5 Secrets to Building Fantasy Worlds That Feel Real

Introduction

Imagine that you have your table with your party, and all the players are on the edge of their seats, fully immersed in the world you've created, wondering what comes next. That's the magic of effective world-building. Creating a fantasy world that feels as real as our own is a significant achievement, but it is one of the most rewarding aspects of being a GM. 

My name is Cole, and this is Lost Emerald, your go-to channel for all things TTRPG. Today, I am sharing 5 methods to help you create a world that keeps the players at your table fully immersed and invested in the people and places they interact with. Trust me, I just implemented these strategies in a campaign that I started GMing recently. If you stick around to the end, I will reward you with an additional method that you can use when building out your campaign setting. 

Secret 1: Ground Your Fantasy with Realism

This first tip might seem obvious, but using real-world elements can help make a fantasy world feel real. Adding historical events, cultures, and geography to our world can give a fantasy world depth and believability. It's no coincidence that renowned fantasy authors like George R.R. Martin are history buffs. 

For example, you could use the fall of the Roman Empire to inspire the collapse of a vast fantasy empire in your world. This could lead to an old power falling and new, smaller ones emerging. Or there could be a century-long war between two powerful kingdoms, similar to the Hundred Years' War. This conflict would shape the political landscape of your world and influence the lives of your world's people. 

Try basing your world's cultures on cultures of the real world. Include things like traditions and social structures. You can draw inspiration from Viking Scandinavia, using Norse mythology, seafaring expeditions, and the culture of raiding and trading. Maybe there is a nomadic tribe that has a horseback and yurt lifestyle. Or you can create a city-state with democratic elements that relate back to ancient Athens. This will help enrich the world that your players are interacting with and offer them something relatable. 

Secret 2: Create Dynamic, Evolving Worlds

Designing a living, breathing world that dynamically changes based on your players' decisions and actions is not just a suggestion; it's a game-changer. It adds depth and excitement to the table, inspiring you to experiment with events that respond to player choices. It's essential to show that there are consequences and impacts, making the players feel like their choices matter.

For instance, imagine a scenario where the players' decision to support one faction leads to a shift in the balance of power in the political landscape. What if your players were in the mountains and accidentally interrupted the slumber of an ancient dragon? That dragon could wreak havoc on a kingdom or disguise itself as a political figure to gain control of a kingdom. These are just a few examples of how you can create a dynamic, evolving world that responds to player actions. 

These ever-evolving elements keep the world fresh and moving. Regardless of the players' actions, the world around them always keeps going. This will help make your world feel unique, and the sessions at your table feel impactful. 

Secret 3: Craft Deep, Believable Cultures

While you could use some of the cultures and fundamental material that Pathfinder 2e's game books have laid out, we are more focused on creating something more tailored or original here. Creating unique cultures that feel alive requires giving them history, customs, languages, and social structures. Start by developing their mythology and religion, which can shape their values and behaviors. Social norms and traditions can help add layers to their identity. 

Imagine a fictional culture that worships the moon as its deity. Their calendar and festivals revolve around lunar cycles, and they have ceremonies in the middle of the night to honor the moon. Their social hierarchy could be influenced by the phases of the moon. 

These elements make the culture distinctive and help give you an idea of how it might interact with the world around it. This will add depth and realism to your storytelling and give your players the impression that there are rich cultures all over your world. 

Secret 4: Create Conflict and Tension

While conflict and tension can be used for drama, their true power makes your world feel alive and dynamic. Introducing political tension, environmental challenges, or cultural clashes can add complexity and depth to your world. It can create opportunities for your players to make impactful decisions and keep them engaged and invested in the story. 

For example, you could have two neighboring cities that are in a dispute over the use of a river. As tensions escalate, leaders and factions within each city must choose a side, leading to alliances, betrayals, and secret deals. 

To expand this further, we could say that this area has been in a prolonged drought. The environmental challenge can add an additional layer of tension, further complicating the political conflict between the neighboring cities and forcing their inhabitants to make desperate decisions. 

By adding various forms of tension or conflict, your world becomes more dynamic in its narratives. It will help invite your players to further immerse themselves and influence the outcome through action. This is the kind of GM prep you can do to help your players push the world and story forward. 

Secret 5: Involve Players in World-building

This tip, which I first learned from one of Ginny Di's videos here on YouTube, is a fantastic way to engage your players in the world-building process. Developing a fantasy world based on realism doesn't have to be a solo project. Involving your players makes them an integral part of the process. Encourage them to co-create parts of the world, such as their character's backstory. For instance, if a player's character hails from a small village in the mountains, let them create that village, its inhabitants, traditions, and culture. 

However, involving players in world-building can also lead to potential challenges. Some players might have conflicting ideas or might need to be more comfortable with the responsibility of creating parts of the world. In such cases, it's important to maintain a balance between player involvement and GM control to ensure the world remains cohesive and engaging. Let's say you have a few players who can't make it to this week's session. Instead of canceling, why don't you invite the remaining players to a world-building session where you all sit down and develop a town at the edge of the world? Each person contributes a key element of the town, like its historical origins, leaders, or local folktales and mysterious locations. During a session later in the campaign, these elements emerge as the players explore the town and uncover the secrets they helped create. 

This type of involvement turns the world into something the players are more invested in because they have a hand in creating it. Also, it helps make your life as a GM a lot easier when you have players at the table who are willing to help provide creative ideas to draw upon. 

Bonus Tip: Utilize Seasonal Changes

Thank you so much for sticking with me until the end of this discussion. As promised, here is an additional bonus tip to help make your fantasy world feel real! You can add events based around the seasons to help enrich your world. 

For example, I created a great dragon migration in the world for our current campaign. One community of dragons will migrate north every winter and spend the season in a distant city. No one knows why they travel there, but it is culturally significant to the communities along the migration path. They hold festivals when the dragons pass overhead, celebrating with rituals that honor these majestic creatures and prepare for the coming winter. Economically, the migration boosts local trade and tourism to watch the dragons. 

Incorporating such a vivid, natural phenomenon deepens your world's lore. It provides recurring plot opportunities and character interactions, making your fantasy setting vibrant and alive. 

Conclusion

There are six secrets to building fantasy worlds that feel real and immersive. I encourage you all to try these techniques in your own games and see how they transform your storytelling and gameplay. Share your experiences and add any new ideas you come up with in the comments below—I would love to hear how you've made these ideas your own. 

Thank you again for taking the time. If you enjoyed this discussion and found it helpful, please go to YouTube and check out the video, give it a like, and share it with your party. Remember to subscribe for more world-building tips, storytelling strategies, and so much more. I am so excited to continue on this journey. If you want to help, please follow me on all my social media channels. Until next time, keep creating, keep thinking, keep playing, and keep building really cool worlds for you and your friends to interact with.