🦸 Characters

Character Archetypes

Protagonist

The protagonist is the character who drives the plot, pursues the main goal of the story, and usually changes or grows over the course of the film. A protagonist enters the film with a goal and by the end of the film, they either achieved that goal or did not. The protagonist’s character arc is defined by the pursuit of that goal. Classic examples of protagonists from film are Luke Skywalker and Harry Potter. All stories must have a protagonist, but not all stories need a hero.

Three types of protagonists:

Hero - someone we can all relate to, and his downfall will fill us with pity and fear. The hero is the “good guy”—the type of virtuous protagonist the audience roots for and wants to succeed.
Anti-hero - an unlikely protagonist who does not necessarily have virtuous or villainous qualities but who is able to behave heroically if the opportunity arises.
Villain - the villain protagonist is the villain, an undeniable “bad guy,” is also driving the plot as the central character.

Main Character

The main character (aka principal character) is a central character who acts as the audience surrogate—we experience the story through their eyes. The main character is involved in the story, interacts with the secondary characters, and is personally impacted by the plot’s main conflict. The main character and the protagonist are often, but not always the same character.

Reasons to separate main character and protagonist:

Unrelatable Protagonist: If the audience is not able to relate to the protagonist, the main character can be a more relatable entry-point to the story. In Tim Burton’s adaption of Charlie and the Chocolate factory, Willy Wonka is the protagonist and drives the plot, but he is also misanthropic and too kooky to be relatable for the audience. Charlie, the main character, acts as the audience surrogate.
Point of View: A main character can act as a plot device to reveal greater truths about your protagonist. In The Great Gatsby, for example, we are able to see the protagonist, Jay Gatsby, as a flawed and dishonest man more clearly through the eyes of the main character, Nick Carraway.
Added irony: A separate main character creates irony or a juxtaposition. Atticus—an adult lawyer—is the protagonist of To Kill a Mockingbird, a story about a rape trial with grown-up themes. The story, however, is told through the eyes of the main character, Scout, Atticus’s young daughter. Scout’s innocence reveals the flawed moral values of society and the adults around her.

💢 Antagonist

Villain - evil character
Antagonist - character that gets in the way of the character’s main goal
Obstacle - something that stands in the way of the main character

Stakes Characters

For each character ties to the POV character:

What is the stake that your character has to that character?
How would your character’s success or failure affect that character?
What happens to your character if something positive happens to that character?
What happens to your character if something negative happens to that character?

Goal, Motivation, Conflict, & Stakes

Goal
- Plot: What does the character want to do or achieves?
- Arc: What must be resolved by growth, change, or a mindset shift?
Motivation
- Plot: Why do they want to achieve the plot goal?
- Arc: Why do they need to make that internal change?
Conflict
- Plot: What is blocking them from achieving the story goal?
- Arc: What is blocking them from internal change?
Stakes
- Plot: What’s at stake if they fail to achieve the goal?
- Arc: What’s at stake if they don’t change?

🌱 Character Arc

Shorthand for character arcs can follow with DREAM (denial, resistance, exploration, acceptance, and manifestation).

Outer Motivation: What outer motivation (story goal) is your character pursuing to try and attain her inner motivation?
Inner Motivation: Which of the 5 basic human needs is your character missing due to the wounding event and its after effects?
1. Physiological: the most basic and primal needs, such as food, water, shelter, sleep, and reproductive sex
2. Safety and Security: the need to be safe, in good health, and have stability, both for oneself and loved ones
3. Love and Belonging: tied to human connection and the ability to form lasting bonds, experience intimacy, feel love, and love others in turn
4. Esteem and Recognition: the need to be valued, appreciated, and recognized by others for one’s contributions, as well as to achieve higher levels of worthiness, self-respect, and confidence
5. Self-Actualization: the need to attain fulfillment through the realization of one’s potential. This might come in the form of pursuing and achieving meaningful goals, seeking knowledge, attaining spiritual enlightenment, or embracing core values, beliefs, and an identity so one may live one’s truth
Outer Conflict: What external forces (people, organizations, natural or supernatural phenomena, etc.) are blocking your character from achieving her outer motivation?
Inner Conflict: What internal difficulties (doubts, temptations, secrets, moral dilemmas, flaws that thwart success, opposing desires or goals, etc.) are making it hard for your character to achieve her outer motivation?
The Lie: What false belief (No one could ever love me; I can’t trust my own instincts; People are inherently evil, etc.) does the character now embrace because of the wounding event? This could be a belief about herself, an organization, a certain group of people, or the world at large.
Wound: What traumatic past experience caused the character deep psychological pain that continues to significantly impair her into the present?
Fear: What specific fear resulted from the wounding event that is now driving the character’s behavior?
Resolution: Briefly explain the steps your character will take to come to grips with her past. Make note of specific circumstances or opportunities that will allow her to gain perspective regarding the wounding event, refute the lie she has come to believe, and reject her emotional shielding so she can achieve the goal that will restore her missing need. Use whatever format works best for you, be it an overall summary of what the character will learn or a bullet list of events that will effect change.

🖌️ Creating a Character

Tips to make characters distinct:

Don’t make them sound the same with dialogue
Give them different visual styles
No names that are similar
Play up different quirks
Dig deep on their personalities

Avoid unsympathetic characters:

Unrelatable background
Lacking self-awareness or introspection
Self-aware - and still unlikable
Questionable motives
Cruel, selfish, illogical actions
Hoisted by their own petard
Either tons of character flaws or none

Reverse Backstory Tool

What is the character’s goal / outer motivation?
What attributes will help achieve this goal?
What positive emotions does this character feel because of these attributes?
Emotionally speaking, why do they want to achieve this?
What needs drive this character’s behavior?
What flaws get in the way of this goal?
What painful emotions do the flaws protect against?
What traumatic event triggered these same emotions in an intense, life-changing way? (Wound)
Because of the wounding event, what incorrect belief does the character hold to be true? (The Lie)

Character Template

Basics

Name
Birthday
Race
Nationality
Age
Gender
Height
Weight
Eye Color
Vision Impairment?
Skin Color
Hair Color
Hair Length
Body Shape
Posture
Head Shape
Nose
Mouth
Vocal Pitch
Vocal Speed
Clothing
Physical Health

Personality

Big 5
Enneagram
Sexual Orientation
D&D Alignment
Mental Conditions
Cursing
Likability
- Undeserved Misfortune
- Pet the Dog
- Likable Quirk
- Helping Others
  - Help the most people
  - Help those closest to character
  - Help themselves
Strengths
Weaknesses
Reverse Backstory Details (Goals, Flaws, Needs, etc)

History

Relationships to other characters
- Stakes characters
- Likes
- Dislikes
- Loves
Education
Job
Morality & Values
- Personal vs Private Values
Spirituality & Religion
Cultural Background
Past
- Traumatic Events
- First Memory
- Life-Altering Events
- First Death
- Best Thing Done
Present
- Best Things
- Worst THings
- Goals
- Failures
- Beliefs
- Lies
Future Dreams

🥅 Goals & Outer Motivation

General types of goals throughout the story:

What goals do they want to accomplish?
What goals are the most important?
What goals have the most attention?
What goals are discovered along the journey?
What goals do they abandon?

💥 Conflicts

Central Conflict
1. Character vs character
2. Character vs society
3. Character vs nature
4. Character vs technology
5. Character vs supernatural
6. Character vs self
Story-Level (Macro) Conflict
Scene-Level (Micro) Conflict
Internal Conflict

For each conflict:

What is your character attempting to do? (Thesis)
What is the oppositional force trying to do? (Antithesis)
What ways can this conflict be resolved? (Synthesis)

Relationship Friction

A divorce or breakup
A child wanting to live with one’s ex
A love interest taking up with someone else
A partner being unwilling to commit
A romance being stymied
A romantic competitor entering the scene
An ex interfering in one’s life
An unwanted romantic advance
Being betrayed or abandoned by a trusted ally or friend
Being cheated on
Being forced to marry
Being ignored or blown off
Being insulted
Being manipulated
Being rejected by a potential love interest
Being taken for granted
Being unable to forgive someone
Disappointing someone
Discovering a spouse’s secret
Domestic abuse
Family secrets being revealed
Having to betray a friend or loved one
Having to break someone’s heart
Losing one’s temper
One’s infidelity being discovered
Peer pressure
Seeing an ex with someone new
Sexual dysfunction
The reappearance of an estranged relative

Failures and Mistakes

A lie impacting someone else
A prank going wrong
Being unprepared
Breaking or destroying an important item
Causing a car accident
Causing a workplace hazard
Confiding in the wrong person
Doing something stupid while impaired
Dropping the ball
Failing at something
Getting caught doing something wrong
Getting caught in a lie
Having a one night stand with a coworker
Having poor judgment
Losing a bet
Losing a phone
Making a bad investment
Making a crucial mistake at work
Sending a private message to the wrong person
Taking advice from the wrong person
Underestimating danger
Unknowingly sharing incorrect information

Moral Dilemmas and Temptations

Being given an opportunity to cheat
Being offered an easy way out
Being offered dirty money
Being pressured to cover for a friend
Breaking the law for a good reason
Discovering an outcome has been fixed
Facing a difficult decision with no easy solution
Having feeling for someone one shouldn’t
Having to decide to help or do nothing
Having to steal to obtain something vital
Indulging when one should not
Leaving someone to the consequences of their actions
Making a discovery that threatens the bond of the friendship
Needing to sabotage someone to win
Pulling the plug on someone
Sacrificing ethics or morals for the greater good
Someone witnessing one’s misbehavior
Witnessing abuse
Witnessing Corruption
Witnessing Discrimination

Duty and Responsibility

A child getting sick
A problem at a child’s school
An elderly loved one requiring care
Being assigned an undesirable partner
Being assigned an unpleasant task
Being the bearer of bad news
Bureaucracy tying one’s hands
Chafing under poor leadership
Childcare falling through
Having to break a promise
Having to punish someone
Having to work with an enemy
Losing a job
Losing a source of transportation
Needing to disobey an order
Receiving a bad performance review
Work-life balance being threatened

Increased Pressure and Ticking Clocks

A deadline being moved up
A delay that makes one late
Being blackmailed
Being given an ultimatum
Being hunted
Being made to wait
Being saddled with unexpected responsibility
Being thrust into the spotlight
Getting lost
Having to beat the clock
Having to prove one’s innocence
Incurring an unexpected expense
Missing an important meeting/deadline
Realizing one is at a disadvantage
Unwanted scrutiny

No-Win Scenarios

Being caught in the middle
Being set up to fail
Being unable to save everyone
Conflicting internal needs or desires
Having to hurt someone to save them from the worst fate
Having to pick the lesser of two evils
Needing to sacrifice one for the good of many

Loss of Control

A Break-In
A Family Member Dying
A Guilty Party Escaping Justice
A House Fire
A Loved One Being Put in Harm’s Way
A Natural Disaster
A Partner Racking up Debt
A Recession or Economy Crash
A Spouse Losing Their Job
A Threatening Criminal Being Set Free
An Unexpected Pregnancy
Bad Weather
Becoming a Scapegoat
Being Audited
Being Captured
Being Controlled by Something
Being Evicted
Being Framed
Being Given Bad News
Being Orphaned
Being Poisoned
Being Pushed Toward a Specific Destiny
Being Scammed
Being Stranded
Being Targeted for Witnessing a Criminal Act
Discovering One Has a Child
Getting in a Car Accident
Having a Miscarriage
Having to Leave Someone Behind
Having to Move
Hours Being Cut at Work
Losing a Child in a Public Place
Not Getting a Desired Job
One’s Rent Being Raised
The Death of a Pet
War Breaking Out

Power Struggles

Being Arrested
Being Assaulted by a Stranger
Being Bullied
Being Falsely Accused
Being Forced into Complicity
Being Held for Questioning
Being Pressured by Family
Being Sabotaged
Being Subpoenaed
Being Sued
Being Targeted out of Revenge
Clashing Beliefs That Cause Problems
Forced Attendance
Gender Discrimination
Misaligned Goals
Nepotism or Favoritism
Racial Discrimination
Religious Discrimination
Sexual Orientation Discrimination
Social Discrimination
Suffering Harassment

Losing an Advantage

A Competitor Showing Up
A Place of Safety Being Compromised
Being Cast out of a Group
Having to Leave One’s Home or Homeland
Having to Split up for Safety
Lacking an Important Resource
Losing Access to Someone Important
Losing One’s Funding
Losing a Key Witness
Losing a Vital Item
Losing an Ally
One’s Livelihood Being Threatened
Rules Changing to One’s Disadvantage
Running out of Critical Supplies
Something Important Being Stolen

Ego

An Unexpected Loss of Prestige or Wealth
Being Cut from a Team
Being Discredited
Being Excluded
Being Lied To
Being Micro-Managed
Being Passed over for Promotion
Being Physically Marred Before an Important Event
Being Stifled
Being a Burden to Others
Experiencing a Crisis of Self-Doubt
Facing a Challenge Beyond One’s Skill or Knowledge
Having to Stay Behind
Learning That One Was Adopted
Not Being Taken Seriously
Not Knowing What One Wants
One’s Authority Being Threatened
Public Humiliation
Telling the Truth but Not Being Believed

Miscellaneous Challenges

A Fear or Phobia Rearing Its Head
A Health Issue Cropping Up
A Repressed Memory Resurfacing
An Anticipated Event Being Canceled
Being Approached by an Unwanted Visitor
Being Cursed
Being Forced to Lead
Being Mistaken for Someone Else
Being Placed Under a Spell
Being Recognized While Trying to Stay Under the Radar
Being Targeted by a Monster
Being Targeted by a Supernatural Force
Being Unable to Forgive Oneself
Being in the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time
Discovering a Dead Body
Having Unwanted Powers
Having a Crisis of Faith
Having to Circumvent Security
Having to Hide or Escape Detection
Needing to Infiltrate a Group
Needing to Lie Convincingly
Physical Exhaustion
Plans Changing Unexpectedly

🩹 Wounds

A character wound leads to psychological pain and the paralyzing belief that it could happen again. Fear develops based on the type of wound. The character’s actions and choices shift to prevent situations where this might come to pass.

Emotional shielding shows up through flaws, dysfunctional behaviors and habits, biases, a negative outlook or attitude, and/or the lie the character believes.

Failures and Mistakes

Accidentally killing someone
Bearing responsibility of many deaths
Being legitimately incarcerated for a crime
Caving to peer pressure
Choosing not to be involved in a child’s life
Cracking under pressure
Declaring bankruptcy
Failing at school
Failing to do the right thing
Failing to save someone’s life
Making a public mistake
Poor judgment leading to unintended consequences

Misplaced Trust and Betrayals

A sibling’s betrayal
A toxic relationship
Abandonment over an unexpected pregnancy
Being disappointed by a role model
Being disowned or shunned
Being let down by a trusted organization or social system
Being rejected by one’s peers
Childhood sexual abuse by a known person
Discovering a partner’s sexual orientation secret
Discovering a sibling’s abuse
Domestic abuse
Financial ruin due to a spouse’s irresponsibility
Finding out one was adopted
Finding out one’s child was abused
Getting dumped
Having one’s ideas or work stolen
Incest
Infidelity
Learning that one’s parent has a second family
Learning that one’s parent is a monster
Losing a loved one due to a professional’s negligence
Misplaced loyalty
Telling the truth but not being believed

Traumatic Events

A child dying on one’s watch
A house fire
A life-threatening accident
A loved one’s suicide
A miscarriage or stillbirth
A natural or man-made disaster
A parent’s divorce
A school shooting
A terminal illness diagnosis
A terrorist attack
Being humiliated by others
Being tortured
Being trapped in a collapsed building
Being trapped with a dead body
Divorcing one’s spouse
Getting lost in a natural environment
Giving up a child for adoption
Having an abortion
Having to kill to survive
Losing a loved one to a random act of violence
The death of one’s child
Watching someone die

Crime and Victimization

A carjacking
A home invasion
A physical assault
Being held captive
Being sexually violated
Being stalked
Being treated as property
Being victimized by a perpetrator that was never caught
Identity theft
Witnessing a murder

Disabilites and Disfigurements

A learning disability
A physical disfigurement
A speech impediment
A traumatic brain injury
Battling a mental disorder
Being so beautiful it’s all people see
Falling short of society’s physical standards
Infertility
Living with chronic pain or illness
Losing a limb
Losing one of the 5 senses
Sexual dysfunction
Medical condition
Stress
Psychological factors
Past trauma
Body image
Social difficulties
- Shyness
- Autism/ADHD/OCD/Social Anxiety/Panic
- Behavioral disorders
Social outcast

Injustice and Hardship

An abuse of power
Becoming homeless for reasons beyond one’s control
Being bullied
Being falsely accused of a crime
Being fired or laid off
Being forced to keep a dark secret
Being forced to leave one’s homeland
Being the victim of a vicious rumor
Being unfairly blamed for someone’s death
Experiencing poverty
Living through civil unrest
Living through famine or drought
Prejudice or discrimination
Unrequited love
Wrongful imprisonment

Childhood Wounds

A nomadic childhood
A parent’s abandonment or rejection
Becoming a caregiver at an early age
Being raised by a narcissist
Being raised by an addict
Being raised by neglectful parents
Being raised by overprotective parents
Being raised by parents who love conditionally
Being sent away as a child
Being the product of rape
Experiencing the death of a parent as a child or youth
Growing up in a cult
Growing up in foster care
Growing up in the public eye
Growing up in the shadow of a successful sibling
Growing up with sibling’s disability or chronic illness
Having a controlling or overly strict parent
Having parents who favored one child over the other
Living in a dangerous neighborhood
Living in an emotionally repressed household
Living with an abusive caregiver
Not being a priority growing up
Witnessing violence at a young age

❔ Character Wound ?s

Who hurt your character in the past?
What happened (the wounding event or situation)?
Where did it happen?
Was it a single, ongoing, or repeated event?
What factors made this situation more difficult?
- Personality, physical proximity, responsibility, support, recurrence, justice, compounding events, invasiveness, emotional proximity, emotional state
Details of the situation?
What is the fallout of the experience (flaws, behaviors, relationship issues, insecurities, etc.)?
What negative life lessons this situation taught the character?
Trust issues that developed?
Ways the character’s self-worth was damaged?
What character fear emerged?
Flaws that developed to keep people and painful situations at a distance?
Biases, negative attitudes, and outlooks that developed?
The lie the character now believes (that contributes to self-blame, self-worth, disillusionment, etc.)?
Core flaws that result from the lie
Lesser flaws stemming from core flaws
Typical behaviors, thoughts, actions and quirks (think of all of this as a pyramid with this bullet at the bottom and The Lie at the top)
What emotions the character now avoids?
What triggers this character wound?

🫂 Needs & Lies

Physiological Needs

Associated Needs

Obtaining or securing food, water, shelter, warmth, or sleep
Avoiding pain
Having sex
Procreation

Associated Lies

I don’t deserve to be safe.
I haven’t earned the right to be comfortable and secure.
I’ve brought this pain on myself.
No one would want to have sex with me.
I would be a terrible parent.

Safety and Security

Associated Needs

Living a life categorized by order
Upholding laws, rules, or limits
Seeking stability
Valuing structure
Pursuing security
Securing health care for oneself or one’s family
Securing or keeping a job
Protecting one’s home, land, or resources
Protecting one’s source of livelihood
Protecting one’s family from mistreatment, persecution, or attack
Getting out of a bad neighborhood
Escaping prison
Regaining or holding onto one’s sanity
Cleaning up one’s environment
Rescuing someone from danger
Escaping an abusive relationship
Pursuing education in an effort to escape a bad living situation
Becoming free
Gaining the protection of an influential person
Surviving a life-or-death ordeal
Protecting oneself from the elements
Improving one’s health
Avoiding or ending a war or life-threatening conflict

Associated Lies

I’m above the law.
Structure is confining and stifling. I can’t live that way.
The rules don’t apply to me.
Rules were made to be broken.
I’m not qualified.
I’m not worthy of anyone’s protection.
I’m not strong enough to keep others from taking what I have.
I can’t protect myself, much less anyone else.
I’m stuck here.
This is all I’m good for.
I can’t keep him/her safe.
I deserve this treatment.
I wouldn’t know how to provide for myself.
Nothing is going to change; it’s going to be like this for the rest of my life.
Sometimes you have to just accept the way things are.
I couldn’t keep my spouse/child/friend safe, so I can’t be trusted to safeguard others.
If I work hard enough, I can forget what happened to me.

