How to Develop a Random Idea into Worldbuilding and Storylines

Worldbuilding is one of the best parts of tabletop games for many GMs, and there are many benefits to digging into the details and elaborating on your world. But sometimes, trying to figure out where to start is an issue. You've got a whole world in front of you, so what needs your attention first? 

In my experience, you don't have to have everything figured out from the start. I've been GMing for over 15 years and only recently bothered to explain the major historical movements and natural world of my setting. It hadn't been a major issue, but developing those things helped me to better understand my world and run a more interesting and immersive game. If you're interested in worldbuilding from a conceptual approach in terms of things like that, check out the main page under the category "My Homebrew Setting" a little over halfway down the page. The many articles and guides there may inspire you to create a similar profile for your world. 

But many of us think not in the conceptual reality of our game, and more in terms of the practical realities of the gameworld. The standard of this kind of worldbuilding is in creating settlements and dungeons--making the physical world accessible to players. The same problem exists, though: where do you start? With a huge map as your canvas, what part gets the first worldbuilding paint? 

My solution is simple. If you have a campaign in mind, designing a campaign setting is your best strategy. But if you're just trying to expand your world, trust your gut: what would be the most interesting for you to build? It's supposed to be fun, after all. If you're still stuck, then I have good news. This article is about the simple solution to this problem: pick a random place on the map and go to town. 

I'm not joking. In order to illustrate my sincerity, I'm going to start with a random mid-sized settlement from my homebrew world; I'll pick it by using a random number generator compared to a list of 40 mid-sized settlements. Then, I will begin to write up details about what that settlement is like, and along the way, we'll discover all sorts of unique and interesting details I only found through doing this work. Let's get started. 

I got an 11, which is the town of Pliat. Here it is on my political map of my main continent on my homebrew world:

Your own worldbuilding should follow whatever your instincts tell you, and mine tell me that there's some information I've developed before that will influence what Pliat is like. The first thing I know is that Pliat is between the elven lands and the halfling lands, so the population there will reflect that. It's also near the heart of half-elven country and would bear evidence of that. And since I know a lot of the cultural and social details of my world, I can begin to piece together ideas like what foods are eaten here and what shapes buildings are in a general way. These details can help to characterize a settlement and make it distinct from the others the players encounter. In Pliat's case, most restaurants serve fish from nearby rivers and Lake Playbor as well as lots of grains and fruits and vegetables; most homes and businesses are L-shaped buildings, longhouses, or dugout underground homes. 

But that's basically all I know, and that's not much. My next instinct tells me that it would be good to develop the government, which will tell me a lot about the town and give me some ideas for possible quests. If Pliat's government is like its architecture and cuisine, then it would likely be some manner of loosely-defined council; the half-elven preference for committee and the halfling tendency towards loose government might combine that way. But to spice things up, I want to make Pliat different. I'm going to make up a form of government that I haven't heard of before to make Pliat an interesting place for players. Pliat is led by a Mayor, but the mayoral position is mandatory and changes on a weekly basis--that is to say, every citizen serves as the Mayor at some point for a week. This is intended to keep government representative and be open to new ideas, as well as inspiring civic duty. 

I could now go in two different directions: I might further develop the psychological implications of this policy, or I might write some of the history of how the policy has worked out. In my opinion, the public sentiment about it is likely to follow the historical results, so I'll start with the history of it. For narrative reasons, I want the system to be working well when the players get to Pliat. Let's say that in the earliest days of the mayoral policy, there were some bumps in the road--people unfit to lead with no example of how to do so, people acting on old grudges while in charge, occasional bribes accepted--but in the last few generations, Pliat has become a place that is more collectively run by the whole community with changing official titles, but wherein everyone generally behaves in the community's best interest. 

I mentioned narrative reasons for making Pliat pretty functional and almost idyllic. I think that one of the great tropes of tabletop games, particularly D&D, is depicting the oppressive government which demoralizes its people. It's not a bad trope, and it's certainly fun to be the hero who overthrows the unjust leader. But I think that some people also play tabletop games to be chaotic and wild in a safe space, and giving them a wonderful place where everything is okay is both a big change of pace (more memorable and unique) and an invitation to the players to interfere (a potential storyline). I have a party currently who just like making crazy things happen, and I am certain that they would destroy Pliat in tops two sessions if they went there. As I have said, breadth is important in worldbuilding, so Pliat will be something that helps me create more distinct locations in my world. 

This was general history. Let's consider a few of the temporary leaders who were notable. I need one that covers the old failures, so meet Carson Wettersley, the corrupt lumberjack who tried to sell the town to Finiel to the north and was run out of town, beginning a new era in which Mayors knew they had to fear public retribution. Then I need an early formative expert, so meet Juliet Sweep, the apothecary who introduced the idea of keeping policies of earlier Mayors and herself introduced the notion of holding town hall meetings at the beginning of each new Mayor's term to suggest new ideas for the week. I also want a colorful example that really lends some rich detail to the town, so meet Grynn Garryg, the orcish tinker who was appointed Mayor just hours after arriving in town and personally helped every member of the town in need before leaving at the end of the week. This gives me a good brief history to be able to convey to players who come to Pliat. 

I should also know about the current moment. Let's say that Georgia Illesin, a farmer, has been Mayor for two days, and she has been generally doing a good job, but some people are of the opinion that she's favoring farming projects over other industries in her decisions. If the players end up here long enough to see the next Mayor, it will be Henry Borchester, a tailor who will worry so much about pleasing everyone that he won't take much action at all. At the current moment, people are generally content with the system of government, but feel that they have been on a run of mediocre Mayors. This gives me enough information to have players show up and feel like there's a complete little community here with something interesting going on. 

