These world building prompts come from 3000 World Building Prompts, which you can get at Amazon. This section is focused on creating continents, including mountains, forests, wetlands, and deserts.
Continents
- How many continents are you creating?
- How many will figure prominently in your work right now?
- Which one are you creating as you read these prompts? What is its name?
- Which continents are near this one, in what direction, and how far?
- How difficult is each nearby continent to reach from this one?
- How can people reach other continents?
- What is this continent famous for?
- Is this continent feared?
- Are people from this continent feared?
- Is the wildlife considered more dangerous or safer here?
- Are plants here considered more exotic?
- Which hemisphere is this continent on, or does it straddle the equator?
- What percentage is above and below the equator?
- Are there any large islands offshore?
- Is there a chain of volcanic islands offshore?
- Is there just one volcanic island?
- Is there a lone volcano anywhere on the continent?
- Where are the explosive mountains ranges?
- Where are the taller/shorter ranges?
- Are there any straits here?
- Are there any river deltas?
- Are there any large bays?
- Is there a sea here?
- Is this continent connected to another by a narrow area of land? Was it once? How long ago?
- Where is the longest river?
- Where is the most widely used river(s) for travel and commerce?
- Where are the oldest and youngest rivers?
- Where is the largest lake?
- What regions exist, as defined by terrain and/or climates?
- What is the climate in each region?
- For civilizations, are the oldest or youngest found here?
- Where are the sovereign powers located?
- What areas do not have a sovereign power controlling them?
- How heavily fished are the oceans and rivers?
- Is toxic waste being dumped and where? What effect has it had?
- Have dams been created?
- What rivers have been diverted?
- Are earthquakes common on this continent and in what areas?
- When was the last major earthquake?
- Are tornadoes common on this continent and in what areas?
- Do monsoon rains happen here?
- If so, where?
- Which months of the year does it occur?
- Is there a hurricane season here and when is it?
- What parts of the continent are impacted?
- Are tsunamis common? On which coastlines?
- When was the last major tsunami?
- Are hailstones common and where, if so?
- Does anywhere experience lake effect snows or unusual blizzards? Where?
- What areas experience drought?
- How long has the last drought been occurring?
- Is there an area prone to wildfires? Where are they?
- What areas are prone to flooding?
- Are any areas that are near to deserts prone to dust or sandstorms?
- If so, during which months?
- Do people flee from these phenomena?
- Do they build shelters or ride it out?
- Has there been a meteor strike in recent memory?
- Is there a visible crater anywhere and where?
- When was the most massive loss of life from one of these disasters?
Land Features
- How cultivated or terraformed is the land?
- Have deserts been turned into settlements?
- Have forests been burned down?
- Have mountains been leveled?
- Are there significant canyons anywhere and what makes them so? Size? Formation? Beauty? Adventure? Beasts?
- For grasslands, are there nomadic tribes living here?
- Are they thought to be savages?
For all Land Features
These prompts should be viewed when creating mountains, forests, or other landscapes.
- What is its name?
- What is its nickname(s)?
- Will you use this as a setting that characters interact with or only as framing?
- What continent is it on?
- Are there any stories about the landscape?
- Does this act as the border between lands or sovereign powers?
- Does more than one sovereign power border this or lay claim to all or part of it? Where?
- Are any unique plants or animals found within?
- Are any common plants or animals found within?
- Is there a monster there?
- Is anything particularly abundant or rare/valuable here?
- How safe or dangerous is it here? Does this vary by region?
- Do people disappear inside this land feature and never return?
- Do you know what happens to them?
- Does anyone on the world know?
- Are there any humanoid species/races living here?
- Is there a famous fortress or settlement here? Where is it?
- Are there watch towers here? What features do they typically include?
- Are there any roads passing through it?
- What quality are the roads and who built them?
- Did anything interesting make the trails found here?
- Is there anything particularly dangerous or friendly dwelling here?
- Are there bandits?
- Are there inns or taverns?
- Are people afraid of traveling through here? Why?
- Have any ruins within been discovered? What is their backstory?
- Are there any settlements within?
Mountains
- Is this a lone mountain or a range?
- If a range, what direction is it (north/south, etc.)?
- Is it volcanic? How many peaks of it are?
- How tall are the mountains?
- What are the names of the tallest or more interesting peaks?
- Are there any flying creatures or machines that struggle to get over it?
- Are mining operations taking place?
- If so, what is found here in unusual quantities?
- What is not known to be found here but is?
- Are there any mountain passes and where are they?
- How difficult is it to travel through the passes?
- How hard is it to cross the mountains without using a pass?
- Do people live underground here?
- Is there a kind of building stone that is found here and commonly/rarely used?
- For every volcano, is it active, dormant, or extinct?
- When was the last eruption?
- How devastating was it and was life altered for any species, settlement(s), or sovereign powers? Or even the world?
- Did the volcano unleash anything unusual?
Forests
- Is this a forest, savannah, woodland, or jungle?
- Is this forest used for horseback riding?
- Do people hunt here?
- How close to a settlement is it?
- When was the last major fire and in what area of the forest?
- Is there a Forest Service that manages the health of the forest?
- If this is a jungle, how impenetrable is it?
Wetlands
- Where is this wetland located?
- Is this a mire, bog, swamp, or marsh?
- How close to a settlement is it?
- If a mire, how much of the top is covered by peat?
Deserts
- Is this a hot, cold, or mild desert?
- Is this desert rocky or sandy?
- At what elevation is it found?
- How close to a settlement is it?
- Do settlements have underground areas?
- Is there any grass here, making this a steppe?
How much rainfall occurs every year?
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