Love and Belonging

Associated Needs

Gaining someone’s affection
Being accepted by others
Finding a spouse
Obtaining a date to the prom
Having children
Building deep relationships with others
Experiencing sexual intimacy
Belonging to or fitting in with a group (a school club, the marines, a church, gang, etc.)
Connecting with one’s children
Healing a broken relationship
Expressing one’s feelings

Associated Lies

No one will be interested in someone as screwed up as me.
I refuse to bring a child into such a messed up world.
I’m too selfish to be of any use to anyone.
I don’t need others in order to be fulfilled.
I don’t want any attachments.
I’d rather be alone.
My kids don’t need me.
I don’t deserve anyone’s affection.
They’re never going to accept me.
I don’t want or need their acceptance.
Emotions make you weak.
If I make myself vulnerable, I’m going to get hurt.
If I show them who I really am, they’ll reject me.
I only know how to pick losers.
I have to push others away before they have a chance to hurt me.
If I let others in, I’ll only end up letting them down.
I don’t know how to love.
If I do whatever he says, he’ll eventually forgive me.
If I follow in my father’s/mother’s/idol’s footsteps, then he/she will have to accept me.
If I tell the truth about my past, everyone will hate me.
I’d rather be in a bad relationship than in no relationship at all.

Esteem and Recognition

Associated Needs

Increasing one’s confidence
Increasing one’s self-esteem
Increasing one’s sense of perceived value or worth
Increasing one’s wealth
Experiencing achievement
Gaining the respect of others
Distinguishing oneself
Gaining independence
Gaining status or prestige
Overcoming a stereotype
Overcoming addiction
Accomplishing something that no one has ever accomplished before
Obtaining a certain job or position
Joining a prestigious group
Winning an award
Improving one’s social status
Improving one’s physical appearance
Winning a court case
Winning a game or contest
Proving someone wrong
Seeking retribution or exacting vengeance
Dominating or controlling others

Associated Lies

I can’t do anything.
I’m not worth the trouble.
I’ll never be successful.
I’m going to end up just like my dad, mom, brothers, ancestors, etc.
They’ll always see me as second-rate.
I’m not strong enough to do this on my own.
What they say/think about me is true.
I’m not good enough for that person, that high-level job, that club, etc.
I’m ugly.
I’m dumb.
I can’t compete at that level.
I don’t care what they think.
I have to be perfect for others to like me.
If I avenge my loved ones, I’ll finally be at peace.
I can’t trust others to do things right so I’ll have to do it myself.
If I can achieve ___, then they’ll have to admit how good I am.
If I let someone else be in control, they’re going to take advantage of me.
They can’t survive with me.
I can’t survive without him.
I’m not strong/smart/important enough to right this wrong.
I have nothing to offer.
I can’t overcome this addiction.
I’m better than them.
I can’t take another disappointment.
Their divorce/Her death/The accident is all my fault.
If I try to compete with him, I’ll lose.
If I try again, I’m going to fail like last time.

Self-Actualization

Associated Needs

Becoming a better mother, student, employee, friend, etc.
Challenging oneself
Obtaining a higher appreciation for art, nature, literature, music, etc.
Achieving personal growth
Growing spiritually
Being true to oneself
Doing what’s right
Edifying others
Achieving enlightenment

Associated Lies

This is who I am. I can do no better.
There is no true enlightenment.
If I can achieve perfection, then I’ll be happy.
I’ll never be as good a mother/student/employee/friend as _______.
You can’t change who you really are.
I’ll never be able to be my true self.

⭐ Positive Attributes & Strengths

If your goal is to form a well-rounded character, start by giving him attributes from different categories to help create a balanced personality. Below is a breakdown of the main traits in this thesaurus and which categories each falls under. Keep in mind that attributes can belong to more than one group.

Morality - what does this character use to determine right and wrong?
Achievement-focused traits - what aids the character in reaching their personal and professional goals?
Interactive traits - how does this character interact with other people and the world at large?
Identity attributes - who is this person at an individual level?

Achievement

Adaptable
Adventurous
Alert
Ambitious
Analytical
Bold
Cautious
Centered
Charming
Confident
Cooperative
Courageous
Creative
Curious
Decisive
Disciplined
Efficient
Focused
Idealistic
Imaginative
Independent
Industrious
Intelligent
Mature
Meticulous
Obedient
Objective
Observant
Organized
Passionate
Patient
Pensive
Perceptive
Persistent
Persuasive
Proactive
Professional
Resourceful
Responsible
Sensible
Studious
Talented
Thrifty
Wise

Identity

Adventurous
Affectionate
Ambitious
Bold
Centered
Charming
Confident
Creative
Curious
Disciplined
Easygoing
Enthusiastic
Extroverted
Flamboyant
Flirtatious
Funny
Happy
Honorable
Idealistic
Imaginative
Independent
Innocent
Inspirational
Intelligent
Introverted
Just
Kind
Mature
Merciful
Nature-Focused
Nurturing
Optimistic
Passionate
Patriotic
Pensive
Persuasive
Philosophical
Playful
Proper
Quirky
Sensual
Sentimental
Simple
Sophisticated
Spiritual
Spontaneous
Talented
Traditional
Uninhibited
Whimsical
Wholesome
Witty

Interactive

Adaptable
Adventurous
Affectionate
Alert
Analytical
Appreciative
Bold
Calm
Cautious
Charming
Confident
Cooperative
Courageous
Courteous
Curious
Diplomatic
Discreet
Easygoing
Empathetic
Enthusiastic
Extroverted
Flamboyant
Flirtatious
Friendly
Funny
Generous
Gentle
Happy
Honest
Honorable
Hospitable
Humble
Imaginative
Independent
Industrious
Innocent
Inspirational
Introverted
Just
Kind
Loyal
Mature
Merciful
Nature-Focused
Nurturing
Obedient
Objective
Observant
Optimistic
Passionate
Patient
Patriotic
Perceptive
Persuasive
Philosophical
Playful
Private
Professional
Proper
Protective
Quirky
Resourceful
Sensible
Sensual
Sentimental
Simple
Socially Aware
Sophisticated
Spiritual
Spontaneous
Spunky
Supportive
Tolerant
Traditional
Trusting
Uninhibited
Unselfish
Whimsical
Wholesome
Witty

Morality

Appreciative
Centered
Cooperative
Courageous
Courteous
Diplomatic
Empathetic
Friendly
Generous
Honest
Honorable
Hospitable
Humble
Innocent
Just
Kind
Loyal
Merciful
Obedient
Optimistic
Patient
Persistent
Professional
Proper
Protective
Responsible
Socially Aware
Spiritual
Supportive
Thrifty
Tolerant
Trusting
Unselfish
Wholesome

☠️ Negative Attributes & Flaws

Abrasive
Addictive
Antisocial
Apathetic
Callous
Catty
Childish
Cocky
Compulsive
Confrontational
Controlling
Cowardly
Cruel
Cynical
Defensive
Devious
Dishonest
Disloyal
Disorganized
Disrespectful
Evasive
Evil
Extravagant
Fanatical
Flaky
Foolish
Forgetful
Frivolous
Fussy

Gossipy
Greedy
Grumpy
Gullible
Haughty
Hostile
Humorless
Hypocritical
Ignorant
Impatient
Impulsive
Inattentive
Indecisive
Inflexible
Inhibited
Insecure
Irrational
Irresponsible
Jealous
Judgmental
Know-it-all
Lazy

Macho
Manipulative
Martyr
Materialistic
Melodramatic
Mischievous
Morbid
Nagging
Needy
Nervous
Nosy
Obsessive
Oversensitive
Paranoid
Perfectionist
Pessimistic
Possessive
Prejudiced
Pretentious
Promiscuous
Pushy
Rebellious
Reckless
Resentful
Rowdy

Scatterbrained
Self-Destructive
Self-Indulgent
Selfish
Sleazy
Spoiled
Stingy
Stubborn
Subservient
Superstitious
Suspicious
Tactless
Temperamental
Timid
Uncommunicative
Uncooperative
Uncouth
Unethical
Ungrateful
Unintelligent
Vain
Verbose
Vindictive
Violent
Volatile
Weak-Willed
Whiny
Withdrawn
Workaholic
Worrywart

📖 Story & Plot

Story - “The king died, and then the queen died” is a story. No relationship between actions.

Plot - “The king died and the queen died of grief” is a plot. Causal relationship between actions.

Scenes

Five Point Checklist:

An action (something concrete, not thinking)
Dialogue
- Not generic talk, but specific to narrative
- Specific Intimate Details
Inner Point of View
- React - doing something in the moment
- Reflect - thinks about what they’re faced with and internally face their options
- Reveal - reveals something to reader and how they’ll react
Definite stop and start point

Snowflake Method to Write Scenes

Large-Scale Structure of a Scene

A Scene has the following three-part pattern:

Goal
- A Goal is what your POV character wants at the beginning of the Scene. The Goal must be specific and it must be clearly definable. The reason your POV character must have a Goal is that it makes your character proactive. Your character is not passively waiting for the universe to deal him Great Good. Your character is going after what he wants, just as your reader wishes he could do. It’s a simple fact that any character who wants something desperately is an interesting character. Even if he’s not nice, he’s interesting. And your reader will identify with him. That’s what you want as a writer.
Conflict
- Conflict is the series of obstacles your POV character faces on the way to reaching his Goal. You must have Conflict in your Scene! If your POV character reaches his Goal with no Conflict, then the reader is bored. Your reader wants to struggle! No victory has any value if it comes too easy. So make your POV character struggle and your reader will live out that struggle too.
Disaster
- A Disaster is a failure to let your POV character reach his Goal. Don’t give him the Goal! Winning is boring! When a Scene ends in victory, your reader feels no reason to turn the page. If things are going well, your reader might as well go to bed. No! Make something awful happen. Hang your POV character off a cliff and your reader will turn the page to see what happens next.

A Sequel has the following three-part pattern:

Reaction
- A Reaction is the emotional follow-through to a Disaster. When something awful happens, you’re staggering for awhile, off-balance, out of kilter. You can’t help it. So show your POV character reacting viscerally to his Disaster. Show him hurting. Give your reader a chance to hurt with your characters. You may need to show some passage of time. This is not a time for action, it’s a time for re-action. A time to weep. But you can’t stagger around in pain forever. In real life, if people do that they lose their friends. In fiction, if you do it, you lose your readers. Eventually, your POV character needs to get a grip. To take stock. To look for options. And the problem is that there aren’t any…
Dilemma
- A Dilemma is a situation with no good options. If your Disaster was a real Disaster, there aren’t any good choices. Your POV character must have a real dilemma. This gives your reader a chance to worry, which is good. Your reader must be wondering what can possibly happen next. Let your POV character work through the choices. Let him sort things out. Eventually, let him come to the least-bad option…
Decision
- A Decision is the act of making a choice among several options. This is important, because it lets your POV character become proactive again. People who never make decisions are boring people. They wait around for somebody else to decide. And nobody wants to read about somebody like that. So make your character decide, and make it a good decision. Make it one your reader can respect. Make it risky, but make it have a chance of working. Do that, and your reader will have to turn the page, because now your POV character has a new Goal.

Small-Scale Structure of a Scene

Write “Motivation-Reaction Units”, or MRUs. Alternate between Motivation and Reaction

Motivation is external and objective (something your reader also sees)
Reaction is internal and subjective (character reaction to the motivation in following paragraph)
- Feeling
- Reflex
- Rational Action & Speech

Microtension

Tension in small moments, including:

When a character has conflicting feelings
Created by the element of surprise
A sudden change in emotion
When things feel off

How to add microtension:

Dialogue - Examine each line of dialogue. Take out boring and unnecessary words and trivial matters. Go for clever. Find a way to give each speaker a unique voice and style of speaking. Subtext can hint at what characters are really feeling below the surface, and that creates mystery. Keep in mind the tension is in the relationship between the characters speaking, not in the information presented.
Action - This can be with any kind of action—high or low. Even a gesture is action. So think how to make an action incongruous. What does that mean? Real people are conflicted all the time. Real people are complex, inconsistent. So by having a character react in an incongruent manner, and having incongruent developments in the storyline, will add microtension. Have things happen and characters react in ways the reader does not expect. And, most important, show everything through the POV character’s emotions. Action will not be tense unless the character is experiencing it and emotionally reacting to it.
Exposition - Exposition is the prose, your writing. It is the way you explain what is happening as you show it. It includes internal monologue. Find ways to add those conflicted emotions and create dissonance. Show ideas at war with one another. Use word choices that feel contradictory. Find fresh, different ways to describe common things.

List of Common Fantasy Scenes

Fantasy Scene Formats

Magical Experiences
- Spellcasting or ritual
- First time magic use or awakening
- Magical duel
- Crafting or potion-making
- Interaction with magical creatures
Realm and World Exploration
- Journey through mythical landscapes
- Entering magical city or hidden village
- Exploring ancient ruins or temples
- Portal or dimensional gateway crossing
- Navigating enchanged forests or mazes
Conversations of Lore
- Discussing prophecies or legends
- Storytelling or bardic performance
- Elders imparting ancient wisdom or histories
- Debriefing with mentors or wise figures
- Deciphering ancient texts or runes
Epic Battles and Skirmishes
- Clan wars or tribal confrontations
- Siege or defense of fortress/castle
- Monster or dragon hunting/fighting
- Rescue missions in enemy territory
Interactions with Fantasy Races
- Diplomatic meetings with elves, dwarves, etc.
- Intimate moments in interspecies relationships
- Trading or bartering at fae markets
- Magical creature tournaments or races
- Cultural exchanges or feasts with mythical races
Quests and Adventures
- Treasure hunting in cursed tombs
- Seeking magical artifacts or relics
- Pursuit of mythical beasts or guardians
- Navigating deadly magical traps
- Undercover missions in an enemy’s court
Sacred and Spiritual Moments
- Communing with gods or celestial beings
- Pilgrimages to sacred or enchanted sites
- Undergoing spiritual trials or visions
- Receiving blessings or curses at holy places
- Joining or witnessing magical cult ceremonies
Courtly Intrigues and Politics
- Royal balls or court gatherings with magical elements
- Espionage or spying in a mage’s tower
- Assassination attempts using magic
- Political debates in councils of mages or kings
- Tournament of magical skills or jousting
Personal Fantasy Challenges
- Taming or bonding with magical beasts
- Overcoming curses or enchantments
- Navigating love triangles with magical beings
- Trials to become a knight, mage, or chosen one
- Training under a magical mentor or in a wizarding school
Mystical Revelations and Twists

Fantasy Scene Types

Conversations/Dialogues
- Two-person heart to heart
- Group discussion or debate
- Confrontation or argument
- Confession or revelation
- Interview or interrogation
Action Sequences
- Fight or battle scene
- Chase or pursuit scene
- Escape or evasion scene
- Heist or theft scene
- Training or preparation scene
Discovery & Exploration
- Investigation or clue-finding scene
- Exploration or journey scene
- Flashback or memory exploration
- Eureka or realization moment
- Dream or vision sequence
Emotional & Reflective Moments
- Grief or mourning scene
- Love or romantic scene
- Betrayal or disappointment scene
- Triumph or celebration scene
- Solitude or introspection scene
Atmospheric & Setting Driven Scenes
- Worldbuilding or lore exploration
- Festival or cultural celebration
- Travel or montage scene
- Landscape or scenic description
- Daily life or routine scene
Tension and Suspense
- Sneaking or stealth scene Trapped or confinement scene
- Dilemma or decision-making scene
- Ambush or surprise attack scene
- Time-based challenge or countdown scene
Mystical and Supernatural
- Ritual or magical ceremony
- Haunting or ghostly encounter
- Divine or spiritual revelation
- Transformation or shape-shifting scene
- Portal or transition to another realm
Social and Public Events
- Party or ballroom scene
- Public execution or judgment
- Sporting event or competition
- Market or shopping scene
- Ceremony or rite of passage
Personal Challenges and Triumphs
- Overcoming fears or personal demons
- Mastery or levelling up scene
- Sacrifice or selfless act
- Resisting temptation or corruption
- Healing or recovery scene
Plot Twists & Revelations
- Unmasking or identity reveal scene
- Plot twist or unexpected turn of events
- Backstab or betrayal reveal
- Secret or hidden agenda reveal
- Prophecy or foretelling scene

Outlining

Snowflake Method

Write a one-sentence summary of your model
- Shorter is better
- No character names
- Tie big picture and personal picture
- Read blurbs on NYT Bestseller list
Write a full paragraph describing story setup, major disasters, and ending of novel
- One sentence to give the backdrop & story setup
- One sentence for each of the three disasters (end of Act One, mid-point of Act Two, end of Act Two)
- One sentence for the ending
Write a one-page summary for each character that tells:
- Name
- One-sentence summary of character’s storyline
- Character’s motivation
- Character’s goal
- Character’s conflict
- Character’s epiphany
- One-paragraph summary of character’s storyline
Check for edits and revisions, don’t be afraid to go back and fix things
Expand each sentence of summary paragraph into a full paragraph (all but last paragraph should end in disaster)
Write up a one-page description of each major character and a half-page description of other important characters (write from the POV of the character)
Expand one-page plot synopsis of novel into a four-page synopsis (expand each paragraph to a full page)
Expand character descriptions to full-fledged character charts detailing everything to know about each character
Organize scenes from plot outline into spreadsheet (one line per scene, identify POV character, how long each scene to last, etc)
Write the book

Plot Strategies

3 Act Structure

Act 1 - Setup
- Introduce major characters in the story (protagonist and antagonist), worldbuilding, and end with the inciting incident that establishes the conflict of the story
- Ex: Battle of Narshe in FF6
Act 2 - Confrontation
- Action of the conflict plays out, rising tension (each escalating upon each other), and ends with the final conflict
- Ex: Floating continent in FF6
Act 3 - Resolution
- Resolve the conflict in a satisfying way for the audience (ie, final boss fight) and show the results of the final conflict
- Ex: World of Ruin in FF6

Freytag’s Pyramid

Exposition
Inciting incident
Rising action
Climax
Falling Action
Resolution
Denouement

LOCK System for Plotting

Lead: Make the main character compelling for a first-time reader to get sucked in.
Objective: Define character’s want/desire/goal. Tie this into the lead that pulls the reader in.
Confrontation: Opposition from other characters as the main character tries to reach their objective.
Knockout: Give a decisive ending that will be memorable.

Watts’ 8 Points of Single Story Arc

Status Quo - Normality will need to be broken and reforged
The Trigger - The incident that pushes the characters to break away from statis
The Quest - The actual process under that which change will be realized
The Surprise - The moment in which an unexpected even forces the character to change in order to complete The Quest; this change can also influence others
The Critical Choice - The active decisions in which the character shows the agency needed to affect the change
The Climax - The highest peak of tension and action, in which the character risks the most
The Reversal - The consequence of the critical choice and culmination of the climax that results in changes to the character, the others involved, and an aspect of the world, up to and including everything
The Resolution - Denouement; The new status quo. This is where things then will be, but with the characters changed

Buntings’ Story Arc Types

The Rise - A “rag to riches” style movement, where things get better despite adversity.
The Fall - A “riches to rag” story where things steadily decline despite player agency.
The Recovery - A fall followed by a rise, where the character loses something but then gains something else.
The Failure - A rise followed by a fall, in which the character gains something, then loses it.
The Victory - A rise, followed by a fall, followed by another rise, where the character gains a thing, loses it, then ends up better off.
The Defeat - A fall, followed by a rise, followed by another fall, in which the character loses something, gains it or more back, but then loses that up to including everything else.

MICE Quotient

Millieu - the world where the story takes place
- Beginning: A character enters a strange new world
- Ending: A character exits the new, but no longer strange, world
Idea - A central question
- Beginning: A question is discovered or asked
- Ending: The question is answered
Character - The nature and development of one or more characters
- Beginning: A character is dissatisfied with their life or circumstances
- Ending: The character either changes those circumstances or learns to accept them
Event - an event or situation, including its causes and consequences
- Beginning: The status quo is disrupted
- Ending: The status quo is either restored, replaced with a better one, or entirely destroyed.

