Tag: Specific Worldbuilding

Worldbuilding Questions: Post #11 – Crime and the Legal System

Hey everybody! I’m super excited to bring you a new worldbuilding post today. Today’s gonna be a bit of a short one as I’m preparing for travel to my internship this summer! Hopefully, I’ll be able to wrap that up soon and settle in for some more interaction with my followers and the ever supportive #writingcommunity.

Today, we’re going to talk about building the laws of your universe. We’ve covered metaphysical laws and magical laws that have governed the greater world. But it’s time to focus on the laws of humans and/or magical beings on a more intimate level. Crime and law can play an interesting role in a fantasy novel. It can create intrigue in a character who’s been on the run from the law for years. It can call into question a ruler’s legitimacy. Law creates a framework for what’s acceptable or unacceptable in your society and can be portrayed as both a social and a moral issue. It can showcase what is important to the people in your world or to the founders of your societies.

Let’s get started! (Again, we’re working from this link!)

Law

Before we start with a few of the more specific questions, I’d like you to sit down and make a list. The first section is going to consist of standard laws that are going to be your basic expectations. Include the magical laws you created in post #5 in this. How does your society feel about murder? Are there any situations where murder is acceptable, such as in self defense? How about theft: common theft and grand theft? Where does kidnapping fall on the scale? The second section is going to include any laws you can think of off the top of your head that will directly play into your story. Don’t be concerned if you can’t think of any at this stage. It isn’t necessary, and you can always add to it later. Now go back through that list and name the punishments for breaking each law or code.

Now, let’s get in to more specific questions. What are the typical and legal ways for gathering evidence? Does your society follow a more standard system of obtaining search warrants, questioning witnesses, and following a structured path? Or can you obtain information through more violent methods such as torture? Are there any magical methods to add to this list? In my world, the Upper Realm has a few users of forensic magic, magic that can backtrace a spell and pinpoint it to a specific magical signature. Mages who have the gift and have studied this extensively can pin down the sex, birthplace , and current location of the caster. Can evidence collected by magical means be entered into a court?

What is the status of weaponry? Can anyone own a weapon or certain types of weapons? Are any groups of people restricted from having access? Do some groups of people who are required to carry a weapon by law?

Are certain spells illegal? Why? How are magic users punished for casting illegal spells? Are there gradations of punishment? Are any magic users above the law? Keep this section in particular in mind as this can influence your characters’ minds as whether to break or not to break said laws.

The Legal System

Are there separate courts for civil and criminal cases? Do separate courts exist for humans and magic users, or are they all tried by the same system? Does a special court exist for the trials of magical crimes? Take care in the choices you make here. If your intention is to create a fair system, you have to have a system of judges that can be impartial. That would require them to have an understanding of both magical and non-magical affairs, whatever that means to you. If you want a corrupt system, feel free to disregard that and blow your whole court system to hell.

Who is responsible for catching criminals? Again, you will need to establish whether there is a separate enforcement group for magical and non-magical beings. How are these people organized? Do they work full-time, part-time, or do they volunteer for the assignment? Are they paid by the government, or has the practice been privatized? Now that I think about it, it could be interesting to see a story where police work had been entirely privatized.

Once someone is caught in violation or in suspicion of violation of a crime, how are they treated? Are they innocent until proven guilty, or guilty until proven innocent? Are they held anywhere special?  What is the procedure for arresting someone?

Who represents the parties of a case? Are there lawyers and advocates, or do the people have to represent themselves in a civil or criminal case? Are there judges other than the ruler or the legislators themselves? How are those people chosen?

I hope I’ve given you a lot to think about today. These questions are super interesting, and I can’t wait to hear what all of you do with it. I love to hear interesting ideas, so feel free to comment below!

