Whether it’s the subterranean world beneath our feet, other planets racing through the sky, or intersections with other planes of existence, the worlds we can visit through role-playing games are infinite. The November 2018 RPG Blog Carnival hopes to capture a few of them.
The topic is inspired by the final message from the David Bowman at the end of 2010: Space Odyssey Two:
“ALL THESE WORLDS ARE YOURS EXCEPT EUROPA.
ATTEMPT NO LANDING THERE.
USE THEM TOGETHER. USE THEM IN PEACE.”
At movie’s end, Jupiter is transformed into a small star by the iconic Monolith. It’s four Galilean moons- Ganymede, Callisto, Europa, and Io – are transformed by the new star, as is Earth. I loved — and still love — the potential of this idea. What wonders await on the once-icy, now-Terran-like moons? How is the hellscape of Io changed? What new secrets await in the depths of Europa’s oceans … and the new Monolith that waits there? And what of Earth, whose inhabitants will now live under the light of two stars?
Equally inspirational is Jake Chambers’ last words to Roland in Stephen King’s The Dark Tower, Book 1: The Gunslinger.
“Go then. There are other worlds than these.”
I get shivers every time I read those words. And that’s what I’m shooting for with this blog carnival. “All These Worlds…” is meant to inspire us to create new worlds, revisit old ones, or ruminate on the art of world building. Throughout the month I’ll be posting some of my favorite worlds from my home campaigns, including planar destinations from Dungeons & Dragons, interstellar locations from Star Wars, and new gate addresses for Stargate.
What should you post? While I’m focusing on building new worlds, the act of world-building — of creating new cultures, religions, organizations, etc. — is certainly a valid approach. So is reminiscing about your favorite destinations from your own campaigns, fantasy and science fictional worlds, and anything else that inspires you.
The sky (or rather, the multiverse) is the limit.
Featured Image Meta
A view of Saturn backlit by the sun taken by the Cassini space probe. Credit: Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Need some inspiration for creating your worlds? Check out these random planet generators:
https://www.nuketown.com/random-planet-generators/
It was a day early but considering the topic, I’m going to submit this one. It’s not a world, but an entire sector ready to be populated.
http://expandingfrontier.com/2018/10/expanded-frontier-map/
Excellent — thanks for the contribution! I look forward to reading it.
I’m in! I guess that my “10 Weeks of Ravnica” will have a special entry about the world itself instead of focusing on one of their guilds… I’ll leave a link with the entry when it’s properly done and published.
http://codexanathema.com/2018/09/29/glittering-guilds/
Thanks — a write-up on Ravnica would be great! I’m vaguely familiar with the world (I’ve played some Magic: The Gathering over the years). It’d be good to know more, especially with the campaign guide coming out.
Promises made, promises kept.
http://codexanathema.com/2018/11/30/ten-guilds-one-city/
I’ll see if I can’t tie in my Zelda Month post to this, otherwise I might have something in the works!
Zelda Month eh? My kids will love that.
I’m currently making magic items based on the series. I might make another post, possibly monsters.
https://daemonsanddeathrays.wordpress.com/2018/11/07/bizarre-bazaar-legend-of-zelda/ Here you go! I’m not sure I’m gonna stick to a Zelda theme, I just wanted to do something in tribute to a youtuber I like. Needless to say, I’m pondering something else for the blog carnival.
Here is mine!
At the Planets of Madness OR Boldly Going Where No One Can Hear You Scream.
http://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2018/11/at-planets-of-madness.html
At Rising Phoenix Games we’ve been going to the world below the waves, exploring the oceans and what the D&D core books have to offer us for building your underwater campaign:
Part 1 looks at the Player’s Handbook:
http://www.risingphoenixgames.com/blog/underwater-adventures-in-dungeons-dragons/
Part 2 dives into the Dungeon Master’s Guide:
http://www.risingphoenixgames.com/blog/dnd-undersea-adventures/
And part 3 explores more options hidden within the depths of the Monster Manual:
http://www.risingphoenixgames.com/blog/sea-monsters-dnd-ocean-adventures-part-3/
What are you waiting for, plunge right in 😉
Thanks again for all the entries folks! I haven’t had a chance to read them all yet, but I’m looking forward to doing so.
My second entry for “All These Worlds…” is the Ghost Walk Star Cluster:
https://www.nuketown.com/the-ghost-walk-star-cluster/
I originally wrote it up for my Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic campaign. In fact, this location inspired one of that campaign’s most memorable sessions:
The Final Flight of the Aeon Harrier
https://www.nuketown.com/game-day-the-final-flight-of-the-aeon-harrier/
Ken
Just in time for Thanksgiving, here’s a second helping! More on topic, it’s ramblings about the strange science-fantasy universe I’ve been creating since youth!
https://daemonsanddeathrays.wordpress.com/2018/11/21/rpg-blog-carnival-all-of-these-worlds/
Well, it came down to the wire, but I made it! Here I talk more about the processes I take when world building a high-fantasy setting, with direct examples of the world.
The Process of World building Mitica: https://www.roll4.net/the-process-of-worldbuilding/
Another entry from Nuketown for “All These Worlds”:
The traveling city of Walkabout for Numenera:
https://www.nuketown.com/walkabout/
Well, it is still November, so I guess it’s still valid 🙂
It’s about using a Tarot-style deck to improvise Worlds, either on-the-fly or as World-Building Sessions: https://space-timewilltell.yoric.xyz/post/plotonomicon-creating-worlds/