April is Worldbuilding Month!

I know it’s actually Poetry Month, but I would rather spend some time exercising my imagination by worldbuilding. So I’m starting with a random map from the donjon fantasy world generator, and using that as inspiration, I will attempt to write something each day of the month. I may use other generators to prompt my thinking as we go.

So to start the month, here’s the world of Tyria …

I decided to make this about the size of the earth for now, which means each hex is 80 miles on a side, 160 miles between opposite corners, and about 140 miles between opposite sides. Also, I know the map is stretched at the top and bottom; the ice caps would not be as wide as the equator. But I’m going to ignore that for now. (Yes, I know that makes my world cylindrical; probably won’t be a big deal, but we’ll see.)

My next step was to number the hexes, so I numbered each of the columns from 1 to 200, and each of the 86 rows. I also added some reference numbers to hexes, so hex #3,1 is in row 30, column 10. I added a red line for the equator and tropics. The center-right area of the map has terrain and a coast that interest me, but these areas would be tropical, and I haven’t written much about a tropical area before, so this will be an adventure in itself.

A few things I’m thinking about …

• What races do I include here? And what cultures? As a cis-gendered white male, should I even be mucking about with other cultures?
• Should I start with deities, a history, or countries? Or should I start with one small area and work on that?
• Do I keep it the size of the earth, or mess with the scale? Do I even try to build the entire world, or just focus on one section? (As a point of reference, this map of Faerun is about 3600 miles wide, and the Sword Coast is over 800 miles from Luskan south to Baldur’s Gate.)
• What parameters am I going to work under? Having such a wide-open canvas with no guard rails seems a little daunting.

We’ll see how and where this goes.
And I still might write some poetry.