Creating a Fantasy World Checklist

 

PHYSICAL SETTING
Place	Give it a name and decide what kind of world it will be. Will it be an alternate earth or something in a far flung galaxy. Most people draw a rough map of how the world will look like from a satellite image.
Origin	Where did your world come from? Has it always existed or did it just appear out of nowhere. What are the physical processes that shaped your world’s water and landforms e.g. unexplained floods or volcanoes?
Climate	The climate should reflect the mood of the story i.e. ever changing and volatile weather can imply uncertainty. What is the source of light? Determine what the weather will be like for each season if the seasons change. The climate and the solar system will probably also affect how the years are counted and the time system.
Landforms	Describe what are the characteristics of the land in your world. Do you have desert landforms like sun dunes, coastal landforms, erosion landforms or mountain landforms. Or is it a combination. Be sure to be accurate in the kind of landforms you choose for you particular climate. There is no point in having mountain landforms in a desert climate.
Water Source	Every world must have some source of water especially if it is to be inhabited and the creatures in it need to survive. Is your world going to have rivers, lakes, aquifers, waterfalls, glaciers, bays, springs, ponds, geysers or swamps
Ecosystem	Create a viable ecosystem that is adapted to your world. It must have a balanced food web that contains primary producers who can make their own food (plants), consumers (sea creatures, wildlife, pets and birds) and decomposers who break down dead producers. You may choose to create your own or the usual mythical suspects like gnomes, elves, gargoyles etc.
Sentient Species	Create fantasy races that will exist in your world. These will probably be your main characters. Show their physical features, how they have adapted to the climate and the relationship between each species. For each species give them a name, assign them a location habitat on your map, describe their common personality traits common physical traits, the advantages they have over other species that has allowed their continued survival.
SOCIAL SETTING
For this you’ll need to create a social setting for each of your primary species
Demographics	Name; Common physical characteristics such as eyes, pointed ears; population count; age groups and gender divisions
History	Believed origin; revered ancestors; wars in their past; relationship to other species;
Culture	Naming (how are members named); Norms/rule of behavior and the laws of the species; Values i.e. what do they hold in high esteem such as democracy, freedom, capitalism, wealth or justice; Beliefs and ideologies held by the race be it good or bad. Can include capitalism, Christianity, prejudices and whether they have been institutionalized; Gender roles; Language of different subsets or the distinct vernacular that differentiates species; Rituals and Traditions
Education	System (apprenticeship, school, homeschooling, church); Accessibility; Curriculum
Politics	Political system (chiefdom, anarchist, dictatorship, democracy, federacy, feudalism etc); organs of government (legislature, executive and judiciary) and public administration officials; the legal system; public participation in governance.
Economy	The economic system within the place as capitalism, socialism, totalitarianism; the methods of trade; the currency; standards of living of the race while exploring distribution of wealth
Technology	What technologies have been developed for the various industries e.g. how do they farm, mining, transportation, communication, education. The impact this technology has had on the children. Look at the infrastructure such as bridges, building designs
Magic	Origin and history, type of magic, where it comes from and what causes it; who has it or who uses it (everyone, special people, people who can find it, holy people, supernatural creatures); using magic;  what the effects of rules governing use, perception of magic by the non-magical and the magical,