I play with a wide variety of players; I have some who could indefinitely guide themselves through a sandbox world, and I have some who need some direction to get even small tasks done. As a result, I might have different needs for how much preparation for quests and storylines I need relative the group. But even with self-guiding players, it's a good idea to have at least the beginning of a few storylines so that the world seems to have its own living, breathing components. So given what I know so far, here are a few potential storylines: 

• I want a politically-related quest, so nearby town Terron is struggling to keep up diplomatic relations with Pliat due to the constantly changing leadership. Terron's governor, Yarro Nillenor, is willing to pay the party handsomely if they can convince the people of Pliat to appoint a more permanent diplomatic leader to make things easier for everyone. 
• I want a sort of culture-clash quest--something that plays with the multicultural dimension of the town, so let's say that some halflings, who chafe under the rule of changing leaders, have begun to organize along community lines, causing a rift between them and the rest of the town. One halfling elder, Darwin Rope, is offering a magical item (perhaps a Bag of Holding or a similar item which is prized by players) to anyone who can negotiate a compromise between the Mayoral position and the community organizations--Rope has already tried and failed. 
• I'll add one more, something that is also relevant to the setting; since Pliat is not directly near a water source, they depend on trade for fish (a staple for elves and half-elves), and they need occasional extra water for crops in dry seasons. Gnomish engineer Worki Serpon has proposed a large project wherein the Playbor River to the north would be split and routed south to a manufactured lake, which the city could depend on. Completing the project would require gaining public support, raising funds for the materials and labor, and protecting labor crews from bandits and monsters during construction. 

This gives me a pretty broad base to pull from--whatever my players are most interested in can become the main focus of their time in Pliat, and these quests are really only possible here in this specific settlement. That's something that matters to me a lot as a GM because I like to play multiple campaigns with my players, and I want them to get a sense of how diverse the world is. And just as importantly, I get to have a broad and varied experience too--my time in my homebrew setting has been different every time because I have been sure to give myself different settings every time. 

If I were to use Pliat as a major hub of a campaign as opposed to a stop between other locations, I would want to make a map of the city. A short stop doesn't really require a detailed map, but we should generally know what's in town. Let's say for my own reference in-game and if I do decide to make a map that Pliat is divided roughly into four quarters. The northwest and southwest quarters are primarily agricultural and are home to most Pliatian farmers, food service workers, and loggers. The southeast quarter is a trade section, mostly characterized by a large marketplace and several major thoroughfares of businesses. The northeast corner is home to public buildings like town hall and its various temples, but is also the biggest residential area in town, the site of various neighborhoods generally divided along cultural lines. Notable buildings would include the Pliat Lumber Depot, a huge lumberyard and processing facility; a large public worship house with private spaces for each faith; and the legendary High Horse Brewery, a tavern known far and wide for its generous portions and wide range of drinks. This tells me enough about the place to have a sense of what's here and what the players might encounter in their time in the city. 

There's other preparation that I might do here in Pliat to be ready to game, but I have already developed a number of resources to cut down on that work. If I need a character, I can use this list of character names and personalities to drop a fairly fully-formed character into the game. If the characters want a tavern besides High Horse Brewery, then I can offer them a range of other unique taverns complete with bartenders. Those details will allow me to portray Pliat as the complex and dynamic place that I've developed it to be. 

So now we've developed Pliat into a game-ready place with a variety of good information to keep it going. But I promised you something else in addition to the worldbuilding process; I said that we would learn something about the world in the process. It's time to make good on that promise. So what have I learned? Well, for one thing, I've changed my mental picture of this region of the map, for starters. If you had pointed to Pliat on the map before I started this article and asked me what kind of people live there, I would have though, "half-elves are sort of centered on that part of the map, so maybe half-elves and their parent races, elves and Faninites live there." I would generally have said the same about the other towns in the area; nearby settlements Gamna, Hasphatal, Terron, and Atir are all in the same general region. But by sitting down with Pliat and setting out to make it distinct, I created a version of it which is more complex than being a half-elven city like many of its neighbors. It's true that a good number of the people of Pliat are half-elves or elves, but the inclusion of halflings makes the settlement more complex and interesting. 

I learned about the region's racial population, and I also learned about the relationship between some of the settlements in the region. If you look back at the map, you'll see two small settlements right next to each other in the northeast--Zunard and Dozain. These two settlements are bound to have a complicated relationship, and I know this just by looking at the map:

But Pliat didn't have that clear indication that it would have a particular relationship with the neighboring cities. Writing the storyline for Terron's complication diplomatic relationship opened a door for me--now I know that these two settlements have a regular relationship and that it's strained. This tells me more about the region, and it even suggests other possible strained relationships. If we follow the logical conclusion of the manufactured river and lake storyline, a strained relationship with Atir is likely, as the new river would partially deplete Atir's water supply (and Truscan's to the northwest as well). 

Beyond even the implications of all this, there is still more: I set out to include an interesting idea for the politics in the region, and the worldbuilding I have done around it has informed the storyline of Pliat's leadership. Now players can see the functioning community with rotating leadership from the internal perspective (community-building and representative) and the external perspective (the city is difficult to work with for other cities). This has given us a more realistically complex presentation of the idea, and now I have an idea what tone I want to adopt when presenting the details of the city. 

I learned one final thing from the worldbuilding process around Pliat: when I needed conflict for this region, I did not reach for physical danger. This is in part because I gravitate towards roleplaying when it comes to tabletop games, which demands more abstract challenges that can allow a player to really inhabit their character. I feel that you can achieve this with combat, but I find it easier through more social interactions. That's why each of the quests here are more about talking with people than fighting. But that also tells me about this area: this is not an area where people are afraid for their safety, and the quality of life is good enough that average people could meet the needs of the community. This means that Pliat or perhaps even the larger area around it is pretty peaceful and calm, which is a good thing to know about a region. 

So we've started with just a point on the map and ended up with enough information to make Pliat a viable location for a few sessions or even the beginning of a campaign. We've also learned important things about the context in which Pliat exists and some details about the towns around it. All of that came out of just asking ourselves basic questions about what life is like here. I may or may not ever use Pliat as a location, but I won't lose the worldbuilding that came out of writing about it. 

That's all for now. Coming soon: a guide to conspiracy theories in my gameworld, how to find and use inspiration, and a guide to the various languages in my gameworld. Until next time, happy gaming!

