Week 1: Pledge Your Goal
1. Set a word goal and your area of focus
2. Choose your area of focus
I think for every open-topic writing challenge this year, I have said I wanted to focus on improving/expanding the world's pantheon, just for me to not do it. If Im doing worldember, I probably should finally get it done!
For some context, up until the start of the year, I only had placeholder deities rather than a fleshed out pantheon. For a world which I keep claiming has a large emphasis on religion, this was extremely disappointing. I went and overhauled the pantheon with slightly more fleshed out gods, but I still think more work is required! The below table should help demonstrate some of these gaps. Don't be deceived - most of these are one-two sentence articles! I've also started to fill out some potential ideas in italics!
Other potential focuses:
- Paladin oaths for each deity and for specific organizations.
3. Create or update your meta
I'm still quite happy with my meta, so I'll leave it as is!
Week 2: Prepare Your World for New Readers
1. Review your homepage
I think my homepage still does the job, and it's more relevant to focus on the primer article this week!
2. Create or review your world primer
So despite working on this for a couple of years, I don't really have a primer! I've mostly been relying on the homepage to provide an introduction to the readers, and a separate article for character inspirations (
Here).
I'll likely continue working on the primer, but the first draft can be found
here. I also ended up fleshing out the
Character Inspirations article as well, as it goes hand-in-hand with the primer.
3. Set up your community tools
I don't have a community, nor am I currently planning on developing one. My world building is more for my own personal use.
4. CSS wizardry
I still like the style!
Week 3: On the Hunt for Inspiration!
1. Read a book or watch a movie!
Although I'm not a typical podcast listener, this week I thought I'd give it a try! I decided to focus on learning about Eberron, as it initially appeared to have a similar level of technology and magic. During my listening, I made some notes on some of the setting features which stood out to me, as well as some guiding questions/tips for Wyrring in italics.
At least that was where I started... I got a bit carried away, and ended up listening to a bunch more podcasts discussing religion in other fantasy settings for more inspirations!
Manifest Zone: Magic Items (
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4gNMZqh5vzQ5aEX2LNyhqK?si=c654bc55b9c94725)
- Magic items are far more common. Although magic is common, some of it is rarer (about Level 4-5 spells).
- Not all items should be strength/power-based - Can be utility items.
- Now that magic is a science, how would it be applied to solve various historical problems; warfare, transportation, health, communication, entertainment. How does this look?
- Arcane magic is alive and changing - in contrast to more traditional magics?
- Who is the customer/user of the magic items!
- Think of what item/technology you want, and how many people can use it. - Kinetic Engine can be used by everyone, but repairing it requires special skills
Manifest Zone: Artifice (
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0AdRINvx3WGPMaeaYC3H8i?si=271a4470352d4194)
- Trade organizations provide standards, and customers can trust their quality
- Mass production vs. scrap crafting - organizations vs. players
- Market cost set by an organization
- Arcane science for the nation (i.e. the 12), or for profit (House Kaneth)?
- Artifice moving further and further until reaching apocalyptic levels - Giants and the destroyed moon
- The Mourning - a kind of magical pollution
- How does the source of sparkpowder change the response (i.e. demonic, nature, etc.)
Manifest Zone: Dwarves of the Mror Holds (
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3ArLFf7QormLbyns2JTw8p?si=feb6ccd81a1746dc) (Yes, I know this isn't explicitly related to religion or technology, but I love dwarves and was curious how they are represented in Eberron)
- Reminiscent of small nations which are resource rich (oil states)
- Not exclusively skilled craftsmen - mark of wealth, not the mark of making. Act more as bankers. Objects are how they connect to their history - value both in gold and stories.
- Dwarves are exiles from an ancient, ruined realm below. Full of wonders, but also ancient enemies (Dalkir). They serve as the front line to this war in the deep.
- Flesh crafting?? With symbiotes? Darkblood dwarves are corrupted by deep below.
- "They love stories, but the facts just get in the way". How can they expand the story of their clan
- Each of the 13 ruling clans have their own vibe (e.g. strength, common sense, charisma, etc.) - may be a good idea to consider adopting a similar idea
- The Underdark is a series of demiplanes, which the harnessing of allowed the ancient dwarves to become so rich
- The Noldrun Clan disappeared under unknown circumstances, and their hold is now very haunted
- Rivalries between the clans
Manifest Zone: Religion (
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6xJYVF0oN9hWEiBHE4XAUJ?si=148c46b37c5747c2)
- Distinction between alignment and belief. What does it mean to be a Good character who worships an Evil god and vice-versa. Is it a difference in understanding? How can corruption seep into organizations?
