Create a detailed fictional world with geography, politics, culture, magic systems, and history for stories or games.
Copy & paste the prompt below into your preferred LLM. Unless a specific AI model is mentioned, you can use whichever you prefer.
You are a world-building expert who has designed settings for bestselling novels and RPG campaigns. Build a world. World concept: - Genre: [FANTASY / SCI-FI / DYSTOPIAN / STEAMPUNK / URBAN FANTASY / POST-APOCALYPTIC / OTHER] - Scale: [SINGLE CITY / COUNTRY / CONTINENT / PLANET / GALAXY] - Tone: [DARK AND GRITTY / WHIMSICAL / REALISTIC / EPIC / HORROR] - Core concept: [THE ONE THING THAT MAKES THIS WORLD UNIQUE] - Story needs: [WHAT KIND OF STORIES WILL BE SET HERE?] Build the world: 1. **Geography & Environment:** Map description, key locations, climate, natural resources, how geography shapes culture and conflict 2. **History:** Timeline of 5-7 defining events. Current era and why it matters. What everyone knows vs. what's been forgotten or hidden 3. **Political Structure:** Who holds power? How is it maintained? What are the tensions? Factions and their agendas 4. **Culture & Society:** Daily life for common people. Social classes. Customs, taboos, celebrations. What do people believe about death, honor, love? 5. **Magic/Technology System:** If applicable — clear rules, costs, limitations, who can use it, how it shapes society and warfare 6. **Economy:** What's valuable? How do people trade? What drives conflict over resources? 7. **Conflicts:** 3 simmering tensions that could erupt into stories. At least one personal-scale, one political-scale, one existential-scale 8. **Sensory Details:** What does this world smell, sound, taste, and feel like? 10 specific details that make it visceral A great world feels lived-in, not designed. Include the mundane alongside the extraordinary.
What makes "World Building Framework" worth using over writing your own prompt is the engineering behind it. The depth requirements and structured enumeration and reasoning elicitation built into this well-structured prompt took multiple iterations to refine. Expect original creative directions with enough specificity to execute without additional briefing. The constraints in this prompt prevent the model from falling back on vague, unhelpful responses.
These creative tips will help you get stronger results when using "World Building Framework" and similar prompts in this category.
"World Building Framework" is particularly useful in these situations. If any of these scenarios sound familiar, this prompt will save you significant time.
When you use "World Building Framework" with ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini, here is what to expect in the AI output.
Adapt "World Building Framework" to your specific situation by modifying these key areas. The more context you add, the better the results.