🖊️ Editing

Start with easy fixes
1. Spellcheck
2. Fix adverbs
3. Similar tense for characters talking
Omit needless words
Cut where you’re doing the reader’s thinking for them
1. No telling, have it be showing
Cut stage direction
Ensure consistent character motivation throughout the story
Has an action happened in the first paragraph?
Is my story coherent?
Are there complete scenes?
Do I start each scene with something active?
Am I writing in active voice?
Is setting working?
Are my characters acting believably?
Are the transitions clear?
Does my story fit together (ABDCE)?
Did I explain the risks for each character?
Did I explain the consequences of these risks?
Does every story of my sentence deepen character or advance the plot?
Is the second draft 10% shorter than my first?
Am I ready to discard content that isn’t working?
Is what you meant in your head as clear as it can be on the page?
Find outside readers Give a couple of specific targeted questions, not a general “what did you think”

Macroediting

Character
- Who is this character?
- What drives them?
- What’s in their way?
- Does your character exist in the world?
- Is your character consistent?
- Are they multifaceted?
- Why should the reader care?
- Is the protagonist the leader in their own narrative, or do things just happen to them?
- Are all the main characters essential?
- How does your protagonist change?
- What’s working against your character?
  - What obstacles present themselves along your protagonist’s journey that hinder him from reaching his goals?
  - How does each force impede the protagonist’s arc?
  - Does encountering this obstacle directly further your protag along his arc?
Stakes
- What does your character want desperately? (goal)
- Why does he want it? (motivation)
- What does he stand to gain in attaining it/lose by failing?
- What makes it urgent? Why must he achieve the goal now?
Plot
- What happens?
- Does one event flow organically from the preceding event and lead logically to the next?
- Is every plot development essential to move the protag(s) along her arc? And does every single development serve to move the story forward?
- Is there too much plot? Not enough?
- Is it surprising? If readers can predict where the story is going, especially if we outsmart the characters in doing so, it’s less satisfying.
- Are there loose ends?
- Does it hold together? Are there plot holes?
- Why does each plot event happen? Is each one realistic? Believable?
- Is there any easier or better way out of the mess? (The answer must be no.)
- Are there loose ends? Unanswered questions? Anything unresolved?
- Any unmotivated actions (deus ex machina)?
- Does your story start in the right place?
- Does the time line work?

Microediting

Suspense and Tension
Point of view
Showing and telling
Structure
Momentum and Pace
Voice
Line Edits

Dialogue Editing

Enter Late within the Conversation - skip the fluff; either establish the scene with dialogue or at the end of the conversation (where action begins)
Give Each Character a Unique Voice - Reflect in shortcut words, figures of speech, tone and tenor, excitable vs reserved, emphasizing certain words.
Change Character Voice Depending on Recipient - Vary how a person talks to others; sternness vs kindness, anger vs empathy, indifference vs caring
Limit Dialogue Tags - less said, asked, etc
Dialogue Beats and Action Beats - Make dialogue and action merge together, give it like a musical beat
Show, Don’t Tell - Let dialogue explain what’s going on, not have narrator infodump it
Move Quickly Between Characters - No long monologues, treat more like tennis/ping-pong
Read it out loud to see how it sounds, carries, and conveys emotion.
Remove superfluous and cliche dialogue and conversations. If it doesn’t move the story forward, delete it.
Change up dialogue and narrative structures.
Video game dialogue tricks
- Make the dialogue useful - does it teach the player about the characters? Give clues about objectives? Add depth to the world? Provide valuable background information? Hilarious/beautiful/clever?
- Create anticipation - heighten player’s emotional experience, and offer motivation for players to progress in your game
- Know your target audience - make dialogue relatable to and understandable, and avoid insensitive and inappropriate words, phrases, or ideas

Climax Troubleshooting

Resolves too quickly
- Introduce more meaningful and fitting conflict to the scene, making it harder for the hero to win
Takes too long
- Plan this scene carefully to keep it focused on what must be accomplished. In revision, remove unnecessary filler to keep the action crisp and concise
Ambiguous outcome
- Make it crystal clear who wins this battle. There must be an obvious winner and clear loser
Too predictable
- Give the hero undermining doubts and weaknesses, ensuring success isn’t guaranteed. And take a good look at your antagonist be sure they’re formidable enough
Not significant enough
- A win in the climax will result in the victor achieving their story goal, so make sure that’s part of the package. This event should be the highest-stake moment in your story.
No character agency
- The character must win through their own strength, cunning, determination, etc. If a supernatural event or another character’s intervention saves the day, the hero hasn’t won. Give them back their agency by requiring to succeed on their own merits
Incomplete character arc
- The primary character must address their fatal flaw either prior to or during the climax because the lessons learned or growth achieved will be key to securing a victory. If they cant discard their biggest flaw or correct a specific deficiency, they will fail

🌍 Setting & Worldbuilding

Note: Many worldbuilding questions were found here

Creating

Creating a Kingdom or Country

Consider the following:

Government System
Social Structure
Demographics
Infrastructure
Economics/Trade
Military/Defense
Technology
Agriculture/Industry
Education
Religion

Creating a Location

Geography (including area around it)
History (from creation/foundation to present)
Physical Structure (Architecture)
Metaphysical Structure (Magic, etc)
Inhabitants/Demographics
Defenses
Layout (Descriptions and Maps)

Naming Places

Name the place after what the settlers arriving in the region would see before settling there
- Ex: if there’s a river and woods nearby, you can call the place Riverwood
Use history to name the place. It can be small or large event, as long as it’s relevant to the location
- Ex: King’s Landing in Game of Thrones
Name the place after a person or a group of people
- Ex: Washington DC, Lannisport for the Lannisters in GoT
Base the place name on a religious or cultural aspect of the world
- Ex: Athens, Greece is named after Athena
Use an old or established name this new place has a connection with, add/remove words or use synonyms
- Ex: New York was based on York, England
Name the place after a future event (foreshadowing)
- Ex: King’s Landing (again) GoT
Imagine a theme for the place you’re trying to name, and name accordingly
- Ex: “Winter is coming” in GoT
Name the place after a feeling (what it’s meant to symbolize or what the first settlers believed)
- Ex: Solitude in Skyrim
Add the purpose of the place in the name
- Ex: Red Keep, White Harbor, etc
Use made-up words multiple times to create consistency in naming of places
- Ex: -ia at the end of names of cities, so reader can intuit they’re all cities
Combining some of the above gives the best results

🏛️ Architecture and Engineering

Architecture and engineering affect the aesthetics of how buildings and structures look, and what’s physically possible due to shape, structure, available materials.

What are the defining feats of architecture or engineering in this world (for example, the tallest inhabitant-made structure)?
What are widespread beliefs or opinions about architecture and engineering?
Who are the most renowned architects or engineers in this world, and why?
Who commissioned or initiated impressive feats of architecture and engineering in this world, and why?
Where is an area particularly known for its architecture and/or engineering?
Where do artisans and architects draw inspiration from? Are buildings more decorative and symbolic or is function the foremost concern?
When have architectural styles or engineering practices changed, and why?
When have disasters occurred due to poor engineering or design? What was the lesson in these?
Why do specific architectural styles or materials dominate in this world?
Why are certain buildings or structures admired, celebrated or world-famous?

🫎 Animal and Fauna

Animals and plants in a secondary world may be similar to our own (after all, Narnia has talking beavers). You may also want to invent your own genera, novel species.

What are the most common animals or plants, the fly, pigeon, grass and weed equivalents in your world?
What are humans or others’ relationship to fauna and flora? (For example, are some groups more respectful, reverent, or caring of their environment? Why?)
Who in your cast of characters cares most about your world’s fauna and flora? Who cares least?
Who nurtures or exploits your world’s plant and animal life?
Where are plants and animals more abundant or scarce, and why?
Where do plants and animals get their names from?
When will plants or animals first appear in the story, and what will their purpose be in regard to character or plot?
When did common species of plants or animals first appear in your world, and how did they evolve or adapt?
Why do certain plants or animals have cultural or religious significance – what is their backstory in myth or legend?
Why do specific plants or animals have economic value, and how does their availability affect this value? Do these aspects change over the story’s course?

Developing a Species

Is it Human/Humanoid/Non-Humanoid/Something else entirely?
What are the physical characteristics of the species? And are these physical characteristics believable and functional?
How do they interact with their environment/geography?
What is their society like?
How do they interact with the other species, both sentient and non-sentient, if any?
How do the other species view them?
What is the general temperament of the species? Peaceful? Warlike? Devious? Isolationist? Interfering?
Are there sub-groups within this species?
Do they have any special characteristics? Magic, telepathy, etc.
How well are they doing? Are they flourishing, or are they having trouble surviving? Why?

🧫 Culture

All cultures share the following characteristics: They are comprised of people:

who share common ground
and are born of a shared philosophy
who adhere to specific goals
which require the setting aside of differences
and demand of each member personal sacrifices of time, effort, and resources
in order for all members to work for the good of the group
and to survive, propagate, and grow beyond the lifetimes of current members

🎨 Arts & Entertainment

Play, storytelling and artistic expression are pivotal parts of most societies, from the early expressivity of rock-painting to the fussy embellishment of frescoed ceilings.

What are the most celebrated arts or entertainments in each region of this world? Are there symbols in common between cultures?
How are the arts valued in this world (and by whom)? Are artists venerated, looked down on, kept by patrons, penniless? A mixture?
Who are this world’s most popular entertainers or artists, and why?
Who produces art and how do they learn (e.g. apprenticeship, classes)?
Where is art or entertainment such as plays typically enjoyed, and who has access to these spaces?
Where do artists draw inspiration or material from? Are any subjects or personages off limits/outlawed?
When does the knowledge of art and entertainment history stretch back to? What has been lost?
When do artists or entertainers begin training typically?
Why is an art object or performance considered ‘good’, under what conditions?
Why would someone want to become an artist or entertainer in this world?

👖 Clothing

Think of what clothes you would have to wear if you walked outside in a particular part of your world. If you would put on a coat, it’s likely that the people who live there would as well.
- If your species aren’t human, you should also think about their physiology (cold blooded vs warm-blooded, etc)
What types of clothes will people wear? Some other options besides work and casual wear:
- Fancy/dress clothes
- Outdoor/sport clothes
- Armor
- Military uniforms
- Swimming clothes
- Clothes for dangerous situations/handling toxic materials
- Clothes for particular careers
- Clothes worn by certain genders and not others
- Religious clothing
The aesthetics of clothing
- What kind of colors do they wear? Pastels, neons, jewel tones? Where do they get the dyes for these colors? Why are these particular colors popular?
- Do your people wear patterns, solid colors, or both? What do these patterns look like? Are certain colors or patterns religiously significant?
- What colors do the military wear? Different ranks might have different colors. What are the colors of your particular country?
- Do people wear jewelry? If so, what kind, and why?
Traditions and taboos
- Are there stories behind why your people wear what they wear? Who decided that certain groups of people should wear certain things?
- Do clothes differ by gender? Can certain genders wear things that other genders can’t? What kind of clothing is seen as inappropriate? What body parts should be shown and which should not? What are the consequences if someone wears something inappropriate?

💬 Communication

Art and entertainment are communicative forms of expression. Yet basic communication – language, communications networks, writing – may be an integral part of your world, too.

What is the most widely spoken language in your world (and why)?
What are common reasons for miscommunication (e.g. faulty, decaying or glitchy communications infrastructure)?
Who has access to which forms of communication? Is everyone literate (and if not, why)?
Who controls communications, to what degree are they free, private versus surveilled?
Where did languages (or mysterious communication signals) originate? What is mysterious or surprising about language in this world?
Where is communication harder or riskier, and why?
When does each type of communication reach its addressee (does it take an instant or days, weeks, years?)
When people converse or meet, what are typical conversational gestures (such as shaking hands)?
Why is communication vital in this world?
Why have new words or terms entered this world’s lexicon (what economic, ecological, technological or other factors contributed)?

🚨 Crimes & Taboos

Crime and punishment and taboos also differ around the world. What might be a small fine in one jurisdiction could mean the loss of a hand in another.

What crimes attract the harshest punishments or sentences in each part of your world?
What taboos are hangovers from earlier times or practices?
Who enforces law and order or reports taboo-breaking?
Who is more likely to commit a crime or break a taboo in this world, and why?
Where is crime most rampant, versus virtually unheard of (or are there similar crime levels everywhere)? Why?
Where are lawbreakers taken for trial or punishment?
When a taboo is broken, how do family members or broader society react?
When were penal codes established, recently or longer ago?
Why is the law just or unjust in this world?
Why would you not want to spend a single night in this world’s most notorious prison (or alternatively, why would you not want to be caught for committing a crime)?

🛃 Customs & Traditions

Customs and traditions are complex parts of societal development, reflecting desire, belief and bias, superstition as well as faith.

What are widely practiced customs and traditions common to multiple regions in your world?
What are customs and traditions specific to individual regions or peoples?
Who participates in which customs and traditions? What are demarcated roles or responsibilities within them? Or are roles and responsibilities rotated?
Who creates or enforces the rules of customs and traditions in the world? Is it the law or government, or do individual groups self-regulate (or have customs and traditions that break with norms)?
Where do rituals and ceremonies typically take place? What is place’s significance within them?
Where do popular customs and traditions come from, what is their back story?
When are customs and traditions typically practiced, under what time-bound conditions?
When do customs and traditions change, and why?
Why is any custom or tradition on the rise or waning in popularity, what are contributing factors?
Why do characters participate in or avoid specific customs and traditions?

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family

The nuclear family might not necessarily be the familial arrangement in your fantasy, sci-fi, dystopian or other world.

What constitutes a family in this world? Does the concept of family exist or differ in significant ways from Earth?
What are the roles and responsibilities of family members?
Who has the most relative say or power in the family unit, and why? Or is family less hierarchical?
Who values family and who is frustrated by this social system, and why?
Where do familial customs and practices originate in the world? Do laws or other external forces affect family life or customs?
Where do people without family such as orphans or sole survivors or those who are cast out by their families go (if this happens in this world, why are members cast out?)
When does an individual move out to form their own way in the world?
When is a family considered healthy, vs toxic/dysfunctional?
Why is the concept of family important in this world?
Why are some family relationships strained or steeped in conflict?

🍊 Food

First of all, you’ll want to determine the average diet of the people who live in the particular place you’re brainstorming about. Here are some things to think about when you do this:

What is the land like in that area? Different types of land grow different crops. For instance, flat areas that used to be prairies, such as the American Midwest, are particularly good for growing corn and soybeans. Swampy and wetter areas are better for growing rice. A quick google search of “foods grown in [insert climate of your choice here]” should help with that.
How do they meet their dietary needs? Even if your species isn’t human, it still needs to feed on something to create energy to run its body. As for humans, however - humans need carbohydrates, proteins, fat, and various vitamins/minerals. We get these from different sources, so in order to meet these needs, we must eat a varied diet. If your people are surviving on food that is either mostly carbs (something like rice or other grains) or mostly protein (something like meat or legumes), your people aren’t going to survive.
As for nutrients, here is a basic summary of where people get which chemicals they need to survive: Carbs - Grains, fruits, vegetables, anything with sugar or starch in it. Protein - legumes, meat, dairy products, nuts. Fat - mostly animal products, generally, especially meat (although avacados and oily foods like olives also contain fat/lipids). Vitamins and minerals - the vast majority of these come from vegetables and fruits, although some also can appear in animal products (like vitamin D milk).
How easy it to find enough food to survive, for the average person? This depends both on the technology of the society, as well as the economic structure. More advanced technology can mean that more food is being produced (such as giant commercial farms that produce massive amounts of corn), but if the economics aren’t quite right (the market is out of whack, making food prices too high, or there is rampant poverty despite the technology), it still can be hard for the average person to obtain food. On the other end is subsistence farming, where the person grows/raises their own food to survive, and only sells a little to outside sources (if any). If there isn’t any agriculture, people are probably hunters and gatherers instead, or they import their food from elsewhere.
How processed is the food? This, again, will depend on technology. Generally, it’s healthier to eat non-processed foods, but these foods also spoil much quicker, and aren’t practical if you want to keep your food in storage for a long time. Today, foods are given preservatives and/or pasteurized to keep out germs, as well as keep the food from spoiling. In the past, people used to use either salt or spices to keep their food from spoiling, as well as keeping the food cold (which we obviously still do today). If the foods are over-processed in your society, the amount of unnatural chemicals in the foods might also cause problems for your people and cause them to get sick. Another good thing to consider is how clean the places where your food is processed are.
How much of an environmental impact does the food have, and is it sustainable to gather/grow/hunt it this way? Humans often try to capitalize on a resource for large immediate gains, but if this is done too much, they may not be able to have that resource in the future. With populations of wild animals/plants, if they are hunted/harvested too much, not enough of them will live to reproduce to replenish the population. This can also have negative ecological impacts and reduce/increase numbers of other species (which may or may not have deleterious effects), because if one species is affected, the whole ecosystem gets affected. As for land, if land is farmed too much, the soil can often become infertile and void of nutrients, and the water supply can also deplete because of improper irrigation (for an example of what can happen if land is farmed far too much without proper care, just look at the 1930s Dust Bowl).
What foods are cheaper, and which are more expensive? How healthy are these foods? Is unhealthy food cheaper, and does that create a problem? In urban America, there are places in cities called food deserts, which are usually located in poorer areas, where the only reasonable access to a food source is something like a convenience store, which does not provide adequate food to survive healthily on.

Those are some things to think about regarding the production of food and what your people eat, but here are some things to think about in regard to what your people do with their food, once they have it (basically, different food customs):

What are the delicacies in your society? Usually, these are foods that are very rare and expensive (although they may or may not be delicious…I don’t think caviar is especially appetizing myself). Generally, they are mostly enjoyed by wealthier people (or people of lesser income on special occasions), so these are likely to appear either at gourmet restaurants, or at celebrations of some kind or another.
What are some forbidden foods in your society, and why are they forbidden? A food may be banned because it causes extreme health problems, or that it’s morally objectionable to grow/hunt/raise it. For instance, many people find veal objectionable as a meat source. Food can also be forbidden for religious reasons, and if there are forbidden foods in a religion, it’s usually outlined in their scripture somewhere. Food can be forbidden for other reasons specific to your story, but these are some of the most common reasons.
What foods are traditional on which holidays? Most societies have holidays of some sort, whether secular or religious, and people usually eat quite a bit on these holidays. Alternatively, fasting could also be a tradition on a holiday, although this would usually be associated with a religious holiday.
What are considered some of the most delicious foods in your society? Cultures definitely differ in that regard, and many cultures consider certain foods delicious that another culture might find repulsive.
How much has the local food been influenced by food from other places/cultures? Has the local food tradition spread to other places? For instance, in America, we have a lot of restaurants that serve food traditional to other countries, but some do it better than others. I don’t think anyone really considers Taco Bell to be actual Mexican food, but there are other restaurants in America that serve legitimate and less Americanized Mexican food. • Do the people take pride in their food and the way it’s developed? Has your culture/country produced any notable specialties, especially ones that are easily recognizable?
What are some of the traditional dishes of your culture/country, whether they are breakfast, lunch, dinner, desserts, or snacks? Usually, these will be based on which foods are most easily obtainable in your particular area (for instance, a lot of Italian food uses tomatoes, because tomatoes are easily grown in the Mediterranean region).
What are the traditional mealtimes? Usually, people have about three meals a day, but this can vary. Maybe your people have one giant meal and the occasional snack, or they engage in more of a “grazing” behavior by having three or more small meals throughout the day. Are there any ceremonies involved with these mealtimes, or traditional drinks/foods eaten at specific times?
What are some seasonal foods? What’s popular in winter, as opposed to summer (or whatever other seasons your region may have)? And why? Does this have to do with holidays that are in this particular season, or just the weather?
What kind of drinks are there, and when are they consumed? These can range among water, juice, milk, tea, coffee, carbonated drinks, alcohol, etc. Nearly every society has some sort of intoxicating drink, so what kind of alcohol is favored by your society, and what it is made of (alcohol is made from fermented things, but these can range from grains to grapes to apples. It depends on the drink).