Worldbuilding Questions: Post #10 – Social Organization: Government and Politics

Hey everyone! Welcome back to another Worldbuilding post. We’re about three quarters of the way through this worldbuilding series! I don’t know what we’re going to go into next after this questionnaire, but I know we’ll find something! Today, I want to focus on what can be one of the more intriguing elements in a world, if used properly: the introduction of government and politics.

Government and politics has a heavy influence over my novel. Conspiracy is a beautiful thing to create, but it requires a deep and intimate knowledge of how to undermine your own system. In order to do that, however, you must start with a system that you can either build on or poke holes in depending on your story. I hope that I can present these questions in a way that will be easy to understand and easy to build from.

Let’s go! (Here’s the link!)

Government: The Basics

First, we need to start with a structural question: how has magic and the presence of magic users affected the structure of government and the law? Are magic users barred for holding office, or is it mandatory to have magic to hold office? Once we know the answer to this, we can focus on the actual structure of the government.

You have a lot of government types to choose from. I’m going to outline a few options here:

  • Feudal system – The king grants land to the barons, who in turn provide money and knights to him. The barons grant land to their knights, who provide military and protection services to the barons. The knights grant lands to villeins, or serfs, who provides food, labor, and services whenever demanded.
  • Aristocratic system: a government ruled by a small privileged class of people made up of those who feel the best qualified to rule.
  • Oligarchy: power rests with a small group of people.
  • Absolute ruler: One monarch holds supreme authority. Authority is not restricted by any written laws or customs.
  • Democracy: a system of government by the whole population, or all of the eligible members, usually through elected representatives.

Pick something that fits. If one of these doesn’t feel right to you, choose another.

Government: Services

What kind of services is the government responsible for providing? These can include items as broad as maintaining an army or as specific as providing public education. Which services are then provided privately or locally?

Who has the right to levy taxes? What kind of taxes, and on who? This can help establish different social classes.

Who supports the heads of state? What kind of associates and assistants help them out? How are these people selected? Are they elected or selected by the heads of state themselves, or do they apply for the position like any other job?

Who is considered a citizen? What rights and privileges does that grant them? What responsibilities are theirs to take on? Are there any classes or groups of people have fewer rights than a citizen? Why are they kept repressed?

Government: Status and Succession

How can you advance in status? Does more money move you up further, or do you have to be placed in that position based on selection or election?

Then we need to focus on the rules of succession. Who takes over running the government if the head is incapacitated? Is there an apparent heir or successor? How many levels of succession are there? Is there potential for the land to dissolve into chaos? Who is responsible if the heir or successor turns out to be a minor? My story features this element rather prominently. Without giving anything away, I am playing around with who is expected to rule and who will end up ruling along with some ancient Fae laws that will throw the world into disarray.

Government: More Questions

The last several questions revolve around a variety of subjects. Some attest to the protection of the heads of state and the greater land at large. Others refer to coinage, education, and diplomatic relations. I will leave those to you to answer. Feel free to comment with any questions you may have.

I hope you all have enjoyed this article! It was a fun one to write. Happy worldbuilding!

Worldbuilding Questions: Post #9 – People and Customs, Part Three

Alright guys, last worldbuilding post for a little bit! I wanted to finish rounding out the people and customs segment before I moved on to talking about something else. Today, we are going to address ethics and values as well as religion. Side note, there is one last subsection of this part of the questionnaire, population. I feel like these questions can be addressed without much explanation on my part. Therefore, I’m going to focus on the other two which frankly, are much larger and more instrumental.

Join me at this link one last time!

Ethics and Values

This is a piece of worldbuilding that is controversial within itself. I’ll try to keep all politically loaded opinions to myself. When building a community’s ethics and value system, one must take care. Know that someone will always disagree with what you are putting in place. If you are respectful about the choices you make and you keep them consistent, your world and your story can only benefit. Good story = happy readers.

Let’s start with something easy. What does your society value most in material goods? Is it gold and jewels or animals and furs? Do different cultures value different things? What about non-material things? Is that more highly valued in your world than material goods?

