This year, we're so excited to share 23 of our FAVOURITE pieces from the World Anvil community - which include hints and tips about using World Anvil, too! So if you want to up your World Anvil game whilst reading through incredible worldbuilding articles, short stories, RPG oneshots, and ancillary RPG content, then this is our gift to you!
24. Top 100 Articles of 2023
We've been sharing OUR favourites this holiday season, but what about your favourites? Well, we've got that covered too. Here's the top 100 World Anvil articles of 2023 as voted (with likes) by you guys! Check it out to find some of the best work of the year (and maybe your name in lights!).
23. The Bard's Magic
This short story, set in a magical Japan, offers a portal into a fantastical world of folklore come alive!
Bonus tip: The Shakuhachi music really sets the scene for this short story - learn how to embed music in World Anvil here!
22. Urahlian Electrosensory Communication
Looking for new forms of communication in your world? Get inspired by the Uralian's electrogenesis in this beautifully worked-out article.
Bonus tip: See those cute icons? They're super easy to embed! Learn how here.
21.Looking For Light
This fantastic short story won a place in the World Anvil Anthology, and was my personal favourite.
Bonus tip: That small text at the beginning of each chapter is just a straight-forward BBCode tag away! Learn how here.
20. Huk, You Scoundrel!
This rip-roaring, rum-swilling D&D5e Pirate Oneshot will have you shivering your timbers! It also contains some fantastic, thematic mini-games & challenges to get players in character.
Bonus tip: Those interactive rollable buttons are super easy to make with BBCode. Here's how.
19. Jacqueline Dixon
The World Anvil community is literally world-wide, so I wanted to make sure I included at least one non-English entry here... and I was blown away by this one! Don't speak French? Right-click and select "Translate to English" in Chrome to enjoy it anyway!
Bonus tip: Check out the Manuscript embedded in the right side panel - it's been clevery used as a technical log. Learn how to embed manuscripts here.
18. THE END OF HUMANITY? LEGION PUSHES BIZAARE LIMITS
This compelling newspaper-styled article isn't just well-written. It's a great example of World Anvil formatting using simple images and columns!
Bonus tip: Learn how to make your own here!
17. TheKummerWolfeList
Looking for some of the best articles around? The incredible Kummer Wolfe does a weekly newsletter of some of the best articles from the community, under the hashtag #TheKummerWolfeList.
Bonus tip: This is a trending hashtag page! Here's how you can create your own, or check out other hashtags trending in the World Anvil Community
16. Adventuring with Ghost Boy
Ghostboy captured our hearts during this year's Treasured Companions challenge. Here you can find a guide to using him in your adventures as an NPC, complete with adventure hooks and a D&D5e statblock!
Bonus tip: Want to embed statblocks in your own articles? Here's how!
15. Murder in Kha'r
This murder-mystery one-shot combines D&D rules (Level 5) with Seven Seas lore, and comes with maps, a full roster of NPCs, readalouds, and everything else you'll need for an awesome game night!
Bonus tip: This oneshot is cleverly constructed using Spoilers. Learn how to make them yourself here!
14. Ekkil Turikk
This juice bar with a difference isn't just an adorable concept; it also flummoxed the Community Team with its "refreshing menu"! The Daily Specials change as the page refreshes, thanks to this neat template.
Bonus tip: want to add random content to your own articles? Check out this blog post to learn how!
13. Good Morning
An intriguing opening chapter that thrusts us into adventure even as it introduces the world!
Bonus tip: If you want to write your own short stories, consider using either the Prose template or Manuscripts (especially if you want to write & share a collection!)
12. Top Shelf: A Judge of Mystics
This system-agnostic bar-heist for top-shelf booty is hilarious, light-hearted and works with any RPG system. It's also timed (the whole thing lasts 60-90 minutes), upping the ante, and perfect as the nights are getting shorter. It even comes with three modes of difficult - Shirley Temple, Purple Nurple, and Kalashnikov!
