(Part 2) Top products from r/worldbuilding

I always link to the Wikipedia page on world religions in discussions of building religions, because copious example are key to learning.

A quick outline of what I look to answer when I ask the question "What does this religion look like?" goes like this:

VALUES

• What is the culture that this religion primarily operates in? If you take Western Christian beliefs, change the name, and dropped it intro sub-Saharan Africa the resulting traditions look very different.
  
• What are the 1^st level values that are communicated in this religion? These are things like: kindness, respect, honor, obedience, piety, offerings, recognition.
  
• What are the 2^nd level of values? These are practical considerations that affect how people treat each other and cover things like: castes, sexism, sexuality, and business values. These are extremely important in building a community as it will link the tenets of a faith with people's day-to-day lives.
  
• How does this religion view other groups? Does it promote any forms of xenophobia?
  
  DEITY
  
  
• Are the god's real beings or are they symbols only?
  
• Where did the god(s) come from? The book Small Gods by Terry Pratchett is a great stroy about where gods come from and where they go.
  
• What do the gods value? How is this different from what the people value?
  
• On what scale do the gods operate? Local, Regional, Global, Star System, Galaxy, Galaxy Group, Cluster, Super Cluster, Universe...
  
• What is the god's interaction with their believers? Tools, witnesses, sources of power, symbols of their power?
  
• What time-scale do the gods work on? Do they care if they avenge your family 100 years after you asked for vengeance?
  
• What are the long term goals of the gods?
  
  SYMBOLS
  
  
• What are the primary religious symbols?
  
• What do the symbols represent?
  
• How sacred are the symbols in day-to-day life?

A great resource for agricultural practices in Late Antiquity and early Byzantium is Michael Decker’s [Tilling the Hateful Earth: Agricultural Production and Trade in the Late Antique East] (http://www.amazon.com/Tilling-Hateful-Earth-Agricultural-Production/dp/0199565287/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417812059&sr=8-1&keywords=tilling+the+hateful+earth). The work provides a comprehensive overview of agriculture, trade, and economic production. Decker examines the types of crops grown, the layout of the countryside (which he argues was quite diverse, with small and medium farmers operating besides large estates), as well as places agricultural production within it’s broader economic context. The growing of cash crops was big business, Decker argues, it’s high profits encouraging innovation and wide-spread cultivation. I would recommend this as the starting point for further research into this topic.

Now, this book (which in the spirit of full disclosure I’ve yet to read; it’s on the reading list) is a bit academic in tone. Especially if you’re not familiar with academic texts, it’s going to be a bit dry. It’s also not cheap- $75 used on Amazon. You should be able to get it free though if you have access to a university library.

Prolific writers are also ravenous readers. So if you want to be like the greats: It helps having a source of inspiration. Tolkien was inspired by Norse mythology primarily, and George R R Martin was inspired by the Heptarchy period of English history and Maurice Druon's Accursed Kings series on the French nobility. Both borrowed liberally from history and the Classics.

They took the ideas of their inspiration and made them their own. Whenever they got writer's block they could return to their source material and find new insights into their own works.

So if you're not sure where to start: Look to those writers that inspire you, take their ideas and expand on them in your own meaningful way.

As George R R Martin has said, "To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."

You could use awkwords.

Though if you want to do it well, I'd recommend, as others have, visiting r/conlangs. Also, check out the work of seasoned conlangers, like the Language Construction Kit, or David J. Peterson's The Art of Language Invention. I used David's book mostly, and found it really helpful. He's also super responsive to emails and has a supplementary video series on his youtube.

One of my favorite resource books in my collection dealing with the subject is The Great Sea: A Human History of the Mediterranean by David Abulafia.

The history of the book ranges from 22,000 BC all the way to the modern era. The book does a great job detailing how the various geographical features of the region both benefited and challenged civilizations that rested in and near it. This book is well worth the purchase if you are going to be designing a world based around the geography and resources provided by the Mediterranean.