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How to Use Character-Building Exercises for Development and Fun

Everyone at the table benefits from richly characterized characters. The player who describes their character in detail is the player who has the greatest potential to develop story moments into powerful narrative. This also inspires other players to develop their characters as well. And at the same time, posing character development questions to your players not only pushes them to get specific with their characterization, but also creates an atmosphere of fun as the players try to one-up each other with facts about their characters. All it takes is starting each session with a fact about each character. 

This idea comes from the fantastic D&D podcast Dungeons & Daddies. Each episode of their podcast begins with each player (and the DM) offering what they call "Dad Facts." Each of the party's characters--all dads--get the game started by sharing a specific piece of information about them. Oftentimes, these facts are funny; sometimes, they are meaningful; other times still, they are both. The folks who make the show have discussed on multiple occasions how helpful these "Dad Facts" are. They say that beginning the game by thinking in detail about their characters helps them get into the game. It also gets their creative juices flowing--they have to get in touch with the part of their brain that creates narrative details before the game has even begun. And for listeners, "Dad Facts" can be one of the most entertaining parts of the show. So why not adapt this idea to your game? 

Implementing this idea is simple. When your group sits down to play, explain that before you start the game proper, you'll be asking for each player to share a detail about their player. (Details on good things to share below.) It's a good idea to start this exercise for the first time with your strongest roleplayer so that the other players can get a sense of what a good answer looks like. If a player shares something that is vague, ask them a more specific question to have them clarify in a more precise fashion. Your goal is to unveil something that is either surprising (people would not have guessed this fact about the character) or so fitting that it's entertaining (people could have guessed it, but it's more extreme than imagined). Oftentimes, players will piggy-back on each others' facts, and you'll end up with everyone in the party's position on some minor issue. This works great. The more the facts bring the party together, the better. 

Let's talk about what makes a good fact to share. Specificity is key. We don't want a player to say something like, "I like killing monsters" or "I fight using spells." This is pretty obvious and doesn't make the character seem more unique. More specific versions of these would be "I enjoy killing gnolls" or "My favorite spell is Magic Missile." But these are still not very specific or unique. A better version of these would be "I was once mugged by a group of gnolls and now I don't trust them" or "I once used Magic Missile to knock a priest's hat off his head." These would work as good beginner facts--they tell us something about the character and are specific enough to be interesting. 

But these facts don't need to relate to the game in such direct ways. A strong fact to share is simply choosing what a favorite is for the character. Favorite food and drinks, favorite books and plays, favorite memories with friends and family, favorite physical objects (clothing, items, trinkets), and what things in our modern world (films, shows, video games, trends) would be the character's favorite if they lived here and not in a fantasy world--these are all good options. But just picking a favorite is not enough. Your player should describe why that thing is their favorite. A short anecdote about the character's connection to these favorites is the best way to handle these types of character facts. 

On that note, the best kind of character fact is normally a micro-story. Pick an idea/topic and think about how your character would feel about it. Then reverse-engineer a short story about that character and how they interacted with that idea/topic. For example, you have a cleric with guilt problems and a twisted sense of justice; choosing an idea/topic, I come up with "how does this character respond to miscarriages of justice?" So in the end, I tell a short story about how my cleric once saw someone get away with assaulting an old woman in the neighborhood; in response, he tracked the guilty party down in the middle of the night and administered a worse beating than the old woman got. This works well enough, but I can shine it up a little more. I can add that my cleric was found out for his attack on the guilty party, and the church the cleric worked for transferred him to a smaller town where he could cause less trouble. Now, everyone at the table has a clearer sense of who my cleric is--and I probably do too, even as the character's creator. 

It's important to note that even though some of these character facts are more colorful, specific, and interesting than others. And that's okay! It's not a competition. The players should feel when making these facts that they are collaborating on a joint portrait of the party as individual people, not that they have to outdo each other's efforts to characterize their characters. Once you've all shared a character fact, you can roll right into the game, secure in the knowledge that everyone is thinking in-character and creatively. 

For the GM of the game, you have a few options. In Dungeons & Daddies, the DM shares a fact about his real-life self, all of which are humorous. When in comparison to the players' facts, these funny anecdotes seem larger-than-life and suit the tone of the show. But I would suggest an alternative for most games: the GM should pick an NPC who has been particularly at the center of the campaign or session for a while, or someone who is about to become more notable in the story, and share a fact about them. This way, the GM can characterize NPCs (like most GMs want to but hesitate to do for sake of the progress of the campaign) at their discretion and without spending in-game time delivering information about that NPC. You might also as GM have your facts be about the gameworld, as though it is a character itself. Again, this provides an opportunity to fill in worldbuilding details in a way that doesn't slow the game. 

So, to review: by asking your players to deliver one fact about their character per session, you can get your players thinking in-game, set them into creativity mode, consistently develop characters over time, start sessions with a bit of in-game fun, and inspire some laughter or pondering in the rest of the group. For such a simple commitment (just one fact), the results are remarkable. I highly recommend adding this small idea to your campaign, as it will not only improve the game, but also bring the players closer together. 

That's all for now. Coming soon: a one-shot based on the movie The Warriors, a profile on literature in my homebrew setting, and rules for commanding and sustaining armies. Until next time, happy gaming!

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Naming Conventions by Culture in My Homebrew Setting

In this, my hundredth post, I want to talk about something that I consider very important in homebrew creation that I think can also be one of the most fun details about your world: naming conventions. Whose names sound which way? What do those names mean? What do titles mean? This information about character names should create a sense of consistency in your world and communicate cultural ideas to your players. Below, I have explained all of the naming details in my homebrew world, and you can use the same method to create a system of names for your world. Read on for the full description of naming conventions. 

Note: In my homebrew world, I use the standard D&D 3.5 races, and I have added to that framework the idea that there are two distinct lines of humans with very different cultural traditions. I also have determined that in my world, what the manuals refer to as half-orcs are simply orcs in my world; the orcs in the handbook are too violent to take part in society, so how could an entire race of half-orcs appear aside from as a product of violence? I don't like that idea, so I simply use orcs. Finally, the names I am using as samples for these details come from my list of NPCs complete with ages, personalities, and alignments. 

