Looking for some worldbuilding ideas and inspiration? Well, you’ve come to the right place! We’ve just finished the second season of the World Anvil Podcast, with a plethora of expert worldbuilders, writers, and RPG designers! Season 2 starts with episode 9 and ends in episode 16 —that’s 8 episodes filled with amazing advice! You can listen to the podcast on Podbean, Spotify, Libsyn, and Apple Podcasts. But anyway, let’s check them out and see what they’re all about.
Episode 9: Wondrous worldbuilding with Caeora
Links: Part 1 and Part 2 on Podbean / Part 1 and Part 2 on Spotify / Part 1 and Part 2 on Apple Podcasts
One example of the many stunning maps by Caeora
Season 2 opens with a fantastic episode featuring the amazing Caeora! He and Janet talk about adding a sense of wonder to worldbuilding. From light fantasy worlds to dark settings, this episode is packed with ideas to make your worlds feel more magical!
Caeora, our guest for this episode, is an internationally renowned illustrator and fantasy cartographer. He has even worked with the Critical Role franchise! On top of that, he’s got a degree in game design and is a professional D&D player, having played for WotC in a couple of seasons. Check out his website and his Patreon page!
Episode 10: Languages and Names with Antonia Ruppel
Links: Part 1 and Part 2 on Podbean / Part 1 and Part 2 on Spotify / Part 1 and Part 2 on Apple Podcasts
Dr. Antonia Ruppel is an expert in several ancient languages!
This one’s for the conlangers and language nerds out there! Or anyone who’s interested in going deeper in their world’s languages, really. In this episode, we chat with Dr. Antonia Ruppel about the influence culture has over language and how written language evolves over time.
Dr. Antonia Ruppel is an expert in all sorts of ancient languages. Her PhD thesis was about Early Indo-European, and she was the Townsend Senior lecturer in the Greek, Latin, and Sanskrit Languages at Cornell University. And she’s currently researching Sanskrit syntax at Oxford University!
Episode 11: Self-publishing for novels & RPGs with Chris Fox
Links: Part 1 and Part 2 on Podbean / Part 1 and Part 2 on Spotify / Part 1 and Part 2 on Apple Podcasts
Check out his YouTube channel for tons of advice!
Self-publishing is scary, and it can feel overwhelming. But in this episode, Chris Fox unpacks the dos and don’ts self-publishing for both writers and Tabletop RPGs! Don’t miss it if you’re going for the self-published route!
Chris Fox is a novelist, RPG creator, and a self-publishing extraordinaire. His YouTube channel has great tips on writing and self-publishing, and he’s got an RPG coming too! It’s called Magitech Chronicles, and it’s based on his books —and the Kickstarter was a huge success! Check out his web site and his World Anvil world too.
Episode 12: Geography for worldbuilding with geologist Anne Forbes
Links: Part 1 and Part 2 on Podbean / Part 1 and Part 2 on Spotify / Part 1 and Part 2 on Apple Podcasts
Don’t miss Dr. Anne Forbes’ episode!
If you’re building a world, chances are there will be some land! Make sure to catch-up with this episode for some geography advice. How do rivers work? And what about mountains? All of that and more in this amazing episode!
Dr. Anne Forbes has a degree in Natural Sciences, specializing in Geology, and her PhD is in Volcanology! She has published widely about the interaction of volcanoes and ice. So you’re in good hands if you want to learn all about that for your world setting!
Episode 13: Get started worldbuilding for novels and RPGs with Trent Hergenrader
Links: Part 1 and Part 2 on Podbean / Part 1 and Part 2 on Spotify / Part 1 and Part 2 on Apple Podcasts
Dr. Trent Hergenrader, our guest for Episode 13 of the World Anvil Worldbuilding Podcast
Starting a new world for a novel or an RPG? Don’t miss this episode! And even if you are already an experienced worldbuilder, there’s tons of advice waiting for you. I’m sure you’ll find something you hadn’t thought about!
The guest for this episode is Dr. Trent Hergenrader, a real-life worldbuilding professor! And not only that, but he uses World Anvil to teach his worldbuilding modules in the Rochester Institute of Technology, USA. He’s the author of the amazing Collaborative Worldbuilding book, a great resource for any worldbuilder. Make sure to check out his web site too.
Episode 14: Unpacking cyberpunk with Tobias “Toblin” Linder
Links: Part 1 and Part 2 on Podbean / Part 1 and Part 2 on Spotify / Part 1 and Part 2 on Apple Podcasts
Check out Toblin’s world on World Anvil!
Cyberpunk is cool, alright? If you agree, you’ll love this episode —and if you don’t, you’ll love it too! Tobias and Janet have a chat about this genre and how to use it for your own world. Full of tips, ideas, and inspiration for all!
Tobias “Toblin” Linder is an experienced game designer and GM who is currently working on the Celenia D10 system, a new RPG system. Not only he’s awesome, but he also uses World Anvil. That’s double awesome to me! Check out the Celenia D10 system on World Anvil and make sure to follow him on Twitter for updates!
Episode 15: Worldbuilding history with Eran Aviram
Links: Part 1 and Part 2 on Podbean / Part 1 and Part 2 on Spotify / Part 1 and Part 2 on Apple Podcasts
Eran Aviram, our guest for Episode 15 of the World Anvil Worldbuilding Podcast
Some people think that history is boring —well, they’re wrong! This episode will show you how history can be fun and useful to take your world to the next level. It’s so important for worldbuilding!
Eran Aviram has a lot of experience in the RPG world. He’s the host of On the Shoulders of Dwarves, the English edition of Israel’s main RPG podcast. He also edited City of Mist and developed Venture Forth, a storytelling card game. And he also created the series Three Suggestions, with variant rules and really thought-provoking content for Dungeons and Dragons and Dungeon World.
Episode 16: Making perfect maps with Isaac Stewart
Links: Part 1 and Part 2 on Podbean / Part 1 and Part 2 on Spotify / Part 1 and Part 2 on Apple Podcasts
Check out Isaac’s web site to see some of his art!
We started with a cartographer, we’re ending with a cartographer —it’s all coming together! And this time we’re focusing on how to make maps that fit your world perfectly.
Isaac Stewart is the art director for Dragonsteel Entertainment, Brandon Sanderson’s company. He drew the maps, illustrations, and scripts inside The Way of Kings and Mistborn. He has also worked with other renowned authors such as Ted Williams, and he even writes his own books! Check out his website and his Twitter.
The host of the World Anvil podcast
Janet Forbes (pen name J.D.Blythe) is the host of the World Anvil Worldbuilding Podcast
The host of World Anvil’s Worldbuilding Podcast is Janet Forbes (pen-name J.D. Blythe), a published fantasy author, professional Dungeons and Dragons Streamer, and also the co-founder of World Anvil, the ultimate worldbuilding platform for writers and tabletop gamers! As a game master, TTRPG player, author, and student of history, she has a broad perspective on different worldbuilding approaches!
Follow her on Twitter to keep up with her latest content, advice, and publications. You can find her first novelette published here.
Season 3 of the World Anvil podcast is coming!
Season 3 is already on the works, so stay tuned —tons of very exciting content coming soon! What do you want to see in season 3? Who would you invite to our podcast and what would you like us to talk about? Tell us in the comments! We really appreciate your feedback. Don’t forget to catch up on season 1 if you missed it, and see you soon!
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