#fantasy setting prompts

[scealaiscoite]

fantasy setting prompts ˗ˏˋ ꒰ 🕊️ ꒱

¹⁾ a darkened apothecary illuminated only by the light somehow being emitted by the many bottles and jars lining the walls

²⁾ the banquet hall of a nobleman’s sprawling estate, in the throes of a lavish ball attended by everyone in the townland

³⁾ at a healer’s cabin in the dead of night, overwhelmed by adrenaline and the scent of countless tinctures and remedies as they’re applied

⁴⁾ the last imperial guardpost before crossing into enemy lands

⁵⁾ a run-down inn in the middle of nowhere, half reclaimed by the woodlands around it

⁶⁾ a lake set deep into the mountains with something sinister lurking beneath the surface

⁷⁾ the first port in a new land after weeks at sea trying to get there

⁸⁾ the highest turret in the royal family’s castle on a wintery morning

⁹⁾ the war council’s planning room, the morning after a bloody defeat

¹⁰⁾ an alchemist’s workshop

¹¹⁾ the stables just before daybreak

¹²⁾ the impromptu camp that the leader of the journey had to be begged into allowing after everyone else grew exhausted from being on the road all day

¹³⁾ the army barracks before a battle

¹⁴⁾ the last altar of a dying god’s religion

¹⁵⁾ the empress’s chambers, trussed up in nothing more than silken bedsheets and the morning sunshine

¹⁶⁾ the bedside of an old mentor, right before the end

¹⁷⁾ on the wrong end of a traitor’s sword

¹⁸⁾ a beast’s underground lair, alone and unarmed

¹⁹⁾ the thick of the enemy’s encampment, shackled and unrepentant

²⁰⁾ the mage’s quarters, having seen something there’s no worldly explanation for

²¹⁾ the armoury in the late hours of the night, stinking of polish and tears

²²⁾ in the throne room of the imperial citadel with an ulterior motive

²³⁾ by the scholar’s side in the library, eager for a little more than knowledge

²⁴⁾ an alehouse in the dead countryside, hoping not to be found

²⁵⁾ the executioner’s platform seeking for just one face in the crowd

[prompt-heaven]

a list of 100+ buildings to put in your fantasy town

academy

adventurer's guild

alchemist

apiary

apothecary

aquarium

armory

art gallery

bakery

bank

barber

barracks

bathhouse

blacksmith

boathouse

book store

bookbinder

botanical garden

brothel

butcher

carpenter

cartographer

casino

castle

cobbler

coffee shop

council chamber

court house

crypt for the noble family

dentist

distillery

docks

dovecot

dyer

embassy

farmer's market

fighting pit

fishmonger

fortune teller

gallows

gatehouse

general store

graveyard

greenhouses

guard post

guildhall

gymnasium

haberdashery

haunted house

hedge maze

herbalist

hospice

hospital

house for sale

inn

jail

jeweller

kindergarten

leatherworker

library

locksmith

mail courier

manor house

market

mayor's house

monastery

morgue

museum

music shop

observatory

orchard

orphanage

outhouse

paper maker

pawnshop

pet shop

potion shop

potter

printmaker

quest board

residence

restricted zone

sawmill

school

scribe

sewer entrance

sheriff's office

shrine

silversmith

spa

speakeasy

spice merchant

sports stadium

stables

street market

tailor

tannery

tavern

tax collector

tea house

temple

textile shop

theatre

thieves guild

thrift store

tinker's workshop

town crier post

town square

townhall

toy store

trinket shop

warehouse

watchtower

water mill

weaver

well

windmill

wishing well

wizard tower

[defire]

Forest setting: whump in the woods

(army/scout, fantasy vibes)

Content: mild violence, restraints

Whumpee wakes up to a sword at their throat-- they close their eyes to just imagine this isn't happening for one more second

Getting dragged by the feet over sticks and stones, making gashes up whumpee's back and arms as they squirm and cry out

Whumpee getting tied to a tree and having to stay standing because there's thorns or obstacles at the bottom.