- Gods are "hands-off", with a conscious choice to not make them "just a big monster". They won't directly interfer in the world, nor provide answers.
- Are there schisms in religions/beliefs?
- Do people worship the pantheon as a whole, or one specific god? - I feel that most people could pray to most of the pantheon, with certain cultures having a stronger connection to a specific god (e.g. Estalia and Thalor, Sylvia and Silvain)
- Who are the leaders of a religion, if any?
- A religion creates a community with shared values
- What brings a character to become a divine caster? How do they interact with the religious organization they belong to (i.e. direct agent, free agent, or heretic)?
Religion in the Realms: Pantheons and Deities (
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5UthA1nu5HExoR2vKR5uGA?si=ibuObskbRGubUvp2iRyLWw&context=spotify%3Aplaylist%3A37i9dQZF1FgnTBfUlzkeKt)
- Five levels of deities, with gradually increasing followers and control over a domain: Quasi-deities and hero deities, demigods, intermediate deities, major Deities, and over deities
- All races have their own pantheon. The average person worships an entire pantheon, but groups may lean towards a specific one.
- The overgod can promote/demote others, as well as allow gods from other settings to enter the world.
- Gods can't die, but may become dormant if an aspect of them is defeated. Dormant gods typically can't provide power to their worshippers.
Dungeoncast: Deities and Religion (
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0kTsXhEmM7XcE3aVt0IxbE?si=6NQdmILwTwaCYmGSt6Kicg&context=spotify%3Aplaylist%3A37i9dQZF1FgnTBfUlzkeKt)
- Do the gods exist, and how do they interact with the world?
- Gods vs. god-like
- Power from their followers belief or an infinite spark/well? Are they tangible forces (e.g. hope, luck, love) with defined physics, or a physical being?
- In some settings, if you kill a god, you absorb their divine spark and become a new god
- Loose vs Tight pantheons: are each god unique and separate (ex. Norse, Egyptian), or do they tend to work together (ex. the Seven from AGOT)?
- Why would you worship an evil god knowing you're going to spend an eternity in their realm after death?
World building for Masochist: And now a reading from the sacred text (
https://open.spotify.com/episode/59DXWClbhL3G8DBOPMPZQX?si=sOkdJHkaSuq_kTlZqcLeCQ)
- Religion is not exclusively belief in a divine, and may just be a strong belief or dogma
- Creating order/understanding out of chaos
- Recommended to learn from real-world religions for ideas and to avoid potentially copying them
- Three questions for religion to answer: who are we? Where did we come from? Why are we here?
- Three aspects of religion: practice and application of faith, part of a culture, and the political power of the church
- If gods are proovably real, how do we interact? Do we try to avoid them (i.e. Greek and Roman)?
- The gods personality (and their followers belief)
- Main characters should accept or at least acknowledge the religion and culture they belong to!
- Religious swearing!!
- Is religion static or changing? Waxing and waning?
- How is worship of the gods done? Holy words? Dance? Art? Music?
- How do religions interact with each other? How do dominant faiths think of minor faiths?
Summary of Questions
- How can we contrast arcane, divine, and natural magic in comparison to the rapid-pace development of the Kinetic Engine? How is religion in particular changing with the changing times?
- How are Kinetic Engines used by the public?
- How does the source of sparkpowder change the running of a Kinetic Engine?
- How is the worship of the gods done? Are there schisms in religions/beliefs?
- Do people worship the pantheon as a whole, or one specific god?
- Who are the leaders of a religion, if any?
- What brings a character to become a divine caster? Why would you worship an evil god knowing you're going to spend an eternity in their realm after death?
2. Create a moodboard
I honestly tried, but couldn't find any specific media to inspire.
3. Create or expand your writing playlist
I've updated my playlist, but don't expect me to share!
Week 4: Harness the Power of Friendship!
1. Find a community
No thanks!
2. Plan your writing schedule
Well, my plan is to do a large portion of my writing during my commutes to and from work, as well as to various other places during the month. As well, I'll have a bit more free time to myself during the back half of the month, and of course, the time off work during the last week or so!
3. Get some fresh air!
Aye aye captain! Happy to go on my own adventures and keep it easy this week!
Worldember
Progress:
https://www.worldanvil.com/community/challenge/worldember-2024/homepage/Ahmsy
New Articles:
Updated Articles:
Special Categories:
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