world. prior to them similar animals had hatched from other eggs, but they all perished trying to survive on their own.

both sekuuti and akestur were lonely and struggled on their own - persecuted by hostile ancestors of other creatures. not only was it difficult, most of all, it was lonely.

sekuuti was so lonely that she desparately wanted children, but as she was the only one of her kind she prayed to tukaarti for a way to achieve that company she desired. she was heard, and granted the ability to shapeshift to any creature that she found. this also was something tukaarti needed, as it lacked a way for spirit to go from the World back to tukaarti, and by "collecting" bodies to learn as forms, sekuuti would also return their spirit to tukaarti. with this ability, she resorted to courting different birds that she transformed into and bearing their young. and she did successfully hatch them. her children would not only inherit a lot of her features and shapeshifting ability, but they also inherited the plumage and some other traits from their other parents, and she loved them all the same. this also means that according to rauk-kaksian lore sekuuti "has no comparison" and doesnt look like an extant bird in particular, but interpretations vary. these children were the first "rau-kakse". the most important established trait of her depictions though is that it seemed that the glow from her egg ("star") never faded, and her plumage glowed strongly and brilliantly.

akestur, meanwhile, sought company with birds in a different way. he found flocks of corvids, flocks of nightjars, and found certain comfort with them. but he was frustrated with the fact that they could not communicate, he prayed for the ability to "hold a conversation" with his new contemporaries. and the tukaarti granted him his wish - the flocks that he had become familiar with were granted a blessing, but with that blessing, they also changed in morphology - they became harpies (crakam), and gained sapience. he was reminded, however, that he had gotten this wish without cost - and that the forces counted on him to do what they wished in return if they so needed it. they only cryptically let him know to "not keep his eyes off of the flame". akestur is thought to have looked like a harpy slightly, but with a different face, black as night, but with brilliant glowing white eyes.

again, the world during this time was pretty barren and harsh due to an eternal winter, as they had no sun. sekuuti, while having found comfort in her kin now, was unhappy with the state of affairs - especially as many young would die in the harsh conditions. akestur, too, hated seeing his new contemporaries suffer.

the two groups would meet one day, sekuuti and akestur leading them. the two were fascinated by one another - sekuuti brought warmth to akestur and the crakam, while akestur brought a certain darkness, that while somewhat discomforting at first, also shrouded both groups from other hostile creatures, theyd come to find out. there was safety in his darkness. sekuuti and akestur grew very close and became partners (according to most legends).

sekuuti wanted to change the state of the world and set her eyes upon the sky, wanting to become a sun and bring warmth to all and end the eternal winter. akestur was hesitant, for he did not want to lose her, and her children needed her. when seeking the guidance of tukaarti - they discouraged her from it, urged her to stay and perform her duty as a bringer of spirit from corpses of this plane back to tukaarti. but she was insistent, and one day, decided to simply go for it. she flew so fast, with such force, that she caught flame, but her will was so strong that it didnt bother her and she became one with the flames eating her as she flew up to the sky.

akestur was too late, and only realised she was gone once she had lit up the sky. betrayed, upset, but most of all - realising that he had failed tukaarti. he had let his eyes off his flame. as a punishment, tukaarti undid the blessing it had granted his people for half of them, leaving half of them as regular birds again.

sekuuti lighting up the world had done something - it had taken away the eternal winter, but the problem was - sekuuti had nothing to temper her up there. the world was beset by a devastating drought with no end in sight. akestur, trying to lead his people as well as the basilisks, then realised what he had to do.

before leaving his people, he urged them "to not take their eyes off the flames", meaning the basilisks in this case, and then, he also set off for the sky. instead of setting ablaze, his eyes seemed to burst with the pressure of the speed of his flight, engulfing him in a cold, bright light. once he joined sekuuti in the sky - the heat was finally tempered.

however, sekuuti, both overwhelmed with love but also guilt and shame over abandoning akestur, fled him. but he, loyal and also overwhelmed with love, began to follow her. and basically, the day/night cycle is their eternal chase after one another - and on occasion, they meet, during eclipses :,) perhaps they also realised that their chase is what brings the world balance. and perhaps its a bit of a punishment from tuukarti for disobeying it.