Trying to maintain their dignity by lifting their chin as they rest their head against the tree they're tied to

When that pose forces the bob of their throat as they swallow to be very visible (bonus: looking side to side to keep from crying)

A torch sparking and flickering as it's held a little too close to whumpee's face, whumpee pulling back as far as they can and squinting to protect their eyes

Tied up and bargaining "you look like you're having a little trouble with that fire. Sure would be nice if there was someone around that knew how to do that. Too bad the only ranger here is tied up."

Brigands. Whumpee gets caught, beaten up, manhandled, groped all over for valuables, left stripped and bloody in the woods

Army stuff--scouting and getting CAPTURED BY THE ENEMY (honestly this was my childhood favorite). That sinking feeling as whumpee's face mashes into pine needles under the knee of a soldier

Being up a tree hunting or hiding out, and whumpee's enemy camps below and instead of coming up after them, they start to chop the tree down. Cue a yelling match of "get down!" "Only if you promise my safety!" "Nope!" Chop.

Falling out of a tree and hitting the ground on their back, knocking the wind out of them (especially if then, they open their eyes to see they're surrounded by grinning enemies and just groan)

[deepwaterwritingprompts]

Text: The prince sits with a beautiful, snow white rabbit on his lap. It leaps up, transforming into a hare with bared fangs, whenever someone with unknown intentions approaches.

[joelliies]

Was looking up how to start an economy for the story I'm making and saw this on Reddit, decide to share it!

David Montgomery on Reddit

Everything about your economy will flow from one basic principle: everyone has to eat.

Food is the most basic need, and people will either produce it themselves or produce something else they can exchange for food. (That "something else" could be "soldiers who go and take other people's food by force," by the way.) In most medieval economies, food production is sufficiently inefficient that a majority of the population will be directly engaged in food production. More advanced technology, organization or magic could change this, freeing up more people to do other economic activities — but it's important to know the rules before you break them, and medieval levels of technology will likely lead to widespread subsistence farming.

That said, if the land is decently fertile, farmers will produce more food than they can eat themselves. This food will either be sold (for currency or goods) or confiscated in taxes, tribute, etc., or both. This creates two questions to answer: A) who is acquiring the surplus food from the peasants, and B) how did they get the means to get the peasants to give them this food?

Answers to A could be a nearby city, a far-away city (much of Rome's food supply was shipped across the sea from Egypt, Sicily or other areas), a temple, an established local lord, tribute-demanding warlords or bandits, a powerful wizard, wasteland nomads, etc.

Answers to B divide basically into force and wealth. If it's force (and most farmers will be forced to pay taxes to someone), that raises interesting military and political questions for your world. Do these force-wielders rely solely on exploiting farmers to eat, or do they produce food of their own and rely on raiding to supplement their diet? (They could also raid for treasure and then sell that treasure to buy food.) Those people forcibly extracting food, whether local nobles collecting taxes, temples overawing the people into making offerings or marauding invaders plundering the countryside, will then either eat it themselves or sell it to someone with wealth. So what kind of wealth are people creating that they are exchanging for food? The answer could be anything — what do the people looking to sell their food want? It could be other types of food, precious metals, useful metals, craft goods, arms, military protection, magical resources, divine favor, ships, whatever.

Now you're spiraling upward and outward from your base farmers. Asking yourself more questions will help flesh out your world: Who are these people who have enough disposable resources that they are trading it for food? Why are they importing food instead of producing it themselves? Why do the food-sellars want what they're selling? How dependent on this imported food are they?

There's a lot of ways to create disposable wealth that can be traded for food. Making goods higher up the resource tree from food can be one of them: furniture, swords, alcohol, magic crystals, etc. So can mining, logging, or other resource extraction. Another way to get wealth can be trade: some goods cost a lot more in one place than another, and the person who carries those goods from point A to point B can make a lot of money. Medieval merchant republics and fair towns were centers of this.

Again, as long as food production is inefficient (as it was in the middle ages), these people who are not directly engaged in food production will be a distinct minority. So big cities should be relatively rare without explicit mechanisms set up to get enough food imported to feed all these non-farmers. It can be done — look at Rome, again, or Constantinople later on — but it takes concerted and sustained effort to extract the narrow food surplus from a wide region and to secure the trade lanes to transport it safely to the city.