🪽 Mythology

Mythologies – archetypal stories about specific peoples, places, histories, cultural practices – are an important part of worldbuilding if your characters live in a world that has literature, language, arts and culture.

What are important morals or lessons people must recall with the help of fables and mythologies?
What role(s) does mythology play in your world (e.g. sharing and upholding values, cautioning against destructive behaviors, etc.).
Who are the most important figures in myths and legends in this world?
Who writes or is keeper of mythologies and mythological tradition? Does each teller embellish or change the story, or is mythology fairly stable?
Where did the best-known myths and legends originate?
Where are the most important landmarks or other geographical features associated with world mythologies?
When did the most popular myths originate and how have they changed over time?
When are myths or legends typically told or shared?
Why were myths and legends created, to what end?
Why are specific creatures, animals or symbols prominent in this world’s myths and legends?

Proverbs Idioms, & Sayings

While discussing communication, it’s also worth mentioning proverbs, idioms and sayings. The way people draw figurative language from their world tells us about the world and people’s relationship to it. For example, there is an expression in the South African language isiXhosa, the question ‘unomsila?’ (do you have a tail?), stated when someone enters a room but forgets to close the door behind them. It speaks to a country where wildlife plays an important part in myth and storytelling.

What proverbs (e.g. the English saying, ‘Too many cooks spoil the broth’) are used in this world?
What sayings have been inspired by practices, landmarks, fauna and flora or popular figures in this world?
Who are the writers, storytellers, or others who have coined or help to spread sayings and figurative expressions?
Who is most likely to know or use proverbs, idioms, culture-specific sayings?
Where do sayings and expressions primarily draw their inspiration from in this world?
Where are cultural or regional variations in expressions most apparent?
When have particular expressions or sayings grown popular or fallen out of favor, and why?
When is it appropriate or inappropriate to use a specific expression or form of speech?
Why do specific sayings, proverbs or expressions resonate with this world’s inhabitants?
Why have sayings, proverbs and idioms changed or adapted over time? What factors have influenced language’s development?

♀️ Race, Gender, & Sexuality

Race, gender and sexuality are sensitive topics but also extremely relevant to our own history on Earth. They are sites of rich identity expression, as well as violence and suppression. Race in the fantasy and sci-fi sense can of course refer to humans along with various ‘others’ who populate secondary worlds, from alien beings to elves and orcs.

What is the history of race and gender in this world? Who has it benefitted or privileged, or does neither concept exist in quite the same way they have on Earth?
What are commonly held beliefs about gender, race, orientation and other aspects of identity? If these beliefs differ between regions, what pressures (political, environmental, economic) contribute?
Who holds more or less power on account of their race, gender, orientation or another aspect of identity? Why?
Who casts off the norms or cliches of these categories, and how? How does their society respond (by transforming, celebrating or ostracizing them?)
Where are the rules prescribed by identity the most repressive or the freest? Or is the world singularly utopian or dystopian?
Where do positive or negative beliefs about gender, race, orientation or other constructed aspects of identity come from (e.g., ideology, or economic utility to a specific group).
When will attitudes about any category of identity change in the story (and why)?
When is the story set in this world’s development and how does era or epoch explain rules or roles concerning identity (and who makes them)?
Why are gender, race, sexuality or other aspects in flux in this world (is rebellion brewing against specific laws or customs, for example?)
Why are gender, race, sexuality or other aspects of identity important in this world’s history?

💹 Economy

Here are some different types of economies:

Market economy (little regulation and free flow, an example would be capitalism)
Planned economy (high regulation and government control, an example would be socialism)
Mixed economy (an economy with aspects of both planned and market economies)
Barter economy (an economy where goods and services are exchanged for other goods and services. Usually lacks a currency)

The economy you create for your story world will depend on its context. The type of economy depends on the amount of resources, labor, population, ability to distribute, and occasionally government/politics. For instance, if your story is set in a small, remote village, it is likely to have a barter economy, since the people can just trade among themselves. Of course, having a different economy than that would be an interesting spin to take with a remote village, but it would have to have enough explanation to make it work. As long as the economy makes sense (as with many other aspects of worldbuilding), you should be okay.

How equally is the wealth distributed, and by whom? (In a socialist government, I think the distribution of wealth is a lot more controlled by a capitalist government. In the United States, it seems that corporations control most of the wealth and that it’s not trickling down to the other classes. Many different factors can control distribution of wealth.) • What are the resources like around the area? If your people do not have something locally available, how do they get it? Do they use a substitute, or trade for it?
What does this storyworld (or country) have the most of, when it comes to resources? Do they offer it to others, or trade it with others? And on the flip side, what is most in demand in this storyworld/country? And can the economy meet that demand?
What’s the most important part of the economy, the part that keeps it afloat? Trading? Manufacturing? Labor?
Does this storyworld have currency? And if so, what is it like?
Is this economy affected by inflation (the rise in price of goods/services) or deflation (the decrease in price of goods/services)? What other issues does this economy have? (No economy is ever perfect, there are always improvements to be made.)
What do people (or your characters specifically) think about the economy? Does it have a big effect on them? Do they try to stay out of it? Do they think it’s corrupt?

🎓 Education

Learning and training are essential aspects of development, from skill in trade and industry to magical ability.

What are the primary methods and institutions of learning in this world?
What subjects are mandatory in each region (if these differ between regions or schools, why do they differ?)
Who has access to which kinds of education in this world and why?
Who are key innovators or reformers in the world of education, what was their contribution?
Where are the best educational facilities or institutions in this world?
Where do people train in specialized knowledge or skills, and where do they acquire basic/essential ones?
When do this world’s inhabitants typically begin and end formal education? Under what conditions might they depart from educational norms?
When educational events such as training completion occur, what ceremonies take place or benefits are conveyed?
Why might someone excel or struggle in their education in this world?
Why is education valued (or undervalued) in this world?

🗺️ Geography

When you are mapping, you can put all sorts of things on the map. Obviously, you will be drawing how the main land mass looks, as well as the water around it. Aside from that, however, here are some ideas for what you can add to your map:

Borders marking out where the countries are. If you’re really into it, and the countries are large, you can even add states.
Major cities are important too, especially the capitals of countries.
In addition to the ocean, you can have other sources of water such as rivers and lakes. When you’re making cities, the biggest cities are usually closest to a source of water. Sources of water can come from aquifers, too, which are underground, but the oldest cities tended to form around rivers or lakes. Water is important.
Map what the land looks like. Mountains, prairies, deserts, hills, plateaus, marshes, coasts, volcanic regions, tundra, etc.
Major landmarks, tourist attractions, historic sites, religious sites, or monuments.
Railroads, roads, or other routes of travel between cities (depending on the technological level of your society).

🌦️Climate

The poles of a planet, which are furthest away from the sun, will generally have the coldest weather. And in contrast, areas near the equator will be the warmest.
Climate is a gradient. Unless you have something weird and supernatural going on, a very hot desert is not likely to border a snowy tundra region. Climate changes gradually as you travel the planet. There are no drastic lines where different climates cut off.
Areas near the coasts of oceans tend to be milder, with less extreme temperature differences (the UK generally has pretty mild, rainy weather, since nearly all its land is within a short distance of the ocean compared to a larger country like America). Areas toward the middle of the continent away from the coast tend to have more extreme temperatures (the Midwest US, for instance, has very hot summers and very cold winters).
Seasons are important too. You can go with the standard four seasons we observe today, or you can have rainy and dry seasons as well. Alternatively, you can make up your own seasons. Just make sure they make sense.

🛢️ Natural Resources

Natural resources, from water and air to minerals, plants, wildlife and metals, are essential to varying degrees for survival. Your world may have different essentials to our own, of course (maybe you have an alien race that can synthesize its chemical needs some other way).

What is the most precious or in demand natural resource, and why?
What natural resources are most endangered or at risk, and what could/must be done to avoid disaster?
Who has the monopoly on each natural resource (or are resources more universally shared or hard to find)? Why?
Who uses the most natural resources (individually or as a group such as a nation, city, government). Are some fair or wise in their use while others are selfish or unaware?
Where is each natural resource located? How has this impacted other categories of worldbuilding such as trade, geography, transportation, environment?
Where are the most strategic locations for access to natural resources? Is there (or has there been) conflict over who controls them?
When was each natural resource discovered, have some been used longer than others in different regions?
When will supplies of resources dwindle? Will they be abundant for the span of your characters’ lives?
Why is access to natural resources either constrained/controlled or free?
Why are natural resources important to social justice or politics?

⚖️ Government

Politics & Diplomacy

Politics and diplomacy become important in any fantasy, sci-fi or other fictional world where there are separate territories.

What kinds of political systems exist in this world?
What unique laws or political customs shape public and private life in this world?
Who are the primary figures who influence (or manipulate) public opinion?
Who are behind-the-scenes figures in politics who have influence the average Joe might not know about?
Where are the centers of power or law (and why are they located here)?
Where do key political negotiations, summits, meetings take place?
When did the current political dispensation take power?
When will leadership change (if ever) in this world, and why?
Why do alliances form or sever in this world?
Why do people in this world support (or rebel against) its political structures?

Rule of the Many

Democracy – Rule by the People– “The will of the majority”
- A form of government in which power is vested in the people. In larger nations, this is through freely elected representatives, although some forms of “direct” democracy exist in smaller form (majority rule), where people vote directly on legislation as a single body. There are various ways to go about a democracy, depending on the size of the group of people, the people representing themselves, and how their power is expressed.
- REAL: Most of the Western Hemisphere, Ancient Greece, Switzerland (direct)
- FICTION: The Free Cities (Game of Thrones), United Earth (Star Trek)
Republic – Rule by Representatives– “A balance of power”
- Republics are ruled by elected individuals, whose duty is to represent the needs of their citizens, and exercise power on behalf of the people, according to the law of the land. Often times, these representatives are part of a house, parliament, or divided structure with multiple elected leaders. The kinds of republics often depend on how much power the representatives have vs. the public, and how those representatives are divided.
- REAL: Roman Republic, Free Imperial Cities (Holy Roman Empire), USA, UK, France, Germany
- FICTION: Galactic Republic (Star Wars), Adro (Powder Mage Trilogy)
Democratic Republic – Rule for the People – “Liberty for all”
- A familiar cross-section between “democracy” and “republic”. A representative democracy which people elect the representatives, and the representatives have the power to exercise the enacting of legislation. Here, you see a balance of power where “majority rule” is offset by the representation of the minority, in order to allow all groups of people to have power. (Incidentally, many countries in the real world use this term, while being undemocratic or authoritarian.)
- REAL: United States of America, Germany, South Korea, Ethiopia, Taiwan
- FICTION: City of Elendel (Alloy of Law: Mistborn Era 2), Baldurs Gate (Forgotten Realms)
Federation/Confederation – Rule of the States– “Many as one, together or apart.”
- A group of several states which are members within a larger union, which decide on legislation for the broader entity. In a federation, the central authority is a federal government which holds the overall authority, where the states are subordinate to it. This allows overall control over diplomatic, economic, military, and legal issues.
  - REAL: Germany, USA, Russia
  - FICTION: United Federation of Planets (Star Trek)
- In a confederation, the federal government is weaker and accountable to the member states, who are the true authority. These states can negotiate on joint foreign policy, and defensive matters. However, the rest is up to the states individually.
  - REAL: CSA, Confederation of the Rhine
  - FICTION: Terran Confederacy (Starcraft)

Rule of the Few

Oligarchy – Rule by the Few – “Will of the minority”
- Considered an umbrella term for a society with a few, self-appointed rulers, dominating over a significantly larger body of citizens. This comes in a wide variety of forms, depending on what group is considered the ruling class. Throughout history, class systems gave way to prejudice of those of lower class, and privilege amongst those of higher status. In rare situations, this system was preferred over a single autocratic ruler. In most cases, however, this recognized rights only for the few, and authoritarian rule over the many.
  - REAL: England (Magna Carta, 1215), Russian Empire, Iran, Saudi Arabia
  - FICTION: Waterdeep/Masked Lords (Forgotten Realms)
Aristocracy – Rule by Heirs – “Let them eat cake”
- Referring to nobility, this government puts power in the hands of a small, privileged few who inherit their status from birth. Often time, this is not as a system of government itself, but as a mingling of the highest classes in a society which often includes the rich, powerful, and ruling class. A society where those of high birth have significant rights and privileges over the “unwashed” masses.
  - REAL: Saudi Arabia, French Nobility (pre-1790), Russian Nobility, English Nobility
  - FICTION: The Houses of Game of Thrones
Theocracy – Rule by Religion – “Alpha and Omega”
- A government ruled by divine guidance, or individuals who are divinely guided. Often times, leaders are members of a clergy, priesthood, or religious sect. This can come in many forms: the state and religion are one entity, the leader(s) are chosen by a god (or are considered gods), laws are enforced based upon scripture and sacred traditions, mandating of divine or occult worship, etc. The masses must worship to the decree of the clergy-class, and non-believers are of the lowest class, often persecuted.
  - REAL: Ancient Egypt, Byzantine Empire, Holy See (Vatican), Calphates, Shang Dynasty
  - FICTION: Dune (Dune), Magisterium (His Dark Materials), Air Nomads (Avatar: the Last Airbender), Jedi Council (Star Wars), The Covenant (Halo Series)
Plutocracy – Rule by the Rich – “Greed is good”
- A society which is ruled or controlled by those of great wealth or income. This can be conducted as direct rule, by dominating influence over rulers by way of economic power, or by consolidating wealth and using it to control markets directly. Elites come to power through unshared rapid economic growth, or through hoarding diminishing resources and wealth. To remain in power, shifts in trade and economics are played to the plutarchs advantage.
  - REAL: USA (Gilded Age, Today), Merchant Republics (Venice, Florence), Carthage, Kingdom of France (pre-revolution)
    - FICTION: Panem (The Hunger Games)

Rule of Authority

Absolute Monarchy – Rule of Royalty – “Divine right of kings”
- The age-old, royal legacy of the monarch ruling class. Perhaps the most common form of autocracy in history, and especially the “fantasy” genre. Considered the “traditional” form of monarchy, the anointed sovereign holds supreme authority, not restricted by written laws or customs. These rulers possess “divine right” to enact their rule how they see fit. More often than not, succession is hereditary, centered on a house or family line. Kings/Queens are tended to by their subjects with servitude, and their reign is considered the will of God.
  - REAL: Ancient Egypt (Pharaohs), House of Habsburg, France (Louis XIV), England (Charles I)
  - FICTION: Robert/Joffrey Baratheon (Game of Thrones), Aragorn (Lord of the Rings)
Constitutional Monarchy – Limited Rule of Royalty – “For King and Country”
- As ages passed, and the enlightenment approached, revolutions demanded a limit to the power of kings. Unlike an absolute monarchy, the monarchs authority is derived from, or legally bound, by a constitution or legislature. This rule is executive in power, but may be counterbalanced with a parliament or council of other leaders. Sometimes, this is symbolic only. This can be hereditary, or an elected position.
  - REAL: United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Japan
  - FICTION: Breland (Ebberon), Queen Amidala (Star Wars)
Fascism – Rule by Dictatorship – “Might is Right”
- A form of authoritarian government characterized by extreme national identity and forcible oppression of opposition. This system is ruled by a dictator of whom is the premiere image of national pride. Opposition accounts for groups of people who do not fit the national (or ethnic) identity, and foreigners of any sort. This is often enforced by militaristic, strong-man attitudes, and considering a certain people “superior” either in nation, culture, or ethnicity.
  - REAL: Nazi Germany, Axis Italy, Saddam’s Iraq
  - FICTION: Norsefire Party (V for Vendetta), Pacific States of America (The Man in the High Castle), Terran Federation (Starship Troopers)
Empire – Rule by Expansion– “The Sun Never Sets”
- An extensive group of states, countries, and territories under a single supreme authority. This government is characterized by expansionism, the conquering of lands, establishing of colonies, and ruling over peoples of various cultures. In earlier times, this expanse was ruled by a single individual (emperor, empress, czar, tsar), but eventually the definition changed to include colonial empires in which the host nation itself was the authority.
  - REAL: Roman Empire, British Empire, Ottoman Empire, Qing Dynasty, Umayyad Caliphate, Aztec Empire
  - FICTION: The Imperium (Warhammer 40k), Fire Nation (Avatar: The Last Airbender), Galactic Empire (Star Wars), Broddring Empire (Eragon: Inheritance Cycle)
Autocracy – Rule by Only One – “I am Ozymandias, King of Kings.”
- A system of government ruled by one with absolute power. This can be a single person, or party. Decisions of this entity are not subject to legal constraints or popular control of any sort. Leaders are treated with fear, grandeur, and imagery of supreme power. With this said, most still require a power structure to rule, including military, nobles, and other elite groups. Succession is most often hereditary, or through conquering or revolt.
  - REAL: Roman Empire (Augustus Caesar), England (King John), Imperial Russia (Tsar), French Empire (Napoleon)
  - FICTION: Emperor Palpatine (Star Wars), The White Witch (Chronicles of Narnia), The Governor (The Walking Dead)
Totalitarian – Limitless Rule – “Big brother is watching.”
- A political system which recognizes no limits in its authority, and strives to rule every aspect of the public and private life of its citizens. This can be under the power of a single person, faction or class. This is an extensive and pervasive method of rule usually guided by ideology, as the totality of the authority and the ideology can not be questioned. Enforcing such a realm requires near constant surveillance and control. Extreme authoritarianism.
  - REAL: USSR, Nazi Germany, North Korea
  - FICTION: Oceania (1984), World State (Brave New World)

Revolutionary / Contested Rule

Communism – Rule for Redistribution– “Seize the means of production.”
- A socio-economic system where all property is communally owned. Each citizen receives a share of the resources based upon their needs. This emerges as a revolutionary ideology, and becomes the basis of a governments economic policy. Communism is not explicit to a type of rule. Ideologically, it strives to be a “state-less” system. However, historically, this system has been accompanied by governments with a single-party autocracy.
  - REAL: USSR, China, North Korea
  - FICTION: Thu (The Dispossessed), Arstotska (Papers, Please), Eurasia (1984)
Anarchy – Struggle against Rule – “Down with the system.”
- In most definitions, anarchy is a state of disorder due to the absence or nonrecognition of authority. However, anarchy is also a movement of liberation or revolt against a government or set hierarchy, rather than just a destination ideology. Anarchists exist in settings where centralized forms of government rule in contrast, where citizen unrest is growing and intensifying.
  - REAL: Revolutionary Catalonia, Free Territory (Ukraine 1918), Democratic Federation of Northern Syria
  - FICTION: V (V for Vendetta), Survivorism (Mistborn Series), Rocky Mountain States (The Man in the High Castle)
Military Coup / Junta – Rule by Overthrow – “I am the revolution”
- Typically, when an uprising or coup occurs, the victor party becomes its own provisional government. Unlike a stratocracy, this rule is historically short-lived and the legitimacy of the new rulers is in a contested state. The formation of a proceeding government is necessary, but is pending organization, infrastructure, or the end of hostilities. The coup is often violent, but can be peaceful, such as part of a civil emergency.
  - REAL: Spain (Napoleonic Wars), German Empire (mid-WWI), Various declarations of Martial Law
  - FICTION: StateSec (Honor Harrington Series), Aslon (Legend of Asahiel Series)

