Discussion boards are a new feature that lets you create a community around your World Anvil world. And you can use it for play-by-post gaming, fan-generated content, or anything else you can imagine!
The information on this blog post might be outdated! Check the documentation for the most up-to-date information about this feature.
What are discussion boards?
Discussion boards let you create a forum-like experience on World Anvil. Your readers will be able to participate in the boards by creating new threads or replying to existing ones (as long as they have an account). And of course, you can also have private boards for your top supporters or your gaming group! So, with features like an integrated dice roller and the ability to post as a character, you’ll also be able to use it for play-by-post RPGs!
Dimitris is using this feature to manage the playtesting for his science fantasy world, Lyra. Check out the Lyra discussion boards!
How do they work?
You can find the discussion board management page under the “World Community” option in the left sidebar. Use that page to create new boards and edit your existing ones! Need a private board? Well, use subscriber groups to control who can view and write on each board.
For play-by-post games, there are several specific features that will help you play your campaigns on World Anvil too:
- Dice roller: You can roll following the pattern: Xy (4d6) or XdY+Z (1d20+4) or XdY+FdL+Z (1d20+2d6+3)
- Out-of-character comments: if you want to say something as the player (not as the character), there’s a specific box for that! This will clearly separate what your character is saying from what you are saying.
- Game master instructions: use this box to say what your players need to do (“roll initiative!”). It will be clearly highlighted from the rest of the message.
- “Post as”: choose a character or organization in the world to be displayed as the post’s author!
You’ll need a Master membership (or above) to create discussion boards in your world. Check out the Codex for detailed instructions on how to use them!
What do you plan to use discussion boards for? What features would you like to see? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Stormbril has a dedicated board for suggestions —check it out on his world!
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Thank you, thank you, THANK you, Roc…I have been wondering what the discussion boards were and didn’t try using them until I could find out more.
This was a fantastic article–and it looks like the discussion boards are a PERFECT addition to my world experience!
I have been wondering what the discussion boards were and didn’t try using them until I could find out more.
I hope this answered your questions! If you need more information, check out the codex link!
I’ve got to ask why this feature isn’t being advertised more readily. With everybody jumping from host to host when it comes to play-by-post roleplaying for several decades now, WorldAnvil literally has everything that most people have to code and build into their forums caked into the site. I feel like there’s a BIG opportunity being missed here not getting full-steam behind this. Even looking at any of the various sites where people are building layouts for various hosts and selling them. This is a feature that should be getting a lot more publicity. This is kind of a game changer.