Don't assume that you have to base your economy on impoverished medieval Europe, though. Regions elsewhere in the world, and both immediately before and after the medieval period in Europe, saw more productive economies with highly specialized divisions of labor.

Farming sucks, and sometimes REALLY sucks. Most farmers, given the chance, would rather do something else. So why aren't they given the chance? Is it necessity or tradition that keeps them on the farm, or are they bound to the land as serfs or slaves?

There are political/military implications if your merchant city-state or underground dwarven kingdom require regular food imports in order to survive — what happens if the food imports get cut off?

How does magic play a role? My advice — not the only way to go about this — is to figure out your normal state of affairs, then add your magic to the picture and figure out how that would change things.

If food production is more efficient, then it takes fewer workers to produce the same amount of food, or the same amount of workers can produce way more food. The former enables more of the population to become craftsmen, priests, bureaucrats, etc. The latter produces more exports for the farmers or their oppressors, and thus potentially more wealth to support craftsmen, priests, bureaucrats, etc. — or more luxuries for the upper crust.

A nobility or other economic elite that manages to extract a large share of the surplus for themselves will then be able to spend that money on things they don't need. This will likely create a sub-economy around satisfying the needs of the wealthy — servants, jewelers, luxury craftsmen, diviners, mercenaries, etc. Whatever the people with surplus money or food want, someone will likely emerge to provide it.

More productive farming will produce more resources. How are those resources distributed? Are they all confiscated by a tiny elite who build sumptuous palaces while their serfs toil in squalor? Or does a supplementary economy build up with crafts, workshops, trade, etc., that enriches everyone?

If food production is less efficient than normal, then things get really interesting. This will likely mean the land can't support all the people who live on it, forcing some people off the land to become soldiers, bandits, priests, wanderers, immigrants, poachers or whatever. Life will likely not go well for anyone in this scenario. You can also have a situation where the land can't support everyone living on it if taxes or extortion become too high, not letting the peasants keep enough food to feed everyone.

Even if people can NORMALLY produce enough food to sustain themselves and exchange a surplus for goods or services, there will likely be periodic famines that upset everything.

Don't underestimate the importance of peace and stability for your economy. If there's a central government or alliance ensuring peace, then profitable long-distance trade becomes more possible. Farmers get more options for exporting their food and can perhaps secure a better price for it. People who don't want to produce food are more likely to be able to find something else to do. Stable governments also produce coinage, as u/GeraldVanHeer emphasized. Stable coinage makes commerce more fluid, since anyone can exchange a coin for anything instead of requiring someone to have a good you want to barter for, and generally promotes accelerating wealth.

Another political implication: the less economic surplus you have, the less ability societies will have to construct great works.

There are a lot of good books that get at what economies were like in historical periods. Barbara Tuchman's "A Distant Mirror" is a good overall look at 14th Century Europe. One book I found particularly helpful is the second half of "The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilization" by Bryan Ward-Perkins. The back half of that book is a look at how the economy of western Europe changed when the Roman Empire collapsed under successive Germanic invasions, setting the stage for the Dark Ages and then the medieval era. This uses data from archaeology to show both what a high-productivity ancient economy looked like under Rome, and what a devastated low-productivity economy looked like after Roman authority collapsed

[unboundprompts]

Random Prompt #182

A single match flares to life, casting a brief glow across the stone floor as a woman lights a lantern. The flame flickers, reflecting off the rows of glass jars on the shelf, each filled with something unrecognizable, floating in murky liquid. In the quiet, the soft tapping of fingers against the glass breaks the silence, as if something inside is stirring, waiting.

[lucalicatteart]

 sculpted a strange shimmery two headed snail, speckled with wild flowers on it's shell~

[plotandelegy]

The Deep Wells of Magic: Drawing from Timeless and Novel Sources

Hello, and welcome to another one of my incredibly overdue writing guides. Where does the magic pulse from in your fictional world? What energy does your magic user draw forth to complete their spells? Here is a list of classical and somewhat unique magical sources you might use to craft your supernatural system. Remember, the key to originality is being a little twisty and the ability to mash concepts. Okay, maybe the first isn't a determining factor.