Daltoners

First Name Conventions: Daltoners are meant to represent forces of imperialism and cultural repression in a way that reminds me of British history in the 18th and 19th centuries, so I decided to give them names that sound like they belong in that era of British history. Classic English language names like George, Madeline, Thomas, and Elizabeth are all good Daltoner names. Generally speaking, the more dignified-sounding the name is, the more prominent that person is in society. 

Last Name Conventions: Last names again are meant to evoke imperial British names. This means that most Daltoner names are simply common English names like Smith, Johnson, Cooper, and Williams. But these hyper-common names are not the limit; any name that makes you think of an average white person will work just fine. There are certain last names in Daltoner society that are more respected because of prominent holders of that name, but the individualist streak in Daltoners means that everyone believes their name will be famous one day as well. 

Nickname Conventions: Daltoners abhor nicknames in general, and the vast majority of them go by their full name at all times. Daltoners who are outsiders to society or who spend more time with other races (a rarity) might go by a shortened version of their name, but this is not a common practice. Even parents use proper names for their children rather than develop nicknames. 
Sample Names: Peter Overstreet, Claire Matthews, Rhonda Skinner, James Sheffield, Earl Sumner

Cultural Titles: There is truly only one cultural position held dear by Daltoners: the religious official. The Dalton Church of Pelor, a dark reinterpretation of the sun god, now requiring sacrifice, has two positions: Chancellors, who are responsible for choosing a Bishop and tending to the financial needs of the Church, and a Bishop, who acts as the supreme leader of the Church. Most Daltoners know the names of the Chancellors, and all know the name of the Bishop. 

Civic Titles:  The chief leader of the Daltoners (located in New Dalton, the capital of the Daltoners) is the position of Tsar. Non-Daltoners contend that the Tsar is nothing but a puppet to be controlled by the Bishop; Daltoners reject this claim publicly but privately acknowledge that the Bishop is the true leader of the people. Because Daltoner society is so stratified with the extremely privileged at the top, there is little chance for the average person to attain a rank or title. 

Faninites

First Name Conventions: Faninites were inspired by Viking culture: I wanted them to be a peaceful version of them, a family-oriented, nature-revering line of humans who stand in direct opposition to the Daltoners culturally speaking. But part of the story of the two lines of humans is that non-humans (and even humans to an extent) cannot tell the difference between Daltoners and Faninites. To that end, I wanted the two human lines to share naming conventions to a certain extent so that names couldn't be used to distinguish between them. So Faninites also have similar names to Daltoners. Sample Faninite first names might include less formal names like Riley, Della, Norma, Aaron, and Sid. But you could just as easily use Nordic naming conventions for Faninites if you wanted them to be distinct. 

Last Name Conventions: Again, Faninite names sound similar to Daltoner names. We might add that Faninite names are a touch more abstract and modern in sound, names like Zorn, Laird, Clanton, Lecky, or Vance. Faninites sometimes grant a different last name to their children than they have; this is because honoring a great person from the past is more important in Faninite culture than passing down a family name. 

Nickname Conventions: Faninites prize nicknames; family members and friends often call a person by a nickname. Faninites might have as many as three or so nicknames, but most will have only one. This nickname is most often a shortened version of the full name, like "Del" for "Della" or "A" for "Aaron." Using a nickname in this fashion is a sign of familiarity, and only people who know the person well use their nicknames. 
Sample Names: Posie Quarterlane, Quint Randolph, Eva Wyatt, Zed Clanton, Della Eckman

Cultural Titles: Titles are considered socially unwieldy in Faninite culture, so positions of prominence are not given special titles. Rather, the individual is given a specific nickname that elongates the name ("Dellarin" for "Della" or "Aaronic" for "Aaron") to indicate their position. 

Civic Titles:  There is no formal Faninite government in Evanoch; the only Faninite governing body lies on the island of Fanin far to the north. But back in Fanin, the leader of individual communities gains a small prefix title: the addition of "Ur-" to the name, such as "Ur-Della." Using this prefix is reserved for only very formal occasions--most of the time, the leader is simply addressed by their first name like any other person. 

Dwarves

First Name Conventions: Dwarves in my world live in a feudal society with a strict aristocracy. To that end, I wanted them to have a sense of early British society, and their first names are in line with this: regal-sounding English names. So like Faninites and Daltoners, dwarves have typical English first names, though with an ear for names that inspire a sense of a time past. Dwarven first names include Damon, Frances, Gordon, Norris, and Viola. 

Last Name Conventions: Of all the names in my world, last names for dwarves are the most challenging to keep varied. My formula for dwarven last names is [a natural thing or common dwarven item] + [a verb ending with -er]; sample names include Hammerpounder, Rockhewer, Copperminer, Oakcutter, and Hidesplitter. Dwarven names are passed down with a focus on familial legacy; these names can be traced back thousands of years, and ancestral research and reverence is a great outlet in dwarven society. 

Nickname Conventions: Dwarves do not take well to affectionate nicknames; decorum is prized in dwarven culture, so diminishing that decorum with informality is frowned upon. Rather, dwarves are often called by friends by their last names as a way to honor their family. 
Sample Names: Tane Stonehauler, Heidi Throatstomper, Lana Golddigger, Edgar Grassgrower, Heathcliff Mudcarver

Cultural Titles: Dwarves who become notable artists are granted the title ortaken, or "Creator"--this title is respected by some, but art is not the highest attainment in dwarven society. Dwarves who become notable spiritual guides are granted the title wedarir, or "Beacon"--this title is highly prized, and neglecting to refer to it is a major faux pas. Dwarves who become notable business owners are granted the title vintish, or "Steward of Community"--this title is the most highly prized among civilians in dwarven society. 

Civic Titles:  Local leaders in dwarven settlements are called prentik, or "Standard Bearer"--this title identifies the dwarf with the title as the face of the community in all regards, and in some communities, neglecting to use this title is a minor crime. The supreme leader of dwarven society lies in the dwarven capital of Underhar, and is the Dronith, or "Regent"--it is absolutely required to address this figure as Dronith, or risk offending the most respected dwarf in the known world. 

