Worldember 2023

While last year my Dimi mission led me to create articles for every major settlement on the continent of Teldora. This year I want to focus on more on the basics of the world. I've started work on some of my gods, on the history and cosmology of Lothrea in the past, and I think it's finally time to finish this up.
Additionally, because I'm currently running a D&D campaign in this world, worldbuilding for that will never stop and shall continue during Worldember as well. Currently the campaign is focusing around the islands and conflicts of the Golden Coast, so expect more to come there as well.

Mini Meta

Writing a mini meta about the foundations of the world, including gods, history and cosmology.... that kinda feels like writing the actual meta, doesn't it? And while I totally agree that it would be a good idea and I should do it, I don't really have the time to dive into that at the moment. So let's try a mini meta for the foundations of Lothtrea, focused on its gods, cosmology and history:
1. There is no pure good, nor pure evil
Lothrea is a gray world. There is no clear line between good and evil, and this includes the gods. Every god has positive and negative connotated realms of power, and can be viewed in a good and evil light. Therefor different religions and cultures might worhsip the same god in a completly different way
2. Nobody and nothing is untouchable
A god isn't allmighty and untouchable. There is no intrinsic difference between a god, a devil, and a powerful mage reshaping reality. In the end, they are all just very powerful entities, able to influence Lothrea on a level beyond mortal comprehension.

Homepage and Organisation

I'm still quite happy with the categories I've set up for Worldember two years ago. In combination with the index and hub pages I've been creating, it is a quite nice way to navigate Lothrea. Still there are many places left that need some navigational tools.
This is the main reason why I revamped my entire homepage over the last couple weeks. There is still a lot more work to be done, many articles and overview pages are still missing, but this is the general idea I will be expanding on over the next couple weeks.
The homepage itself should is clear of clutter and only provides a short elevator pitch of Lothrea, and a handful links helping different kinds of readers to jump into the world. Most of these articles are still heavily work in progress.

Introductionary Articles

Lothrea has two primary audiences. People who are just here for the worldbuilding and reading, and TTRPG players. Both paths will eventually introduce a new reader to Lothrea, just focused on different aspects of the world.

The introduction will eventually contain a primer for the world. It should introduce a reader to the core concepts of Lothrea, and help understand its foundations. It should also provide entry points into the world to get started reading.

The Player's Handbook should introduce somebody starting to play in Lothrea to the world and its concepts. It should also include a step by step guide on how to create a character and ground it in the lore and history of the world.

Returning points

Returning points are as important as the Introductions. They provide a way for people returning to the world to find things they are looking at. These articles should be well organised and quickly provide ways to access all interesting information. Each returning point includes a Table of Contents, and Indices of all relevant types, as well as quick links to important articles.

The World Atlas contains anything that is related to a physical (or metaphysical) place. This includes cities & settlements, countries, oragnisations, characters, cultures and much more. The World Atlas is structured like a tree. Starting at the root and then expanding outwards getting more and more detailed.

The World Encylopedia contains everything that can't be lokalized to a single place. Concepts, Deities, Natural Laws, Flora and Fauna, Myths and Legends and more.

The last category is currently empty - at least to the public. It contains everything related to campaigns and adventures taking place within Lothrea. This includes campaign specific player information, and GM notes. Eventually this category will also contain publicly available adventures and campaigns.