Sources:

Geographical landmarks

Celestial Events

Memories

Mythical creatures

Seasonal events

Ancestors

Secrets

Mirrors

Shadows

Dreams

Movements

Heartbeats

Ocean currents

Moonlight

Fragmented thoughts

Music

Echoes

Crystals

Wishes

Mana

Mystical ingredients

Special words

Color

Divine intervention

Relics

Chants

Symbols

Candles

Talismans

Meditation or trance

Sounds and silences

Emotions

Elemental forces

Sacred sites

Amulets

Magic dust

Energy residue

Wind

Weather

[promptsforyourwhumpfic]

Whump Prompt #1376

Whumptober #26: Breakfast Table

That beautiful moment of chaos when the table has to get swiped/cleared for The Whumpee. They’re frantically dragged through the door to The Healer, seeping blood into the wooden floor below as they’re barely able to hold themselves up. Whatever food/supplies that were being prepared are now covering the nearby surfaces/piled on the floor as The Whumpee is transferred to the table. While The Healer sometimes liked the sudden rush of excitement, they were far from happy that breakfast had been disturbed. Couldn’t these adventurers have emergencies during normal waking hours?

Fresh water and towels are produced as The Healer instinctively begins pulling the whumpee’s clothes away to assess the damage, a piece of fruit in their other hand as they are insistent on finishing at least part of their meal. 

“What happened?” They ask, scrunching their nose at the sight of ghastly weeping wounds. 

“The Beast got ‘em.” Grunts the whumpee’s friend. The group of adventurers were ambushed during the night in the forest. They just about managed to defeat the beast, though not without the whumpee taking a bad hit. The Healer listens intently as the friend gives them a description of The Beast, as well as the symptoms your whumpee had been experiencing on their journey. During this time, they also instruct another friend on where to place pressure on the wounds as they flick through books to find more information on their attacker. 

“Did it look like this?” The Healer eventually asks, showing an illustration of The Beast to a friend. 

“It did.” They nod eagerly. 

“Then I’m afraid your friend may not make it through the night… unless you are able to find a very specific ingredient.”

[gh0sthands]

magic whumpee experimented on (fantasy setting)

magic whumpee kidnapped and experimented on by whumper. whumpee has magic in their very blood, and whumper wants to know how it works. they purposefully antagonize the whumpee to test how their magic responds to emotions, particularly stress.

whumpee is poked and prodded with needles, their blood stolen from them. their body cut open so whumper can try to understand how the magic flows through their body.

whumper gives whumpee something/uses their magic to keep whumpee asleep, because whumper's primary objective is science, not torture. but when whumper realizes that whumpee's magic is dormant if they're unconscious, whumper has little to no qualms about experimenting on a conscious whumpee.

if whumper gets tired of whumpee's screaming, they simply cast a silence spell over them. then adds more restraints to keep whumpee from moving.

when whumper isn't experimenting on them, whumpee is kept in a cold, dark room, chained to the wall. they are given the bare minimum of sustenance, in the form of a small magic pill that keeps them fed. and that whumper forces down whumpee's throat.

then, one day, while whumpee is lying on the table, they think they hear someone. someone besides whumper. and whumper notices, too. whumper leaves whumpee on the table with their body cut open, to go deal with the intruders.

except whumper never returns. whumpee hears the fight somewhere in the building. they think they recognize caretaker's voice.

and then caretaker runs into the lab.

"gods," caretaker's tough exterior breaks down as they sob.

whumpee is too in shock to move their body, but their eyes meet caretaker's. caretaker has never seen such fear.

