The meta of Tosormi

Foundation

Scope (write a sentence on each):

What is your motivation for building this world?
I got bored of my old world because it was too all over the place and I wanted a world that was more of a playground for myself.

What are you hoping to get out of it?
To create a world that suits the stories I want to write.

What is the Hook or Unique Selling Point of your world? What makes it unique or different?
Ancient greek and norse gods meet steampunk.

Theme

What’s the Genre of your World?
Steampunk fantasy.

How does the world feel (reader experience)?
The world is neither super dark nor super light, but it is a bit weird. You never quite know what's going to happen or what you're going to see.

What is the tone of your world
The world feels pretty neutral on the dark to light spectrum, playing with both sides.

What is the character agency level like?
The characters can definitely affect the world, so it's more towards the noble end of the spectrum generally.

What are the recurring themes which reinforce the genre, tone and feel of your world? (Give three examples)

1. Gods playing with mortals


2. Blood family vs chosen family


3. Nature vs industrial

Anvil Advice These three things should cover the overarching campaign, but do not need to feature in every single session. They are a great way to help underpin that this is the same genre, tone, narrative and campaign, despite the different flavour of adventures within it.

Meta:

Class relations
Sexual Orientation relations
Gender Relations
Race relations
Religious influence

Drama:

1. The conflict between the Tosormian deities and the Lomian ones


2. Racism, both between ethnicites, and within


3. Conflicts between the deities and mortals


4. The huge number of orphans due to the Gods' war a few years ago

Setting

Rules of the World

What are the fundamental differences in the natural laws of your world compared to Earth?

1. There are the deities that can pretty much do what they want with magic


2. There are also some magical creatures created by the deities


3. There are also the kind of creatures that wouldn't naturally evolve in normal planets but that doesn't have any other magical powers of their own


4. Birds do not exist, all their niches are filled by dragons instead

Cosmology

How did this world come to be?
The Creation of the Universe

Geography

What does the geography of your world look like?
Overall, the climate is quite warm. There are deserts and jungles in the north, and more temperate grasslands and forests in the south. The big mountains provide some colder areas as well.

Initial size of building (you can always expand later!)

What is the initial size of your worldbuilding?
A continent slightly smaller than North America.

People and their History

Who used to live in your world, and what’s their history?
The first people who lived in Tosormi was The Wanderers, a nomadic tribes people. Later on a farming people arrived due to famine in their homeland, who the Wanderers named The Rooted. They started building some more permanent settlements, forming primitive city states, using the Wanderers as messengers and traders.
Then came the Lomians, starting with prince Namoh and his expedition. His people soon followed and started building new cities and outposts around the Big Bay, taking primarly the Rooted as forced labours.
Today no part of Tosormi is part of the Lomian Empire anymore, but is inhabited by the Wanderers', the Rooted's and the Lomian's descendents.

What do they need, and what do they need from each other?
Before the Lomians arrived the exchange between the Traders and the Rooted was pretty mutually beneficial. The Rooted provided more stable food sources, as well as tools that require more permanent constructs to make, and in return the Wanderers brought exotic goods from all over the continent in the form of spices, animal parts and hide.
Nowadays the roles have changed slightly. A big part of the Wanderers are still nomads, but they have become savvier tradesmen. If you want anything that is not readily available in your area, you find a Wanderer caravan. The different kinds of animals that are bred and raised by Wanderers are also in high demand all over Tosormi as riding, pack, and working animals.
The Rooted are the best craftsmen. They are no longer synonymous with farmers but rather art, smithing, inventions etc. If you need something made, you find a Rooted one.
The Lomians have become the most divided. They can be found in almost every occupation and with almost any company. You're not surprised if you find a Lomian in a Wanderer caravan, or one being an apprentice to a Rooted smith. They blend in anywhere, which is also why the biggest networks of spies, assassins, mercenaries, and black markets tend to be mostly populated by Lomians.