Traditional Forms

Feudalism – Rule of Lords and Kings– “All according to their station”
- A social system in which the nobility hold land from a king in exchange for military service. Down the chain, commoners (peasants/serfs) lived on their lord’s land in service to them. Peasants were provided military protection, and obligated to perform labor, provide a share of the produce, and pay homage. This relationship between lord and peasant is also referred to as Manorialism. In short, society was structured around the holding of land in exchange for service and labor. During the enlightenment, this way of living came into challenge by revolutions and evolving political theory. At the same time, many critics suggest that the economic system of today still shares similarity to feudalism. Most medieval fantasy fiction sets place in a vaguely feudal society, but some are more historically accurate than others.
  - REAL: Medieval Europe, Asia, and the Middle East
  - FICTION: Westeros (Game of Thrones), Nottingham (Robin Hood), Feredlen (Dragon Age: Origins)
Kritarchy – Rule by Judgement– “We are the law”
- A form of government dependent on judges. This is a traditional system based on customary law, rather that statutory law. This means rather relying on independent written laws, the law is passed by oral tradition, and open to the interpretation. While a majority of citizens might broadly agree on those laws, it is up to the judges to rule upon those laws. This grants a broad sense of freedom since there are no concrete statutes to follow (like taxation). However, depending on the customs, the law may still require obligations from its citizens. Also, judges may be considered the ruling class, absent of any judgement upon themselves, or may not be any different from citizens, adhering to the same laws.
  - REAL: Somalia, Ancient Israel (Old Testament), Ancient Ireland (Druids), Frisia
  - FICTION: Mega-City One (Judge Dredd)
Tribalism – Rule by Small Groups – “Birds of a feather”
- A state, or lifestyle organized into tribes, clans, or small groups of individuals within a closed network, often sharing a cultural identity. Loyalty to the social group is key to membership, and its customs dictate the rules of the tribe. Tribes may function as small governments within a larger one, or within an environment away from government, either as part of a hermitage or coven of privacy. Tribes may also refer to the conformity between groups of people. This “way of being” may refer to those of similar occupations or habits. However, any closed circle in tribalism means limited contact with the outside, resulting in limited education and understanding of the broader world.
  - REAL: Tribes of Israel, Souix, Cherokee, Bedouin, Masai, Ainus, Zulu
  - FICTION: The Wildlings (Game of Thrones), Dúnedain Rangers (Lord of the Rings), Southern Water Tribe (Avatar: The Last Airbender)
Timocracy – Rule of the Honorable– “Veni, vedi, vici”
- This is a war-like and honor-bound society where only those who possess land may participate in the government, and the ambition for honor, power, and military glory motivates the rulers. Civic honor and political power increases with the amount of property one owns. It is an oligarchy which is not strictly defined by the “inheritance” of an aristocracy, or the “absolute wealth” of a plutocracy (although often times, can become one of these two forms). You may imagine a society which is run by “houses”, regardless of whether they are noble, gained by wealth, or obtained deeds of “honor”, such as efforts in a military campaign. All other citizens are laborers, and exempt from making decisions. Intellectuals are discouraged from office, as the love for honor is greater than reason. It prefers simpler characters with plenty of spirit, better suited for war than peace.
  - REAL: Sparta, Athens, Chivalry of the Middle Ages, Samurai
  - FICTION: Klingons (Star Trek), Nords (The Elder Scrolls)
Gerontocracy – Rule of the Old – “The Elders are Watching”
- A system where society is ruled by the elders, or eldest. Some forms are habitual, meaning that it’s leaders tend towards the elder age group, while others are mandated, requiring a minimum age to qualify. It is common to find gerontocracies in cultures that value experience and wisdom as paramount, such as in theocracies. While traditional, it can take a more modern or futuristic spin. A system that generally honors the old over the new can fit this bill. This form can be seen throughout history, but in fiction, can also exist in dystopian societies where lifespans are increased for the few, and kept short for the many. The most extreme fictional example might see immortals as the few, and mortals as the many.
  - REAL: Sparta (The Gerousia), The Vatican, Saudi Arabia, Roman Senate
  - FICTION: Various Vampire Novels, Capitol (The Worthing Saga)
Diarchy / Triumvirate – Rule by Two or Three – “Together, we shall rule”
- A diarchy is a government characterized by “co-rule” between two individuals of equal or competing power. Rulers can either be of the same status (two kings, queens), or be of separate rank where their powers are separated (king and a religious leader). A lawful diarchy may hold this system as a tradition that survives through generations, and relies solely on mutual co-operation. However, a “de facto” diarchy might mean that both rulers are actively contesting each-other for supreme rule. A government ruled by three entities is referred to as a Triumvirate. While less common than a diarchy, the separation of powers allow for more executive decision-making within a consolidated power structure.
  - REAL: Roman Republic (Two Consuls, First Triumvirate), Japan (Shogunate), British India, Andorra,
  - FICTION: King + High Sparrow (Game of Thrones), Ynnead (Warhammer), Darth Vader + Emperor (Star Wars),

Non-Traditional Forms

Socialism – Rule for Public, not Private – “Redistribution of wealth”
- Not a government itself, but a set of policies aimed towards the redistribution of resources to the public, as opposed to private individuals. This often comes as a response to societies which wealth and privilege is tilted too far toward a single group of people, and promotes the flow of resources to the broader populace. The spectrum of leftist formats vary, but they all share an opposition against imperialist power structures and economics, and a support of collectivism. Socialist and leftist societies are most likely to be seen in sci-fi, since fantasy is often rife with feudal, imperial, or oligarchical governments that are pre-industrial.
  - REAL: Takes various forms, ranging from democratic (Denmark, Norway) to libertarian (Anarcho-Syndicalist movement), and authoritarian (China, USSR).
  - FICTION: KSR’s Mars Trilogy, The Star Fraction
Technocracy – Rule by the Skilled – “The Machine of Society”
- A government which elevates the talented, skilled, and intelligent into positions of authority. It idealizes the state as a machine, and professes that scientists, engineers, and the highly educated are best to rule, while the rest remained as workers in a class characterized by job specialization and rationed resources. A technocratic society is one that advocates for scientific method over superstition or religion. These states are referred to as “technates”. These experts are often appointed, rather than elected.
  - REAL: Singapore, USSR (Leonid Brezhnev), Movement in the US during the Great Depression (1930’s)
  - FICTION: The Institute (Fallout 4)
Cyberocracy – Rule by AI – “My Logic is Undeniable”
- A government that rules by the effective use of information. This system is centered on a complex method of communication (such as inter-connected computer networks) that directly pairs problems with their solvers. The purpose is to address the flaws of “bureaucracy” altogether, which can be a source of corruption, inefficiency, and small power struggles that detract from the solving of problems. Human beings making the decisions create countless inefficiencies which an super-intelligent network, or A.I. system can excel at.This automated form of government is theoretical, as there have been no actual cyberocracies to date. However, such a system could open the door to new forms of democracy, oligarchy, or authoritariansim. This can assist human progress, or hinder it. The risk of a “rogue AI” or “singularity event” is also a factor.
  - REAL: No governments to date.
  - FICTION: Neuromancer, The Matrix, I,Robot, Skynet (Terminator), Portal
Stratocracy – Rule by the Enlisted – “We Few, We Band of Brothers/Sisters”
- A government ran by chiefs of the military, centered on jurisdictional legalism, carried out by enlisted officers. Unlike a military dictatorship or junta, this is a stable government with full administrative, judicial, and legislative processes. All of these are supported by the law, constitution, and the society as a whole. Interestingly, this system does not necessarily need to be autocratic or oligarchic. However, it is centered on military service as a precursor to citizenship, and that citizenship is required to elect or govern.
  - REAL: Myanmar (1997-2011), Roman Empire (Punic Wars), Ancient Sparta, The Cossacks
  - FICTION: Cardassian Union (Star Trek), Galactic Empire (Star Wars), Terran Federation (Starship Troopers), Amestris (Fullmetal Alchemist), Earth Nation (Avatar, the Last Airbender)
Geniocracy – Rule by the Intelligent – “Knowledge is power, literally.”
- This government places the very intelligent at the top of the ruling class. Among these would be scientists, sociologists, and geniuses of high IP (Intellectual Potential), regardless of race or social class. Mandated tests would be taken to ascertain the IP of the populace, placing the top 20% as the electorate, and the top 0.5% as the electable. The mission of such a society is focused on a one-world government, eradicating violence, emphasizing fulfillment of the genii, and saving humanity from itself. However, while addressing the challenge of intelligence and a basis of scientific thinking, it values raw intelligence over practical-use intelligence, and also does not address ethics in scientific progress or leadership, which could result in IP-driven classism, persecution, or even eugenics.
  - REAL: No government, but high-IQ organizations like Mensa International do exist.
  - FICTION: World State (Brave New World)
Noocracy – Rule by the Mind – “Infinity, ahead and behind.”
- A social or political system ruled by an “aristocracy of the wise”, a caste of philosopher kings. This society heralds shared wisdom, based on the priority of human mind. This differs from a geniocracy by not valuing raw intelligence, but the practical and political intelligence to steer humanity through the turbulent waters of the future and into a new golden age. However, this thinking is directly opposed to democracy, which is considered a system of irrational (and emotional) consensus. Instead, it presumes citizens to not have the knowledge necessary to achieve their aims, and otherwise do not know any better. No elected politicians. Its best to let the wizened experts assume control. This idea is seen in science fiction more than fantasy. This idea can take multiple forms, such as a non-fundamentalist theocracy, a technocracy that emphasizes experience and awareness over talent, a collective of mind-linked brains, or an extra-terrestrial entity whose mission is to guide humanity.
  - REAL: Purely theoretical.
  - FICTION: The Traveler (Destiny Series), Helios (Deus Ex)
Demarchy – Rule by Lottery – “Pick a card. Any card.”
- Also referred to as “Sortition”, this is a unique kind of democracy which is based on random lottery. Not everyone has power, but everyone is eligible to be selected. In some variations, this is administered as a direct democracy, taking random poll from a populace. In others, it is less democratic, the eligible belonging to a specific class or status, or are gathered to vote representatives rather than engage in direct policy making. This form has been preferred in situations when only a small voting body is needed, and there is intense desire to combat aristocracy, or avoid corruption, favoritism, or bribery. However, being that it is random, there is a chance as always to either have less than desirable effects, or it be used to obscure bribery or corruption further by “adjusting” the chance of a certain group being picked.
  - REAL: Legal systems, and law court juries (Jury Duty), Italian City States (Great Councils)
  - FICTION: The Demarchy (Revelation Space), Thalassa (Songs of Distant Earth), Martian Lower House (Blue Mars)
Magocracy – Rule by Mages– “Expelliarmus“
- An oligarchical organization ruled by the most prominent of mages and spell-casters. This society holds those of magical ability as higher birth and higher privilege, either alongside other aristocracy, or over the mundane altogether. In some cases, only those who can wield magic have a voice in government. One is most likely to see a magocracy at work alongside academies, magical schools, or societies which are ruled by powerful wizards. The society may rely on the type of magic which is most prominent. Mastery in divine magic may be treated similar to a theocracy, where arcane prowess might see parallels to a geniocracy. Mundane citizens may be lowly regarded or persecuted. Naturally, this is a fantastical sort of government, so no real-world examples exist.
  - FICTION: Ministry of Magic (Harry Potter), Tevinter Imperium (Dragon Age), Merilon (Darksword Trilogy)

Decadent Forms

Despotism / Tyrrany – Rule by Cruelty – “Crush your enemies.”
- Typically characterizing the crueler nature of a authoritarian government, a tyranny is a state that oppresses its citizens. This can be by depriving freedoms, opportunities, welfare, resources, or things essential to life and prosperity. This can also include acts of violence, destruction, or torture. Despotism refers to governments ruled by a single supreme entity, often known for their brutality and cruelty. This entity is most often a person, but can depict a group, party, faction, organization that flexes their power with disregard to human life. You may often see tyrannical regimes or despotic rulers target or neglect a people, or groups of people within their realm.
  - REAL: Nazi Germany (Hitler), Roman Empire (Caligula), Oliver Cromwell, Ivan the Terrible, Vlad the Impaler
  - FICTION: Lord Ruler (Mistborn: The Final Empire), Sauron (Lord of the Rings), Thanos (Marvel Comics)
Kleptocracy – Rule of Thieves – “Two for me, none for you.”
- A system that is either ruled by thieves, or is stooped in (or encourages) thievery. Conspiracy, theft, and corruption is at the epicenter of government, and its victors are those who overcome the banditry and scheming come out on top. Naturally, depending on whether the environment is within a known den of thievery, or amongst the daylight, thieves may or may not admit to such a thing, so it is rare to see a “Kleptocracy” out in the open. Secrecy and information is of the highest of value to an individuals prosperity and survival. Coin in the right hands, words in the right ear, and a knife in the right pocket can be the difference between life and death. This term is also thrown around as a way to describe a system overwhelmed with corruption, which would function as any other government if it wasn’t for the overwhelming incentive to lie, cheat, and steal.
  - REAL: Gangs, guilds, and pirates. Otherwise, no state willingly calls itself a Kleptocracy.
  - FICTION: Tortuga (Pirates of the Caribbean)
Fragile State – Rule Coming Undone– “My kingdom for a horse.”
- A failed state (or fragile state) is defined as one that has disintegrated to the point where the basic conditions and responsibilities of a government no longer function properly. Various metrics are used to judge whether a state is failing, fragile, or failed. The following are signs of a failing state:
  - Loss of legitimate authority to make unified decisions
  - Loss of control of territory, or recognition of sovereignty
  - Inability to provide public services or enforce laws
  - Inability to interact as a full member of the international community.
  - Decline of human rights, economy, security, public health, and sovereignty
- When in this position, either the state that was will fracture, will devolve into mob rule, will be susceptible to foreign influence or conquering, or will over time and through suffering transition into a system that allows it recover. Recovery requires state development, which can come from either nation-building, war-making, or foreign aid.
  - REAL: Western Roman Empire, Mayan Civilization, French Monarchy (pre-revolution), Weimar Republic (1930s), East Germany (Cold War), Late USSR, Yugoslavia
  - FICTION: Kings Landing/Mad King (Game of Thrones), Adro Monarchy (Powder Mage Trilogy)
Cyclical Bureaucracy – Rule by Paperwork – “Let me check with my superior.”
- A satirical sort of government that I invented one rainy day in my high school years. Inspired by the goblins of Harry Potter, and the Vogons of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, the idea of a massive bureaucracy consisting of 3000+ members where all acts of rule require the proper form. All forms are drafted, and then must be approved by the drafters superior. The superior must review and submit it to their superior. Forms eventually round the entire hierarchy of superiors until it reaches the last person, of whom the original drafter is the superior of. The cycle continues forever, until the timeline for submitting expires, or the conditions for Special Provision X is reached.

💉 Health and Medicine

Health, healthcare and medicine also may vary depending on your world. In a dystopian novel, for example, med packs may be in much shorter supply when usual supply chains are disrupted or totally destroyed.

What is a common illness or blight afflicting this world? How is it treated (or is it incurable)? Does it evolve or change over the story’s course?
What does healthcare consist of in this world? Is there advanced medicine, or are folk and herbal remedies predominate?
Who has access to healthcare? Is there a rich/poor divide or is it universal?
Who would want to become a medical professional in this world, and why?
Where are the best places to receive medical treatment in this world, and why?
Where do medical practitioners train (and what is their curriculum like)?
When someone falls ill, what are typical ceremonial or other practices?
When was the last major public healthcare crisis (such as a pandemic), or when will the next one be?
Why is healthcare in this world scarce or in adequate supply?
Why might someone struggle to get the care they need when sick or injured in this world?

📚 History

The history of a fictional world gives the sense of ‘historicity’, the reality of the past (and its impact on the present).

What are the most important events in this world’s history that impact how it is today (e.g. conflicts, disasters, discoveries, revolutions)?
What subjects would historians in a library dedicated to this world specialize in (what topics are most important to your world’s history)?
Who remembers the most about the past, versus the least, and why?
Who are important figures from this world’s history who would be taught about in schools (will their importance be revised over the story’s course as new information comes to light?).
Where are historical records kept or how are they disseminated (in writing, or more in oral culture and storytelling?)
Where are the most significant landmarks that are remnants of this world’s history?
When do characters find out historical facts about their world previously unknown to them in the story? How does this new knowledge affect them?
When were the key turning points in this world’s history? What prompted change?
Why would someone study this world’s history, what would it teach them?
Why might characters want to find out more about this world’s history? How would this knowledge aid their goals?

Conflict is ubiquitous throughout history, with many sources – from greed and hunger for power and domination to scarcity of (and competition for) resources.

What is the biggest present conflict in this world, and what are its origins?
What are the major historical conflicts in the world and how did they shape present-day borders, beliefs, opinions and prejudices?
Who are the world’s peacemakers and what role do they play?
Who are the world’s worst agitators in stirring up conflict and why do they instigate it (e.g., territory disputes, resource competition, etc.)?
Where is the next conflict most likely to flare up and why?
Where is most peaceful, freest from conflict?
When past conflicts resolved to peaceful agreement, what prompted resolution?
When have war or other conflicts led to major cultural or social changes, and how?
Why do conflicts persist or change in this world?
Why do individuals or different groups in this world engage in conflict or remain pacifists?

🗞️ News and Media

News and media play a vital role in where people get their information about current events, from serious conflicts to scientific breakthroughs and rumor, gossip and innuendo (the usual tabloid material).

What spreads information – newspapers, websites, pamphlets, word-of-mouth, a technologically advanced communications system?
What is considered newsworthy in this world?
Who owns each news platform (are they public or private, impartial or propagandistic/biased?)
Who are the public figures most often scrutinized in news networks (and why)?
Where do the most significant or newsworthy events happen in this world (and to where does their news reach)?
Where does the typical person go to find out what’s happening in their immediate community, or the wider world? Can they find this out?
When have investigative reports or rumor mills changed history, public sentiments or policies?
When do major news announcements or public addresses typically take place?
Why is the media either free, silenced or captured/biased?
Why might people in this world trust or distrust news media?

🪄 Magic

First of all, what is your magic? Is it an energy force? Is it the action of spirits? Is it just magic, plain and simply? Figure out what magic is within the context of your own story.
Are there different types of magic? For instance, with bending, there are different elements of bending. These elements also have derivatives, and can be combined. If there are types of magic, what do these types do, and what are their differences?
How do people execute magic? Do they say words? Perform rituals? Use motions? Store magic and then release it? Manipulate it with their minds?
Is magic a substance, or is it just something that exists? If it’s a substance, is it limited? Do people fight over it? Is it involved in the economy? How much is there?
Where does the magic come from? Is it sourced from the planet, or space? Is it from spirits or gods? Does it simply exist within the physical laws of your story world?
Are there laws about the usage of magic? If so, what are they?
How is magic viewed in your storyworld? Is it something frowned upon? Is it kept secret? Is it illegal? Is it commonplace? Is it frowned upon/pitiable if you can’t use magic?
Do people use magic in dueling/fighting? Is it a main part of their weapon systems, or is it just something that enhances them? Have there been wars conducted entirely with magic?
How is the magic distributed among the people? Can an average person use it, or is it limited to the elites? If it’s unfairly distributed, how is that accomplished? Do the elites restrain the magic and keep it from the common people?
Is magic integrated into religion? If so, how? Are there religions centered around magic? Do people get magic from their gods, or spirits?
What does the magic look like? Is it an invisible force that has different manifestations depending on the sort of spell? Is it a tangible sort of energy that has different colors?
How is magic involved with the day-to-day activities of a society? Is it highly integrated, and necessary? Or is it just something that enhances everyday life? Does it negatively impact the society?

Hard vs Soft Magic Systems

First, we have hard magic. These are systems with defined rules and regulations. A hard magic system will have a clear set of boundaries to it. An earthbender can manipulate rocks but not fire. Generally, these rules can’t be broken, and the reader knows the rules.

Examples include: Fullmetal Alchemist, The Mistborn Trilogy, and Avatar: The Last Airbender

Use a hard magic system if:

You are going to use magic to solve problems
Your audience is accustomed to the tropes of hard magic
You are okay with jumping through hoops to expand your system
Your magic doesn’t convey a theme

Then we have soft magic. These are systems of mysticism. A soft magic system doesn’t have hard and fast rules. It is wild and undefined. The reader can see it play out but is often unaware of the mechanics. Gandalf came back to life because he is a wizard. Rules can’t be broken if you never establish them.

Examples include: Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Game of Thrones.