"i've got you baby," caretaker mutters, focusing all of their energy into healing the gaping wound. gentle yellow light shines from caretaker's palms, and with focus, the wound begins to stitch itself together.

whumpee whimpers, and caretaker says "i know, i know, I'm sorry baby, i'll make it as quick as i can," and one of their hands finds whumpee's own.

caretaker's magic isn't enough to fully heal the wound, but it's enough to get whumpee stable. caretaker sheds their cloak to cover whumpee's still naked body. they've seen whumpee's body before, but right now, whumpee deserves some privacy.

then, caretaker finally works on the restraits. one by one, caretaker yanks the leather straps off, and finally, finally, caretaker picks up whumpee from the table, heading straight for the exit.

"whumper's dead," team leader says, catching up with caretaker. "how's whumpee?"

"stable, for now."

"let's get going, i'll treat them once we're safe" medic says.

whumpee can barely process that any of this is happening, but they're in caretaker's arm now. they know it's real. they know caretaker (and team leader and medic) will keep them safe.

whumpee lets themself fall asleep in caretaker's arms.

[scealaiscoite]

head of state x captain of their personal guard prompts ˗ˏˋ ꒰ 🕊️ ꒱

¹⁾ “must you always make my job so very difficult, your highness?”¹ “someone with your prowess must be challenged, captain. how else will i see to it that i made the right choice in selecting you for the job?”²

²⁾ “*name*, i’m begging you. if you won’t listen to me as your guard, then listen to me as someone who loves you - please let me get you to safety before it’s too late.”

³⁾ “what were you playing at, looking at me like that from across the court?!”

“since when do you feel permitted to give your opinion on matters of the crown?!”¹ “since i fell in love with the person wearing it.”²

⁴⁾ “when i told you to forget our titles during our sparring lessons, i didn’t think you’d actually follow through.”

⁵⁾ “i’m beginning to think you’ve only taken to spending so much time in the throne room to show off for me.”

⁶⁾ “i’ve dreamt of making you my consort more than i’d like to admit.”

⁷⁾ “so not only have you been ‘entertaining’ marriage prospects, but you didn’t even deem fit to tell me about it yourself? am i not even worth that to you?”

⁸⁾ “if the lords/ladies-in-waiting spy you leaving my quarters in the morning again, i fear we’ll be fielding more question than we can answer.”

⁹⁾ “you know how direly i hate these balls, my love.”¹ “yes, i do. but i also know how very much you love me, so i’m hoping one will cancel the other out.”²

¹⁰⁾ “you do remember that i’m supposed to be the one protecting you, yes?”

[floral-comet-whump]

consider institutionalized living weapon whump. mmmm. I will now explain this autism fueled hyperfixation that has been going on and off for me in the last 3-5 years

content warnings (all fictional): general whump stuff, child abuse, child soldiers, living weapon whump (kinda), conditioning, discussion of genshin impact (since I'm not tagging this post as genshin in fear of normal genshin likers on tumblr stumbling onto whump and not knowing what it is, therefore whump likers who dislike genshin and have the tags blocked would still view this (maybe. idk how tag filtering works)), multiple whumpers/carewhumpers, multiple whumpees, fantasy whump, briefly mentioned eating disorder

OKAY so back at like 2020 or 2021 I was ACTIVE in the genshin rp scene and one of my friends made a fatui oc that, due to being the only survivor of a snow blizzard, was adopted into the fatui and raised to be a soldier! also this was before inazuma's release so shoutout to [unnamed bc we fell out of touch so I don't know if they'd like to be named] for predicting the house of the hearth!

anyways their oc was not only an absolute BANGER, but also sparked what I now realize was whumperflies in 14 yo me! so I copied it with my own oc. also had the stellar idea to think that if [friend's oc] was integrated, why not make it a whole program? badabim badaboom fatui orphanage. I shit you not the first thing I came up with is that the rejects get sent to dottore

uhhhh as stuff came out and someone leaked a fatui orphanage then the secret shrine maiden quest came out I TWEAKED. my oc got updates. leaks about lyney (and lynette) being from the hoth(house of the hearth) brought me back after I'd gotten bored. I desperately held myself back from telling everyone their surnames. I listened to their leaked voicelines. I read their stories.

it was not as bad as I envisioned in my head. fym arlecchino saved them!! white knight white knight!!! fym they're not sleeper agents!!!! fym freminet has a job he enjoys that is in no way related to the fatui?!!?!!! free time and healthy hobbies on my extremely fanonized interpretation of a fictional orphanage we previously only had teeny tiny crumbs about?!?!?!!!;1!?!

arlecchino releasing made me fully give up on the vision I'd originally had on the hoth. I generally do actually like the canon hoth, but I was super attached to this whole miniature concept I'd invented and shared with so many people.

so I'm making my own child soldier orphanage!!!

