Worldbuilding Awards 2024

Welcome to another year of the Worldbuilding Awards! It's Malkora's second awards run!

My heart has been aflutter since the moment I hit that shiny "submit" button, and somehow that feeling isn't going away any time soon...

— Oh no

by Strixxline

---

Last year's awards blew me right out the water — what do you mean I won two awards? I still don't feel like that's real. With that said, however, that's a lot of hype to live up to! It's got my nerves in a bit of a fritz, but I made some great articles this past year that I'm really proud of, so I wasn't going to let some silly stinky weasels in my brain tell me that it's not worth stepping up again.
So... I present these entries to you!

---

Hearts & Minds

An article touching on intellectual, sociological, spiritual or cultural accomplishments and traditions of a people in your world.

---

Vosra is Hope Incarnate, a divine born from the scattered hopes of a fractured humanity in Malkora's ancient history. Her tales are of rebirth, enlightenment, and second chances in the face of even the most hopeless fates.
Vosra's article was one long overdue for years since Malkora was created, and it's almost a blessing that it took this long for this article to come to be. With all of the lovely god lore that came from WorldEmber, Vosra grew into something greater than my early worldbuilder brain started with.

---

Rise of Nations

An article relevant to the history of civilisations and peoples of your world, and their legacies.

---

This pantheon which arose at the turn of the era was integral to modern humanity's survival and the restoration of growing populations; even if they didn't fix every problem under the sun, at least now there was one to bask in.
I enjoyed working on the icons for these gods during WorldEmber and do plan to revisit them in time for some touch-ups and redesigns as needed! I'm also so hype to dive deeper into the shard system that Malkora's gods now operate under!

---

Wondrous Nature

Your natural world in all its glory — an article describing anything from species to locations, to natural and supernatural events, and bizarre naturally-occurring materials.

---

Malkora's landscapes are turned and changed by the raw magic of its leylines, which flow uncontrolled through the world. Wherever they emerge, they affect the lands around them, as well as the living things within them.
This is another article where I made some lovely art during WorldEmber, and I really loved working with this watercolory style to represent the physical domains of the leylines! The lands of Malkora will be so fun to explore in the future, with these leylines at play!

---

Strength & Honor

An article relevant to the interactions of the people of your world across a grand scale — diplomacy, war, trade and collaboration, and the people who drive and engineer them.

---

One of the Incarnates of the New Age, alongside Vosra, this divine was born of humanity's wavering strength, reborn and granted new life. Shards of this god influence how strength is perceived in different human societies.
This article is where I really started to dive into the shard system of my gods, and once again I say that I can't wait to explore the theme further! What shards will appear in the future? What new values and strengths will we encounter?

---

Pillars of Progress

An article describing a technological or scientific accomplishment, or celebrating creations developed by the people of your world.

---

Arsavela relies on its population of trained avian messengers to deliver missives with haste, but they have encountered, along the way, that certain choices in selective breeding have less than ideal results.
This is one of my smaller articles, but with such a cute illustration, I can't help but feel pleased with it as an entry! Small but mighty, I just hope you like my dumb glittery pigeons! They need more love in the future.

---

Myths & Legends

An article describing an aspect of your worldbuilding that's mythical or fictional within the construct of your world, even if it's based on true events.

---

Tales are told of mortals who ascend to godhood, and while this pantheon is a well-known example, the people of Malkora are often left to wonder if mortals can still ascend — or if only the most dire of times allow it.
This article does pose some interesting questions for divinity in my world and how attainable it is — and the concepts here could be super interesting to explore, perhaps, with players in future campaigns? Hehehehe...

---

Best Worldbuilding Article

Naturally, I saved the best for last! This article is my pride and joy!

---

As your first step into Malkora, you're introduced to the world around your sheltered home by an elder cartographer eager to impart his knowledge on a young adventurer. He stuffs your pack with books, and gives you the grand tour of his illustrious map — what's left of it, anyway.
This article is my pride and joy of 2023. Malkora's very first primer, presented in a prose-focused in-world perspective, featuring some brand new sketches and showcasing my award-winning map from last year! So many wonderful things came together to bring this article to life.

---

by Strixxline

In last year's article, I said that "with any luck, I can take next year's Awards by storm!" I didn't realize that the storm would arrive that same year, and I like to think that it's carried over into this year with the quality of my work, and how it's improved since last year.
If you take the time to stop by and read my submissions, just know that I am so immensely grateful! And if I can convince you to spare a vote or two for your favorites from my works, it would mean so much to me! I'm off to do my own reading and to pick my favorites. We all have our work cut out for us, so I wish you all the best of luck, whether competing, reading, or just carrying on doing what you do on World Anvil!

---

My Shortlists!

So, how about our favorites from the community?

— Hehehehehehe.

