#worldbuilding reference

A desert is a vast biome that is known for its extreme temperature. Deserts can either run hot or cold and are usually difficult to inhabit. But deserts are harsh places but they are visually stunning and make for an impressive backdrop to any story.

What is it like in the Desert?

Like I said, deserts are hot or cold. The temperatures are extreme which limits the amount of vegetation which in turn limits the coverage one can get in a desert, leaving the area very exposed to the elements. Rainfall is limited, well below average which means only very durable vegetation and wildlife can survive. It is a harsh landscape but it has its own beauty. The desert can often be very quiet with the limited wildlife and people around.

Hot Deserts

Features of Hot Deserts

Sand Dunes: These are hills made of sand, shaped by the extreme winds.

Plateaus: These are flat areas, usually of rock that have very little vegetation or cover.

Salt Flats: Large areas of salt deposits

Playa Lakes: Temporary lakes that appear during heavy rainfall

Oases: Small areas within the desert that have fertile soil and flourish with vegetation due to a water source.

Canyons: Are deep valleys of rock formed from rivers long dried up or greatly reduced.

Sedimentary Layering: Striped rock that shows off the different layers of rock giving the desert a striped appearance.

Mesas: A mesa is flat elevation of steep sides.

Inselbergs: Isolated rock formations that jut up from the desert floor, formed out of soft rock.

Yardangs: Ridges of rock formed by wind erosion

Mushroom Rocks: Pillars of rock formed over time with bigger heads than their bases

Rocks Commonly Found in Hot Deserts

Quartz: Clear/white/pink and usually smoky or clouded. Quartz feels very smooth like glass and may look like crystal.

Sandstone: Tan/red/yellow/brown-ish in colour. Made of compacted sand, it feels very coarse.

Limestone: Grey/white. Rough to touch and often featuring fossils.

Gypsum: White/Clear/Pink/Grey. Soft with chalk-like texture.

Salt Crystals: White/Clear. Crystal-like.

Meteorites: Often found in deserts. Usually black/grey. Can be both rough or smooth to touch.

Common Plants in Deserts

Prickly Pear Cactus: Greed, waxy pad-like cacti with spins. They grow red/yellow fruit that are edible.

Mesquite Trees: Small twisting trees. The pods are edible.

Agave: A thick-leafed succulent, shaped like a rose full of nectar and water.

Oleander: A shrub with pink or white flowers. Not edible, poisonous.

Chia Seeds: Tiny seeds that are edible.

Date Palms: Tall with long sweeping fronds. The dates are edible.

Jojoba: A shrub that's seeds are edible.

Desert Mallow: Flowering plant of pink blossoms. The leaves and flowers are edible.

Peyote: Small round cactus. Do not eat.

Creosote Bush: A shrub with waxy leaves that can be eaten.

Common Wildlife in a Hot Desert

Snakes

Small rodents

Foxes

Raptors (the birds of prey not the fun kind)

Beetles

Scorpions

Locusts

Coyotes

Camels

Lizards

Tortoises

Surviving a Hot Desert

Shelter: It is imperative to stay out of the direct sun if possible to conserve energy.

Keep an eye out: In the shade, there are other creatures who want to get out of the sun. Venomous snakes, scorpions and other critters could be lying in wait so it is best to make sure your shelter isn't already occupied.

Travel: Moving when it is sunrise or sunset or night is best as it isn't as hot and you waste less energy.

Water: Limit water intake in case your character doesn't reach a water source soon. If there are cactus around, your character may find water within it.

Know your plants: Your character might feel the urge to eat any vegetation they come across if they are hungry and weary. There are edible plants in the desert but there are also poison ones. Your character shouldn't eat any strange plant without knowing what it is.

Getting help: Signalling using something reflective or creating a large symbol might signal for help from above.

Clothes: A character should remember that the desert is hot and dress accordingly. Light, loose clothing is best but the nights in a desert are extremely cold. If your character is modifying their clothes, make sure they remember this.

Cold Deserts

Features of Cold Deserts

Ice Sheets: Unbroken sheets of permanent ice.

Glaciers: Immense sheets of moving ice.

Permafrost: The ground that remains frozen all year round. It is barren and nothing can grow here.

Icebergs: Vast lumps of ice that break off from larger sheets of ice to float in the ocean (and kill Leonardo DiCaprio)

Rocky Outcrops: Exposed rock formations.

Crevasses: Deep cracks in ice sheets and glaciers, very dangerous.