CONSIDER CHILD SOLDIERS IN WHUMP. WITH CONDITIONING. consider telling children that have nowhere else to go (and whumper KNOWS they have nowhere else to go) they can either join the military or continue whatever they were doing. consider training and conditioning them. consider reminding them where they'd be, had carewhumper not taken them in. consider "letting them off easy" via punishment, or threatening to put them to other use.

consider teaching those children happy lies of doing good, and shattering that reality when they dare be ungrateful and try to run away. consider always making the expectations on them clear. consider the bonds these children will form both with each other and carewhumpers. parental whump my beloved. consider living weapon whumpee that isn't an on-field combatant. consider living weapon whumpee who's allowed to be a person as a reward.

consider living weapon whumpee who was previously rescued from a different kind of whumper and is just perfect for molding into a killing machine. consider orphans children willingly volunteering for the military because the program is well known. consider generations upon generations of this where previous whumpees retire to work in the same orphanage so that they'll never have to move out, prolonging the cycle of violence with promises of family. and that family isn't even false, just conditional.

whumpee who was rescued from a vampire thrall trade and is constantly reminded where they would've been had carewhumpers not been so generous as to rehabilitate them. ungrateful little thing, always reacting so slow, cowering from the vampires the carewhumpers have taken in as if they're the same one, either hoarding food or immediately wolfing it down.

whumpee who was abandoned as a child and came in to a place they knew they'd be accepted, but gradually realized the danger behind it and tried escaping. they were brought back and thoroughly disciplined. it's obvious that they're using a facade once one simply reads their file or asks them, but that doesn't matter so long as they're obedient.

a whumpee turned carewhumper that sees nothing wrong with what they're doing. they were raised this way, and though it was very scary, so is life in general. they certainly wouldn't have survived in this world without this orphanage, and much less by being coddled. the children brought here have all had difficult experiences that have scarred them, they can't be treated like normal kids.

that's all the ocs I have thought up for it rn soz

yeah!! will also be in a typical high fantasy setting because I prefer it a whole lot more.

I'm honestly unsure of what to call this thing. I can't really go with the house of the hearth. at some point I internally called it erysimum institute because I read destroyer and the name beldam institute just sounds rlly catchy. also erysimums symbolize faith in unfortunate situations which I think fits perfectly. but the loneliness/shyness part of wallflowers (a prominent type of erysimum) is a little less fitting.

I'll definitely change the name because I want it to be as original as it can be!! probably to some kind of flower meaning rebirth or smt but idk.

p.s: it would have art!!!

[o0o0thorn0o0o]

I was kinda hyperfocusing on completing some pieces for something, and wanted to come back online only after I finished them, but then I realized I wouldn’t get done nearly in time anyway… So they’re postponed for a later date, who knows when. I’ll take my time. Anyway, I’ll try not to disappear again, especially so soon… ^^;

But yeah, it’s been a while since I posted about Zangetsu, so here is he.

At first, I was just gonna go for a regular sketch. But then I decided to put him in a turtleneck, ‘cause, yeah, that’s what I like drawing, idk what to tell you ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ And then I wanted to render it the same way I did for Ichigo and Orihime’s b-day pieces since it’s fun and I like the colors. And then, since I was already drawing him with a turtleneck in that style… at this point, I was kinda making excuses not to draw Zangetsu in the same outfit. So I gave in and did it, eheh. Hey, it’s a really good fit. I should draw it more (1), and I really wanted to see Zangetsu in it (2). So yeah.

