I was able to complete my goal of writing 24 prompts over the month of July, even with a couple of trips sprinkled in there. I'll admit it was often difficult: there were times when I didn't really have anything for the prompts that were released, and so I sort of kicked the can down the road to see what the next week would bring. Truth be told I did most of my writing in probably the last two weeks of July, with only a few prompts written in the first two. I also sometimes didn't quite see the point of it: Terrathria has existed mostly in a session-by-session state, where I would simply write whatever needed to be written to be ready for the next session. I didn't do a lot of worldbuilding before, because I didn't want to have gone to the trouble of writing something and then not getting to use it with my players. But I do appreciate being forced to write about things I normally wouldn't: sometimes an article that I didn't think would lead anywhere actually led to an interesting possibility for a sidequest, b-plot or new NPCs for the party to interact with. I don't know excatly how much of Terrathria my current group will experience, but I do enjoy knowing that now I have just that little bit more to play with- be it with my current group or a future one.
Below is the list of articles I read, with their "title,"
World and
author
- "The Burned Frontier" from Beasts that Bleed Dreams by rarestereocats
- "Treaty of Five Nations" from Valtena by Alishahr
- "Sapdriller Beetle" from Wanted: Hero by Jamie Buckley
- "Atos of Red-Seat-in-the-Desert" from Chronicles of Aeridos by Ivory Garcia
- "The Artist from Aradeia by Noah_Oowada
- "The Star Below" from Lovenoma by Soul Sorbet (I was unable to leave a comment on this piece, which is a shame because this was one of the dopest things I've ever read.)
- "The Convicted" from Pangorio by Dazzlinkat
- "Kimanjo City" from 2d0 Hammersphere by Rahjar
- "Peter Piper's Personal Protection Pepper Powder" from Once Upon a Time in the Covenants and the 7 Realms by G.M Catalano
- "Forgers' Tongue Language from Linebound by Paul Norris
As my players get futher along in the narrative, and the option to travel out of the country their characters are currently in arises naturally, I want to be sure that I have plenty of material for them to encounter, and I've realized the best way to do that is by having a deep understanding of the part of the world they're going to, and the people who live there. Very often when writing prompts about groups of people or special places, my mind automatically came up with a conflict that would arise because of one reason or another. These conflicts can then form the basis of quests and jobs for the party, and allow them to feel like they're part of a world that actively changes and moves without them- they get just a small window into the cultures and kingdoms which surround them, and can choose to help, hinder, or ignore different people in the regions they travel through. The consequences of any one decision, I will (hopefully) be able to incorporate into later sesssions, and keep the story ever-changing and reactive, while acknowledging what my players do and the choices they make.
Ive found that the WorldAnvil prompts system works fairly well for me if i'm stumped or I simply want to come up with new and interesting plot points. In the future, I'm going to be using the prompt generator feature, and finding one that speaks to me in some form or another. I can then tailor an idea I already had to the prompt, or I might be inspired to put the subject of that prompt in a particular area and give it that area's flavor and vibe. I probably will not be writing at quite the rapid pace since work has started again, but I would like to still shoot for maybe 3 prompts a month, in addition to whatever session prep I'm doing.
I'm looking forward to it!
Comments