Elves 

First Name Conventions: The elves in my world are gentle, thoughtful creatures with a strong sense of duty and hierarchy in society. When I was first developing my world, I aligned the elves with Japanese culture (power in silence, respect for superiors, technological and artistic wonders). But I didn't want to use Japanese-sounding names for a variety of reasons. Instead, I opted for a sound that seemed to me in line with the elven language, which I wanted to be soft and whispery. Elven words use lots of Ls, as well as lots of vowels. Their names function the same way. Sample elven names include Achiel, Illthar, Sorildyn, Higella, and Corbell, each of which has a soft sound. You'll also notice these names are a few syllables longer than the names above--I like to think that elves have very intricate names in this sense. Also, the names for elves are not easily distinguishable by gender; any of these names can serve for whatever gender your character in question is. 

Last Name Conventions: Last names among elves follow the same general rules as the first names. In fact, a good first name for an elf probably works just as well as a last name. We want lots of Ls and other soft sounds and a variety of vowel sounds. Sample last names for elves include Quintar, Pillas, Ternala, Visyl, and Folwyn. Elves pass their names down by family line, but the parents discuss which of their last names the child will take. Generally, elves choose to bestow the most well-respected name. (Elves do not take one another's names in marriage.) 

Nickname Conventions: Nicknames in elven culture are considered flippant to the careful name selection of the parents, but that does not prevent nicknames from occurring at all. Especially younger elves give each other playfully honorific nicknames. For instance, an elf with a fixation on the local library may be nicknamed illin fieln, or "Great Eater of Pages." 
Sample Names: Davil Prenille, Toniel Gla'asa, Gemila Sappol, Lorasta Xarkas, Pethana Bresyra

Cultural Titles: Titles are a major consideration for elves. Some titles persist across communities, while others are created specifically for one person. The trend with elven titles is that they are lengthy and try to communicate ideas in a poetic fashion. So an elf who tends to the poor and sick in their community is called ryster nillian blox welinst, or "They Who Care for the Wilting Flowers." It is considered both bad manners and bad luck to neglect using a cultural title. 

Civic Titles: Since the dissolution of kingdoms nearly five hundred years ago, a variety of elven government style has risen. Many of the leaders who ruled the elven kingdom then are still alive now, and many of them resent the fact that their powers were so sharply curtailed. Thus, they are especially defensive of their titles, and elves who disrespect those titles have faced serious punishment. Though the terms vary by the government style, most elven community leaders are called by the title gollinta, or "One Who Tends." The supreme leader of the elven society is the leader of the elven capital of Mishara, and they are called Cestalion, or "Emperor." 

Half-Elves

First Name Conventions: Half-elves are the product of a union between humans and elves--in my world, half-elves are specifically the offspring of the Faninites and elves, as essentially no elf would be willing to partner with a Daltoner, and Faninites lived in Evanoch for over 800 years before the arrival of Daltoners. All this is to say that half-elven names, like most of the rest of their culture, is based on both Faninite and elven traditions. In general, I like to represent my half-elves with names that suggest their identity: a first name that is Faninite and a last name that is elven, or vice versa. Or course, some half-elves have purely elven or purely Faninite names; details like that should be decided depending on the character who's being named. Sample half-elven first names include both styles: Algar, Dewey, Fintik, Janet, and Osharia. 

Last Name Conventions: Again, this is a mix of Faninite and elven traditions. When it comes to bestowing a name on a half-elven child, the parents choose a name that combines their two traditions, but then on the half-elf's 5th birthday, they are asked to revisit their name--would they like to change it? By means of this tradition, half-elves are allowed to choose how they represent themselves, either by conforming to local standards or representing oneself as an individual. Sample half-elven last names include Yarborough, Topperill, Tanner, Biquinial, and Holcomb. 

Nickname Conventions: Half-elves borrow more from Faninites in terms of nickname customs; most half-elves have a small collection of nicknames by the time they become adults. The modern elven tradition is included as well, and the standard formula for a half-elven nickname is [shortened version of the first name] + [an honorific title]. A sample in this style for a talented young baker named Priscilla might be "Pris, Grand Architect of Cakes." 
Sample Names: Webster Xan, Edmund Biriel, Ivell Cardham, Haleira Yamhill, Valerie Orson

Cultural Titles: The taste for honorific nicknames affects cultural titles; any half-elf who attains a role of even moderate importance in their community is usually given a nickname by the half-elves around them. Half-elves are more broad and less selective about what roles serve society than elves, so these titles can honor even the smallest roles. A sample title for a dedicated schoolteacher might be nerill tydam scintis, or "Farmer of the Mind of the Future."

Civic Titles:  There is no official half-elven government in existence in Evanoch, but due to their skills at diplomacy, many half-elves are in important positions. So while there is no term for a specific leader in half-elven culture, the general term tiellen, or "Conductor," functions to acknowledge the position, but without placing undue seriousness on the term, as half-elves are far less friendly to hierarchy than their elven parents. 

Halflings

First Name Conventions: In the lore of Dungeons & Dragons, halflings are a reinterpretations of Tolkein's hobbits. In my world, though, halflings are more enterprising than hobbits, and halflings are also a matriarchal society in my world. So I wanted my halflings to feel distinct from hobbits. And so instead of the hobbit's naming conventions, my halflings have a formula that recalls the dwarves: [traditional English first name] + [an everyday item]. So the halflings' first names are similar to human and dwarven names, but with the addition that the first names be slightly less common names. Some sample halfling first names would be Kirk, Josephine, Augustana, Abner, and Felix. 

Last Name Conventions: The last name of a halfling is an everyday item, something common. But it's not just a random item; halflings are raised solely by their mothers and are given a unique last name on their first birthday that reflects an everyday object that inspired wonder in the halfling as an infant. So some sample halfling last names would be Glass, Loom, Cuff, Bluebottle, or Tealeaf. 