Yes, this book.

https://www.amazon.com/Tough-Guide-Fantasyland-Essential-Fantasy/dp/0142407224

It's a full dictionary with the common cliche for just about every last word you'll ever use in fantasy fiction. It's HILARIOUS and useful.

Also it's written by the woman who wrote the novel Howl's Moving Castle was based on. So that's cool!

> Secretly, the two people in the towers are very old and are rivals :D They are currently fighting over what tree will be where xD

That's so awesome! I love that idea. Hell, it's so versatile. It can be comedic relief or dial that drama straight up to 11 and put out a hit on the other dude.

>I didn't know rivers didn't split at the time xD When I make more of the world I'll redo this part and fix that :p Thanks for all the advice!

Not a problem. I did the same thing. Since then, I bought myself a cheap geology textbook (or any version of that is what I got) and it made a world of difference. heh.

Anyway, I really loved how my maps looked after I read through the textbook. My players did too.

>Iram was built around the dragons cave that they worshiped :o Nimrathon was selected by it's founders to be the capital for it's central location Garanidalr started off as a elf city. In my head they would have chosen the most secluded spot at the time :o

Yeah, those all make a ton of sense, especially with rivers available. Capital cities typically weren't grown from scratch, so big cities developed along trade routes and ports and capital cities were often selected from those. Of course, port cities are open to naval attacks, so there are pros and cons to where you pick, but your explanations make a ton of sense, especially with Nimrathon being surrounded by hills for some sort of natural protection.

>Thank you again for your interest and criticism!

Not a problem. If you ever have a question, let me know.

Also, what's the scale on your map?

The title is TELECULT POWER, and it's the greatest. Apparently, by repeating the necessary PSYCHIC CHANTS, my friend and I can use our combined TELECULT POWERS to take over the world.

I think I found it on Amazon

I also recommend How We Got Here: A Slightly Irreverent History of Technology and Markets. I believe it is also available legally for free How We Got Here(pdf).

Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia by Stephen Bertman I found to be a good and pretty detailed introduction to the subject. Definitely on the textbook side, and can be a little Judeo-Christian centric (not in what is covered, but in cultural viewpoint of the author) but overall I found quite detailed and reasonably approachable.

There are other books along the same lines. Some going more for a high school or home school level where this one I think is more undergrad college overview.

Biggest thing is to keep the regional culture in mind. I would suggest doing some research and reading up on local history in the area you are thinking about building in to get a feel for the kind of people who settled it. Another good source would be How the States Got Their Shapes by Mark Stein. Maybe you could piece together some what-if scenarios from the surrounding states so it's rooted in reality?

Read Chapter 1 of Bart Ehrman's book "How Jesus became God." It gives a good understanding of how religion and gods were perceived in a polytheistic world.

http://www.amazon.com/How-Jesus-Became-God-Exaltation/dp/0061778184/ref=la_B001I9RR7G_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1414167595&sr=1-1

Reminds me of The Boxes

Picked up a copy of Keri Smith's 'The Imaginary World of ...'
Got into worldbuilding, watched /u/Artifexian on YouTube and then found my way to this glorious subreddit

https://www.amazon.com/Salt-World-History-Mark-Kurlansky/dp/0142001619/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1479226705&sr=8-2&keywords=salt+book

A Visual Dictionary of Architecture

The Logic of Architecture

[The Social Logic of Space] (http://www.amazon.com/Social-Logic-Space-Bill-Hillier/dp/0521367840/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1341518625&sr=1-1)

A Pattern language

The Timeless Way of Building

Symmetry

Symmetry in Science and Art

The Geometry of Environment: An Introduction to Spatial Organization in Design

You may dig this book, American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America by Colin Woodard. In it he breaks America down into 11 distinct nations, analyzes their individual history and looks at how they've interacted with one another and shaped the country as a whole.

From Amazon:
>According to award-winning journalist and historian Colin Woodard, North America is made up of eleven distinct nations, each with its own unique historical roots. In American Nations he takes readers on a journey through the history of our fractured continent, offering a revolutionary and revelatory take on American identity, and how the conflicts between them have shaped our past and continue to mold our future. From the Deep South to the Far West, to Yankeedom to El Norte, Woodard (author of American Character: A History of the Epic Struggle Between Individual Liberty and the Common Good) reveals how each region continues to uphold its distinguishing ideals and identities today...