Seracs: Ice formations created where multiple crevasses meet.

Erratics: Large rocks deposited by glaciers seemingly in the middle of nowhere.

Rocks Commonly found in Ice Deserts

Basalt: Grey/Black. Smooth.

Granite: Grey/Pink/White. Coarse to the touch.

Shale: Grey/Black. Smooth and brittle.

Gneiss: Striped with greys/pinks/white. Rough texture.

Schist: Silvery-green. Flaky and layered.

Till: Of many colours. Rough.

Common Vegetation found in Ice Deserts

Lichens: Crusty spots that grow on ice and rocks. Can be edible.

Mosses: Soft green plants that grow in the damp. Some kinds are ok to eat.

Arctic Willow: A shrub. Edible.

Saxifrages: Flowering plants growing in rocky areas. Some are edible.

Bearberry: A shrub. The berries are edible.

Grasses: Grow in tundra areas. Edible.

Wildlife Commonly Found in the Ice Desert

Bears

Foxes

Wolves

Deer

Elk

Walrus

Moose

Reindeer

Seals

Whales

Ice worms (the spice must flow....)

Rodents

Surviving in an Ice Desert

Clothing: Wearing layers is crucial. Base layer, insulation and a waterproof layer. Boots and gloves are a must. But you should dress to be sweating, it is a waste of energy. Stay dry always.

Shelter: You can find or build shelter, especially if the winds are high. If sleeping on the ground, use insulation.

Food/Water: Melting snow and ice is fine, eating snow is bad because it will lower your core temp. The best food to eat in this weather is high in fat to keep your body working to keep warm.

Keeping an eye out: Ice fields can break apart easily, crevasses are lethal.

Dried curd comes in many forms -- kashk, aaruul, quroot, etc. -- and was of particular interest to me, since I learned it was used since (and before) medieval times as a trail ration for soldiers and travelers because it is lightweight and high in protein. The more you know. 🌈

Tempeh is one of my favorite food options, but I should note that it originates from Southeastern Asia, Indonesia in particular. 

Bamboo is extremely handy for use as both a carrying and cooking vessel, and would save a character the hassle of bringing a skillet with them (provided the character is in an area with large bamboo and a water source). It’s a method still used today because it’s extremely efficient. Storing eggs in rice is a good way to travel with them and keep them from cracking for a short time. 

What is your country called - by its inhabitants, by outsiders, nicknames? 

How big is the country, physically?

What other countries border it? What kind of relationships do they have? Is there another country citizens are particularly fond of visiting? 

What kind of government do they have in theory? What kind of government do they have in practice? 

What level of government (local, state, federal) exerts the most power on a day-to-day basis? 

Is there internet or something analogous to it (i.e. sci-fi, fantasy)? What about phones, televisions, other forms of modern technology? 

What is the population of the country? 

Is the population homogenous or diverse? How are minorities treated? 

What is wealth distribution like? 

What is language like? Are there multiple languages in regular use (i.e. in schools, on road signs, on gov’t documents)? How many dialects are there? Are there mutual intelligibility issues? Is dialect a point of contention or mistreatment? 

How is the country subdivided? How many subdivisions are there and what are they called? How do different states (or territories or provinces or whatever) feel about one another? 

Is there religion and if so what is it like? How many religions are there? Is religion a private or public affair, is church separated from state? 

What holidays, religious and secular (i.e. independence day, New Years) are public days off? 

What is food like? Is there a particular dietary restriction that is very common? 

How are LGBTQ+ individuals treated? Are same-gender couples treated similarly to heterosexual couples? How are trans people (binary and nonbinary) treated? What about polyamory (and if it’s acceptable, which forms are acceptable and which are taboo)? 

How many genders are (commonly) accepted? Are there different roles/separation between them? How does gender impact citizens’ lives? 

What are coming of age rituals like, both religious and secular? 

What is the typical level of education for citizens? Who pays for education? What does it include? 

How big are families normally? 

What are the common superstitions? 

What is the weather like in the winter? The summer, spring, and fall?

Is there a natural disaster or extreme weather that’s accepted as a normal part of life? 

What’s the standard mode of transportation, short distance and long distance? Do most people have a horse, bikes, cars, etc? 

Is the population mostly urban, suburban, or rural? Where does the food come from? 

What is appropriate small talk? What is absolutely taboo to ask about? 

What is the attitude towards different life phases? Children? Newlyweds? Spinsters? The elderly? 