Plus, I like trios, and this makes it a set of three, heheh. (Plus maybe, just maybe, this makes up for not finishing anything for him on his birthday ;~; Listen, okay: Ichigo was the priority… I’ll try to do better next year…)

(Also, this may or may not stay a collection of three… but if there are additions, it’ll be sometime in the future, when I get the spontaneous urge again)

[joelliies]

Laws of Reality

Establishing laws of Reality in a fantasy world can be incredibly important, especially if you want to create a believable, immersive world with rules that both your characters and readers understand.

Fundamental Laws

Setting fundamental laws—whether they’re natural (like gravity and time) or supernatural (like magical laws or elemental forces)—provides a foundation for your world. Even in a world with magic, having consistent rules makes the story feel grounded. Readers need to know what’s possible and what isn’t, or what consequences exist if these rules are broken.

For example, if magic has a cost (such as draining energy from the user), then every magical action has stakes. Without these rules, magic can become too powerful or feel like an easy fix, which reduces tension and can make the plot feel less engaging.

Benefits of Fundamental Laws:

Consistency: Readers can follow the logic of your world and understand character choices better.

Tension and Stakes: When there are rules, breaking or bending them feels significant, which can drive conflict.

Immersion: A consistent, rule-based world feels more real and immersive, no matter how fantastical.

Anomalies

Anomalies—places or times where these laws break down or don’t apply—add mystery, danger, and uniqueness to your world. They’re great for worldbuilding because they invite questions and exploration, and they can be used to create intrigue or build major plot points.

For instance, a forest where time flows differently could mean characters age slower or faster within it, or an ocean with reversed gravity could be both a wonder and a terrifying obstacle. Anomalies make your world feel bigger and add layers to the narrative, giving characters unique challenges or rare opportunities.

Benefits of Anomalies:

Mystery and Wonder: Anomalies can make readers curious about how the world works and what might be lurking beyond the known.

Conflict and Plot Hooks: Anomalies can serve as focal points for quests, discoveries, or challenges for your characters.

Opportunities for Thematic Depth: Anomalies often represent the unknown, which can underscore themes like the dangers of ambition, the limits of knowledge, or the resilience of life.

Example in a Fantasy Setting

Imagine a fantasy world where gravity fluctuates based on phases of a mysterious moon, or where magic only works within certain boundaries due to energy anomalies in the atmosphere.

[unboundprompts]

Random Prompt #161

In the heart of the fog-drenched forest, where twisted branches claw at the night sky, a solitary cottage glows with an eerie, amber light. Inside, the witch moves with a fluid, almost serpentine grace, her robes rustling like dry leaves. Her eyes, sharp and luminous, hold the wisdom of centuries, while her gnarled hands, adorned with silver rings and ancient symbols, meticulously mix potions that simmer with unspoken enchantments. The air is thick with the scent of herbs and incense, and shadows dance on the walls, revealing glimpses of forgotten magic and whispered spells. She is both a keeper of arcane secrets and a guardian of the old ways, her presence a blend of mystery and ancient power.

[wondrousworldbuilding]

I'm currently trying to world build a magical school for my fantasy realm. I'm having a hard time finding sources online. Any general advice for fantasy schools?

For starters, you want to have your magic system fleshed out really thoroughly. What good is teaching a bunch of kids how to use a magic system that you, the author, don't really know how it works, right!? If you haven't done this, you might check out my Brainstorming posts Here (Part 1) and Here (Part 2) to get started.

Beyond that, you need to think about some school basics:

Are all children educated in magic? Or only the most talented, the richest, or the poorest?

How does society at large feel about magic education and how does that impact the freedom and funds of the school?

(Related:) What kind of teachers are employed at the school? The best and brightest or the shlufs who couldn't make it in a "real" school? How does that affect the education of the students?

How does general education play into the lives of the students? Do they go to primary school first where they learn to read and write etc. or is that part of the their magic school curriculum?

How much danger is there in the day-to-day of the school? Is the magic difficult to use and therefore generally not a risk? Is it ubiquitous and therefore maintains some inherent balance? Is it difficult to use and therefore volatile and unpredictable?

What is the purpose of receiving a magic education and what do its students aspire to do after completing school?

I hope these help you out little bit. :)

Happy building!