It’s March, which means it’s time for Worldbuilding Con, our weekend-long online convention for Game Masters! Plus, we’ve got news about challenges, and, as usual, about upcoming developments on World Anvil too.
✨ Advanced article management
When opening the Article Manager and editing a category, you’ll find a new tab called “Article Management”. There, you can create, edit, and see basic article information at a glance. This update was inspired by the old Article Manager after hearing your feedback, and it’s a great tool to use when you want to focus on a category. Check the blog post for details!
🐙 Call of Cthulhu Cult Worksheet
We have a new statblock template for Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition: cult worksheet! Here’s an example of this statblock—thanks to Tillerz, an Anvilite from the community, for designing and creating this statblock template! Here’s what it looks like:
👀 Coming soon: world dashboard configuration
We’re in the final stages of internal testing for an update to the world dashboard. This update will let you move and hide the widgets in the world dashboard (and add new ones!). While there isn’t a specific release date, we expect it to go out during this month! Keep an eye on the changelog for updates.
Check the changelog for the full list of changes
🪐 Worldbuilding Con: Gamemaster’s edition
Worldbuilding Con is back! And this year, we’re splitting it into two events: the Gamemaster’s and the Writer’s edition. On March 14th and 15th, we’ll have the Gamemaster-focused event, with 4 amazing sessions with industry legends, downloadable worksheets, and audience participation! Sign up (it’s free!) and learn how to create your own homebrew TTRPG adventure.
🗓️ March events
Here’s everything going on this month!
- 🪐 Worldbuilding Con: On March 14th and 15th, join 4 amazing sessions with guests like Tracy Hickman, Dead Aussie Gamer, Amanda Hamon, and more! Save the date!
- ⚔️ Worldbuilding Showdown: From March 14th to 20th, we’ll run a new Worldbuilding Showdown! You’ll have to choose a team by submitting an article to its prompt—the team with the most submissions wins. The exact theme will be revealed on the 14th!
- 🏆 Worldbuilding Awards Nominee reveal: The nominees of the 6th Worldbuilding Awards will be revealed on March 21st. Then, it will be time to vote for your favorites in the non-major categories! Learn more about the Awards.
- 🎓 Sage Seminar. Because of Worldbuilding Con, we will not have a Sage Seminar this month. Instead, you’re invited to enjoy the advice from top-of-the-line professionals spread throughout four sessions!
🔜 Upcoming Events on World Anvil!
Here’s a list of our upcoming challenges and community events, to help you get ready:
- March: See above.
- April: Adventure April returns!
- May: A traditional single-prompt competition. Details to be revealed later!
All our challenges launch first on community live stream, so follow us on Twitch to get the news first!
📹 YouTube video round-up
Need a little push to improve your worldbuilding? Or want some advice from a professional worldbuilder? Here are our latest YouTube videos:
- Worldbuild Alt-History & Sci Fi Settings Right: Alt-history, sci-fi, superheroes—even urban fantasy settings where magic is public knowledge—feel very different. But they’re ALL built on the same alternate earth blueprint. Here’s a quick start checklist!
- 5 Ways to Save Your Session (Without a Full Party): Don’t let scheduling problems be the BBEG that defeats your party! What if you could run an amazing D&D session… even when players can’t make it? Here’s how!
- Is magic stagnating your world? The Porcelain Hypothesis: Everyone complains about fantasy worlds that are stuck in the middle ages. But there’s a simple explanation that justifies classic high-fantasy settings AND turns deliberately stalled technological innovation into storytelling gold!
- Making Dragon Riders Work in DnD & Fantasy: Dragon riders in fantasy and DnD often lack logical consistency, but with creative methods for worldbuilding dragons, you can make them plausible for your next D&D game.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel to stay on top of all our latest videos.
🌟 Community highlight
This month, we’re visiting the fields of Dromaria to look at the Klaxon Thresher, an enormous construct that tends to the fields and protects them fiercely. The article also won the Pillars of Progress Award in the 5th Worldbuilding Awards. Check out the Klaxon Thresher!
Dromaria is developed by Matunas and Stonehomie, and here’s what Matunas had to say about this article:
The Klaxon Thresher is a minor bit of world lore that ended up going a long way. People crave the small details that make a world stand out and come to life. We love the thresher not so much for what it is, or even its cool art by Yury Nikifarau, but for what it meant to the community. People really responded to this construct in an enthusiastic way, and at first we were kind of stunned because it’s the smallest piece of Dromaria.
Winning the Pillar of Progress award was not just gratification, but a realization that you have to pay attention to every detail in your worldbuilding. Sure, I could magic up some crops and warding spells, but isn’t it more fun to have badass combines rampaging through your crops, protecting them against monsters specifically crafted to feed on those fields? Now the field becomes an adventure all its own.
My advice to future submitters and award hopefuls is that World Anvil is an accepting and creative community, so don’t be afraid to share what you’ve made. You might get feedback; it’s likely going to be positive, and hell, maybe you’ll even win something.
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