113 World Building Prompts for Creating Organizations

These world building prompts come from 3000 World Building Prompts, which you can get at Amazon. This section is focused on creating organizations like secret sects and assassin guilds.

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  1. Do you intend to feature this organization or its members in your work or only mention it/them?
  2. What is the name of this organization?
  3. What nicknames does it have?
  4. How old is this group?
  5. What events led to its formation?
  6. Is this group still around or defunct?
  7. If gone, when did that happen?
  8. What caused the group to end?
  9. Why wasn’t the organization able to withstand the event?
  10. What happened to the group’s members?
  11. Did they form another group?
  12. Is that group more successful in its goals?
  13. What happened to do the organization’s holdings?
  14. What are the group’s defining values?
  15. What is their vision?
  16. What is this organization’s goal(s)? Do they want to control an object, land, or have power?
  17. How do they intend to achieve their goals?
  18. How have they been trying to achieve their goals?
  19. Are they willing to resort to violence?
  20. Are they willing to kill innocent people as collateral damage?
  21. How long have they been trying to achieve their goal(s)?
  22. What setbacks have they experienced and what changes did they make?
  23. Did they start off with a different goal than the current one?
  24. If so, what caused the change?
  25. Will the group continue after its goal(s) is achieved?
  26. In what ways have the group dynamics changed because of any prolonged failure to achieve goals?

Members

  1. How many people are in this organization?
  2. What races/species are in it? Are any preferred or forbidden?
  3. What is the group’s symbol and what does it mean?
  4. Are members given anything (pin, tattoo) to signify membership?
  5. Are there factions with differing viewpoints within it and what impact is this having?
  6. Does someone covet the leadership role?
  7. Is the leader new or long established?
  8. Do you need or would you benefit from the leader’s position being tenuous?
  9. Who is the current leader? Define them like a character.
  10. How is leadership determined?
  11. What traits are required to become a leader? Is that official or just the way it goes?
  12. How does someone cease to be the leader? Death? Vote?
  13. Who is the second in command?
  14. Who are the leaders of any factions?
  15. Is there someone in this group who is so disillusioned that they will become a problem, such as through betrayal?
  16. Will they succeed?
  17. Is the group large enough to have multiple subgroups in different locations?
  18. Does the organization take prisoners?
  19. If so, how are they treated?
  20. Do members need to perform a task to become accepted?
  21. Are there rituals or missions that must be undertaken?
  22. Are new members fully accepted or on a probation?
  23. Are new members assigned to someone whose approval is needed before fuller acceptance, and if so, what must they show?
  24. Are members in for good, or must they establish their devotion/membership at given intervals?
  25. Is the organization large enough to need a power structure?
  26. If so, what is that structure?
  27. Are people allowed to leave voluntarily?
  28. Or are they killed for trying?
  29. What do they lose if they leave? Access, items, contacts?
  30. How does leadership ensure that the departing member does not betray the organization’s secrets?
  31. Is there a spy in their midst and who it is, and who do they work for?
  32. What happens to a caught spy?
  33. Has a spy been caught before? What happened? Are they a cautionary tale?

Possessions

  1. Does the organization have a headquarters?
  2. Where is it?
  3. What is it like?
  4. Is it hidden or in plain sight?
  5. Do people outside the organization realize HQ is HQ or is it thought to be something else?
  6. Is there anything special inside?
  7. Is it guarded and by what? How do you get past it?
  8. Can people live here? How many?
  9. Can all the members live here or just a select few?
  10. What are the criteria for permanent residency?
  11. If someone can only stay for a while, what are the rules regarding that?
  12. Is it only if they are recuperating or preparing for a mission?
  13. Are newcomers required to stay here so they can be closely watched?
  14. Is there a prison or jail here?
  15. If so, is anyone famous or noteworthy in it?
  16. How many people inside the organization know that?
  17. Does anyone outside the organization know that? What would happen if people found out?
  18. Does this group have any typical meeting places away from HQ?
  19. Does the organization own any shared resources? What are they?
  20. How is the usage of shared resources allowed or refused?
  21. Where are each shared resource?
  22. What condition are shared resources? Operational or in need of restoration?
  23. What resources does the group hope to gain and why?
  24. Who controls those desired resources?
  25. Have any attempts to gain them failed? Why, when, and how?
  26. What was the cost of the group for that failure?
  27. Where does the organization get money to supply itself?
  28. Does this group steal items to use or to sell? What type?

Relationships

  1. Are there establishments (bars, hotels) friendly to them and their cause?
  2. Are they banned from anywhere?
  3. Do subgroups within go rogue or are they still on board with the mission and its means?
  4. In what sort of locations can this organization be found?
  5. Do individuals ever work alone on missions?
  6. Are individuals/subgroups stationed in places for missions like reconnaissance?
  7. If so, where and for how long?
  8. Are any individuals, races, sovereign powers, or other groups allies?
  9. Are any individuals, races, sovereign powers, or other groups enemies?
  10. How strong is their relationship with each of their allies?
  11. Are any of those relationships so tenuous that they cannot be relied upon?
  12. If so, are there any actions the organization can take that will sever the alliance for good?
  13. What actions can strengthen the relationship?
  14. Why hasn’t the organization taken them?
  15. What clashes have taken place with their enemies?
  16. Who considers this organization evil but is not an enemy?
  17. Who considers this organization good but is not an ally?
  18. What major events have happened in the history of this organization? When did they occur, and how did this impact the current state?
  19. Has this group been driven out of any locations? Which and when?
  20. What is the group famous for?
  21. What legends or stories go around about them, and are they true?
  22. What do people misunderstand about the organization?
  23. What facts do people get right?
  24. Do people donate to this group? Openly or in secret?
  25. How does this group get along with each race in the setting?
  26. What does each race think of this group?
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