Use the Vehicle template to write about any kind of means of transportation. This includes medieval carriages, automobiles, aircrafts and armored vehicles!
Contents
What should I use this template for?
This template is for most things that you would naturally define as "vehicles". Here are some examples:
Animal powered vehicles
A vehicle can be animal powered, especially in older times or smaller rural areas. It might be a chariot, sled, carriage, camel train or a horse artillery. Of course you can use any kind of appropriate animal in your fantasy world for your vehicle, like a dragon or a pegasus! The animals themselves can serve as vehicles as well.
Flying vehicles
Vehicles that use advanced technologies or special magical or alchemical powers can tell your readers a lot about your world. So a good question to ask yourself is, what powers or fuels them? This can show the advancement of technology in your world as well as the wealth in resources and craftmanship. A flying vehicle could resemble an aircraft, helicopter, hot air balloon or a dragon castle!
Water vehicles
Water vehicles are suited for long distance travel, commuting, cruising, racing and off-road riding. If your world has expansive bodies of water, like oceans, rivers and lakes, a water vehicle could be ideal for many situations. Some water vehicle examples are pirate ships, submarines, houseboats, underwater robots, seaplanes and jetskis.
Armored vehicles
Vehicles are also commonly used for offense and defense during battle. Armored vehicles can be extremely powerful, turning the tide on one's opponent. Some typical armored vehicles are tanks, battle aircrafts and battleships.
Template walkthrough
Remember that all template prompts are optional! In fact some prompts might not be relevant to you. As always, there's a free-writing section at the top (which we call vignette) and the prompts are under the Expand prompts & connections button.
If you use the Class field (for example, to define the prototype of the vehicle), an "organization tree" will be automatically generated at the bottom. This tree will visually represent all related vehicles; learn more about it here.
The prompts are organized into three tabs:
- Identity
Use this tab to write about the basic details about the vehicle, including the naming, and the creation date. This tab has multiple dropdowns in which you can link the vehicle to other articles you've written, such as the Character that owns it and the Organization that manufactures it. - Properties
Here you can fill in the vehicle's characteristics and capabilities such as its length, rarity, capacity and speed. - Systems
Use this tab to write about any offensive or defensive systems, such as weapons, sensors, and armor.
Step-by-step guide to writing a vehicle
Here are some steps you can follow to write a Vehicle article:
- What's the vehicle's purpose?
Think about this question in both an in-world and off-world way. Why do you, the worldbuilder, need it in the world? What themes does it represent, how can it progress the plot, and what advantages will it offer? And in-world, who can use it and how? Does it have any special functions or properties? - What does it say about the world?
Is it a product of advanced technology? Does one need special powers to operate it? What is it made out of and what powers it? The answers to all these questions will give your readers information about your world, its laws and how it operates. - How can it be used?
The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about vehicles is their transportation ability. Is this your vehicles' only function? Is it armed or armored? Can it scan ahead? Does it have a communications device? Can it make coffee?!
Need more pointers? Take a look at these guides:
Community examples for inspiration
Need some inspiration? Here are some vehicle articles written by our amazing community!
- Airship Queen Eleanor, by Tillerz
- Sunbreaker SF-2, by skairunner
- Airship, by TJ Trewin
- TimeBikes, by LexiCon (WordiGirl)
- Heureux, by Morgan Berry
