I'm feeling a bit sentimental at the moment, and I thought I'd shout out some of the friends I've made on WorldAnvil since I've been active in the community a little bit over a year ago. There are a lot of worlds that have inspired me to worldbuild myself, and so I thought I'd share a few of them here!
Istralar
Istralar is one of those worlds that reading it just makes me want to
create. Hanhula's writing is excellent, and she is amazing at using to to evoke vivid imagery and emotion. Her ideas are always interesting and creative, and she strikes a wonderful balance between the silly and the serious. Seeing articles such as
Leavenisiae Bap and
Gnome Punting juxtapositioned with articles like
Shape of Nothing and
Shards of the Void, while having it all still make sense within the same world, is wildly impressive to me. On top of it all is Han's knowledge and use of CSS, which only enhances her storytelling.
Yonderverse
Of course, I could not go without mentioning my fellow species-writer, Mochimanoban. Yonderverse is such a fun world to delve into, and one of these days I just want to go on a deep-dive into all of its content. The CSS is strong, and I love Mochi's art style as well, the illustrations adding a lot to the articles they are included in. It's Mochi's love for and knowledge of the animal kingdom, however, as well as how they use it in their worlds, that is truly inspiring to me. I cannot get enough of the Yonderverse's species articles, and it is wonderful to see another person who is as invested in fictional ecosystems and ecology as I am.
Cathedris
While we're on the topic of stunning CSS - there's just something about Cathedris that makes it feel so... grandiose. (It's the CSS. And the writing. And just generally the worldbuilding. And honestly everything about it). Every article that I read from this world, I want to know more. And have I mentioned the CSS? Like, seriously, Stormbril is a wizard. Even without all of the beyond impressive styling, however, Stormbril's writing and worldbuilding never fail to amaze me. His articles invoke a sense of wonder, as though I am stepping into this world that he has created. I will never tire of reading Cathedris.
Solaris
Solaris is a world that I cannot give enough praise to. First of all, I absolutely adore all of nnie's art. It's so sparkly and wonderful, and perfectly fits the world that she has made. The CSS also amazingly complements the content of the world, and it all works together to create an amazing reading experience. I've loved seeing nnie's reimaginings of all of the different planets of our solar system, and it feels simultaneously grounded yet otherworldly. You can really tell the love that nnie has put into this world. The story that takes place within the world is also very interesting to me, and I will wait patiently (i am gnawing at the bars of my enclosure) for nnie's comic to come out.
Vazdimet
I was introduced to Vazdimet by chance, in the right place at the right time in the WorldAnvil discord server to beta read for Morgan Biscup's short story, No Way Home. I read it and was immediately intrigued as to the world and overarching story this took place in, and have since read (and absolutely loved) In Spite of the Inevitable. I love the worldbuilding of Vazdimet especially, as it brings together science fiction and fantasy in such a seamless way. The themes of necromancy, as well as Morgan's reimagining of it, are so interesting and fun to read about. I'm particularly excited for the second book in the series, Spirits of the Relentless, to come out.
Valtena
Valtena is a world written by one of the first friends I met on WorldAnvil, Alishahr. So I know from personal experience that she has a tendency to underestimate and underplay her work. Her world is one of the first I followed on WorldAnvil, and is a source of inspiration for me. I especially enjoy her languages, with
Crkija, an article she recently wrote for WorldEmber 2023, being a personal favourite. Not only does she encompass the syntactical aspects of the language, but she also discusses the cultural aspects, and does so from an in-character perspective of one of the characters in her world. This is a theme across her articles, and makes them very interesting to read.
Shattered
Shattered, written by Catoblepon, is an interesting world concept highlighted by its CSS, art, and formatting. Cato is the person who inspired me firstly to make use of category pages in my own worlds more, and secondly to write more conditions within my worldbuilding. Conditions are now one of my favourite templates (behind species, of course). Shattered is such a fun concept for a world, and Cato definitely does it justice with their articles. My favourite part of the world would have to be the giants, large space-dwelling being based off of ocean creatures. The myths surrounding the giants are incredibly interesting to me as well.
Myriad
Myriad is a world that I have been a player in, and so I'm a little biased in saying that this world is one of my favourites. Daeni's ideas are interesting to me, and the world has been so fun to play in. Perhaps I'm also a little biased when I say this, but the world truly feels alive, feels living. It's full of intrigue and interest, and I love when there's a new Myriad article that I get to read. The world's co-author and GM, Aero, is excellent at bringing Daeni's ideas to life, and they work together well to create and animate this world. It's this kind of working together to create something that I strive to emulate with my own world.
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