Nickname Conventions: Halflings are pretty easygoing about nicknames; if they are given one, they will answer to it, but it is unlikely that they tell others about this nickname. Some halflings who have lost the wonder at the item they were named for will elect to go by a new item; Josephine Glass, no longer enticed by the shine of a perfectly smooth surface, goes by "Lock" when they become transfixed by the lock's intricate mechanisms. Halflings themselves never bestow nicknames on others, mostly because they understand the fickleness of nicknames and wouldn't place others in that position. 
Sample Names: Lisa Keyhole, Tabitha Tealeaf, Clover Loom, Felix Manykeys, Ralph Warmpipe

Cultural Titles: Halfling society is incredibly individualistic; the halfling capital of Curagon is a massive anarchistic collection of people who live as though no one else shared their space. As a result, honoring specific people with special titles simply does not happen. Cultural leaders are referred to by their first names. One small exception is in the field of music; halfling music is the most inventive and wild of all the cultures' music, and halflings who prize a specific musician may refer to them as ringert, or "Little God"--a reference to the otherworldly control over sound that these musicians display. 

Civic Titles:  Because halflings have no government and actively resist hierarchy, there are no civic titles in the halfling culture. However, halflings who try to establish governmental or otherwise controlling entities are known derisively by other halflings as gorin, or "Misguided Fool." 

Gnomes

First Name Conventions: When I was first getting into D&D about 15 years ago, I read that gnomes collect a variety of names over their lifetimes, and that many of these names were silly-sounding. I was inspired. Gnomes quickly became one of my favorite groups to play as both player and DM, and when I established the naming conventions in my world, I simply had to keep this fun detail. So, according to gnomish custom, gnomes are given names regularly and by a variety of people. The gnomish sense of humor dictates that silly-sounding names are among the most prized. So gnomish first (and last, and middle) names are either strange sounds or nonsense words. (These are the most fun to come up with.) Sample first names for gnomes include Melodrome, Tinktink, Quilp, Mimble, and Arcwitz. 

Last Name Conventions: Gnomish last names are basically the same as gnomish first names, but I do try to make it so that the first and last name work together to be sillier than the sum of the parts. Above, I used the example name "Melodrome," which I thought needed a similarly bouncy and nonsensical counterpart; the last name I chose for "Melodrome" is "Boddynock," which I think has a nice ring to it. Similarly, the name "Arcwitz" needs something especially silly to balance out the cool-sounding first name; this character's full name is "Arcwitz Jellyroll." Other gnomish last names include (Tinktink) Clicksteel, (Quilp) Wobblebonk, and (Mimble) Ladlesworth. 

Nickname Conventions: Gnomes collect nicknames like a magpie collects shiny things. Not only are gnomes given a name each by their mother, father, siblings, aunts and uncles, grandparents, friends, coworkers, and partners, gnomes will adopt any strange name they think up, hear, or are called by relative strangers. It is not uncommon for a gnome to have upwards of 20 names, all of which they regularly use; gnomes employ certain nicknames depending on the situation and their mood. Close gnomish friends might have as many as five nicknames for each other or more; it all depends on the particular disposition of the gnome in question. Among gnomes, introducing oneself with up to 10 names is expected, and gnomes sometimes get into informal competitions to see who has the most names or the strangest names. Most gnomes provide only two names to fit in with the other races' naming conventions, but some stubborn gnomes will list more than a dozen names just to mess with non-gnomes. 
Sample Names: Haftra Fiskinspark, Gorbulus Boffins, Dimly Sadpockets, Trifffft Penderflerflur, Darcy Fortypigs

Cultural Titles: There are far too many titles in gnomish culture to count. Any individual rank might be referred to be a score of different names, often causing confusion to those who are not well-versed in gnomish naming conventions. The one title that is common enough to mention is a special honorific for inventors who have changed the world in some way through their inventions: wielinack, or "Manipulator of Matter," is a term of extreme status and is not used lightly. 

Civic Titles:  There is a specialized title for every rank within the densely hierarchical structure of gnomish government. The gnomes in my world have a sense of order and structure that is represented in government; they live in a democratic socialist society, and there is a system of power that includes a variety of ranks. The gnomish capital of Vestry is organized into sixteen sectors (in a large square shape), which creates four quadrants and one whole. Thus, the leaders of the sixteen sectors are referred to as xintash, or "Mayor." The leaders of the four quadrants are called perinsh, or "Governor." The leader of the whole of the gnomish capital is called snirj, or "Lord." 

Orcs 

First Name Conventions: Orcs, with their focus on actions over words, are often quiet in conversation, speaking only when action is called for. I interpreted this to mean that the orcish language is rough, guttural, and sharp. To that extent, the names of orcs are short words, mostly intimidating sounds. Linguistically, the orcish language is rich in Rs and Ts, which create a sense of sharply-spoken language. So the orcs in my world end up having first names like Trall, Ruk, Grat, Rilka, and Lazgar. 

Last Name Conventions: Orcish last names follow the same pattern as first names: short, sharp words. But while the first names of orcs are normally only a syllable (maybe two) long, their last names are a bit longer, which I used because I figured family names would be more distinct than first names. Orcish parents traditionally engage in a sparring match just after the child is born; the victor decides which of their last names passes on to the orcish child. Oftentimes, this sparring match is only a formality, as most modern orcs pass down the name of the more well-known of the parents. A few example last names for orcs would be Frenk, Dugorim, Ragash, Lagahk, and Bagdurash. 