Use a soft magic system if:

You want to convey a theme through magic
You want to create a sense of wonder
You want the ability to expand easily
You want to be accessible to a broader audience
Your magic won’t regularly be used to solve problems

🔫 Military & Police

Understanding the Period
- The first and most important aspect of building a military is to understand the warfare of the period your world is set in. Whether it be iron age or space age, you should have a fundamental understanding of how warfare was (or will be) fought. That doesn’t mean that you have to replicate everything from history or can’t create your own weapons, systems of warfare, and integrate things like magic to create new types of warfare. And, of course, futuristic settings have a lot less to go off of then historical settings. Even then, it is important to think about how the technology impacts warfare. In an age with super advanced robots, why would humans still be fighting? These are questions you have to consider. Things like tactics, formations, orders of battle, etc. are all really important. For example, in ancient warfare, a lot of battles began with missile exchanges that could last for hours. Battles weren’t these huge bloodfests, there were lots of gaps and breaks. Armies rarely lost more than 10% of their fighting force. And pitched battles were relatively rare; most warfare was skirmishing, positioning, and sieging.
The Military System - Next is seeing what military system you’d want to use. A system must make sense for the nation. You can’t expect a hunter-gatherer society to make use of a professional army. Examples include:
- Citizen Army- citizens generally equip themselves and are mustered in times of need. Notable examples are Ancient Greek City-States and the Roman Republic prior to the Marian Reforms.
- Professional Army- soldiers are recruited, trained, and equipped by the state. Most modern armies are professional.
- Tribal Army- warriors, either part of a warrior class or not, join up arms when necessary or when they feel like it. Local leaders have the greatest control in this system. ‘Barbarians’ tend to fall into this category.
- Automaton Army- robots to do the battle. They can be commanded by biological beings or AI. Another example would be creatures like golems, risen by magic, or even armies like the undead as long as they don’t have their own personalities/control.
Feudal Army- Vassals levy peasants and members of a warrior class (like knights) under them to serve their lords. Feudal Europe and Japan are the poster children for this.
The Purpose - What is a military’s purpose to its state? That seems like an obvious answer: to fight wars, duh. However, it’s actually more complicated than that. Some armies are more than just soldiers. They are police, emergency personnel, political enforcers, or other.
- A nation with a warrior army generally doesn’t control its warriors very well; the warriors often go on raids, fight each other, or otherwise. For example, vikings would bring back slaves and goods from all over, but you couldn’t really say that they were dispatched by their kingdoms for this tactically.
- The earlier Roman armies were conquerors; expanding the state. The late Roman armies were protectors; guarding the empire from invasion. It’s important to know if your nation has a military geared towards offense or defense.
Nations with holy orders, such as the Teutonic Order, serve a religious purpose as well as a military one. In fantasy worlds, an army may just as well be adapted to hunting monsters or fending off the underworld as they are to fighting regular wars.
Trading nations tend to have militaries that protect their trade interests. Anti-pirate navies and caravan guards are a priority.

⛪ Religion

Special abilities may be linked to a deity and spiritual tradition or else a neutral, nature-like force. Religion may play a major part in your world, or none at all.

What are the primary belief systems and spiritual practices in this world?
What is the mostly widely observed religious belief or spiritual practice in this world?
Who follows which religion or spiritual practice in this world (do spiritual practices differ significantly between regions or individuals?)
Who are the deities, supernatural beings or spirits worshipped or revered in this world, and what is each’s function?
Where are sacred sites located in this world and what are ceremonies or taboos attached to them?
Where do religious events or ceremonies take place?
When are followers of faiths in this world confirmed, promoted, or even cast out? Under what conditions or terms?
When have significant spiritual or religious events occurred in this world’s history? What was their impact?
Why do specific religious or spiritual practices and beliefs dominate in this world, or does no single system have any greater sway or hold?
Why do followers of different beliefs co-exist in peace or engage in conflict?
Philosophy
- What do the members of this religion believe defines the Truth?
- How do believers benefit by following this religion?
- How do they suffer by following it?
- How does it make their ties to community and culture stronger, or conversely, how does it separate them from community and culture?
Scope
- How deeply into members’ lives does your religion reach?
- Is it a required part of all public education? Private education? Are its books the only permissible education?
- Does it attack other religions verbally, or require its members to avoid nonmembers? Does it forbid any other religion from existing in its sphere? Does it have the power to enforce this demand?
- Do its mandates require specific moral actions and behaviors? How does it enforce its mandates? Through shame? Through dialogue? Does it control the law for its own people, declaring what are crimes, judging criminals, and handing out sentences? Does it control the law for everyone?
- Can it influence kings and generals through dialogue? Can it persuade its members to act in concert to influence leaders? Can it force its members to act to influence leaders? Is its priesthood the leadership? Can it gather armies and wage war? Does it have its own standing army?
- Does it encourage specific behavior in private, among family members? Can it enforce this encouragement through regular meetings with families, or through preaching? Does it have more specific powers to reach into intimate lives? Can it demand that all its members, even within families, keep watch over each other and turn in those—even family members—who have strayed from the path?
Outreach
- How does the religion you’re building gain its new members? From volunteers? Through birth? By free choice? By the sword? Are members required to seek new converts? If so, how are they to do this? Which members? What tools are they given (words, handouts, guns) to convert non-members?
- Does the religion permit members to quit? When? Under what circumstances? What specific actions do they have to do to become non-members? (Hand in a QUIT card, sign a roster, take counseling, change their names and move to a foreign country?)
- Does the religion penalize members who quit? How? With censure? By banning from the afterlife? By shunning? By threatening them? By passing a death sentence on them?
- How does it treat the families of members who quit?
Content
- Which aspects of life does the religion you’re building seek to control?
- How does it seek to enforce this control? In what ways does it succeed? In what ways does it fail?
- What type of religion is it?
- What do your believers believe?
- How do they view life and death? What value does the individual human being have?
- How do they view the relationship between religion and the individual? Between religion and the community? Between religion and government?
- How do they define morality? Good and evil? Faith? Tolerance? Justice?
- From where do their beliefs originate?
- What actions do their beliefs encourage?
Worship
- Who are your religion’s gods, and what do they stand for? Do they have a hierarchy? Do they have a past history? A future history? How do they feel about their worshippers? How do their worshippers feel about them?
- What do your religion’s gods require of worshippers? Are they friendly about it? What do worshippers require of their gods? How do they go about asking for it? How good are the gods at delivering?
- Aside from gods, does your religion have saints, prophets, angels, demons, spirits, deified family members or other additional supernatural beings? What do they do? How do they figure into your theology? How to they involve members in the religion?
- Does the religion have regular services? If so, what is the order of service—that is, what do the priests or ministers do during a service, what do the people do, and if applicable, what do the gods do?
- What regular holidays does the religion celebrate?
- Are any of the holidays related to seasons? If so, what and how? How are these holidays celebrated?
In-Home and Public Worship
- Does your religion have a private component?
- What elements of the religion are practiced in private?
- Are there specific rituals or liturgies that are done privately?
- Does the way the gods speak to a private person differ from the way the gods speak to a priest or other official?
- Does your religion utilize specific buildings? Are they public or private?
- Do these buildings simply house worship services, or do they contribute to the religion and the culture in other ways (by being a repository for holy books or theological tomes or just books in general; or by offering classes; or by offering services like childcare or elder care or meals for the poor)?
- Are the buildings ever used for destructive or negative things: the imprisonment or execution of heretics; human sacrifice; or secret meetings of Star-Chamber-type groups?

👻 Supernatural

Turning back to the human (or alien, or non-human), individual or magical abilities may be specific to your world and its forces, practices, mysteries.

What magical or supernatural abilities exist in this world?
What does using magical or supernatural (or cyborg) abilities cost, and what are the risks and dangers involved?
Who has exceptional ability, and why?
Who understands individual and magical abilities? Does anyone hold mistaken beliefs about them?
Where did any paranormal or magical abilities in the world come from?
Where do people learn to use or work with their abilities?
When characters use their abilities, is this use governed by codes and rules? What are they?
When do abilities typically first manifest or awaken?
Why do this world’s inhabitants fear, revere or covet special abilities?
Why do people with abilities choose to use their abilities for benevolent or malevolent purposes?

⚙️ Technology

Energy
- How does this world get their energy? Fossil fuels? Hydropower? Solar power? Biofuels? Wind power? Nuclear? A society that runs on a certain type of fuel probably does so because that resource is abundant there, so keep that in mind.
- How much can they power with their current energy level? You might want to look up the efficiency of their power source, for this one (for instance, burning some fuels provides a lot more energy than others).
- How dangerous is their energy source, and what are its costs/benefits for society?
- What’s the technology level required for this particular energy source? A medieval-level fantasy is not going to have the tech for solar power, unless you’ve figured out some way to explain it with magic.
- Is their power source renewable or non-renewable? If it’s non-renewable, like fossil fuels, they’re bound to run out sometime.
- Does this power source produce waste, and if it does, where does it get stored (i.e. nuclear and fossil fuel energy)?
Medical
- How advanced is this society’s medical technology, and why? Again, keep this one realistic. A society that hasn’t developed electricity yet, for instance, is not going to have MRI machines.
- How well can they control and cure diseases (such as the use of vaccines, medicines, etc)? The less medical technology they have, the more widespread disease will be.
- Do people trust the medical techniques that are commonly used, and why? (this calls anti-vaccine people to mind, who use their own unscientific ‘research’ and distrust peer-reviewed actual scientific studies) Does society have a negative intent with these medical techniques, or is it just people being paranoid?
- How advanced is their medicine? Does it cause a lot of adverse side effects? Is it even effective at all (think of herbal remedies and such that may not actually work)?
- What’s used for medicine? Do they used plants themselves? Synthesized chemicals? Pills? Liquids?
- How expensive is medical care? Do most people have access to it?
- How safe is medical technology? Again with this one, the more technology exists, the safer medical procedures are likely to be.
Food and Water
- What technology does this society use to farm/gather/produce food? Same with water.
- Do they rely on agriculture? If so, what plants do they grow? (hint: to survive, humans need carbohydrates, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals. So societies usually grow a carbohydrate source [a cereal grain], a protein/fat source [animals or legume plants], and vitamin and mineral sources [fruits and vegetables].)
- How hard is it to produce food in that area? Flat areas with fertile soils tend to be the best for growing most things. Look up things that are grown in the kind of geography your society has.
- Where does the water come from? Are they near a lake? A river? An aquifer (an underground source of water)? Do they distill salt water from the sea? How close is this water supply to running out (for instance, where I live, the aquifer will eventually run out)?
- How polluted is the water? Is it safe to drink? What lives in it? How do they clean it?
Transportation
- What do people use for transportation? Cars? Trains? Horses/other four-legged hooved things? Motorcycles? Trucks? Carriages? Look up what your particular transportation method requires in terms of energy/electricity, and make sure it makes sense with your technology level. Societies also generally utilize more than one kind of transporation, especially in cities.
- How is their public transportation? The more crowded/compact the area, the more likely public transportation is going to be widely used. Rural, spaced-out areas tend to depend on cars, trucks, and occasionally long-distance trains.
- How is their transportation powered? Most things run on fossil fuels these days, but there are electric cars, trains that are powered by electromagnets, etc. The first trains that developed came around before electricity and ran on steam power.
Information
- How do people access their information? Does the internet or something like it exist? Other ways of sharing information include books, phones, radio, word of mouth, songs, etc.
- How easy is it to learn about things? The lower the level of technology, the harder it is for everyone to access information (for instance, the internet makes this very easy).
- How accurate is the information people are able to access? Since the rise of the internet, a lot of complete nonsense is very easy to find via a google search. People also might only be exposed to biased propaganda in their media, and that might be the only thing they know.
- How does society view truth? Do they take the things they know as absolute dogma, or do they constantly question things and try to learn more?
Communication
- How do people communicate? By mail? Phone? Fax? Radio? Telegraph? Internet? In person?
- How fast is communication? This depends on the technology in question (obviously the Pony Express is not going to be as quick as a phone). Also, if an area is more spaced out, it will be more difficult for them to establish communications before electricity is invented.
- How private are communications? Does the government listen in? Do other people? Who are those people? Can the communications technology be easily hacked? Are there ways for people to protect themselves?
Recreation
- What kind of technology exists for people to have fun with? Things like amusement parks, hobbies, etc.
- What do people do for fun? Obviously, the lower the technology, the simpler it will be.
- Is investing in recreation technology a big part of the economy (in most countries, it definitely is. People like to be entertained)?
- How dangerous is the technology? A thrill ride built in 2013 is likely to be safer than one built fifty years ago.
- What are some of the more dangerous/stupid things people do for fun?
Manufacturing
- How do people make things? Are they mass-produced in assembly lines? Made by hand?
- Who works in the factories, if they exist? Are they people, or are they robots? How does this affect the employment rate?
- How dangerous are manufacturing jobs? Robots may eliminate jobs for people, but those jobs might also have been dangerous in the first place. Jobs at the beginning of the industrial revolution were especially dangerous, especially since workers’ rights hadn’t been as well established back then.
- How much pollution does this technology produce? Generally, when things are mass-produced in factories, a lot of waste gets created. Factories are dirty places, and although they’ve definitely improved over the years, they aren’t exactly green.

Safety, access

It’s not just manufacturing technology that can be dangerous - all technology carries some level of danger for both the people who work with it up close, and sometimes, the people who use it.
What short-term dangerous effects does this technology have? What about long-term? Do they affect people who work with them directly, or do they also affect the environment in general?

Access to technology

How easy is it to access the technologies in question? Richer people usually have access to better technology, and there can be a large disparity between classes.
How easy is it to use these technologies? Can just anyone use them, or do you need to be trained?
Who is allowed to access which technologies? For instance, something more dangerous will probably have a restricted set of people working with it.

Speed of technological development

How fast is technology developing? Certain advancements (steam, electricity, the internet, etc.) have resulted in exponential technological growth.
Has anyone tried to stop technological growth? If so, why?
Is it going too fast, or too slow?

History of technology

What came before the technologies your society is currently using?
How did people live back then, and how were they affected by the development of that technology?
Were groups of people disenfranchised as technology developed?
Are working conditions better or worse than they were in past years?

📦 Trade

Trade, commerce and industry are closely linked to geography (coastal towns having fisheries, for example). In a detailed world, trade and industry are linked to other aspects such as transport networks, the proximity of natural resources, trade agreements and more.

What is the primary currency in this world? Does each region have its own?
What is the standard (such as the gold standard) by which currency is valued?
Who has more relative trading power and why? Which commodities are valued the most?
Who is paid the most because their labor is valued highest? Who is paid the least? Or is labor compensated equally (and do pay grades vary by region?)
Where are the biggest centers of trade and industry? Why are they in these locations?
Where are the main trading routes and what are landmarks or places of interest along their way?
When was this world most or least prosperous, and why?
When business is conducted, what are the customs, signs of trust (like signatures on Earth), formalities?
Why is a specific trade more common than others (what context underpins it)?
Why are certain trades growing or waning in popularity?

⛵ Transportation

Transportation and how characters and things travel is another important aspect – how your world moves.

What are the primary modes of transport in this world (e.g., horseback, air taxi)?
What is difficult or challenging abut transportation in the story’s main locations?
Who has access to what kinds of transport? Are some kinds of transport (like flying private on Earth) only available to the uber wealthy?
Who operates transport networks, and what do they cost or require of passengers?
Where are the biggest transport networks, vs where lies furthest off the beaten track?
Where is safest to travel vs where is most dangerous?
When do common modes of transport run (how frequent are they)?
When is it best to travel and when is it worst, and why?
Why is transportation excellent or in a state of disarray?
Why will transportation change over the course of the story (e.g., different terrain, new inventions, or other causes).