How does marriage work? Who oversees it? Can it be between more than two people? Is there an expectation for drastic shifts in community roles and occupations upon marriage? 

Is honor, be it personal, familial, communal, and/or national, relevant in any way? Is there a culture of “gentlemen’s agreements” and sworn oaths to be honored? Is anyone bound to protect anyone else’s honor and if so what does that mean? 

What kind of clothing is acceptable for public wear? Is it different for different occasions (i.e. day dress vs evening dress)? Are there particular fabrics, cuts, colors, or details that imply social standing or occupation?

Are there clear distinctions between levels of familiarity and if so what are they? What kind of interactions and behaviors are appropriate at each level?  

What is the career everyone wants their kid to do? 

Are there any national animals? What is the most popular pet? 

What activities do you need a license for? 

Do citizens generally like their government? If there is a central leader or figurehead, how do they feel about them? 

What is the legal and justice system like? Who makes the laws? Who enforces them? 

And how do you know which details are the most important ones?

There’s a lot of good worldbuilding references out there. A lot of masterposts. But something that I’ve never seen addressed is the above topic.

The answer to the first question is the more complicated one. One could say that there’s no such thing as too much worldbuilding, but I would disagree for two reasons. 1) It could get real confusing, real fast. Of course, it could not. But if you worldbuild like me, sprawling all over the place and jotting down notes as different concepts come to you, things could get confusing. 2) At some point, you have to develop your actual plot. Something has to happen in this world that you’ve built. Building the world is fun, but ultimately pointless if there’s going to be no conflict. Utopias do not make for good stories.

So there is such a thing as too much worldbuilding, but the boundaries of where “too confusing” and “where’s my plot?” can get a little fuzzy. It’s something you have to judge for yourself, unfortunately.

Something you don’t have to judge for yourself is which details in your world are the most important ones. There’s a simple way to determine this: The details that affect your character (directly or indirectly) are the most important. If you’re creating a beautiful forest in your fantasy world and you include glowing mushrooms, poisonous flowers, and trees with hollow tree trunks, how do you know which forest element to emphasize the most?

To find out the answer, ask yourself which element affects your adventurers the most. Do they use the mushrooms as a major source of food? Do they use the hollow trunks as shelter? Do they dip their arrows in the poisonous flowers? If the answer to one of those questions is yes, congratulations! That’s the most important world building detail thus far. If the answer to all three of those questions is yes, then all three of those details are important! Good on you for being such a successful worldbuilder.

Bottom line(s): Do your worldbuilding! Have fun with it! But remember to develop your plot as well! In order to know which worldbuilding details are the most important ones, take a step back and consider which ones will affect your characters directly.

Here is a little ask game for WorldBuilding in your WIP to pad out one country or all of them! Use it for yourself or ask a friend and spread some love. Focus on a particular section and have fun!

1. How many meals a day is normal? What kinds of foods are normal at each meal? 

2. Is food regulated in anyway and if so by whom? 

3. Where does the food come from? Farms, gardens, something else? Is food production industrialized? How does it get from production to table? 

4. What is the most popular delicacy or treat?

5. What kind of critters are food? What absolutely aren’t and why? 

6. What food taboos are there (i.e. kosher, halal, vegetarianism)? Are any food combinations taboo? 

7. Are there any very common food intolerances? 

8. Does alcohol, or alcohol-by-another-name exist? If so, what are the laws and social norms around it? 

9. How does food relate to class? What is “poor people food” and what is “fancy food?” What about in terms of food consumption? 

10. What kind of restaurant is the norm (i.e. taverns, bars, diners) and what would they serve? 

11. Is there a food from another country, culture, or world that is popular and that restaurants of are very common?

12. What is healthy food? What is junk food? 

1. How old is the earliest form of the language? How old is the current form? 

2. How many people speak it? Is it a living language or primarily liturgical? 

3. Is it a written language? If so, how widespread is literacy? If learning to read is the norm, what age do people typically learn? 

4. Are there are other languages that speakers have mutual intelligibility with? 

5. Is the language gendered? 

6. Is formality part of the language? 

7. If there is an alphabet, how many letters are there? Are there diacritical marks? How does does punctuation work? 

8. Is there a central authority that dictates or tries to dictate the official rules to the language? Are there widely respected informal authorities, like famous dictionaries? 

9. Is the language associated with a specific country or or countries? 

10. Are there different dialects? 

11. Is it a popular second language? 

12. What kind of curses or swear words are popular in the language?