New Years Recommendations 2023

Recommendations

In this article I'm going to share four articles by four worlds I've really loved this Worldember. Some of these worlds have flown under the radar, some you may already know, but what they all have in common is excellent worldbuilding and formatting. After I've talked a bit about these worlds and why I chose them, I'll share some of my plans for 2023. With no further ado...

When Darkness Craves by Revyera

But sometimes, someone walks through a forest that is a little too quiet, enters an alley a little too cold, steps into a shadow a little too dark.

When Darkness Craves by Revyera is set in the Dark Halls, an otherworldly realm of endless halls infested by a living, hungering Darkness. This world is weird, and in the best way possible.

Other Highlights
Burial Rites in the Dark Halls • Light Powered Engines • "How to survive first days in the Dark Halls, part 1"
The Archivists of the Dark Halls are as strange as the realm they inhabit, and I do not believe I could summarize them in a way that does this article justice.
The styling of When Darkness Craves is impeccable and full of character. The green is eldritch, and the graphics are video-game esque. I really appreciate how thorough the work and the theming is. This world has a very strong sense of what it is about and what it is for.

Alyena's Adventures by AP.

Other Highlights
The Welcome Basket • Nordic Mers • Academy of Arcane Arts

Alenya Pinwick, Witch and Healer, has left the city of Draxford to forge her own path in the mountain village of High Rannoc.

In Alenya’s Adventures we follow AP.'s playthrough of the solo RPG Apothecaria. I was really impressed by the articles AP. made this Worldember. We sadly only got six articles, but they're all a treat to read.

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In A Brief Introduction to Witchcraft we get a great overview over the kinds of witchcraft we might encounter during Alenya's Adventures. It's very well formatted. The use of columns invites us to compare and contrast the various crafts. I am especially fond of the descriptions. They are short and varied, giving up enough to get a feel for each craft in just a few sentences.
I also love the way the icons are used. It's a great example of how much they can add to an article.

Eivrall by Gabrielle Decker

Other Highlights
Spiralia • Cybernetic Linguist • Nikkya Veré-Prince

It's like a broken record, the cycle of pain and recurring stories that feel all too familiar. I've heard it countless times in my nightmares, and now it's happening again. We've all heard it before - history repeats itself. Only, this time, we don't have our magic.

Gabrielle Decker's world is not just gorgeous, the writing is equally captivating. It's a futuristic fantasy world where the magic has left.

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The Archivist's Introduction functions as a primer for the world itself, and it is beautifully styled. We get small chunks that introduce us to the people of the world, then take us through the history of the setting. It has one of the cleanest implementations of a map that I've seen. Letting us scroll past fixed images gives a cinematic feel, and really emphasizes the sense that we're getting a glimpse into the world.
As a final touch, the article wraps up with a recommended path through the categories of the world. It's a really fascinating way to go about familiarizing a new reader.

Shedim by Qurilion

Other Highlights
Patronage • D11 • Vampires • Hellware

Monsters and magic, powers ancient beyond measure, lurk in the dark. In the shadows, another world lies next to our own, both a sanctuary and prison - a place beyond the reach of mortals.

Shedim is classical urban fantasy, it is so damn cool and irreverent. Shedim scratches that World of Darkness itch in a way few things can. It was one of the first worlds I fell in love with on World Anvil.
I was introduced to Shedim in 2021 during Summercamp, and I've been bothering Qurilion for updates since.

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I'm a big fan of Qurilion's writing style. I love wordplay and strong imagery, and his prose is full of it. One touch I really like is how Qurilion touches on related articles but reintroduces them as they are relevant to the article he's currently writing.
Aspects was one of my favourite articles in Shedim this worldember. Like most articles, it's got a great name and a great concept. Adventures, whether voluntary or not, should leave a permanent impact on a character, and Aspects is full of creative examples.

Resolutions

I find a year is a bit too long a time to consider, so these resolutions are mostly focused on what I want to achieve during the first three months of the year.

Worldbuilding Awards

My major goal right now is preparing Solaris so I can submit it to the World Anvil Worldbuilding Awards. Mostly this involves polishing up some older articles, but I'm also going to make some improvements to the homepage and the meta.
As a treat, I decided to share some of the tools I'm using to plan for WAWA. You can find a blank version of my planning spreadsheet here if you would like to make a copy.

Finishing Little Blue

During Summercamp I started a short comic to teach myself the medium. I want to finish that story.
I also want make it into a small zine to practice printing. Luckily, ZineMonth is coming...

Solaris Discord

There's already a small community growing around Solaris, and I want to encourage that by making a discord.
I want to challenge myself to have at least one discord event going on each month.

Seven Wonders of Sol

This Worldember I was challenged by Dimitris Havlidis to write about some of the great locations and landmarks of Solaris.
I decided to make these the Seven Wonders of Sol. So far I've written about the Airship of Theseus. One down, six to go!