🎮 JRPG Cliches

Sleepyhead Rule - The teenaged male lead will begin the first day of the game by oversleeping, being woken up by his mother, and being reminded that he’s slept in so late he missed meeting his girlfriend.
“No! My beloved peasant village!” - The hero’s home town, city, slum, or planet will usually be annihilated in a spectacular fashion before the end of the game, and often before the end of the opening scene.
Thinking With The Wrong Head (Hiro Rule) - No matter what she’s accused of doing or how mysterious her origins are, the hero will always be ready to fight to the death for any girl he met three seconds ago.
Cubic Zirconium Corollary - The aforementioned mysterious girl will be wearing a pendant that will ultimately prove to be the key to either saving the world or destroying it.
Logan’s Run Rule - RPG characters are young. Very young. The average age seems to be 15, unless the character is a decorated and battle-hardened soldier, in which case he might even be as old as 18. Such teenagers often have skills with multiple weapons and magic, years of experience, and never ever worry about their parents telling them to come home from adventuring before bedtime. By contrast, characters more than twenty-two years old will cheerfully refer to themselves as washed-up old fogies and be eager to make room for the younger generation.
Single Parent Rule - RPG characters with two living parents are almost unheard of. As a general rule, male characters will only have a mother, and female characters will only have a father. The missing parent either vanished mysteriously and traumatically several years ago or is never referred to at all. Frequently the main character’s surviving parent will also meet an awkward end just after the story begins, thus freeing him of inconvenient filial obligations.
Some Call Me… Tim? - Good guys will only have first names, and bad guys will only have last names. Any bad guy who only has a first name will become a good guy at some point in the game. Good guys’ last names may be mentioned in the manual but they will never be referred to in the story.
Nominal Rule - Any character who actually has a name is important in some way and must be sought out. However, if you are referred to as a part of a possessive noun (“Crono’s Mom”) then you are superfluous.
The Compulsories - There’s always a fire dungeon, an ice dungeon, a sewer maze, a misty forest, a derelict ghost ship, a mine, a glowing crystal maze, an ancient temple full of traps, a magic floating castle, and a technological dungeon.
Luddite Rule (or, George Lucas Rule) - Speaking of which, technology is inherently evil and is the exclusive province of the Bad Guys. They’re the ones with the robots, factories, cyberpunk megalopolises and floating battle stations, while the Good Guys live in small villages in peaceful harmony with nature. (Although somehow your guns and/or heavily armed airships are exempted from this.)
Let’s Start From The Very Beginning (Yuna Rule) - Whenever there is a sequel to an RPG that features the same main character as the previous game, that character will always start with beginner skills. Everything that they learned in the previous game will be gone, as will all their ultra-powerful weapons and equipment.
Poor Little Rich Hero (Meis Rule) - If the hero comes from a rich and powerful family, it will have fallen on hard times and be broke and destitute by the time the game actually starts.
The Higher The Hair, The Closer To God (Cloud Rule) - The more outrageous his hairstyle, the more important a male character is to the story.
Garrett’s Principle - Let’s not mince words: you’re a thief. You can walk into just about anybody’s house like the door wasn’t even locked. You just barge right in and start looking for stuff. Anything you can find that’s not nailed down is yours to keep. You will often walk into perfect strangers’ houses, lift their precious artifacts, and then chat with them like you were old neighbors as you head back out with their family heirlooms under your arm. Unfortunately, this never works in stores.
Hey, I Know You! - You will accumulate at least three of these obligatory party members:
1. The spunky princess who is rebelling against her royal parent and is in love with the hero.
2. The demure, soft-spoken female mage and healing magic specialist who is not only in love with the hero, but is also the last survivor of an ancient race.
3. The tough-as-nails female warrior who is not in love with the hero (note that this is the only female character in the game who is not in love with the hero and will therefore be indicated as such by having a spectacular scar, a missing eye, cyborg limbs or some other physical deformity – see The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly Rule.)
4. The achingly beautiful gothy swordsman who is riven by inner tragedy.
5. The big, tough, angry guy who, deep down, is a total softy.
6. The hero’s best friend, who is actually much cooler than the hero.
7. The grim, selfish mercenary who over the course of the game learns what it means to really care about other people.
8. The character who is actually a spy for the bad guys but will instantly switch to your side when you find out about it.
9. The weird bonus character who requires a bizarre series of side quests to make them effective (with the ultimate result that no player ever uses this character if it can be avoided.)
10. The nauseatingly cute mascot who is useless in all battles.
Hey, I Know You, Too! - You will also confront/be confronted by at least three of these obligatory antagonists:
1. The amazingly good-looking and amazingly evil long-haired prettyboy who may or may not be the ultimate villain.
2. The villain’s loyal right-hand man, who comes in two versions: humorously incompetent or annoyingly persistent.
3. The villain’s attractive female henchman, who is the strongest and most competent soldier in the army but always lets the party escape because she’s, yes, fallen in love with the hero.
4. Your former ally who supposedly “died” and was forgotten about, until much later in the game when he/she shows up again on the villain’s side and full of bitterness.
5. The irritatingly honorable foe whom you never get to kill because, upon discovering the true nature of his superiors, he either nobly sacrifices himself or joins your party.
6. The insane clown or jester who will turn out to be surprisingly difficult to subdue.
7. The mad scientist who likes creating mutated creatures and powerful weapons ’cause it’s fun (and also handy if uninvited adventurers show up.)
8. The adorably cute li’l creature or six year old child who fights you and, inexplicably, kicks your butt time after time.
Hey, I Know You, Three! - Furthermore, expect to encounter most of the following obligatory non-player chararcters (NPCs):
1. The townsperson or crewmember who wanders aimlessly in circles and never quite gets where he is going.
2. Hilariously incompetent or cowardly soldiers.
3. The NPC who has a crush on another NPC and can’t quite work up the nerve to tell him or her, so instead tells every other person who wanders by about it at great length.
4. A group of small children playing hide-and-seek.
5. The wise and noble captain/king/high priest.
6. The wise and noble captain/king/high priest’s splutteringly evil second-in-command. Nobody, including the hero, will notice the second’s constant, crazed scheming until the moment when he betrays everyone to the forces of badness.
7. The NPC who is obsessed with his completely mundane job and witters on endlessly about how great it is. He’s so thrilled by it that he wants to share it with everyone he sees, so given a quarter of a chance he’ll make you do his job for him.
8. The (adult) NPC who has nothing better to do than play kids’ games with passersby.
9. The group of young women who have formed a scarily obsessive fan club for one of your female party members.
Crono’s Complaint - The less the main character talks, the more words are put into his mouth, and therefore the more trouble he gets into through no fault of his own.
“Silly Squall, bringing a sword to a gunfight…” - No matter what timeframe the game is set in – past, present, or future – the main hero and his antagonist will both use a sword for a weapon. (Therefore, you can identify your antagonist pretty easily right from the start of the game just by looking for the other guy who uses a sword.) These swords will be far more powerful than any gun and often capable of distance attacks.
Just Nod Your Head And Smile - And no matter how big that big-ass sword is, you won’t stand out in a crowd. Nobody ever crosses the street to avoid you or seems to be especially shocked or alarmed when a heavily armed gang bursts into their house during dinner, rummages through their possessions, and demands to know if they’ve seen a black-caped man. People can get used to anything, apparently.
Aeris’s Corollary - Just as the main male character will always use a sword or a variant of a sword, the main female character will always use a rod or a staff of some sort.
MacGyver Rule - Other than for the protagonists, your choice of weapons is not limited to the prosaic guns, clubs, or swords. Given appropriate skills, you can cut a bloody swath across the continent using gloves, combs, umbrellas, megaphones, dictionaries, sketching tablets – you name it, you can kill with it. Even better, no matter how surreal your choice of armament, every store you pass will just happen to stock an even better model of it for a very reasonable price. Who else is running around the world killing people with an umbrella?
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Melfice Rule) - If the male hero has an older sibling, the sibling will also be male and will turn out to be one of the major villains. If the hero has a younger sibling, the sibling will be female and will be kidnapped and held hostage by the villains.
Capitalism Is A Harsh Mistress - Once you sell something to a shopkeeper, he instantly sells it to somebody else and you will never see the item again no matter what.
Dimensional Transcendence Principle - Buildings are much, much larger on the inside than on the outside, and that doesn’t even count the secret maze of tunnels behind the clock in the basement.
Local Control Rule - Although the boss monster terrorizing the first city in the game is less powerful than the non-boss monsters that are only casual nuisances to cities later in the game, nobody from the first city ever thinks of hiring a few mercenaries from the later cities to kill the monster.
Nostradamus Rule - All legends are 100% accurate. All rumors are entirely factual. All prophecies will come true, and not just someday but almost immediately.
IDKFA - The basic ammunition for any firearms your characters have is either unlimited or very, very easy to obtain. This will apply even if firearms are extremely rare.
Indestructible Weapon Rule - No matter how many times you use that sword to strike armored targets or fire that gun on full auto mode it will never break, jam or need any form of maintenance unless it is critical to the story that the weapon breaks, jams or needs maintenance.
Selective Paralysis - Your characters must always keep both feet on the ground and will be unable to climb over low rock ledges, railings, chairs, cats, slightly differently-colored ground, or any other trivial objects which may happen to be in their way. Note that this condition will not prevent your characters from jumping from railroad car to railroad car later in the game.
Bed Bed Bed - A good night’s sleep will cure all wounds, diseases, and disabilities, up to and including death in battle.
You Can’t Kill Me, I Quit (Seifer Rule) - The good guys never seem to get the hang of actually arresting or killing the bad guys. Minor villains are always permitted to go free so they can rest up and menace you again later – sometimes five minutes later. Knowing this rule, you can deduce that if you do manage to kill (or force the surrender of) a bad guy, you must be getting near the end of the game.
And Now You Die, Mr. Bond! (Beatrix Rule) - Fortunately for you, the previous rule also applies in reverse. Rather than kill you when they have you at their mercy, the villains will settle for merely blasting you down to 1 hit point and leaving you in a crumpled heap while they stroll off, laughing. (This is, of course, because they’re already planning ahead how they’ll manipulate you into doing their bidding later in the game – see Way To Go, Serge.)
Zap! - Most villains in RPGs possess some form of teleportation. They generally use it to materialize in front of the adventurers when they reach the Obligatory Legendary Relic Room and seize the goodies just before you can. The question “if the bad guy can teleport anywhere at any time, then why doesn’t (s)he just zip in, grab the artifact, and leave before the adventurers have even finished the nerve-wracking puzzle on the third floor?” is never answered.
Heads I Win, Tails You Lose (Grahf Rule) - It doesn’t matter that you won the fight with the boss monster; the evil task he was trying to carry out will still get accomplished somehow. Really, you might as well not have bothered.
Clockwork Universe Rule - No matter how hard you try to stop it, that comet or meteor will always hit the earth.
Fake Ending - There will be a sequence which pretends to be the end of the game but obviously isn’t – if for no other reason than because you’re still on Disk 1 of 4.
You Die, And We All Move Up In Rank - During that fake ending, the true villain of the story will kill the guy you’d thought was the villain, just to demonstrate what a badass he (the true villain) really is. You never get to kill the fake villain yourself.
“What are we going to do tonight, Vinsfeld?” - The goal of every game (as revealed during the Fake Ending) is to Save the World from an evil figure who’s trying to take it over or destroy it. There is no way to escape from this formidable task. No matter whether the protagonist’s goal in life is to pay off a debt, to explore distant lands, or just to make time with that cute girl in the blue dress, it will be necessary for him to Save the World in order to accomplish it. Take heart, though – once the world gets sorted out, everything else will fall into place almost immediately.
Zelda’s Axiom - Whenever somebody tells you about “the five ancient talismans” or “the nine legendary crystals” or whatever, you can be quite confident that Saving the World will require you to go out and find every last one of them.
George W. Bush Geography Simplification Initiative - Every country in the world will have exactly one town in it, except for the country you start out in, which will have three.
Fodor’s Guide Rule - In the course of your adventure you will visit one desert city, one port town, one mining town, one casino city, one magic city (usually flying), one medieval castle kingdom, one clockwork city, one martial arts-based community, one thieves’ slum, one lost city and one sci-fi utopia. On the way you’ll also get a chance to see the cave with rocks that glow from a natural energy source, the village populated with nonhuman characters, the peaceful village where everyone knows the latest news about the hero’s quest (see Guy in the Street Rule), the snow village, the magical forest/lake/mountain, the shop in the middle of nowhere, the fantastic-looking place with lots of FMVs just showing your entrance, the subtropical jungle island populated by friendly natives, the annoying cavern maze, and a place – any place – that was destroyed in some past disaster.
Midgar Principle - The capital of the evil empire is always divided into two sections: a lower city slum filled with slaves and supporters of the rebellion, and an upper city filled with loyal fanatics and corrupt aristocrats.
Not Invented Here - Trade of technology will not exist. One place in the world will have all the techno-gadgets while all the others will be harvesting dirt.
Law of Cartographical Elegance - The world map always cleanly fits into a rectangular shape with no land masses that cross an edge.
¿Quien Es Mas Macho? (Fargo Rule) - Every powerful character you attempt to seek aid from will first insist upon “testing your strength” in a battle to the death.
We Had To Destroy The Village In Order To, Well, You Know The Rest (Selene Rule) - No matter what happens, never call on the government, the church, or any other massive controlling authority for help. They’ll just send a brigade of soldiers to burn your entire village to the ground.
Zidane’s Curse (or, Dirty Pair Rule) - An unlucky condition in which every major city in the game will coincidentally wind up being destroyed just after the hero arrives.
Maginot Line Rule - It is easy to tell which city/nation is the next conquest of the Evil Empire: its streets are filled with citizens who brag that the Empire would never dare attack them, and would be easily defeated if it tried. (This smug nationalism always fails to take into account the Empire’s new superweapon.)
Short Attention Span Principle - All bookshelves contain exactly one book, which only has enough text on it to fill up half a page.
Planet of the Apes Rule - All cities and countries have ancestors that were wiped out by their technological advances.
Insomnia Rule - A “free stay at the inn” is never really free. Expect to be woken up in the middle of the night for a mandatory plot event.
The Bling-Bling Thing (Lemina Rule) - No matter how much money and treasure you acquire, the greedy member of your party will never be satisfied and won’t stop griping about the sorry state of the party’s finances.
I Don’t Like Gears Or Fighting - There are always giant robots. Always.
Houdini’s Postulate - Anyone, whether they are in the player’s party or not, who is placed in any kind of prison, fortress, cell, or detention block will escape immediately. Party members will be freed either by a small child they just happened to befriend earlier in the day or by an unexpected disaster that overcomes the enemy base, NPCs will be freed by the released party members, and villains will break out all by themselves because they’re such badasses. Once a person has escaped from jail, no attempt will be made by the police to recapture them in the future.
Zeigfried’s Contradiction - Just because someone is weird doesn’t mean they’re important.
Natural Monopoly Rule - No city will have more than two shops, unless it is crucial to the story that there be a hundred vendors which you must visit in order (see You Always Travel In The Right Circles.) All of these shops will sell the same goods for the same price.
But They Don’t Take American Express - Every merchant in the world – even those living in far-off villages or hidden floating cities cut off from the outside world for centuries, even those who speak different languages or are of an entirely different species – accepts the same currency.
Apathy Principle - Your group is the only bunch of people trying to save the world. All other would-be heroes will either join your party or else turn out to be cowards and/or con men.
The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly Rule
1. Any male character who is ugly, malformed, or misshapen is either evil or so moral, spiritual, and/or wise that it’s a wonder no one’s proposed him for sainthood yet.
2. Any male character who has a physical dysfiguration that doesn’t seem to impede him (i.e. a prominent scar across the face or a bad eye) is evil, unless he is the male lead, since scars are cool and no other good guy can be as cool as the hero. An exception is made for characters who are clearly ancient, and therefore automatically not as cool as the young hero.
3. Any female character who is ugly, malformed, misshapen, or physically disfigured is evil, since all good female characters are there to be potentially seduced by the male lead – see Know Your Audience.

