Cultures and Beyond (The Art of World Building, #3)

Endorsement from Ed Greenwood, inventor of The Forgotten Realms and dozens of imaginary worlds

In Cultures and Beyond, Randy Ellefson continues his masterful overview of worldbuilding, carefully and coherently dealing with every last detail of creating and tending imaginary settings that his previous worldbuilding books, Creating Life and Creating Places, haven’t covered. All three are essential reference works for storytellers working in all fields; more than any other approach to these topics, Cultures and Beyond and its prequels ensure that nothing is overlooked or missed. Ellefson is a master of this craft, and it shows. Highly recommended!

Endorsement from Piers Anthony, NY Times Bestselling Author

I read Cultures and Beyond, The Art of World Building 3, by Randy Ellefson. I reviewed the prior two volumes, Creating Life and Creating Places, when they were published. Each volume is a comprehensive discussion of its subject, useful for new writers and surely for established ones too. I have been writing and selling novels for more than half a century, and I have been learning things here. I recommend all three for background reading for those who are serious about the worlds they create. The present volume is amazingly informative about the several aspects of culture, covering armed forces, religions, supernatural aspects, languages, and everything in between. It even lists all the American military ranks. Take a supposedly minor aspect, creating names. I have a small collection of books of names, which I use for my characters, trying not to duplicate myself too often, but I see I am an amateur in this respect. Naming names can be a science! Every section of this volume is similarly detailed. I am not sure whether reading it would cure the dread Writer's Block for those who suffer it, but if a writer runs out of inspiration, reading this book well might restore it. Certainly it should be on the shelf, as it were, ready to check when uncertainty threatens.

Introduction

1. Introduction
2. Where to Start
3. About Me
4. Free Book
5. Disclaimers
6. The Chapters
7. Templates and Newsletter

Cultures

1. What is Culture?
2. Culture Depictions
3. Creating Culture
4. Where to Start

Organizations

1. Group Types
2. Common Traits
3. History
4. In and Out
5. Where to Start

Armed Forces

1. Locations
2. Their Weapons
3. Their Defenses
4. The Road to Becoming One
5. Identifiers
6. Those Who Serve
7. History
8. World View
9. Where to Start

Religions

1. Overview
2. History
3. Beliefs
4. Names
5. Followers
6. Worship
7. Locations
8. Identifies
9. Clergy
10. World View
11. Combat
12. Afterlife
13. Where to Start

The Supernatural

1. Supernatural Energy
2. Magic Paths
3. Alternate Realities
4. Supernatural Beings
5. Prevalence
6. The Impact
7. Where to Start

Systems of Magic

1. Principle of Good Magic Systems
2. Do We Need a Magic System?
3. Types of Magic
4. Magic Prevalence
5. Where Does Magic Come From?
6. Social Aspects
7. What's in a Name?
8. Are Spells Needed?
9. The Life of Wizards
10. Creating Limits
11. How to Invent Spells
12. Where to Start

Items

1. All Items
2. Regular Items
3. Magic Items
4. Technological Items
5. Where to Start

Languages

1. Should We Create One?
2. The Medium
3. Our Options
4. How to Hire Someone
5. Where to Start

Names

1. People Names
2. Place Names
3. Uniqueness
4. Leveraging Existing Names
5. General Tips
6. Techniques for Inventing Names
7. Name Generators
8. Where to Start

Other Systems

1. Education Systems
2. Health Systems
3. Legal Systems
4. Commerce
5. Information Systems

Conclusion

1. Goals
2. Abide By Rules
3. Tying It All Together
4. Approaches
5. Top Down
6. Bottom Up
7. Random
8. What to Do?
9. File Storage
10. Get Organized
11. World Building Coalitions
12. Last Words

Templates

1. Culture
2. Organizations
3. Armed Forces
4. Religions
5. Supernatural Energy
6. Supernatural
7. Magic Systems
8. Spells
9. Legal
10. Monetary
11. Education