Bonus tip: The mouse-over glow on the images adds an extra air of mystery. Learn how to do this yourself with CSS filters here!
11. Sketching Bestiary February
27 original sketches comprise this gorgeous, whimsical, and occasionally terrifying bestiary was inspired by this year's Bestiary February challenge. Make sure to read the descriptions too - they're as charming and characterful as the art!
Bonus tip: Want to create your own collection like this? Use columns to organize your embedded images!
10. File 0.3C/41 - Mr. Hench Man
Mr Hench Man (yes, that is his real name) is just a simple man trying to make his way in a chaotic world of superheros and archvillains.... until he gets caught.
Learn more about him in this fantastic biographical short story, which almost stole gold in this year's Treasured Companions competition.
9.Murder on the Arcaenum
You should never judge an article by its CSS, but I'm not going to lie, RubenVDB's floating shards are AMAZING, and the characters are pretty top-notch too!
Bonus tip: Here Reuben shows just how far you can go with the CSS Animate features to create a spectacular feature piece! A great start to learning this would be the W3Schools.
8. A to Z of Amazing Critters
Gorgeous original art and an assortment of odd animals combine to form the perfect inspiration for any worldbuilder! I especially loved the King Heart Penguin! <3
Bonus tip: The sections in this article are created with custom containers! Learn how to make your own here.
7. Quacktastic Art Festival
Festivals are great places to kick off an adventure - and this one comes with adventure hooks for the GM too! The perfect inspiration for your own seasonal oneshot.
Bonus tip: The mouse-over blur used for GM's notes is quick and easy to recreate with simple CSS. Tillerz has used a filter: blur(10px) sepia(1) on the element, then removed the filters on mouseover!
Bonus-Bonus tip: We have a whole blog on how to create your OWN fabulous festivals. Read it here
6. The City of Din'Lux
Created by executive producer of Netflix's Arcane, Jane Hoffacker, The Kinfire Chronicles is on World Anvil! (SQUEEEEE!) This gorgoeus map steps away from traditional top-down perspectives to incorporate artistic detail and elevation - and it's interactive too!
Bonus tip: Those custom map pins are easy to use - find out how here!
5. Tea Witch
The Tea Witch is perfect for using in a seasonal cozy oneshot or RPG session! Such a gorgeous, wholesome idea, and there are some great tea-potions in there too.
Bonus tip: This beautifully illustrated article is a master-class in layout to guide the eye down the page. If you're looking to create something similar, this article about the nuances of embedding images will help a lot!
4. Dwarven Influence Across Cartyrion
This fantastic overview shows the ancient Dwarven civilization and its impact on present culture - a great inspiration for anyone mapping out ancient world history!
Bonus tip: Want to create your own map of time and space? Here's the guide to advanced timelines, a.k.a. Chronicles!
3. Dread Romantic
This intriguing mixed-media piece, blending interactive fiction with worldbuilding, introduces a unique emporium of occult goods in this hopeful-apocalypse setting.
Bonus tip: Want to learn the thought process behind this article and learn how to create these fancy CSS transitions? Check out this blog post to find out!
2. Arm and a Leg
I grinned ear to ear while reading this charming fantasy-themed comic, and you will too!
Bonus tip: Yup, you can create comics and graphic novels in Manuscripts! Here's how.
1. Massacre on the Moonleaf Express
This excellent murder-mystery D&D5e one-shot is for 4-6 characters around 3rd level. Boarding a skyship, players are thrust into a high-stakes whodunnit that promises murder, mayhem, and the fate of the moon!
Looking for more inspiration from the community?
If you want more inspiration - both for worldbuilding and the power of World Anvil - make sure you check out the showcase of all the Best Articles of World Anvil!
Want to be featured on a list like this?
Many of our top picks come to our attention because they're entered into our competitions and challenges, which we run throughout the year! See our current and past events here.