Henchman Quota (Nana, Saki, and Mio Rule) - One of your antagonists will have three lovably incompetent stooges whom you fight over and over again. Although they’re trusted with their boss’s most important plans and equipment, they will screw up repeatedly, argue incessantly among themselves, blab secret information, and generally only come out victorious when their job was to be a diversion or a delaying tactic. A high point of the game will come when the True Villain reveals himself and you’re able to convince the stooges you’re all on the same side. They won’t help you out any more successfully than they helped the antagonist, but at least you won’t have to fight them any more.
Thousand Year Rule - The Ancient Evil returns to savage the land every thousand years on the dot, and the last time it showed up was just about 999.9875 years ago. Despite their best efforts, heroes of the past were never able to do more than seal the Evil away again for the future to deal with (which brings up the question of just how exactly does this “sealing away” work anyway, but never mind.) The good news is that this time, the Evil will get destroyed permanently. The bad news is that you’re the one who’s going to have to do it.
Principle of Narrative Efficiency - If the main villain (or the enemy you’ve been trying to kill for most of the game before he summons the real final villain) was ever defeated in the past by another group of adventurers, one of them will secretly be in your party and one of them will be the hero’s father.
Ayn Rand’s Revenge - Outside the major cities, there is no government whatsoever. Of course, perhaps that explains why it’s so difficult and dangerous to get anywhere outside the major cities.
First Law of Travel - Anything can become a vehicle – castles, cities, military academies, you name it – so do not be alarmed when the stones of the ancient fortress you are visiting shake underfoot and the whole thing lifts off into the sky. As a corollary, anything is capable of flight if it would be cool, aeronautics or even basic physics be damned.
Second Law of Travel - There will be only one of any non-trivial type of vehicle in the entire world. Thus, only one ocean-capable steamboat, only one airship, and so forth. Massive facilities will have been constructed all over the world to service this one vehicle.
Third Law of Travel - The only way to travel by land between different areas of a continent will always be through a single narrow pass in a range of otherwise impenetrable mountains. Usually a palace or monastery will have been constructed in the pass, entirely filling it, so that all intracontinental traffic is apparently required to abandon their vehicles and go on foot up stairs and through the barracks, library and throne room to get to the other side. This may explain why most people just stay home. (In some cases a cave or underground tunnel may be substituted for the palace or monastery, but it will still be just as inconvenient with the added bonuses of cave-ins and nonsensical elevator puzzles.)
Fourth Law of Travel - Three out of every four vehicles you ride on will eventually sink, derail or crash in some spectacular manner.
Fifth Law of Travel - All vehicles can be driven or piloted by anyone. The main character just needs to find out where the bridge or steering wheel is, as he already knows all of the controls.
Sixth Law of Travel - Nobody gets to own a cooler ride than you. If you ever do see a cooler vehicle than the one you’ve got now, at some point before the end of the game you will either take over this vehicle, get something even bigger and better, or else see it destroyed in a glorious blaze.
Seventh Law of Travel - When on a voyage to another continent, the journey will last only as long as it takes you to talk to all the other passengers and the captain.
Eighth Law of Travel - There are no shortcuts, ever – unless you are forced to take them, in which case they will be much longer and more dangerous than your original route.
Last Law of Travel (Big Joe Rule) - As has been described, you must endure great trials just to get from town to town: locating different vehicles, operating ancient transport mechanisms, evading military blockades, the list goes on. But that’s just you. Every other character in the game seems to have no trouble getting to any place in the world on a moment’s notice.
If You Meet The Buddha In A Random Encounter, Kill Him! - When you’re out wandering around the world, you must kill everything you meet. People, animals, plants, insects, fire hydrants, small cottages, anything and everything is just plain out to get you. It may be because of your rampant kleptomania (see Garrett’s Principle.)
Law of Numbers - There will be several items or effects which depend on the numerical value of your hit points, level, etc., which makes no sense unless the characters can see all the numbers in their world and find it perfectly normal that a spell only works on a monster whose level is a multiple of 5.
Magical Inequality Theorem - In the course of your travels you may find useful-sounding spells such as Petrify, Silence, and Instant Death. However, you will end up never using these spells in combat because a) all ordinary enemies can be killed with a few normal attacks, making fancy attacks unneccessary, b) all bosses and other stronger-than-average monsters are immune to those effects so there’s no point in using them for long fights where they’d actually come in handy, and c) the spells usually don’t work anyway.
Magical Inequality Corollary - When the enemy uses Petrify, Silence, Instant Death, et cetera spells on you, they will be effective 100% of the time.
Pretty Line Syndrome (or, Crash Bandicoot: The RPG) -Seen in most modern RPGs. The key to completing your quest is to walk forward in a straight line for fifty hours, stopping along the way to look at, kill, and/or have meaningful conversations with various pretty things.
Xenobiology Rule - The predatory species of the world will include representatives of all of the following: giant spiders, giant scorpions, giant snakes, giant beetles, wolves, squid, fish that float in midair, gargoyles, golems, carnivorous plants, chimeras, griffons, cockatrices, hydras, minotaurs, burrowing things with big claws, things that can paralyze you, things that can put you to sleep, things that can petrify you, at least twenty different creatures with poisonous tentacles, and dragons. Always dragons.
Friendly Fire Principle (or, Final Fantasy Tactics Rule) - Any attack that can target both allies and enemies will hit half of your allies and none of your enemies.
Dungeon Design 101 - There’s always goodies hidden behind the waterfall.
Dungeon Design 102 - When you are confronted by two doors, the closer one will be locked and its key will be hidden behind the farther-away one.
Dungeon Design 103 (or, Wallpaper Warning) - Your progress through a dungeon will be indicated by a sudden change in decor: different wall color, different torches on the wall, et cetera.
Dungeon Design 201 (or, The Interior Decorators Anticipated Your Out-Of-Body Experience) - Most dungeons will include “hidden” passages which are nearly impossible to see from a bird’s-eye view, yet would be blaringly obvious from the party’s perspective.
Dungeon Design 301 - All “puzzles” in RPG dungeons can be sorted into one of the following types:
1. finding some small item and sticking it into a slot;
2. pushing blocks (rocks, statues) onto switches;
3. pulling switches or levers to open and close doors;
4. learning the correct order/position of a group of objects;
5. entering a certain combination of doors;
6. something involving a clock or elevator;
7. something that is unsolvable because a vital clue in the dialogue was mistranslated out of Japanese.
Wait! That Was A Load-Bearing Boss! - Defeating a dungeon’s boss creature will frequently cause the dungeon to collapse, which is nonsensical but does make for thrilling escape scenes.
Supply and Demand Axiom - Killing a powerful enemy will usually yield an item or weapon that would’ve been extremely useful if you had gotten it before killing that enemy.
Edison’s Lament - No switch is ever in the right position.
Well, That About Wraps It Up For God - All major deities, assuming they actually exist and weren’t just made up by the Church to delude its followers, are in reality malevolent and will have to be destroyed. The only exception to this rule is the four nature spirits who have preserved the land since time immemorial, but now due to the folly of mankind have lost virtually all of their power and need you to accomplish some ludicrous task to save them.
Guy in the Street Rule - No matter how fast you travel, rumors of world events always travel faster. When you get to anywhere, the people on the street are already talking about where you’ve been. The stories of your past experiences will spread even if no witnesses were around to see them.
Wherever You Go, There They Are - Wherever the characters go, the villains can always find them. Chances are they’re asking the guy in the street (see above). But don’t worry – despite being able to find the characters with ease anytime they want to, the bad guys never get rid of them by simply blowing up the tent or hotel they’re spending the night in. (Just think of it: the screen dims, the peaceful going-to-sleep-now music plays, then BOOM! Game Over!)
Figurehead Rule - Whenever someone asks you a question to decide what to do, it’s just to be polite. He or she will ask the question again and again until you answer “correctly.”
Puddin’ Tame Rule - The average passer-by will always say the same thing no matter how many times you talk to them, and they certainly won’t clarify any of the vaguely worded warnings or cryptic half-sentences they threw at you the previous time.
Franklin Covey Was Wrong, Wrong, Wrong - Sticking to the task at hand and going directly from place to place and goal to goal is always a bad idea, and may even prevent you from being able to finish the game. It’s by dawdling around, completing side quests and giving money to derelicts that you come into your real power.
Selective Invulnerability Principle - RPG characters are immune from such mundane hazards as intense heat, freezing cold, or poison gas… except when they’re suddenly not. Surprise!
I’m the NRA (Billy Lee Black Rule) - Opposition to gun control is probably the only thing you could get all RPG characters to agree upon. Even deep religious faith and heartfelt pacifism can’t compete with the allure of guns.
Three Females Rule - There will always be either one or three female characters in the hero’s party, no matter how many male characters there are.
Experience Not Required - When the main character is forced to do some complex or dangerous task for the first time, even though he has never done it before he will still always be better than the oldest veteran.
Law of Reverse Evolution (Zeboim Principle) - Any ancient civilizations are inexplicably much more advanced than the current one.
Science-Magic Equivalence (Citan Rule) - Although mages’ specialty is magic and scientists’ specialty is technology, these skills are completely interchangeable.
Law of Productive Gullibility (Ruby Rule) - Whenever anybody comes up to you with a patently ludicrous claim (such as, “I’m not a cat, I’m really an ancient Red Dragon”) there’s an at least two-thirds chance they’re telling the truth. Therefore, it pays to humor everyone you meet; odds are you’ll be glad you did later on.
Perversity Principle - If you’re unsure about what to do next, ask all the townspeople nearby. They will either all strongly urge you to do something, in which case you must immediately go out and do that thing, or else they will all strongly warn you against doing something, in which case you must immediately go out and do that thing.
Near-Death Epiphany (Fei Rule) - If the party is not dealing damage to a boss character, then there’s a better-than-even chance that someone in the party will suddenly become enlightened and instantly acquire the offensive skill that can blow the creature away in a matter of seconds.
Wutai Rule - Most RPGs, no matter what their mythology, include a land based on ancient Japan. Full of pagodas, shrines, shoguns, kitsune, and sushi, this completely anachronistic place is the source of the entire world’s supply of ninja and samurai characters.
Law of Mooks - Soldiers and guards working for the Evil Empire are, as a rule, sloppy, cowardly and incompetent. Members of the heroic Resistance Faction are, as a rule, dreadfully weak and undertrained and will be wiped out to the last man the moment they come in contact with the enemy.
Law of Traps - No matter how obvious the trap, you can’t complete the game unless you fall into it.
Arbor Day Rule - At some point, you’re going to have to talk to a tree and do what it says.
You Do Not Talk About Fight Club - Any fighting tournament or contest of skill you hear about, you will eventually be forced to enter and win.
Invisible Bureaucracy Rule - Other than the royal family, its shifty advisor, and the odd mad scientist, the only government employees you will ever encounter in the course of your adventure are either guards or kitchen staff.
The Miracle of Automation - Similarly, any factory, power plant, or other facility that you visit during the course of the game will be devoid of any human life except for the occasional guards. There will not be a single line worker or maintenance person in sight.
Principle of Archaeological Convenience - Every ancient machine you find will work perfectly the first time you try to use it and every time thereafter. Even if its city got blasted into ruins and the machine was then sunk to the bottom of the sea and buried in mud for ten thousand years, it’ll still work fine. The unfortunate corollary to this rule is that ancient guardian creatures will also turn out to be working perfectly when you try to filch their stuff.
They Don’t Make ’Em Like They Used To (Cid Rule) - Modern-day machinery, by contrast, will always break down at the worst possible moment (for example, when you only need one more shot from the giant cannon to defeat the final boss.)
Place Transvestite Joke Here (Miss Cloud Rule) - If the male lead is required to dress up like a girl for any reason, he will be regarded by everyone as much more attractive than any “real” girl. If the female lead cross-dresses as a man, she will be immediately recognized as who she is by everyone except the male lead and the main villain.
Make Room! Make Room! - There are always more people in a town or village than there are houses for them to live in. Most of the village is made up of shops, temples, bars, secret passages, inns, and the mansion that belongs to the richest man in town.
Law of Scientific Gratification - If the hero needs a new invention to progress, he will find out that somewhere in the world someone has spent his or her entire life perfecting this invention, and usually just needs one more key item located in a monster-infested dungeon before it is completed.
You Always Travel In The Right Circles - Whenever you meet a villager or other such incidental character who promises to give you some great piece of needed knowledge or a required object in exchange for a seemingly simple item, such as a bar of soap or a nice straw mat, be prepared to spend at least an hour chasing around the world exchanging useless innocuous item after item with bizarre strangers until you can get that elusive first item you were asked for.
Talk Is Cheap Rule - Nothing is ever solved by diplomacy or politics in the world of RPGs. Any declarations of peace, summits and treaty negotiations are traps to fool the ever so gullible Good Guys into thinking the war is over, or to brainwash the remaining leaders of the world.
Stop Your Life (Setzer Rule) - No matter what kind of exciting, dynamic life a character was leading before joining your party, once there they will be perfectly content to sit and wait on the airship until you choose to use them.
Don’t Stand Out - Any townsperson who is dressed oddly or otherwise doesn’t fit in with the rest of the townsfolk will either: 1. Join your party after you complete some task, 2. Be in the employ of your enemy, or 3. Befriend any female member of the party, and then be immediately captured and held hostage by the villains.
Little Nemo Law - If any sleeping character has a dream, that dream will be either a 100% accurate memory of the past, a 100% accurate psychic sending from the present, a 100% accurate prophetic vision of the future, or a combination of two or all three of these.
Child Protection Act (Rydia Rule) - Children 12 and under are exempt from death. They will emerge alive from cataclysms that slaughter hundreds of sturdily-built adults, often with barely a scratch. Further protection is afforded if the catastrophe will orphan the child.
Missing Master Hypothesis - Almost every strong physical fighter learned everything he/she knows from some old master or friend. Invariably, the master or friend has since turned evil, been killed, or disappeared without a trace.
Missing Master Corollary (Sabin Rule) - If a fighter’s master merely disappeared, you will undoubtedly find him/her at some point in your travels. The master will challenge the student to a duel, after which the student will be taught one final skill that the master had been holding back for years.
Gojira Axiom - Giant monsters capable of leveling cities all have the following traits:
1. Low intelligence
2. Enormous strength
3. Projectile attacks
4. Gigantic teeth and claws, designed, presumably, to eat other giant monsters
5. Vulnerable to weapons 1/10,000th its size
6. Ecologically sensitive
“You Couldn’t Get To Sleep Either, Huh?” - If any character in the game ever meets any other character standing alone at night looking at the moon, those two will eventually fall in love.
Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely (Althena Rule) - If a good guy is manipulated to the side of evil, they will suddenly find a new inner strength that will enable them to wipe out your whole party with a wave of their hand.
All Is Forgiven (Nash Rule) - However, when the trusted member of your party turns against you, do not give it a second thought. They will return to your side after they’re done with their amnesia/mind control/hidden noble goal that caused them to give away all your omnipotent mystical artifacts.
First Law of Fashion - All characters wear a single costume which does not change over the course of the game. The only exception is when characters dress up in enemy uniforms to infiltrate their base.
Second Law of Fashion - Any character’s costume, no matter how skimpy, complicated, or simply outlandish, is always completely suitable to wear when climbing around in caves, hiking across the desert, and slogging through the sewers. It will continue to be completely suitable right afterwards when said character goes to meet the King.
Third Law of Fashion - In any futuristic setting, the standard uniform for female soldiers and special agents will include a miniskirt and thigh-high stockings. The standard uniform for all male characters, military or not, will include an extraordinarily silly and enormous hat.
First Rule of Politics (Chancellor’s Axiom) - Any advisor of a major ruler has been scheming after his throne for quite a while. Thanks to the miracle of timing, you will arrive at the king’s inner sanctum just in time for the coup.
Second Rule of Politics (Scapegoat’s Axiom) - If the advisor works for an evil ruler, the advisor is as bad or even worse, and there’s a good chance he’s the final villain. (See Fake Ending Rule.) If the advisor works for a good ruler, he usually has the good of the kingdom at heart; not that that helps, because your party will invariably be made the scapegoat for all that’s wrong with the nation and immediately thrown in the dungeon.
Last Rule of Politics - Kingdoms are good. Empires are evil.
Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics (Ramus Rule) - Twenty-three generations may pass, but any person’s direct descendant will still look and act just like him.
Pinch Hitter Rule - Whenever a member of the hero’s team is killed or retires, no matter how unique or special he or she was there is a good chance someone will show up to replace them that has exactly the same abilities and can use the same weapons with the same proficiency.
Dealing With Beautiful Women, Part 1 (Yuffie Rule) - All good-looking young females are there to help you. This rule holds even when the girl in question is annoying, useless, or clearly evil.
Dealing With Beautiful Women, Part 2 (Rouge Rule) - All good-looking middle-aged females are out to kill you. This rule holds even when the woman in question has attained your unwavering trust and respect.
Well, So Much For That - After you have completed your mighty quest to find the object that will save the known universe, it will either a) get lost, b) get stolen, or c) not work.
The Ominous Ring of Land - The classic Ominous Ring of Land is a popular terrain feature that frequently doesn’t show up on your world map. Just when you think things are going really well and you’ve got the Forces of Evil on the run, monsters, demons and mad gods will pour out of the center of the ring and the situation will get ten times worse. The main villain also usually hangs out in one of these after attaining godhood. If there are several Ominous Rings of Land or the entire world map is one big ring, you are just screwed.
Law of NPC Relativity (Magus Rule) - Characters can accomplish superhuman physical feats, defeat enemies with one hand tied behind their back and use incredible abilities – until they join your party and you can control them. Then these wonderful powers all vanish, along with most of their hit points.
Guards! Guards! (or, Lindblum Full Employment Act) - Everything will be guarded and gated (elevators, docks, old rickety bridges, random stretches of roadway deep in the forest) except for the stuff that actually needs to be.
Thank You For Pressing The Self-Destruct Button - All enemy installations and city-sized military vehicles will be equipped with a conveniently located, easy-to-operate self-destruct mechanism.
Falling Rule - An RPG character can fall any distance onto anything without suffering anything worse than brief unconsciousness. In fact, falling a huge distance is an excellent cure for otherwise fatal wounds – anyone who you see shot, stabbed, or mangled and then tossed off a cliff is guaranteed to return later in the game with barely a scratch.
Materials Science 101 - Gold, silver, and other precious metals make excellent weapons and armor even though in the real world they are too soft and heavy to use for that purpose. In fact, they work so well that nobody ever melts their solid gold suit of armor down into bullion, sells it, and retires to a tropical isle on the proceeds.
Materials Science 201 - Everyone you meet will talk enthusiastically about how some fantastically rare metal (iron, say) would make the best possible armor and weapons. Oh, if only you could get your hands on some! However, once you actually obtain iron – at great personal risk, of course – everyone will dismiss it as yesterday’s news and instead start talking about some even more fantastically rare metal, such as gold. Repeat until you get to the metal after “mythril” (see The Ultimate Rule.)
Seventh Inning Stretch (Elc Rule) - At some point in the game the main hero will receive a deadly story-driven injury and will be put in a hospital instead of having a mage heal him. This will leave him out of commission for at least the length of two sidequests; the female lead will also be temporarily out of commission as she steadfastly refuses to leave the hero’s side. Ultimately a simple vision quest is all that will be required to bring the hero back to normal.
Vivi’s Spellbook Principle - Over the course of the game, you will spend countless hours learning between twenty and one hundred skills and/or spells, approximately three of which will still be useful by the end of the game.
Gender Equality, Part 1 (Feena Rule) - Your average female RPG character carries a variety of deadly weapons and can effortlessly hack or magic her way through armies of monsters, killer cyborgs, and mutated boss creatures without breaking a sweat. She may be an accomplished ninja, a superpowered secret agent, or the world’s greatest adventurer. However, if one of the game’s villains manages to sneak up and grab her by the Standard Female Character Grab Area (her upper arm) she will be rendered utterly helpless until rescued by the hero.
Gender Equality, Part 2 (Tifa Rule) - If any female character, in a burst of anger or enthusiasm, decides to go off and accomplish something on her own without the hero, she will fail miserably and again have to be rescued.
Gender Equality, Part 3 (Luna Rule) - All of the effort you put into maxing out the female lead’s statistics and special abilities will turn out to be for naught when she spends the final confrontation with the villain dead, ensorcelled, or held hostage.
Gender Equality Addendum (Rynn Rule) - In the unlikely event that the main character of the game is female, she will not be involved in any romantic subplot whatsoever beyond getting hit on by shopkeepers.
Stealing The Spotlight (Edea Rule) - The characters who join your party only briefly tend to be much cooler than your regular party members.
“Mommy, why didn’t they just use a Phoenix Down on Aeris?” - Don’t expect battle mechanics to carry over into the “real world.”
Gold Saucer Rule - The strongest weapons/items/spells in the entire game can only be found by doing things like racing birds.
Evil May Live Forever, But It Doesn’t Age Well - Even though it took the greatest armies in the world and all of the world’s greatest magicians to seal away an ancient evil in an apocalyptic war, once said ancient evil breaks free three fairly inexperienced warriors can destroy it.
Sephiroth Memorial Escape Clause - Any misdeed up to and including multiple genocide is forgiveable if you’re cool enough.
Doomed Utopia Theorem (Law of Zeal) - All seemingly ideal, utopian societies are powered by some dark force and are therefore doomed to swift, flashy destruction.
Party Guidance Rule - Somewhere in the last third of the story, the hero will make a stupid decision and the rest of the party must remind him of all that they have learned from being with him in order to return the hero to normal.
Bad Is Good, Baby! - The heroes can always count on the support of good-hearted vampires, dragons, thieves, demons, and chainsaw murderers in their quest to save the world from evil. And on the other hand…
Good Is Bad, Baby! - Watch out for generous priests, loyal military officers, and basically anyone in a position of authority who agrees to help you out, especially if they save your life and prove their sincerity innumerable times – they’re usually plotting your demise in secret (at least when they can fit it into their busy schedule of betraying their country, sponsoring international terrorism, and stealing candy from small children) and will stab you in the back at the most inconvenient moment, unless they fall under…
General Leo’s Exception - Honorable and sympathetic people who work for the Other Side are always the genuine article. Of course they’ll be busily stabbing you in the front, so either way you lose. Eventually though, they’ll fall prey to…
The Ineffectual Ex-Villain Theorem (Col. Mullen Rule) - No matter how tough and bad-ass one of the Other Side’s henchmen is, if he bails to the side of Good he’ll turn out to be not quite tough and bad-ass enough. The main villain will defeat him easily. But don’t weep – usually he’ll manage to escape just in time, leaving you to deal with the fate that was meant for him.
All The Time In The World (Rinoa Rule) - Unless there’s a running countdown clock right there on the screen, you have as long as you want to complete any task – such as, say, rescuing a friend who’s hanging by one hand from a slippery cliff edge thousands of feet in the air – no matter how incredibly urgent it is. Dawdle or hurry as you will, you’ll always make it just in the nick of time.
Ladies First (Belleza Rule) - When things really start falling apart, the villain’s attractive female henchman will be the first to jump ship and switch to the side of Good. Sadly, she still won’t survive until the end credits, because later she will sacrifice her life out of unrequited love for the villain.
Trial By Fire (Cecil Rule) - Any dark and brooding main characters will ultimately be redeemed by a long, ardous, quasi-spiritual quest that seems difficult at the time, but in the great scheme of things just wasn’t that big of a deal after all.
Key Item Rule - Never discard, sell, or otherwise remove permamently from your possession any items you begin the game with or acquire within the first town. This is especially true for items that seem to have no practical use, because of…
The Law of Inverse Practicality (Key Item Corollary) - Any item that you can acquire will have some sort of purpose. Those that seem to be useless and have no practical value at all, always tend to have great power later on. The earlier you get the item, the later in the game it will be used. The longer the span of time between acquisition and use, the more powerful the item is.
Way To Go, Serge - It will eventually turn out that, for a minimum of the first sixty percent of the game, you were actually being manipulated by the forces of evil into doing their sinister bidding for them. In extreme cases this may go as high as 90%. The clear implication is that it would have been better to not get involved in the first place.
Gilligan’s Prescription - Any character who has amnesia will be cured before the end of the game. They usually won’t like what they find out about themselves, though.
Luke, I Am Your Tedious, Overused Plot Device (Lynx Rule) - If there is any chance whatsoever that major villain X could be the male lead’s father, then it will turn out that major villain X is the male lead’s father.
World of Mild Inconvenience - The devastating plague, noxious gas, planet-obliterating meteor or other large-scale disaster that led to the death of millions will affect your party (and your party’s friends and family members) in no way whatsoever, save that a few party members may become lost and you can find them later.
Golden Chocobo Principle - There will be at least one supremely ultimate improvement for your weapon or some way to make your trusted steed capable of going anywhere and doing anything, requiring hours and hours of hard work to acquire. Once you do achieve this, you will use it once, and it will be completely useless for the rest of the game.
Golden Chocobo Corollary - The magic formula for acquiring this supreme upgrade will be only vaguely alluded to in the game itself. Ideally, you’re supposed to shell out $19.95 for the strategy guide instead.
Flow of Goods Rule - The quality of goods in the world is dependent upon the shop’s distance from the final dungeon. It doesn’t matter if the town you start in has a huge thriving economy and is the center of world trade, it will always have the game’s worst equipment; and even if that village near the end is isolated and has only three people in it, it will have the game’s best equipment.
Master Key Rule - Any and all locked doors that the characters encounter will be unlocked by the end of the game.
“Evil will always triumph, because Good is dumb!” - If the villain needs all ten legendary medallions to attain world domination and you have nine of them, everybody in your party still thinks it is necessary to bring the nine to the villain’s castle and get the final one, instead of hiding the ones they’ve already got and spoiling his plans that way. After you foolishly bring the legendary medallions to the villain’s hideout, he will kidnap one of your companions (usually the main love interest) and you will trade the world away to rescue your friend.
Dark Helmet’s Corollary - After you give up the medallions to save your friend/parent/lover/other miscellaneous party member, don’t expect to actually get that person back. Sucker!
It’s Not My Department, Says Wernher Von Braun - All space stations, flying cities, floating continents and so forth will without exception either be blown up or crash violently to earth before the end of the game.
The Best-Laid Schemes - The final villain’s grand scheme will have involved the deaths of thousands or even millions of innocent people, the clever manipulation of governments, armies, and entire populations, and will have taken anywhere from five to five thousand years to come to fruition. The hero will come up with a method of undoing this plan forever in less than five minutes.
Pyrrhic Victory - By the time you’ve gotten it in gear, dealt with your miscellaneous personal crises and are finally ready to go Save the World once and for all, nine-tenths of it will already have been destroyed. Still, you’ve got to give your all to save the remaining one-tenth.
Poetic Villain Principle (Kefka Rule) - All villains will suddenly become poets, philisophers, and/or dramatic actors when a) they first meet the hero, b) they are about to win or their evil plan is finally ready, c) some major event in the game is about to begin, d) right before the final battle, and e) right before they die, when they will frequently be feeling generous enough to reward you with some homespun wisdom about making the most of life while you have it.
Compression of Time - As you approach the final confrontation with the villain, events will become increasingly awkward, contrived and disconnected from one another – almost as if some cosmic Author was running up against a deadline and had to slap together the ending at the last minute.
Adam Smith’s Revenge - By the end of the game you are renowned everywhere as the Legendary Heroes, every surviving government and authority figure has rallied behind you, the fate of the world is obviously hanging in the balance, and out of nowhere random passers-by give you a pat on the back and heartfelt good luck wishes. However, shopkeepers won’t even give you a discount, much less free supplies for the final battle with evil.
Adam Smith’s Corollary - No matter how thoroughly devastated the continent/planet/universe is, there’s always some shopkeeper who survived the end of the world and sits outside the gates of the villain’s castle, selling the most powerful equipment in the game, like nothing ever happened.
The Long Arm of the Plot - Any bad guys, no matter how far they run, will always end up in one of two ways by the end of the game: obviously dead, or on your side. There is no in-between.
Apocalypse Any Time Now - The best time to do side quests is while the huge meteor hovers in the sky above the planet, waiting to fall and destroy the world.
“So, Andross, you reveal your true form!” - You will have to kill the evil villain at least twice at the end of the game. First the villain will look like a person or some creature and be rather easy to kill. Then he will grow to about 50 times the hero’s size and be much harder to kill.
In Your Face, Jesus! - Even if you manage to deal with him that time, you’re not done – the villain will then transform into his final form, which is always an angelic winged figure with background music remixed for ecstatic chorus and pipe organ.
The Moral Of The Story (Ghaleon Rule) - Every problem in the universe can be solved by finding the right long-haired prettyboy and beating the crap out of him.
Weapon Rule - There’s always a hidden creature who is much harder to defeat than even the ultimate bad guy’s final, world-annihilating form. It’s lucky for all concerned that this hidden creature prefers to stay hidden rather than trying to take over the world himself, because he’d probably win. As a corollary, whatever reward you get for killing the hidden creature is basically worthless because by the time you’re powerful enough to defeat him, you don’t need it any more.
The Ultimate Rule - Anything called “Ultima (whatever)” or “Ultimate (whatever)” isn’t. There’s always at least one thing somewhere in the world which is even more.
Know Your Audience (Vyse Rule) - Every woman in the game will find the male lead incredibly attractive.