Nickname Conventions: It is tradition in orcish society to gain a manner of nickname--an honorific of combat prowess--at the age of 16, when they enter adolescence. This honorific title is called grountin, or "Battle Face." Typically, a young orc spars against either a parent or other caretaker/mentor, and their actions become the source of a new grountin. Even if the young orc does poorly in the fight, they are rewarded with a name that honors what they did well. A formidable orc might have a grountinlike ruktin, or "Fearless"; an orc who performed less well in the fight might have a grountin like turrak, or "Cautious." These nicknames are worn as a badge of pride and are considered to foretell the future of the orc who has been bestowed the name. These nicknames are generally not shared outside of orcish society, as orcs recognize that the other races do not understand the cultural implications of it. 
Sample Names: Globat Borbal, Ghorza Rulfim, Shadbak Uloth, Grat Sharn, Lazgar Mazoga

Cultural Titles: Standard cultural roles like educator, religious representative, and artist are not particularly prized in orcish society, so those roles don't receive titles. But leaders of military forces and the role of village wise woman are honored. Orcish military groups don't follow a regimented structure; rather, there is one leader for each distinct group of troops, each of whom answer to the political leader of the group (who also serves as a kind of General of the army). The unit leaders are called kurak, or "arm," and the overall group leader is called ragtin, or "head," assuming that leader is not also the leader of orcish society known as Ragnar, or "supreme." The wise woman, who assists a clan's ragtin in a fairly equal role, is known as curtran, or "heart." In ascending order of respect paid, an orc might refer to one of these cultural leaders by their first name, their full name, their title, or their title and their last name. 

Civic Titles:  As described above, most of the leadership responsibilities in orcish society are the domain of the military leaders and the wise woman. For orcs who live in the orcish capital of Kruush on the island of Grob, ultimate fealty is paid to the Ragnar, whose clan tends to the other lesser clans on the island. The Ragnar is treated with great respect, but not necessarily deference; it is a cultural staple for orcs that anyone can challenge the Ragnar to a fair fight at any time to take the throne from them. In modern times, these challenges are less common, as orcs have tried to collectively mobilize against the other more imperialistic. 

How to Develop a Historical Event in Your Gameworld

Your gameworld has a distinct history and vibrant cultures. The forces of history combine to create a variety of effects that govern the way life in your world functions. And a well-developed history can inspire your players and show them that the gameworld is more real than they realize. But developing a sense of your world's history can be a challenge--which details are useful? This guide will show you how to turn an idea for a historical event into a full expression of your world. Read on for the details you'll need to create a meaningful historical event. 

In my gameworld, I have developed a few historical events into world-changing things that every person in the world knows about. Most of these events are designed to show how the origin of my society reached the point where standard D&D ideas can be represented. To that end, I developed historical events like the dissolution of kingdoms and the forging of a shared currency, which give my world a form that lends itself to D&D details. But I have also developed unique world events that make my world distinct from other homebrew settings. This guide will revolve around one such event--the Magic War--and show you how to design an event like it. 

Let's start with the write-up and move into why these choices serve you in your worldbuilding. You can find the document I've prepared here; I'll be using it as a framework for what we're doing here. The first thing that I think we should address is the brainstorming aspect. When worldbuilding and creating historical events, we want to imagine things that have meaningful effects on everyday life. I am in some ways hesitant to use a war as the example here, because often the result of wars is simply that a border changes or a certain group's access to governmental representation changes. These can be interesting ideas, but what's much more interesting is a world event that affects the culture of the world. I developed the Magic War not so much as a large armed conflict but more of an ideological struggle. That's why the conflict of the Magic War is about what people think magic should be treated as; there are forces which say to keep magic free, forces which say to regulate magic, and forces which want to outlaw magic altogether. I like this conflict because it's really about people's beliefs about fairness and power. I would recommend that you too develop events that are more culturally-oriented, if only because it will have much more interesting effects on your world than a series of battles. 

So now we have our main idea--a conflict between people from all walks of life along ideological lines. Then it's time to make a web of the information that will define how the conflict plays out. I started with the names of organizations and individuals who were prominent in the conflict. This gives me the ability to come back to these names when I need someone to do something important; it also lets me start before the conflict with just the ideas of the people who would get involved. Here's my array of important people--note that many are tied to the important organizations, which gives a sense that many broad interests are being served under a single banner: 

Combatants:	Pro-Magic	Pro-Regulation	Pro-Abolishment
Major Forces:	United Academies of Evanoch	High Council of Commerce	Citizens Against Magic
	The Magic User Alliance	Religious Protection League	Nature Preservation Society
	Governments of Mishara, Talon Gorge, Vestry	Governments of Finiel, New Dalton, Ringsdale, Torga, Underhar	Unified Artisan Coalition
Major Players:	Plia Yallo, Magic User Alliance Chief	Murphy Cavedweller, politician	Craig Nerrin, Regent of Such
	Forrester Ridge, grand sorcerer	Preston Rafter, high priest	Vaughn Plouder, CAM Head
	Randall Mintner, UAE Dean	Harley Constance, author	Terry Humbert, UAC Representative
	Torrine Aureli, high cleric	Pauline Foster, HCC Chair	Evelyn Knot, NPS Leader
	Calies Tasselman, scholar	Lenk Prodd, philosopher	Daniel Thorpe, Chief Editor of New Dalton Herald
Major Combatants:	Friella Volinea, grand mage	Julian Harp, famed mercenary	General Grant Taggert
	Laurie Denning, high cleric	Colonel Stephen Holton	Ophelia Dinnir, tracker
	Felix Pilliu, grand mage	Jackie Dustrider, mercenary	Captain Tossul Vark
	Lop Friggle Rind Seppa, grand sorcerer	Roger Gillina, high cleric	Sergeant Knox Bulwark
	Insellor Diesef, mercenary	Private Jop Derritt	Gerald Blademaker, militia leader
Casualties:	9,642	28,382	51,951
Total:		79,975

In addition to the organizations and names (which distinguish between combatants and more diplomatic or ideological players), I included a breakdown of the casualties on each side of the conflict. I figured that magic users have access to more power than the average person who wants magic abolished, and there are generally fewer magic users than otherwise, and ultimately the magic users do win, so I gave them the lowest casualty count. They're followed by Regulation forces, which might have a few magic users but who are more neutral in the conflict and thereby less inclined to be targeted by enemy forces than a diametrically opposed side. Finally, the Abolition forces take the highest casualties, as they are the least able to defend themselves and are the likeliest to be targeted by magic users. Initially, these numbers were just semi-random digits, but having a general idea to start with means that I have a reference point to work with. 