Here an article from the Washington Post that breaks it down into childish pseudo-news but at least gives you an idea of Woodard's concept. Which of the 11 American Nations Do You Live In?

1. Creatures are still able to navigate on nights with a new moon, so Yes.
   
   2.The Axial shift theory has been substantially discredited and even if it was true, shifts would take place of millions of years. (J Lissauer, J Barnes, J Chambers; ‘Obliquity Variations of a Moonless Earth’, Icarus, 217 (2011) 77–87. - See more at: http://www.astrobio.net/news-exclusive/earths-moon-may-not-critical-life/#sthash.SGpXV7rb.dpuf). Basically, the variations on Earth would be from 13-33 degrees, and they're currently 22-24.5 degrees. This would cause cyclical ice ages, but life should be able to adapt.
   
2. I can't see why.
   
3. No.
   
   In other effects, Tides would be far lower, which would probably mean the Earth would take longer to have life. The Days would be half as long, because the moon slows us. Landmasses would be few and small, as our mantle would be less active. For more, see https://www.amazon.com/What-If-Moon-Didnt-Exist/dp/0060168641

They are aliens simply known as vessels, carrying out the greater collective will of the Hivemind. They interface with Humans by completing dangerous space mining contracts, because their bodies are essentially worthless. I’m happy to answer any questions about the world I’ve built.

>“Physically, the vessels were tall, muscular, and exquisitely pale. Their skin possessed no discernible flaws, and, for all intents and purposes, it appeared that they lacked hair altogether. The one currently before him appeared exactly as every other vessel did, as it did not make sense to have individual and unique bodies if they would simply be carrying out the will of a greater collective mind. In fact, if a creator were to design the most efficient, durable—yet altogether uninteresting—bipedal being, he might have constructed a vessel. The one notable feature that each alien possessed, however, was in their eyes, where gold rings concentrically radiated out from their pupils and terminated at the edge of their irides. The only known human analog of this anatomical quirk was found in patients suffering from a rare condition called Wilson’s disease, where copper precipitates in the eyes and organs of those affected due to their inability to excrete said element properly. Human physicians could not confirm their suspicions as, at least on record, no vessel had ever been examined medically.”

Description of the book, in case you made it this far and are still interested:

My novel is called No Gods Above the Stars, and can be found on the kindle store for $0.99 via the link below.

Link to download: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Z8QMQ6G

Summary

In order to be reunited with his wife, Lars Ventor will stop at nothing, even if that means confronting the gods themselves—and that may be exactly what he has to do.

In the distant future, Lars Ventor leads a simple life as a deep space mining contract negotiator, where he represents the Interstellar Alliance Government’s interests in their dealings with a cryptic alien race hailing from Alpha Centauri. Known to humanity simply as the Hivemind, these interlopers communicate with humans through bodies called “vessels” by swapping their conscious projections in and out of such bodies at will.

However, Lars’ ordinary life is suddenly shattered when his beloved wife Katerine, a renowned theoretical physicist, is killed in a freak accident—quite literally vaporized on her way to work. Shortly thereafter, while in the midst of tense negotiations with a Hivemind vessel, a grieving Lars receives a most distressing surprise: Katerine is alive, and somehow talking to him through the vessel. In order to uncover the truth behind his wife’s mysterious death, Lars must embark on a mind-bending, metaphysical journey that will make him a central player in a perilous feud between forces as old and unforgiving as time itself.

Meanwhile, in the deep void of interstellar space, Oren Yadrette and Joanna Saro, two senior science officers aboard the human exploration ship Warrant Conviction, make a startling discovery about the true nature of the Hivemind. Technologically outflanked and under grave threat, Oren and Joanna must race against time to ensure the survival of their fellow crew, and perhaps even the entirety of the human race.