[candyheartedchy]

The game was fun :]

[prodigal-san]

Deleted scene? 🤔 😂

Yesterday (Feb 22) was the anniversary of my radioapple fic, Law of Creation, so I decided to do something special real quick! I can’t believe it’s been a year since I started writing it AAAAAAA

If you’ve read this for that long (or even just stumbled upon it recently), I’d like to say thank you for the support 🥹💛✨ I’ll do my best to update more frequently this time ajskwkkslsl hopefully we make good progress before the next season debuts 😂

[stonedtalussy]

ART DUMP !! ( DONT WORRY I WILL GET TO REQUESTS SOON)

slightly obsessed with bobby collins rusty lately hes just so cutie

[aspen-tree7]

TSAMS LORE BOOK!!

HELLOOO IF YOU KNOW ME FROM TIKTOK THEN NO NEED FOR INTROS THE LINK IS DOWN BELOWWW BUT IF YOURE NEW HERE LEMME GIVE YOU A RUN DOWN!!

Hi! I am a lover of TSAMS and all that comes with it, and I’m so hyperfixated I decided to do something kinda dumb.

Ive decided to document the WHOLE lore of TSAMS (only TSAMS for now) for people who love it and people who are interested in learning about it. So I set off on my adventure a few months ago and now I have Act 1 of my book ready!! I have separated them in acts in order to get things out to you all and make it easier for me- so this is not ALL of the lore as of current right now but I will get there.

If there is any mistakes you see, or have questions in general of what I’ve put/where I got it from, don’t be shy to either ask me in my asks or dm me here or on TikTok : aspen.tree7 !!

I will be making a post here that will have all of the acts once finished, which I’ll have linked to my new pinned on here :]

I hope you enjoy this silly project I’m working on as much as I have!! Have fun! Much love!!

[redtalics]

love how dogman is just a normal-ass guy 95% of the time and then 5% of the time he passionately spills out an UNGODLY amount of lore, story, and character personality that he did NOT need to give. this man is an admirer of his own work and i think that's pretty cool

[scribefindegil]

I'm so emotional about the thousands of years of work humanity has put into plant domestication and breeding, and I'm also so emotional about all the important work that's still being done today! With the rise of monocultures, most people don't know about the sheer breadth of varieties that exist for different food crops; there's such a focus on the cultivars most suited to industrial growth, harvesting, and shipping, which leads to valuing things like uniform growth and maturation times and the ability to be shipped long distances most highly, often to the detriment of flavor and genetic diversity.

But all these specialized varieties DO exist, and more are being developed every year! There are organizations like the Seed Savers Exchange that are dedicated to the preservation of historic heirloom cultivars that might otherwise have been lost, sometimes reintroducing a variety because a single family or individual happened to have maintained the seed. And there are people, ranging from large-scale agricultural University breeding projects to backyard gardeners, who are creating new varieties—new colors and flavors and textures, plants adapted to harsher weather or shorter growing seasons or with resistance to common pests!

If you're a gardener, it's absolutely worth it to look into what's being developed for your specific region. Even if you're not, buying local produce may let you try some more unique and locally-adapted varieties!

And if you save seeds, you can help develop your own varieties by selecting plants that have the features you like best and growing out the seed from those! You may not have the resources to trial many different plants (and probably can't do much with corn unless you have a whole field), but every time you intentionally save seed you are making a selection. The Experimental Farm Network sells a number of "grex" or "landrace" seed packets, where some traits have been selected for but there is still a great deal of genetic diversity and each plant will be slightly different. You can keep letting them intermix, or you can choose your favorite plants and work on stabilizing your own variety! And then, because usually if you save seed you end up with much more than you can use yourself, you can share it with your friends! Join in the ancient human tradition and make new plants!

[royalarchivist]

Creation: TAKE ME TO SHELLS

Niki: ...Wtf is "shells"? [Laughs] Like, the Egg shells? Do you want to see the Eggs?

Creation: MAKE RIGHT FROM MY WRONG. TO THE SHELLS. SHELL KEEPER

A little over a year ago, Creation made their first appearance on the QSMP.