What kind of events are considered normal and acceptable in society that may not be acceptable in today’s world? What might be considered shocking that would not in today’s world? For example, is being left-handed a sign of greatness or a mark of the Demon king?  Think big issues in today’s world. Decide where they fall in your own world.

How much does your society value honor and honesty? What are the limits of that? Is any lie reprehensible, or do you tolerate white lies? Can binding oaths be broken or must they be honored no matter what? Is there a penalty, physical or magical, attached to that?

Who is considered a citizen in your world? What kind of rights and privileges do they have? Think about your social classes. Some may have more rights and privileges than others.

What is the ideal life that people aspire to? What are the ideal traits that people strive to embody?

Religion and the Gods

The first and arguably the most important thing to consider is how religion views magic. Do any of them forbid the use of magic? Do any require the use of magic in order to be practiced? Is there a difference between miracles and magic? How are they distinguished?

How many religions exist in your world? Break them down and figure out what kind of characteristics they take on. What kind of gods or spiritual beings exist? How active of a role do they take in the buildings or structures in which they are worshipped? Do they have a heavy influence on people’s everyday lives? Define good and evil and what that means to each religion.

Do religions view non-believers neutrally or negatively? This is important to note as this can create tension between peoples. Is there a religion or religions that are heavily intertwined with the state? How present is religion in everyday life? How do people worship?

I hope these give you a lot to think about. Let me know what kind of ideas you come up with! I’d love to hear them!

Worldbuilding Questions: Post #8 – People and Customs, Part Two

Continuing from last week’s post, I would like to continue delving into worldbuilding on a societal scale and focus on a few areas of customs today: meeting and greeting, gestures, visits, and language. I’m keeping it light today because this Saturday, we’re going to be focusing on two of the most controversial topics in general: ethics and religion. Buckle up, everybody!

PSA: As always, another link!

Greeting and Meeting

Greeting fellow citizens can be as influential or as mundane as you would like it to be. Will a handshake suffice for the common man as well as the wealthy? Do nobles require a bow or some sort of elaborate movement? Or do you throw tradition to the wind and reverse the two types of greeting and make greeting common folk elaborate and noblemen simple? That’s actually a pretty interesting idea; I may have to use that in a different story…. Hmm…

Now, of course, there can be various customs surrounding greeting someone you have never met before. When your people are introduced to someone for the first time, who introduces them? Is it general or specific? Is there an order that people should be introduced in based on age or sex or status if it is a larger group? If it is a grand introduction, like perhaps at a ceremony, is there a way their name is said to give it more emphasis or stature? What about the differences between your given name and perhaps a “true name”, as some fantasy books like to include? How many people know a person’s “true name”? How many are allowed to know? Don’t forget to note how family members or significant others may greet each other as it could be different!

Gestures

This category really gets into semantics. Think about the way the average person moves in our world. Everyone has their own body language. Some people move their hands when they speak. Some tend to shift from side to side. Others still have habitual movement that comes up when they’re sitting or standing still. Take notice of that in other people that you interact with every day, and apply the same concept to your society.

What gestures are meant as insults? What’s the equivalent of the middle finger in your fantasy world? What gestures are taken kindly, like the “V” for peace? What gestures are signs of respect, like a salute or a bow? These details can add a little spice to your characters.

Visits

What topics should be avoided when you have guests over, particularly family? Politics? Religion? Family affairs? Can you imagine a scene where someone does bring up one of these topics?

How seriously does your world take the responsibilities of host and guest? Is it considered polite to offer food or drink or a place to stay for the night? Do these apply to everyday situations or only to special guests or circumstances? On the flip side, are guests obligated to accept any and all offers regardless of their personal preference? Or are they given the option to choose?

Language

One should exercise caution when deciding what to do about language in your world. Many wonderful fantasy books communicate solely in English with no interesting new words added to the mix. However, a select few manage to create a whole new engaging language to slip in throughout their plot. It takes a lot of creativity to come up with one. Make sure you’re up for the challenge!

