World Building

Okay, so everyone knows that if you're going to tell stories that involve fantasy, or science-fiction, you need a world in which to set them. Of course, I've dabbled around with that for quite some time. Some efforts are better than others, but I thought I'd share some of my attempts and resources here.

 

General

Patricia Wrede's World Building Questions
On Thud and Blunder
I find that a historical timeline is helpful in getting a feel for a culture's history and "progress", so I developed the Historical Timeline Generator. Hey, why not try it, it's free?!
Or, if you're looking to find out what's in a character's pockets, try our Fantasy Pocket "Litter" Generator, which has been freshly improved.
Or, if you're looking for what a character from a space operat might have in their pockets, try our Space Opera Daily Carry Generator.
And, finally, if you're looking for what a more modern character might have in their pockets, try our Daily Carry Generator!
And, if you're trying to come up with an "interesting" name for your character, why not try our "Funny" Proper Name Generator?
If you want your new characters to invent something strange and esoteric, try the Crazy Pulp Science-Fiction Invention Generator!

Language

Fantasist.net Conlang Page
LangMaker
Chris Pound's Name Generator Page
Mark Rosenfelder's Metaverse

Culture

National Geographic
Internet Medieval Sourcebook

Downloads

Time Line Creator
A custom designed science-fiction world: Hoffman's Quartet
Need to name a town? Then download the Subdivision Names Text File and pick one that suits your needs! (Also, if you add "Street", "Lane", "Court", "Avenue" or "Boulevard" to most of these, they make great street names, too!)

Non-Human Biology

Back when I was in college, I convinced my Physiological Psychology professor to let me indulge in some speculative evolutionary biology for my term paper. Here is the result.