Y'all made the first voting stage so unfair. I went through each category several times, in multiple stages, making cuts as I went... and I still had 10+ articles per category to cycle through in making my final choices. There was a lot of screaming, much second guessing, and much wishing for a billion votes. Even cutting down to shortlists was a battle! But... decisions were made!
Allow me to present to you my top picks from every category!

---

Hearts & Minds

I like to think that this category offers up some of the best articles to learn more about the spirit of other worlds around the community. I love knowing more about the way your people live, what drives them, and what entangles them with the rest of the world around them.

---

---

Rise of Nations

Understanding the foundations of your worlds is so thrilling. I feel like a kid playing with blocks, learning what colors and symbols pair together while I read through this category. Tell me about your ancient empires, your early settlements, and the factions that have come and gone with time as I piece them together!

---

---

Wondrous Nature

This is my favorite category by far — as someone with a world built around natural forces and shifting lands, you can tell I have a love for the shaping of worlds. Show me what I can find out there, on a grand adventure in your world. How it looks, how it works, and what lives in it!

---

---

Strength & Honor

I love getting to know what strength looks like in a world, especially when considering that it can change wildly even within a single setting. One little border can make so much of a difference in how people see and interact with one another, and how they shape their perspective of strength and honor.

---

---

Pillars of Progress

Much like with Rise of Nations, it's so fascinating to see the ways a world has developed with time, through technology, discovery, and innovation in all of its forms. Whether the impact is positive or negative, it was still made, and I love learning more about how the world progressed.

---

---

Myths & Legends

If you know me, you know that I have a hunger for the divine, and many worldbuilding myths and legends are steeped in the influence of gods and greater powers. I get so eager to dig into the mysteries of worlds' myths and legends, and determining how much is based in truth.

---

---

Best Worldbuilding Article

The best of the best is such a tough category to judge. I have my personal favorites, memorable hitters from the last year and beyond, and there are delicious pieces of worldbuilding I hadn't seen before. The community has some audacity making such good content.

---

---

Most Beautiful World

Delicious aesthetics are something that pull me into a world like nothing else. Perhaps it's just the artist brain speaking, but I latch onto clean designs and personal touches the moment I open up a world page. There is so much beauty on WA, so this was hard to narrow down.

---

---

Best World

Just like best article... how am I to choose? So many worlds on this platform have my heart and every fiber of my soul, and you ask me to choose only one to be crowned best? There was so much screaming in making these choices, as I watched favorites fall off the shortlist.

---

---

Best Newcomer

It's not just the old heads making excellent work on World Anvil. We all knew this, of course, but we don't get too many opportunities to let them shine. This is absolutely a list of people to keep your eye on in the future! I can't wait to see what they make.

---

---

Best Timeline

Timelines are a challenge for me, and I've yet to truly put one together for Malkora in all this time. It's on the bucket list, and these entries most certainly are giving me the inspiration I need to take the plunge soon. There is some incredible work here that I'll be scrolling through forever.

---

Yonderverse Master Timeline

Valonia: Kingdom at the River's End

The History of the Isles

Events of the Shattered

History of Mercury

Chronological events

---

Best Map

Maps printed on the inside covers of fantasy novels were my ultimate source of intrigue and inspiration growing up, so when I see a good map you know I'm all about it. Paint a picture of your world — literally and figuratively! I want to get to know not just your geography, but its tales.

---

Mirios as of Year 1568

Open full size

This depiction of Mirios was comissioned by Emperor Sivirri an Ilsairi to show the world during the year of his coronation. While the world might not be perfectly represented, it is one of the best and most complete maps out there as members of the colleges of Thadia, Anosfae, Soranna, Alsivai, and Ischurrai sent cartographers to distant lands to gain as much knowledge as they could for it's creation. The 1568 map itself was completed in 1613, and presented in 1615 with a map of the world during the year 1600 as well.

Osao

Open full size

Osao is a rocky planet in the Kurhira System, one of eleven. It is characterised by an entirely tropical climate, with average temperatures (Celsius) in the forties, year round.
Five continents make up the majority of dry land on Osao. These five continents are home to perplexing lifeforms, intriguing peoples, and gorgeous sceneries.

Shadowfire

Open full size

Wecome traveller, to the world of Shadowfire. This is a land of extremes, where an ancient cataclysm caused time itself to stop. Now, the sun never sets, bathing one side in fire, while the other freezes in eternal night. In between there is a band of twilight where many struggle to survive and thrive. This map shows the places of the world, and the stories that have been told within it. Use the layers in the rop-right of the map to show and hide the different article locations within the world.

Enliten

Open full size

The Map of the Enlitic Peninsula is, as the name suggests, a map that depicts the Enlitic peninsula and its surroundings in the year 1567 AA. This exquisite depiction of the region was commissioned by Harál Herwik, the King of Enliten, in 1565, along with the consent of his advisors in the Council of Helí.
Much of the northern parts of the map, the territories that extend beyond the Enlitic mountains and the Central Pass, are highly speculative, as folk believe that those lands are swarming with aberati.

---