Languages can come in all shapes and forms. Some societies have a trade language that helps to facilitate trade between groups or countries that don’t speak the same language. Are there languages only known by a certain group of people such as priests or wizards? Building slang can also be a fun way to incorporate a new language into a story. Slang phrases can really portray a character’s voice and style of speaking. You can also create an entirely new language for magic for the communication of spells and incantations.

Hope you all enjoyed today’s post! See you on Saturday!

Worldbuilding Questions: Post #7- People and Customs, Part One

I could not figure out what to post today! I sat in front of my computer, looking at my list of ideas for a half hour, and could not for the life of me figure out what I wanted to write. So I decided to bring y’all another worldbuilding post to continue this saga.

We’ve been focusing at worldbuilding on a larger scale for the most part so far in this series. Geography, natural resources, magic: we’ve built up a strong frame for your world to stand on. Now, I would like us to delve into your individual society or societies and the way that those function in their day-to-day lives. This is an incredibly detail oriented part of the worldbuilding process, so take care in your creating. You may gain whole new ideas from this section of the questionnaire!

Again, here’s the link to today’s questions!

Customs

I’m going to go ahead and skip over the first three questions in the “General” section because I believe they are in the wrong place and aren’t general at all!

This first question is going to draw on pieces that we discussed back when we were building your world. Does the weather or climate create any habits or customs for your society? I want to take that one step further and also include celestial bodies’ effects. For example, maybe your moon rises during what you consider the day, and the sun rises in the evening. That would affect what times people may wake up or farm or use artificial light sources.

Now, we’re going to go very small scale and talk about the family unit. What does the average family look like? How many people are included traditionally? Does this include or exclude extended family? (Note: we’re talking about trends here, not a homogenous end-all be-all detail. Remember not to make your societies one-noted!) Are there any sort of traditional family responsibilities or customs that are undertaken by the people? This can range from a society where the male is the head of the household or a society where a concept of Mother’s Day is a three week long festival celebrating mothers everywhere. Don’t be afraid to invent whatever you want, even if your book may never mention it. These details create depth that may pop up in other places.

Rites of passage can also be important to the understanding of society. In our world, these include events like a bat mitzvah or something even simpler like obtaining your first driver’s license. In a fantastical realm, these can include things like a knighting ceremony or a naming ceremony after birth.

Speaking of birth, what kind of customs and rituals surround the birth of a child? Who is present at the birth? Does the father stay with the mother or is he kicked out? What about the grandmother? Is there a midwife or a doctor present? How is a newborn introduced to the rest of the family? Is there a formal celebration? How about the rest of the community?

As these children grow up, who raises them? Is it a joint parent responsibility, or does one take over more than the other? How do children dress differently than adults, or do they dress any differently? What year do they begin their education? How long does that education last?

Finally, death. What customs surround death and the burial process? Is there a special group of people who takes over the ceremony of death, or does the family take on that responsibility? I really like this last question: are the dead feared, revered, or ignored? This could shape all kinds of other legends and lore.

Eating

Every society has their customs surrounding food. Food has always been something that brings us and bonds us together. So your fantasy world should be no different!

How do people eat together? Do families sit together at the dinner table, or is there a separation between adults and children? What about servants? Do they eat with the family or separate from view?

What dishes are considered holiday or special occasion meals? (Don’t worry, we’ll touch on holidays later in this series.) Are there any foods associated with events like births and burials? What about drinks? Do people only drink alcohol on certain days?

This questionnaire does a great job distinguishing between the average person and the upper class citizen. It asks pointed questions on both formal habits and customs as well as special arrangements that need to be made for important guests visiting. It even encourages you to think about how dining tables are set up and where the guests of honor or heads of household usually sit in relative to the other people.

I think I’ve given you a lot to think about, so I’ll stop here and continue with people and customs in a following post! I hope you all enjoyed. I can’t wait to see what you come up with!