The next step is to create an overview of the information included in your event. In my overview, I talk about the formation of the sides of the conflict; one specific politician's suggestion of regulating magic to resolve sore feelings about magic users caused people everywhere to take sides depending on what they believe is right. I also describe the beginning of hostilities and the close of those hostilities with just enough detail that I have a sense of the framework of the event. You'll notice if you're looking at the description of the Magic War that the opening and closing of the war are really just suggestions of a larger idea. I like that because I'm a GM who loves to improvise and leave areas open in my gameworld in order to let players decide the world's fate. If you're a little more inclined to have everything totally spelled out, then develop these ideas in greater detail. But I think that unless you're having your player characters learn intense historical education, you can use the detail level I'm representing--it's what an average living person who didn't serve in the war would know, and that's enough. 

Next, I include a short section on the war itself. I indicate that magic users had a specific position in the war; many of their governments advocated for Regulation, and many of their neighbors were advocating for the Abolition of magic. This means that magic users were suddenly turned against their communities; it was fight your neighbors or lose your livelihood, and that gave the magic users a certain edge in the fight; they had more to lose than anyone else, and that edge ultimately turned the tide for the magic users. 

The next section in the document is a breakdown of major battles in the war. If you're opting for a more cultural impact than a war, I recommend substituting this section with a list of cultural events and diplomatic actions, or something that similarly serves your event. Such a list might include successful and failed diplomatic missions, public statements, newspaper articles, works of art, governmental measures, or inventions. In the case of the Magic War, though, these events are represented by battles. For each battle, I indicate a date that the battle took place, a location that the battle took place, which forces fought there, and what the casualties looked like. I also include a description of the battle: how it started, who fired the first shot, what actions turned the tide of the battle, and how it ended, as well as impacts of the battle (like changes to the momentum of the involved forces and later battles). 

I include in my list a total of five battles. I think that five is a good number to stick with; less than that, and the event seems abbreviated and unrealistic, but more than that, and the event seems unwieldy and includes too many details for the players to really process and appreciate. In the case of the Magic War, the five battles show the general trend of the war over time; the magic users initially pull ahead, the Regulation and Abolition forces deal heavy blows to one another, and the magic users experience a setback. This general trend sets up the magic users as favorites, but the late Indigar Raid hands the magic users a mixture of a draw and defeat. You can imagine how the culture of the world is affected by all of this. Abolition forces see magic users as uncontrollable liabilities who can overpower anyone they choose, and the early battles of the war bear this out. It was only the increasing ruthlessness of the war that led to the Indigar Raid, as people feared a world in which magic users could go unchecked in their powers. Thousands of Regulation and Abolition forces were dying compared to only hundreds of Pro-Magic forces. It was a troubling time for many. And it all sets the stage for the end of the war. 

I've also included a section called "Important Events." This, like the overview, is not as detailed as it could be; the idea here is to create a sense of what is going on during the war that isn't a direct battle. This is another place you could lean on the many cultural things that we can consider (successful and failed diplomatic missions, public statements, newspaper articles, works of art, governmental measures, or inventions). In the case of the Magic War, I opted for a few assassination attempts and a public massacre. Initially, there are some botched assassination attempts: the magic users fail at the assassination of two Regulation leaders, and the Regulation forces respond by assassinating a prominent magic user leader. This is early in the war, so it adds to the sense that magic users were fighting everyone around them; the early failure to assassinate rival leaders makes the magic user cause more desperate to get the upper hand. The public massacre is a way to show that the war turned the public consciousness violent enough to attack civilians, and it also shows that the war was loudly opposed by even some who had a stake in the war. Finally, I close this section with the Abolition assassination of an vital Regulation leader; this both removes Regulation momentum and shows that Abolition forces grew more violent and desperate as the war escalated and turned away from their favor. 

The final section in this document is about the resolution of the war. I describe the final battle of the war, which the magic users decisively win with the deployment of a powerful spell ("Stop Time" freezes the battlefield, allowing magic user forces to strike at their foes invulnerably). As a result, Regulation and Abolition forces capitulate at a tavern in the nearby city of Talon Gorge, and free use of magic reigns supreme over the land. The treaty signed by Regulation and Abolition forces recognized free magic as the law of the land and dissolved the military forces of all sides involved. So ends the Magic War after nearly a year of slaughter across the countryside, and today, people in my world are still bitterly committed to their cause, but do not speak of it for fear of riling up someone with a different cause. 

So I've developed this whole historical event. No what? Well, there are lots of things you can do with an event like this. One fairly obvious implementation would be a campaign that is set during the Magic War. I've developed it as history, but wouldn't all the fighting and diplomacy and other machinations of the war be a fun storyline? I could just put my players in my world 30 years before the present day and let them serve in the army of their choosing. Or I could have a storyline that echoes that event--perhaps there's a faction of Abolition forces who have been quiet for years but are lurking in the darkness, preparing to launch the first attack of a new war. Or it could be more cultural in scope: perhaps the players are involved at a university where debates over the war are still raging. Or we might get even more cultural and start dropping references to the war in common speech--perhaps a wizened old spellcaster has stories about their old days serving for the right to use magic. Or maybe the appeal of Regulation never went away, and some cities and towns are starting again to push for Regulation--what would a spellcasting player character do? These are all just some ideas about how to include the historical event in the gameworld so that it's more than an idea, but an actual reality for the players. You can do all this and more with a well-developed historical event. 

So get to it: brainstorm your idea, get the big picture written down, and start to think about how the details can reflect the big picture. You'll find that even the most unassuming idea can become spectacular with the right details in place. And remember that these events should honor your players as much as your own interests--try developing historical events that reflect what your players are interested in by personalizing your game's content. And most of all, have fun with it. Creating a history for your world should create interest in the gameworld for you, so if you're not having fun, bring it closer to what you really enjoy. Before long, you'll have a sparkling, rich gameworld your players will love. 

That's all for now. Coming soon: a list of ideas for your next BBEG, a one-shot inspired by Alice in Wonderland, and naming conventions in my homebrew world. Until next time, happy gaming!

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